Artwork Spotlight: SUN & MOON

These two started as a test– an attempt to push myself more in the paper-art part of this process, and then, these two little illustrations became what I think might be two of my best works, and my favorite so far.

I’ve always wanted to create artwork based on celestial concepts; like zodiac characters, planets, sun/moon, stars, but I put a lot of pressure on myself to create them perfectly and then the artworks never happened. Those ideas are still on my project list, and I am inching closer to feeling better about my art and my skills to create them. These two artworks went a long way to helping me get over the perfectionism.

SUN #

Sun came first. I was just sketching and then, suddenly, the character became the Sun. Her expression made me think of the warmth of the sun upon one’s face. I wanted her to have long flowing hair inspired by the rays of the sun. I had recently bought the gold watercolor and wanted to use it. At about the same time, I was working on a sewing project and thought the gold thread would be perfect for imitating metal. So I gave her some jewlery and hair adornments. Since her hair and accessories felt so thick, I thought a more light and flowy dress would be a nice contrast.

This was one of those artworks where things just fell into place. No part of it felt forced or rushed. I knew which pieces needed to be painted and cut. I knew what I wanted it to look like, and the simplicity of it made it come to life.

MOON #

Once Sun was finished, I had to do Moon.

This design was a little harder. I wanted to reflect the colors, the characters, but maintain an individuality to each artwork. It is clear they are two parts of a whole, but each works on its own, too. You might think it’s easier to flip everything and change the colors, but there’s a bit more to it.

I went out and got the silver watercolor specifically for this artwork. I had to get silver thread, too, for the imitation jewlery. The moon is bright on it’s own, but posesses a different feeling. Just the details of Sun reflected the concepts of the real sun, I wanted moon to feel the same. A bright spot in a dark sky, a bit more mysterious, and beautiful. A full moon was too basic for the background, but a crescent moon didn’t fill the space, so the solution was a bit of both; a reflection of the stages of the moon.

Add the Shine to Your Collection #

Prints are released periodically at my Etsy shop. Prints of these artworks are embellished by hand with the gold or silver watercolor and touches of iridescent paint, too. They’re usually printed at 5.5x5.5 in format with a white boarder which make the artwork easy to frame without losing any edge detail.

Check Discount Codes for a little bit off your first order as a thanks from me.

TLDR #

• I made two artworks, Sun and Moon.
• They are shiny and I love them.
• Check Etsy to find prints (availbility varies).

Find more of my work, sneak peeks, and updates on my socials:

• @emis.sketchbook
• Bluesky/Cara @emisketchbook