The new ABC show Once Upon a Time has really rekindled my love of fairy tales. For a long time I kept pushing this concept aside because I really wanted to break away from the Disney era of my life. Thankfully, this show has brought me back to my roots and reminded me that what I've always truly loved is the fairy tale itself, not just Disney.

In the very first episode, one of the leading characters had a line that really stuck with me. "... the most important thing anyone can have... hope. Even the possibility of a happy ending is a very powerful thing." 

After fooling around in my sketchbook, the idea for this image came about, and I hadn't played with my watercolors in a couple of weeks so I figured I'd whip them out. I'm trying not to get too set on working solely digitally, because I love being hands on too much to just drop watercolor completely. I definitely see myself continuing to move further in the realm of digital media though. 

Only two months left!

Can you guys believe that it is already November 1st? Where the heck did this year go? Gosh! It's definitely been a good one though, and I'm still excited to see what the last two months will bring! We have some exciting changes coming up at the Square Carousel Collective soon, including some amazing new, talented artists joining us! I actually just finished up a piece for the collective today that was part of a collaboration with the illustration blog Jazz and Draw.

This has been our second collaborative project since we began in June and we are looking forward to more in the future! In other news, I've been working on another fun project on the side that is pretty close to my heart. For those who don't know, I recently competed in a large online Hunger Games competiton and came in 3rd place. Well when the Games were turned over to new management, I was so pleased when I was asked to be the artist for the new Games! I can't share all of the illustrations with you yet, because they are revealed over time to "tributes" who are competing. Since the second Games have just begun, I can only reveal the opening image of the Cornucopia at the moment.

What I'm really excited to share with you guys though are the muttations I designed! I think it will be interesting to have some creature designs added to my repertoire. I'm also working on an illustration of the "careers" from the Games that I participated in. We were basically the villains of the Games haha, but unfortunately I have to set it to the side for a week or so while I finish up some other work. I also have another watercolor piece I'll be sharing with you all before the week is out, and I'm really excited about it!

I hope everyone had a great Halloween! Now let the Christmas season begin!