Lazy dog kind'a day.

Sketchbook drawing of a doggy sunbathing on the porch.

Graduated!

Here is what has happened since my last post: I finally graduated! Six months after I finished school, but exciting nevertheless. On that note, I hardly get the chance to thank my closest family and friends for all the support and help I have received through the years - so I figured it was on high time to shout it out here. A very special THANK YOU to Ina Susanne, Bea Cecilie, Alika, Helene, and Bent Ole for believing in me. 

 

(Above: Yes, I am clearly my fathers daughter...Notice the screw in his mouth and the pencil in my mouth.)

Sleep tight.

Recently done sketchbook page. Sleep tight.

Well Hello April!

Hello! My apologies for a temporary absence here. There is so  much work tied to being a freelancer! However, I am back attempting to create and share more of my new work with YOU! So stay tuned. For now, feel free to check out my new tumblr account where I share a little of my own work and a pool of inspirational work done by other artists. Follow me and share anything you like with your friends! http://tinyelephantillustrations.tumblr.com/

(From top and in order: Luba Lukova, Bee Johnson, Patrick Demarchelier (model: Natasha Poly), and Jeannie Phan.)

Up close and personal - work in progress

Just a little something that I'm working on today. This is a sneak peak if you will. Pure fun, that's all. Have a BEAutiful day!

Discovering typography

Practicing handmade typography - that's all.

Have a beautiful day!

Burnt

Contemplating beauty and ugly, side by side. A page from my sketch and play book.

Working

I thought I would share this moment. I love working in my sketchbook - especially during moments like these (sun shining through the window, warming both face and body, coffee in my left hand, and boyfriend playing the guitar in the background. It is good to be alive!

Yes.

Monotype, 2012.

From the edges of fear

I realized that I still had not posted the final version of this, so here it is. Mixed media collage, 2012. This piece is about the struggle in life, and how two people bond through their struggles (and hopefully overcome it).

Loss

Thesis Illustrations. The top one is the monotype by itself. The second version is the finished mixed media collage illustration. 2012.

Home: fading memories

Thesis work. Mixed media collage, 2012. (Part of a larger series) My goal, in the thesis work, was to create inviting and positive illustrations that would leave the viewer with an imprint, echo, thought or sense of connectivity. Even though I think of connections we share with other people as something positive and beautiful, there are plenty of tension and struggle in these connections too. To me it is important that the duality, both the positive and negative shines through my work.

Using collage and mixed media allows me to be very free. I also think collage and mixed media speaks of the present. Today we are used to seeing a number of screens at the same time, with type rolling across the screens, having ten tabs open at the same moment on internet, hearing layers of sounds, constantly being plugged in all at the very same time. Collage and mixed media embodies this state of collision we surround ourselves with, every day.

As a cross-culture artist in this multicultural world, my illustrations aim to open up a conversation reflecting the diversity I see in the world. In the illustration above, the powerful red house and the strong dark lines symbolize the vibrancy of my memories and the support and comfort I have from my roots. The sense of power the red house brings is seperated. The grey stripes and collaged pieces that overlap the house and float through it represents the fading memories and sense of truly belonging that are being replaced and pushed back by the new experience I have here in Portland. The patterns and repetitive marks in the ground speak of the rhythms of everyday life. I go through every day being caught in between the two cultures and lands, Norway and America. I identify with Norwegians and the Norwegian way of living, yet I walk, speak and live on a different ground.