Sharing a preview of my piece "The Tiger Rider" for Giant Robot's Go Get Em Tiger group show – the piece is still available at the moment and you may shop the piece here. I had a really great time exploring a new direction with this piece and drawing a bunch of tiger studies. Tigers are so beautiful and majestic.
Happy National French Fry Day!
It was about time these salty starchy Devil's fingers got their due. My favorite food!
Happy Summer!
Happy Summer solstice! Today marks the official beginning of summer & it sure feels like it with the 100 degree weather here in L.A.! I'm celebrating with a couple new sun illustrations & a free shipping sale in my shop (use code HELLOSUMMER16 to get free U.S. domestic shipping today)!
I'm also making a summer fun to-do list that includes tide pool visits, day trips, and lots of ice cream. What's on your summer schedule?
Hold Up, They Don't Love You Like I Love You
For my final Mermay, I was inspired by Beyoncé's "Hold Up" music video and her look by Roberto Cavalli. The whole album, Lemonade, has really been speaking to me lately, both visually and lyrically. It's been fun to work on Mermaid-themed illustrations for the month of May, playing around with more complex ideas and simple visual ideas, and seeing all the things that are popping up in the #MerMay hashtag on Instagram!
Penelope and Pete
People often ask me which one of my pieces is my favorite, and my (probably somewhat useless) answer is always, "my latest one". I just finished this piece, Penelope and Pete, today, after a weeklong struggle with the original sketch.
After the journey, I'm so happy with where I landed, here with Penelope, a mermaid, and her seabird, Pete. Penelope is a big fan of human jewels and wearable treasures, and Pete is her best pal with a talent for scavenging the loveliest of accessories.
Delilah and Her Deep Sea Diver
I've had this idea for an illustration for a really long time now, a story of a mermaid in love with a deep sea diver, and I finally got a chance to paint it out. Some ideas are just demanding to become tangible, and this was definitely one of them. I read Elizabeth Gilbert's Big Magic earlier this year, and I especially liked the chapter about how ideas don't wait around forever for you and they'll move onto someone else if you don't pay it any attention. So I'm paying attention to all the stories in my head that want to be shared.
This is a love story that spans land and sea. Delilah, an orange and pink coral mermaid, is in love with a Deep Sea Diver, and how can she not be when he brings her a flower while collecting shells for study? He uses any excuse he can to see her, and she's more than happy to award him with a kiss for his chivalry.
P.S. This image is also available as a print in my shop here.
May the Fourth Be With You
Happy Star Wars Day! I had to do a quick sketch of my favorite new female hero, Rey, from The Force Awakens.
May the Fourth Be With You...
Academy Awards 2016 Fashion Favorites
I love Hollywood award season for all the fashions! Trends seem to be favoring the safe, sleek, and simple lately so I'm just in love with all the actresses who take a chance on those really dreamy, detailed, embellished gowns. Cate Blanchett was the winner in my heart at last night's Oscars, in this amazing dress by Armani Privé.
And congratulations to the big winner for Best Actress last night, Brie Larson, on her first Oscar! She looked like a dream come true in this floating royal blue Gucci dress with delicate ruffles.
What was your favorite dress from last night?
Ann Shen x Casetify
Hello friends!
So much has been going on lately that I've barely had a minute to sit down and update this space! Thank you if you're still reading here! In a world where social media dominates, things seem to speed by so fast that it's nice to take a moment to reflect on all the things going on. For now and for posterity.
I'm dropping in today to share that my collection for fabulous tech case company Casetify is now live! If you've been looking for the perfect phone case for your mermaid life, then look no further than shopping this link right here.
It's great to be able to share my work across so many platforms, so you can get as many options as possible to affordable art. After all, art is what makes life worth living, right?
Let me know if you get one! I'd love to see you & your stylish phone out in the wild.
P.S. Oh and because Casetify is so egalitarian, there are cases for every phone!
The Crafted Life & Tiffany Han on The Crafted Biz
Photo courtesy of The Crafted Life
If you're anything like me, you might love reading business articles on entrepreneurship and people doing it for themselves. So I'm super excited to be working with Rachel of The Crafted Life and business coach extraordinare Tiffany Han on their new column, The Crafted Biz. For the next six months, Tiffany's serving up a monthly column on how to craft a business you love. I'm hand lettering a free printable quote from each post that you can print at home and hang on your wall to remind yourself that you've so got this (in the words of Tiffany herself). Sounds like the perfect six month kick-in-your-pants dream team to help you get to your best business self. Read the first post here on Knowing Your Why!
