Recently, I received a commission to create an image of a giraffe playing a banjo in the style of my old musical animals.  The request touched my heart, as a daughter was asking for her mother's birthday: "A year or so ago I bought my mom a copy of your hippo with the violin. It is one of her most precious possessions. You see, she was in one of the first cohorts of Peace Corps volunteers and spent several years living in Kenya that were among the happiest of her life. Much later, at age 70, she decided she wanted to learn the fiddle, and has since become an incredible player and teacher. So the hippo with the fiddle/violin speaks to her life story in an unexpected and deep way. I would love to add to her African animal bluegrass band with a giraffe playing a banjo."  Well, here it is:

"Giraffe with Banjo," pencil,  2017 Jessica Boehman. Please do not reproduce without permission.

I was recently contacted to do some rebranding for a delightful farm and creamery in North Platte, Nebraska, called Farm Cottage Creamery.  There, Libby and her husband raise pigs and jersey cows and may be adding goats! She wanted an illustrated logo to give more personality and an English garden feel for her branding. When I found out that her mascot is a lovely Jersey heifer named Bambi, I knew she had to make it into the logo. Those eyes!  I had fun playing around with the logo, which she wanted to be able to fit on her Body Butters (semi-circular), and then on some stickers for packaging and a business card.  Enjoy!  

All images are owned and are the exclusive property of Farm Cottage Creamery, Nebraska. Please do not reproduce without their permission. 

Above: the main logo. Pencil, digital color. Copyright 2017 Jessica Boehman. 

Above: Stickers! A Bambi for All Seasons. I got a little silly with these. All in all, a really fun commission with a great client.

If you're looking for an illustrated logo, please use the contact button above and get in touch! Stay tuned for some more commission work.

This Christmas, I made this drawing for my big sister, who is longing for the green woods. Being a green girl myself, I added a little bit of my own longing in here, too. 

"Soul Place" 2016 Jessica Boehman. Colored pencil, pencil, gouache. Please do not reproduce without permission.

Yesterday was my birthday, so I planned a field trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Greek and Roman sculpture gallery with my students of Beginning Drawing. It was a wonderful day with perfect (but quickly-changing) light, and the students were happy, and we had a lovely time. Here is my drawing of the Bearded Herakles. I think I will need his strength and courage in the coming year. 

"Bearded Herakles" Pencil. 

Inktober came with the best of intentions. It passed me by only 1/3 completed.  But here are a few of my favorite ink and acrylic ink drawings from that period. I was playing with some different styles.

"Anne of Green Gables"

"Poldark"

"Mr. Arnolfini Finds a Reason to Smile" or, what happens when I am giving an art history exam and have time to doodle.

"1980"

​Three years ago, I made a logo for a shop called Alpharetta Flower Market in a town in Georgia of the same name. The proprietor wanted a logo that was rich, colorful, and had a 1920s vibe.  She wanted the sunflower as the centerpiece and noted a few other flowers that she wanted to include. This is what we came up with together.  It was draw in pencil, scanned, cleaned, and digitally colored, so that it could shrink or expand without loss of color integrity.
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The proprietor approached me again this summer. Her store was rebranding and expanding as Alpharetta Flower & Garden Market. They wanted to keep the sunflower and the bee, but wanted simpler, lighter, airier signage, with the main focus on the name, so it could be read from the street.  She gave me some hints for color notes, and with that, I had a good feel for what she wanted: something fresh and springy but with a botanical print feel to it. This is what we created together! I drew it in ink for bolder lines and colored it digitally. 

Here is a detail of the head of the sunflower.

If you are interested in commissioning an illustrated logo for your business, please contact me here. 

A quick study self portrait to make me see myself again, something that has been hard to do in recent months.  And in pencil, because I missed it. 

"Lace (Self-Portrait)" 2016 Jessica Boehman. Pencil and gouache

I saw this little sparrow while walking my dog. 

Original is available for purchase here.

"Nature Study--Dead Sparrow" 2016 Jessica Boehman. Colored pencil, pencil, gouache. Do not reproduce without permission.

Here's a drawing that I did tonight thinking about the sheer power of illness. Today, after experiencing some strange nerve pain, I had a fearful moment that my old autoimmune disease was coming back. I taken ill with a potentially deadly disease three years ago, but I was very lucky: I just got the mildest case. A full-blown case could have paralyzed or killed me. Even so, its effects were terribly powerful. Three years later, I still have damage in my peripheral nerves. I explained how I felt about it to the doctor: I said it felt like Death touched me with one finger, in passing.  Today, I fell again into that deep pit of fear.  And so I drew this.

"The One-Finger Touch" Brush and india ink, acrylic ink, pencil. Jessica Boehman. Do not reproduce without permission.

A little comic I made yesterday for my godson--so he will remember.

"Stars" Copyright 2016 Jessica Boehman. Ink (with brush), acrylic ink, and gouache. Please do not reproduce without permission.