Nefertiti

Doing a series of "the most beautiful women in history" on my history witch blog. Check it out- www.historywitch.com So fun and relaxing to work on. Here is Nefertiti.

Marfa Sobakina

3rd wife of Ivan the Terrible. Read more about here HERE

Exciting News!!!

Super Salli and Nate the Great from They Draw & Cook asked me to participate in their latest book: The Best Illustrated Cocktail Recipes. Please pass the link along. What a great Holiday Present!

You can purchase here: http://www.theydrawandcook.com/shop/new-books

or here:  https://www.createspace.com/4042801

cheers!

an illustrated recipe for a yummy cocktail!

My singer/songwriter friend Jennifer Tefft asked me to do some artwork for her new single. Here's what I came up with.  To hear the song- go here: http://tinyurl.com/a3teu9e

Family Tree

Hand-painted this custom family tree for a friend. Lots of work, but really fun to work on.

Blushing Geisha

An illustrated drink recipe featured on They Draw & Cook.

Madame Masochist

The devil herself... Madame Delphine LaLaurie. One of the top ten most evil women in history- her crimes are so awful, I can't even write about it. The LaLaurie Mansion still stands in New Orleans, and is said to be the most haunted house in the United States. I don't recommend a visit.

Voodoo Witch

Ahhhh... Marie Laveau. The powerful and feared Voodoo Queen of New Orleans. Her story is pretty fascinating- I'd like to stop by her grave and draw 3 X's.

A portrait of Tituba... one of the first women accused of witchcraft in the Salem Witch Trials. To read more about the mysterious woman, visit www.historywitch.com

Innocent witches.

Illustration of the women executed on July 19, 1692 in Salem, MA with a ghosted map of the approximate location of the hanging and gravesite. A little dark, yes... but really cool to work on.
Click the image for a larger view.

Moll Dyer--- very creepy story. Her village accused her of being a witch, burnt her house down, and chased her into the woods. She froze to death against a rock- her hand and knee left a permanent impression in the rock. Her story inspired the movie The Blair Witch Project... creepy stuff!

the Wytte Witch

This is Joan Wytte (1775-1813) who was also known as the "Fighting Fairy Woman." She was a well-known clairvoyant, diviner and healer in Cornwall. She used "clouties" has part of her healing routine. Clouties were rags taken from the sick and tied to a tree. For more information, visit www.historywitch.com.

trippin' witch

Isobel Gowdie claimed to have the power to turn herself into a hare, she also said she "hung out" with the Queen of Elphame. Awesome. Read more at www.historywitch.com

naughty witch.

A portrait of Alice Kyteler- first documented case of witchcraft in Ireland. Visit my history witch blog to read more about her. www.historywitch.com

you... you... you Necromancer!

This is Eleanor, Duchess of Gloucester... a convicted sorceress and necromancer! Read more about her at www.historywitch.com. Although she spent most of her life in prison, her astrological cohorts suffered more serious sentences. Yikes!

Crazy is as crazy does. Episode 1.

Something VERY silly that a few friends and I thought would be funny. click the image to enlarge.

Ladies and Loons

Working on a bunch of whimsical historical illustrations. Swing on by to my other blog to check them out: History Witch. This is my take on Joséphine de Beauharnais.

Mugwort! Yum!

A 17th Century recipe for Plague Water.
Just click the image for a larger view.

self portrait.

this was like therapy. click the image for a larger view.

Julia Child

Top secret project- more info to come soon.

Madame Catastrophe

The talented Jennifer Tefft has a new single out- you can listen and learn here: http://www.jennifertefft.com/

Here's the art that will accompany the single. Sooooo fun to work with her.

illustrated history adventure

New Historical Illustration Blog has been launched!!! I've found that I get so much reward out of doing research on various historical figures, that I'm dedicating a new blog to the fun facts I find and creating illustrations to accompany each post. Please stop by and check it out! Just posted yesterday- Princesse de Lamballe!

Click HERE to see the new History Witch blog.

you stink- here's a castle.

Anne of Cleves (1515-1557) was Henry VIII’s 4th wife. Sort of. The marriage was never consummated. According to Henry (who at the time had a leg ulcer that smelled so foul it could clear out a castle) said that he was so repulsed by her “evil smells” and appearance, that he couldn’t “get it up.”

She was then crowned “Queen Consort” and given a fabulous castle and settlement upon their annulment. That castle was Hever Castle- the home of Henry’s former in-laws, the Boleyns.

If you ask me, she was the winner here- not only did she get to keep her head (unlike poor Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard) she didn’t have to actually sleep with that giant, fowl-smelling glutton of a man. She outlived Henry and all of his wives and is the only one of his women to be buried in Westminster Abbey.

Sad or Sinister?

Ahhh.. the lovely Anne Boleyn. She's always bothered me a bit- seducing a married man, already seduced by her sister, and proven political pawn. I think she knew what she was doing (meaning, I don't think she was dumb enough to think it was all an accident.) Afterall- she did dress in yellow to celebrate the death of Catherine of Aragorn (Henry's first wife.) Evil!

Interesting little tidbit about her death... Henry, in an act of mercy (whatever), had her sentence commuted from burning to beheading. Also- he couldn't have her beheaded with a commoner's axe but brought in Jean Rombaud, an expert swordsman to perform the execution. She was beheaded while kneeling upright, and Jean said "where is my sword?" to distract her as he swiftly took her off with one clean blow. There was no proper burial or even a coffin. Pretty horrible ending for the mother of Elizabeth I.

Two weeks later, fatso married Jane Seymour.  Click the image for a larger view.

Jennifer Tefft: All Of These Crimes

Art for All These Crimes by Jennifer Tefft. Her music is so inspiring, my pencil just flows as if on its own accord. This was done in ink and watercolor. You can learn more about Jenn and her music here:
www.jennifertefft.com/

or here:
facebook.com/JenniferTefftBand

direct to this song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNLq1Uv7jTw

Ranavalona

Ranavalona I, also know as Ranavalo-Manjaka I, was a sovereign of the Kingdom of Madagascar from 1828 to 1861.

Although there are stories of her executing her own people (by boiling them and throwing their bodies off a cliff) for appearing in her dreams, I find the most fascinating controversy of her reign to be the Tangena ordeal.

One of the many brutal ways she maintained order within her Queendom was through the practice of "trial by tangena" Tangena is a poison extracted from a nut. It was ingested by the person on trial, with the outcome determining innocence or guilt. If you were to throw it up, you were innocent, if you died... well, guilty as charged.

Through slavery and torture, she killed off about 1/3 of her people.

Guest Illustrator

I've been asked to be a guest illustrator at an event put on by Creative Relay: "Reinventing the Illustrator". For more information or tickets visit HERE.

I also wrote an article for their blog- which you can read HERE. It's titled "My Never Ever List: top five things you should never ever do as an illustrator."

Marjorie Bruce

Marjorie Bruce, although her father was Robert "the" Bruce, she didn't exactly lead a cushy life as the daughter of a king. 
Kept in a cage by Edward I for over a year, sent to a nunnery by Edward II for 8 years- and finally set free in 1314... only to be given to Walter Stewart as a "reward" at the age of 18.

A year later she went into premature labor after a riding accident and gave birth to a son, Robert II of Scotland. Her last words were "He's a laddie; I ken he's a laddie; he will be King." She died a few hours later.


Click the image for a larger view.

Westminster Abbey

This was a true labor of love. I've always wanted to learn more about Westminster Abbey, and this was a great way to do it. Next step--- a visit!! I need to plan a trip for next year. I think I would be completely speechless walking through this much history.

Click the image for a larger view.

Elisabeth of Austria

Elisabeth was first married by proxy on October 22, 1570. After long celebrations, she left Austria accompanied by high-ranking German nobles. Once in French territory, the roads were impassable thanks to the constant rain. This caused the decision that the wedding was to be celebrated in a small border town far from Paris. The King, curious about his future wife, dressed himself as a soldier and observed her incognito, and was very happy with what he saw. Alas... it was, unfortunately, a loveless marriage and Elisabeth busied herself with embroidery.

Click the image for a larger view.

FB Fan Page

Follow me on Facebook- just started a fan/business page here: http://www.facebook.com/LisaGravesDesign

Thank you for the support!

Studio Shot

Quick pick of two hams in my very messy studio.
If you look very closely you can see my Lord of the Rings Pez set, my "40" tiara, and a copy of TDAC.

Queen Charlotte

Queen Charlotte (1744-1818) was the wife of George III. They had 15 children during their marriage (13 survived into adulthood) and were fairly happy (aside from the extremely meddling mother-in-law.) 


Charlotte developed a close friendship with Marie Antoinette and the two, having never met face to face, wrote to each other quite frequently. Upon the outbreak of the French Revolution, Charlotte prepared apartments for the refugee royal family of France- but they never came. 


Click the image for a larger view.

Mood/Trend Boards

I've been doing a lot of mood and trend boards lately- it's INSANELY fun. I love it as much as I love illustrating or product development. I have the pleasure of putting together 10 trend boards for 2013/2014 home and garden gift- this assignment has inspired me to start rethinking my own house. A decor overhaul is in the works!

One of my clients asked me to put together some mood boards for their office redesign. Here are 3 options that were presented. Which do you like?
Click any image for a larger view.

Getting from point A to point B.

I've sent this "map" in to They Draw and Travel- but I'm a little worried that I used the term "map"way too loosely... lol. It was fun to do, and got my mind off my ridiculously high tax bill.

Click the image for a larger view.

Kraft Illustration

Here is my entry for the Kraft Illustration Competition put on by my friends Nate and Salli at They Draw & Cook. Peachy Keen Panini. Yummo.
Click the image for a larger view.

Music to my ears...

The lovely and talented Ms. Jennifer Tefft asked me to interpret her song "Breathe." It was so cool to sketch to her voice- the words that come to mind are: hypnotic temptress!!! Needless to say- this was really really fun to work on and a much needed escape.

I cannot, for the life of me, figure out how to let blogger let me post the mp3, so for now- click HERE to hear her beautiful song that goes with this pic.

Newport Cliff Walk

Just submitted this to the TDAT You-Topia Map competition. For more info click HERE.
Click the image for a larger view. Have a lovely day.

Racing against the clock

The Sketchbook has to be postmarked for tomorrow and I still have 2 spreads to fill. Yikes.
Here's a quick illo of Sunny von Bülow. Poor Sunny. Also did a rendering of Edith Wharton today... not quite finished with it yet.

another sketchbook entry

another spread in my sketchbook for the 2012 Sketchbook Tour.

Wallis Simpson- the Duchess of Windsor (but not "Her Royal Highness".)
I really hope I can finish this sketchbook before Jan 31st. It's getting a little tight.

click the image for a larger view.

ooh La La!!

Nate and Salli are up to their usual tricks, they just launched a new map illustration competition.
Check it out HERE.

My head is going to be spinning until I figure out exactly what I want to do. Methinks a historical map might be a mistake for this particular contest.... I REALLY want the Pentel prize!!

Join in the fun!!

Product Development

Product Development is done SO far in advance, I never know when I can show pictures- stumbled across some photos of gifts I designed last year.

Sketchbook 2012

Working on my sketchbook for the 2012 "Sketchbook Project". For more info- click HERE.
My theme this year is "Time Traveler". So, of course, I'm drawing some of my favorite historical figures. Here's a sample of a spread on Katharine of Aragon. Tragic, but fascinating tale. Google her.

Click the image for a large view.

Recipe for TDAC

Just sent this over to Nate & Salli at TDAC. My husband and I tried so hard to get our son to like green veggies, but this is the ONLY one he will eat. Finicky Finn the Picky Pickleberry.

New family member!!

We adopted a beautiful boy from the Baypath Animal Shelter in Hopkinton, MA. His name is Henry Thomas- he'll be 2 in March, and we couldn't be happier about his arrival today. He's got his own little space next to my drawing table!!