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Holly

January 15, 2013
Holly, a commissioned piece,
all finished in watercolor.
8"x10".  
Tags Animal Artwork, Animal Friends, Drawings and Sketches
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Jennifer Frith, Artist and Illustrator

I believe animals are the best encouragers.

. . .

Hi! I'm Jennifer Frith! You're welcome to call me by my childhood nickname, Jenny.

I'm a mom, wife, artist, animal lover, self-admitted nerd, hopeless romantic, and follower of Jesus.

I illustrate children's books and try to make the world a brighter place with my artwork.

I encourage other busy, kindhearted creatives to make art for themselves and the world too.

Welcome to my blog! Kick off your shoes and stay for a little while.
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Time for me to go radio silent for a few days, mostly to plan for our YouMatter Journaling project... see you in a bit. ❤ *doodles all by Jason. #youmatterjournaling #artspace #brainbreak #plottingandplanning
Working on my last puppy portrait before our #youmatterjournaling project kickoff (coming in Oct!). Her name is Molly. ❤🐾 #animalsarethebestencouragers #pencil #drawing #puppers #snuggles #jennyspetportraits
Coming soon... . I'm not an expert at much, but I do know what it is to deal with questions of self-worth, anxiety, depression, and the big ponderings that make you wonder if any of it matters... if you matter. But that pain and those questions have helped to carve a deeper basin for joy and the stuff that matters in my life. . In our next journaling project (head over to @gratitude52community to get an idea of how last year's project worked), I'll share weekly journaling prompts to help you to uncover and unearth *you*. ... For we are fearfully and wonderfully made, and that's worth knowing. . Stay tuned for more details. 💘
#chuckthebettafish #davidthegnome ❤
I have family and friends in Florida who are preparing for Hurricane Irma. It always wakes you up when stuff hits close to home. Praying and wish I could do more than send this sunflower pic. If you are affected, how are you? How can we help? #hurricaneirma #hurricaneharvey #bigolsunflower #artishumanity #everythingelseissmallstuff
Gather your art supplies... I have a new sketchbook/journaling project percolating for you. (See @gratitude52community for our prior project). ❤️ #comingsoon #artjournaling #artjournalingprompts #journaling #artsupplies #youmatter
#artsupplies 🔸Colored pencils by @prismacolor 🔸washi tape found on Etsy 🔸gouache by @Holbeinartistmaterials 🔸markers by @copicmarker 🔸ephemera and snips of papers collected over the years
Sunday sketchbook, and some sunshine. #jennyssundaysketchbook #zebras #journalart #artjournaling #illustratedjournal #sunnydays
We made a field trip to the Corning Museum of Glass this weekend, which was surprisingly delightful. 🙌 #artists #makersgonnamake #createyourownsunshine
Journal pages, from the archives. I'm in denial that September is here and that summer is almost gone, so "Be here now" seems like a good reminder for myself. Wishing you a happy Labor Day weekend for you and your loved ones. 💗 #jennysjournalpages #lifeandloveareprettygrand
"... so this is for us. This is for us who sing, write, dance, act, study, run and love and this is for doing it even if no one will ever know because the beauty is in the act of doing it. Not what it can lead to. This is for the times I lose myself while writing, singing, playing and no one is around and they will never know but I will forever remember and that shines brighter than any praise or fame or glory I will ever have, and this is for you who write or play or read or sing by yourself with the light off and door closed when the world is asleep and the stars are aligned and maybe no one will ever hear it or read your words or know your thoughts but it doesn’t make it less glorious. It makes it ethereal. Mysterious. Infinite. . For it belongs to you and God. and only you can decide how much it meant and means and will forever mean and other people will experience it too through you. Through your spirit. Through the way you talk. Through the way you walk and love and laugh and care and I never meant to write this long but what I want to say is: . Don’t try to present your art by making other people read or hear or see or touch it; make them feel it. Wear your art like your heart on your sleeve and keep it alive by making people feel a little better. Feel a little lighter. Create art in order for yourself to become yourself and let your very existence be your song, your poem, your story. Let your very identity be your book. Let the way people say your name sound like the sweetest melody. . So go create. Take photographs in the wood, run alone in the rain and sing your heart out high up on a mountain where no one will ever hear and your very existence will be the most hypnotising scar. . Make your life be your art and you will never be forgotten." . - Charlotte Eriksson #gomakeart #youmatter
I shared on my Instagram story yesterday about how I get into uninspired "funks", and then I shared a list of what I do to help me get out of them (because if I stay there too long, it can tailspin me into depression.) One of the things I do is Mind Mapping, where you literally -in the proper use of that word- map out your thinking. . The first step is to write down the one topic or challenge that is on your mind. You can do that in the center of a sketchbook page, on a whiteboard, a diner napkin, etc. Circle that theme. The 2nd step is to simply write down the first thought that comes to your mind when you think of the theme, like word association. You then connect that thought to your main theme by drawing a line between the two. You continue the process until you can't come up with anymore ideas. It helps to flush out the thoughts, creative ideas, and anxieties that may be swirling around in your head. It also helps you to see connections and patterns that you may not have noticed before. . Here's an old page I made a few years back when I wanted to figure out what was important to me. Have you ever tried #mindmapping? I would love to see your pages!
I think it'd be cool to have a zebra, or to at least see one in the wild. ~ #sundaysketchbook in progress.🐾 #gouache #zebras #illustratedjournal #jennyssundaysketchbook
At my dad's farm in New York, earlier this weekend. I don't know about you, but hearing about the world's turmoil causes an uptick in anxiety for me. But whenever I'm in nature -or if just stop to look up at the sky- it calms it down for me, at least for a little while. It makes me feel smaller...surrendered. It reminds me of the bigger picture and a greater plan. . I hope you get a chance to pause; lay down your worries, heartaches, and unknowns; and look up at the sky too. #newyork #bigskies #encouragement #lookforthegood
Journal pages, from the archives. 🐠 #blubblub #fishies #jennysjournalpages
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Jennifer Frith

www.jennys-sketchbook.com

I believe animals are the best encouragers.

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"Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time."

- Thomas Merton -

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