Picturebook Life { I Heart Art }

Today I'd like to introduce y'all to Sadee Schilling of Picturebook Life. I hope you will enjoy meeting Sadee and take advantage of the coupon code she is offering - Use PenandPaint for free shipping on your order!

Pink Beach House  .  Patchwork Sunshine  .  Dance in the Rain

1. When did you first begin creating art?

I was always drawing and painting as a kid--I couldn't get enough of it! Both of my daughters are already prolific artists (at ages three and four!) and it makes me smile to see myself in them. I like to think that I must have been doing the very same things when I was their age--waking up early in the morning and even sometimes late at night with the urge to draw or cut and glue things together.

I continued drawing throughout school and started painting a little in college as an art major. But it was at that point that I began to feel my childlike creativity fading--it felt like I was supposed to be "growing up" and learning a "practical" career. I ended up with English and Education degrees (although I'm still happy about that--literature is an important part of my story). But I kind of forgot about art for a while.

I started dabbling in paint again after grad school to ease the stress of teaching. A few years later, we found out that my first daughter was on the way and it was like the child in my belly awoke the child in my heart--my creativity skyrocketed! I was suddenly focused on my work, improving in my skill and making a new painting every week. Of course, my productivity slowed once my daughter was born and her sister followed just a year later, but my passion and excitement for art has only grown in the years since.

Ocean Waves & Rain Clouds by Sadee Schilling

2. What is your favorite/most sentimental creation you have made? Why? 

I like to say that my daughters taught me the art of "loving a thing to pieces." It's ok for some of the things that are precious and sacred in life to be well-worn and even falling apart--rather than preserved, sitting high on a shelf. This idea has transformed my art and I love what I do more than ever! There are seasons in life that require quiet delicacy and careful precision, and there are seasons in life that invite us to jump in the puddles and dig deep in the dirt. I combine patchwork collage with delicate watercolor and line drawings, exploring this balance between messy and sweet. As my artwork is born within the challenges of life, it teaches me that sometimes it's the messy times that actually turn out to be the sweetest times too. 

My "Denim and Dirt" winged heart is my favorite representation of these ideas.

Denim and Dirt by Sadee Schilling

A Mother's Heart Cup by Sadee Schilling

3. Is there a project you've always dreamed of creating?

What would it be?

Ever since I was little I wanted to write and illustrate a children's book. And I'm beginning to think that I may actually do it! :)

Amazing Grace Bluebird by Sadee Schilling

You can connect with Sadee through her:

BLOG: http://www.apicturebooklife.blogspot.com

SHOP: http://www.etsy.com/shop/PicturebookLife

FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sadee-Schilling-Art-and-Illustration/140963922589707?ref=hl

Thank you Sadee for taking time to share! Don't forget she is offering FREE shipping with your order - use the code PenandPaint through her Shop. Go find some new art for your walls!