Happy National Bakery Day! The background of this drawing is based on my favorite local bakery, @launebread They have the best pastries in the Twin Cities! Definitely worth scheduling a visit. #nationalbakeryday #ponieslikepastries

A game I invented called Balanced Dango, after the sticky, chewy, delicious Japanese treat-on-a-stick. It builds Algebra concepts (balancing multiple same-size items). It packs up in a carrying case that doubles as a sturdy base for the balance beam. #dango #FoodOnAStick #gamedesign #algebra

Before I explain the contraption, here's another view of the design on it. This image is licensable. #pink #camellia #椿

Do you see the dango characters peeking out of that little box? They're part of this contraption. Can you figure out what it is?

Dango characters! Age-Mochi Honey Dango Cherry Blossom Dango Sesame Dango Toasted Soybean Powder Dango And Plain Dango. They work like beads that stack up on a skewer, so you can make can dango on a stick! Can you guess what they are for? #foodonastick #揚げ餅 #はちみつ団子 #桜団子 #黒ごま団子 #きな粉団子 #団子

Here's another clue: she comes in a set of five characters. What do you think they are? #characterdesign #guess

Can you guess what this sweet little character is? #characterdesign #Sakura #桜

I often start a new project by choosing and mixing colors. Sometimes before I even know what I'm going to paint. Does anyone else do that? #colorpalette

For those of you in the Twin Cities: i cordially invite you to visit me in my studio for the LOLA Art Crawl this coming weekend! I am site 12 lolaart.org #artcrawl #Minneapolis

Another year, another batch of lightning dog portraits at Wet Paint's booth for Paws on Grand! I drew 15 dogs in 3 hours-- that's 12 minutes per dog! #pawsongrand @wetpaintart #petportrait #dog #lightningportrait

Doggy character design! #dogs #characterdesign

If anyone happens to have a flying dog, PLEASE bring him or her to Wet Paint's pet portrait booth at Paws on Grand this Sunday! We're at site 16, on Grand Avenue in Saint Paul! #hainu #flyingdog #toyotomihideyoshi #pawsongrand

This was a response to a transmundane prompt, back when Carson Ellis was doing that. Ah, that was back when Instagram was a nicer place. Does anyone do fun illustration prompts on Bluesky? Any recommendations?

If you live in the Twin Cities and have a long haired dog, bring it to Paws On Grand! i just love painting long haired dogs :) #petportrait #dog #sheepdog #pawsongrand #SaintPaul

This illustration is from the back of the cover of "This Thing Has A Name," and features the canine companion of the main character. My book cover designs often feature illustration on the back as well as the front. #petportrait #dog #bookcover #coverdesign

I draw cats, too (any pet, really) This was a very special commission: a gift request from my daughter, who missed our cat, Dak, while she was studying abroad. #pawsongrand #SaintPaul #cat #catnap #petportrait

I do pet portraits! You can commission a portrait by contacting me here or through my website, www.jinjermarkley.com. I will also be painting lightning pet portrait sketches at Paws on Grand in St. Paul next week: www.grandave.com/events/pawso... #pawsongrand #wetpaintart #petportrait #saintpaul

The Humrichouse Dad hand-built play equipment, gradually adding pieces over the years. To the three Humrichouse daughters, it all added up to magic. So, they commissioned this artwork to say "You made our childhoods magical!" #illustration #idocommissions #picturebook #swings #treehouse #sandbox

Another color experiment inspired by a walk around the block. This time, I made no effort to create the illusion of green trees! #pinktrees

Lately, I've been using scenery paintings as an excuse to explore all sorts of interesting questions. Here, I explore color relativity, especially in context. I used no green or blue: just yellow, black and magenta. #colortheory #colorrelativity #nogreen

Unlike the images my last few posts, I left my own yard to paint this. In fact, I traveled all the way to the end of my block! #watercolor

Auspicious departure. this image is licensable. #illustration #editorial

The top image "Cloudy Sky Through a Dirty Screen Window was my "Rejected from the Minnesota State Fair Fine Arts Competition" piece for this year. It's certainly not the only Work I've drawn of my backyard-- I've included a couple more! #statefairreject

There is nothing quite like hand-painted watercolor lettering. The texture of the paint interacts so charmingly with the shapes of the letters! #handlettering #ILikeMyBike #bikeadvocacy

I do hand lettering. #illustrator #handlettering

Who is in this camp with me? #handlettering #coffeeisNOTlife

Who is in this camp with me? #handlettering #coffeeisNOTlife

I do all kinds of illustration: posters, web icons, lettering and more. My hand-drawn and hand-painted illustrations and lettering communicate warmth, joy and connection, which is how I feel when I'm on a bike :) #bikeadvocacy #handlettering #bicycle

I'm fascinated by the way certain animals become popular, and appear on all sorts of products, then become such overused mascots that their mere presence becomes cringe-y. Sometimes, I just want to draw animals that are unlikely to ever be hip. #animals #tortoise #ostrich #bicycle #bike #icon

More biking animals. These icons were originally created for a bike rental company. #illustration #icon #bicycle #animal

I hand-paint most of my illustrations in watercolor. Then, I prepare them for use! Take these biking animals, for example: they have transparent backgrounds, and would be great as web icons. What a cozy, inviting break from your typical flat vector graphic! #design #illustration #icon

Another cover I created as a personal project. I hand-paint all of my cover art. In this age of digital illustration, 100% hand painted art looks subtly different in a way that draws the eye. #bookcover #handpainted

Another personal project mock book cover. This art is licensable! #bookcover

I appreciate books that tell a good story, explore a new angle and use language artistically, so, of course, I look for covers that tell a story uniquely and beautifully. Which is why I specialize in illustration based covers: I make covers that would make ME pick up a book. #bookcover

Another recent book cover project. I do both traditional hand-lettering and vector lettering. In the case of this cover, I used a standard font that I customized. #bookcover #lettering

A book cover I recently designed and illustrated. #bookcover

The final horse drawing from my previous daily drawing project. Fittingly, riding away. #horse #rideintothesunset

Drawn in watercolor for my daily horse drawing project #horse

A cowgirl to go with yesterday's cowboy. Drawings from my last daily drawing project, which was all horses #horse #cowgirl

About horse drawing. With a bonus human! #horse #cowboy

Another day, another horse (Drawn during my last daily project) #horse #hug

Another horse

A horse drawing from my last 100 day project. #horse #bareback #pinto

A horse drawing from my last 100 day project. He really did have that long of a tail. #horse #inkdrawing #drawwithastick

Another of my favorite horses from my last 100 day project. #horse #jumping #barebackriding

While I wrestle my scenery project back onto the rails, I'll do a review of my favorite drawings from my last project, which was drawing horses. Drawn with a chiseled stick dipped in ink: #horse #drawwithastick

I forgot to post a bunny yesterday, so here are 2. #rabbit #bunny #spring

We're starting to see rabbits all the time: it must be Spring! #rabbit #Spring

Day 3/100 days of scenery I WAS trying to make this be a quick one-scene-day type of project, but I thought this sketch I did a while back would translate nicely as a reduction print. So, I worked out a digital plan during my scenery drawing time. #printmaking #planning #artprocess

Day 2/100 days of scenery #cloudysky #wires #wintertrees