Written by Happy Halloween everyone! Thought it would be fun to do something a little different, so today’s guest post is also a hidden object game created especially for doodlewash.com by the talented Eileen McKenna in Long Island, New York. (follow her blog – My Creative Resolution and on Instagram!). Play the game, and then read on to learn more about Eileen!
There are 28 hidden objects in the doodlewash above, can you find them all?
1. bat | 2. crow | 3. dracula | 4. fido | 5. bones | 6. jack-o-lantern | 7. rose | 8. tombstone | 9. cauldron | 10-11. 2 werewolves | 12. witch | 13. broom | 14. mask | 15. owl | 16-17. 2 sets of eyeballs | 18. ghost | 19. cat | 20. spider | 21. skeleton | 22. fangs | 23. skull | 24. witch’s feet | 25. mummy | 26-27. 2 clawed hands | 28. scarecrow
Eileen is a wife, mother of three, runner, “beach girl,” graphic designer, and artist. She dreamed of majoring in art in college, but instead majored in business. After college, she was working in New York City and knew she needed to work in a more creative job. She started taking graphic design classes and eventually worked her way into a Graphic Design job, and eventually a position as an Art Director. You can view her professional website here!
Three kids later (about 8 years ago) she hadn’t really forgotten about her art school dreams. She really wanted to learn to draw realistically so she signed up for a drawing class. A few classes in, she drew a somewhat realistic brown bear and thought, “I can do this!”
Next, she took a watercolor class and fell in love with watercolor. Eileen says, “I continued taking art classes for a couple of years. Eventually I wanted to do more than what we worked on in class. I wanted to truly be an artist and work on what I found inspiring. And I wanted to develop my own style.”
In December 2013, she says, “I made a resolution, ‘my creative resolution,’ to start living a creative life. I started the blog to hold myself accountable. It was one of the best things I’ve ever done. I felt accountable, so I put in the work and finished projects and followed whatever inspired me. Putting in all the work, helped my style evolve – a mix of watercolor and ink.”
Almost two years later, she’s still going strong. The things she really enjoys and wants to continue with are: illustration, and surface pattern design. She would also like to create more animations.
As for her process, she says, “I’m using my sketchbook now more that ever. I buy one with multimedia paper so I can add watercolor. I found a great Uniball permanent ink gel pen that is so smooth. I love it. I used to think you should be able to draw something once and draw it perfectly.”
“Now I’ll fill a whole page with many versions of the same thing. I’m not stressed about getting it right. Drawing over and over is very meditative. Sometimes these sketches are inspiration for a painting, or I use them to create patterns using Photoshop.”
Even if she’s doing a watercolor painting, she still always have the approach that she’s “playing.” She says, “I let the watercolor mix and bleed and do its thing. I work loose, and I go with it. I rarely ditch a project because it didn’t work out. I try to turn it into something. Maybe it was supposed to be a sunflower but it looks like a feather. I try not to give up on a project, which was something I did all the time before the blog.”
She is really inspired by the seasons and holidays. Last February she committed to posting a Valentine’s Day illustration once a day for 14 days on Instagram. Since then, she’s really embraced whatever is seasonal, and posts almost daily on Instagram within that theme.
“It can be hard to do many illustrations within the same theme,” Eileen says. “But I’ve found after several illustrations, the more creative ideas come. I guess it’s about pushing yourself to think outside the box. This year for Halloween I expanded on the Halloween ‘hidden’ pictures that I created last year, and had a lot of fun with it. That’s the thing about following what inspires you – you surprise yourself by what that thing is and what the results are!”
Thank you so much Eileen for this special Halloween treat! So happy to include you in the doodlewash family, especially since we’re heading into lots of fun holidays! Don’t miss out, and be sure to follow her blog and her Instagram feed for more fabulous art and fun!
Love Eileen’s work. Thanks for sharing more about her from an already fan. 😊
Awesome Jodi! Me too! 😃👍🏻
Adorable work! And what fun to do a hidden object game now that we’d all put Highlights For Children puzzles behind us for a number of years! 🙂
I know right?! This was so fun!! Hehe I was thrilled Eileen did a special one for us! 😃
Teresa – I grew up doing the Highlights hidden picture puzzles. definitely my inspiration! 🙂
So happy to become part of the doodlewash family! Thx for having me Charlie 🙂
So happy you did! 😃❤️It was pleasure to feature you and thanks for the extra Halloween fun my friend!!
Colourful and full of fun! I love these pictures 🙂
Yay! Awesome Kim! Hope you’re having a wonderful Halloween! 😃🎃
Likewise, Charlie 🙂
So glad you liked them Kim! 🙂
I love Eileen’s style especially those swirls. It’s very liberating to paint what you like.
Thank so much Catherine! So fun to be a guest blogger on doodlewash!
Isn’t it?! She really inspires me! Glad you liked the feature!
I love Eileen’s art! And her hidden pictures are so FUN and creative!!! 🎃 Enjoyed learning more about Eileen in your post, Charlie! 😊🎨💚
Thanks Jill! You are the best 🙂
Yay! Thanks Jill!! ❤️This was so much fun to post!! 😃
I love all the Halloween illustrations! Will check out the blog! Thanks! Happy Halloween!
Thanks Kari! Yes come visit 🙂
Awesome!! Thanks Kari!! 😃👍🏻And Happy Halloween to you as well! 😃🎃
So much fun!
Yay! Glad you liked this!
Eileen, I’m so happy you are doodle washed. Your blog is always full of inspiration and beautiful art. Your creative resolutions are inspiring us all. Thank you Charlie.
You’re so welcome! It was an honor to feature Eileen! 😃
Thanks Sharon! You are the best. I so much appreciate your support. 🙂
So neat!
Awesome! Glad you liked this Nicole! 😃
Sweet! Sorry I missed this when it “aired,” but I caught the rerun! Love Eileen – one of my first WordPress friends. She has such character in her lines and perfect choice for Halloween with the illustration and game heading this post off. I found Fido in the window!
You’re going good, Cynthia…just 27 more to go!! 😉Hehe… This post was a blast!! Love Eileen’s work as well, she’s soooo creative, and I was thrilled she made a special doodlewash for the occasion! 😃💕
These are great. Fun and colorful.