restlittleplum

You can call me Taylor. I draw and paint stuff.

[restlittleplum]

I was in the mood to draw a cowboy and who better than Ty from Say the Words by Genny Carrick because I still think about this book. The story was fun, entertaining and yet so emotional.

I'm also trying to get better at drawing cowboy hats, and honestly, it's been a bit of a struggle...

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A little scene from A Duel with the Vampire Lord because it's still rotting my brain. I love this series as I'm reading it. The world building is so interesting, the characters are so enjoyable, and the romance is always so beautifully written. I love reading them in-between the darker fantasy stuff that I tend to read. They're also very bingeable; I literally sat down with this one and read it in 2 days.

This acrylic piece is on a slightly larger scale than what I have been doing, and it's only further proven my belief that I acrylics belong on paper <3 At least for me.

Acrylic on 9x12" watercolor paper.

I am officially licensed to sell art related to this series so check out my Etsy below for some prints and stickers!

Commissions | Etsy | Website | IG | DeviantArt

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A Deal with the Elf King is one of my yearly re-reads. There's something so pleasant about the world building, and sometimes you just need a good fairytale-esque story.

You can find Officially Licensed Prints of this piece on my etsy!

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Ashek from Ensaadi by Elisabeth Wheatley. This is the MMC counterpart to Talitha.

Acrylic on 7x10" watercolor paper.

I'm really having a fun time sketching with acrylics lately. It's nice quick change from my usual oil paintings, and watercolor paintings.

Commissions | Etsy | Website | IG | DeviantArt

[restlittleplum]

Mykkael protecting Princess Anja from an intangible evil she barely understands. To Ride Hell's Chasm by Janny Wurts.

I have a lot of feelings for this book, and it's hard to sum everything up into words. Keep reading if you'd like to see a little of my thoughts on this epic fantasy.

I tried to curb a bit of my perfectionism with this digital painting. I wanted to keep it a little loose, and not over render things like I sometimes tend to do.

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To Ride Hell's Chasm by Janny Wurts

5/5

I had absolutely no expectations when going into this book. I've never read anything from Janny Wurts before, but now I plan on reading many more of her books.

A super short synopsis:

The books starts off with the disappearance of Princess Anja on the eve of her wedding, something that no one in the kingdom could have foreseen. She was dedicated to her people and position, and was ready to be happily wed to an arranged suitor. Hours after her disappearance, strange things begin happening throughout the little kingdom of Sessalie, and the only one who has a inkling of a clue about what could be occurring is an outcast captain of the guard who has a sworn oath directly to the King to protect the crown at all costs. He works against the clock to discover what became of the Princess, and to find out what it is she ran from, even if it means going against the kingdom he swore to serve.

The overall prose and writing of this piece is so beautiful, detailed, and mysterious. There's so much left unsaid, and you as the reader are required to engage a little more with the story to really understand what's going on. The build up of this plot started off a little slow, but when you consider all the pieces that had to be introduced in order for everything to come together, it makes perfect sense. That being said, the book itself takes place over the course of about 5 days, so when things start happening, the plot really picks up and it's difficult to put down.

I personally had a great time with this one. It's a complete standalone, which is always refreshing with all the series I'm currently in the middle of. The world building is pretty good, but even after finishing it, I'm still confused on some of the magical elements. Although that could just be reader-error: I'm sure I'll end up re-reading it in the future and see if I can catch things that I might have missed this time around.

All the characters felt real and believable. There were so many times that I got frustrated at the ignorance of some of the antagonist characters because of how influential they were within the kingdom, and how their ignorance would ignite issues among the citizens. The court politics were written better than most that I've read before. Logistically, everything just made sense. There were also times where I was crying my eyes out because of the tough choices our main characters had to make.

I should also preface by saying this is more of a bittersweet ending and not at all a romance despite the possibility of tropes that can arise from a "bodyguard-type character" and a "damsel-in-distress" type of character. This is where I have to applaud Wurts for her realism: she really sticks true to the laws and rules she establishes for her world building, no matter how harsh or brutal those laws are.

In summary, I was so thoroughly impressed with this despite how long it took me to read. It's not a large book, but the writing was so loaded with detail and implied thoughts that I really had to slow down my already snail-pace reading in order to capture all the information that I could. Overall, I would absolutely recommend this if you are seasoned fantasy reader in need of a standalone that leaves you feeling full and satisfied with an action-packed and heartfelt story.

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Acrylic on 7x10" watercolor paper.

I started reading a little series of fantasy novellas that are about desert kingdoms. I had a great time, and it's a great little pick-me-up. I would consider these Fantasy Romance: overall fantasy world-building and plot are enjoyable, and there is a pretty heavy romantic subplot. I can't wait to continue with the rest of the series.

Since the author isn't really on amazon, she sells through her own website. You can find this series here!

Also, I'm officially sold on using acrylics on watercolor paper <3 They behave exactly how I want them too, and it for some reason, it feels like I can correct little mistakes easier.

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I read Daggerspell by Katharine Kerr a few months ago, and it was kind of a wild ride.

If I'm being completely honest, I would not recommend this one if you are a newbie to fantasy. It's an easy read, so to speak, but there are some old-school fantasy themes that do not read well with a modern lens, and it can get unexpectedly dark especially with the almost optimistic tone that it's written in.

That being said, I went ahead and bought the next 3 books in the series because as a fantasy veteran, I had an absolute blast with this one. I'd like to draw more of the characters when I continue the series.

Oil Pastel on 7x10" mixed media paper.

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[restlittleplum]

Faern, High King of the Eldrena.

He will be in my short story graphic novel that I'm working on. He's the best friend of the male main character. I originally had his story planned first which takes place before the one I'm working on now, but a really intense bout of inspiration hit me with the current story and I've been rolling with it ever since. I have half a mind to finish the short story graphic novel, and hold onto it to finish Faern's story, which will be much longer, and release in chronological order... I also probably have too many plans for stories but it's one of my favorite pastimes.

I had a lot of fun painting this one because I didn't put too much pressure on myself to render a ton of detail. I might end up doing portraits like this for the other main characters.

One of my goals this year is to make more art more frequently, and try to curb some of my perfectionism. Do you have any goals for the year?

Commissions | Website | Etsy | IG | DeviantArt

[restlittleplum]

This little piece was done in acrylic, with very minor touch-ups in colored pencil and digital. I keep getting angry at using acrylics on canvas, but when I use them on paper, the paint behaves exactly how I want it to behave. I think I'll just make an unofficial switch to reserve my canvases for oils, and my cheap watercolor paper for acrylics.

I was in need of a Christmas romance read around the holidays rather than a silly Hallmark movie so I went with Mad About Yule by Genny Carrick. It was super sweet, funny, and heart warming. Carrick has such a strong ability to write characters with great chemistry and believable dialogue.

Next time you need a contemporary rivals-to-lovers romance with a Christmasy atmosphere, I recommend this one.

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[restlittleplum]

Watercolor on 9x12" watercolor paper.

Another little scene from A Turn of Light by Julie E. Czerneda. The villagers are nosy and are eager to learn about Jenn's new friend(s?) since their little Marrowdell never 'welcomes' visitors. And poor Jenn suddenly feels overwhelmed by their stares and finds solace in the stranger who helped her in the river.

I'd love to make as many pieces from this book as I can while I'm on my re-read. The story is one of my absolute favorites, and it never fails to completely transport me while I'm reading.

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I was needing a bit of comfort read so I went and re-read Faceoff by Mari Loyal. I just adore her writing and characters <3

I played with some different brushes in Clip Studio trying to get a more somewhat-traditional art look but I was too detailed here and it didn't come out quite as I had hoped. I'll keep experimenting more until I get a look that I'm satisfied with without totally changing my digital painting process.

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A little study of some characters I want to include in a large piece sometime in the future.

Oil on 12x16" canvas

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[restlittleplum]

Acrylic and Oil on 12x16 canvas.

I finished this piece a couple of months ago for a little show at my work. I really like how it turned out; I think it's one of my favorite oil paintings as of late.

I've been changing up my usual process to help speed up my painting time, and it's working so far.

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I had the privilege of receiving yet another ARC from the wonderful Mari Loyal for her newest romance Mistlefoe. If you are interested, I will post a little review down below.

Hope everyone is doing well!

Friendly reminder that I have commissions open~

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Mistlefoe by Mari Loyal

5/5

I have never been one to read Christmas-themed books, but I absolutely had to read this one because the amazing Mari Loyal wrote it. And I am so glad I did! I was absolutely giggling and kicking my feet while reading this. Our MMC is Connor (from Face-Off) who is a retired pro-hockey player, and our FMC is Sierra, a fiery baseball fanatic. As usual, Loyal writes such amazing character chemistry. The banter and tension between these two is simply *chef's kiss*. They both develop as characters in such a cohesive and believable way. This is a pretty light-hearted story: in other words, there isn't a lot of drama from outside forces, or unnecessary rivalries between the women in the workplace. This really felt like a breath of fresh air. This is a perfect read if you are needing something soft, warm, and a little Christmasy in your life. As always, this is a closed-door romance with some steamy kisses, but nothing explicit.

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I've been re-reading one of my favorite books, A Turn of Light by Julie Czerneda, and I am having the greatest time. There are so many little scenes and moments that I want to illustrate and just need the time.

In this particular scene, our main character is making her way to the river with a friend to see Wen Treff, a side character that nobody seems to understand and tends to leave her to her own devices. Wen here is having a very important discussion with the fish, and our main character waits patiently for her to finish before inquiring upon her request.

"Wen Treff stood bent in the shallows, skirt hitched to her thighs, her mass of brown curls dusted with cobwebs and pollen. Her gaze was fixed on something in the water."

I'm not super comfortable working with oil pastels just yet, but I've been having a lot of fun experimenting with them, and love the impressionistic style you can achieve with them. I did some very minor digital touch ups, but tried to keep the everything as traditional as possible. I think it's good when things aren't always perfect.

P.S. I've updated some of my commission info which you can check out on my website.

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Had the privilege of reviewing Cinnamon Roll Set-Up as an ARC, and adored it! If you are interested, I'll post my full review down below.

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Cinnamon Roll Set-Up by Genny Carrick

4.75/5

This is a closed-door romantic comedy about a girl trying to set-up her best guy friend up on dates but he is secretly in love with her.

I had an amazing time with this book! Friends-to-lovers remains one of my favorite tropes, and this book is part of the reason why. The angst, the pining, and the emotions are all so beautifully written.

He's been in love with her for ages, and she oblivious (until she's not). He owns the bookshop they both work in, but they have a very strong friendship outside of work so the "power dynamic" doesn't feel icky at all. She's also a part time illustrator but loves living and working in their small town. This book is a part of standalone series set in the fall, but none of the books are connected so you can really pick up any that you want and read it as is. The fall vibes in this one are also immaculate.

All the characters and their motivations are very believable. I felt totally immersed in this little town, and now I'm gonna have to read the rest of Carrick's books that take place here. There's also a very lovable side character that I was rooting so hard for, and was so excited to see his little side story.

This was such a fun little read apart from my heavier fantasy books that I normally partake in. If I was a fast reader, I would say this was a great afternoon read. Unfortunately I read slower than molasses so this took me a few days. But I had a great time!

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A little study of my original characters for my novel I've been slowly working on. I had the idea to make into a graphic novel instead, but am having doing the actual writing part so I'll more than likely keep the written version for myself and send the graphic novel out into the world <3

I have a backlog of pieces from 2024 that I always forget to post here so I will do my best to catch you up.

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