I have a background in fine art and love to incorporate drawings and illustrations in my graphic design work whenever I can. Below are some of my favorite illustrations and art pieces that I’ve created over the past few years.
PBR Art Can Contest 2022
Artwork I created for Pabst Blue Ribbon’s Art Can Contest 2022.
My inspiration behind the piece: “Pabst Blue Ribbon is my favorite beer, my friends always have it waiting for me (with a lime) when I arrive at the bar. When I think of PBR, I think of all the good times I’ve had with my friends while drinking it. This illustration shows three animal friends camping in the desert. The Australian Cattle Dog (Red Heeler) is based on my own dog, Jolene. The gerbil in the bottom left is based on my two gerbils, Thelma and Louise. The toad is not a pet of mine but was chosen because toads are pretty darn cool. I hope you enjoy my illustration and have yourself a root-‘tootin time while drinking Pabst Blue Ribbon. Yeehaw!”
Pet Portraits
A digital illustration of Tallulah, a friend’s dog. Inquiries about pet portrait availability and rates can be emailed to me here.
Inktober
Inktober is a daily drawing challenge in October in which a one-word prompt informs the subject matter of each drawing. These are a few of my favorite sketches from 2020 & 2021. Can you guess what the prompts were?
Sketchbook Studies
Peppers from my garden. Graphite. 2018.
Various studies and sketches. Hands, figures, animals, a still life, and textures. Graphite and charcoal. 2013-2014.
Mixed media
The Traveler. Acrylic, charcoal, and paper collage. 20×11. 2014.
This is a diptych I created with torn magazines, acrylic paint, and charcoal. It is themed around time and seasonal shifts, specifically the cyclical nature of birds migrating in the Fall and Spring.
The red bird is a Scarlet Tanager, which can be found on the East Coast of the United States. I wrote a haiku about the piece during the preliminary stages. It reads,
“Look up at the sky
they float like small leaves above
the time is now, go”
Using this poem as my inspiration, I created sketches of the layout of the piece. I then used torn paper to create the background and the bird.
Sculpture
Rise and Fall. 24 x 24 x 28. 2011.
This is an interactive sculpture I created to visualize my design thinking process. The wooden cage/box was designed, cut, and assembled by hand, using wood, metal hardware, and other materials. The balloons contained various amounts of helium, causing them to float at different heights. The balloons represented different ideas and their level of success during stages of the design thinking process. The viewer approaches the sculpture with the top closed and latched. The viewer can undo the top latch, allowing the balloons to escape. Pinewood, metal hardware, and mixed materials.
Guardian. Metal wire, wood. 24x18x6. 2013.
When creating this sculpture I allowed any existing bends and imperfections in the wire to inform my design decisions. The curves and loops formed a bird-like torso as I manipulated it, and it eventually became a barn owl. The owl now overlooks my garden.
Miranda Estep 