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When my wife was pregnant with our little boy, I made a narrative illustration of us standing in the snow, waiting at the mailbox for a "delivery" as our Christmas card/baby announcement. I had my paintbrushes in hand. She had her pregnant belly. And our bouncy black dog was excited to see what was in the mail.

When I posted it I received a massive outpouring of love toward it, along with requests from people to illustrate their family. So a few paintings later I had a huge portfolio full of family illustrations. Now I work with people around the world constructing personalized quirky artworks for their families as keepsakes/snapshots of a particular moment in their lives.

As for my work process, I email clients a chiseled questionnaire designed to extract the most important details about their bond with each other. Their answers provide the content for the illustration. I love combining my passion for painting with getting to know each family and their unique story. And finally, I use a pencil and watercolor on Arches watercolor paper for all my illustrations.

More info: jrutlandcustoms.com

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I Created A Watercolor Illustration For My Family's Baby Announcement, And Years Later Custom Illustrations Are My Business

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Night Owl
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5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Looks fun; but, being more of an introvert, that would definitely be too crowded for me.

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I Created A Watercolor Illustration For My Family's Baby Announcement, And Years Later Custom Illustrations Are My Business

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Tolga ÜSTÜN
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5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Cheating with mechanical leg when you drink alcohol... "guess I forgot how to dog..."

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I Created A Watercolor Illustration For My Family's Baby Announcement, And Years Later Custom Illustrations Are My Business

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Agnes Jekyll
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5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Aww. This might be the sweetest--just because a family can be a man and his dog.

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I Created A Watercolor Illustration For My Family's Baby Announcement, And Years Later Custom Illustrations Are My Business

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Susann Campbell
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5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This family went to a lot of places in the world and probably helped a village get their very own elephant.

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BusLady
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5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I thought the Tardis was bigger. Oh, wait, that's on the inside.....

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I Created A Watercolor Illustration For My Family's Baby Announcement, And Years Later Custom Illustrations Are My Business

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Agnes Jekyll
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5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Whoa, the style of this one is so different from the others--less cartoon and more portrait--is this an early one?

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Milena Matic
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5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I love the Crock & Hippo dance detail on top of the tent, from Disney's "Fantasia"! <3

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Agnes Jekyll
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5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So sweet--whose are those tiny little hands? (it doesn't matter, but it does beg for a backstory!)

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