Saturday, March 28, 2009

A is for Ape


Above Alphabet Wall Stickers-10 x 10 cm (4"x 4") each sticker.

I have written in my Blog about starting my online shop to sell my art for children. I started my enterprise by creating four nursery wall art prints. When I quickly started selling, I realized, to keep customers interested and coming back, I had to offer a wider range of children's wall art. One product I thought would be great as wall decor was wall stickers. I started with a wall sticker range of five animals, these were nice but a bit small in size. I always wanted to illustrate the alphabet using animals, so, I decided it would be a better to do ABC animal wall stickers. It took me a long time to complete my alphabet wall stiker range. All the animals are handpainted, scanned into the computer and the backgrounds and text are done in photoshop.







Above my wall growth chart - 52" x 12 1/2"(132 x 32 cm)


My animal alphabet has taken on a life on its own. I have created an alphabet wall growth chart, wall stickers and have just licensed my alphabet image to an art canvas reproduction company. I also want to create a few more alphabet products, I won't write about these just yet as I don't want to spoil the surprise!




Above my alphabet image licensed to an art canvas company.

Just to add, my alphabet animal wall stickers are a roaring success, so all the work was worth it!

Saturday, March 21, 2009

I Googled my name.


I Google my name every now and then to see what is out there about me and what links are linking to my site (well that is my excuse!) I found this old article written about my work and my brother- designer Paul Daly. Above is a photo of Paul's bar in London- Zigfrid.

Objectivity

Sunday, September 17, 2000
Michelle Warren

Carla Daly picks her ultimate home accessory for under £500

Grinning cows, googly-eyed sheep, colourful cityscapes and wild redheads all grace the work of Irish artist Carla Daly but, when it came to choosing her object of desire, the illustrator went for something a little more understated. Her choice was a sleek barstool by London-based furniture, product and interior designer Paul Daly. It is no coincidence that both designers have the same last name -- the creative gene runs in the Daly family. Carla, Paul and their mother Joyce are all designers working in different but complimentary disciplines.

The bar stool from Paul's furniture collection, entitled `How can you just leave me standing?' retails for stg£260. The stools are made of mild steel sheet and tube using a construction method called spinning.

Paul Daly has designed furniture and interiors all over the world -- his projects include the Elbow Room in London. In Ireland he designed the interior of the Dublin nightclub Ri Ra in 1993 and worked with U2 on the Zoo and Pop Mart tours.

More recently he worked on the interior of organic restaurant and juice bar Nude on Suffolk Street, where the stools are actually being used.

Carla Daly says she would love to have four to six of the barstools surrounding a high white kitchen counter: "I love kitchens. I think they are a good focus in the house and, ultimately, I would have a large kitchen. I'd love to have Paul's stools in particular, but I would probably go for more of his products as well."

If Daly had it her way, she would finish the look of her "ultimate kitchen" with some of Paul's plastic and steel Yoho lights which retail for stg£290.

"Our stuff is very different, but in my ultimately designed house, I would love to combine some of his stuff with some of my stuff," she said.

While Paul's work is quite slick, Daly's look is more wacky and colourful. She illustrated children's books, magazines and animation before deciding to expand and put her work on everything from mugs, vases, plates, door knobs, wrapping paper, cards and candles to placemats -- everything Irish-made.

Her signature cow motifs have won fans in North America, Britain, Japan and Australia. Daly's work is available at Innen in Dublin and on her recently launched website, www.carladaly.com. She is exhibiting at the Beyond The Hall Door exhibition at the Point Depot in Dublin from September 28 to October 1.

Details of several of Paul Daly's projects and his designs can be found at PaulDaly.com .

Saturday, March 14, 2009

St Patrick's Day


Here in Ireland we are celebrating St Patrick's day on the 17th of March, a great day for the Irish! We all need a boost at the moment with the recession.

So I hope you enjoy the craic (fun) on Paddy's Day. As lots of us in Ireland will be saying- Pionta Guinness, le do thoil (A pint of Guiness, please).

So
a- Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig oraibh! (St. Patrick's Day blessing upon you).



Above are a two nursery art prints I sell from my online shops - CarlaDaly.com and CarlaDaly.co.uk both with an Irish theme. Irish sheep enjoy a jig (Irish dance) and Paddy takes a few tourist on a trip through the Irish countryside.


Monday, March 9, 2009

Licensing My Art.


I am licensing some of my work to a U.K. canvas print reproduction company called Happy Spaces. It has started me thinking about licensing my art. I really love producing and selling my own work but over the years I have thought about getting a licensing agent to sell my art internationally. Every artists dream!

I love thinking of product to produce for my online shop and enjoy the limitations I have with the cost of production and postal sizes. I have to be very creative with what products to produce, cost is always a big issue and all products have to be small and lightweight for posting. All the products I produce are on paper or card, I would love to do work on fabric and ceramic, design bags and bedding, you name it and I would love to create art for it!

I am starting by licensing my art on canvas, and shall see how well Happy Spaces sell my art, but I might start looking for that licensing company to reproduce my art onto all the products that I won't be able to get my creative hands on!

Above is one of the images I am licensing to Happy Spaces.

Monday, March 2, 2009

Growth Charts


I have written about designing and promoting my online shop, I now want to write about my products I sell through my online store. I started my online business producing 30 x 40cm (12" x 16") wall prints for babies nursery rooms and children's bedrooms. I realized very quickly that I needed to offer a wider range of products to my customers.

One product that I was keen to add to my range was illustrated, wall growth charts. The idea of my online shop is to sell affordable art that everyone can enjoy. So, all my products have to be produced for a very reasonable price, have to be lightweight and small for posting. Growth charts are rather large so how would I over come all the above obstacles? I had to design a product that looked great, functioned and could be easily transported.

My first attempt was a paper chart rolled up and posted in a tube. This was okay, but I didn't like that it was rolled and hard for my customer to put up. The second attempt was a folded paper chart which worked really well, but I was not happy that the chart was paper and not really durable enough.
I have finally settled on a durable laminated growth chart. It is printed in sections and reconstructed, so it can fold for posting but when you place your chart on the wall it is just a large piece of fun, functioning wall art!

One of my most popular charts is my giraffe growth chart which you can see here above. I am in the process of painting a new growth chart based on the circus, I will show you the roughs to the final paint stage. It will take a while as it is a large piece of artwork!

Blue Throw Blanket / Kids Throw Blanket /Lion Throw Blanket /

Blue Throw Blanket / Kids Throw Blanket /Lion Throw Blanket / Snorkeling Throw Blanket / Water Throw Blanket I love the use of my art on thi...