Featuring Mara Penny: check out TWO of her newest, fully illustrated books and her huge bolt fabric collection
Today, we’re delighted to feature our artist Mara Penny, who lives in Oakland, California. I fell in love with her work a few years ago when I spotted her in my courses at Make Art that Sells. She brings a joy to her work and fresh color palettes that are irresistible.
Dive in below and check out TWO of her newest, fully illustrated books and her huge bolt fabric collection (and a peek inside her home!)
Check out Mara’s fully-illustrated brand-new book, Like a Girl (Sterling)
Publishers Weekly writes, “Penny works in stylized collages that distinctively capture the likenesses of the women, who encompass people of varying backgrounds and abilities.”
Above: From Like a Girl(Sterling)
Animation by Natasha Dewitz
The Practical Witch’s Spell Book (Running Press)
The cool part about Mara is that she is able to paint such beautiful and magical subjects as you can see here, in her fully-illustrated book, The Practical Witch’s Spell Book. Her magical style was one of the many things that attracted me to Mara’s work initially, and I was eager for her to get a book that would showcase that part of her work, and so I was delighted when she was commissioned to illustrated this book.
A complete introduction to modern magic and witchcraft with spells and incantations for love, happiness, and success. See interiors below.
One of Mara’s dream projects was to design a bolt fabric collection, and so we were over the moon when she was commissioned to create several lines for the esteemed bolt fabric company Moda. She was asked to illustrate all 50 the United States.
Below, enjoy her first line from the Southwest region, called Desert Song. Mara illustrated the State Birds, State Flowers, and State Maps of Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona for this collection.
Above: Mara was asked to create four different colorways for each pattern, which was a treat for this master colorist!
Mara’s studio
Mara Penny writes, “I have a gallery wall next to my desk that includes a portrait of my grandmother (top left) when she was about my age. That oil painting was my security blanket when I was very little. It was unframed and I would drag it around the house with me. The edges are roughed up and dog-eared. She was an artist, and the first oil painting she made was of an olive tree that hangs next to my desk. My daughter’s name is Olive so it’s a full-circle moment!”
