Cupcakes, Cupcakes, Cupcakes!

Cupcakes are these little morsels of joy. They’re sweet and beautiful and fun and yummy. Cake feels like this overwhelming monstrosity when you compare it to the perfect little package that is a cupcake. I love cupcakes, especially the cupcakes that are made at Gold Mine Cupcakes in downtown Golden… so delicious!

We ran into the entire family who runs the business when we were making our way around Golden giving free hugs on Valentine’s Day. They were so excited about us spreading the love that they invited us in for free cupcakes! We started chatting about my world maps and they mentioned that they had been wanting a world map bulletin board because they want their customers to be able to pin where they’re from, since they get visitors from all corners of the world.

My favorite moment as a world map artist is when I get inspiration for a new map because of a connection I made with someone, focusing on a topic about which they are totally passionate…. like cupcakes!

I mentioned that any of my world maps can be printed as a bulletin board and I promised them I would design a special piece of art just for them. I went home and immediately started drawing. I’m not sure yet what the final product is going to look like - I might make a couple different designs but for now I’m just submerging myself in the art of cupcakes - hand drawn, digitally colored and creating super fun and funky collaged cupcakes. Other ideas for artsy cupcakes are welcome. Throw them my way!! Better yet, send me your own cupcake artwork and I’ll add it to the map!

Here’s what I have up to now… this is just the start. I want to make a hundred more cupcakes with paint and collage. Stay tuned.

So, first I draw cupcakes in my sketch book. Then…

I photograph my sketch book and bring that into the Paper app on my iPad and use my Apple pencil to add color.

Then I can play around with color on my computer. How’s that for mixed media!