Postcard Club Illustrations
At the beginning of 2023, I began a “Postcard Club” with a new illustrated postcard each month.
January was the “Rabbit Moon” postcard. It features rabbits pounding mochi on the moon, according to Japanese folktales.
February’s design was the “Train Commuters” postcard. The train is based on the cute 2-car train that is in our beachside town.
March’s design was from my “Little Prince Book Challenge” series. You can see all 7 works in this series here.
April’s design featured some animal friends enjoying the cherry blossoms. It’s pictured here with the two limited edition paper stickers that were also included in the mailing.
In May, I painted a design with koinobori (鯉のぼり, carp flags) which are flown for Children’s Day in Japan at the beginning of the month. They inspired the postcard design and I painted sparkles on the cards after printing so they would shimmer in the sun like fish scales.
July’s postcard was inspired by summer nights spent admiring lightning bugs/fireflies. My hometown in the mountains of North Carolina is full of cool glowing bugs in the summer, of all different varieties.
September’s postcard featured some “treasure hunters” - a crow and rat friend collecting little treasures. The four corners have something from each season: chestnut for winter, cherry blossom for spring, acorn for fall, and black berry for summer. The mailing also included two paper stickers printed from my watercolor designs.
The November postcard featured some animal friends picking persimmons together! I was thinking about persimmons a lot since they're in season around my house right during the fall, but the trees in the painting also reminded me of apple trees back in my US hometown.
June’s design featured a whimsical imaginary flower shop, based on a real building that I saw on a bike ride.
(pictured below)
August was hot! So this month’s postcard featured an ice cream truck illustration with sweet treats for everyone.
October’s postcard included rat friends trick-or-treating! I imagined them dressing up and visiting the other tree houses in their little forest neighborhood together, like I got to do as a kid on Halloween.
The December postcard featured a holiday friends feast! I hope it makes you feel cozy and think of warm holidays spent around the dinner table with family and friends. There’s room at the table here!
The first postcards made were the “Gingerbread House” the “2023 Nengajo”, though they were not officially part of the postcard club mailing.
Nengajo is a New Years postcard sent to friends and family in Japan. 2023 will be the year of the rabbit, or 卯年, which is why those kanji characters are on the little bunnies’ party hats. Later, this design was updated with an alternate digitally painted option.
