Client Spotlight: Buckwalter Veterinary Clinic

We’re excited to share some recent work for Buckwalter Veterinary Clinic, which is an awesome vet practice in Bluffton, SC, offering individualized pet care. This project was made even better as we got to work with a brilliant client who "gets it."

Here’s what Leslie Walsh has done for BVC:

  • Created their identity and branding (this logo is all custom-lettered, and the B icon symbolizes a paw, a heart, and a little hug)

  • Designed their new website in Squarespace: buckwaltervet.com

  • Set up their social media, created posts, and wrote copy

  • Advised on and designed materials for contests (which worked to get reviews up)

  • Created print ads and all of their branded collateral

  • Designed their vinyl window signage and merch

  • Filed their Trademark registration successfully for their pre-existing tagline (not available for this again, but can advise :)

From Leslie:
It's so satisfying to be able to build an identity and brand from the ground up, and this brand is a pretty comprehensive example of what I can do for my Gifted clients.

Click through the carousel to see:

Cheers to 10 years!

Thanks to all of our creatives, clients, and friends for 10 years of collaboration and support! Here's to the next 10, one project at a time!

(Our birthday was actually in April, but better late than never!)

College Presentations

In May and June of 2020, Leslie Walsh and Megan Pelto spoke to students and graduates about their experience as freelancers—to two universities, over three presentations.

It feels like only yesterday we were students at Savannah College of Art and Design (Illustration, '05 and '15, respectively). We remember the feeling of nearing graduation, and are excited for their many future successes.

Congratulations to the grads, and thank you again for having us! 💚

-

Back in the Hive

This evening, Leslie Walsh and Megan Pelto were honored to join a panel of fellow Savannah College of Art and Design alum, giving advice to students and grads on how to enter the freelance market.

Thank you for having us, and thanks for organizing it, Alicia Powers Lee!

💚🐝

From SCAD, to Pratt!

Leslie Walsh and Megan Pelto spoke as guests in Professor Anselm Dästner's class of nearly-graduated Pratt Institute Illustration and Graphic Design students yesterday.

Blueprint for Success

Catherine McGuire will be exhibiting at Blueprint in NYC! 

In her own words:

I got the absolute best news ever last week: I won the Blueprint Shows Young Designers Competition! That means they are providing me with a booth at the show alongside some really, really amazing artists! In this article, I share a bit about how I got here and show you a few pieces of my new work.

(For full post, click here)

For more updates from Catherine, visit her blog: cmcguireillustrations.com and sign up for her email newsletter! 

28576310_973413589487823_8794102322959572516_n.jpg

Oh, Man(drake)!

Anthony Lombardo, Gifted Illustrator, Animator & Fabricator, has a great hand and eye for sculpting. In addition to passion projects like welcometoplainview.com, he creates props and other fabricated pieces. We just love the creepy/cool look of these little mandrakes, not to mention the awesome craftsmanship! 

See more at tonywenttoartschool.com/fabrication Contact Tony for inquiries into existing or commissioned pieces. 

Mandrake by Anthony Lombardo

Mandrake by Anthony Lombardo

archives: Casa de Nala Gallery Show

In 2016, Whitney Williams and Inbal Sella (Gifted Illustrators & Designers), and their friend Jeremiah set out to create a gallery show for the spring graduation season. At the home of their friend in Savannah, GA (and Nala the dog), Casa de Nala was born as a gallery space. 

'Nearly There' was an all-media, one night showcase of local Savannah creatives on Monday, April 11th, 2016, with over 30 talented locals' work displayed. 

original event link

First Fridays at Sulfur Studios in Savannah

Every First Friday of the month, the Starland District of Savannah and ArtRise host an "Art March". Included on this march is Sulfur Studios, where Gifted has had a space since the very beginning. Each ArtMarch, one of our Gifted Creatives represents in the studio, meets people, and sells their beautiful artwork! Keep an eye on our Instagram (@giftedcreative) for upcoming details!

ARTISTS WE'VE SHOWCASED at SULFUR STUDIOS:

Leslie Walsh
Whitney Williams
Inbal Sella
Ellen Manning
Anthony Lombardo
Maryssa Pickett
Kaisha Gwynn
Hannah Legg

Whitney Williams also organized the first gallery show in the 2nd floor annex in May 2016 for the Illustration Senior Show (for graduating SCAD students)!

Images above:
Ellen Manning x3, Kaisha Gwynn x3, Inbal Sella, Anthony Lombardo, Maryssa Pickett, Hannah Legg, Leslie Walsh/Inbal Sella, Whitney Williams, Senior Illustration Show: Leslie, Whitney, Ellen, & Hannah. Leslie, SCAD Professor Julie Lieberman, & Whitney.

Sulfur Studios (Savannah, GA)

We've had a relationship with Sulfur Studios (sulfurstudios.org) in Savannah, GA since before they opened in January 2015. Here are some photos from our first and second store-front studios there, up through May of 2016!

We now keep a spot with Magic Passion Love & Art on the second floor annex. Visit us there on First Fridays in Savannah. 

Stand 4 Forests logo (Dogwood Alliance)

Stand 4 Forests logo created by Leslie Walsh for Dogwood Alliance, whose aim is to protect Southern forests. 

dogwoodalliance.org/stand4forests

dogwoodalliance.org

archives: Megan's work, Toasted (2016)

via Megan Pelto (meganpelto.com)

Toasted

Toasted is my contribution to Yule Log 2016, a collection of short films by a group of animation artists, created by Daniel Savage. I was very honored to be accepted into this years group, check out the amazing site and the rest of the videos at watchyulelog.com! Check out the whole Yule Log 2016 Ensemble which was a Staff Pick on Vimeo! I was also honored that I was chosen as one of this years participants to have my work displayed on Standard Vision's giant Los Angeles billboard. Check out the video below!

"Toasted" by Megan Pelto • https://vimeo.com/226770142

Illustration by Megan Pelto (meganpelto.com)

Illustration by Megan Pelto (meganpelto.com)

archives: Leslie Walsh's paintings at Sulfur Studios

Four of Leslie Walsh's self-portraits at Sulfur Studios for the "Atomic" group show.

Acrylic on found wood and drywall, 2015

 

They are from a series of ~15 paintings, completed within about two weeks in September, 2015. 

 

"Art Decko", group exhibition, Sulfur Studios, SAV, Apr 2016

 

"Carnivale", group exhibition, Sulfur Studios, SAV, Feb 2016

Gifted's "Women Who Draw"

The Women Who Draw website (womenwhodraw.com) and Instagram (@thewomenwhodraw) is ever-gaining popularity by highlighting talented women in illustration. 

We're proud to have three of our artists' work featured on their page! 

 

Megan Pelto • @meganpelto • meganpelto.com • womenwhodraw.com/megan-pelto

Illustration by Megan Pelto featured on Women Who Draw

Illustration by Megan Pelto featured on Women Who Draw

 


Mackenzie Baker • @artbymackenzie • mackenziebakerillustration.com • womenwhodraw.com/mackenzie-baker

Illustration by Mackenzie Baker, featured on Women Who Draw

Illustration by Mackenzie Baker, featured on Women Who Draw

Illustration by Kaisha Gwynn, featured on Women Who Draw

Illustration by Kaisha Gwynn, featured on Women Who Draw

Photographic series by Selena Slack

Selena Slack (selenaslack.com) has been busy shooting several new series. See her website for all of the latest in beautiful photography!

Mackenzie Baker for Stars and Scars

Scars and Stars - by Mackenzie Baker @mackenziebakerillustration, Gifted Illustrator! 
mackenziebakerillustration.com


via Mackenzie:
New graphic I did for Stars and Scars- become a contributor!
・・・
@starsandscarsdotcom
・・・
Contribute to Stars and Scars! Email elyse@starsandscars.com to submit an album review, show review, band interview, or show photos! Not a writer or photographer? We welcome graphic designers, social media mavens, and advertising sales rock stars, too! 🎸⭐️

Mackenzie Baker • Scars and Stars

Anthony welcomes you to Plainview!

Anthony Lombardo, Gifted Illustrator, Animator, & Fabricator (& SCAD grad!), has some exciting work to share about his passion project!
(tonywenttoartschool.com // @tonylikeseggs)

•••

From Anthony:
Welcometoplainview.com is finally live! Head over to the site to read the first page of the comic and watch the introduction animation if you haven't already! Thanks for reading 🌞 ••• Plainview Public Access was Anthony's senior film at SCAD, and is the first installment/preview of a personal project that he is developing called Plainview. "Plainview is an upcoming multi-format webcomic series that follows the residents of the town of Plainview and their sad strange lives." We can't wait to see more!

Pixelation is intended in this world.

Pixelation is intended in this world.

Plainview

Plainview

PlainviewPublicAccess
Plainview credits

Plainview credits

Plainview Public Access Screenshot.jpg

archives: ManiFest - sound healing and a redux

Back in 2015, Gifted Creative Group was presented with an opportunity to take part in a community event by creating branding and posters. 

Matt Duplessie had a vision for ManiFest, and he set up a meeting with Leslie Walsh to discuss bringing it to life. When Leslie heard that it was a sound-healing event, she immediately thought of Whitney Williams, Gifted Illustration Intern at the time — now a Gifted Illustrator & Designer. Whitney created a sound project as a student, titled, Sentient Sound. She was very excited about the project, and joined the team. 

Working with Leslie, Whitney created a hand-lettered identity for ManiFest, as well as a vibrant and beautiful illustration. See Whitney's process images below. Leslie created some smaller pieces of hand-lettered type and we put it all together! 

ManiFest logo sketches by Whitney Williams

ManiFest logo sketches by Whitney Williams

ManiFest logo sketches v2. By Whitney Williams, with creative direction by Leslie Walsh

ManiFest logo sketches v2. By Whitney Williams, with creative direction by Leslie Walsh

ManiFest poster sketches by Whitney Williams.

ManiFest poster sketches by Whitney Williams.

ManiFest color palette options by Whitney Williams

ManiFest color palette options by Whitney Williams

Final ManiFest poster - logo and illustration by Whitney Williams, hand-lettering and creative direction by Leslie Walsh

Final ManiFest poster - logo and illustration by Whitney Williams, hand-lettering and creative direction by Leslie Walsh

Matt Duplessie, organizer of the ManiFest event, said: 

In 2015 I organized a one-day sound healing and consciousness gathering called ManiFest.
Leslie and her designer Whitney Williams worked together to come up with the PERFECT design, logo and poster for
ManiFest, capturing not only the magic and essence of the event, but also helping to draw many people to our event because they said "the poster looked cool so they had to come check it out!"

Not only is Leslie talented at design and consultation, but also in her talents in creating handcrafted typography. A very unique and hard to find service in this digital world!
ManiFest poster in window
Screen Shot 2017-09-21 at 5.39.59 PM.png
Souvenir ManiFest poster post

The following year, there was a plan for a redux. Unfortunately, it didn't manifest, but Whitney did a beautiful job refreshing the branding while maintaining the heritage built for the first event. 

ManiFest brandiing, revisited. Illustration by Whitney Williams, 2016. Savannah Bazaar logo hand-lettered by Leslie Walsh.

ManiFest brandiing, revisited. Illustration by Whitney Williams, 2016. Savannah Bazaar logo hand-lettered by Leslie Walsh.

Great job, Whitney! See more of her work at wwillustration.com!

Mackenzie Baker deserves a cold one!

Mackenzie Baker, Gifted Illustrator, has done it again for Collective Arts Brewing

via Mackenzie:
I teamed up with Collective Arts Brewing to create a new image for Judah and the Lion - check it out on Collective's website as part of Series 8! 
collectiveartsbrewing.com

#collectiveartsbrewing #artplusbrewing #illustration #judahandthelion#illustrator #beer #art #space

Judah & The Lion can illustration by Mackenzie Baker

Judah & The Lion can illustration by Mackenzie Baker

Judah & The Lion can illustration by Mackenzie Baker

Judah & The Lion can illustration by Mackenzie Baker

how: Gypsy World logo - by Leslie Walsh

Did you ever wonder what goes into creating a custom-lettered logo? Well, you're about to find out a little more from Gifted Creative Director & Founder, Leslie Walsh! (lesliewalsh.com)

Our process always begins with a conversation to uncover the client's brand personality, and from there, it's putting pen(cil) to paper. 

Gypsy World logo sketch

Gypsy World logo sketch

From there, we start to refine and simplify the image to get the basic letterform placement down.

Slightly refined sketch, ready for the next phase

Slightly refined sketch, ready for the next phase

This particular logo required an extra step of inking before we went digital. This is a cellphone snap, later cleaned up in Photoshop.

GW_ink
Refined sketch in ink

Refined sketch in ink

A sharpie was used to sketch out the lettering for the subtext, "a vintage boutique" before a selection was made and cleaned up (below).

GW_subtext
Screen Shot 2017-09-21 at 5.49.52 PM.png

Finally, we're ready to start putting it together. Here's the first draft the client saw since sketch phase. 

Digital sketch logo

Digital sketch logo

With a few more tweaks, deleting extra vector points, and making final touches, we're brought to the end result! We went with the green on blue (land on water, to play up the "world" part of the title). 

The final logo, with some added Damask texture wallpaper for depth and a vintage throwback.logo / custom-lettering by Leslie Walsh (lesliewalsh.com)

The final logo, with some added Damask texture wallpaper for depth and a vintage throwback.
logo / custom-lettering by Leslie Walsh (lesliewalsh.com)

Thanks for reading! Let us know if you'd like to see us feature another of our logos' processes!