Melissa Sue Stanley's avatar

Melissa Sue Stanley

@melissasuestanley.bsky.social

328 followers 317 following 356 posts

Illustrator in Chicago creating a fantastical travel guide.
Looking for the circular tread back to Gormenghast.
โœจ MelissaSueStanley.com
๐Ÿ’Œ MelissaStanleyArt@gmail.com


Reposted by Melissa Sue Stanley

Harebrained's avatar Harebrained @harebrained.bsky.social
[ View ]

Make some noise for the Chicago Cicadas! Much like our other sports teams, I was told they would be much more dominant this year.

2 replies 2 reposts 7 likes


Melissa Sue Stanley's avatar Melissa Sue Stanley @melissasuestanley.bsky.social
[ View ]

If you missed a Baba Yaga Chicken Shack, there's a whole flock ready for ya now!
www.melissasuestanley.com/shop

AND ๐ŸŽ‰ SALE ๐ŸŽ‰ for a bit because I'm in vacation mode. Use code VACATIONBRAIN for 12% off this weekend.

1 replies 16 reposts 33 likes


Melissa Sue Stanley's avatar Melissa Sue Stanley @melissasuestanley.bsky.social
[ View ]

Ah!! Thanks I'll update that. (It's @melissa_sue_stanley at IG ๐Ÿฉท)

1 replies 0 reposts 1 likes


Melissa Sue Stanley's avatar Melissa Sue Stanley @melissasuestanley.bsky.social
[ View ]

If you missed a Baba Yaga Chicken Shack, there's a whole flock ready for ya now!
www.melissasuestanley.com/shop

AND ๐ŸŽ‰ SALE ๐ŸŽ‰ for a bit because I'm in vacation mode. Use code VACATIONBRAIN for 12% off this weekend.

1 replies 16 reposts 33 likes


Melissa Sue Stanley's avatar Melissa Sue Stanley @melissasuestanley.bsky.social
[ View ]

I keep saying it's my favorite comic movie and people never like that statement but oh well.

0 replies 0 reposts 1 likes


Reposted by Melissa Sue Stanley

Reposted by Melissa Sue Stanley

Jason, ex Inferis's avatar Jason, ex Inferis @benedictsred.bsky.social
[ View ]

Every album from The Decemberists

34 replies 699 reposts 3011 likes


Reposted by Melissa Sue Stanley

Sasha R. Jones's avatar Sasha R. Jones @sasharjones.bsky.social
[ View ]

โ–ช๏ธ Black Posca Hare โ–ช๏ธ
posca marker and collage on 6" x 10" reclaimed wood panel

This and a bunch of other new originals are part of my big annual sale at www.sasharjones.com/store ๐Ÿ‡

1 replies 33 reposts 95 likes


Reposted by Melissa Sue Stanley

Reposted by Melissa Sue Stanley

Marie Enger's avatar Marie Enger @soengery.bsky.social
[ View ]

Got a medical bill thatโ€™s either 1200 or 5k depending on how insurance shakes out and NGL, both those sums are too rich for my blood so if you were looking for a shirt or a book or an illustratorโ€ฆ

Soengery.com

1 replies 115 reposts 120 likes


Reposted by Melissa Sue Stanley

Melissa Sue Stanley's avatar Melissa Sue Stanley @melissasuestanley.bsky.social
[ View ]

Spoilers... ๐ŸŒผ๐Ÿ๐ŸŒผ๐Ÿ๐ŸŒผ Enchanted Brush opens June 17th at the Mazza Museum of children's book art in Findlay OH. (I'll share the whole painting and my statement around then... โค๏ธ)

1 replies 1 reposts 5 likes


Melissa Sue Stanley's avatar Melissa Sue Stanley @melissasuestanley.bsky.social
[ View ]

"There are two challenges:
~Creating a high-quality, narrative illustration about calmness...
~Painting a character usually associated with pacifism - in 2024. I don't want to convey a message of "this is fine" when things are overwhelmingly not fine."

Patreon.com/posts/ferdinand-hero-104760013

0 replies 1 reposts 7 likes


Melissa Sue Stanley's avatar Melissa Sue Stanley @melissasuestanley.bsky.social
[ View ]

The story of this book is so great - definitely worth a reading into.

0 replies 0 reposts 1 likes


Melissa Sue Stanley's avatar Melissa Sue Stanley @melissasuestanley.bsky.social
[ View ]

Always a delight seeing things pop up with wild synchronicity in the timeline ๐Ÿ˜„ ๐Ÿ‚ ๐Ÿ ๐ŸŒผ I just got home from delivering my Ferdinand painting to the Mazza Museum in Ohio, for Enchanted Brush 2024 ๐ŸŽ‰

0 replies 0 reposts 3 likes


Melissa Sue Stanley's avatar Melissa Sue Stanley @melissasuestanley.bsky.social
[ View ]

I got exactly this far and probably will go no further lol

1 replies 0 reposts 2 likes


Reposted by Melissa Sue Stanley

Megan Wyreweden's avatar Megan Wyreweden @thecreepingmoon.bsky.social
[ View ]

Introducing The Voyager watercolor sketchbook ๐Ÿ’™๐Ÿ’› after many months of development these are finally here! A tiny passport sized sketchbook containing 300gsm cold press watercolor paper - perfect for travel or plein air :)

1 replies 5 reposts 13 likes


Reposted by Melissa Sue Stanley

Jeff Miracola's avatar Jeff Miracola @jeffmiracola.bsky.social
[ View ]

Weโ€™re only 1 week away from our 2024 Fantasy Art Workshop Illustration Intensive. Iโ€™m so excited for us all to get together and create art! Weโ€™ve got amazing guests and faculty. Guess what? We already have our dates for next yearโ€™s workshop. Mark your calendar. Weโ€™ll be returning June 16-20, 2025.

0 replies 2 reposts 2 likes


Melissa Sue Stanley's avatar Melissa Sue Stanley @melissasuestanley.bsky.social
[ View ]

I miss life-drawing so much, but it's not easy in my neighborhood. I spent so many Wednesday and Friday nights of my early years at the DuPage Art League, drinking 50-cent diet cokes and watching Bill paint. Managing a portrait thing in Chicago seems... blerrrrrg.

0 replies 1 reposts 8 likes


Reposted by Melissa Sue Stanley

Reposted by Melissa Sue Stanley

Melissa Sue Stanley's avatar Melissa Sue Stanley @melissasuestanley.bsky.social
[ View ]

Also, fans gotta know this exists: my husband bought this book for me for my birthday last year and it's exquisite.

0 replies 0 reposts 11 likes


Melissa Sue Stanley's avatar Melissa Sue Stanley @melissasuestanley.bsky.social
[ View ]

It's on the youtubes, I seem to watch it twice a year or so ๐Ÿ˜…

0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes


Reposted by Melissa Sue Stanley

Sarah J. Jackson's avatar Sarah J. Jackson @sjjphd.bsky.social
[ View ]

Got to Settings -> Moderation -> Advanced A bunch of stuff there I hadnโ€™t seen before, much of it automatically toggled to โ€œHideโ€

1 replies 102 reposts 140 likes


Melissa Sue Stanley's avatar Melissa Sue Stanley @melissasuestanley.bsky.social
[ View ]

"There are two challenges:
~Creating a high-quality, narrative illustration about calmness...
~Painting a character usually associated with pacifism - in 2024. I don't want to convey a message of "this is fine" when things are overwhelmingly not fine."

Patreon.com/posts/ferdinand-hero-104760013

0 replies 1 reposts 7 likes


Reposted by Melissa Sue Stanley

J. B. Bartram's avatar J. B. Bartram @jbbartram.bsky.social
[ View ]

Finished up some Loon Bird Ladies today! Very happy to be making them again (itโ€™s beenโ€ฆat least a year, I think?)!

2 replies 14 reposts 50 likes


Melissa Sue Stanley's avatar Melissa Sue Stanley @melissasuestanley.bsky.social
[ View ]

I didn't know it was World Bee Day, just a coincidence that I'm doing bee studies all afternoon ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ

0 replies 0 reposts 4 likes


Melissa Sue Stanley's avatar Melissa Sue Stanley @melissasuestanley.bsky.social
[ View ]

Speaking of chicken shacks...

This cozy witch hut has a thatched roof and a stone fireplace in the back. Only bites occasionally, loves to eat cicadas in the garden.
(also, on sale now at melissasuestanley.com/shop)

Cosclay, wire, glass, watercolors + acrylics

0 replies 12 reposts 32 likes


Melissa Sue Stanley's avatar Melissa Sue Stanley @melissasuestanley.bsky.social
[ View ]

Oh same and I'm having a great time with it, lol. A couple years ago I realized it was OK to just write short stories where everyone has a good time, and I've been loving it ๐Ÿ˜†

1 replies 0 reposts 2 likes


Melissa Sue Stanley's avatar Melissa Sue Stanley @melissasuestanley.bsky.social
[ View ]

So the camera on my phone died, seems like a good time to dredge the archives. This is a soft-sculpture I made at least 17 years ago? It was the beginning of my writing on the origin of the chicken-legged hut. She's feeding them shells from the 2007 Brood XIII that I delicately stitched on her hand.

0 replies 8 reposts 20 likes


Melissa Sue Stanley's avatar Melissa Sue Stanley @melissasuestanley.bsky.social
[ View ]

Thinking about setting up $5 back alley tarot readings during this weekend's giant fancy neighborhood garage sale. Worst idea ever?

1 replies 0 reposts 4 likes


Melissa Sue Stanley's avatar Melissa Sue Stanley @melissasuestanley.bsky.social
[ View ]

For the most part, the world of the Woolbeasts is pretty quiet and cozy. There are a few exceptions: The Grems are little guys that work in the garden all day, pulling weeds and yelling, and then spend all night in the Brewery, pulling drafts and yelling. Friendly, but a rowdy bunch.

0 replies 3 reposts 17 likes


Melissa Sue Stanley's avatar Melissa Sue Stanley @melissasuestanley.bsky.social
[ View ]

Oh that reminds me: If you missed the Baba Yaga Chicken Shack kickstarter, there will be a big shop update in โญ๏ธJuneโญ๏ธ with patches, stickers, and drawings.

0 replies 3 reposts 15 likes


Melissa Sue Stanley's avatar Melissa Sue Stanley @melissasuestanley.bsky.social
[ View ]

...someone wrote a book specifically for me and my interests? Nice.

1 replies 0 reposts 3 likes


Melissa Sue Stanley's avatar Melissa Sue Stanley @melissasuestanley.bsky.social
[ View ]

โญ๏ธ I don't have any grimoires, but I sure do have a lot of cookbooks.โญ๏ธ "Kitchen Witch" (Virgo) was painted for the Changeling Art Collective Woven Path Tarot ~ watercolor + gouache.

0 replies 0 reposts 4 likes


Melissa Sue Stanley's avatar Melissa Sue Stanley @melissasuestanley.bsky.social
[ View ]

Just my luck, the ship can only sustain one hologram at a time and the spot's been taken already.

0 replies 0 reposts 1 likes


Melissa Sue Stanley's avatar Melissa Sue Stanley @melissasuestanley.bsky.social
[ View ]

If you were outrageously absurdly rich you could just hire Stephen Fry to show up and read to you from a comfy chair.

1 replies 0 reposts 2 likes