Darling Illustrations | Queer Artist, Storyteller and Illustrator
Telling queer stories of hope through paintings, cards, stickers, art-prints
Every February I add a new batch of portraits to my collection of Affectionate Animal couples. When I started this project, I felt there wasn’t enough representation of LGBT+ couples. I hoped my art would illustrate the whimsical and timeless aspects of queer connections. I pour so much of myself into these critters, and it warms my heart to see how many people from all walks of life see themselves or their loved ones in these portraits, as well. Love connects and unifies us. (more…)
I have new paintings available for you! If you are supporting my Patreon, you’ll get these images featured on your perks for December. Art prints, originals and Nutcracker stickers and notecards are also available in my shop. (more…)
I want both my work and my kids to matter to me, but it’s so hard to balance. And hard to describe. And yes I know “it’s hard” is such a bland sentence. How about, “I feel like I’m dying, trying to do it all without fucking things up.” Maybe I should tell myself some saccharine line I don’t really feel. “It’s not your job to hold the world together. Everything will be ok. Just relax your grip. Don’t hold on so tight.”
Oh yeah. Why do I hold on so tight? (more…)
Animals have a unique way of capturing different aspects of the human spirit. They have been present in our myths and fairytales from the dawn of civilization. Some cultures uphold certain animals and villainize others, but what’s fascinating is the archetypes for each animal retain the same symbolism across history and culture. (more…)
I’ve loved rainbows my whole life. As a Christian, they were a symbol of hope, that God would not destroy me but carry me through the storm.
When I was coming to terms with being queer, one of the hugest hurtles for me was the question of faith. Did my sexual orientation condemn me? Or was it the dogmatic fundamentalists in my life who had perverted the true nature of Christian love? (more…)
This is a guest post by Justine Done. She is a single mom of two children. When she submitted her photos to me last year to be considered for my Mother’s Day series, she sent a heartfelt email along with the images. Her words are as follows.
I recently went through a divorce (“recent” meaning two years) but it still feels recent, and when we parted for the last time, I sent him all the pictures I had of him and the kids. Probably a few hundred. Candid. Beautiful. Every bonding moment between my children and their father.
He had none of me and the littles, which I expected. No candid pictures, no random snippets he thought worth capturing behind the scenes, not even from the day our daughter was born. (more…)
Last year, I put out a call for submissions and received dozens of heart warming snapshots, expressing moments of motherhood. One year later, these paintings are now complete just in time to share with you for Mother’s Day! (more…)
Did you know that “littering” wasn’t a thing until corporations started blaming consumers for the messes they created? I know. When I first heard about this, it blew my mind.
Why do we package our most perishable items with materials that take centuries to biodegrade? It’s not enough to rinse and sort and recycle our garbage. We are still making so much waste that the countries who used to process it for us have started turning us away.
So what can we do? (more…)
I started online dating. My app showed over 1,000 people who wanted to bang me, even though, when it came down to it, 99% of them never wanted to talk to me. I get it. A lot of us are just looking for the fantasy of something new, but meeting someone you actually care about is not as easy as a few swipes might make it seem.
I want to bang, too, but I want to bang someone I love. And love costs a lot. I wasn’t sure I could afford risking a mistake, especially not after my last broken heart. And I felt like my life was one wrong move away from spiraling out of control, and the only thing keeping it tethered was my ability to dig deep and find the will to keep going. (more…)
A couple months ago, I was sitting in church and listening to the worship band play. My mind wandered to Easter, to brightly colored PAAS easter eggs, to food coloring infused candy and I thought: why not embrace it? Why not embrace all of it and paint a series about the PAAS Easter Eggs all grown up? (more…)