Kevenn T. Smith 2/5/24 Kevenn T. Smith 2/5/24

Nothing Wrong With Singing Silly Songs by Kevenn T. Smith

This illustration is another piece that will be featured in my forthcoming Oz book. This is Scraps, the Patchwork Girl of Oz, who debuted in the seventh Oz book by L. Frank Baum, The Patchwork Girl of Oz. Scraps was created by the wife of the wizard, Dr. Pipt, who created the Powder of Life, a magical powder that would bring inanimate objects to life and imbue them with a personality. The Patchwork Girl was intended to be a servant to Margolotte, the wizard's wife, and she had intended to give her brains with only qualities like obedience, amiability, truth, and only a little amount of cleverness.

However, at the time, Dr. Pipt and Margolotte had visitors, a Munchkin boy named Ojo and his uncle. While most of the adults were distracted, Ojo felt sorry for the Patchwork Girl about to be brought to a life of servitude, so he added more cleverness and other qualities from Margolotte's cabinet like judgment, courage, ingenuity, posey, and self reliance. Upon being brought to life, the Patchwork Girl, who came to be named Scraps, said a big NOPE to a life of servitude and joined Ojo on an adventure and eventually settled in the royal palace of the Emerald City as one of its unique celebrities, continuing to be a free spirit who often broke into, song, verse, dance and play.

A refusal to be what those who created her intended. Can't imagine why I would relate to that. She was always my favorite Oz character, and I hope to do her justice in my own book.

Her figural illustration is now available on several products at my Redbubble Store, like t-shirts, sweatshirts, stickers, face masks, kids clothes, hoodies, dresses, socks, tote bags, etc.

It's also available on several black products, if you're like me and like to wear black a lot. In the meantime, please enjoy this illustration here:

“Nothing Wrong With Singing Silly Songs” by Kevenn T. Smith, an illustration of the Patchwork Girl of Oz

Close-up shot of the Patchwork Girl of Oz, Scraps, by Kevenn T. Smith "Nothing Wrong With Singing Silly Songs" by Kevenn T. Smith

Digital Illustration - Photoshop

Kevenn T. Smith 2/10/20 Kevenn T. Smith 2/10/20

Sleigh Ride in Oz by Kevenn T. Smith

It's been a while since I've done artwork involving any of the Oz characters, and this was the perfect time to get back to them. I wanted to create a winter scene with Oz characters because I send out postcards every winter to people on my mailing list - because I can never get it together to send out cards at Christmas time. This way, my cards are a nice bonus at the beginning of the year, and they don't get lost amongst all the other cards people are receiving around the Holidays.

This piece depicts the Cowardly Lion, Dorothy, Toto, the Tin Woodman, the Scarecrow, and Scraps the Patchwork Girl in a royal sled racing through a snowy section of the northern Gilliken Country of Oz. You don't see him, but I imagine that the sled is pulled by the Sawhorse. You can see his hoofprints in the snow, however.

I'm currently working on my own Oz book, and I wanted to begin to find the way that I am going to portray these characters visually in it. I also wanted the art to convey how I envision them not only visually, but something about each of the characters' personalities and essences. My goal is for the book to be the kind of Oz book that I would have loved to read as a boy, that respects the world of Oz as crafted by L. Frank Baum and Ruth Plumly Thompson, whose Oz books I grew up reading, but also has a modern feel and interpretation. I want the book to feel like a balance of utmost respect for the past, but also a pulse on the present. It has been my dream since I was a young boy to make an Oz book. I used to draw up covers for new titles of books that I'd like to see. However, I'd never really had a whole story inside me that I felt that I needed to tell. Until now. Writing a GOOD Oz book is very hard. Writing the kind of Oz book that I like to see, one that mostly takes place in the actual Land of Oz, and making that book GOOD is even harder. Especially if you're trying to honor what has come before, yet also tell a story that has conflict and discovery. I hope readers will feel that my story is a GOOD Oz story, and enjoy the tale as well as the illustrations that I plan on accompanying that story. This will obviously be a labor or love and time, but hopefully the book will be ready to be sent off into the world in the next two years or so. #LoftyGoals

In the meantime, please enjoy this latest illustration. It is available at my Red Bubble store as prints, posters, pillows, ipad cases & skins, laptop cases & skins, mug, tote bags, drawstring bags, zipper pouches, journals and notebooks. Just click on the picture to go there.
"Sleigh Ride in Oz" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©Kevenn T. Smith 2020

This piece is also available in a trimmed format as postcards and greetings cards at my Red Bubble store.

Kevenn T. Smith 11/10/13 Kevenn T. Smith 11/10/13

Holiday Cards by Kevenn T. Smith

Looking for festive Holiday greeting cards? I have two!

The first one, Humphrey & Lucy's Happy Holiday, features precocious pups, Humphrey & Lucy breaking into their presents a little early. It's available on RedBubble.com!
Pencil, ink, Prismacolor color pencils, Photoshop
©Kevenn T. Smith 2013

The other Holiday card I offer is called Shh! Santa Scraps is Sneaking, and features Scraps, the Patchwork Girl of Oz, also available at RedBubble.com!
Pencil, Ink, Prismacolor color pencils
©Kevenn T. Smith 2013

Kevenn T. Smith 12/24/10 Kevenn T. Smith 12/24/10

Shh! Santa Scraps Is Sneaking by Kevenn T. Smith

HAPPY HOLIDAYS! This artcard is my way of saying "thank you" for all the support from so many people that I have been given this past year for my work. It's been quite a year for me, and I am very grateful for what I've been able to accomplish. Whichever of the Holidays you may celebrate this time of year, if any, I hope you find peace and love in your life. Thank you. So please enjoy this illustration of Scraps, the Patchwork Girl of Oz, sneaking as Santa underneath the Christmas tree.

This artcard is available as cards, prints and posters at RedBubble.com!

Kevenn T. Smith 11/16/10 Kevenn T. Smith 11/16/10

Oz Artwork Merchandise by Kevenn T. Smith

Kevenn T. Smith 4/2/09 Kevenn T. Smith 4/2/09

Singular Sensation: Scraps the Patchwork Girl of Oz

This is the first entry in a series of posts I plan on doing for this site that will showcase individual pieces of artwork that are used in larger pieces of work. Some of the pieces I work on are created in a collage-like manner. Creating work in that way allows me options in placement and makes doing things like special effects a lot easier. However, sometimes, the entire drawing doesn't always get showcased, or is showcased at a size that doesn't fully show off all the detail put into it.

This first "singular sensation" is to show off the full rendering of the Patchwork Girl illustration that I created for the title of this site. Now, all the different patterns and colors used in composing Scraps can be seen, all the way down to her shoes. Scraps is my favorite character from the Oz books. I felt that her colorful look and personality was the perfect central face for the first image that shows up on this site.

Scraps, the Patchwork Girl of Oz ©Kevenn T. Smith 2009
Pencils, Ink, Prismacolor Color Pencils, Photoshop, and Adobe Illustrator.
©Kevenn T. Smith 2011
Now available as a t-shirt on RedBubble.com!