With the impending arrival of 2026, I took some time to reflect on just how far my artistic abilities have come 🙏 I've still been taking a lot of time to practice color and shading, but for the first time in perhaps a decade, I bothered to pick up the pencil and DRAW this time as well! I was actually pleasantly surprised with the results 🥰
‼️ I would like to begin by stating I did NOT draw the following pictures, save for the very last one. The artwork was taken from two different coloring books, which I will include in this post ‼️
For the next 3 pictures, this is the colouring book that I searched from: https://a.co/d/cB1dAVi
This has been my most recent coloring; I only finished it just last week! 🙇♀️ Most of my colorings are dedicated to the muses that inspired them. In this case, it was the story of baby Alice 🐰
Alice was born January 4th, 2019. Suddenly, a few weeks after Alice was born, her parents were informed that she had a heart defect; she would eventually need a heart transplant. Unfortunately, one did not come in time, and Alice passed away today, on November 14th, 2019.
(Sweet baby Alice... https://www.facebook.com/share/1GpSvMEiGq/)
I wanted to try and imagine who Alice would look like today, as the 6-year-old girl she could have become... She has the most beautiful blue eyes, and I did my best to capture their beauty. The original picture portrayed the girl with skulls, but I edited them to look more like colorful balls.
This picture was simply miscellaneous artwork. I saw the rolling hills of Ireland, and given that I am Irish, I felt inspired to pursue a Celtic theme 🇮🇪 I'm very happy with the color selection, but I believe I could have done more, in terms of shading.
This picture was completed for our youngest daughter's second birthday. She is still a bit too young to appreciate it, but when I revealed it to her, she had a huge smile on her face 🥰 I don't overly enjoy the incorporation of skulls for a birthday picture! but our two girls are huge horror fans. They love Halloween, zombies, and being scared 😂
(Our daughter during her birthday celebration!)
The next two pictures are from this coloring book here: https://a.co/d/4YG4HNF
Another picture that I have dedicated to another young angel 🪽 This was for Luna, a 4-year-old girl who fought so courageously against brain cancer. Unfortunately, she gained her wings after fighting for over 9 months. Her family holds a very special place in my heart, and I continue to follow her mother's journey.
(Source: https://www.facebook.com/share/1D29g73cPr/)
This picture was dedicated to baby Noah 🪽 It was nearly his first Christmas when he unexpectedly passed away in his sleep... Similar to Alice, I tried to capture the 3-year-old boy that Noah would be today. I continue to follow his mother's journey.
(Source: https://www.tiktok.com/@dla.angeles/video/7239523210021244206)
Finally, this is the artwork that I hand drew myself 🙏 This picture is once again dedicated to Luna. I saw a post where her mother had described her eyes as Precious Moments™ eyes. Precious Moments are a popular brand of ceramic children and typically involve Christian themes (baptism, First Communion, etc.). I drew this for Luna's mother shortly after her and her boyfriend had experienced a miscarriage, so that is baby Sol sleeping on the moon 🌙