I'm a varied artist and a self-published, young adult science fiction and fantasy author. I also create fantasy and historically inspired jewellery and digital illustrations & concept art.
Hi, everyone! Thank you for visiting and considering partnering with me on Subscribe Star!
Who Am I:
I am a varied artist. I write, design/create jewellery, and I love to create illustration and concept art. Some of you may even know me elsewhere online: I'm the artist behind Handmaden Designs LLC, the illustrator/concept artist Rilaiss Art, and the indieauthor Laura R. Hepworth. You can expect to see all three of my art loves here on Subscribe Star. A lot of my work (all mediums) is inspired by two things: history and fantasy.
What is my story? I'm the youngest of three and was born in Cork City, Ireland where my parents served as missionaries for 13 years. My artistic journey began when I was 6 and my parents and grandparents gave me a couple of bead kits for Christmas that year. Of all the 'hobbies' my parents had tried to introduce to me, jewellery making was the only one that took hold. It was my love of jewellery that lead me to enroll in GIA's (the Gemological Institute of America) distance learning courses for my Graduate Gemologist and Graduate of Pearls diplomas (both, I'm pleased to say, are very close to completion). I began writing during a difficult time in my life (both physically and emotionally) where I needed an escape, and the Lord gave me that escape through writing Miss Gemquist and the Pearl of Peking allowing me to use jewellery knowledge in a way I'd never before considered. It helped me cope where everyday at my part-time job had become a living nightmare. It allowed me to forget my pain for awhile and set aside the pressures at work from those that seemed unable, or unwilling, to understand the physical limitations I experience as someone who struggles with severe hip dysplasia in both of my hips. It was this writing adventure that then led me to fall in love with digital painting, an art form I'd barely heard of before and previously bluffed my way through years ago in college. Three very different art forms, yet all interwoven.
My goal:
Life as an artist has always been difficult and it's not any different today than it's ever been. There is a very good reason for the well known adage 'starving artist.' It is the rare artist, and only after years of struggle, that can make their living wholly from their work without needing the proverbial 'day-job' to make ends meet. However, that is always the dream.
I would love to have more time to dedicate to my writing and artistic pursuits, with less time spent stressing over bills, looking for 'regular' jobs, or wrapping my head around the ever changing intricacies that is social media and internet marketing. Your support would go a long ways to helping me with this. It would help take some of the pressure off of the 'everyday' needs and allow me more time and freedom to simply create. It means fewer hours spent looking for a day-job my hip dysplasia will allow me to handle, and more hours doing what I love. It means just a little bit more financial stability so that I can continue to bring you more jewellery, more artwork and even art resources, and more stories and worlds for you to explore.
You've got my interest, but how does this work:
So what does this supporting me on Subscribe Star mean for you? Besides my most sincere gratitude and the knowledge that, no matter how small your pledge, that you are helping me to reach for my dreams, you will also get inside access to all sorts of fun content. My Subscribe Star page acts as a blog of sorts for my art/writing and my life as an artist. It is somewhere where I'd also like to build a community with you through the sharing of my work and growing as an artist with your support and ideas.
So how does this work? It's easy! Just pick whichever support level you would like feel works best for you. For that support, you will get to see all sorts of content that I don't share with the public, along with, early access to news and new works! Here's some more of what you can expect if you partner with me in my artistic life journey!
Work-in-progress photos of jewellery and artwork
Sneak peeks at new designs, artwork, or story samples
Short stories
First looks at all new jewellery collections with first dibs purchasing option at a 15% discount.
Behind the scenes look into my process and workspace
Inspiration discussions
Contests and challenges
Polls
Community discussions on art, artists, and writing
Access to the 'Patron Perks' area of my author website
And, in future, I would also like to expand into both the lapidary arts and experiment with creating digital resources for other such as brush packs, fonts, and photo references; all of which will be made available here first!
Thank you!
Subscription Tiers
$2
per month
Pearl
Subscription tiers are a 'pledge what works best for you' system with all tiers receiving access to the same subscriber only content. This content includes, but is not limited to:
early access/first dibs options on new jewellery (with 15% discount).
work-in-progress photos and screenshots of new artwork and jewellery.
updates on all writing projects.
chapter drafts of (select) new stories prior to publication.
digital art resources
access to the 'Patron Perks' area of my author website where you can find fun merchandise related to my art, jewellery, and books.
0 subscribers
Unlock
$5
per month
Black Opal
Subscription tiers are a 'pledge what works best for you' system with all tiers receiving access to the same subscriber only content. This content includes, but is not limited to:
early access/first dibs options on new jewellery (with 15% discount).
work-in-progress photos and screenshots of new artwork and jewellery.
updates on all writing projects.
chapter drafts of (select) new stories prior to publication.
digital art resources
access to the 'Patron Perks' area of my author website where you can find fun merchandise related to my art, jewellery, and books.
0 subscribers
Unlock
$10
per month
Alexandrite
Subscription tiers are a 'pledge what works best for you' system with all tiers receiving access to the same subscriber only content. This content includes, but is not limited to:
early access/first dibs options on new jewellery (with 15% discount).
work-in-progress photos and screenshots of new artwork and jewellery.
updates on all writing projects.
chapter drafts of (select) new stories prior to publication.
digital art resources
access to the 'Patron Perks' area of my author website where you can find fun merchandise related to my art, jewellery, and books.
0 subscribers
Unlock
$25
per month
Star Ruby
Subscription tiers are a 'pledge what works best for you' system with all tiers receiving access to the same subscriber only content. This content includes, but is not limited to:
early access/first dibs options on new jewellery (with 15% discount).
work-in-progress photos and screenshots of new artwork and jewellery.
updates on all writing projects.
chapter drafts of (select) new stories prior to publication.
digital art resources
access to the 'Patron Perks' area of my author website where you can find fun merchandise related to my art, jewellery, and books.
0 subscribers
Unlock
$50
per month
Aetherium
Subscription tiers are a 'pledge what works best for you' system with all tiers receiving access to the same subscriber only content. This content includes, but is not limited to:
early access/first dibs options on new jewellery (with 15% discount).
work-in-progress photos and screenshots of new artwork and jewellery.
updates on all writing projects.
chapter drafts of (select) new stories prior to publication.
digital art resources
access to the 'Patron Perks' area of my author website where you can find fun merchandise related to my art, jewellery, and books.
0 subscribers
Unlock
Welcome
- Chapter drafts of new stories - Access to the 'Patron Perks' area of my author website for fun merchandise
- Work-in-progress pictures and sketches of new jewellery and artwork; free digital art resources
- Early access and first dibs options on all new jewellery (with 15% discount)
See something you like? Subscribe to see even more!
Well, she took longer than planned, but she's finally done!! As a reminder, here is the Artbreeder portrait I made and used as a reference for the painting.
And here's the final painting I made based on it.
Her colouring reminded me of Christmas and, as it was December when I started this painting, I decided to play off of that with the little extras I added of the holly berries and leaves and fur collar.
I honestly don't think I could be happier with the results!
Prints are available on ArtStation. New merch will also be coming to RedBubble. Subscriber-only merch is already available on the Patron Perks area of my author website.
An Inkling of Magic Character Art - Niamh O'Rourke
Okay, so this painting is both early and late. I'd planned to share it in conjunction with the second chapter draft of An Inkling of Magic, but that didn't end up happening for a couple of reasons: 1) the portrait took longer to paint than I had anticipated, and 2) it was planned as part of a set of portraits and I was waiting for both to share both together. However, as other projects (and just plan life) have crowded in to keep me from getting the second portrait painted, I've decided to just go ahead and share each on separately.
So, without further ado, I'd like to introduce you to Niamh O'Rourke!
"Niamh O'Rourke" by Laura Hepworth (Rilaiss Art)
Chapter 2 excerpt:
"Niamh, like her brother, was tall and with the same strikingly blue eyes, but her hair – which was of medium length and cut asymmetrically – was a darker brown except for the last few inches which were dyed a bright blue and tipped with purple and was more wavy than curly."
She's not perfect (I can see some definite areas that could use some adjustment as they still read a little 'flat' to me), but, overall, I'm pretty happy with how she turned out! It'll be neat to do a progress challenge and paint her again some day and compare the two.
The second portrait is still in the works, but, no estimation yet on when it'll be ready to share. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this one!
See something you like? Subscribe to see even more!
Subscribe Now
The subscription gives you:
Access to Star's profile content.
Ability to support your Star by contributing – one-time or recurring.
Means to reaching out to the Star directly via Instant Messenger.
Star Stats
103 posts
Goals
$0.00 of $250
per month
Working as an artist and author is not easy. There are always supplies that need replenishing, new tools to get, tech that goes out of date as soon as you take it out of the box or breaks on you when you can least afford it, and all manner of publishing fees no matter how much you try to do yourself. On top of covering all of this, you also have to find some way to pay your bills and put food on the table. This is the minimum monthly income I need to stop stressing about my bills and the inconsistency of art/book sales and be able to focus more on my art and writing and less on getting 'seen'.
$0.00 of $750
per month
I love what I do and wouldn't want to be doing anything else! Reaching this goal would mean I have successfully achieved the minimum income I need to make a part-time living as an artist/author which will go a long ways to helping me continue to bring you more art and stories. It would also help me to start a fund for replacing worn out/outdated tech so that I can keep creating.
$0.00 of $1,500
per month
Reaching this goal would be truly amazing as this will have meant that I have now reached the minimum income goal I need to be a full-time artist/author! It would also allow me more freedom for trying new things and test out new ideas with you. I would also be able to spend more time creating resources to help others with their art.
$0.00 of $3,000
per month
This goal would be a truly awesome milestone! It would allow me to invest in new materials or software to keep up in an ever advancing and competitive field and be able to attend workshops/seminars to upgrade my skills. All of which means that I can continue to grow as an artist and share that journey with you.
Ability to support your Star by contributing – one-time or recurring.
Means to reaching out to the Star directly via Instant Messenger.
Subscribe
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through this website. Continue to use this website as normal if you agree to the use of cookies. View our Privacy Policy for the details. By choosing "I Accept", you consent to our use of cookies.
Log in
