Happy Memorial Day

What a beautiful weekend. I spent a great day in the studio, finishing up some projects and playing around with new techniques and this is one that I liked (I noodled around with chalk pastels and they were way too messy). I like it.

Although I didn't spend a lot of time on the drawing, I like the direction it was headed and the technique. I drew the picture in pencil, then applied watercolor. After the watercolor dried I went over the color with colored pencil and then a thin black pen. It's cool and added a new dimension to my "usual" illustrations which are typically done in black and white, or colored pencil. The drawing would definitely need more detail, but again, I liked the technique.

Next time I'm going to do the watercolor on top of the colored pencil to see how that looks/feels.

The Artist's Guide: How To Make A Living. Something to think about!

I attended an artist workshop last weekend and the keynote speaker was artist Jackie Battenfield. She is a fantastic speaker and has written a book about her successful art career and how it has afforded her the opportunity to support herself and family through her art! No starving artist here! She was able to go on vacations, put her kids through college etc. all through her art. She wrote a book about it and shares tips for artists who wish to do the same. The link is below.


http://www.artistcareerguide.com/

One point she also made, that I thought was a great idea, was to approach your work from a "project" perspective, that way you might be able to apply for a grant to help pay your expenses and help the community as a whole while you are working. That is something I would never have considered as an illustrator, but I could create a "project" where I work with kids exploring where they live through "art" and then put a show on at a gallery, all the while I'm creating art that I can use elsewhere! I was definitely inspired!