Illustration Friday

I decided to try Illustration Friday and this weeks word is "trail". I actually created two illustrations, this is the first one I completed. Definition for this picture:

a. A mark, trace, course, or path left by a moving body. The act of trailing. The fly is on a completely different "trail" (ha, ha, ha) - Oh Nooooo . . .

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!

Happy Friday!

Greater Hartford Arts Council

The seminar I attended Saturday was FANTASTIC. It was so well run, and so informative that I left the day feeling totally energized to be an artist. It also offered a fantastic opportunity to network and practice networking.

Some of my takeaways:
- Most artists have "hybrid" careers - one job to make the money, tons of other little jobs to execute their craft. Made me feel good that that's what folks do. It's hard to earn a living off of one thing.

- The seminar reinforced that ART SELLS PRODUCTS - hello, why are you attracted to that CD label, cereal box, wine label??? It's because the ART captures your attention. The world revolves around ART!!! We can't forget that!

- As artists we need to build our own communities for support and empowerment. Get your inner circle going and meet on a regular basis to brainstorm, critique each others work, provide support and share resources etc.

The keynote speaker was James Grace, an attorney (and author among other things) who founded the volunteer lawyers for the arts of mass. he was fantastic. He talked about a program he pulled together called the "Artists Professional Toolbox" its a program that helps artists develop the skills they need to move to the next level of their career and realize their dreams. it's definitely worth checking out. My take away from his speech was profound, and yet very simple. As we move ahead along our artistic journey, we need to remember that we are, and seek out opportunities to be:

- an artist
- a person
- a small business
- an agent for change
- a Community member/leader

My head is still buzzing! The next workshop is scheduled for May 1 in North Haven. I'm signed up and ready to roll. Go here for more info: www.letsgoarts.org

Morning Sketches

I love it when I can wake up before anyone in the house and go to my studio/office and draw. This morning is one of those days. I was able to get these three drawings out of my head. It's a great way to get the creative juices flowing.

I especially like the barrel of Monkeys, I think I'll take that one a step further and refine it. It makes me laugh. The Ladybug drawing was in my head yesterday but as you can see with my post yesterday, I executed it in illustrator versus my handy black pens. The drawing of the bashful girl is loosely based on the four year old who is presently asleep in her room. She still has crazy hair, the haircut she gave herself last year (the Mullet!) is slowly, slowly, slowly growing out. Thank goodness.

I'm going to a seminar in Hartford today "Business Strategies for visual artists" I'm very excited to network and learn some stuff. I'll definitely post anything that I've learned. So stay tuned.

Happy Friday