Just a little practicing as of late….
Watercolor practice
Petite Painting Project
The two faces of Fear in artmaking
A tip of the day from Art and Fear, by David Bayles and Ted Orland: “Fears about artmaking fall into two families: fears about yourself, and fears about your reception by others. In a general way, fears about yourself prevent you from doing your best work, while fears about your reception by others prevent you … Read More
The art of crying tomatoes: Moosejaw madness
So Moosejaw has asked for 10,352 crying tomatoes, if you’re up to the illustration challenge. Artists of all kinds link up their best crying tomato for Moosejaw rewards points. What’s a crying tomato? Why would a tomato cry? Well, this is my best guess…. I’d say that’s a pretty fun way to buy a new tent. … Read More
P3: Month 1 retrospection
Accountability drives the commitment to blogging daily practice. With accountability, I’m driven to make sure the Petite Painting Project keeps moving forward. After all, it’s OUT THERE, not just in my own world….PUBLIC. So here’s the honest truth: I confess and accept that I am human, and P3 will fall by the wayside from time … Read More
Freelancing: What’s in it for me?
There are plenty of resources out there about how to put a price tag on our work. Some metric is lying around out there that perfectly calculates time spent on a project, education and training, taxes (eek!), and just good old fashioned supply and demand (although the truth is, as illustrators, we all offer something completely … Read More
Materials
Materials, from Art and Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland “The materials of art, like the thumbnail sketch, seduce us with their potential. The texture of the paper, the smell of the paint, the weight of the stone – all cast hints and innuendoes, beckoning our fantasies…But where materials have potential, they also have … Read More
Draw (and paint) what you see, not what you know
This is the view from my kitchen window. I love seeing only the tops of houses. It was my favorite thing about city living too – dwelling a few floors up, no ground in sight, only rooftops, windows and sky. like being in your own almost weightless world. The trim around my window is white … Read More
Creativity while travelling
The Petite Painting Project travelled last week. For seven days I was out of my usual creative space with two small children in tow. It was almost next to impossible, but I did it. The posting slowed, but I kept coming back to the paper each day and here’s what I learned. If I don’t … Read More
Adding Ink to Watercolor
“Painting is poetry that is seen and not heard.” Leonardo da Vinci Ink and watercolor are an elegant and often ideal combination. I love the softness of the watercolor paint and the crisp black of ink. Both mediums respect and support the other’s strengths. The ink pen relieves the watercolor of so much detail duty and … Read More
Illustrating with love: lessons learned from Mark Doty and the 2012 SCBWI conference
I have a new favorite book: Still Life with Oysters and Lemon by Mark Doty. Saying that this is my favorite book right now does not do justice to the experience I’ve had with this book, particularly at the timing of when I read it, which happened to be last weekend. Isn’t that a large … Read More
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