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
illustration
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
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
Patience with Foliage
It is really hard to have patience when trying to capture foliage. There so much out there with such variety of distinct personalities that if that is the only subject you focused on, you would have enough work to tackle over the course of multiple lifetimes. I didn’t really have the patience this morning with … Read More
First Place Award received in the SCBWI Carolinas Annual Art Contest
The prompt was the first paragraph of Alice’s Adventure’s in Wonderland which I absolutely adored tackling. A part of me wanted to make it classic and part of me wanted to see a modern Alice. So after wrestling with it a few weeks, I decided to do both: Illustrate in a classic style, but have the actual … Read More
My Illustration Process
Ok, before I go any further I must step back a bit and talk about process. My process came about due to necessity rather than by an artistic decision. I was asked to illustrate a book while I was in the midst of moving. And I had a two year old. So I really didn’t … Read More