Two years down

I cannot tell you how odd this spring has been. I feel like whenever something chaotic happens it's always a few things at once. I have been digging my way to the bottom of the inspiration well so it's that time of year to make a new list of goals to move to the next level of my career.

It has been two years since I graduated and I feel like I have jumped to a better state of mind and style for my work. Of coarse there are many things I need to work on. Starting at the end of this month I will be meeting with a regional critique group that meets at the providence library every monday night. (Hopefully I can make a post in a month or so about what we discuss!) Aside from the cover letters and post cards, I promise I will try my very best to fix some of my spelling and grammar. Its almost ironic that I happened to choose an art field where writing is just as important as the art. YA books have also been a big interest for me. Another goal is to make a reading list of popular series out. I need to get a better idea of whats out there in that age group to help me begin my book cover illustrations. So...now that you heard my little rant here's some eye candy to look foreword too. I remade an illustration done two years from this month. Its more of a study to see how different it would look. For next week...well you should already know what that topic will be!

Lastly, I feel like I should say rest in peace Maurice Sendak. I will always remember you for your work and accomplishments in the children book community.

Jump

If frogs didn't jump they would make pizza....

Summer Post Card

The last few weeks have been so chaotic that I couldn't help but fall into a ball of self doubt when facing my art. A few times a year I always seem to repeat the process. This might sound odd but painting food helps me get past these negative thoughts. Its a way for me to paint and enjoy what im doing without overly thinking about my career or the concept.

So I started with that and then moved onto illustration friday. For heights I wanted to do something with a seagull looking down at a starfish. At that point I painted so many donuts that I just had to add them somehow. Long story short this is now my new post card haha. I will try to get more of my next book idea done. I keep second guessing myself on how to approach the story and characters.

While your waiting....

Today's blog post will be a filler for my work to come. After a chaotic week I didn't get done as much as I wanted to. So i'll to post my larger project next week (book dummy). Thankfully my computer is happy once more. After hours of cleaning it out and using all sorts of weird methods of computer craziness I discovered the problem was a mixture of firefox taking up space and being awful and a corrupt link to my main hardrive. Thankfully I remembered where I put my original apple installation cd and I now use google chrome.

So for today while your waiting (if anyone even looks at my blog) here's a photo of what I carry in my bag. A very fun project inspired by this website. Also another way to procrastinate! I forgot to add my medical bracelet which was in my bag and I obviously couldn't add my camera. Blah!

Easter Week

I know this post is a little late but at least it's still Tuesday. For this week I made my weekly food painting practice's and a quick painting I did for my mom. It has been a busy week but a very fun Easter. Having a niece at the age of two makes life very interesting. One day I will have to make an epic series of illustrations based on the Easters I had as a kid. The day would start with a treasure map filled with clues and riddles to find my Easter basket and eggs on the way. My sister and I were always lucky enough to find live animals in our baskets. Those animals included, baby chickens, ducks, geese, roasters, and rabbits. After a few years we had a small group of barn of animals in my backyard.

Oh! I almost forgot to mention. I'm currently attempting to create a new logo for my name. If all goes well expect to see it within the week. Next week I'll start posting about my latest book dummy :)

Returning Home

Finding a concept for the word return ended up being easier then I thought. Only problem is I changed my mind frequently and became highly distracted. At first I was planning on making a movie scene with ghosts returning from a horror film. Then it turned into returning to the past and looking through old photo albums. Some how it ended up being a chickadee couple relaxing at home by the fire. Seeing frozen little birds huddled together in the cold always makes me think of a warm home they return to (hopefully). Maybe not as extravagant as this but close.

Lastly Im showing some candy paintings I used as practice. It was not fun... Also if you ever need uplifting advice or a word of wisdom check out Melanie Chan's blog. She's an amazing children book illustrator and it's her birthday today! (Show your love by joining her blog!)