One Thing a Day (OTAD) is working well. I'm moving on to revamping my website and creating some new paintings that will go up as portfolio pieces ( they will also be for sale in Providence at Craftland).
Above is an image from...ooooh, 2004? It was my sophomore year final for my first oil painting class. A little different from my current work, isn't t?
Well, it's my day off and I've watched my episode of Hell's Kitchen on Hulu and managed to roll over my toe with my office chair. Hard to believe that August is right around the corner, especially since it felt like summer in a way passed us by. It's been so cool and rainy that you wonder if next month will fade willingly into Fall or if August will try to cram all the heat and sun it can.
I'm getting ready for two shows- one in August in Santa Monica based off of the theme "Toy", and one at 1301 Gallery in Omaha for September. Since teaching in the Summer takes a lot of time away from marketing, I look forward to getting new mailers out around this time of year. I've already decided on the images- one will be the Sonic Youth piece created for Plan B (which is for sale in my etsy store) while the other will be a masked guitarist for the tween/teen market. Hope to get those images up in the next couple of weeks as well as some new paintings.
If you were to shoot back to the early 90’s, the freelance illustration world would seem very different. Artists were dropping off portfolios around the clock only to turn around and pick them up at the end of the day or the follwoing week. New York City was the place to live and get in touch with Art Directors. Thankfully, the Internet decided to come along and things became a lot easier. Artists could set up a website for AD's to visit at their leisure, and the blessing of email made sending information and finished illos a breeze. Furthermore, artists no longer had to be in The Big Apple if they wanted to work for top companies. Whether you lived in Juno, Alaska, or right by Times Square, one could take a stab at doing freelance from any corner of the world. It’s 2009 now, and illustrators' bios put them all over the globe. Plenty are still in New York City, and I asked many of my illustration colleagues and friends what it’s like to be an illustrator in NYC today, and more importantly, do they think it’s necessary in this industry?
Please note that this article is about freelance illustration only (editorial, book, etc) and excludes artists who are interested in the gallery scene (that’s a whole ’nother ball game!).
I thought when I asked my New York friends about working in the city most would be more than happy to say that nothing could replace being so close to such an illustration hub. Imagine my surprise when quite a few said that they had never met any of the AD’s they’ve worked with in person, that direct mailers and a personal website were still their way to get their name (and artwork) out there. One cannot argue that the networking abilities in places like NYC are grand. The possibility of running into a friend, or a friend of a friend who knows a guy at so and so company who needs an illustrator will be greater when you’re sipping a $14 martini downtown rather than where my parents are at in Aledo, Texas. Of course, this means that you have to be a little outgoing and willing to seize those chances. New York can’t help you unless you leave the apartment, you know, or at least keep your ears open.
Things on my mind about taking the NYC plunge!
1) The illustrators I asked all said the same thing: they like The City. They love the energy. However, no one said that their location was about providing an increase in work- it was just about preference. One top illustrator said that you should really work wherever you are happy and inspired. For him it just happened to be Brooklyn, but for someone else it may be a small town in Montana. NYC and it's surrounding areas are perfect for some, Hell to others.
2) Remember that the pay is the same for freelance jobs no matter where you are based. A $1500 check for me in Providence lasts a lot longer than it would for my Park Slope friend. Of course, this goes back to the idea that living in NYC would result in more opportunities, but even if you were so lucky, are you breaking even with the increase of living cost?
Food for thought my illustrator friends- I would love to hear your opinions and feedback. Rest assure that many of my illustration buddies and acquaintances are happy to have NYC as their playground and wouldn’t trade it for anything. For those of us not lining up to move anytime soon, a computer, scanner, and Internet connection are all you need to poke an AD. Good luck!
It's a quiet, cloudy Thursday- perfect for a sweatpants-kind-a-day of preparing for the Surtex stationary and licensing show in NYC this Sunday. I'm hoping to have three custom "packages" for Dark Horse, Chronicle, and Lilla Rogers Studio, and then I'll be making some simpler packets for other people I run into during the show (and by packets I mean let's put all my 4"x6" mailers in a clear envelope and hope art directors don't chuck them in the trash the first moment they get).
I went last year and it definitely was a crazy time. First of all- it's HUGE. I've never seen a more concentrated grouping of patchwork snowmen, beach landscapes, and cute critters trying to teach me my ABC's. I'm crossing my fingers and wearing walking shoes. Wish me luck!
Hey look, a band you've actually HEARD of! Is Sonic Youth still kickin' it? Good for them. I remember them back in the 90's when I was still in elementary school playing four square and wearing stirrup pants.
This will be a spread for Plan B, so of course I'm very excited to see it published. The process was a little weird, because the Art Director and I had no mp3's or article to go off of. In fact, the only phrase I got was "heavy ass weirdo hooks". Fortunately, I was able to get a track list forwarded in order to give me some inspiration. The songs I borrowed from were "Calming the Snake" and "Leaky Lifeboat (For Gregory Corso)".
Wow. What a weekend. May 2nd was my birthday, and this weekend my boyfriend surprised me THREE TIMES with special guests in Providence to celebrate with me! Friends from New York came up and totally took me by surprise Friday night when we came back from Star Trek (it was really good), where at first I thought burglars were in our apartment. However, these would have to be stupid burglars to leave every frikkin' light in the apartment on, so my next conclusion was that there was something wrong like a gas leak and our landlord had let himself in. I flung myself out of the truck and realized my friend's car was parked outside and finally caught on. Sure enough, people were inside drinking pabst and enjoying wii golf.
So I must say, good job! It truly was the best birthday ever.
Yikes, I haven't been around much! Thanks to AD Allison Cole for another whack at illustrating for Providence Monthly (it's so nice to see my artwork locally since it's sometimes published far far away from my stomping grounds). This time around it was for an article about shopping at department store cosmetic counters. I'm pretty happy with the with it turned out because:
a) I wanted to try a horizontal composition in a pulled out "scene" with an environment- this was a perfect opportunity.
b) Wanted to try this bluish palette!
c) I have done a lot of different markets so far, but beauty & fashion is something newish that I would like to try with my fun characters. My portfolio needed a piece like this if I ever want to get hired for those jobs in the future. Mexican wrestlers and beheaded girls don't scream COSMO, ya' know.
FYI, May 2nd is not only my birthday (the big 25 that brings in the Quarter Life Crisis I've been told-all the rage), but also the Spring RISD Alumni Sale. I'll be there ALL DAY for once, a rare sight since I'm usually teaching. If you're in Providence that day please swing by Benefit Street!
My friend Linda from alamode made these cute necklaces with my art in them! There are only a few, and hopefully in April they'll be in my shop (unless they sell before that time at an April 4th show). We have wanted to work on something for a while, but at first I was a little stumped with how to use the circle. At first it was just small icons, but in the end I think the faces worked out in a fun and clever way.
Guitar Bandit is a new original painting on my etsy store. I'm glad I had fun with him, because now I'm cramming for two different gallery shows- one in St. Louis and the other in New York. With my new teaching schedule, I realize that Thursday and Fridays have to be super productive from now on. Long ago are the days where I'd sit in front of the computer getting lost in the etsy forums or catching up with my favorite TV shows on Hulu. Of course, busy and making money is the preferred way to spend my time! It's just funny that the end of 2008 was so PAINFULLY quiet and 2009 is proving to be a very VERY busy year. Let's just hope it keeps going!
Had a small block of time this past Thursday, so I whipped out a 5"x7" painting. I think for the next RISD sale I would like to create some more complex pieces this size rather than just the ole' character-with-a-flat-color-background-thing. You can find Penelope in my etsy shop.
Providence weather is finally bouncing between the 30's and 40's rather than the 20's and 30's which is nice. I'm already thinking of future warm plans like going to Newport or just taking a nice walk without looking like the little brother from A Christmas Story (ya know..."wait up Ralphie, wait up guys!"). Sigh...
The awesome UK culture mag Plan B contacted me recently to do an article for Icelandic band Storsveit Nix Noltes (Fat Cat), which takes traditional songs and warps them with their indie folk influence. Very fun image, and I enjoy the fact that Andrew, the Art Director, lets me just have fun with the imagery without being so direct.
This paining I actually did right after I got back from my Christmas vacation, but soon enough I started having so many "real" projects start stacking up that I didn't get around to scanning it until yesterday. Just a fun group of friends, hopefully all with their own fun quirks.
I definitely got my wish when I asked for 2009 to be busy with artistic action. On top of all the shows and recent illustration assignments, I took on another editorial job for UK's Plan B Magazine again. I really like doing work for them because I get to make illustrations of bands and singers that I have never heard of. The one I'm working on now covers this Icelandic folk band that has some funky aspects to it. Sketches will be up next week.
Annnnnnd I'm happy to say that I visited ioLabs and ordered the new prints that will be in my Etsy shop soon. There will be 3 different ones, and I'm very excited about finally getting some high-end, professional prints done of my work. Not only that, but they are printed on an eco-friendly bamboo paper (the process is more green than making paper out of trees apparently). Awesome art AND eco-conscious? Man, you'll be super awesome if you own one of these. I mean, move over Bradgelina. :)
This is a painting for an upcoming show at Machines With Magnets Gallery in Pawtucket, RI. I might try to do one more, piece, but I'm not sure! There's so much to do...
WARNING!!! SPOILER ABOUT THE WINNER OF TOP CHEF SEASON 5!
On another note, I was super angry to see Casey sabotage Carla's chances of winning Top Chef season 5. No, Carla! She lost for a reason! So of course, the first dishes that were 100% Carla were well received by the judges, but anything that Casey touched fell flat (or bubbled if it was the souffle). I was hoping Carla would "hold onto the love child!", but in the end she was swayed by Casey and made some bad decisions.
Hosea was my second choice to win, mainly because I dislike Stefan. My friends and I agree that Stefan is uber talented, but we just didn't like him as much due to his cocky attitude (and it oddly mirrored Kenley's lasting negative presence on the most recent Project Runway. Bad attitudes just turn us off I guess). So in the end I tip off my hat to Hosea, but I hope Carla wins the $10,000 "Fan Favorite" prize.
In the words of Carla: "and he wants PEEEEAS!".
