This is my journey in creating concepts, writing, illustrating, finding a literary agent, and becoming a published children's book author and illustrator for the picture book genre.

Friday, March 21, 2014

More of the tree sprites...

Working hard on my art takes time.  There are times that i am not sure if I like what I am creating. Instead of chucking it out, I occasionally have inner dialogues with my self on the importance of playing it out and keep creating. After all, art is not perfect and it is subjective. Below are two edits I have done with my latest mixed media illustration with the tree sprites. I don't know if I like it, but it usually takes a day or so for something to really resonate with me. I just don't know which edit I like best. What do you think?
This version lacks most edits except for color

This edit has color enhancements, sparkles in the sky background and light enhancement at the foot


Thursday, March 20, 2014

The prep work continues...

My illustrator cards- front and back and my business cards.
the labels for the conference
Well, it is here. These are the best illustrator cards that I have had yet. Mind you, this is my third set. The first set was more of a practice, first-time thing. They were pretty, but not the quality I now use. This field is really a trial and error process. I am constantly googling portfolio and illustrator card info. The best resources have been from established illustrators that share their experiences with me. I love my new card. It is oversized, thick cardstock, glossy, and VIBRANT! The colors just look so pretty on my cards. I purposely made the card to be horizontal on one side and vertical on the other.  I have also had labels made. 
An illustrator presented take away copies that included a bio and 5 illustrations on the page. This is a great idea that I may also use. It is so hard to know what to expect at a conference and how many materials to bring. In preparation for the conference, I have also ordered business cards. One can never be too prepared.Why so much? Well, I am unsure as what to expect. I am a pre-published illustrator and will be presenting in the galleries for Illustrator day and Springmingle weekend in Atlanta. It is a 3 day event. The WIK conference was a one day event. I went through 26 cards then. My portfolio was more rookie than it is today. Since the conference, I have incorporated new techniques into my art. I now use a Wacom tablet when editing, too.


Monday, March 10, 2014

creating my style and a new illustration

I do have an artistic style. I think it is important to have a brand or style that your art sings to. Mine is whimsical with a kiss of nostalgic vintage. I love to keep the colors vibrant and the characters sweet with innocent humanistic qualities without making them "too humanistic". The characters that resonate most with  my style are my nature friends. Every piece of water color paper offers an opportunity to bring my friends to life. I want to share stories of fantastical places that could actually  be in your backyard.
In order to find inspiration, I take my sweet dog on a walk through the forest areas along the boarding school where we live. It is a fairy kingdom back there with woven branches, moss covered tree stumps, butterflies, and singing birds. Krumpy, the tree sprite, would do so well in these forested areas. I wonder what his message would be? Well, i am sure he would discourage littering and encourage the magic of forest growth and knowledge about earth. There are so many stories here just waiting to be told, drawn, and illustrated. I like to imagine that a fantastical kingdom lays just beyond the woven branches cleverly hiding this magical place. Just beyond there lies a tree of bluebirds and sprites singing the songs of the trees.  Together with the other forest animals and insect life, they find a way to inspire those who refuse to see what we could do together to save the trees. Without the trees, would sprites be here? Would the bluebirds continue to sing?

My latest illustration in the works is below. Within this illustration, I am demonstrating, depth, emotion of curiousity and trepidation, and a story of what is just beyond those woven branches. There is continuity of illustrating the same character in different illustrations, too. The painting takes the longest. I have two kids home sick and I am, too. It may take me a bit linger than I would like, but I want this for a portfolio piece. It will be worth the wait!