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Blakndrose: the writings of Jessica Chrysler
Writings, sketches and musings.
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Hey gang, I didn't want to leave you all hanging - which looks like I've done so for a while now! - and I want to introduce you to my new blog home on tumblr. It's bright, and shiny, and much more fun and interactive.
So, for new sketches, work in progress, sneak peaks on finished work available and other such goodies related to my art, please follow me on tumblr:
http://jesschrysler.tumblr.comYou can also get news about my next shows, events and other fun things on my website news page:
http://www.jessicachrysler.com/newsI will be keeping this blog for the time being, but if you're looking for updated happenings please see the above links!
This summer has been a crazy one for me. I had taken a spell off from the inter-webs to make sure that I had everything planned and prepared for the opportunities I knew were coming. Networking is the most important thing one can do when you are an artist - especially if you do not have a rep and are putting yourself out there on your own. Over the past few years I've learned a tremendous amount about myself when it comes to networking and attending functions for that purpose. I think the most important thing I have learned is that I absolutely NEED down time in between functions, and I NEED to make sure that my energies are not spent solely on one individual for the entire evening/event. As much as I like to pretend that I'm a gregarious extrovert, I'm really a quiet introvert, much rather preferring to observe than to perform in public. (This is where dance class helps! haha)
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My dance class performing: Borka and the Purple Dream Dancers!
(Ya, I'm serious! lol) |
So, to start off the convention season, Joe and I went to visit his family in San Francisco. I always have a lovely time there, the quiet and picturesque scenes to be had from his mother's home in the hills overlooking an inlet from the bay is pure magic. Though it wasn't much "down time" for poor Joe as he had an injury he needed to tend to, it was just what I needed to get a bit of rest and spiritual relaxation away from the everyday noise and pollution where we live. Then when we came home we literally had one day to unpack, do laundry, and repack for ComicCon in San Diego. I felt completely at ease, and very happy to have the day and a half to prepare and get ready for the Con. We also had an extra day in San Diego before the Con started, so that also helped keep the stress at bay.
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| View from the Townsend's |
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| View of Mary's Garden |
When ComicCon started I already had a game plan of things I needed to do. No, it wasn't standing in line to see a free concert by Weird Al (which I totally wanted to do!), but rather I made the most of my time and spent it meeting up with friends and contacts I had met at previous cons. I brought my dummy book to work on and show to my writer friends, I made sure to say hello to people I knew on the show floor at their booths, and when we went out somewhere in the evening it was to an industry event where we would meet other like minded folks. Now, this seems like a basic notion for most of you, but you would be surprised at the amount of people who go to these things with a PRO badge, and yet do not take advantage of the networking opportunities available to them. Preferring to meet up with some buddies at a bar and stand in line to buy lots of goodies on the show floor. And sometimes those people are friends of mine who complain of not having enough work, or that it's too tough to get in the industry. Yes, it is hard, but you have to do the work. All in all, it was a pleasant experience as always and I look forward to going again next year.
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| View from our hotel in San Diego the first night. |
The very next week after ComicCon was the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators Summer Annual Conference. I'd been looking forward to this since the beginning of April this year! The venue was sold out (1235 attendees to be exact) and I was excited to meet the famous Tomie dePaola and hear Judy Blume speak. I also wanted to make it my mission to meet new people and interact as much as possible with people I knew from local events as well. Unfortunately, I was already worn down by ComicCon and stressing about my portfolio that I mostly just sat in the ballroom and tried to chat with my neighbors. I did meet some wonderful new people, especially after wards at the Illustrator Social on Friday, but I regret that I had maxed out my energy by Saturday evening and had to go home early so I could make it the next day. Though I am glad to have done so, because the next day I had to opportunity to chat with Eliza Wheeler whom I met at our first SCBWI conference together about 5 years ago. She's now an accomplished illustrator with several awards, and was kind enough to share with me her galley of the next book she'll be published as illustrator. (Congrats Eliza!)
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Sketched Meg Rosoff as she was giving her keynote
on how "real life" fairytales would give kids nightmares! |
As you can see in my last post here I had been working hard to complete three new paintings, and I had also written and sketched out a whole new story to include as a dummy sample. I wanted to make sure that I had prepared for the opportunity that awaited - the chance that I would meet with an Art Director (which was not a guarantee). I was so stressed about the whole thing that I had to remind myself that this is my best work, and I will only continue to improve upon it, let the chips fall where they may. So, when I got my badge on the first day I was ecstatic to find out that I had my review with Laurent Linn, the AD from Simon & Shushter! I couldn't help but feel that this was meant to be, and after the review it emboldened my confidence to continue my pursuit. Then when the showcase opened on Saturday, I felt like I won the lottery to find that ALL of my postcards were gone within the first 15 minutes. I just hope that the other ADs and agents were able to grab one before they were gone!
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Sketched Judy Blume as she spoke:
"Do not let anyone discourage you; get angry, not depressed!
Determination is key." |
The keynotes and lectures were amazing, and very informative. I decided to mix it up between YA and picture books, writing and illustrating. I think though the one that brought me closest to tears was Stephen Chobosky (
The Perks of Being a Wallflower), when he was telling his story about how he came to writing and encouraging everyone to find that voice inside them, even the small and quiet, to tell the story that will make a difference in someone else's life because it's also what you went through. I do believe the gal next to me thought I was a little crazy, but I had to wipe my eyes. It reminded me why I was there in the first place, why I thoroughly believe that children's books is what I was meant to write/illustrate, because my story is akin to so many other kids' stories out there that are underrepresented, that are suffering, that are trying so hard not to lose hope in the face of extreme obstacles. That all that matters is the heart of the story, the emotion and the experience, which is a universal experience none the less. It was also the reason why, throughout the rest of the whole conference I knew why it felt like home, and I could always feel the smile on my face. Next year though, I think it might be wise for me to room in the hotel...that way I can get more rest and have more time getting to know new people!
I just wanted to share my projects with you, as I know it seems like I've been hiding these last few months. I've been quite busy bouncing around from show to show, and getting ready for the SCBWI Summer Conference has been the biggie. I've spent much of my time the last two/three months planning, organizing, sketching and deliberating on projects to complete and finalize, to put in the showcase. (I also have a one-on-one, but the showcase is the real deal with everyone looking!) My goal was to create three to four new pieces in the style that I've been using on the last book I worked on, A Word to Rhyme with Orange. I've gotten the process of making the paintings down to an absolute science and have only been able to get faster with every new piece! That, my friends, is exciting and surely a sign of doing something right! I really want to take some video and share with you, but haven't the proper equipment or a helper for when I am working to do it for me. But...for the time being pictures will have to do.
For the pieces I've come up with ideas for a new take on some old classics. One of them being
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod. The other being inspired by an old Norse tale,
East of the Sun, West of the Moon. For
Blynken and Nod, I thought, wouldn't it be fun if the boys were not actually all one boy, but friends that go on an adventure during a slumber party! So I drew not one, but three little boys riding around on a boat collecting the stars in the sky. For
East of the Sun, West of the Moon, I did a little research to see if it had been redone recently, and to see what other views people had for this story. Turns out that not very many people have actually illustrated or have done a retelling of this story, so I thought that it would be neat to take it back to its roots. I also have somewhat of an obsession with native and migratory cultures, and with a little research I came to find that there are actually "native peoples" of northern Europe, called the "Sami." They have beautiful textiles and are just drop dead gorgeous people, live in the northern most areas, and are the sole herders of reindeer! Way cool! Then putting two and two together, it just made sense that the Norse folktale would have a Sami girl as the main character.
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| Sketch for East of the Sun, West of the Moon |
So as of right now, I'm working on the finished painting of the sketch above and have done the rough draft for a new story....
shhhh...
that's still secret! With about a month to go, I actually only have three weeks left to finish everything since I'll be at ComicCon the week before! Eeek! For upcoming posts I'm thinking about divulging some info on oil painting and best practices, if you have any thoughts or questions about my work or process I'd sure love to hear them!
Today's siren call for most individuals' lies in our handheld devices. You've probably even heard them call out to you in a multitude of dings, bells and musical cuckoo sounds. Audibly poking at your psyche. Well, besides all that, I want to talk to you more about the aspect of how this stuff works for the artist, graphic designer, crafter and other creative individual trying mightily to command their public's attention at any given moment.
I was introduced into this maddening sphere of notifications from infinite sources while employed for a web development firm, whose sole purpose was to gain its client's numbers by way of followers, email lists, e-commerce, so on and so forth. Any kind of virtual ROI was up for grabs, and often times it felt like I was selling snake-oil due to the overall inconsistency of the world wide web. New sites were popping up everyday that claimed to have innumerable followers and trendsetting interactive features to garner your fans' attention and money. Even five years later, this still seems to be the case. Although there are a handful of successful and engaging sites that can lead to larger numbers. It's all in a matter of knowing your audience.
Facebook
Facebook, the perennial social media hub. It's where we play games, share pictures, website links and other general stuffs. It's also a commercial war zone, loaded with advertisements and video clips inserted into individual news feeds to attract potential buyers. The scary part about it all is that these advertisements are "smart ads" and are shown to people logged into their account based on their profile preferences, friends lists, and other demographic information. If you've ever paid for a "boost" you'd know that you can pinpoint a highly specific group of people to the letter. Though this will not necessarily give you the biggest bang for your buck.
While you do need to know who to send it out to, you need to know what it is you are selling and to the fringe audience it could sell to as well. Taking that into consideration, how do you find out who that audience is? Is it your mom? Your friends? Your local soccer enthusiasts? Possibly... In order to discover this, you must first create a fan/business page, make a few postings about your product (or your work) and invite all your friends - ALL your friends, yes I also mean that kid from Elementary that friended you and you don't even remember them. You can also place an ad for your page, but you still need to know who your audience is first. The coolest part about having a Fan page is that it will give you metrics and demographics of people that like your page in a simple chart/graph format that you can then utilize in placing advertisements. It will even tell you the time of day when you get the most interaction from your followers than at any other time - this bit is probably the most useful because it translates well to other forms of media sharing, like mailing lists.
Keeping all this in mind, there is also a specific demographic that uses Facebook. Wait, it's not everybody?? Yes, it is definitely not everybody - despite what the media folk are trying to tell you. If your demographic is not between the ages of 16 and 65, with ease of access to the internet, and not phobic of sharing personal information, then Facebook should not be the only place you advertise. Not only because of this margin of demographic, but also because of the many changes to the algorithms over the years Facebook has made it virtually impossible for even your Fans to see the information you post unless you pay to "boost" everything, and even then there is no guarantee. Still, it is essential to utilize their metrics and keep a sounding board on this site.
Twitter
Twitter is another, "old school" platform for social media. This site has a very narrow demographic of individuals as it leans towards the tech-savvy 25-45 year old adults that use it heavily. It is essentially used to express thoughts in news bite form, making posts truncated or making the reader click through to engage in your topic. This is a great site for figureheads, celebrities, and writers, but not so much for people that need to share lots of visuals all the time. It is also very easy to get lost in the stream of posts and replies, as the ease of posting is definitely there with the ability to tag the topic/interest, it's not quite as easy to filter and identify actionable topics. Especially if your audience is not as inclined to dig for the needle in the technological haystack.
Instagram
While launching about 4 years after it's parent company Facebook, it definitely shows it's age as the demographic is primarily composed of young adults and teens 13+. There is also a wealth of older Facebook users that also post and socialize here. It is a great cross-over platform and allows for the user to be a bit more creative with their photos. It is now viewed as the ubiquitous photo editing program and engages users with large images in their feeds. This is the ultimate site for audience building for visual creative professionals. Hash-tagging allows outside users to easily find you in the search function and it also utilizes a "newest post" algorithm that pushes images out to every user who views the "Discover" page, much like Pinterest does. Though I am still new to the nuances of how this site works, it seems like the best of a few platforms that have already been available to the public for quite some time. There are no limits to the amount of posts and you can advertise freely by creating graphic images to post - I just wish there was an easier way to post from a desktop!
Pinterest
Pinterest is a form of digital scrapbooking, and with this in mind draws a similar type of audience. It allows for infinite collecting of images and sharing of information between users. If you are a graphic artist of any kind, I'm sure you've used it to help gather information for mood-boards. It seems to have a mostly female demographic, as the top boards always shows "weddings" and "baby" ideas. Though it can be useful to most anyone. There is an unwritten "best-practices" sort of guideline that you should leave the credit/information of the image in the comment section stay if you re-pin. Otherwise things are mostly fair game, and their system for categorizing helps other people find you and your boards with relative ease. There's just so much on there that, much like Twitter, it is easy to get lost unless you already have a large following.
Artist Websites: DeviantArt, Behance, etc
There has been a rise in portfolio sites for artists over the last few years. Free and paid alike. The best ones are free, though there is a TON of competition. The competition factor has its pros and cons, it's what made CGHub the largest and most reliable source for art directors in the entertainment industry to pull talent from. Though you were only seen if you were on the front page. With the tremendous amount of people out there doing creative work, it is almost imperative to be on at least one of these sites and contribute to it regularly. You will gain followers by being friendly and sharing critiques, which is much easier than trying to pay per view. Though the audience that frequents these sites are usually solely other artists, so no selling of wares here, other than showing off what you can do. There are other sites like theiSpot, ChildrensBookIllustration.com, and a variety of others that ask the artist for a sum of money to showcase their work (usually of a certain genre). The money factor does pare down the competition, but make sure you do your research about the best one as not all websites like these are created equal.
LinkedIn
LinkedIn is among the top most popular social media websites, but I list this one last because of people's infrequent usage of this site. Just like Facebook, LinkedIn claims to have everyone listed as a member, and that there are more and more new people every day. Though, the people that actually spend time on this site are actually HR and contract agents. The importance of your resume on this website is above and beyond your paper resume, as this one gets seen by both real people and robots. There is limitless potential in the connections you have and make through this site, and many opportunities for freelance and contract gigs you might not acquire otherwise. Keywords are VERY important here and will determine the outcome of someone just viewing your page. Do engage in the groups that are available in your fields of interest, do invite people to add you to their list, do interact and participate in discussions you feel important, because this is the one place where people look for other professionals and money making opportunities on a regular basis. Just don't spend your whole day looking for it.
The magic sauce here is to make sure you have a presence on ALL of them, and make sure to link them back to your website, blog, storefront, social media sites, etc. Make sure that the profile names (and urls) match up, and that you create a brand by utilizing that same name across all media. The internet is about linking links together, because that's how files are accessed, shared and viewed across devices. This one thing will guarantee that your name (the one you used) shows up first in a google search for those keywords. This is the one way that will always make social media work for you - and even better if you get your friends and family to literally share your posts!
What say you? Do you have a favorite site/method that works for you? What is the most surprising avenue of social media that has helped you gain in followers/e-commerce?
Here are the links to my social media pages, feel free to friend and follow!
I'm pleased to announce that the Show and Book Signing for "A Word to Rhyme with Orange" was a great success! I sold out of all of the books I had on hand and with such a great turn out I had barely a second to talk to everyone who came by! It was both overwhelming and a great pleasure to host so many friends, family and people whom got word about the show from other avenues. I sincerely want to thank everyone who helped me, either by helping set-up, take down or just by helping spread the word. I couldn't have done it with out you!
That being said, we are still in need of reviews of the book! If you already have a copy please leave a review on Amazon, Goodreads or on your own blog, or even on your Facebook page. We would appreciate it! If you haven't gotten your copy yet, you can buy it directly from Amazon.com here: http://amzn.com/1493767267
I also want to make a special thank you to Sandi Heath who took all the photos at the show. Here are some of the pictures for you to enjoy.
I am excited to announce the release of "A Word to Rhyme with Orange," now available for purchase on
Amazon.com!
I had the pleasure of painting over 20 illustrations for this whimsically rhymed, heartfelt journey written by Matthew Wilson. It is a story that stole my heart the moment I laid eyes on the rough draft. Though illustrating the story was something of an epic journey in itself.
A couple years ago, I had been searching for a project, and rustling up ideas of my own, to complete in a traditional style/medium. It seemed as though right at that very moment Matthew walked over to my table at WonderCon and introduced himself. After a meeting or two over coffee, Matt graciously had given me free reign in art direction and medium. I choose to dive into my past and unearth my first love - oil painting - which really only seemed fitting for the warmly romantic tone of his modern fairytale. I had to get reacquainted with my love and embrace all the quirks and challenges that come with oil painting. I took classes, painted plein air, picked people's brains about their process and read books about process. I ate, slept and drank paint...just kidding! :p In truth, nothing was more satisfying than laying down layer after layer of colored pigment in an orderly fashion to make a picture. Here are some images of the last painting as I worked on it in stages...
Clean up sketch from thumbnail
First Pass
Second Pass
about Third/Fourth Pass
Final Painting
Next month, I plan on sharing the finished pieces in an Art Show and Book Signing being held at the Los Angeles Arts Collective in Westchester, CA. It will be on Saturday February 15th, from 3 to 6 pm. Please feel free to join me in celebrating!
Do the hurry-gurdy! Just kidding. ;)
Here's my last piece from Dan Cooper's class this summer. It was a two week long pose, a total of 6 hours, to get down something good. I left my little thumbnail-y guy in the corner this time for you to see; we do this for all our pieces before getting into the big one. This puppy is on 12x16" canvas panel, probably the largest I've ever done for figure painting. I'm particularly proud of this one because I've been able to replicate a process that gives me the results I'm looking for - a realistic yet painterly approach to capturing the form and the light. Though you can't really see it in this photo (I used my iPhone, bleh) the whites in the collar and the cuff aren't bright white, they're a little blueish and greenish making it really contrast with the saturated reds. It was a warm light/cool light situation so getting the transitions between the two were of greatest importance. The only thing I wish I'd been able to get to was his cane... hence "gangnam style" as it does seem he's making a dance move while seated, lol.
I want to thank Dan yet again, because his class has really helped me see light and understand how it works. I had stopped doing homework the last couple of weeks in favor of finishing my illustrations for Orange, but you can bet that I was able to apply the techniques I've learned in class to those paintings. I can't wait to show you all the progress there! :-D Stay tuned!
So, since I didn't have much by way of ComicCon photos, I'm giving a special update with some of my work from Dan's class. Things are progressing quite nicely as I feel like I'm learning 3 times the information than usual. :)
Comic Con 2013, my fifth year at con, was one of the best I've been to so far. The organizers did a wonderful job with the people trafficking and the layout of the booths on the main floor made for less jamming of bodies in the aisles - which has always been something I'm not particularly fond of being somewhat cluster-phobic in confined spaces with lots of people. It was also a really great idea to have the main attractions spread out throughout the Con, giving the less publicized a better traffic flow and hopefully opportunities they wouldn't have had otherwise.
Other attractions included the various artist panels and get togethers, as it is my main reason for attending. I also had the privilege to speak with one of my artist heroes, Donato Giancola! He was generous enough to give me a critique on my portfolio and a few pointers on the world of agents. First and foremost, try to get your stuff out there! At least that's what I've come to realize over the last few years, that no matter your skill level no one knows you're there if you don't advertise. In which case, another very prolific and wonderful illustrator I met was
Ruth Sanderson. I was in her spotlight panel when she received the Inkpot Award this year! She has illustrated so many books from my childhood (including my favorites from "The Black Stallion" and "Nancy Drew" series) and was absolutely floored to learn that she is only now getting a book together to showcase her work! So please lend a hand to this inspiring artist with her kickstarter campaign here:
http://kck.st/11ntkxzI also have to apologize for not having as many pics as I had for WonderCon since I was also busy hiding from Imperial Forces during the Droid Hunt on Saturday. It was so much fun to learn about all the other things that happen during Con, especially the completely free and open part near Petco Park and in the Gaslamp district - these companies had really outdone themselves this year!
Here is an example of some of the creative advertising they have, a pedicab carriage in the shape of the Iron Throne. There really is so much to see, from the advertising, the big tent booths and the cos-players having photo shoots. Even if you can't grab a badge in that minute and a half when they go on sale, you can still get a bit of fun by hanging around in the Gaslamp.
Just finished a study of Sargent's piece yesterday, using only Raw Umber and Titanium White. Paying attention to the form, light and dark values and edges. This is for Dan's class of course! :) Getting the values right while looking at a color reproduction of it was pretty difficult, but I think it turned out pretty good. It also looked like Sargent used a palette knife on her dress, but I am still a bit shy using such techniques so I tried to replicate that the best I could with a large flat brush. Me thinks I should do more of these...
Here is the original by J.S. Sargent
I'm back in Dan Cooper's class this summer to workout those form and lighting muscles! (Thank you Joe for pushing me so hard and helping me once again.) Here's what I pulled off last night for our first class. I have come a long way, but still have much farther to go!
Last week was pretty busy for me, trying to catch up on freelance after WonderCon and working at my new day job. I still have a long way to go on "Orange", but I've made some headway with finishing up my sketches and doing some color comps before jumping in on the final pieces. And since it had been a few weeks missing the Otis workshop, I decided to take a little break and join them last Thursday. I carpool with Joe so I had to get my things ready in a bit of a hurry... paints, check; brushes, check; oil and paper towels, check; canvas board...wait...oh, crap... So in a moment of desperate need for something to paint on, I got a cardboard box out of the car and cut it up into pieces so I could actually do what I had set out to do!
Since the surface was rough and impromptu I already knew that whatever I did might not "last" but would still be a great learning experience. Then I knocked this stuff out! Lol... My favorite part of the night was when my neighbor chastised me for not using a ground, that eventually this would soak into the cardboard and fade away. It's ok though, I'm not sure that this would have happened any other way, part of the charm here is the cardboard itself. ;)
Thanks to everyone who came out to see the annual spectacle that is WonderCon! There were lots more people and vendors at the Con in Anaheim this year and I'm happy to report that Two Jays was a great success! After many years of confinement to a cardboard box, my Cody the Coyote doll made a splash at the convention, along with Joe Kennedy's amazing new Batman Rogues piece. Cody even got an interview! Since Cody was getting most of the attention I spent my time chatting with my neighbor, the great Jimmie Robinson, and doing some inspired sketching. Here's a peek at what I was up to behind the table...
This last one here is a sketch for Morgan Le Fay as "The High Priestess" for Two Jays Tarot. Still have to figure out some things about the symbolism and the composition as a whole, but I figured it might be a good idea to get the main character down first. I'll have lots more on this one to come.
Here are some more pics just for fun!
Joe Kennedy manning the table :)
Wall-e!!
He came up close to check out Cody's setup ;)
Couldn't pass up a shot of Paul Stanley!
Me and my friend Tina hanging out at the booth.
This guy's armor was absolutely beautiful!
It was all made of leather... thanks for posing!
Hope to see everyone again in Anaheim next year! :)
My partner
Joe Kennedy and I will be at WonderCon again this year selling our wares and giving out postcards and other stuff in artists' alley. We'll be at table AA-209 as "Two Jays Illustration". So please come by and check out this mini version of ComicCon in Anaheim this year!
I will have the following available:
- Copies of "Cody the Coyote" 2nd Edition signed and numbered
- 8x10 prints of "Cody Howls"
- 8x10 prints of "Tehanu"
- 8x10 prints of "Young Tarzan"
- Original "Young Tarzan" is also for sale
I will also be sketching new projects, so come by for a sneak peak!
I'm now going to the free
Life Drawing Workshop that Joe is heading up on Thursday evenings at Otis College. It's open to all, especially Otis Alumni, who might be interested in brushing up on their figure drawing/painting skills. After taking Dan's class, I must say, I'm happier than a clam going to these things now. I still have to break down and draw for about an hour since the kiddos that come need to have 5-10 minute warm-up poses. But I think having that in the process has also helped me too in getting the proportions of the model down a bit better ahead of time. In any case, a really good place to go if you've go free time.
Spent a full week in New York City this last week with Joe, and what a wonderful experience! I've lived in Los Angeles nearly my entire life, so I felt quite prepared to flee since I have no real admiration for city life in general. We stayed in Midtown Manhattan, in the heart of the city, at the Pennsylvania Hotel. It was probably the best move since it was literally across the street from Penn Station, one of the largest transportation hubs in the city.
I was literally in awe of the character of the city. The people seemed to be the most individualistic I've ever come across, and the charm of the industrial age architecture and sculptures contrasting with modern skyscrapers made every corner a picturesque scene. I brought my sketchbook with me everywhere we went, but there was literally no time to sit and sketch! At least for me... I took lots of pictures instead... and drank in every bit.
We walked across the Williamsburg Bridge, ate at some of the most famous restaurants that our budget would allow, went to the 102nd floor of the Empire State Building, visited the Met and the Cloisters, walked through Grand Central Station, and took a train ride to New Haven to visit friends. We also perused some local stores at Williamsburg, the Natural History Museum, the famous FAO Schwartz, and passed through Times Square a few times. Our local friends thought us ambitious, and maybe a little crazy for trying to pack it all in, but it was definitely worth it. Especially when we walked through a light snow along 7th Ave - very romantic. I think we walked a total of 60 miles in one week... something we average in LA only every couple of months! lol! Here are some of what I captured of the city. I can't wait until I can go again.
The top of the Empire State Building from the observation deck
Williamsburg Bridge - our friend Lucas modeling in the foreground
George Washington outside of the Federal Reserve
Saw Wicked at the Gershwin - Amazing!!
Statue of Liberty from the Staten Island Ferry - Ellis Island and the Statue were closed due to Sandy, but the Ferry offered beautiful views
Grand Central Terminal and, my namesake in the background, the Chrysler Building!
Ok, so this is actually a painting I did a year or so ago at El Matador with the Painting Posse group that the illustrious Mr. Shady Safadi put together. I was the only one painting traditionally I think, and all the other guys had their nifty laptop boxes and ipads to paint with. It was a very windy afternoon and I remember it took almost an hour an a half to get out there because of some heavy traffic through Malibu beach. This was also the day I first shook hands with Joshua "the James" Shaw, and thoroughly mortified myself by telling him about my "experience as a traditional plein air artist". I'm sure he never knew because I pumped out this beauty at the same time - lol. ;) I've been hoarding this gem over my work desk to commemorate the day and somehow it has this mystical vibe that instantly relaxes me when looking at it - as the ocean often does. The painting is about 10x10" gouache on a piece of scrap book board, the corners a bit damaged from falling off its perch, but still beautiful.
Above is my piece that I entered for the 2012 Tomie dePaola Award competition. I can't tell you how terrified I am about these things, but I made it a point to enter three competitions this last year. I was also so terrified of jinxing everything that I didn't talk about it or post anything. It doesn't really matter though, because I've come to find you have to enter these things just to put yourself out there. I'm highly competitive, thanks to my many years of playing softball, so these art competitions bring back those old feelings of anxiety I'd rather not re-encounter. So much so that even though I made a piece for the 2011 competition, took it to Illustrator's Day for feedback, and was so disheartened that I choose not to enter at all. Big mistake. Mainly because I dissuaded myself in my fear of not having anything else in my portfolio that matched the style I came up with for that piece. It is important though to make sure that you put out there things that most closely represent what you most desire to pursue. So when I made this year's piece I was very excited and felt very proud of my efforts to represent one of my all-time favorite pieces of literature,
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. I have an unnatural obsession with
Little Women, though up until a few months ago only read the first chapter in the book and watched the movie starring Winona Ryder a bizillion times. I am still reading the novel, and it is quite possibly the most encouraging and uplifting story I have ever read, even with the sad and heart wrenching bits. A girl can feel akin to any and all of the characters, though my favorite heroine is Jo March. She was one of few pioneering women writers of the time and had such courage and support to help her become a lasting legend. She toiled and toiled and with her perseverance and faith finally finds success. A model worth living up to.
And congratulations to
Sara Ure Griffin whose illustration won the award!
It was a rainy holiday in San Francisco this year. I decided to sketch the beautiful bridge that can be seen from my boyfriend's parent's living room window on Christmas day when it was raining the hardest. We had a lot of fun with the family: visited Pier 39 and Ghiradelli, Muir Woods (just after it rained, so it was quite cold but lovely), and we even saw the How to Train Your Dragon: Live Spectacular. I love fisherman's wharf and downtown San Francisco - sometimes it feels more like home than Los Angeles!
a view from the hill at Ghiradelli down to the wharf
Path at Muir Woods
On another day we decided to relax and hung out at the Starbucks just a town over to sketch and such. I was in luck that day since there was an adorable family with a newborn hanging out as well. So I tried to sketch them without too much creepy staring, and I got some people studying there as well. :p
As part of my new years resolution, I'm going to be more proactive and share a bit more of myself on my blog here. So that means more reviews, pictures that I take of places and things not related to art (gasp!), and other tid bits I feel that could somehow be more of a reflection of myself here. Taking a note from other popular blogs I read and actually realizing that honest posts are much more interesting. (Meaning less photoshoping of my sketchbook pages to make it look nicer! lol) With this I hope to gain more feedback and interest from you, my most valued readers. :) *hearts*
So this last Thursday was the last class with Dan Cooper. It was such a great class and such a pleasure to get to know all the fine people that attended. Dan is an amazing teacher and made it a point to go around and talk to everyone in class every class. If you packed up and skipped out at the end of class you were missing out! He went over lots of useful information during the 10 weeks: color theory, light reflection and influence on color, form and the delineation of form from light source and shadow shapes, utilizing oil to literally sculpt the figure on the canvas. Really, I could recommend this class to anyone wanting to learn about figure painting, beginner to advanced. There was so much knowledge to be gained with the right questions and Dan is so very generous with his knowledge that anyone could stand to gain something from it. I hope to go back again soon!
Ok, another post for everyone! :) I had a plein air outing this Sunday with my group LA Plein Air at Burton Chase Park in Marina Del Rey. I was enchanted by this lonely little sail boat at the end of the docks looking out to the other side of the Marina. She was a little boat, a little worse for wear, but what really struck me was how beautiful and concentrated the color was in the shadows of the overcast morning light that day. I did have to finish this piece at home though, since I was a bit slow and had lots of people on the pathway stop and ask me questions! ( I was up by the fence to get a good view.) I have been finding I have a hard time keeping track of time anyway - moving quick enough - and had been successful in progress only once when I knew I had to get back to my car before the meter ran out. How does everyone keep track of their time? Do you use a timer? Or does simply knowing you only have an hour or so makes you speed up?
Hey all, wanted to give you a heads up that you can find my work hung at the El Segundo Public Library now until Janurary 5th as part of the El Segundo Art Association Winter Show. I have two pieces, the first being the lovely "El Segundo Water Tower" as my entry for the "Beautiful El Segundo" category, and the second is a new piece I created just for this show. If you're in the South Bay area, please stop by the library to check out all the beautiful work!
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Cool shots!