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Last week we had our SCBWI-NM Illustrator's group meeting for April.
As usual, at 5pm we started with dinner and socializing at a local cafe.
(My "dinner" consisted of sweet potato fries and a black&white milkshake—yay for special occasions ;)
Of course, I didn't get to socialize much since I had to sneak away for a quick discussion with SCNWI-NM volunteers (lots of planning to do!), but I got a few minutes in.
At 6pm, the illustrators headed over to Alamosa Books, where Alan Stacy lead a discussion with us about school visits. Alan grew up in NM, moved to Texas for several years, and recently came back to us. He's been deeply involved with SCBWI for years, and we were so honored he chose to lead this discussion with us.
Alan started doing school visits before he was even published! He was an artist and illustrator, he knew what he wanted to do, and he found a way to get involved—ahead of the game.
He has several recommendations for illustrator school visits:- Be prepared, call ahead and make sure the school has any support material you may need: projector, mic, various supplies, YOUR BOOK (if you have one).
- Find out how much time you have, how many presentations you'll be doing, and how many kids there will be. Talk to the teacher/s, make sure they know as much as possible so they can prepare the kids for your visit.
- Be interactive—kids crave excitement and attention. You are a ROCK STAR to them, do activities, get them involved, ask them to think!
- Don't be afraid of failing, you are going to fail! But each time you go for it, you'll gain experience and be better prepared for the next time.
- Practice: in front of a mirror or with friend's kids. If you're still nervous, work up to it, start with a kid's day or story time at a local library.
- For K-1st, props work… puppets! Be silly and funny!
- Leave 10-15 minutes at the end of Q&A or Requests (if you're doing demos/drawing).
- Have SWAG handouts: bookmarks, pins, etc.
- Don't limit yourself—think out outside the school; senior groups, convention demos, there are many places to present and get your name out there.
 |
| One of our largest groups this year, we had 13 attendees! |
 |
Alan has a simple pamphlet with his bio, contact, and descriptions of his
presentations to promote himself for school visits. |
----------------------
That night's Schmooze was focused on SCBWI-NM—who are we as a chapter, where are we're heading, how we might best reach our very diverse membership (from authors and illustrators just starting out to those very well established in the field).
ARA, Caroline Starr Rose led the discussion; RAE, Chris Eboch, gave us a local history of the group (she's been involved; RA, Linda Tripp, talked about some of the guidelines we have to abide by as part of SCBWI; and I, illustrator coordinator for the region, touched briefly on some of the recent illustrator events and activities. I think it served nicely to familiarize our group with our regional history and activities—but when the floor was opened to discussion, we really didn't get much feedback.
SCBWI is something like 99% volunteer run, we as a group can only get as much out of it as we put into it! I love our local group and volunteers, and I encourage as many members a possible to get more involved. You want something to change, you want a particular event—we want to hear your ideas! Volunteer some of your time, work with us, and make things happen—it will benefit the entire group. :)
 |
| A VERY large gathering at Alamosa Books' Reading Room—full house!! |
So, this is a bit of a
repeat, originally created and posted for
Alphabeasts—but totally worth it because I love this piece and it totally applies to this weeks topic. I'm still planning to try do to a new zodiac piece (perhaps a C
hinese zodiac, it is the year of the horse!).
So, this is a bit of a
repeat, originally created and posted for
Alphabeasts—but totally worth it because I love this piece and it totally applies to this weeks topic. I'm still planning to try do to a new zodiac piece (perhaps a C
hinese zodiac, it is the year of the horse!).
Still collecting my random Instagram screen-captures and thinking it's about time I share another batch… only this time, I had a really hard time choosing a theme. There are so many inspirational photos uploaded everyday. I actually ended up collecting a few ideas (and saving some for later), so today I'll share images of (relatively) recent artist workspaces.
I love seeming photos of messy artist workspaces, and not only because it makes me feel less guilty about my own. I just love seeing how other artists work! Materials on the desk/drawing-table, splashes and spatters of paint, whether they stretch their paper or not, or just how many times they draw and re-draw one thing—maybe even how it eventually ends up. And BONUS, workspace images usually include new works-in-progress or a progression of these pieces!
So, here are workspaces from 4 artists I admire greatly:
Gina Perry,
Julissa Mora,
Tony DiTerlizzi, and
Cory Godbey.
(Singled out because they post on Instagram, I follow them, and they recently posted images of their workspaces). Gina's space looks a lot like mine, cutting mat and all. I love that Julissa is mobile, I used to do that a lot more than I do now and I miss it. I think it's so wonderful that Tony shares works-in-progress as much as he does. I love calligraphy & lettering as well, and the behind-the-scenes of Cory's current project totally feeds that love—check out his Kickstarter to fund this amazing project,
Tales from the Wilder Forest. I also enjoy seeing the mess-and-trial of traditional lettering combined with the digital end of putting it all together. And I'm jealous of his cats, I have no studio companions at the moment. :(
Still collecting my random Instagram screen-captures and thinking it's about time I share another batch… only this time, I had a really hard time choosing a theme. There are so many inspirational photos uploaded everyday. I actually ended up collecting a few ideas (and saving some for later), so today I'll share images of (relatively) recent artist workspaces.
I love seeming photos of messy artist workspaces, and not only because it makes me feel less guilty about my own. I just love seeing how other artists work! Materials on the desk/drawing-table, splashes and spatters of paint, whether they stretch their paper or not, or just how many times they draw and re-draw one thing—maybe even how it eventually ends up. And BONUS, workspace images usually include new works-in-progress or a progression of these pieces!
So, here are workspaces from 4 artists I admire greatly:
Gina Perry,
Julissa Mora,
Tony DiTerlizzi, and
Cory Godbey.
(Singled out because they post on Instagram, I follow them, and they recently posted images of their workspaces). Gina's space looks a lot like mine, cutting mat and all. I love that Julissa is mobile, I used to do that a lot more than I do now and I miss it. I think it's so wonderful that Tony shares works-in-progress as much as he does. I love calligraphy & lettering as well, and the behind-the-scenes of Cory's current project totally feeds that love—check out his Kickstarter to fund this amazing project,
Tales from the Wilder Forest. I also enjoy seeing the mess-and-trial of traditional lettering combined with the digital end of putting it all together. And I'm jealous of his cats, I have no studio companions at the moment. :(
So, this is one of the reasons I love my town… the random "strange & wonderful" things that happen. This is a photo I shot the other night, walking down Central Avenue (main street ABQ for the out-of-towners), and there are a couple horses hitched up outside a bar, in the city center, and a movie shooting down the street—not connected to each other in any way, they were just there. Gotta love it.
So, this is one of the reasons I love my town… the random "strange & wonderful" things that happen. This is a photo I shot the other night, walking down Central Avenue (main street ABQ for the out-of-towners), and there are a couple horses hitched up outside a bar, in the city center, and a movie shooting down the street—not connected to each other in any way, they were just there. Gotta love it.
Yesterday, I was lucky enough to be invited to a special tour at the zoo. Our ABQ Zoo is a fairly small one, and I live quite close (I used to live about 3 blocks away, I miss those days!) and I wish I got over there more often than I do. I think I'm making it a mid-year resolution to go more often, right now.
It was a gorgeous spring day and I was with friends, it couldn't have been more perfect. Although I mainly took pictures this time around (I usually try to do some sketching while I'm there), it was one of the most rewarding and exciting trips to the zoo for me, EVER. But, I'm not suppose to discuss the details online… so too bad for you guys, but wonderful for me and my memories. LOL
 |
| Brothers Kiska and Koluk at Inukshuk Bay |
 |
| My long lost family… look, it's me, the one that's as tall as all the others while sitting down! |
 |
| Beauty in the shadows |
 |
| White Rhinos |
 |
| Swishy-tailed Zebras |
 |
| Spot the Mexican Wolf, he's totally in there. |
 |
| Lovely Lizard |
 |
Zoo Keepers make the best of friends!
Thank you Jen & Angela (and Stephanie & Moxie) for a lovely afternoon! |
*I have to admit, I had an ulterior motive for going to the zoo, it just worked out that there was an extra opportunity on this particular day. I've been thinking about going down to the Zoo with my book,
The Zoo's Annual Piggyback Race, for sometime—and I finally did it. Of course, the gift shop is run by a large corporate office in Florida, but I did get contact information so I can get in touch with them. They run 16 different locations so if I can make this happen, my little book might actually get seen in zoos around the country!
Yesterday, I was lucky enough to be invited to a special tour at the zoo. Our ABQ Zoo is a fairly small one, and I live quite close (I used to live about 3 blocks away, I miss those days!) and I wish I got over there more often than I do. I think I'm making it a mid-year resolution to go more often, right now.
It was a gorgeous spring day and I was with friends, it couldn't have been more perfect. Although I mainly took pictures this time around (I usually try to do some sketching while I'm there), it was one of the most rewarding and exciting trips to the zoo for me, EVER. But, I'm not suppose to discuss the details online… so too bad for you guys, but wonderful for me and my memories. LOL
|
| Brothers Kiska and Koluk at Inukshuk Bay |
|
| My long lost family… look, it's me, the one that's as tall as all the others while sitting down! |
|
| Beauty in the shadows |
|
| White Rhinos |
|
| Swishy-tailed Zebras |
|
| Spot the Mexican Wolf, he's totally in there. |
|
| Lovely Lizard |
|
Zoo Keepers make the best of friends!
Thank you Jen & Angela (and Stephanie & Moxie) for a lovely afternoon! |
*I have to admit, I had an ulterior motive for going to the zoo, it just worked out that there was an extra opportunity on this particular day. I've been thinking about going down to the Zoo with my book,
The Zoo's Annual Piggyback Race, for sometime—and I finally did it. Of course, the gift shop is run by a large corporate office in Florida, but I did get contact information so I can get in touch with them. They run 16 different locations so if I can make this happen, my little book might actually get seen in zoos around the country!
I vaguely knew of the
NM Book Co-Op before this meeting. It was something I heard mentioned or saw in e-newsletters—but this was the first time I've attended one of their meetings, and I was really impressed.
Okay, it was held at a local Golden Corral Restaurant, but I'd never been to one before and had little idea what to expect… it was kind of like a food theme park. LOL
The Co-Op had a private room for the meeting though, and once everyone had had a chance to eat and socialize for a bit, the meeting began. There was general news and open discussion, mostly about the
Tucson Festival of Books. Apparently this is an amazing event—people that had attended only had wonderful things to say. I also got an earful about promoting your books in general—little did I know I'm supposed to have a box of my own books in the trunk of my car at all times (I have to admit, I've missed out on quite a few sales in the past year just because I was only carrying one copy of my book on me) and sell sheets.
The theme for the meeting was 'The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Book Signings'. Local authors
Anne Hillerman and
Don Bullis, plus local indie bookseller and 'author herder'
Ollie Reed. They all had personal takes on the subject, the the overall messages were: be prepared, work/schmooze/SELL (don't just sit there and smile), find organizations and events that relate to your book–outside bookstores!, the more you say yes—the more contacts & connections you make, send out your own press releases, and oh yeah, BE PREPARED. ;)
 |
| Don Bullis, Anne Hillerman, and Ollie Reed talk about Book Signing Events |
The upcoming meetings are on book sell sheets and book production—one of which I know nothing about and one of which I could actually contribute to the discussion. I am definitely looking forward to getting more involved with the Co-Op.
*I also entered my little picture book in the New Mexico/Arizona Book Awards. Keeping my fingers crossed!
I vaguely knew of the
NM Book Co-Op before this meeting. It was something I heard mentioned or saw in e-newsletters—but this was the first time I've attended one of their meetings, and I was really impressed.
Okay, it was held at a local Golden Corral Restaurant, but I'd never been to one before and had little idea what to expect… it was kind of like a food theme park. LOL
The Co-Op had a private room for the meeting though, and once everyone had had a chance to eat and socialize for a bit, the meeting began. There was general news and open discussion, mostly about the
Tucson Festival of Books. Apparently this is an amazing event—people that had attended only had wonderful things to say. I also got an earful about promoting your books in general—little did I know I'm supposed to have a box of my own books in the trunk of my car at all times (I have to admit, I've missed out on quite a few sales in the past year just because I was only carrying one copy of my book on me) and sell sheets.
The theme for the meeting was 'The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Book Signings'. Local authors
Anne Hillerman and
Don Bullis, plus local indie bookseller and 'author herder'
Ollie Reed. They all had personal takes on the subject, the the overall messages were: be prepared, work/schmooze/SELL (don't just sit there and smile), find organizations and events that relate to your book–outside bookstores!, the more you say yes—the more contacts & connections you make, send out your own press releases, and oh yeah, BE PREPARED. ;)
|
| Don Bullis, Anne Hillerman, and Ollie Reed talk about Book Signing Events |
The upcoming meetings are on book sell sheets and book production—one of which I know nothing about and one of which I could actually contribute to the discussion. I am definitely looking forward to getting more involved with the Co-Op.
*I also entered my little picture book in the New Mexico/Arizona Book Awards. Keeping my fingers crossed!
 |
| Behind-the-scenes. |
What an honor to be asked to judge a Show that I've been involved with almost every year since I've been in New Mexico. I had the pleasure of going in and seeing all the accepted miniature work yesterday—then had to the challenging task of handing out awards.
Don't let anyone tell you it's easy to judge other people's work, it's not. Although, that being said, I think I may have had it a little easier than the larger works judge. Miniatures have strict rules & regulations against which to be juried into the show—I was a juror back in 2011, that's also a tough job! But the jurors did a fabulous job selecting deserving works to be included in this year's display.
There are 7 categories: Oil, Acrylic, Water Media, Drawing/Printing, Mixed Media, Colored Pencil and Three-dimensional—each of which I had to award 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, plus 8 honorable mentions, one Best-In-Show, and several awards for excellence, detail, etc.
It was a daunting afternoon, but more than rewarding for the honored recipients—it was a rich and inspiring experience for me. I walked out of there brimming with ideas and motivation to push myself more in my own work, experiment, and perhaps even branch out into other media.
I'm looking forward to the reception next Friday, April 4th 5-8pm… and to the next year of ideas and experiments and new miniature work to come!
 |
| Signing documents while the show is hung. |
p.s. I'm also teaching my first workshop during/at the show. It will focus on mixing colors, blending, and burnishing with colored pencil—specifically how these relate to working in miniature. I'm nervous and excited for it, wish me luck!
|
| Behind-the-scenes. |
What an honor to be asked to judge a Show that I've been involved with almost every year since I've been in New Mexico. I had the pleasure of going in and seeing all the accepted miniature work yesterday—then had to the challenging task of handing out awards.
Don't let anyone tell you it's easy to judge other people's work, it's not. Although, that being said, I think I may have had it a little easier than the larger works judge. Miniatures have strict rules & regulations against which to be juried into the show—I was a juror back in 2011, that's also a tough job! But the jurors did a fabulous job selecting deserving works to be included in this year's display.
There are 7 categories: Oil, Acrylic, Water Media, Drawing/Printing, Mixed Media, Colored Pencil and Three-dimensional—each of which I had to award 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, plus 8 honorable mentions, one Best-In-Show, and several awards for excellence, detail, etc.
It was a daunting afternoon, but more than rewarding for the honored recipients—it was a rich and inspiring experience for me. I walked out of there brimming with ideas and motivation to push myself more in my own work, experiment, and perhaps even branch out into other media.
I'm looking forward to the reception next Friday, April 4th 5-8pm… and to the next year of ideas and experiments and new miniature work to come!
|
| Signing documents while the show is hung. |
p.s. I'm also teaching my first workshop during/at the show. It will focus on mixing colors, blending, and burnishing with colored pencil—specifically how these relate to working in miniature. I'm nervous and excited for it, wish me luck!
Hey, so there didn't seem to be a new word from the folks at
Illustration Friday this week, so I'm totally going to use this edited piece as my submission for SPARK. Ideas can come from the tiniest sparks of inspiration—keep an eye out and you'll see them everywhere!
Hey, so there didn't seem to be a new word from the folks at
Illustration Friday this week, so I'm totally going to use this edited piece as my submission for SPARK. Ideas can come from the tiniest sparks of inspiration—keep an eye out and you'll see them everywhere!
I recently finished this new piece as my assignment for the Austin SCBWI Conference. I signed up for the conference a bit too late to have completed the piece BEFORE the event, but art director
Laurent Linn was kind enough to invite all attendees to submit a revised or new piece, via email, a few weeks after.
I've also been thinking about experimenting with my style, and this piece gave me the perfect opportunity to try some new ideas. Those of you that know, know I LOVE colored pencil. One of the biggest downsides to working with CP is the time it requires, especially in my chosen approach of burnishing (full paper coverage). I decided to try working at a smaller scale and enlarging my pencil work, to bring out the hidden textures in my usually ultra-smooth looking work.
 |
| Concept & character sketches. I didn't have a lot of time to really develop them as much as I would have liked, and I kept second-guessing myself… I eventually decided I just had to go with it and see what happened. |
 |
| Background, completed separately. It's about 30% of the final size (70% reduced scale). The spot I pulled out isn't even 100%, but it gives you an better idea of the hidden texture that comes out with enlarging. |
 |
| Characters are about 50% reduced scale. I'm naturally drawn to line work, but I hoping to incorporate the line work in future pieces in a fully digital way, as seen below. |
 |
| I did single line drawings are random sizes and scaled them as needed to find a composition that worked for the story/piece. These are done in black colored pencil, which adds to the texture/grittiness of the line (although I'd like to try some regular graphite lines, just to see the difference). I them remove the white paper and digitally edit the line colors as needed (mainly via blending layers in photoshop). |
So,what do you all think? I'm enjoying this direction, hope you are too!
I recently finished this new piece as my assignment for the Austin SCBWI Conference. I signed up for the conference a bit too late to have completed the piece BEFORE the event, but art director
Laurent Linn was kind enough to invite all attendees to submit a revised or new piece, via email, a few weeks after.
I've also been thinking about experimenting with my style, and this piece gave me the perfect opportunity to try some new ideas. Those of you that know, know I LOVE colored pencil. One of the biggest downsides to working with CP is the time it requires, especially in my chosen approach of burnishing (full paper coverage). I decided to try working at a smaller scale and enlarging my pencil work, to bring out the hidden textures in my usually ultra-smooth looking work.
|
| Concept & character sketches. I didn't have a lot of time to really develop them as much as I would have liked, and I kept second-guessing myself… I eventually decided I just had to go with it and see what happened. |
|
| Background, completed separately. It's about 30% of the final size (70% reduced scale). The spot I pulled out isn't even 100%, but it gives you an better idea of the hidden texture that comes out with enlarging. |
|
| Characters are about 50% reduced scale. I'm naturally drawn to line work, but I hoping to incorporate the line work in future pieces in a fully digital way, as seen below. |
|
| I did single line drawings are random sizes and scaled them as needed to find a composition that worked for the story/piece. These are done in black colored pencil, which adds to the texture/grittiness of the line (although I'd like to try some regular graphite lines, just to see the difference). I them remove the white paper and digitally edit the line colors as needed (mainly via blending layers in photoshop). |
So,what do you all think? I'm enjoying this direction, hope you are too!
Last night we had our third local SCBWI-NM Illustrator's group meeting of 2014!
At 5pm, we started with dinner and socializing at a local cafe. Our SCBWI
Schmooze is held on the same night, so writers
and illustrators got to mingle a bit while we noshed and hung out—it was quite the full-house. We're always adding tables to our tables as more people arrive. It was kind of a shame that we illustrators had to leave the party early, but it was worth it…
At 6pm, the illustrators headed across the parking lot, to local framing shop,
FRAMED, where Scott Paden was ready to chat with us and answer questions about framing. Scott talked about some basics, old and new framing ideas, as well as ideas for framing pieces to sell vs. striaght-up neutral gallery framing. We talked about shoo sing matte colors—close but not too close (especially with whites/creams) and accenting with a bold colored double matte. Six illustrator members made it out for the evening.
 |
| Local illustrators soaking up the framing information. |
 |
| Scott Paden, Artist, Designer, and Framer. |
 |
| An awesome example of varieties of framing options for a single piece, from simple to excessively elaborate. |
The Schmooze for the evening centered on Social Media, as introduced by local ember (and soon-to-published)
Veronica Bartles. There are so many social media options out there, and the idea to keep in mind: you don't have to do it all. Look at the options and pick one or a few that work for you. Some of Veronica's favorites:
Twitter (fast & easy way to connect to industry people + chats), as well as owning your own web presence (
personal website), and
blogging. She also highlighted the advantages/disadvantages of having a Facebook
Author page vs. having a personal account.
 |
| Veronica Bartles discussing Social Media for authors and illustrators, at local bookstore, Alamosa Books. |
Last night we had our third local SCBWI-NM Illustrator's group meeting of 2014!
At 5pm, we started with dinner and socializing at a local cafe. Our SCBWI
Schmooze is held on the same night, so writers
and illustrators got to mingle a bit while we noshed and hung out—it was quite the full-house. We're always adding tables to our tables as more people arrive. It was kind of a shame that we illustrators had to leave the party early, but it was worth it…
At 6pm, the illustrators headed across the parking lot, to local framing shop,
FRAMED, where Scott Paden was ready to chat with us and answer questions about framing. Scott talked about some basics, old and new framing ideas, as well as ideas for framing pieces to sell vs. striaght-up neutral gallery framing. We talked about shoo sing matte colors—close but not too close (especially with whites/creams) and accenting with a bold colored double matte. Six illustrator members made it out for the evening.
|
| Local illustrators soaking up the framing information. |
|
| Scott Paden, Artist, Designer, and Framer. |
|
| An awesome example of varieties of framing options for a single piece, from simple to excessively elaborate. |
The Schmooze for the evening centered on Social Media, as introduced by local ember (and soon-to-published)
Veronica Bartles. There are so many social media options out there, and the idea to keep in mind: you don't have to do it all. Look at the options and pick one or a few that work for you. Some of Veronica's favorites:
Twitter (fast & easy way to connect to industry people + chats), as well as owning your own web presence (
personal website), and
blogging. She also highlighted the advantages/disadvantages of having a Facebook
Author page vs. having a personal account.
|
| Veronica Bartles discussing Social Media for authors and illustrators, at local bookstore, Alamosa Books. |
To me! LOL
Seriously, I had an amazing birthday this year… because it lasted like, a week. And, most importantly, I didn't get the flu (like last year—literally, on my birthday).
My friend, Mike, held his annual White Elephant party a bit late this season…
and my friend Lynn arranged to combine it with a surprise party, for ME!
I usually hate surprises, but this… was totally awesome! Check out the
handmade birthday card from Lynn and the awesome colored pencil frame!
My friends Lynn and Vicky also treated my to an evening tea at the
St. James Tearoom.
The Tearoom had an artist theme this month, including my favorite tea, Van Gogh Smiling.
Look at all the goodies we enjoyed, do they not look amazing?! And that's the gluten-free menu!
Vicky took me to the same tea back in
2012, here is a page from my morning pages,
on which I drew the entire menu. So good! (the food specifically, but I like the drawings too)
For the last year or so, I'm been screen-capturing instragram photos I like and saving them in a folder I call Art&Inspiration. I can't say that I've gone back to look at the folder very much, but this week I did and I pulled out three, recently posted, quote-based images that stood out to me:
Wow. They all pretty much speak for themselves, but they each stood out for a different reason that resonates with me at this moment in my life.
Look at all the failure Abe Lincoln went through, over and over and over… and the man could not be kept down. That list is a great reminder for me, when I start to beat myself up about not being more successful at this or that or
anything in my life right now.
I've also been working very hard to be more active and healthy, starting back in August 2013. I think I've finally found a nice balance of various practices and I can confidently say I'm in the best shape of my life. *I may never have a stomach like the one in the picture (
I just like cookies and ice cream too much), but I've noticed the changes, ever so slowly, over these last 7 months—the good results DO come. Also, this philosophy applies to career goals as well, so… yeah—that too.
Lastly, there is nothing so important to me as my dreams. Big ideas. Something to strive for. And gorgeous calligraphy—that too. Just love that. ;)
For the last year or so, I'm been screen-capturing instragram photos I like and saving them in a folder I call Art&Inspiration. I can't say that I've gone back to look at the folder very much, but this week I did and I pulled out three, recently posted, quote-based images that stood out to me:
Wow. They all pretty much speak for themselves, but they each stood out for a different reason that resonates with me at this moment in my life.
Look at all the failure Abe Lincoln went through, over and over and over… and the man could not be kept down. That list is a great reminder for me, when I start to beat myself up about not being more successful at this or that or
anything in my life right now.
I've also been working very hard to be more active and healthy, starting back in August 2013. I think I've finally found a nice balance of various practices and I can confidently say I'm in the best shape of my life. *I may never have a stomach like the one in the picture (
I just like cookies and ice cream too much), but I've noticed the changes, ever so slowly, over these last 7 months—the good results DO come. Also, this philosophy applies to career goals as well, so… yeah—that too.
Lastly, there is nothing so important to me as my dreams. Big ideas. Something to strive for. And gorgeous calligraphy—that too. Just love that. ;)
My good friend, Neecy Twinem, teaches several illustration classes over at the Southwest University of Visual Arts (SUVA) here in Albuquerque—and I'm always happy to visit her classes when she asks me to come in and talk about colored pencils & illustration.
As usual, I packed up about 3 bags worth of supplies, samples, books, and finished pieces to share with the class. I discussed a few different methods of working with pencils, did a short demo, and talked a lot about how I got into pencils and developed a way of working with them that suited me (a lot of it was trial and error, luck of the draw, and timing).
I'm thinking about writing a post specifically about all this… sometime in the near future. For now, let me just say—I have used
Prismacolor a lot in the past. I still have a rather large collection of Primacolor pencils… but these days I'm using mainly Caran d'Arche
Luminance 6901 pencils—for three very important reasons:
One—they almost never break inside the barrel of the pencil. Prisma breaks often and easily, I've wasted whole pencils on breakage like that.
Two—they do not bloom, there's not waxy white haze that forms over unsealed artwork that is heavily burnished.
Three—they have the best lightfast rating of any colored pencil on the market.
I'll see about putting together more posts about working with colored pencils… soon.
My good friend, Neecy Twinem, teaches several illustration classes over at the Southwest University of Visual Arts (SUVA) here in Albuquerque—and I'm always happy to visit her classes when she asks me to come in and talk about colored pencils & illustration.
As usual, I packed up about 3 bags worth of supplies, samples, books, and finished pieces to share with the class. I discussed a few different methods of working with pencils, did a short demo, and talked a lot about how I got into pencils and developed a way of working with them that suited me (a lot of it was trial and error, luck of the draw, and timing).
I'm thinking about writing a post specifically about all this… sometime in the near future. For now, let me just say—I have used
Prismacolor a lot in the past. I still have a rather large collection of Primacolor pencils… but these days I'm using mainly Caran d'Arche
Luminance 6901 pencils—for three very important reasons:
One—they almost never break inside the barrel of the pencil. Prisma breaks often and easily, I've wasted whole pencils on breakage like that.
Two—they do not bloom, there's not waxy white haze that forms over unsealed artwork that is heavily burnished.
Three—they have the best lightfast rating of any colored pencil on the market.
I'll see about putting together more posts about working with colored pencils… soon.
Fun little tidbit… today I got to FaceTime with my brother, the amazing painter, Sean Beavers. Being two busy creatives with multiple jobs, we rarely get to touch base… but today, of all days, it happened—making this one of my best Valentine's Days ever (really, they're generally never very good to me, LOL).
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| BroTime + PupTime |
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| Golden Light, by Sean Beavers |
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