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Recently I had the pleasure, albeit a somewhat nervous pleasure, of being interviewed by my good friend Monica Lee of Smart Creative Women via Skype (nothing makes you more aware of age and weight than knowing you will be on camera). That interview will go live very soon, but I thought I would share some thoughts that Monica and I never really got to cover fully during the time we spoke, because time did, as time does in real life, fly by.

I have had the good fortune of being able to spend nearly one hundred percent of my time these last forty years, making art in one form or another. I did take a few years off when my two oldest sons were little, but when I think back on that time, I was always dong something creative (and most of it was donated for fundraising events of one kind or another), just not all of it professionally. Aside from that short break, it has pretty much been non-stop all the time.

But, nonstop at what?  Well, nonstop at art. Art in many forms and in many materials for many venues. In short: I've been a painter, puppeteer, doll maker, soft sculpture artist/craftsperson, editorial illustrator, children's book author and illustrator, fabric designer, licensed artist, and now I am also painting again. I’ve also spent a lot of time decorating houses, but, to be very honest, that makes me zero money. It only costs me money. But that's OK. It satisfies my soul. It's a medium I have to work in almost as much as my paints. “House--just another art material and artistic discipline."

But back to business. If I look back over all my years as an artist, I see one thing: my aesthetic sensibility has not changed much in forty years. I am still drawn to the same things I was drawn to in college--characters, details, expressive gestures, and emotions. I love color and texture and patterns. I especially like narratives. Everything I do tends to tell a story, and the story is in the details, textures and characters.

I have written about this before and in much more detail. You can read the first accout I wrote years ago for my very first web site. It really rambles and tells the story of the earliest years. Here is the place to read that. I created an abbreviated version for my current web site. You can ready that one here. 

I’m sharing some recent art here at Cats and Jammers Studio to coordinate with the interview. I am also sharing some of the house and other new art on my other blog, Design Rocket.

What message would I love to give other artists? This: don’t be afraid to re-invent yourself and try new things. Life as an artist is a wild journey on a winding road. A few years back, I posted a long post about moving in random directions in life, seemingly as if by pure serendipity. Well, life is that but it is also by luck and pluck, and maybe much less by design than we think. Please read that post, Serendipity + Pluck = Life.

Much of the art here is from my 2011 Sketchbook Project, “Coffee and Cigarettes.” I loved doing that book. I have done two others since. You can see the digital scans of my book here. And you can see the show opening containg paintngs based on the book here.

Participating in the Sketchbook Projects for the Art House Coop really feeds my artistic soul. My most recent book was titled “Strangers.” In doing that book I dedicated it to my painting and drawing professor of my sophomore year of college, John Patrick Murphy II. John was the head of the art department at Rockland Community College for more than 30 years. On the very first day I met him, I shared some paintings and he gave me advice that has stayed with me all these years: “Barbara, draw out of your head.” Meaning, draw from the well within you that has your memories and your impressions. And that is the way I have worked ever since.

John very recently passed away. This post is dedicated to him, because, really, meeting him and getting to know him was pure serendipity and it pointed me along the way on my own artistic journey.

This evening I was enjoying my weekly indulgence: the Sunday New York Times Book Review, the Sunday Magazine, Arts and Leisure, and the Sunday Styles section. I would be lying if I said I read the Sunday Times cover to cover every week. Sometimes I will read a little something in almost every section, but more often than not, I only glance while I manage to read the Book Review, Arts and Leisure, Sunday Styles, and the magazine (in that order).

So tonight I got to the paper late.

It was a good thing. Had I read the Styles section earlier my whole day would have been ruined.

On page 14 was a full page advertisement by the NY Times Store: "Introducing Callaway Classics. Fine Art prints from your favorite children's books." The page had art by Jeffry Fulvimari and Loren Long from the first two children's book of "she who will not be named," (hereto referred to as "The M Word") It also had some art by David Kirk for two of his books, including Miss Spider's Tea Party: Miss Spider's Web of Friends. At the bottom of the page was art by art by Fred Marcellino for two Puss in Boots books by Charles Perrault. Here is a link to the store section to learn more. It seems I cannot link to an actual page in the paper if it is just an ad.

(BTW, the art pictured here is a piece by Loren Long for that book by the M Word. I like to think that the man and boy are looking into the wind which is blowing away all the money Loren Long SHOULD have made on that book.)

First of all: I CHALLENGE YOU TO FIND ME ONE PERSON ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH, ASIDE FROM HER OWN KIDS, HER HUSBAND, AND HERSELF, WHOSE FAVORITE CHILDREN'S BOOK IS ONE BY THE "M WORD".

Second: selling high quality prints of original art is certainly not a bad thing. And it is especially nice to sell prints from children's books. I sell prints myself from Tex and Sugar. But why is it that only Fred Marcellino seems to own the copyright to his own art? And why is there a head shot of ONLY of the M Word, and not the artists, and why is "M" written on the prints, as though she had a single, damn thing to do with the talent that went into creating the art!?! And who does the money go to , anyway? Are Loren Long or Jeffrey Fulvimari seeing a good portion of the proceeds from their own artwork made into prints? I want to know the answer to this. Or is this going into the coffers of the M Word again and her so-called charity?

One reason for the artists NOT owning their own art copyrights is clear on the celebrity books side: When it comes to celebrity books, it is often the case that artists get stuck with a "WORK FOR HIRE" contract. WFH means that they will do the illustration for a one time fee, relinquish all rights, and never receive another penny, ever again. Furthermore, their art can be used for anything on the face of the earth, i.e. lunch boxes, pocketbooks, boxer shorts and sippy cups, and they will not profit from that. Period.

Every single illustrator I know has, at some point in his or her career, done work for hire for one client or another. We all frown upon it, and many of us have reached a point where we say "NO MAS" (myself included), but some of us still have to do it because it is one of the evils of being an illustrator and making a living at it. To those who decry the practice altogether, mock the artists who do work this way, and adopt

School finally started in this neck of the woods and in honor of that I thought I'd trot out this little lunch box surprise. A Balanced Meal by David Elzey I brought my lunch to school today With all my favorite stuff, Like French toast topped with gravy And burnt marshmallow fluff. My sandwich includes pickled eggs With jam and sauerkraut, Hot mustard and green jelly