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I've mainly been posting essays and resource information of late, but not much in the way of artwork. Why? Because I've been hard at work on my art licensing portfolio. Unfortunately this is the type of work that I can't show-and-tell at this point. It's been a big undertaking. It's exciting to see my ideas come to fruition in the form of my portfolio. It's a thrill to be finding "my voice" in this arena, as well. But it's a bummer to not be able to share it with all of you! But, with some hope, hard work and good luck, I will make some deals this year. Then, I'll be able to share some wonderful news, as well as some of the art!

Over the past few years I've been studying art licensing quite a bit and with the help of some great people I've acquired the tools to seek out (or seek in, rather) what I could bring to this industry that is unique and unlike anything else that I see out there. As I've been working on my collections, I am seeing my own specific "art licensing style" emerging organically, and it is very exciting. I like what I see, and it's a great feeling to see my work in this light and getting ready for "prime-time".

I've been so entrenched in this work and I can't help but think of how crazy an artist must be while getting ready for a show such as Surtex. The amount of work that I've been putting into just ONE collection alone is astonishing. Central images, patterns, frames, borders and icons... and some of my collections only have some of the above! Anyway, to see my ideas come to life this way is awesome, and I know will be substantially MORE gratifying down the road. So I just wanted to say a BIG CHEERS to all of the artists I know who do this work and bring joy to so many through their art on product. I will be joining you soon and I am SO looking forward to it!

I just saw the film "Into The Wild". It's a story based in truth about a young man who, pretty much scarred by his parents and the ideals that they were forcing on him, literally drops out of society after graduating from college. He went whole hog, too -- burned all of his identification, and gave all of his savings to charity. Stunning. It was a very scary story to watch. He was constantly in situations that were extremely dangerous. He burned all of his money. He abandoned his car. (He also made some wonderful friends, too.) He was extremist, hardcore. This guy chose to live a lifestyle that I found personally terrifying, but, it was the way that he wanted to live, and that's something you just can't argue with. It was haunting, disturbing, and ultimately devastating. In the end though, a very rewarding movie to watch. I'm glad it was made. Did you see it?

I am so super-exhausted. I cannot even adequately describe. It's been a really busy couple of weeks. I've been working on something really exciting (really, really REALLY exciting, ok?) but I'm not spilling the beans yet. Anyway, at the moment, it is in the bag as much as it possibly can be at this juncture -- SO, that's GOOD. I have a real sense of accomplishment and I have very high hopes. Please please please send lots of happy vibes!!

I'm also working on a pet portrait -- SO cute -- a St. Bernard (my first)!! Also will be doing an upcoming cover for the Graphic Artists Guild national newsletter. I'm trying to brainstorm something really good, but also really "me" for the supplied subject matter, and let me tell ya, it's a teeny bit of a challenge so far, but I think I can do it. ;)

Also, more kid art for some promos coming up real soon. One of thise pieces is going to be for Picture Book 2009. I'm so excited that I'll have a presence in PB 2009 under the Tugeau 2 umbrella. Yippee!! Pretty awesome.

Another promo I'll be doing is for something different. For that one, I will likely tackle the window-shopper girl and do a final piece of it (finally, you say? ;) ) I'm thinking that might be nice in pen and ink (traditional). I may do some revisiting of long-past-used mediums soon (namely, liquid ink). Not sure about that, though -- we'll see. More on that later.

Lastly, my agency started a BLOG!! It's a great thing and I'm glad. I plan to contribute regularly, not sure of the exact schedule, but regularly. For starters to get the blog rolling, I'll let you know when I post and maybe you will check it out. It's bound to be a great outlet -- LOTS of really talented, really great artists. (Lucky me to be in such stellar company!)

In personal news (and just for kicks, I'll share), I attended my 20th high school reunion this past weekend. What a trip that was. It was really great to see old faces and catch up a bit. With some, I felt like there was so much to say and not even time to scratch the surface. You're at a loss for words in those situations, what can you say. (Half the time, I'm like, what just flew out of my mouth?) Anyway, it would be really nice to see some of them again sometime soon in the not-too-distant future (um, definitely BEFORE the next reunion. ).

Okay... that's all for now... over and out. More later!!

Kathy

On Saturday February 9th, my friend Jen and I met in Salem, MA to shop around at the town's "Salem's So Sweet" promotional day (running for a week)! See photos here.

What I'm reading...

Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
I loved his book The Tipping Point so much -- to me, it was so revelatory, and it was a catalyst for big shifts in my viewpoints, on so many things. When I first heard about his book Blink, I was so excited I was jumping out of my skin. But, when it comes to new releases, I'm really patient, since I'd rather read a paperback. I knew I was in for a wait. I don't know when it finally came out in paperback, but I just recently picked it up, and am reading it now.



I also just purchased Golden Legacy, which is a beautiful big book covering the history of Little Golden Books. It's gorgeous, filled with lovely artwork from Little Golden Books, and also shows some other art from the time period when the LGB series was first hatched. I may do a more in-depth post on this book once I start reading it.




What I'm listening to...
I've been in retro-land lately, revisiting old favorites The Sundays , The Clash and The Smiths. On a more contemporary note, I can't seem to get M.I.A.'s newest record out of heavy rotation, and I always seem to end up listening to part of her first record too, while I'm in the M's.


Back to that 'retro-land' note... This morning, I couldn't get the Violent Femme's first record out of my head (oh, so catchy!), so I went to purchase it on iTunes. My mission was aborted though because iTunes doesn't *have* the Violent Femme's first album (hmm... yet, I'm sure). I might just look through my CD's and - surprise! - actually find it hiding away in there...

What are you reading and listening to?

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Harry the Dirty Dog
by Gene Zion, ill. by Margaret Bloy Graham


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Inch by Inch
by Leo Lionni


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Ish
by Peter H. Reynolds