 |
"the lucky one"
6x6 acrylic on canvas
©the enchanted easel 2016 |
here's to 2016 and the year of the monkey! this is beautiful little Mei Lin. she comes to bring good fortune with her
lucky mandarin orange.
PRINTS (AND OTHER GOODIES) FOR SALE THROUGH THE SHOP LINKS
HERE...also, the ORIGINAL PAINTING is AVAILABLE. message me
here if interested.
"the lucky one" is sized at 6x6, acrylic on canvas. what a lovely little addition she would make to your home, bringing good fortune and happiness along with her.
{hey, i was working on her when my man Peyton won the SB yesterday so she is lucky for sure! :)}
 |
serafina~fire goddess
11x14 acrylic on canvas
©the enchanted easel 2015 |
i thought it might be fun to take on the four elements (in between commissions), so i began with a self-portrait of sorts...the true definition of a fire sign.
meet serafina, the goddess of fire. PRINTS (AND SUCH) can be found through the shop links
here. also, the ORIGINAL PAINTING is FOR SALE.
contact me if interested and please place the word SERAFINA in the subject line so i don't mistake it for spam/junk mail.
i'm hoping to get to the remaining elements (air, water and earth) SOON! :) currently working on a couple commissions....
Read the rest of this post
 |
camellia~original drawing
7x9 graphite/tinted graphite on bristol
©the enchanted easel 2015 |
but better late than never, right? :)
this little beauty goes by the name, Camillia and is the the final drawing in my series of 3 flower/summer girls.
with today being september 1st already (and i'm perfectly ok with that-c'mon football and PEYTON and fall, of course) well, i'm kinda late with this little lady but it's been a busy august and she's been done for quite a while actually....just forgot to post her. so....
better late than never! :)
Camillia (along with her lovely little companions,
Flora and
Blossom) is/are FOR SALE as the ORIGINAL DRAWING(S) in my
etsy shop. i also have a trio of winter girls listed for sale
here...of course being the snow bunny i am, these three are my personal favorites. either way, hop on over to my shop and have a look. if you'd like to purchase the trio of either the summer/winter girls, please send me a convo through etsy and we can work out a happy price for all three beauties.
{did i mention i'm super stoked for FALL, FOOTBALL and PEYTON?! :)}
 |
| painting petals and tresses... |
putting the finishing touches on a couple of things as well as starting a new triptych of cute little woodland animals for a new mommy to be.
 |
| floral flourishes.... |
{a very productive August, i might say....}
 |
| heads-up, little guy... |
 |
blossom~original drawing
graphite/tinted graphite on bristol 7x9
©the enchanted easel 2015 |
second in a series of three summer/flower girls.
the ORIGINAL DRAWING is FOR SALE
here. also, sweet little
Flora can be found in shop as well...and then for the winter lover like myself, well there are three pristine ice princesses in my
shop FOR SALE also.
with Blossom and Flora complete, there is only lovely Camillia left in the series...COMING SOON! :)
on a Monday night! :)
this little sweetie goes by the name Sunshine (well, she is bright, cheery and yellow like the sun....) and is one in a small series of cute little birds.
ORIGINAL PAINTING FOR SALE
HERE and PRINTS and other goodies FOR SALE
HERE!
{an adorable little bluebird is up next....}
 |
flora~original drawing
7x9 graphite on bristol
©the enchanted easel 2015 |
the first in a series of three summer/flower girls i will be releasing FOR SALE this summer.
*NOTE~this is an ORIGINAL DRAWING not a print. i will not be selling prints until the original drawing is sold. you can find here FOR SALE
here.
also, in my
etsy shop, i have three winter girls (ORIGINAL DRAWINGS) available. try not to be biased but they are my favorite. well of course they are, they represent WINTER...one of my obsessions (because God knows i have a few of those...;) )
ok, back to business.....i have also added share buttons to the images here in my blog. i have been trying to add
pinterest buttons to the gallery images on my
site but due to the format (carousel) i have the images displayed in, well that's the only format in which the pinterest buttons do not want to play nice. kind of stuck on the carousel format so i apologize for the lack of ease in sharing any images you may love on my site onto your pinterest pages. please feel free to share from my blog here though...if the mood strikes you. always remember, ALL of my images belong solely to ME. NONE of them are to be reproduced by anyone but myself. i see lots of artists have their hard work taken by others unknowingly and popping up all over the internet without consent/permission. so wrong but don't get me started....
so now that Flora has made her little debut this first full week of summer (thank you God for the gift of air conditioning....) her lovely little friends, Camillia and Blossom will be following...soon! :)
By Chloe
Alice Pattullo is an illustrator based in East London. Her work is inspired by British folklore, traditions and superstition. This has created a distinctive vintage style within her work with a handmade quality. It is full of character and texture. Her work depicts a variety of subject matter from food to whimsical scenes of people and animals.
To view more of Pattullo’s charming illustrations, please visit her portfolio.
Inspired by the Sketch Dailies topic today, and how much I loved using ink yesterday I created this! I know how nice it is to snuggle with your best friend, especially if it is sort of smelly, but happy with a tail.
I’ve been super excited about trying out inking since I went to Icon a week or so ago, and when I saw that Yuko Shimizu had some videos on skillshare that just came out, I had to watch them. This was the result; it was super fun to work with ink, quick but… MESSY. My hands are covered, hah!
Today I am wrapping up my series on Indie vs. Traditional Publishing with a post from a very special guest, Sourcebooks editor Aubrey Poole. But if you have any additional questions leave them in the comments and I will do my best to answer or find out.
Thanks for inviting me to be a part of this ever-changing and increasingly important discussion. The rise of the eBook has meant a lot of changes for the publishing industry, and I’m proud to be a part of an organization that has embraced those changes. Sourcebooks is a privately owned independent company that’s gained a reputation for being agile, forward-thinking and willing to experiment. So, we may not quite fall under the category of “traditional” publisher, but we definitely acquire, package, produce, market and sell books, and I’m very happy to talk a little more about what value a Publisher brings to its authors.
I can through a lot of terms at you about each piece of the publishing process, like so:
But I’m going to break it down to one core idea: Discoverability.
What does discoverability mean? How readers find your book. If they don’t know about it, they can’t buy it (or check it out), and they can’t read it. So, the billion dollar question is: how will readers find your book?
With the close of Borders and the increasing popularity of eReaders, brick-and-mortar stores are gradually decreasing in number, limiting the opportunity for chance discovery. It’s becoming less common for readers to be browsing a shelf to find their next must-read and more important for publishers (or self-published authors) to find ways to bring attention to their books.
So, essentially, a Publisher’s job is to connect authors to readers.
This is done in a variety of ways from creating eye-catching book covers (that look good as thumbnails), to writing intriguing jacket copy, to placing ads in magazines, to sending ARCs (advance readers copies) to bloggers, reviewers, booksellers and librarians, to booking spots on TV or NPR, to purchasing advantageous placement in Barnes and Noble (those front-of-store table displays aren’t free!) to making sure the metadata (title, author, pages count, age level, etc.) is sent to Amazon correctly, and more.
With all of the noise out there (347,178 new books published in 2011 in the U.S. alone), it’s a Publisher’s job to make your book be heard.
What about Amanda Hocking and E.L. James, you ask? Didn’t they become successful, bestselling authors without a “traditional” publisher? Yes! They are part of the lucky few whose self-published eBooks got that magical word-of-mouth momentum combined with low price points that shot them to the top of the bestseller lists. But for every success story, there are thousands of self-published authors you’ve never heard of and likely never will. And, you may have noticed, both Hocking and James turned to “traditional” publishers to take their eBook phenomena and publish them in print to reach an even wider audience.
So, what does this all mean for you, the writer? Self-publishing is a fantastic new and growing option that will become an important part of the publishing sphere and allow for more and easier access to information than ever before. And for some authors, it will be the right fit. I think it will be especially important for authors of controversial, innovative or niche subjects and genres fast converting to eBooks (like romance!). But in my opinion, a Publisher is still a writer’s best bet when it comes to finding an audience for you book.
Bio:
Aubrey Poole got her start as an editor correcting her friends’ grammar in high school, an effort which naturally guaranteed instant popularity. After a brief internship in the marketing department at Penguin UK, she started her first real job as a news assistant at The Real Estate Journal in Los Angeles. But when she was offered a position as a reporter, Aubrey thought it would be less scary to move cross-country to New York City and try to break into the book publishing industry.
Aubrey is now an associate editor at Sourcebooks, acquiring children’s books from picture books through young adult. Her first YA novel, Send by Patty Blount, was a Junior Library Guild pick, and she hopes to continue shamelessly courting librarians with her forthcoming middle grade novel The Ninja Librarians.
Audience
Traditional:- Pros:
- They can get the word out and are featured prominently at chain bookstores and online. So you have a boost right away
- People trust what they know
- You have a better chance at hitting the best seller list and your book becoming big
- Cons:
- They may be trying so hard to mass market that they miss the real gem inside your book
- If it flops, it usually happens right away and it's tougher to get a second book deal
Indie:
- Pros:
- You can publish a book designed to fit the needs of a small or particular audience
- You build your name as an author over time and by word of mouth, so if you don't "make it big" right off the bat, you're still doing just fine
- Cons:
- It's tough to get noticed
- You have to work hard to get the book in the hands of the right people to spread the word
What do you think? Did I get that right? It's tough to say, but that's what I've gleaned so far. Next time? The final round: Personal Satisfaction.
Quality
Indie:- Pros:
- You control the quality of everything from each word to the cover. It's all your decision and if it doesn't fit your vision, you don't have to do it.
- Cons:
- You control the quality. Yup here we go again! See, here's the thing... Having a good editor is priceless. I truly believe if you don't have your book edited, you shouldn't put it out there. There are things you just can't see because you are too close to it. Great beta readers are important, but you need a healthy line edit and of course copy editing as well to make it perfect - or as close as you can get it. It's so important that I can't stress this enough. You have to rely on others to help you out. A great cover artist is important too. You have final say - and that's awesome! But you have to take your time and approach it like a business and DO IT RIGHT.
Traditional:
- Pros:
- You are dealing with a known quantity. You can go to B&N and see their work for yourself. You can rely on the professionals and know that you are in good hands.
- Cons:
- You usually don't have much of a say (if any) in things like cover art and design. Sometimes even marketing. I know of authors who've had issues with the ages their publishers have suggested on both ends of the spectrum (too young and too adult).
Confused yet? Next week is round 4: Audience.
Toilet cleaner, clay, and wood.
Timeline
We all know how long it takes to write a book. We also know how long it takes to publish one. Here are my pros and cons on the time involved in both traditional and indie publishing.
Traditional:- Pros:
- It may take a while, but you know they're doing it "right".
- If it's delayed even longer, it's possibly because your book will do better if released at another time.
- Cons:
- It typically takes a MINIMUM of a 1 1/2 years from deal to publication.
- Many times the list gets shuffled and your release is delayed. Sometimes it's better for the house and not your specific book.
Indie:
- Pros:
- You control the timeline. If you decide to put all your effort and time in, it's not like you're splitting that between dozens of other books and submissions, so you can push it through faster. *note this will also appear as a potential con below.
- You can put out secondary novels/sequels faster than a traditional publisher would, potentially reaching more readers/fans faster.
- Cons:
- You control the timeline. Yup. You might be so excited or so sure your book is perfect that you don't invest the time necessary to do it "right" as sited above. That's up to you as a professional and a true writer.
- You can become so overwhelmed with trying to act like the publisher that you forget to spend time writing and revising and subsequent books can suffer.
So there you have it. My second edition. What can you add? Next week is something I touched on today: Round 3. Quality
This isn't about competition. Most people think it is. That only one format can come out on top. I'm not here to play that game. Personally I believe they can coexist and in fact, I'm going to continue to pursue both. But I do want to take a look at the pros and cons of both as I see them in a series of blogs. I know there are so many people out there better researched than I, but maybe you're just as confused as I was not that long ago and perhaps a layman's view will come in handy.
Today I want to look at Publicity.
Traditional: - Pros:
- Sometimes you get a publicist!
- You have a name behind you
- You have wider exposure in print
- Cons:
- Most new authors have to promote themselves
- Other books from the publisher may take precedence
Indie/Small Press:
- Pros:
- You can release more books in a shorter period of time (provided you still use professional editing/copyediting/design etc.)
- The publisher (sometimes you) might be better invested in your book.
- Cons:
- You definitely have to promote yourself
- You can pretty much count B&N out unless you are doing NOOK.
The truth is I'm not sure I see much of a difference in work unless you are one of the lucky few the big five decide to help publicize. The biggest difference is in traditional print and availability. It's not impossible with Indie by any means, but in a large chain it is.
What did I miss? Fill me in!
There is no question that some publishers frown upon what they call “digitized” artwork. The truth is, digital painting is far from digitized. To digitize an image refers more to taking a photo bringing it into a computer. Sampling at various intervals occurs in the computer via scanning or direct input. That word - digitized - has all kinds of negative suggestion as it applys to art. Far too easily it can be misinterpreted to mean all digital illustration is somehow computer generated and not a very different and original artform.
Digitizing is a far cry from “digital painting.” The term digital painting simply refers to the fact that the painting is taking place in the computer. Digital painting has the ability to free the illustrator from having to redo an entire painting just to correct one color or element. Newer high end computer software can mimic the brush strokes for hundreds of brushes, pens, pencils, pastels and all forms of paint.
I will often sketch with pencil or pen because it gives me the freedom to do very large renderings. Those can be reduced in the computer to the size needed by my editors. This is a watercolor study for the digital painting below. Usually I don't go this far, but I wanted to get a feel of the colors and technique I would use when I transferred to the computer for the final painting. As a study it was good, and I was able to incorporate it into the main painting.
Digital painting is no less creative than traditional. Colors, design, point of view and composition are all elements of digital painting. When combined with traditional sketches and even watercolor washes or beginnings, the finished work can have a quality that is impossible to get in any other way. The colors can be controlled and kept constant through pages and pages of illustrations. You won’t run out of paint.
Paintings that you have completed traditionally can easily be scanned or photographed and incorporated into the digital work.
This is an invitation to all those illustrators who wish to put in their thoughts, comments and two cents about Digital illustration and the pros and cons and in-betweens.
As a "Tradigital" illustrator I combine the traditional with the digital. Although I might begin an illustration with those marvelous traditional techniques and tools, I always finish my art in the digital form. The feel of pencil and paper, the ease of carrying a sketchbook to anyplace I want to wander and the possibilities that paint and ink and colored pencil bring to a work are all part of my process. I will always appreciate what the traditional media mean to me and others.
The digital world opened for me shortly after I discovered that I was able to draw with a mouse in a simple paint program.
After finding that Illustrator, and Photoshop did not do what I wanted I was introduced to Painter by a good friend and accomplished photographer. Painter allowed me to go as deep into the program as I wanted and left me always wanting to find out more. After 10 years of using Painter and teaching some workshops in the earliest of those years I am still finding new ways to make the program work for my chosen field.
Even with the freedom of change that a digital program offers, I still value the opportunity to use traditional media and combine the two. And even if I were totally committed to being only a traditional media artist, I have the good sense to know that at some point I would need to understand the technology of digital transfer, capture, and submission process for the publishing world.
So what about you? Are you digital, traditional, both? Do you have reasons for supporting one over the other?
I've started a new candy piece. Here's the reference I'm working from:
The actual candy bar itself is about 2 inches wide - it is a Mini, after all. But I'm doing the art at about 8 inches wide, like I did with the Twix.
I start with a drawing that I do on my lightbox. This is about 1,000 times darker than the actual drawing I made - I had to darken it up so it would show up here. I use a graphite pencil, H or F or B, and do a really really really light drawing of all the major shapes of type, shadows, etc.
Then I start the rendering. I'm using Polychromos on Stonehenge for this series. And no, I'm not using the "Silver" colored pencil in the box, ha ha, as tempting as that may be. I'm starting with greys - a Warm grey IV, and a Cool Grey III and VI. Here I'm just starting to establish some pattern and value, which will of course get developed way more as I go along.
This is all very slow and a little tedious. OK, no, very tedious. One's eyes can cross doing this, looking at all those little teeny tiny shapes. I'm also doing some editing as I go. I do make decisions about leaving out some of the teenier bits, or things that are just weird photographic hiccups, etc.
There is some nice reflected color in this - some reds and blues, which I'm looking forward to putting in. Also, I chose a 'silver' wrapper this time, since the Twix piece was gold. Kinda needed a change.
So that's it for now. More to come.
Also working on some little black and white children's book pieces. I'm doing them traditionally, but plan to scan them and fiddle with them on my Wacom. I'm trying to get more 'digital' with my work, at least some of the educational type stuff, as that seems to be the way to go. I will still do lush colored pencil pieces when its appropriate. Trying to wear as many hats as necessary to survive in this current shaky illustration world! Feeling like a one woman band.
By: Anita Mejía,
on 9/15/2009
Blog:
Sugar Frosted Goodness
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
bunny girl,
bunnny,
china ink,
illustration,
art,
hair,
sad,
sorrow,
Artwork,
eyes,
traditional,
Anita Mejía,
ribbon,
chocolatita,
inks,
Add a tag
By:
Anita Mejía,
on 9/15/2009
Blog:
Monday Artday
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
bunny girl,
bunnny,
china ink,
illustration,
art,
hair,
sad,
sorrow,
artwork,
eyes,
traditional,
Anita Mejía,
ribbon,
chocolatita,
inks,
Add a tag
By:
Anita Mejía,
on 2/12/2009
Blog:
Monday Artday
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
traditional,
black,
white,
Anita Mejia,
fanart,
inks,
Pastel colors,
illustration,
movie,
art,
coraline,
colors,
acrylic,
markers,
Add a tag
CORALINE fanart
(acrylics, pastel colors, china ink, white ink, colored pencils, markers)
By: Rebecca,
on 3/21/2008
Blog:
OUPblog
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
Music,
literature,
cinderella,
the,
fairy,
Art,
Blogs,
western,
oxford,
woods,
myth,
folklore,
rapunzel,
witch,
A-Featured,
modern,
oupblog,
play,
broadway,
to,
jack,
Prose,
Leisure,
prince,
giant,
companion,
tales,
traditional,
medieval,
zipes,
into,
musical,
Add a tag
One of the best things about working at Oxford University Press is finding older books you didn’t know about. A couple of days ago I came across The Oxford Companion to Fairy Tales: The Western Fairy Tale Tradition from Medieval to Modern, edited by Jack Zipes. I decided to put the volume to the test. Would it have the modern musical interpretation of fairy tales? It did! Below is the entry about one of my favorite shows, Into the Woods.
(more…)
Share This
By: Dave,
on 3/5/2008
Blog:
inspiration from vintage kids books and timeless modern graphic design
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
Off our book shelves,
out of print,
posters,
netherlands,
1970s,
dutch,
Wim crouwel,
Typography,
posters,
out of print,
dutch,
netherlands,
1970s,
Off our book shelves,
Wim crouwel,
Add a tag
Stedelijk Museum program / poster c1970 - Wim Crouwel - designer
Total Design was responsible for designing many of the catalogs/ programs for the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam during the late 1960s and early 1970s. The program above was created by Wim Crouwel and Jolijn van de Wouw (of Total Design) for an exhibition in 1970. The program folds out to a full size poster that reveals a huge letter “A” and the number “7″ which stands for Atelier 7. Atelier translates to “work shop” in English so, this might be referencing a gallery number or possibly the name of the exhibition. On the other side of the poster, it lists the artists and their artwork featured in the gallery.
(more…)
1970s,
dutch,
netherlands,
out of print,
posters,
Typography,
Wim crouwelShare This
©2007 -Visit us at Grain Edit.com for more goodies. 
View Next 4 Posts
I know a number of self-published authors who jumped at the chance to be traditionally published when an agent came a calling.
One of the other advantages is the editors. With a traditional publisher, the chances are high you'll get a good editor. There are so many people claiming to be editors, it's tricky to find a good one that you can trust.
"a Publisher’s job is to connect authors to readers." That is perfect, simple. I loved this post. It makes so much sense. Thanks for sharing your insight, Aubrey! And thanks for having her, Lisa.
This design іs wicked! You most сeгtainly knoω how tο keер a reaԁer entеrtаinеԁ.
Bеtween your wіt аnd уouг videos, I was almost mονeԁ to ѕtart my оwn blog (well, almοst.
..HаΗa!) Eхcеllent job. I rеally loved whаt yοu
hаԁ to saу, аnԁ mοrе than that, how уou
ρresenteԁ it. Tοο cool! linked resource site
Remarkable YouTube movies posted at this site, I am going to
subscribe for on a regular basis updates,
as I don’t want to miss this series.
Also visit my web blog - www.webfess.com
I've really enjoyed this series, Lisa, and you've done a fabulous job balancing the sides and options available.
"Connecting authors to readers." I want that job. :-)
So interesting to hear Aubrey's perspective. I'm really impressed with Sourcebooks. Their authors have done really well and I enjoy working with them on blog tours.
Excellent and informative. Here's to Sourcebooks and their continued success.
I think discoverability is the key component that is so hard for self-published authors to create. You can write a great book, but if no one reads it, it's a little like a tree falling in the forest.
It can definitely be tough to market a book--or anything, really--all by yourself. I can see how traditional publishers would be helpful in getting the word out!
Good insight about how self-publishing may the best route for certain genres or genre-busters. Discoverability is so critical, and these days there are so many new ways to discover books... but yes, on the other hand, so many things competing to gain our attention!
This part is what gives traditional pubs the edge: "...booking spots on TV or NPR, to purchasing advantageous placement in Barnes and Noble (those front-of-store table displays aren’t free!)..." AND I would add getting reviews from Kirkus, Library Journal, and other major reviewers who won't review (or charge $500 to review) for self-published authors and getting ads in publications like Entertainment Weekly, etc.
Traditional publishers do still have the advantage in mass-media marketing. The question is whether you'll get it that marketing dedication from your publisher. And THAT should be the deciding factor. Otherwise, you're going to be working just as hard to get your book discovered and taking home about 75 percent less $$. :P
GREAT series, LG! :o) <3
I agree with Stina. The big difference is quality editors. Thanks, Aubrey for your insights!
Yay, Aubrey!
There's no such thing as an easy road if quality is what you seek. My take-away message from Aubrey is - opportunity. There's more than one way to skin a cat.
Great points here. Each writer has a different publishing path set out for them, but having a good editor is important, no matter what path one chooses.
Nutschell
www.thewritingnut.com