By: Brian Bowes,
on 4/1/2015
By: Brian Bowes,
on 2/26/2015
By: Rachel Frankel,
on 9/27/2014
This Art Crush entry has truly been a long time coming. I first came across Lisa Congdon by way of Meighan O’Toole’s former art blog and podcast, My Love For You (which is post-worthy in its own right–it was an enormous source of inspiration for me during my college years). While I definitely gravitated to Lisa’s work on a visual level, it was her personal story that drew me in. Freelance illustration had been her second career. She didn’t start painting or making art until she was 31, and here she was, participating in museum-level shows, working with clients like Chronicle Books, and just being a genuine, successful badass. Lisa is not only someone I look up to artistically–she’s also a prime example of a human being.
Lisa’s art career was secondary, after she accumulated over a decade of experience in the education and nonprofit industries. By pure chance, she stumbled into a painting class and began making art of all kinds from that day forward–fueled by pure joy instead of the desire to succeed quickly. Having always been an avid collector, her random ephemera would find their way into countless collages as well as a series of photos, drawings and paintings that would eventually make up her A Collection A Day project. As she continued to develop her craft and share it with the ever-expanding Internet, people began to catch on. Today, she is an accomplished and prolific working artist, blogger, illustrator, public speaker and writer. Some of her most notable clients to date include The Land of Nod, The Museum of Modern Art, Harper Collins, 826 Valencia and Martha Stewart Living Magazine.
Lisa unabashedly tackles the subjects she is most passionate about, and that fearlessness is expressed effortlessly in the execution of her work. She describes herself as a “visual junkie,” and is deeply inspired by patterns, travel, architecture and vintage packaging, just to name a few. A faithful blogger, Lisa writes about her own process in addition to other artists whom she admires, as well as her life “outside the studio,” which includes swimming, biking, sewing, and traveling. In other words, she’s just making all of us look bad! (I only kid.)
One of the reasons I relate to Lisa’s work is due to the versatility and ever-evolving nature of her aesthetic. Certain characteristics like neon hues and her penchant for all things Scandinavian are mainstays, but she continues to branch out and explore all kinds of mediums (block printing and calligraphy, to name a few). These explorations fuel her work and expand her direction, which is most recently geared towards abstract painting. She’s a wonderful example of why you don’t need to narrow yourself down to one specific style (something I often grapple with).
Lisa is quite a unique artist in that she is not only a creator, but a mentor as well. Breaking into freelance illustration can be a challenging and solitary undertaking, and she continues to give her generous time to those who wish to pursue and learn more about the field through classes, speaking engagements and conferences around the country. I first met Lisa at her first Freelance Illustration class at Makeshift Society back in December 2012, and it was one of my most pivotal learning experiences to date.
Lisa recently released her new book, “Art, Inc.: The Essential Guide for Building Your Career as an Artist,” which is a revolutionary and timely answer to the starving artist stereotype. It covers all areas of the freelance artist’s domain, such as photographing fine art, finding printing services, copyright, and diversifying income. It sits on the shelf above my working desk (I like to call it my “VIP” shelf) as I reference it constantly.
On that same note, I’m very excited to be taking Lisa’s “Become A Working Artist” class through CreativeLive next week! You can follow along with the class virtually by RSVPing here.
To listen to Meighan’s podcast with Lisa, click here. I also highly recommend her feature in The Great Discontent.
Follow along with Lisa below:
Purchase Lisa’s books below:
Whatever You Are, Be A Good One
By: Gemma Robinson,
on 4/9/2013
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| Disaggregated Accreditation by Gemma Robinson |
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| We Love E-Books by Gemma Robinson |
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| Gateway To The Universe by Gemma Robinson |
By: Holly DeWolf,
on 9/22/2011
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| © Holly DeWolf- "C'mere" http://sweethappyjoyjoy.blogspot.com/ |
By: rawtoastdesign illustration,
on 6/16/2011
These were several editorial illustrations created for the May/June issue of UTNE Reader. They were done for a bunch of stories that revolved around the topic of narcissism.
Half page, opener for "The Culture of Narcissism" - playing off the idea of thinking you are the center of the universe.
"The Narcissism Myth" - this one revolves around the subject of young people and their need for outside validation (i.e. Twitter, Facebook, etc.) being rooted in their own insecurity.
"Just Do It" - the focus on this discussion was about self-improvement, self-help books, obsession with being the best we can be, and the power of positive thinking. More or less poking fun at this stuff.
"Whatever Happened to Empathy" - explored how much we've lost our ability to empathize with others, walk in other people's shoes, etc.
"Narcissus Regards a Book" - People want to read about themselves and what they're into, not great literature.
More editorial illustration by freelance illustrator Jesse Kuhn at rawtoastdesign.com
By: rawtoastdesign illustration,
on 3/11/2011
Just recently finished up this editorial illustration for the digital launch of Smash (the teen version of Tennis Magazine). It was for a piece called “Stress Test” about dealing with the top 10 pressure filled moments in tennis. Here's the link to the article to check out the full story and the new publication.
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Check out more of my freelance illustration work at http://www.rawtoastdesign.com.
By: Stacia,
on 10/19/2010
This was commissioned by FHM (For Him Magazine) for the November 2010 issue. I’m really happy with how it looks in the magazine 
By: Stacia,
on 9/29/2010
By: Stacia,
on 9/22/2010
By: Stacia,
on 6/9/2010
Posted on 4/12/2010
Charlene Chua illustrated Canadian director Atom Egoyan for the cover of Lucid Media film magazine. The cover is accompanied by a black and white fullpage illustration within the magazine. For more please visit Charlene Chua illustration - blog.
By: Josh (musarter),
on 2/25/2010
I did this awhile ago, right at the time of the election. It seems the sentiment implied here has faded a bit.
By: ninabonina,
on 2/17/2010
What is it with boys and fast toys? You can’t comb its hair, you can’t put dolls in it to live in…it just goes round and round and you dont even get to ride it..well you can, but it probably wont run any more. Much like the time daddy got me a flying toy airplane when I was 4. I thought it if I sat on it, it would fly me to my dad who was out of the country at the time…I sat on it….it flew no more…sigh.
Nina Mata @ www.beautifique.org/blog
By: Ian Summers,
on 2/10/2010
One part of a series of illustrations for a magazine. It only started out as one but they keep adding work to it, which is fine by me! The laptop screen has been left blank as the magazine are adding a screen grab of their web site.
By: samsudin ismail,
on 1/26/2010
in MALAYSIA - my country - a FREE country - but when it comes to voice..to write - better be very carefull - many blogger got cought and fined - :) - and some may rest for a long time under detention - under ISA - a drakonian act - INTERNAL SECURITY ACT.
mystudio69
By: Charlene,
on 9/29/2009
Charlene Chua illustrates the cover for Santa Fe Reporter's 'Sweat' issue. The exercise focused special edition features a female kickboxer as one of the main articles.
Full article: http://blog.charlenechua.com/2009/09/santa-fe-reporter-sweat-cover/
By: johann,
on 9/10/2009
The dreaded Oink Eye.... erm Pink eye.
By: Gyula Nemeth,
on 9/8/2009
By: rawtoastdesign,
on 8/24/2009
A few new illos done for a recent Time Out NY Kids feature on tips for getting your kid organized and back to school. Full article can be seen on the TONY Kids website here - LINK.
rawtoastdesign.com
By: rawtoastdesign,
on 8/20/2009
Three spot illos done for the July issue at St. Louis Magazine. The first was for a section highlighting St. Louis farmer's markets, the second for a Missouri based electric car company, and the third for a piece on a campus wide bottle ban at Washington University.
rawtoastdesign.com
By: BOLTgraphics,
on 2/27/2009
This is an editorial illustration about the true story of a sailor that was strongarmed into trafficking drugs for the Colombian mafia.
By: Choper Nawers!,
on 2/23/2009
By: rawtoastdesign,
on 11/19/2008
This was a piece recently done for Time Out Chicago's Eat Out section. The article was about a roundtable discussion with critics, chefs and bloggers discussing multiple issues. I was told that the chefs are now starting their own blogs in order to have a forum to respond to critics. Apparently these tend get heated, and people respond to specifics, and there's lots of trash talk and back and forth etc...
This was the final, a little mix of culinary guerilla warfare and critic-blogger droids caught up in the cyclical nature of these virtual discussions. I only had an overview of the article to work off of, but Mike Novak (TOC Art Director) did a great job of conveying what it was that they were looking for. The full article and illustration can be viewed here.
rawtoastdesign.com
blog
ooooh Stacia, I love it!! Those frisky little fish are going to be all "wired-up" on all that caffeine-haha! I love all your great textures! The delicate cracks in the teacup and the doily pattern are awesome. The only suggestion I have is to double check the perspective between the bottom of the teacup and the table top. It seems like the teacup is floating a bit.
Otherwise it looks great!:)
Funny I am using a cracked teacup in my interpretation too.
love it Stacia, wow I've got to get busy on this!
The fish are really adorable. Very cute and playful. I like all the chips in the tea cup too. I was thinking it might be chocolate in that cup. :)
Hey, ho this is pretty magic. I'm admiring the distorted perspective - it something I studied in drawing and never get to use. The fish are just having a great time. !
Impprovements? - for me the cracks looked like both spilled coffee - and cracks - so maybe they should be made clearer?
Maybe a bubble or two would suggest more fun? I have a twisted mind and my mind is telling me these poor goldfish are sitting in hot coffee! So bubbles coming from their mouths would alleviate this?
The lace is great and a wonderful touch.
Something peeking (cat?) over the top of the aquarium or from under the table would add another element for us to discover. That would mean we are watching the cat watching the gold fish and gives us the vicarious pleasure of being an undiscovered observer.
Above the aquarium would add that third element to make the design a triangle - maybe?
see you
sorry for blahblahing :)