I made some edits to the SCBWI poster I created (posted earlier) and turned it into a sample book jacket cover instead of a poster. I am working on pieces for my portfolio and hope to create a site where those pieces will live and continue to grow. I am going to get started, now :D
In keeping with the food theme, here is another piece I did in my class last fall. I really like painting food and want to experiment more. I especially like the way the shadows came out in this one, though the purple tones in the eggplant could be darker and the mushroom could use darker shading. I have others in this series that I'll post another time.
It's a beautiful day and I am thinking about summer and sweet, juicy fruit! Here are some watercolors I did of pears from my watercolor and mixed media class last fall. I am taking a pure watercolor class this summer and am really looking forward to exploring and learning all I can about this delicate and amazing medium.
According to a critique in my portfolio prep class last night, I need to go back and make adjustments to the NE-SCBWI poster I showed at the conference this past weekend if I want to add it to my portfolio. Too bad I wasn't able to get this critique prior to the event. Still, it's always good to hear opinions as long as they can help one to grow, adjust and make improvements.
What a fantastic weekend spent at the New England Society for Children's Books Writers and Illustrators conference in New Hampshire this weekend. It was my first time attending and I participated in some really informative workshops, met some nice people, exchanged biz cards, received lots of good tips, and got the chance to hear from two very talented and important guest speakers, author Laurie Halse Anderson and illustrator Kevin Hawkes. That was the icing on the cupcake! I didn't win the poster contest :D but wasn't exactly mortified by my work as compared to others, though certainly there were some amazing works by other unpublished illustrators there. Now I am lit with a fire to go out and create some work that will hopefully, someday, be really out there, and published. Let's get going!! :D
I am very excited to check out the NE Society of Children's Books Writers & Illustrators annual conference this weekend. Two days of workshops and networking and an opportunity to see Kevin Hawkes, an amazing illustrator, speak. I actually have one of his books, The Nose, which I bought so long ago I can't remember the year. His website is very fun -check it out if you can. So I attempted to illustrate a poster for this years theme 'Take Flight" and this is what I came up with. It's actually elements taken from two paintings I did. I didn't like them each separately, so scanned, extracted elements, pieced together, and added texture to come up with this. It'll be entered in an anonymous poster contest tomorrow. I don't have any grand hopes that it'll win -ha, and I'm actually a little embarrassed by it and afraid to see the level of creative expression of the other entries. But, I'll let you know if by some dumb luck I win the grand prize :)
When is spring coming? I need to post some flowers to inspire me and remind me that it WILL be getting nice and warm soon. I have seen some beautiful blooms in the neighborhood which makes me very happy. The slow awakening of life after a long dreary winter. Looking forward to painting more flowers while sitting on my balcony.
Well this is certainly a new thing for me, blogging. I figure it's a good way of putting my art out there -it's going to happen sooner or later. It's all still new to me (this art thing) and I have so much work to do to improve and grow. I'm close to being done with my certification in illustration and am eager to just focus on drawing and painting and getting better. Wish me luck!
