A record has been set

for the quickest and non-messy comps in the world.



The way most of my illustrations start are as photos which I "photo-chop" into my basic composition and vaugely layer in the warms, cools, highs and lows. I didn't sketch over anything yet or even show the highlights since I haven't been able to ask the client/aquaintence about the composition. I need to make sure that I didn't leave any cast members out, and I'm debating on adding little comic-book style name boxes to each character...similar to the running comic style in most of the "Repo:" promos.

The colors will be very pulp-fictiony, with stylized realism enhancing very little but keeping true to the likenesses.

I hope they like it! Now I must run to get ready for the movies :) The Hobbit and I are going with a friend to see Megadeth, Metallica, Slayer and someone else in a theatre-shown concert.

And one leads to another

The Untitled show went really well and I was able to sell the pendant I brought and recieve great feedback and social time. The buyer of my pendant, someone who has apparently been jonesing for it, also offered for me to make/sell at the grand opening night for Testify! the shadowcast of Repo:The Genetic Opera, also at Ave 9!



Head here for more information and links to get tickets in advance.

W00T!

For the next two weeks I hope to finish more heart pendants, some awesome new designs inspired by the Repo:The Genetic Opera movie, and multiple portraits featuring both movie characters and the shadowcast itself.
I'll be posting the sketches and such if there's time, but there might not be since there is SOooo much to do!
Alright! Back to pulling my references together.
Forgive any absenses outside of plans already made! :)

Magnets now available

Friday, June 18th I'll be selling magnets at Untitled's show "Sorry I Arted" featuring a few Bible Series images and others (if there's time.) I'll also have the four new framed Squiggles on display, untitled but representing something that people will get to guess at ;)

Now, back to last minute details and getting things in gear. Hopefully The Hobbit doesn't mind such neglect ;)

Whenever I'm not looking for it

Work always comes my way :)

Granted, they are small jobs, and most are on the horizon, but the little things feel nice.

I was filling in for a friend at his sign shop when an opportunity to develop a slightly bizarre logo landed on my plate. I ran with it. Instead of looking for the best font to cut out of vinyl, I asked the shop manager how much art time I had and the client if they minded me sketching the letters. I ended up making a bastardized mish-mash of about five fonts and came up with something the client was severely happy about. Granted, everyone else thinks it's a little too weird, but honestly, it's going to look really sweet on this guy's sweet black Mustang. In green, bright green. But you'd really have to see the car to understand.

The pinstriping was designed and applied by someone else, and my text on the back hasn't been approved yet, but I wanted to post before I forgot.
The client was interested in using my skills for a few more personal projects and spreading my availablity to his car club friends. Just a little something in the wind, nothing huge.


But, there is a possible book illustration gig in the air and the author is hoping to come to town sometime next month to discuss in person. Until then we're going to exchange emails about ideas and inspiration as I'll be helping him build the whole style and feel on this story he has in outline form. This came through a mutual friend, and from what they both say he's self-published successfully a few times.
Then again, considering one of his favorite illustrators is Dave McDean I'd do this job if only to see if I could push myself to those levels.

Soon I'll get a few illustrations completed, but for now I have a few other non-commercial things to focus on.

Speaking of Shows!

My next showing will be the next Untitled's show "Sorry I Arted" on June 18th at Avenue 9 (312 9th Ave South) link to the Facebook event page if my interwebs linkage language isn't too rusty.
And then for non-FBers is the link to Untitled's site

Only one piece will be up, but it will be a matted and framed collection of four new squiggles. You may have run across me working on one during my random social times or at lunch, but one will be so new it might not get done!
Come, though. It's a free show and will have over 50 other local artists who are Massively talented.


I'm looking at a small group showing for a night in July, but I won't go into detail til it's solidified.

See, I like shows, but maybe I'll stick to two a month, at least til next year. I do have the wedding to plan, a honeymoon to entertain myself with and then the holidays to do.
In the meantime, I'll just do little things and keep to myself. The things I do best :)

Art Shows

They should be the one thing I treasure and seek to fill my months with. Well, that and lists upon lists of freelance clients, but that's another face of my art world we'll address later.
Art shows help get you exposure and let the world know who you are and what you do and what you'd do for them. It gets your work "Out There" and in the hands of possible buyers. They help you meet new people, make connections, make new friends, all that great jazz.

But, they also shove you in a room full of strangers who you're supposed to "sell to" without making that so obvious and be social. I am not a social cat. Never have been, even as a veryvery small child, and it takes a serious amount of energy for me to be the social cat.

Not to mention the stress you feel, as an artist, to create new and exciting work for each show. Cause, even though Nashville is a larger city, it's art community is pretty small and the chances that the entire crowd from Show X will be at Show Y are high....and I still have that mentality to "Do something Big, New and Ground Breaking!"


Another "But" to the art show thing is that I balance on the dividing art ling like a trapeeze artist:

I am not a Fine Gallery Artist. Not a Craft Artist. Not a Graphic Designer.

I do it all. Maybe I'm not the best, not the most inspiring or the most ground-breaking, but people seem to like what I do. Most importantly, though, I Love what I do, no matter the style. My drive to art is to Make Something. Anything. I joke about making art from whatever doesn't move fast enough out of my grasp, which is a bit of truth.

That's why I'm going through the effort of making and putting my own wedding together. Sure, I might save a bunch of time buying two boxes of invitations and crap, but it's WAAAAY cooler to say "I designed and made alllllllll of that." When the save-the-date postcards went out I got compliments on them and felt a little pride saying "yeah, I designed those." I'm really enjoying putting the invites together too even though the time I need to design, print and assemble is more than just printing on store bought or ordering everything from a supplier.
I'm betting that in the long run I'll be spending less money, but that hasn't been calculated yet. But, hey, I know at the least that 500 sheets of paper for $12 is definately a savings that wouldn't happen if I outsourced the printing. That's enough paper for Everything I could possibly print.

But I digress, sorry, bride-brain takeover.

My trapeeze analogy is that I don't fit very neatly into one type of art. I have a little fine art stuff worthy of gallery shows, but not much outside of the Bible Series. I've heard that the Heartwork stuffs are more crafty and not so much "art show" material, which I can understand. (see, I would rather not be social and be able to eavesdrop and hear the honest opinion of the viewer. the person I heard this from didn't realize they were speaking to the artist. sorry :) I'm not upset, just collecting critizism.) I do a little graphic design to make ends meet, but I'm definately not going to be breaking ground in that feild either.

I want to do more shows, yes, but the time and cost combined with the constant back-and-forth with feeling like I don't fit in keeps me holed up in my Shire with Future Hobbit Husband doing my own art thing. Maybe I'll be like an Emily Dickinson of the Art World and have post-humus fame after a life of seculsion. Either way....I have a home full of art, which I would love to make my Bread & Butter of life, but without having to be Social Cat :)