organic seascape

I love silk-screening! It is so magical... I love the rainbow pulls. You can get so much atmosphere and mood out of combining the colors and playing with how you "slop" the ink on! I created something really beautiful tonight; can you say "Christmas Presents"? Each one is different and I've experimented in almost every one of them. Their imperfections just add character and I've placed the leaves at the bottom so they hide most of the worst ones. I love how the leaves break the frame... something I always love to play with:) I couldn't get the whole thing on the scanner, but this is the majority of it... I only did two black and the rest are on off-white flecked paper. The colors came out sooooo yummy. I got the idea for them from some fabulous "organic" experiments done by Leanne in my class (hers are really superb; she did them when there were more things still growing and she has been silk-screening for a while). Still I think all of my experiments make for a really lovely composite!

6-color Nasturtium

Here is one with two screens of the 6th color... the screen slipped, so I have some with one, two, three, and four black dots in the middle. This one is matted in gold, which the scanner kind of went crazy with. I didn't like the black dot too much (looks more like a poppy) so I kept a bunch without the black dot (see below). I like the freedom to be able to do that and change your mind as you go. If you start with enough to begin with you can have numerous final pieces! I love print-making:)

5-color Nasturtiums

For midterm I added two more colors. Here I liked how the 5-color looked and kept a few just like this. This one is matted in a slightly darker ivory mat...

4 of 4 colors

The final (for midterm, anyway, and on a diff colored paper) Mt Roberts print... I called it "Mystic Mt. Roberts" although I'm sure there's a better name for it in my head somewhere... maybe just "Mystic Mountain." This was one of three prints I did with a water-soluble stencil for the black... the other lost all detail and came out all black. I am going to redo the black plate so that I have more detail and the little flecks of other colors can be seen as windows. I was going to redo it as a photo stencil (this one was a water soluble stencil and all detail went away after I printed this!); now that I think about how I want it to look, I may do the Speedball screen filler like used in the rest of this technique (it is called a "Reduction" since you block out until you are down to your last color). You paint the filler on with a brush and it gives it that painterly look. Maybe I will try both and see which one works better...

3 of 4 colors

The deep purple came out a little funky... It is a pretty loose process, so I just have to embrace the imperfections and I do like how it came out kind of bubbly where it bled a little, which gives it more of a misty feeling...

2 of 4 colors...

I had a really productive class last Thursday... but I forgot to bring home examples! Here is one from two weeks ago. It now has the third color (indigo/purple) on it, after last week. I will do a black screen over it to add some details on the "tram/pagoda." I might try to add some detail to the Mt as well, but I don't want it to get too busy!

















I also did a rainbow pull that turned out really cool. I used silver, white, lt blue, and lt lilac and it looked like the moon! Then I printed the bear and waterfall from the Ak quarter, because I was working through my process for a project at work (that probably will go to the wayside... :( unless I can think of a way to use it!) The best things that I have learned in this class is: don't expect perfection, enjoy the happy accidents, and try new things to cut-down on starting over. When the bear's ink started bleeding I would turn the screen and pull from a different direction... I wasn't able to save all the moons, but Dianne says I might be able to print a black "drop-shadow" to cover the bad spots.

mt roberts

I drew a picture of the Tram on a very misty night and it was the inspiration for this marker drawing that I am then going to interpret into a silk-screen print. I forget what our teacher called it, a block-out build or something. We are using screen-block and painting it on the screen with the lightest color showing being printed first, on the bottom, then we will block out the areas we want to stay the lightest, next lightest and so-on... it is really messy and fun, and even if it isn't perfect, that is the point. It is really nice not zooming 300x's to work on something (I like things to look perfect at 300%!(?) It gets worse the longer I work on a design). I miss doing "hand work", it is so rewarding to see the happy accidents happen:)

old sketches

I was looking for some free space in my old sketch books... none! But I did come across some great quick sketches that I did in school. Some times, some days you've just got it... other times it just doesn't come. I hadn't had a drawing class in more then four years, and was getting back into the grove! I think I had it with these; jonesing for figure drawing... of course this model was good; I have a great longer pose of her that is too big to scan at home.

printmaking

I'm way overloaded... but if I can devote some time to my printmaking class, I will be extremely happy! Here is the first thing we've done... a paper cut screen print. I need to work on registration, but it was fun to give it a over-achiever shot with four-colors. It is a nasturtium vine... they are everywhere here this year. I don't remember seeing so many here before, but I love them! So bright, happy, and overgrown during a very bleak summer.

school?

School starts in 6 days, which means I won't have any time to do anything... I already don't. I give myself one month before the breakdown. I'm hoping that won't happen, but I am working two jobs and doing this on-site property manager gig. I may be giving one up and it will cost me. Cool thing is I am doing a logo identity package for a friend and they are creative people who have been a dream to work with:)

I am feeling like I need to create something since I haven't left the house all day... I think I will try to do a tree for a friend:) It's easier to create for someone else then for myself. I feel that autumn inspiration coming on! I guess that happened when I realized school time is here.

proclivity!

I have a certain proclivity to using this word! I woke up with it in my head... crazy:) I also have a proclivity to all things design. What a wonderful word; I love how it sounds, even.

DEFINITION:

pro·cliv·i·ty /proʊˈklɪvɪti/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[proh-kliv-i-tee] –noun, plural -ties. natural or habitual inclination or tendency; propensity; predisposition: a proclivity to meticulousness.

[Origin: 1585–95; < L prōclīvitās tendency, lit., a steep descent, steepness, equiv. to prōclīv(is) sloping forward, steep (prō- pro-1 + clīv(us) slope + -is adj. suffix) + -itās -ity]

busy, busy... and Special K Saves The Day

I have been very busy... I found a new job and started that on Tuesday! I love it:) It is doing what I do with some extra learning thrown in for good measure. I will have to find out from my boss if I can share some of my work here. I did two ads and point of purchase displays for an August promo... I will try to do a fun online "button" as well, if they go for it. They have been really open to my ideas and this is the first job where they trust my expertise and are using me and my abilities in the correct way (well the state did, but I had to convince each client of my skills... when you have to do that with every client and you have a lot of clients, it gets old!)

decided I didn't like the way I drew Kanon. I used his blue blanket with clouds as a backdrop, this little cloth world, and his big Alligator crawl toy (I forget what they are realTo feel productive, I am including a little caricature of my son that I did when he was 18 months...he's seven now, so no it's not recent. I was concepting for a class powerpoint presentation that was basically Kanon saving the world from a gigantic alligator. I took actual pictures when Ily called...) Then I took pictures of him beating the Aligator down... His weapon of choice? The balloon! If I can find the presentation, I will post it. I have had good intentions of making it into a cartoon-strip in Illustrator; started it, but didn't finish... I am including my story-board. Fun Stuff ~ julie

more work...

This is a good way to get these into picassa, so I can start my portfolio slide show!

As you can see I like rounded corners, so much so that I find it hard to use "sharp" cornered boxes (bad design feng shui!) Speaking of feng shui, I had to confess to my supervisor (she is design obsessed like me) that even in my home I round the corners; I looked around one day and realized that I have furniture in every corner of my living room. I really think that the rounding the corners helps the energy flow:)

a little bit of my work...

This annual report was one of my biggest accomplishments; the first being the logo and identity resdesign that I did for the Alaska Pioneer Homes (I did the logo and then everything project I received got a similar treatment... it was really fun to put branding into action!).

(Back to the Annual that I was talking about...)
The biggest challenges of doing something really well designed for Government agencies is convincing them that well thought out and presented documents will get a better response, and keeping the cost low (this annual was done on a digital press and it came out beautifully; althought the ink will rub off on you if you're not careful).

my crazy resumé!

I have gone live with my site:) I am going to buy my business licence on Tuesday... and try to get my business cards ordered this weekend. I also need to put together a leave-behind portfolio (for real design jobs) and that can be my "promo" until I get my home computer up and running.

I am going to try to get some of my professional work together for an online portfolio; just a simple picassa slideshow, but it will be faster then doing it properly; my perfectionism will take over when it comes to doing the actual web pages and the process will get very complicated, I'm sure!

moving on...

I'm getting overloaded with job leads... I barely know where to focus my search! My supervisor is really helping me out and putting the word out there; she is feeling responsible which is ridiculous. Unfortunately I don't think how we feel about things or how it affects us has any effect on what comes from above. It has been really politically motivated and I'm still shocked that the bottom of the ladder are the only ones feeling it (me and two others; one other cut was actually shocking because of the seniority they had). I expect things might change direction once a new commissioner has been chosen. I am not holding out hope that they will change for me... but that sure would be nice. Any way it goes, I have moved on in many ways and will not be nearly as dedicated as I was last month; I will continue looking for something better, something that will actually pay me enough so that I can pay my student loans!

I found another great quote, and words to live by in my inbox the other day:


June 12, 2008

When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.

— Victor Frankl

horse on the mountain

I've been looking at this great shape in the snow and rocks on the top of Mt. Roberts... had to try my hand at it before more snow melts. I would like to do a vector illustration of it; it reminds me of tribal. It would at least make a great graphic!

new mind-set... new pastel

We'll, I'm still laid-off. Everyone is sad to see me go, but no-one seems concerned enough about it to DO anything. There are programs that I work for that have $35,000 (some have more) dollars that they HAVE to spend on outreach, but they can't save my job. I don't think anyone even tried, or at least not that hard.

So, I am still a little angry about it... but I am not enraged about it (anymore). I realize now that the "universe" or "higher power" or God, or whatever you believe (I believe it all...) is telling me what I need to do. I have been taking really small baby-steps to get there; now I have to charge ahead and get serious about it. I'm starting my own freelance business... I'm terrified. I really can't imagine relying on freelance to make a living! I will continue my job search, but if I can make money at it I won't have to take just any job out of desperation... I can actually wait until I find a creative job better then the one I had. That is my ultimate goal... my next job will be the next step. I will not go back and I don't really want to step to the side. There is a job that pays the same as my old one, and I would accept it because the experience is the "next level."

The wheels are in motion. I have paid for my url (when I upload my pages I will announce it); I have a friend who will help me to get a small business loan; I am going to get my business license with my next paycheck. Then I have tons of other things I need to do... business cards, promo cards, leave behind mini-portfolios, invoices, etc. It is a little overwhelming, but now that some of it is done I feel much more sure about it. The big thing was my web-site and now I am glad that I did it for my mid-term; I need to change some things and add some pages, but it is ready to make "really" live! Yay:)

I have also started trying to create "fine art" in my new space and it is doable. It's no studio, but if I work in the kitchen I can just mop up the pastel dust. If I had a large easel... I could do it out my front door! I'm just not committed enough to it to get it done.

Here is a small (4"x 4" canvas) pastel taken from my "Soar" ideas... I like it, but is isn't quite there yet. I did put it in a shadow box to see how it looked and it really popped out against the black. I'm kind of excited. I could make a ton of these and just hang them all together on one wall and then I could give them away for presents, one by one! We'll see about that, too.

inspiring quote... demoralizing situation

“If nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies.”
— Anonymous

I was laid-off from my job (that I love and I tell everybody that all the time...) yesterday. I am pretty upset, but that is just part of the healing process. The hard part is not to take it personally; it was definitely for budget reasons (they had to cut our budget by 25%). I was the last of the Publication staff hired, although I was hired at a higher class then another person. My immediate supervisor is really upset. The scary thing is that we have four people in our office, and two of us have been laid-off... They have only laid one person off from our Anchorage office and they seem to be keeping all the writers and hatcheting the designers. It seems that "capital creep" strikes again. So, to the the Alaska State Legislature... my son and I thank you for putting me out of a job! So much for all our wealth and oil money if you see a need to cut already marginal folks, like myself.

I love the Dr.

“Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try!”
— Dr. Seuss

frogs!

I found these frogs I did... it was after graduation when I started getting my "desire" to sketch again. It's funny, because I rarely sketched in school except for assignments, like for comps and concept drawings. I do have a handful of misc drawings that got into the mix. I guess I felt like I might use up my creativity and not be able to perform... I'm glad that is not the case. I have been more productive in my personal and private artwork since I've had my full-time creative job; it's actually a huge relief to know that the spring still flows and for the most part I don't get "creative-blocks" that I can't get around (so far).

I love how I did little circles, gestures really, for the large frogs toes... I can never plan things like that, it's just nice when it works out.

IF Seed

I have actually been inspired by the last two Illustration Friday topics... but since my Computer Graphics class ended on the firsst, this is the first one I've had time to sketch. For wrinkles I wanted to do a picture of an elephant... I love elephants and there wrinkly, tough skin and their slow (seemingly) gentle ways. I'll post it if I ever get back to it.

For seed this image just popped into my head. It reminds me of the majic beans from Jack and the Beanstalk. I could and may still try interpreting it in Illustrator; even if I don't I am happy with the way the sketch turned out:)

make your own easel!

I know I haven't been posting much artwork... but I keep finding great things online. Like, I found these plans for a huge easel. I happened upon a link to it during my blog-break at linesandcolors.com.

I have been meaning to search for plans to build my own for a while now. When I went to Atlin Centre for the Arts (way back in 1990; I guess it is called Atlin Centre now) Gernot Dick, the owner/operator/teacher/founder/very-cool-guy, gave us plans for the ones he had in the painters studios. I still have them, but after two decades of moving from place to place there is no way I will find them easily. I actually really liked the benches they had (don't know if they still have them) at UAS-Juneau (or was it UAA?) You could flip them on their backs and use them like a table for your drawing board. Definitely not for canvases, large or otherwise. So, we shall see if I can get this project done this summer... If I miraculously do get to it, I will definitely share the final product here!

submissions for ATC exhibit wanted

Just in case any of my fellow Art & Tech class mates are still trolling around these old blogs... The Ankeny Art Center in Iowa is asking for submissions of Artist Trading Cards. Might be fun to enter a few- they keep them, so don't expect them back if you decide to enter. I found this at theartlist.com, which looks like a great resource for artist opportunities!

By the way... Happy Earth Day! Although, I really do believe that every day is Earth Day (I'm a dork, I know!)

me 10 years ago...

I needed to sketch the other day and I have been thinking about doing a new illustration for my avatar... The only pictures I have and/or that I like are from 10 or more years ago! They still look like me, but obviously better; I am a big believer in improving with age, but then I see a new picture of me and am shocked at how I look because I still see myself in my minds eye as a 25-28 year old! Oh well, maybe it's just the old adage in works: You're only as old as you feel!

(looking at the sketch... it really doesn't look like me... My face isn't that gaunt and the lips aren't quite right. I could probably make it look better digitally, but we shall see if I feel the need! My avatar now really looks like the original picture; in that one I was a fresh 23 or 24:)

build your own pinhole camera!

Free pinhole camera download from Corbis! Looks cool. I don't know if I will do it, but just knowing it is there to download and build anytime I want makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside:)

origami bird trials

I just wanted to record my origami bird trials... I still don't know if I want to incorporate them as a 3-d element; I think I do, but if I do the shape has to be just right... They aren't there yet. I may have to cut the square down into a rectangle to get the shape I want. The little ones from my collage turned out (for the most part) the way I want them to look. They are also 3/4" compared to these which are about 5"; it's much easier to manipulate something small and get it to look polished! Now I wonder if I should just paint/draw the shape and cut the paper to fit in the shapes I want... I would like it to be more 3-d, though!

bursting with creativity!

I have been going crazy! I need art:) I have all these things swirling through my head... Decorating (but I have no money). I am in love with this modern room from Domino Magazine; it has a grass green velvet chair and lighter yellow-green textural curtains (not shown below) with pops of red and fushia (I am not a pink person, either, it just works with that green!). There is also a huge ebony statue of a stag. It is really whimsical... I want a whimsical space! Good thing my space is small; I won't have to spend much to decorate! I have this page open on my desk so I can look at it longingly and it seems to help negate all the ugly rain (and 12 inches of snow this morning). I just look at that room and it is my cocoon of spring time yummy color.
Here is the link to the Domino page.

a little break:)

I am still here! I finished up my Art & Technology class and life has been rolling ever since... so I haven't had time or the internet to blog. Since I last posted... I turned 37; moved; will be moving again (I can take my time this time); became a single mother (!); got deathly ill (103-104 degree temps)... I don't really like change. I really don't like being at the mercy of change, but it is easier to relax into it then it is to fight it. It comes whether your ready or not, I guess. I need to set up a place in my new place to do my art work... I think I have a spot. Then I will start blogging again, in earnest!

oops... the title should be "a little break" not "a little bread"! I need to improve my proof-reading skills :)

ffffound it again...

Thank you Alex for sharing this site with me (and Nicole)... It's one that is usually blocked at work when I take my blog-breaks, but we have free-range now (!) We are our own administrators:) so I will be checking out www.ffffound.com a lot more now. I guess they have so many contributors that they will get three new pages of posts every day.

We traded Art Trading Cards and I will try to get some pictures of those posted... they are really cool and unique. I might rotate like collections through a shadow box... it would be like an ever changing gallery show on my wall!

good quote

I'm actually in class, but wanted to put this quote up... for my future reference (I need all the inspiration and guidance I can get!):


March 13, 2008

Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.

— Scott Adams

IF "garden"

I am using my old illustrations like modular building blocks... oh what fun:) I have (obviously) been in love with these flowers (they are all over my web-site)... and these green garden illustrations fit the bill for this weeks Illustration Friday theme to the tee; my container "garden." I killed two birds with one stone and worked on this in class this last Saturday. We are making artist trading cards to trade with one another; very fun, I can't wait... maybe I will scan my favorite to share next week!

check it out, now!

Colleen said I could give this link out... so if you want to see what I've done so far, click here! It is a work in progress...like everything.

I think I am going to make more of a portal out of the default page and move all the "about me" stuff onto an "about me" page. But for now, to get it in for grades this is where it will stay. I am so excited:) I thought it would take me a long time to get my own site up and now all I have to do is get my url and choose a web hosting service (I've heard webhotel.com is good and cheap, but godaddy.com seems to have some good packages... I think I'll research it a bit more).

my website (?!!)

I'm sooooo excited:) My website will be done in just a couple of months! It has been years in the coming... I am finally taking a class at UAS and learning a lot and getting a lot out of it. Colleen Mckenna is really great and knows her stuff.

Here are two screen shots; I will post the link when I get them all done and choose a web server. I am not a flowery person, so I'm sure this site will change when I get tired of the flowers. The flowers are from a sketch I did in 2006, so maybe I will change it up with another sketch that I will develop and then I can do that every 6 months or a year. Yes, it will be a site with an identity crisis... But the navigation and content will stay consistent (I know not to alienate people... but I've got "itchy designer" syndrome.

I'm also just putting my picassa.com slideshow up until I can find the time to do a really well designed flash gallery. I could do a poorly designed one using PhotoShop, but I would rather take the time and get it right... So, I'm cheating for now.

IF "multiple"

I did this digital illustration in PhotoShop two weeks ago in my Art & Technology class blog. Now I'm glad I didn't already post it here... I'm trying not to be too redundant (not that it matters, but I want two separate records of my progress).

Anyway, the original title was "cheesey pop-art" because I love Andy Warhol (I did a report on his life in high school) but I have never done the whole pop-art thing. I also haven't gotten to really play in PhotoShop in a very long time... This class has been really good for that. Really pushing what I already know and trying to bridge fine art and digital art. The original sketch is from a previous post as well. I love being able to revisit things and I am really playing with version-ing in a tangible way. I don't really have a set process yet, but this is how it seems to be coming together: original sketch, digital rendering, original pastel... then maybe I will start compositing and collaging the two together.

becoming an illustrator?

My last post brought up some thoughts about where I see myself going with my career. I love being a working graphic designer, but I see the limitations looming ahead of me. We just aren't valued unless we bring something else to the table. Employers want to get two positions filled for the price of one and it is like that all over. The jobs that pay well want way more then the extra money is worth. I see all kinds of jobs in different cities and towns that pay $5,000 - $7,000 more/year then what I make now, but that money would barely cover my moving expenses and daycare expenses (I would loose the Grandparent's, thankfully, free daycare). And these jobs want more education and experience then they are really worth. The ones that sound the best to me are the ones that won't have a lot of room to move up in; I went to school so that I could be happy in my profession and that is VERY important to me. If we have to spend 30% of our lives at work (is that the correct percentage?... I think we spend 30% working and 30% sleeping; I spend more then 30% working, though) I am determined to be happy!

So, I think that doing illustration as a free-lancer sounds like the best way to supplement my income... I do it anyway, on my own, because I love to do it! So...

I don't see myself ever being an illustrator of the caliber of the ones featured in 3x3 Magazine, but looking at what great illustrators are doing helps me to put my own talents into perspective and to know what I love to look at and what I enjoy working on. When I think of "illustration" I think tedious... so I need to change my perceptions about it. I'm still figuring all that out, and trying to figure out how to turn what I consider playing into making a living. I just have too many "good ideas" that I get excited about and then they just fizzle out. The best ideas seem to take money to get started, and if I had the money to get started, I wouldn't need to branch out. Although, I must say, that I am not as money motivated as I am driven to create. I just need to figure out how to do one while doing the other!

belated thank you

I just wanted to finally write an official thank you to Annie Patterson (imagine and create illustration blog) for sending me her extra 3x3 Magazine, issue 8, cover pictured below. Annie is an illustrator living on the Arctic Ocean in Alaska. I really love her whimsical illustrations and the beautiful Arctic pictures... the light there is so different then anywhere I have ever seen.

So, THANK YOU, Annie!

I have, of course already thanked her personally... but I wanted to take pictures of the actual magazine for my blog. My camera just isn't good enough, so the picture below is from the 3x3 site... it is a really beautiful publication and they have great galleries featuring the illustrators from their issues. Their is some great eye-candy there. I love to see what these working artists are doing.

I was really impressed with the cover illustrator, Yuko Shimizo. She has some really brilliant, modern, youthful (emo comes to mind) illustrations that have a Japanese wood block feel. Love her work! She is not the same Yuko Shimizo who created Hello Kitty, it says so on her site!

playing in PhotoShop

I will be the first to admit that I am more comfortable in Illustrator then PhotoShop, but that is changing! I mean, knowing when to use which one is half the battle... I've known that for a while. But when you are more comfortable in something you are able to dig and figure out obscure things, which is where I am with Illustrator. Now the tables are tipping and I am learning all kinds of great PhotoShop tricks in this class. It is also really nice to be able to play and not worry about getting something done/figured out for a deadline.

This is my PhotoShop version of last weeks collage... not happy with the choppiness of the lines, but that is where you would have to choose to do certain elements in another program. But it is great for concepting... I can now take this to another level or in a different direction :) julie

Wearable Art Show Tonight and Tomorrow!

They took the panels away before we were completely finished! It was okay, though, because on Wednesday night we said if we couldn't finish them they looked complete as is. We had wanted to put a visual focal point inside each of the cogs on each panel, oh well.

I have to go down and sign them, and this is ridiculous, but I have anxiety about that. I don't sign my work and it is a habit I learned from AP art in high school. You aren't supposed to sign your work so that you don't get preferential treatment from the judges if they know you. So, I am really bad about that. It just isn't important to me. I also have anxiety about how it will look. I think my crappy little signature ruins the picture, a lot of times... am I the only artist who has this weird hang-up? And, I am okay if I am signing with pen or pastel or pencil, but I don't even know if I can do my signature with paint! I am going to practice. It's not like it has to look exactly like my signature... I'm sure it will be fine.

mural progress

I've been talking about these enough, and spending enough of my life working on them... I thought I should at least give a glimpse of them. I must just say that the artistic direction has really been helmed by Jay Crondahl and James Voelker; they are both true artists... And even with foam brushes!

Here is the work in progress. Keep in mind that this is made up of five 10'x10' (yes, feet) canvases. It has changed since this picture, so you'll have to come to the Wearable Art Show to see them in person! julie

cool design sites!

I really need to go to bed! I found this site as I was searching for mechanical renderings (or inspiration for the murals). It is an ultra-mod German site dedicated to new, cool, clever design. Clean mod design clears the senses! It's called designspotter.com and I'm adding it to my inspiration links:) I'm also adding Orla Kiely, orlakiely.com, who does the most amazing textile designs and makes really cool (I will own one some day) purses out of her laminated textiles (and really exquisite leather bags for much more $!) I really love her simple leaf designs that are used for the flash intro to her site... and on the bag below. Check it out:) julie

very productive...

Yes, I have been very productive this weekend... which is amazing since I have so much going on. I don't know how I've found the time. Well, I know I skipped a lot of sleep; early this am I did that collage (three posts down). And, I was never able to meet up with anyone to work on the murals, so I worked on some ideas digitally and finished my istock.com illustrations. Yay me, again! istock has accepted the arbor and I am now waiting to hear back about my urn and lady liberty from the previous post. The arbor and urn are illustrations that I did in school for my graphics standards manual. I made up a company I called Garden Gate, and did a series of these green illustrations of garden items (no scale wasn't important to me, obviously... now I am questioning it with them right next to each other). I also have an adirondack chair and a glass and brass hanging lantern which I will post later. I love(d) all the things that I chose... they are things that I would love to have in my garden if I had a garden or even a yard!) I will try to get some pictures of the graphics standards manual (my old computer and, thus, my old school files aren't working).

The illustrations themselves have been a little problematic... istock wants all blocks of color and shapes to be closed, but I use a brush tool a lot of the time to get variations in line weight more easily and to give them a more sketchy look. So, I have to go in and close shapes and make sure there aren't any stray lines or points. I has really been a lot of work! So, now when I do a new illustration, I am making sure I do those thing as I work... not too hard to remember unless I am really wrapped up in the moment. julie

recent digital illustration

This is an idea I worked up for the mural project... but the murals have taken another direction! I uploaded it to istock.com (for those who don't know... a great source for cheap but professional looking stock). I am trying to get approved (or all three trial illustrations approved) to start uploading and selling my digital illustrations. I figured it would be a good way to get some of my images out there with the least amount of trouble and money! They approved one and declined on two, saying that the style wasn't what they were looking for. Hopefully this one isn't too crazy. I think it would make a great album cover or t-shirt, but I am biased:) like a mother with her children! julie