Here are a couple of new sketches. I'm kind of going back to a style that feels more......well, ME.
I don't know if this is where I'll stay, style-wise, but this is it for the moment:)
I'm working toward updating my portfolio with the hope that I'll have some good work to send to publishers and maaayybee, get an illustration project. While I still have a long way to go, I do think I've learned some very useful information that I can apply to my new work/portfolio.
3 baby bird brothers - 1 of them is wearing a "crown."
Yes, I know, I know....I've been gone a while! Almost a year, to be exact.
All I can say is, I've had to focus on other things besides me art career. I have been teaching art, though, and enjoying it immensely.
That's not to say I haven't been creating art. I've been creating some more traditional art as examples for my class, but also developing my comic, "Mommy-Life," which I hope to someday have published in some form. I've also written the rough draft, and drawn much of the storyboard for my next Roland and Tom book.
I'm reaching a point where I may be able to re-enter, at least to some degree, the illustration biz. I'm currently going through and updating my sites and devoting some time to developing my comic/illustration portfolio and getting back on the grid.
Just read a great article on Emu's Updates. Author Laurie Ann Thompson talks about success vs failure. I don't know about you, but I often feel I've crashed and burned when it seems that nothing's happening with my art and writing career.....career? Is it a career? Sometimes I'm not sure!
This article is so helpful if you ever feel the same way! Check it out here: On Overnight Success
I've decided to go ahead and format my new story to be a paperback
book, now, after all. I hope to finish it in time for it to be
available on Amazon and their other marketplaces within the week.
So, if you'd prefer a book about Roland and Tom to hold in your hands, just hang on a bit. I'll try to make this version as affordable as possible, as well.
It's my first book to illustrate AND write and it was a hoot! I'm hoping to create more Roland and Tom Somewhat Adventures, as well as the million other story ideas I have floating around in my head.
In between end-of-school-year stuff, learning stained glass, and....well....life.....I'm working toward finishing my next book, Roland and Tom: The Birthday. This one's due to go straight to Amazon Kindle within the next month, if things play out like I'm planning.
I'm also hoping it'll be the first of many adventures for Roland and Tom.
Brother Prairie Dog and I have our spot reserved for the Local Authors Expo (even though I'm not actually the author of this one:) at Riverside Arts Market, Jacksonville, FL on Saturday, April 19th. Times, I believe, are 10AM to 4PM.
Well, I survived my first classroom visit....actually, I didn't just survive it, I LOVED it! Ms. Caroline's 1st-2nd grade art class ROCK and we had an awesome time chatting about illustration and reading Brother Prairie Dog Goes to Town together.
It was so much fun to see the kids' reactions to the story and see that they truly seemed to enjoy it and to actually be a bit on the edge of their seats (SO cute!). That's the kind of thing that makes it all worthwhile to me, ya'll!
Thank you, again, Ms. Caroline, for inviting me!
If you're interested in a classroom visit, contact me (info in sidebar) or visit the Brother Prairie Dog Blog.
This post isn't really about art, but it's definitely about life. My new favorite book is Love Does, by Bob Goff. And my new favorite cause is Bob Goff and friends' Restore International.
Read the book. It's awesome! Purchase the book through Restore International and all the proceeds go to this cause. You can also buy a goat here. What's not to like?
I'm so pleased to announce that Brother Prairie Dog Goes to Town, my first book to illustrate, is now being sold at a beautiful book shop in Neptune Beach, Florida, called The Bookmark!
If
you're in the mood for a trip to the beach and would like some reading
material, stop by and visit Rona and her friends at their lovely store.
They are as close to the beach as you can get without actually stepping
in the water and they'll even direct you to the best local eating spots!
Yes, it's the R WORD! When I started down this path....the trying to actually earn a living with my art path....I heard tell of this monster what would (yes, I meant to type "what would")...anyway, I heard tell of this monster what would be lurkin' in the darkness...waitin' to pounce on unwitting victims. It's name is
REJECTION!
No matter how much people try to prepare you for this monster, it still hurts.
It's bad bad bad bad ba-a-a-ad, right?
OR, could there be something good good good gooooood about it? After wrestling, thinking, and reading about others' rejection experiences, I'd actually say there's a whole lot of good that can come of it.
SO here are my *drum roll, please*
Top 10 Reasons Rejection Can Be Gooooood:
It helps us examine where we can improve, then
We fight to improve
We don't have an over-inflated ego (& who wants that?)
We can console others who are going through the same thing
It redirects us to the path we need to follow
We fight to improve
We go "back to the old drawing board" and learn, then
We fight to improve
We learn to be patient, because, maybe the world just isn't quite ready for our next great thing, but eventually, maybe they will be, and, along the way,
We fight to improve.
Are you sensing a pattern, here?
So, give the R WORD a chance. Embrace it. It's going to come at some point. Many absolutely amazing artists were rejected an astounding number of times before encountering their one big break. But, if they'd quit, they never would have met with that break.
So, as Dory would say, "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming........."
Another update, which is very exciting for me, is being the current featured artist on a wonderful website called inkspokes.com ! Nelson and Seri really like my silly birds, in particular, and have been kind enough the invite me to share a couple of pictures and some info about me, as well as linking to my websites.
Thank you, again, inkspokes crew!! Check out their site (link above). It rocks!
