Totes!!!!!!

yay! Buy on Etsy or come into Joe 13th street!

all blocked up

Its hard to do any major illustration projects when one is on vacation and entertaining guests....
I am trying to make headway on the children's book which is coming slowly. Now that I have completed season one of the Gilmore Girls this task might be a bit easier....or I might just go through with drawl and cry in the corner. For now, here is another greeting card. I am going to try and hit all the bases but still continue to be vague. I might have to resort to specifics like "happy birthday" but for now the vaguer the better. I think people like having weird cards that aren't specific that way they can feel clever when they buy something odd and say something like happy mother's day on a card with a cats butt on the front of it....maybe I'm wrong.

tasty treat

I have had this in outline form and finally colorized it.
Last night I began one of the big projects I had in my brain. I have spent my free time printing and doing the 60% of what illustrators do, which is not illustration but promotion related. So now that shelling out money, mailing packets, and getting supplies is done for the moment I am starting the children's book project. I have been waiting on this for fear that once I began it I would realize it was pointless and flat. So far its cute and interesting so that is encouraging. I am just story boarding and once I establish frames I will begin writing. I think after the writing is done I can look at the images, weed them down to key frames, and finalize the images. I vaguely remember from children's book class in school that an average children's book has 10 illustrations. This might not seem like a big deal, but it means that the images really have to count. I cannot do a mediocre image because that's 1/10 of the book. Anyway, I am going to be taking books out from the library by Oliver Jeffers a great illustrator of children's books.
Another project I have in mind is doing a walking guide of NY. I think it will be journaly and might be a stale idea, but I thought it would be fun for me and at least be a good personal portfolio piece if nothing else. I thought I would establish my surroundings and walk through my day. It will be a bit different in the feeling...much more train of thought and messy. I am looking at work by Sabrina Ward Harrison, Vivian Swift (thank you Ester for showing me this...I know I stole it by accident and will return it in the same shape I took it in..unlike the water stained book that shall not be named) and Sara Midda.
If all this were not enough I am going to put together a catalog of my work for giving out to retail establishments. I want to do a greeting card sheet to mail out and I thought I should include the totes, plates, books, and mugs.
Ok, I guess I should go as these projects will not begin themselves....

hipster tango (Illustration Friday)

flap your hands

Crazy week...and its only half way done. I have been scrambling to work on my website images, new post cards for mailing, printing business cards, and getting new pieces of work printed for my portfolio to send of to my agent. Free time? What free time.
I have graduated to the level of selling greeting card a week on etsy which is awesome as I initially would send one a month. No one is buying prints interestingly, but not all that surprising as people feel better about parting with a couple bucks vs 20some.
I am working on getting more greeting cards into the other Joe stores, but once again laziness is holding me back. I think I am waiting on my site to be set up so that when folks buy the cards and go to my site they will be more likely to revisit if its a good site....excuses really. I think tomorrow I will go to Waverly and drop some off. Its hard to make myself go to places after work I just want to go home and be lazy.
After this round of agent stuff/greeting cards is done I am going to start working on the children's book that is in my head. I know what it is going to be about and I can see the pictures in my head, but I am nervous anyway. I am worried that I will start it and realize it looks dumb. I think enough people have said "you should do children's books" that at this point I should just get down to business. I am going to need lots of feed back.

Ok off to work on the website and then to prospect park to reconnect to the world of the living.

Tidal tango

Illustration Friday: tango

Thank you to everyone for all the really nice comments. I appreciate it even when I don't comment back. I usually sit at the computer for 5 minutes trying to figure out a clever way of saying thank you, but all I ever want to write is..."the squirrels are coming! hide your children give them your nuts...run for the hills!" not really. But my new website is coming and there might be a squirrel or two...

Illustration Friday: Another version of Hollow!

ginkgo lady

We have ginkgo trees outside our windows and the branches look like arms.

Illustration Friday: Hollow

Warming up. 5 minute sketches and color. I hope more to come feeling a little flat.

Governors Island

It was great and I want to go back. We walked around the island, ate a picnic, and just relaxed. I get to do it again next weekend for Ester's birthday! I think I will bring my bike. yay

scotch snail

Sometimes you need a cupcake

Its true.

giraffe in pencil forest

I am really pleased with this one. I think maybe 1 in 50 illustrations feels this good so I'm going to savor it.

Shake a leg

Illustration Friday: Shaky
This is what I got this week. I was away for the weekend and felt completely depleted of creativity for whatever reason...but I still managed to throw in a squirrel...the old standby.

1. balancing act

2. how to change a light bulb

3. addicted squirrel

and away we go don't wait up

and away we go
off to be lazy down south
sun kissed and rested

----

I will come back with lots of new work and hopefully a renewed sense of purpose.

Now if only I could run away to europe with the JJ for a real vaca.

Sustainably delicious

Illustration about integrating environmental consciousness it into ones life.

final illustration colors for tote

Worn again

Worn out! Here are 3 other versions of "worn" for illustration Friday.

worn 2:


worn 3:

worn 4:

be lazy, buy local!

This drawing was sitting on my desk for a week and I finally had the time to illustrate it today. I am going away for the weekend which will give me ample time to draw and hopefully paint. I want to do a series of these posters. One will have a bike and will say the ride home is shorter and then maybe another one the same thing and a wheel chair or something. I haven't worked it out yet. I think I will use this image on my mailer along with another one that I am working on right now, but waiting for the base coat to dry. I am trying to get a sustainable/green body of work, maybe some running stuff, and cute things for kids mags.
Mainly I am trying to cram in the work needed while working full time...it feels impossible. I do have to say that selling my work is going well enough and maybe I will have a bit extra income in the coming months to really pour into bigger projects. I am currently having a new website built for me. It will have all current work and it will have a blog on it so I can do everything in one place. I think I will still have this blog though because I will only talk art on the site. I am also waiting on some instructions before I send off the orders for bags and printing. I am excited about them though. They do not generate a huge sum, but I think they will be helpful in self promotion. I still have to figure out where to put a website on the bag.
In other news I went to the Dr. today which was as fun as usual. I got my check up and went to give my bodily fluids to the technician, fun. I was standing in this room for 5 minutes holding a bottle of my own pee while I waited for someone to tell me what to do with it.. It was so weird. Finally, a tech came in and told me to put it down and then she took my blood. It is an HMO and so the disorder is a big more transparent. I like the Dr. she is Russian and very matter of fact. She seemed cold the first time I saw her, but she seems to care. She asked if I wanted to see and Endo and that she could give me a referral. I told her that I felt like I should get other tests done first and see if anything turns up before I go seeing a new Dr. that I will potentially have to give lots of money to and also hate. All in all nothing to report, but I have two impending appointments, blood results to wait on, and an ultrasound oh boy!

In the mean time enjoy the pick and there are more to come.

And here is the illustration friday doodle:worn. I think I will do a couple more before friday.