Spotlight on: Rosemary Wells

I apologize for my absence. There has been a lot going on in my life personally, and even though I had made a great commitment to this blog, I emotionally could not keep that commitment and still keep the blog as I had originally intended. Life is on the up and up though, and by the grace of God I am ready to continue forward!

One of the best ways to reinspire myself is to consider one of my favorite children's book authors. Someone we have been reading a lot of this month is Rosemary Wells. I'm sure many of you who have children are familiar with the tv show "Max and Ruby"...Rosemary Wells is the author and illustrator of that character series, and many others, including Timothy and Yoko.

Rosemary Wells seems to be one of those amazing author/illustrators who has found wonderful success with endearing characters. One of our favorite characters is Yoko, a young school age cat whose family has come from Japan. We love to learn about the traditions that Yoko shares with her family and the situations that she sometimes finds herself in because of those traditions. Two of our favorite books are "Yoko's World of Kindness", "Yoko's Paper Cranes", and "Yoko's Show and Tell". "Yoko's Show and Tell" is Rosemary Wells newest book of release, and our library was fortunate enough to have a copy. The book is about young Yoko who receives a doll from her mother, who was given to her by HER mother. The doll is called "Miki" and is a family treasure. Without her mother knowing, Yoko decides to take Miki to school for show and tell. Unfortunately, two rough housing boys on the bus damage Miki and Yoko must tell her mother the truth even though she is afraid it will hurt her feelings.

My daughter absolutely loved this book. She loves cats of all kinds, and has always loved Yoko especially because her personality is so similar to my daughters: Caring, quiet, creative. The story is simple and sweet but also endearing, and many readers can probably identify with Yoko's situation. The introduction of the Japanese culture is interesting but not overwhelming for young readers as well. The illustrations are beautiful, with use of a gold ink that seems to co-ordinate with Yoko's culture.

We all loved this book, and as a mother I'm so grateful to writers like Rosemary Wells who treasure children and know how important literature is to them. Amazon.com has an excellent price on this book, so be sure to check it out. It is well worth reading and I know my daughter wants to hear it over and over again.

Painting #1 and working on light sources

For this painting I wanted to work on having a stronger light source. This is something that I usually struggle with. Many times my paintings lack a light source and seem too flat. This is my first attempt at creating two subjects bathed in late evening sunlight. This is also an illustration that goes with a short story I'm working on (that would maybe be suitable for publication in Highlights or even Ladybug type children's magazines).

So far I am on track for this month's goals.

Favorite Artist Spotlight on: Marjolein Bastin

One of my most favorite artists would certainly be Marjolein Bastin. If you've ever come across a Hallmark greeting card that you thought was just so naturally beautiful, you'd probably flip it over and see Marjolein's name.

Marjolein has always loved nature, and her love of nature is easily seen in her work. Her art is done in beautifully applied watercolor, where the lightness of the medium is used to its finest. I love the detail in her work. She not only captures nature realistically, but also captures it beautifully when she applies just a bit of whimsy. Check out her Vera the Mouse character (who is so adorable) who has appeared in children's books already. Marjolein is one of those wonderful people who know the value of having children more involved in nature. As a child she remembers lying the grass, soaking up the sights, sounds, and feelings of nature. It is so important for little ones to be outside. It slows down their thinking and relaxes them, opens their mind and teaches them.

It is easy to see that Marjolein loves nature and animals. Her work has been featured mainly on greetings cards, but also in calendars, children's books, scrapbooking items, stickers, and magazines.

I think her work is wonderful! This piece is one of my favorites:

Artists and goals

It's always important to think about goals in life. I think many times I sit and think about goals but I never write them down. Somehow, writing them down concretes them; makes them real and attainable. Here are my short term goals for the next thirty days:

1. Complete three paintings (hopefully more but three is the minimum).
2. Begin constructing my "book" (which is a collection of photocopies of my best work).
3. Begin rough drafts of my design for my promotional postcard.
4. Begin working on coloring pages for my website for people to download/print (for free).
5. Finish my possible publishers list from AGDM.

Long term goals:

1. Print my promotional postcards.
2. Mail out promotional cards to at least 15 possible greeting card companies and children's magazines.
3. Get a greeting card published.
4. Get inside art published in a children's magazine.
5. Have artwork published with Bella Sara (check out BellaSara.com).

I better get to work!

Artists should paint what they know

As an artist, I think it's important to paint what you like, especially while creating a portfolio. If you're stuck for ideas, try sitting down and making a list of all the subjects that you enjoy. For instance, my list would go like this:

1. Horses
2. Ponies
3. Unicorns
4. Smaller horses
5. Pegasus
6. (okay just kidding)
7. Cats
8. Kittens
9. Fluffy kitties
10. Itty bitty baby fluffy kitties
11. (okay kidding again)
12. Nature
13. Seasons
14. Oceans
15. Trees
16. Sunsets
17. Children

Try to come up with a long list of everything that you love. When you draw or paint what you love, it shows through. It will show in your familiarity with the subject mostly, but it also shows through in ways you really can't put your finger on.

So make your list today and start on some thumbnails. Gather your reference material. Then get to it...but most of all enjoy it.

Favorite Artist Spotlight on: Jan Brett

Once a week on this blog I would like to post about one of my favorite illustration artists. The artist I would definitely choose first would be Jan Brett. She is a well noted children's book illustrator and author (it is amazingly successful when a person can wear both hats!). Not only is she wonderfully creative, she is also a very sweet, kind person who really has a heart for children. Her website (http://www.janbrett.com/) has free coloring  pages for children that are really well drawn, print well, and are just really fun. Her books are very engaging not only because of the storyline, but because of the illustrations. In many of her books, the illustration is not only telling one story, but two (or sometimes even three). This engages the viewer and brings them even deeper into the story. Something else very nice about her stories is that they are often folktales or fairy tales with a new spin, so her stories are familiar yet new at the same time.

I would say that my favorite book is "Comet's Nine Lives" by Jan Brett. This book is still in print (as she has over 36 million books in print currently). In this story, a freedom loving cat named Comet gradually loses his lives one by one, until he learns to find safety and friendship in the company of another cat. Comet loses his lives by eating foxglove, falling of the bicycle of a friendly tourist, falling into strawberry milkshake, etc. Each time he becomes increasingly discouraged in trying to find a safe place to reside, until upon his last life, he is washed up onto shore by a hurricane, where a loving calico kitty nurses him back to health at the lighthouse, and they live together happily ever after. What is wonderful about this book is that the tourists on Nantucket Island are all various breeds of dogs. Throughout the illustrations, you can see the story of the calico cat that lives in the lighthouse unfolding in pictures only.

Jan Brett's illustrations are extremely detailed and realistic, but with a story book "touch" that I really can't describe. I've heard Jan Brett say that it takes her "an hour to paint an inch". It's her attention to detail that really brings the spark to her stories.

Check out Comet's Nine Lives and you won't be disappointed.

How to be successful as an artist (I hope)

After doing a lot of reading this week, I've concluded that there are really two ways to become a successful artist.

1. Find a technique that you love.
2. Paint subjects that you love.

No wait, let's make that three.

3. Sit down and do it!

As for me, I've always loved the ease and flow I've felt when creating with pen and ink and watercolor. Watercolor is by far my favorite medium, but when I used it with pen and ink, I find there is a freshness to the watercolor that I can't seem to recreate when using it on its own. Therefore, my newest portfolio pieces are going to focus on this medium, because I feel it will show my strengths the best. When I start my self promotion, I want to have twelve very strong pieces that best show my abilities.

Another thing I need to work on is my confidence. :-)

And by the way, I read this great quote in Artists' and Graphic Designers Market:

"Until you try, the answer will always be 'no' ". 

So, are you willing to withstand the many "no's" that you will get in response in order to get that one possible yes?

I AM.

Self promotion and finding the right market

I have been reading all my back issues of Artists and Graphic Designer's Market this week (while waiting for my 2010 issue to come in at the library). There is one thing that has really struck me...when you're preparing to self promote it is very important to know one thing:


Your market. Do the footwork. Read AGDM and find out what kinds of art companies are looking for. Don't limit yourself to one genre though, and check out greeting cards, book covers, magazines. You might be surprised what area of the market you will break into first! However, to keep your first self promotion successful, you must know your market. In AGDM the art buyers will tell you basically what kinds of art they are looking for. Some listings will even tell you what they are NOT looking for. However, even after you go from cover to cover, make a list of applicable markets, THEN visit their websites. See what kind of art they buy...does it match your art? Do they have artist guidelines on their website? Is there an updated mailing address to send your promotional materials to? Also, is there an Art Director that you can put the attention to? These are all important things that may separate your promo card from all others and keep you out of the slush pile (or even worse, the trash can). What is the slush pile? A pile of promo pieces that artists have sent in that don't really capture the director's eye yet at the same time they aren't sure if they will ever use it. Artists can remain in the slush pile for YEARS. Marketing to the right places can stop that from happening! Also, send repeat promo pieces that highlight your recent work. This will jog the director's memory and show that you are on top of current trends.

This will be the end of my "research" week with AGDM. Next week, I am going to start on my "new" portfolio with ten new pieces, each showing consistency in style and a range of related subjects. Then I plan to pick my best pieces, put them on a postcard, and start my mailings. For the first time, I'm going to apply my knowledge and just go for it. It's time to do more than learn...and DO what I've learned.

I'm excited!!

A moment to talk about my favorite children's books: part 1

My dream someday is to have my own children's book published. I actually have many stories in my head with only three that have gotten down on paper and are awaiting being finalized. I've put it off for many years to raise my children, but I think it's time to start easing into it again.

In college I studied Children's Books with Dr. Jerry Mallett at the University of Findlay (home of the Mazza Collection). It was there that I really began to delve into the world of children's books. It's a magical place and somewhere I was always happy to lose track of time in. I would wander the Mazza Collection, studying the original works of art from various (and many!) children's books, trying to know exactly how I could absorb the success of those artists into myself. Dr. Mallett, on my graduation day, approached me and my husband and told me that I had a future, that it wouldn't be easy, but that I had a lot of talent. I'll never forget those words. Thank you, Dr. Mallett.

Where did my love of books really begin? Of course my mom always read to us and took us to the library, which was great. But my 8th Christmas really stands out, and that was the year I received a large, very heavy box. When I opened it, I found inside every Black Stallion novel that Walter Farley had ever written, arranged by number. I loved seeing the titles and the colors and the illustrations on the covers. Anyone not familiar with his novels would need to know that these are YA (Young Adult) novels with only an illustrated cover, no inside illustrations. The Black Stallion world was a place I loved to be. Thank you, Walter Farley.

Just the other day I unpacked my novels and put them all back on my shelf. Seeing their wonderful colors once again and noticing the wrinkled spines on the books I read and read over again awoke something inside of me. I'm excited for the years to come. I do have a future.

The emerging artist- where to start?

So we've all been down the aisles of greeting cards, browsed the magazine rack, purchased gift wrap, maybe even purchased stickers for our scrap book. All of these things (and pretty much any product you can purchase) were created by an artist! Did you read the latest Jodie Piccoult or Nicolas Sparks book? What was it that attracted you to the book....right- the cover! Also designed by an artist. With such a world of possibility, any self motivated artist should be able to find consistent work. However, where on earth does a young artist start out?

Good question. :-) I think that if I had the easy answer I would already have tons of published artwork to show you. Perhaps it isn't as hard as we would think..maybe it's just a matter of inspiration, footwork, and meeting the right person at the right time.

Here is where I plan to start: The yearly edition of the Artists' and Graphic Designers' Market (or AGDM for those in the know). Each year AGDM produces a guidebook of people who buy art- for greeting cards, book covers, magazines, labels, CD's, scrapbooking, puzzles...the ideas are endless. The key is to find your niche in the book locate the publishers that sound like they might find your work useful. I am making a notebook full of possibilities using the latest edition of AGDM. From there I visit websites to see the samples of art that the publisher likes...if it looks similar to mine, I put a star by their name. This is the process I am at right now. After that, I plan to begin a whole new chapter for the emerging artist.

Self promotion.

More on that tomorrow. For now, here is a link to the latest edition of AGDM for 2011. The best place to purchase is Amazon.com.

http://www.amazon.com/2011-Artists-Graphic-Designers-Market/dp/1582979553/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1297287344&sr=8-1

Within the book there are also many success stories, which is my favorite part of the book.

Also, FYI, you can get last year's edition totally cheap and most likely still current. A good place to start! :-)

Post One.

In this journal I plan to tell you about my day to day progress in becoming a freelance artist and graphic designer. :-) I'm a 34 year old stay-at-home mom to Joshua (4) and Sarah (8), I have a Bachelor's Degree in Illustration and an Associates in Graphic Design. I have a desire to illustrate greeting cards and childrens' books. I've even written my own children's book, which I plan to share with you all sometime soon. With all this knowledge and practice, it's time for me to take a leap and put it to use. Every day I will do something towards accomplishing this goal. What was my accomplishment today?

This blog. :-)