Illustration Friday - Universe

I started with a circle and the idea of looking through a telescope then I decided to just play and see what happened. I worked wet in wet, dropped in alcohol, salt and spattered paint. Then I fooled around with the background a little bit in Photoshop and stopped when I thought it looked interesting. It sort of looks contained so I'm not sure if it reads "universe" but I like the spacey design and texture.  ;)

Just start. Ideas WILL happen.

Something I have learned during the past year designing scrapbook papers is that I just need to get started. I never know how my collections are going to look. What I have discovered is that as I get started, I get more ideas. It's like going for a walk and deciding which street to go down next.

Delicate Splendor Collection

These scrapbook papers are image dominant so there's got to be some art on each page vs. just a pattern and all six papers need to read as a cohesive group. My client is terrific to work for. My specs are to use 3-4 main colors (backgrounds) based on the given theme. The rest is up to me. A little daunting the first time, but I decided to just dive in.

My process is more relaxed now than when I did the first set. I don't do as many thumbnail sketches or try to plan out everything before I start because my designs end up evolving as I go - so I brainstorm different objects, colors, and textures that go with my theme and then I look for reference material (my own photos or online). I start drawing in my sketchbook. Then I paint all the pieces of "clip art" on watercolor paper.

Autumn Splendor Collection

Usually I want to start designing before I have all of my objects painted so I scan what I have and get started. As I start on a page, I get ideas for other pages. I use the images I've created to inspire background color choices and I make several layers and try out different colors and textures and fiddle with the blend modes until I get something that I like.

So the lesson I have learned is to just start and trust that I will discover other solutions as I continue. I also have learned to give myself permission to redo. If I approach my art knowing that if I don't like the way it looks, I can start it over, then I am more relaxed. You can have a many tries as you want. I learned how to paint portraits this way. And it doesn't have to be a huge labor intensive encounter. I usually get my answers sooner than I think I will.

Beautiful Girl - Watercolor Portrait finished

I am lucky to have access to some lovely models nearby (sometimes unsuspecting that they might end up in one of my paintings after I ask them if I can take a picture.) The reference I used was actually from a couple years ago when we were up at our neighborhood playground and at the time I thought it would make a great painting. I surprised my subject yesterday and I think she approved.

Watercolor 11 x 14 inches on 140 lb Arches cold press

Elise

Illustration Friday "Revenge"

A couple of years ago during a trip back home, I took a bunch of photos of my niece and nephews climbing a tree and lately, I've been thinking about what this illustration is going to look like. Today I think I got a little bit closer with IF's prompt for revenge.

Dealing With Overwhelm as a Creative Person

I'm a highly sensitive person, HSP for short. It's estimated that 15-20% of the world population are HSPs. I would guess most are creative and introverted. It's a curse and a blessing. I remember being told by well meaning people to not be so sensitive. Ugh! The plus side is we're intuitive and compassionate. The down side is that sometimes life can be very overwhelming. But you don't have to be highly sensitive to experience overwhelm especially if you're an artist. I have a friend who refers to this as Artist's ADD. Yup.

I've been learning to deal with overwhelm through journaling, spending time in my garden, breathing exercises to focus before I start working, working in half hour increments with a timer and planning time to work on projects on my calendar rather than just entering the due date. These things are starting to help. I'm not doing them perfectly but what I am doing is reaping benefits. Eat the elephant one bite at a time. (I'm writing this to remind myself.)

When I start thinking about my art when I'm relaxed and not creating, I start having a million ideas, but then I don't know which one to start on first. Hello procrastination. The positive outcome of the practices I'm trying to do to manage myself is that they're starting to silence the annoying voices inside my head that say "you're not working hard enough" which I'm all for.

Another very important part of my dealing with overwhelm as a creative person is to be nice to oneself. I'm learning to ignore those annoying voices in my head and speak to myself in an encouraging voice as I would to a teenager. I have lots of practice at this with two in my house... And there's a better chance I'll listen.

Garden Flag Samples

I was excited for the mail on Monday because I got my garden flag samples! These are the five designs I did for Premier Kites. I shared some of the work in progress on Facebook but the designs were embellished a bit more before printing. They look really nice on these flags. It's encouraging to see my work on real products. ;)

Kodi, Watercolor Dog Portrait

This is Kodi and she lives next door. I was out gardening on Saturday and she was looking all fluffy and cute so I grabbed a couple of quick pictures. I'm so glad I did, too, because when I was outside today, she yipped at me from the deck and I really don't blame her because she got scalped since we last met!