I'm celebrating today...

I'm celebrating today because...

1. It's Friday

2. I just finished a children's illustration project for the Society of Jesuits London about the life and martyrdom of St John Ogilvie that I've been working on for the past 4 months (some pics are posted on my website), and

3. It gave me a reason to paint another snowman ;)

Have a nice weekend!

January = Snowmen in Stripey Scarves

I've decided to post my blog both here and on my website so here I am. ;)

Snowmen are one of my favorite subjects to draw and paint so I thought after coming off of my "25 days of Santa" project in December which I juggled in between client projects, that January would be a good month for a smaller project.  (See the whole 25 Days of Santa Project on Pinterest.)

I have had a photo that my sister took years ago of my nephew standing next to a snowman that they built so I decided to finally do something with it. That first snowman was cute based on the one they built, but it wasn't very lifelike so I gave the next ones much more personality. I posted about six on my Facebook page and also listed them as a clip art collection in my Etsy store...And since it's just started snowing in Nebraska after a balmy January, there still may be a few snowmen to be born. 

I am most active on my Facebook page, so come on over if you want to see more watercolor illustration. ;)

I'm now blogging on my website

Hi to everyone who may read my blog,

I just discovered that though my website linked all of my posts from Blogger, I need to actually post from my website now so I just double posted my illustration friday post and came back over to let you know that you can now follow me on www.kathyjurek.com

Illustration Friday "Trouble"

It's been a while since I posted anything. I've been doing quite a bit of marketing over the last 6 weeks or so. I joined Hire An Illustrator and rebuilt my website with Virb.  I was delighted that Virb could link both my Etsy store and my blog. I was especially tickled that it linked my blog here at Blogger because I didn't want to lose everything. It also looks more put together than my old one - featuring my art in a cleaner more attractive format.

This week's theme for IF is "trouble". I'm redoing some illustrations for a children's story that my sister and I wrote and this page fits the theme well. My original illustration had just a white background but I decided to experiment and added a gradient and some texture with Photoshop.

Latest Watercolor Portrait and Studio Update

My summer has flown by and it's back to school which makes me sad. I've had almost two weeks to start adjusting to the back to school carpool schedule which is sometimes a welcome break in the afternoon.

I just completed a portrait for my aunt and uncle, two of the most photogenic people in Rhode Island. Everyone is delighted with it including myself - especially since it ranks among my most difficult portraits. The reason is because the image I had to work from is a 72dpi 100kb black and white file from 1966. My mission was to transform it into an 11 x 14 colored watercolor. The color part was actually the least of my worries. I spent hours trying to get my drawing correct working with this very blurry black and white photo. I wouldn't do this for someone I didn't know because it really helped that I know what they look like and had other photos to use for reference. I had my moments of doubt, but I pressed on.

And I am so glad I did. 

Other fun things I have been working on this summer include a Country & Western and a soon to be released Dance/Gymnastics scrapbook paper collections for Big Busy B's as well as some clip art collections I've added to my Etsy store (Back to School, Halloween, Black Cats and Sunflowers, Pumpkins & Mums). 

And I also took the plunge and participated in Lilla Rogers' Global Talent Search. I'm hoping to make it to round 2 and as soon as the gallery is open for the first round, I'll be able to share my wall art design.

Clown Fish Watercolor

I thought I'd continue with the aquarium theme that I started with sea horses. This painting was actually more fun and I think maybe it's because I liked the close crop and definitely the happy orange color. It's 8 x 8 on Aquabord. Original available in my Etsy store here. (Prints and digital download also available in my Etsy store.)

Seahorses & Clownfish Watercolor on Aquabord

I said I'd be part of a project on Facebook that is 101 days of painting and on about Day 4 I realized it was messing with my head and the perfectionist in me started to rebel. Then I was bummed out and at a standstill. I was working on a client project so that made me rethink my focus which is really more about getting actual illustration jobs and licensing rather than pleasing my few fans on Facebook. Around the same time, I came across two articles which gave me reassurance that not checking into FB every day, hour, minute is OK. I'm so glad because being the introvert that I am, I'd rather not worry about all that social stuff on a daily basis. I loved not being on it actually. So I took a look at my calendar and planned my week. Then I picked this painting back up and really focused. It's been a good day.