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Truth?
I'm a wee bit stressed. There I said it. Feels a little better to get that off my chest. You see, I have a humongous (and so cool!) show coming up in August. I need to deliver my 15 paintings on the 22nd. And I have been painting like a madperson to get them all done. (I'm about to finish up another one as soon as I'm done with this post...I'll show you that one later.) The show is a three woman show, including me. One of the other women is my friend and fellow illustrator Andrea Eberbach. Her work is so beautiful and vibrant...I hope my stuff holds up next to hers. :) I am very honored to be in a show with her, which I think adds to my stress a little more.
On top of that, I'm in a group collage show pre-opening on the 6th. And I need to get my stuff done for that. And lets not even talk about the client work that I still have to attend to all the while. Yeesh.
I don't mean to complain. I'd much rather be busy than bored, but I think I've bitten off more than I can chew. I'm going to take a break after August. I mean it.
Here's my latest painting, appropriately titled "Too Much To Do".
I recently did an interview with Fecalface.com. (I know...what's the name of the site again?!)...
You can read it by clicking here.*
*note: My interview is safe of course, but there is some questionable material on the site...Not safe for work (or children).
And thank you all for the very kind words about LopiePop! I'm so glad you enjoy it!
Today is the day...the long-awaited day of the launch of my store.
I am very proud to announce the launch of
LopiePop! The Penelopian Eyecandy Store
Thank you everyone for being patient while I sloshed through paypal. And a big giant huge enormous thank you to the ever-so-talented Brianna, who helped me with the sloshing.
So, what are you waiting for?! Go to LopiePop! I hope you enjoy it!
Illustration Friday: Tranquility
This is my submission for this week's illustration friday topic, tranquility. It was too big to fit on my scanner so I had to take a photograph of it...the colors are still a little off, but you get the idea. It's a picture of my sister, Lauren, who loves to wear giant hats. I think she looks very glamourous in them...like the old movie stars. I painted her standing in a river...she's preparing for her wedding, so I think she deserves a river that carries cares away.
This was an illo done for Nuvo Newsweekly. Last week a bunch of people got together in Indianapolis to try to set the record for largest number of people doing handstands simultaneously. Makes me dizzy just thinking about it. You can read about it here.
I think I could improve on this illo...and I just might if I ever get a few moments of spare time. Or not. I may just use those moments to relax!
p.s. Thanks for all your nice compliments on the flowers painting. It will be for sale this August. (And I'll probably get prints made of it...maybe.)
Illustration Friday: Karma
Here's my submission for this week's Illustration Friday topic, karma. I tried to convey that the person is cutting the flowers, but the flowers are wrapping themselves around the wrist to stop him. Kind of like the flowers are taking revenge for their loss. I'm not sure I achieved that exactly, but I think I like it anyway.
Happy happy birthday to my wonderful husband. You are an amazing person. Even moreso now that you're a year older. :)
This weekend I painted for nearly two days straight.It was exhausting, but I needed to for the big show coming in August. Here are the first two pieces...
I'm working on a new one today. Feels good to get dirty.
This was a piece commissioned by a friend for his girlfriend's birthday. He wanted a summer scene that captured how he saw her: light, beautiful, happy, catching fireflies in the summertime. I hope she liked it. :)
Happy birthday, Casey.
Illustration Friday: Metropolitan
Just a quickie. I liked this topic. I love the city, hate the traffic.
Conference Inspiration. (Or...How Not to be an Idiot)
The first breakout session I went to was called Business Nuts & Bolts. It basically was about how to be a smart business person as well as an artist. After all, being a freelance illustrator means owning your own business. You can't be a total idiot in the business sense. It is just too important. Plus you don't want to be that guy who goes to jail for tax evasion. You have to do invoicing and keep up with your books and proposals and job checklists...not to mention retirement funds...
This was a good thing for me to go to, seeing as the business side does not come naturally to me. I work hard at it and I am learning and getting better at it as I go.
The thing that I found the most intriguing in this talk was the 5 Business Plans. Michael Fleishman, writer of "Starting Your Career as a Freelance Illustrator or Graphic Designer" was the one who brought this up. He wrote about it in his book (which I have and highly recommend) if you want to read more about it than what I mention here (I'm sure you will!). But basically here are the 5 Business Plans that should be reviewed once a year:
1. Artistic - this means your style/your market/art related plan. Does your style fit the market your going after? Is your style stale...do you need to evolve? Are you doing art you are proud of? etc... He said this is something you should look at every year to make sure you are on top your game.
2. Personal - where you live/how much you work/how your career balances with your personal life. And, ehem...we all know I need help here...I'm a work-a-holic. So, I wont' dwell on this long.
3. Advertising - every year review your advertising strategy. What: You need to get your name out there...but how. Postcards? Posters? Direct Mail? Email art directors? Source books? When: how much advertising you want to do. How many times you do direct mail or call an art director. How much: how much you're willing to spend on advertising. Set a budget.
4. Financial - This includes income goals (I want to make $xxx more than last year), what your expenses are (re-evaluating studio, how much you spend on supplies...if you can cut back, etc), and the big question: Am I making ends meet?
5. Retirement - For a freelancer, this is sort of tough. You don't have an employer matching your contribution to your 401k....heck, you don't have a 401k at all. So what do you do? I'm not even going to pretend to know about this stuff. Go ask your accountant. You do have an accountant, right?
So that's the main thing I got out of that little talk. It was good stuff to keep in mind. And a really good kick in the pants that this stuff is important and I need to review all my business plans.
Is it a little anal? Yeah, but I'm a virgo. hee. I'm supposed to worry about this stuff.
Gotta go write up some plans now.
*p.s. Is this kind of stuff helpful to you? I hope I'm not just telling you stuff you already know or read? (I tend to like the reminder...but that's me.)
The beginning of the conference was very nerve-wracking for me. I was very intimidated to be in the same room as the people I admire so much. And it seemed like they all knew one another. I didn't know anyone and didn't recognize anyone either. I felt very very small...like when I moved around so much as a kid...I wanted to pretend to be someone else the first day to help ease into the new environment.
I took a seat near the back by myself and jotted down a quick note to help me get out what i was feeling (plus I wanted a reminder of the moment, because I suspect that eventually I won't be so intimidated).
This is what I wrote:
After that a student trotted up and introduced herself in a most outgoing, cheerleader way. I said my name back and smiled, wondering if I should step outside myself for a moment to be more like her.
Um, nope. Never. Back to reality.
I sat back and waited for the first speech to begin. And when it did I felt a little better. It was about the Big Idea. Going for things that seem out of reach and learning as you go....keep pushing yourself creatively.
I breathed a heavy sigh of relief. This was a concept I understood. I do that all the time. Constantly pushing...
I saw slides of work that made my knees go weak. So beautiful...so smart...stunning...artistic. And they made it look so easy. Like these ideas just plop out of their heads as soon as the assignment chimes in their email inbox.
I know that's not the case, but hey, I was in awe. I'm allowed to be ridiculous.
And I felt the inspiration start to wash over me...
(to be continued...)
Flying over Indianapolis last night, the city below looked like fireflies, glimmering and cool. I reviewed the trip in my head and smiled to myself, feeling renewed, inspired and positive. I returned home to wilted flowers, but I myself felt very alive.
I met some amazing people in person, ate so much sushi I think I am turning into a blue shell crab, and was fascinated to hear some of my illustration heroes speak.
But I cannot dish on all that right now.
Nope. Now I have a few deadlines that are crawling around on my desk...
Stories soon.
Update and Farewell
I'm out of town starting tomorrow morning through next Monday. I'm so excited because I'm going to the illustration conference in San Francisco. I hope I learn a whole lot and am able to explore the city a little, too.
The store will launch when I return. All my goods should be back by then and it will just be a few days till I can finally reveal what I've been working on. I hope you're all prepared. It's gonna be fun! One last call to sign up for the newsletter to be the first to know when it launches!
So, take care. I'll have lots of new stories to share when I return!
Funny how inspiration hits at the most inopportune times. Yesterday we drove back and forth to Chicago. Three hours both ways. And that's when my drawing bug decided to kick in. So the entire way there was no talking...only drawing. By the time we arrived home, the whole side of my hand was black with smeared pencil...
15 paintings for the show in August? Bring it on...
I somehow managed to dye my hair bright orange. :(
I'm getting it fixed today. Poo.
I missed this week's illustration Friday topic "heroes"...(I'm still super crazy busy). But I wanted to do something for it because I liked the topic. The sketch above is for a job I'm working on right now. I'm drawing some super heroes for a paper. I'm in the sketch phase right now. And I like the guy a lot, but I hate the girl so far...I need to work on her some more. But it will get there....
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© Penelope Illustration. Stealing
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