Student Interview

Recently, a student asked me to answer some questions for her class about being a local artist here in Austin. I thought I'd share the questions and answers. It was fun!

1. What is it like being an artist in Austin, where is there an abundance of great artists? Do they inspire you or create competition? I have been in Austin for a little over ten years and was a very shy person at first. I didn't really share with many that I loved art and that I have been drawing ever since I was little. I was afraid of the judgement, or critique, rather. However, being here has introduced to me many creative and wonderful people that have inspired me along the way to really embrace being who I am. Being an artist here has really been life changing. 

I am not sure if there is a right or wrong to answer the question of where to go about finding an abundance of great artists. I say this because, really, they're all around! We live in a city of artists of many mediums and I find them all to be incredibly inspiring. I don't think of competition when I meet any artists - quite the opposite, actually. They're a part of your community as an artist and you can benefit from learning from them and vise-versa. Networking and being present amongst the art community is an important aspect of being an artist. 

2. How did you first begin to develop your style? I have always been inspired by old fairy tale illustrations and ornate book covers. I have a love for drawing and line that was able to be expressed when I learned intaglio printmaking. More specifically, engraving. There is a beauty to the feel of pushing a tool through metal to create fine, undulating lines that is reminiscent old illustrated fairy tales. Indeed, many old illustrations were created by either etching or engraving. Although I have not engraved or etched in a while - whether it be ink or pencil -I still create work that is inspired by the line quality of intalgio. 

As far as content goes, I grew up watching an abundance of Jim Henson and horror movies. As a child, I gravitated to the dark, fantastical allegorical tales of the Brothers Grimm. There is a strong belief by both Maurice Sendak and Jim Henson (and many others like, Edward Gorey) that children should not shielded from macabre or horror in writing or art. It is a forever present fact of life. Why sugar-coat it? The Brother's Grimm stories are a good example of this. To end my mini rant, I can just say that I am happy that these images and stories weren't hidden from me as a child because of their deep impact on how I work and dream.

3. Where did you find your artistic voice? Hm, that's a tough one. Although one feels that they've had their artistic voice since day one of life, I can delve deeper and say that printmaking had a lot to do with it. I was in a place of being unsure if what I did was considered art. I went through many periods of having people tell me what I did wasn't art. Hearing that at the time was a bit shattering to me until I took a printmaking class. There was something all-encompassing about the print community that shook me out of feeling alienated. Defining art is such a broad and bumpy road sometimes; it is, in a way, in a constant state of change with no bounds. You have to remember to let whatever is coming out of you be your own voice, and not what everyone else says it should be. It took a medium to coax it out of me.

4. What inspires you? What does your art mean to you? I am inspired daily by many things! I may go on a tangent here and list many things! However, to be more specific, as mentioned in a previous answer, oddities, old books - even the smell of old books, nightmares, old ghost stories, children's books, a crackly record playing in the background, The Twilight Zone, nursery rhymes, cold weather, old scientific illustration ... so many things. More importantly, David Bowie (the many phases of him) and Jim Henson were a huge inspiration growing up. They still are.

I feel that without my art, I'd be even more of a socially awkward person. It frees my brain of my beautiful chaos and overflow of dreamy nonsense. I get to channel all these things into characters, worlds and little narratives. 

5. What element of your art do you feel is most important? Line. Line is king to me. There is nothing more entrancing when making (and looking) at art than lines done "right". The variations of widths, lengths and curves is very alluring to me. You can feel a sense of energy with line work. It can be really powerful.

Post East Austin Studio Tour Update!

I will start out by say that my first experience participating in the East Austin Studio Tour was absolutely wonderful. I was nervous as hell but it was well worth it. Having that volume of people see your work is both nerve wracking, yet rewarding. It was a good crowd.

Some work from my area of the studio

More from my little slice!

Neeka Allsup's mesmerizing wall.

Allison Geneser's gorgeous wall.

I finished every single work in progress that I had going, including the illustrations for the story written by Neeka Allsup, The Bear and His Catch.  Neeka and I framed them with the text as a preview during the second weekend of East. I feel we generated good reactions and feedback. I am excited to have it printed in the near future. Stay tuned for more information on that!

So, this is the first time in - well, I don't know how long - that I can start something without having a piece lingering in the background. I can start fresh. New. Take a breath. Try a few things. A different medium even. I would really like to give oil painting a chance again, and there is no time better than now, right?

Inside and Outside

Hello, friends. I thought I'd take some time to have a little looksie into what has been going on in my art world lately. Seeing how it's been rather difficult for me to keep up on the happenings, I may skip around a bit. Let's see ....

 Oh, hey! Look! It's a photo of Nudge Collective's studio. I am not the best at using the panorama feature on my phone, but it'll do for now. It's such a great space (Canopy in Austin, TX), and I have enjoyed my time when I work there. It is quite a different experience working from your home and working in your own studio. I feel as if I get a whole lot more done without all the distractions that being at home can have. There's no, "Hm, I should clean this or rearrange that." or "I'm just going to read this for a few minutes and thennn I will get to work!" None of that. I am happy to be a part of this space. I feel productive and inspired by the wonderful women with whom I share it with.

I really wanted to share more about the book Neeka and I are working on, but I have decided that I want to save that for much later when we're closer to finishing. We are getting so incredibly close!

I have been working on some personal work as well. I have had a recent fascination with the idea of twins or mirror-like images and, of course, masks. The idea behind the masked or beaked creatures are usually an aesthetic of which to hide behind, or social anxiety, rather. In a way - well, in many ways - it is about me and my personal struggles and triumphs within (the piece in progress below would represent the struggle). The twins, however, are somewhat representational to the battle of certain aspects of myself. Alike, but subtly different. Dualities. For lack of better words, they are perhaps seeking a balance of my introverted self and a social/extraverted self. This may seem a bit cliché, but the drawings flow rather naturally and usually without the conscious intention to make such statements. As art usually does, it just happens, and you look inside yourself to see and make sense of why. I find myself doing this more and more than I used to. By doing this, I feel more at ease with myself and therefore, more infused with creative juices. I suppose you could say ... my cup runneth over?

The most recent twin piece that I finished felt more triumphant. The beaked creatures face one another. Eye-to-eye. Feathers afloat. Yet, still awkward and strange. Happily acknowledging the imperfections, as if to fly with them. Hence, the title, As A Bird.

As a Bird, Graphite and Ink, 2015

The more I have thought about my work, even the child-like illustrations have ties to the idea of the battle of living inwards and outwards. I feel that this is something most of us face and is nothing new, but it is important to the individual. It always is. Digging deeper inside of one's self is always important, and often times, we fight some sort of inner battle. No matter how common something is to think and feel, it is a part of the individual being. It is to experience life. That being said, one side is not necessarily better than the other. The anxiety will happen. Some good, some bad. To me, transcending that anxiety into art is the key. Sometimes, as an artist, you are giving yourself therapy without even knowing it. Or perhaps it is always that way and it is only sometimes that we are cognizant of it.

Whatever it is that I am trying to say on my little tangent here, I know that art places me in touch with concentrated doses of missing intrinsic qualities of self and mind. It sets and restores a balance. 

And there you have it. 

Good night, friends!

The Bear and His Catch

 I haven't been able to update for a while, but I can say I have a good excuse or two. Recently, I have had the pleasure of reuniting with a friend and meeting new ones. So many awesome things are taking place and I could not be happier at the moment.

One of the people I have met is also a fellow artist and writer, Neeka Allsup (http://neekaallsup.com/home.html). Her brain has very similar workings of mine, and it has been fantastic to work with her on a current book project I am going to share a little bit about with you all titled, The Bear and His Catch.

I used to be really hesitant on collaborating with others. I felt that I would clash too much with someone else's vision or maybe even just the way they went about it. This isn't an alien feeling, though. I think many of us feel this way. On the other hand, when you find someone who meshes well with you, it is well worth diving in and taking the opportunity. I feel very lucky to have made such a connection and I can say that it has been a really enjoyable experience.

Her story is a beautifully haunting allegorical tale that I feel explores emotional dualities and the nature of ownership. It is so wonderfully written and multidimensional that it is relatable not only for children, but readers of all ages. What is love and what is abuse? It would seem as though this is an easy question to answer, but often it isn't. It can be verbal, psychological, emotional, physical and so forth. What is addressed in this story, is that we can all become enraptured in the stronghold of something disguised as love and endure harmful relationships. It is, however, important to begin to distinguish the two and recognize our self-worth and intrinsic value as an individual. Although easier said than done in some cases, it is equally important to draw the line and cut ties with such toxic associations. I think that her story is an excellent parable of those relationships - knowing and recognizing the nature of abuse and walking away. Like many great stories, it holds a moral and lesson that one can only discern through their personal experiences and relationships. It will surely be a treasure to have once it is completed.

It has been really wonderful to work alongside Neeka, and I cannot wait to share more as this project comes to a close in the future. Please refer to the link above to see her work. You definitely will not regret it :)

And now, I leave you with a sneak peek at the progress of one of the pages we have worked on:

Stan The Pajama Man

Stan The Pajama Man

Stan, Stan the pajama man,

drifts into his dreams 

whenever he can.

He slips away on his flying catamaran,

to far away places.

Sometimes Iceland.

Sometimes Japan.

And sometimes Neverland.

He can be the captain

of a walking frying pan.

"Onwards!" He'll demand.

"Onwards across the purple sand!"

"Onwards to that castle-cave 

that looks so grand!"

Stan, Stan the pajama man,

wakes from his dreams 

with drool on his pillow sham.

He waits 'til the night falls

to tumble into his magical slumber

all over again.

Lyla of the Leaves

Lyla of the Leaves

Lyla of the leaves, 

dance as you please.
Hang from the branches

and twirl around the trees.

Pirouette with the bees -

But don't be late for your afternoon tea.

Here's To Not Giving Up

Sometimes I feel as if I am being a defeatist. I have a thought in my mind that since nothing is happening as rapidly as I would like, then I must be failing at this artist thing. Then, I dust myself off - albeit sometimes at a slower pace than I would like - and get focused again. I feel good again. Resilient.

It is a career and life path that comes with obstacles and often penniless times. However, there are also these small, but precious moments of satisfaction that your work has affected someone. Perhaps not emotionally, but in some way it has. Although at times when I find myself in depths of defeat, and maybe even a bit hopeless, the small triumphant gems are tremendously fulfilling and make all the struggle worth it - money or not. Those are moments when you know that you are doing what you love and that no matter how slow, you are doing something right.

Have I gotten too sappy? Well, it's been another strange week, but when is it not? Ha!

Annnnd moving on.

On this joyous Friday, I bring you my newest character that is also in line to completed soon. She is without a name at the moment, but both my pajamaed man and this sweet little lass will be revealed as final drawings rather soon.

A Work in Progress

It's been quite a month. I finished the cover illustration I had been working on, so I feel accomplished in that aspect. On the other hand, I have been absolutely neglecting my own personal work. I started a drawing a couple weeks ago and I just kept staring at it - or rather, it kept staring at me. I have messed with it a little bit more today, so there's that. Also, I cannot believe I haven't even touched my sketchbook in a little over a week! That is just crazy for me. I usually carry it wherever I go because I always feel the absolute need to doodle or write at random parts of the day. I just haven't been getting those "needs" lately. Perhaps my mind is just distracted right now. Anyway, I am happy to have made some progress in this drawing and getting closer to being finished. I feel sort of incomplete if I haven't done any drawing for this long.

Anyway, without further ado, I shall present you with my progress of my current drawing. I had some accidental ink drips on various areas but I'll clean those up later as I finish.

Also, as the drawing develops, so does his story. Stay tuned, guys and gals.

Peculiar Blossom

I have been catching up on work since my hand decided to rage against me. Of all the years I have been making art, I have never had an "overuse" injury - until now. I must say that I did cheat a bit when I wasn't supposed to be using it. I had a brace on, so that's okay, right? Ha, probably not. No matter, though. I have been cleared by the doc to use it again. So, without going into great detail about my medical woes, let's just say it's been a strange few weeks. With that said, let us move on.

I spent a weekend randomly doodling on some extra paper scraps and took a liking to a particular drawing. I decided to go ahead and ink it. Here is the progression and final piece and a little rhyme from it.

Peculiar Blossom

Blossom woke this day,

with hair in disarray.

Curls of blue that wouldn't obey.

They couldn't be tamed.

No, not even with hairspray.

Branches and flowers grew and splay.

That is to say,

it went astray.

What a peculiar way

to get a bouquet.

Nudging My Way Into the World of Illustration

It is 9:41am and my coffee is brewing. Good morning. I'd like to ramble about my goals and what I have been learning lately as I have been trying to achieve them. Let's get straight to the point here - I really want to make a living as an illustrator. I mean, I sort of do now, but I mean, I want to work for a publisher(s), to do editorials, to illustrate my own book - I want to drown in work and love what I do (doesn't everyone?). So, I have been slowly nudging my way into that world.

I have been drawing nonstop ever since I graduated. Yep, art degree. I hear it all the time, "what are you going to do with that?" I used to think to myself that I'd probably work some random job and do art on the side - which I wouldn't have any problems with at all. I just know how I am and how my brain works. I'd get too comfortable with the routine and slowly but surely get out of the my drawing habits. Or maybe not. I don't know. I do get that itch to pick my pencil a lot, so maybe that would never go away. Here I go rambling again, sorry.

Anyway, I am in no way bashing my education, but as I am trying to make my way into the business of illustration, I am also teaching myself so many things that I wish I had the opportunity to learn while I was in college. For example, writing up a contract, copyright, usage, the ethics of charging and pricing for work. Oh and a tear sheet? What the hell is that? I know these things now of course, but topics like that were definitely never discussed or offered in any class available to art students. I really think that should change. No matter what "type" of artist you become, that sort of information is really important to have. I just have these moments every now and then when I am submitting things or just curiously reading about other artists where I am saying to myself, "I had no idea I needed to do that." or, "Damnit, I should have done that." No, I am not whining about not knowing. It happens. That's how we learn - from mistakes. I am just consuming as much information as I can to get things rolling a bit faster. There is nothing more that gives me such great anxiety as not being prepared.

Despite the hurdles and the let downs that have happened in my journey, I am making some headway. Recently, as I may have mentioned in a previous post, I was hired by an author to illustrator their book covers for a series. I joined the SCBWI and now have a portfolio up in their site. I applied for a grant in order to afford packets to send to publishers. I have submitted to a few magazines. I have typed-up my own contract. I built a new website. And hey, I am keeping up with a blog for once! Things are happening and I am excited about what's to come no matter how long it takes me. I mean, hey, I didn't rack up a crazy student debt for nothing ;)

It's now 10:08am. Pause for coffee refill.

Moving on ....

Next time, I think I am going to talk about this children's book I snagged at a thrift store a few months back called, The Brothers Gruesome by Susan Elgar and illustrated by Drahos Zak. It's by far one of the best things I have found lately. More about that next time, though.

For now, as per usual, I leave with you a sketch in progress from the ol' sketchbook. This is one of the many that I wish I would have started on good paper since I really want to add some ink washes.

Sleepy Super Sunday

Perfect day for rain. Well, it's always a perfect day for rain for me, but today was even better. I'll tell you why.

Welp, so, I have failed to mention this so far, but I have been hired by an author to illustrate the covers for her upcoming book series. It's my first job doing book illustrations of any sort, so it is extra exciting for me. I have always wanted to work with books. Illustrating them or writing them. Or both.

So, aside from spending small portion of the day getting things done - like grocery shopping and the like - I've been scanning some sketchbook pages and working on ideas for the book cover. I won't share any of the cover ideas quite yet because I'd like to keep that between the author and I for now. 

I also joined the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators yesterday afternoon, so that is pretty damn cool to me considering I really need to make connections with others and need to gain more knowledge about the industry (aside from reading their book). 

Upon becoming a member of SCBWI, I decided to go ahead and apply for an illustration grant that would help me fund sending examples of my work to publishers. I've been talking about doing this forever it seems, but I need to stop procrastinating and just take the plunge. What's the worst thing that could happen? They say no or nothing at all. Then, on to the next, right? The only other thing that has been holding me back is the money to produce packets to send them - and yes, most publishers I have read about only accept these things by snail mail. Today was the first day to be able to apply for the grant and I didn't waste a second. Again, the worst thing that could happen is that I get turned down, but ohhhh man, the money from the grant would surely help - tremendously.

I've been rambling on and on, but the point is, is um ... well, none I guess. Just a perfect rainy day.

And now, since this blog is also for drawings, I'll end this with some random, freshly scanned sketchbook pages. 

Character idea I had for a book. I may revisit this one day.

I haven't been able to update in a few days because of this crazy busy week. Among a few other things, I have been changing websites/transferring domains and it is a pain. I had fun redoing the site, but I think I'm good on that for a while. It definitely ate up a lot of my time and I'm still not quite done with it. A few more tweaks should do it. I also got hired to illustrate a book series, which is extra exciting for me seeing how that has been one of the things I have really wanted to do. I will disclose more information about that later on.

You'll have to excuse my brief entry today. My eyelids feel like a sack of weights and I can't really get to all of what I want to say at this moment without spacing out. Perhaps later. For now, I am just going to post a recently scanned page from my current sketchbook. 

Catching Up

I've got a bad habit of starting multiple projects at once. I usually go into them with the mindset that I will do them one at a time, of course, but that hardly ever happens. The reason is simply me getting too excited about starting them and jumping on them immediately. I'll start sketching and writing out the ideas with the intention of starting them once a previous project is complete, but yeah, you get the idea. Never happens. The good thing is that I usually complete them ... even if it takes me way longer than it should. Where am I going with this? Well, other than rambling, I have my heart set on starting some more pen and ink illustrations I've been thinking about (I'll later post about those), but I am aiming to complete the others before they start piling up. I really hope I can show some discipline. Ha, we'll see. I burned the midnight oil last night (a rarity since I'm more of a morning person) and started to work on a couple of uncompleted things. I have about a day left on the ink and acrylic one shown below (with the devils) and pretty much done with the little bird creature (whom I have named Lucien). Feeling pretty good about this pace. Laser focused! Aside from the unfinished projects, there's also a giant woodcut I that sits in my corner and stares at me - waiting for me to finish it, but that's a whole other post. We won't go there yet. ;)

Hello, again.

Perhaps you've seen this particular blog look differently before. If you think you have, you are correct, it was a bit different. Well, a lot different, actually. It was geared more towards showing finished works and writing, but I have decided to change that. I haven't properly set out a space for myself here on the internet that just lets me informally explore my thoughts on art, sketchbook pages and drawings, so here I am once again. It took me a while to muster up the courage to share, but my mind swims daily and I would love to write my (sometimes nonsensical) thoughts to just get them out there. Before, I wanted polished and finished things for the internet world to see, but there's no need for that, really. I want a place to just ramble and share what I love doing the most, drawing. There may a little painting sprinkled in here and there, too.

I will be slowly posting older works I have done just get them living on here. I am not too sure when they'll show up. Perhaps when something in particular comes to mind about them in relation to what I am thinking, drawings, etc. 

I won't give a long-winded introduction here. You'll eventually get to know me as I go along. I'll just start with what I am working on at the moment, which is a series of four small wood panel acrylic paintings. They're all little creature portraits. I am no painter by any means, but I'd like to get better at it, so I thought these would be fun to start exploring with. Both are still in progress.