Unicorns in 3 Panels

Hello! Sorry it's been a little while. I have excuses but I'm not going to bother with them because they involve outing my secret identity as a soccer mom and read-a-thon room parent volunteer among other daily life activities that are fun, but not as much fun as drawing unicorns.

This time, I experimented with output styles. I did one as a complete pencil drawing. One with ink. Then I colorized the pencil drawing in Photoshop.

I've added them one at a time here, too. Click any image for a close up.

The composition stage took 3 hours. The finished pencils and blending process took a total of 7 hours after the outline was drawn. I used blending stumps and pencils ranging from 6b to 6h. 

Done on smooth 2ply bristol paper.

Pen and Ink: 3 hours for composition and outline. 5 hours for inking. I used ink pens this time. The quills got a little drippy in Dragon Pal. Inking takes more planning, but less time to execute once I know which way I want the lines to go. 

Here is the pencil drawing with a few layers of color. I created masks in Photoshop to lay the foreground against the background. It's a simple idea but the masking takes some time. I like to think that if I need to add color to make something pop, I can do it this way.

I'd like to say: Much thanks to my FB friends and Tweeps who draw and chat and post about art and writing. I think of you guys as I sketch out fun comps and play with my pens and pencils. You inspire me to keep creating.

I'm working on adopting a new style for a very cohesive black and white portfolio (especially one for my own stories). I would love to hear which of the above resonates with you.

Thanks for taking the time.

CAT

Dragon Pal

I used to draw dragons all the time. This is before I decided I had to "get serious" with my artwork. Before I got a corporate job and used the computer for everything. Before I had kids and before I started worrying about bills and house paint and mundane things like that. 

I decided to put a few dragons in with my black and whites. This one is totally a pal. I definitely drew myself as the human buddy, although my daughter pointed out, this image could easily be representing her as well.

I had fun with the inks, but I may try a few color versions. I'll post those when I'm through.

Still having fun working for myself.

I can't stop thinking of new and old favorite subjects to draw. They're lining up for a turn on the page.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cat

Dragon Pal took 16 hours to complete, from conception to final ink.

I used crow quills & ink, + Faber Castell pens on 300 ply bristol board.

Creative Space

Jeff Goins recently posted on the need to create space for creativity. He asked some of his readers to pool into the discussion, and post what elements help them create space for their art.

It's been a while since I've felt a true creative flow, but I'm on a kick lately that's brought me to a positive place for sharing my work. I'm thankful for the people who have given me the opportunities to  pursue my love for art and the written page.  After giving the idea of "creating space" some thought, I worked out which elements were most important to me.

Time

We moved from Los Angeles to Nasvhille in June, 2010.

Anyone who has moved a family of four (+ dog) across the country understands the amount of organization and adjustment a move like that will suck out of a person. Between helping our kids settle in to their new school/ friends/culture/town/activities and remembering where we stuffed the box of last year's tax documents, my husband and I have had precious few creative cells focused in any direction other than "how do we fit into our new world?"

We've had two addresses since we lived here, a few major setbacks, and some bad deals that put us in a position to wonder whether or not we had made the right decision - leaving Los Angeles for Nashville.

But time gives way to perspective. And though we've had a rocky 20 months, I 'm seeing the light at the end of the cross county move.  Persistence has led to success and stability.

We're about to celebrate one year in our new home and neighborhood this February.
Brian's freelance business is doing well, attracting great clients and great projects.
My twin girls are finishing elementary school this spring, and I'm enjoying as much of these last days of 4th grade as I can.

I feel like I can plant major roots in this city, now that I've spent the time getting to know it better. Time is slowing down for us, and we can move forward without hesitation.

If you're having trouble making space for your creativity, it may be because you're entering a new stage in your life that demands a good chunk of your time. Try keep the artful aspects of your world alive until the demands calm down and you can be yourself again.

I kept writing on this blog and reading like crazy in order to hold fast to my creativity and get through this strange time.

It worked. I'm still here.

Health

This is not a priority I would have considered even 5 years ago, but I just recently made it through a battle with a condition that put me in a pretty non-creative mood for a long time.

I still don't have a firm diagnosis, but the word that best describes what I was dealing with is Interstitial Cystitis. I've linked it in case you want to read more about it, but all I really care to say on the subject now is ... thank God I've learned how to monitor the problem and prevent attacks. For over three years my family and I went through a roller coaster of emotions, where I was well for a few weeks only to be incapacitated for days on end for no reason we could comprehend. It got to the point where I was out of commission more than I was capable of handling my commitments to myself and others. I couldn't bring myself to create anything positive. Everything I wrote and most anything I painted was sad or controversial.

What I learned?

Be kind to yourself if you're sick.
Eat well. Rest.
Take refuge in loved ones.
You are not alone.
Hold fast to the knowledge that chronic illness can be treated, and people overcome obstacles like cancer, diabetes, and heart disease all the time.

Sometimes great art comes from a painful place. Sometimes it comes from a grateful place. I live now with the appreciation that I got better and I'm not in pain anymore. I create from that space. If my health takes a turn for the worse again, I'll try to remember: my creativity is patiently waiting for me to work through it and take action again when I'm well.

Permission to Be Myself

This is a constant lesson for me, the eager student.

I usually begin an endeavor with a full heart and a burning desire to learn. I read everything I can get my hands on. I change my angle. Try new applications. Imitate the experts. Buy books. Take classes. Live and breathe my new way.

A couple months into this kind of activity, I find I'm lost again. I forget who I am during the process of following others' advice. I see myself repeating opinions as facts instead of as suggestions. I get a little crabby with anyone I feel might have steered me wrong, or duped me into doing something that isn't "me."

Really ... I have no one to blame but myself.

The phrases "follow your heart," "be yourself," "live your dreams," may sound idealistic and are certainly overused to the point where they lose meaning, but I think there's merit in the idea that you can learn from the world and still be able to contribute your own bit to it. I think it takes making the mistake of throwing in with the wrong lot of folks to figure out exactly which community needs you to be you for you. I notice when I'm getting preachy or righteous about the right way to do something, and then some wonderful person ends up reminding me to "be myself," I'm instantly humbled by how I might have steered someone else wrong with ungrounded advice.

I am who I am. I thank the people who have reminded me to be myself through this new process of making connections through my work. In fact, my recent portfolio rebuild is based on the idea that I work for myself, and the art I create will bring me closer to the people who "get me."

Creativity comes from a personal place. It's one thing to take a job for money, or to try to be more professional with your image. It's another thing to sacrifice your own vision of creativity for someone else's vision. Be very careful who dictates your art. You're the one who has to promote your work after they've put their twist on it.

I've found that making time for a project that means a lot to me has given me back my creative fire.

I give myself permission to be me.

Good things are going to follow.


What helps you create space for your creativity?

Hello!

I found this yoga wallpaper that I did a while back for my "Archie" series. If you like it - please take it. My gift to all my fellow yogis. I have to warn you that as fun as it looks - the main design flaw is that it's easy to lose your desktop files in the oodles of stick people.

The fact that it might make your computer look like a kid's playroom is only secondary ... and subject to viewer opinion. 

Enjoy!

A New Direction in My House

I'm honoring my decision to rebuild my portfolio with this piece, which highlights a new direction for my artwork: black and white compositions.

This is not to say I won't be adding color here and there, but that I feel a need to focus on texture, line, and form more than anything else right now.

I also had so much fun working with the darker content of Mindee's piece, I've decided to lead with that kind of imagery, and hope that the right opportunities follow. It's an experiment. I'll let you know how it goes because:

I was not happy drawing sunshine and teddy bears. Call me crazy, but I think my image as an artist needs to reflect the stories in my own head, too.

Also, knowing I'm a secret fan of Dave McKean, Brett Helquist, and  Patrick Arrasmith, I see a need to allow my shadows to fill the pages for a while. Not everything should be done in pastels and pixie dust.

So here are my innocent characters, ready to brave a spooky journey inside a haunted mansion.

I sorta feel the same way.

Who knows what I'm going to find in the dark corners of my brain.

Web Illustrations for Mindee Arnett, YA Author Extraodinaire

Over the last few weeks, I've had the pleasure of working with Mindee Arnett, author of YA contemporary fantasy, The Nightmare Affair, coming soon from Tor Teen. Mindee asked me to do a few illustrations to get her blog and website ready for her new release, and I was thrilled to jump at the chance to draw for her.

Not only was The Nightmare Affair an awesome read, but loaded with great imagery, dark and magical, which made my job of coming up with illustrations a fantastic experience. Rarely do I get the opportunity to create art for a sophisticated viewership, and I really enjoyed working with the ghostly designs Mindee's story prescribed.

Throughout the process, Mindee was encouraging and positive, gave thoughtful input and great feedback, and I'm really glad to say we had a lot of fun putting together the new look on her blog and website.

Visit Mindee's site for her bio and links to her short works.

And check out her blog to watch for updates on The Nightmare Affair! You don't want to miss it!

Cat

Teach and Inspire: Interview with Juli Schumann, Art Life Studio

Art by Juli Schumann


"Life is a great big canvas and you should throw all the paint on it you can."

Danny Kaye

       Every so often, I'm lucky enough to meet a person who can take life and run with it, without fear or judgement, with only the best intentions for all who gather to learn from her strength and vision. I recently took the opportunity to interview Juli Schumann, local pottery and painting teacher here in Nashville, Tennessee. Within the first moments of entering her studio, without hesitation, I knew I was in the presence of a force who creates change in her environment by helping others find meaning through their own creations.

Students' work, glazed and ready for paint.

Art Life Studio, nestled in the eclectic atmosphere of the East Nashville district, invites the curious customer in with hand-painted signs, warm lights, and brightly colored art work in every corner. At the center of the creativity, Juli welcomes her guests, encouraging visitors to touch, ask questions, make observations, learn, and enjoy. It's the kind of place that allows even the most hesitant spectator to shed his skin, and dive into a project under her thoughtful care and positive guidance.

Juli helps students find tools to create texture in clay.

What makes a person with this much energy tick?
I was honored to get the chance to ask Juli a few questions about how a place like Art Life brings Creativity and the people closer together.

How long ago did you move to Nashville?


14 years. At first I felt really landlocked being from Florida. It's one thing to be in New York and be landlocked, but it's another thing to be in Tennessee. And I didn't like it at first. But it wasn't soon after we moved that Nashville got The Frist Center and a football team, and the convention center; I'm really excited about that. I think that Nashville embraces the arts ... clearly music is the top dog,  but the arts go together. Musicians need the film and visual stimulation around them to make music. Musicians want to be entertained, too.

 You said you went to school for psychology? When did you decide you wanted to teach art?


I'm a self-taught artist. I never got a job anywhere near psychology. My very first job out of college was for a clay artist in NY. I walked in and started volunteering for her. I knew she didn't have much to pay me, but I wanted to be around it. I took to teaching right away, it felt really natural and normal.

What kind of projects do you offer for beginners?


I try to create projects that are predesigned to be successful, but I totally encourage people to go in the direction they would go. The majority of my visitors are beginners. I don't want say "here's a blank canvas", that's going to be the advanced painting class where I can get on them a little bit. But for the beginner, they need a direction.

Do you find students are sometimes nervous to dive in?


(Laughing) They love to tell me right away that they can't draw. Even parents love to tell me that. They put their kid in front of themselves and say, "I can't draw a stick figure, here's my kid." I try to hook them in, too. Art has a lot of mystery around it. This process takes away some of that mystery that says you can't do it.
You can.

What do you feel happens in the experience here in class? What do your students take away besides the arwork?

For kids they don't really need to forget about anything. They just need to be kids. For the adults, I think it's that they need to forget about stuff ... it's meditational ... the mind stops and the hands begin again. But the kids, they teach me more than I teach them. I believe that. There are a certain amount of kids that need this to help them know who they are. I see children that are shy or don't talk to me a lot, but by the time they're leaving, they're awake and engaged and they feel confident.

Class at Art Life Studio

And when you have a beginner in your studio, what materials are they most comfortable working with?


Beginners choose clay, because it's so forgiving. You can really see how it was one of the original tablets because people can write in it and smear it out, again and again. It's so workable for so long. I believe oil painting is that way too. A lot of people think it's too permanent and scary, but it's very forgiving.

And I tell them: There aren't mistakes. Only things you might change. And you being the artist, you have that right to change it. I don't ever try to change someone's mind when they say they messed up. I try to maybe change the way they approach it, like it's more of a learning experience, rather than a "mess up." I'll ask "So what would you change?" and when they have the answer I'll ask "So how can I help you make that happen?" If it comes down to getting a whole new sheet of paper then we'll do that, but it's not wrong. It's not a mistake.

Do you think more people are eager to work with their hands as a push against the increasing need to be available online and work digitally?

Actually, I've gotten a lot of emails recently from people who've lost their jobs. "I'm unemployed. I have all this time and I need meaning. Something meaningful." Loss. Loss of income. Loss of Jobs. Loss of security ... having creative knowledge gives us some stability, we understand that sometimes we need to dig in deeper to find the meaning in life. And I think a lot of people are getting that.

There's a book I recently read by Daniel Pink "A whole new mind." It's all about how you have to think creatively in the new economy. What you know isn't going to cut it anymore. It's how you take the information and do something creative with it.

Julie reminded me that "The concept at art life is not limited to WHAT you make, but HOW and WHO you make it with."

Julie offers painting, pottery, and design classes for children and adults, by appointment or during her scheduled workshops. Her studio includes a pottery wheel, a kiln, painting easels and a printmaking press.

She is an inspiration to her students and the people who are lucky enough to know her.

Much thanks to Juli and Art Life Studio, for permission to post her interview and photos here on my site.

Who inspires YOU to find art in YOUR life?

Dabbling in Photo Illustration Part 1

I'm very excited to do this post.

A) Because it's positive. No ranting from Cat today.

B) I get to introduce you to Jelena Mostovaja who is awesome in that she researches all things science so that anyone who would ever need to practice World Building would be able to find loads of data in one place, her website: The World Building Journal wbjournal.info She's also a writer and an artist. A jack of all trades. My kind of internet pal.

C) I get to try a multi-part post, which I've never done before.  Ooo the lessons in blogging never stop.

So this is part one, where I show you the image I've been working on, and explain how I've been wanting to build a portfolio that deals more with environment and lighting - with subjects that lean more sci fi and dark YA than the cute, fuzzy stuff I've been doing for the last 10 years.

I'm embracing my sci fi nerd inside and loving it.

So here's the finished piece:

And here's a close up of the character Falaha, who is traveling on Quennah, a star ship that has been in her family for generations. Read about Falaha's  journey here on Jelena's site.

I liked the idea of a ship that is passed down through generations, and the promise of a long voyage to distant star systems. I'm a huge Firefly fan (for those who don't know me) and I miss vicarious trips into the black. I'm prepared to geek out over Jelena's short story series. She does a nice job of setting the scene and putting the reader in the futuristic world where Falaha and Quennah exist. Can't wait to read more, Jelena!

To see the steps I took to build the environment, click to CHECK OUT PART 2 HERE

Dabbling in Photo Illustration Part 2

I've always struggled with environment. I usually find it's best for me to start with an idea and be sure I sketch out the perspective before I do anything else. But that takes a lot of time, and some of the purpose of photo illustration is to build layers fast. So this time, I started with an element. I wanted this character to be on a bridge over a quiet part of the ship. So I started with the bridge, which I built in Adobe Illustrator.

I was careful to layer the elements and bring them into photoshop separately, so I could deal with the shadows accordingly, and be able to layer the character behind the front rail, as well.

Also on a separate layer, I decided what kind of background I wanted. I imagined a large scale window, showing the celestial sky, would be a good way to indicate the scene and tone of the narration. I built the hull of the ship to look like this, in a stark format:

But the photo part was fun for me.  NEXT

Dabbling in Photo Illustration Part 3

 Choosing to blend texture into an illustration by using photos doesn't come natural to me - she who feels the need to control everything with a pencil. But I have to admit that photo texture eliminates a lot of painstaking detail work.  While I'm still a sucker for a nice hand-drawn pattern, I understand the need for me to adapt to the faster pace and clean lines of the new visual world. If I want to spend days on a pattern, that's days of my life I can't get back. This was kind of fun, and got me out of the drawing seat to take pictures, which is good for me. Trust me. I need to get out more.

Basically, I took a bunch of pictures of rusty, mechanical things, like our air conditioning units that need replacing ...

Oh look. My shoes.

This doesn't even work anymore. It just takes up space in my yard.

After I loaded the pictures into photoshop. I cut, transformed, and pasted the textures over the areas of the environment that I felt needed some "spacecrafting."

I used blending options for the layers to integrate the photos into the original design. Usually a color burn or a simple overlay was enough to get the pieces to look like they were fixed in the scene. Sometimes I had to play with the opacity. 

Can you tell which part of my air conditioner went where?

After I was happy with the background, I added the bridge.

Then added some shadows and effects to the layers.

And then I had some fun with the scene outside the window.  NEXT

Dabbling in Photo Illustration Part 4

I added the moon behind the window layer, using a radial gradient.

For the moon's texture, I used this really pretty stone from the beach.

Then airbrushed some stars into the night sky.

And filtered a gradient over everything for a nice unified color scheme.

All I need now, is a character. NEXT

Dabbling in Photo Illustration Part 5

My daughter graciously volunteered to be my model for this last bit. I am not the best character artist, so I thought it would actually be fun to try the whole deal as a photo illustration, to see how it turned out.
First, I took a picture of her in estimated perspective.

Then I cut and pasted her into the scene, giving her red hair and dropping shadows under her arms.

And now my daughter is headed for a distant galaxy. I hope she remembered to clean her room!

Thanks for hanging out for 5 posts.

Be sure to visit Jelena's site for more stories about Falaha.

See you soon.

Cat