I just wanted to let you guys know that I have been and will continue to regularly be adding new original work to the shop here on my website. I will also continue to be adding to society6 for art prints and merchandise ( www.society6.com/letitiapfinder ).
Be sure to check out both platforms because the products and artwork do vary between the two. Some work is exclusively original while others are currently only available on society6.
On my website shop I posted 3 new paintings today. One watercolour, “I’m Fine”, from my first Facebook live (follow me at www.facebook.com/letitiapfinderartist ). Which I will be doing much more often so, please be sure to check them out. On the lives you will get to watch as I create, I will also be answering questions, and talking about art and the business of art.
The other two paintings posted today are from the on going “Love,” series. Both 12 x 12 inch acrylic paintings. These playful and colourful pieces add the perfect pop of colour to any space.
Lots of work going on over here at Letitia Pfinder Headquarters. Be sure to tag along! I have some exciting projects in the works that I can’t wait to share with you and lots new art coming up.
Have you ever felt like you don’t exactly know what you’re doing? Like your art isn’t good enough? Perhaps you’ve felt out of place in the art world or have questioned your capabilities. Even if it is something you know you’re more than capable of doing. If you’ve struggled with thoughts like these you may have been or possibly still are dealing with something called imposter syndrome.
Imposter syndrome isn’t mutually exclusive to the arts or being an artist. It can happen in any field and to anyone. I’d wager that most of us have felt this at some point in our lives or will. I know I have.
Imposter syndrome is basically feeling inadequate within your field when you aren’t. It is in essence feeling like a fraud. It’s not a good feeling but it is sometimes a necessary one and even a positive stepping stone.
It is important to realize that no one knows what they are doing 100% of the time
It’s important to know that no one knows what they are doing 100% of the time. As humans we assume that when we grow up that we are supposed to know everything. That with age comes everything but we don’t and it doesn’t. That’s not to say we don’t learn, grow, and mature. It simply doesn’t happen as automatically and for everyone in the way we romanticize growing up as kids. That’s just not how life works no matter how much it may seem it.
You may get more wise with time and you may learn a lot in school or otherwise but you still always have moments where you’re faced with something new. There will be moments throughout your life when you don’t know what to do or you’re feeling insecure. That is the human experience. No one of us is all-knowing. We learn and adapt as we go.
But Letitia, that makes no sense! How can being insecure be a good thing at all?
Well, the feeling of being inadequate is coming from somewhere within you. Listening to where that is coming from and what it is, is the first step to overcoming it. Getting over that thought and feeling will allow you to grow not only as a person but in your work as well. Managing to get over the individual thoughts that create the collective thoughts giving us imposter syndrome is the best way I have found to push forward.
One thought at a time
Taking things a step at a time allows you to effectively get what you need done. Just like I apply this system to my projects, life, and goals I also apply it to my thoughts. I’ve turned it into my thought process. I find this especially helpful when my mind is going too fast or when I need to plan something. Being someone with ADD I find this to be a decent coping skill in many areas of my life. You definitely don’t need to have a brain like mine to make this work for you though. This is a practice and skill that anyone can develop and that anyone can benefit from.
So, how do you do it then?
Take one thought at a time. If you’re currently struggling with one thought or one feeling of inadequacy towards your art or anything, zero in on that thought. What is it exactly? You may actually find it helpful to write that thought out to see it all in front of you. If you find you have more than one thought and feeling going on, write them down and pick one to start with.
Once you have your thoughts out of your head and more tangible, say it aloud. Think it through, what is this thought and what is it really telling me? Write down what that is.
Then you work through each thought, examine it, turn it into something that you can work through.
For example, “ Wow, look at that person’s paintings. I could never paint like that. I can’t possibly keep painting because I doesn’t even compare to that. Who is going to want to buy my art when stuff like this exists?”
I admire this person’s work so much so that I am comparing my skill to theirs. I am wondering why would someone buy my, perceived less skilled, art when there is better art out there and available. I am feeling inadequate in comparison to this person, I am feeling jealous and envious of this person’s skill. I cannot move forward because I am feeling this way about my own work.
Let’s break it down and work through it. Let’s turn these negative thoughts of inadequacy and turn them into something more positive. Something you can work with.
I admire this person’s work. I think they are skilled. I am envious. Why am I envious? Because I like their style, I like their technique and the way they’ve executed their public work.
I wish I was more skilled. I know I have things that I would like to work on but that doesn’t necessarily mean I can’t do it or that the work I am doing right now isn’t good. Everyone has a style they like, techniques they are good at. If there is something I know I want to work on more, I can just work on that.
How can I work on these things? Find tutorials and practice more. There are elements of their work that I love and I could find a way to add them into my own work by making them my own. I particularly admire the colours they use so, I can work with those or similar colours. Play with them and do my own thing with them. This can be a great place of inspiration for me.
There is a lot to work with here now that the thoughts have been broken down into something more tangible and positive. You can start to see a solution to the specific skills or areas you can actually improve on that some of your feelings of inadequacy are coming from.
It’s much easier to improve by putting a plan in place when you know exactly what it is you need or want to improve on. Consider which is easier to move forward into action with:
Their work is better than mine
I like the way this person is able to incorporate realism into their more surreal art. I would like to add elements of this to my work but I don’t feel as though my skill level can achieve this currently.
I don’t think I have to tell you that B is the correct answer here. If you know what it is you can, should, or want to improve on than of course it is easier to take action.
Setting Goals
Once you can see where you’re looking to improve you can make the plans to do so. What is your goal? What is the specific thing you would like to achieve or improve on?
Say, your goal is to be able to draw hands more realistically. Break your larger goal down into smaller, more manageable tasks. It’s the same idea as breaking down your thoughts. Having smaller tasks or goals to meet within a larger one makes them easier to tackle. For our example of drawing more realistic hands you could make your tasks/goals/steps as follows:
Find or take reference pictures of real hands in different poses
Watch a tutorial to find more effective tips
Practice drawing hands from life or reference photos (10 minutes a day for 10 days)
Keep practice drawings accessible to compare at a later date to see improvements
Examine progress and see what else needs to be improved/adjusted and go from there
The truth is breaking down almost any problem in life like this can be helpful for a resolution. Imposter syndrome has certainly gotten the best of me over the years and I have come to find that I am not the only one. This is a common feeling for people to have. Even the most confident of us have moments where we don’t know, where we feel lost, or we feel inadequate.
No one is perfect, perfect just doesn’t exist. Humans are flawed but that that is what is beautiful about us. The fact that we can grow, learn, and overcome makes it all even better.
The next time you’re feeling unsure or not good enough in the world of art know that there is a buyer for everything. The saying “art is in the eye of the beholder” rings true. There will always be someone out there that likes what you create. Regardless, art is often very personal and is a journey. You will grow and change as you create, as time goes on. Art may be a talent but it is also a skill that can be learned. You will always be able to improve upon the things you need or want to.
Tell me your thoughts on imposter syndrome below in the comments. Have you ever experienced it? How did you overcome it?
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Until next time my Creative Friends!
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With October right around the corner that means Inktober is about to be upon us. One of the most fun times of the year to be an artist or a lover of art. Artists from all over the world take on the month-long challenge of creating an ink drawing a day through the month of October. The challenge created by Jake Parker has become immensely popular and is a much looked forward to event every year. You can find out more information about Inktober from the official website here.
Many artists have taken to preparing for Inktober in September. So, if you happen to be apart of online groups for Inktober, such as Facebook groups where people share their work, you may have noticed the increase in talk as soon as September rolls around. This is largely due to the release of the official Inktober prompt list at the beginning of September. With more activity, planning, and talk around this time I also start to see many people unsure if they should participate. People begin to voice their worries about whether they are “good enough” or “talented enough” to partake in the fun.
While this is an excellent segue to dive deeper into our psyches and insecurities as artists (which is absolutely something I am going to do in the near future, so stay tuned for that) I am going to talk specifically about art challenges right now.
What many of us seem to forget around this time of year is that challenges like this are personal challenges. They exist for us to challenge ourselves. They exist for us to improve. There is no eligibility requirement to take part. You could have never picked up an art supply in your life or even drawn a line and you can still take part in Inktober or any other similar challenge. You don’t have to be Picasso to draw daily.
But I’m a beginner
Everyone starts somewhere. You don’t have to be an “artist” to draw. Being creative has benefits no matter your skill level. There are many reasons people feel hesitant about participating in a challenge such as this; one of them being that they don’t consider themselves creative on top of being a beginner. A common thing I see being asked is, “a drawing a day is a lot, how do I keep finding inspiration?”. Inktober is great for this, there are lots of unofficial prompt lists kicking around online for the challenge, there is an official Inktober prompt list, and there are even other challenges going on at the same time that come with prompts as well (such as drawlloween). You can use the prompt list exclusively, mix and match prompt lists, use them sometimes, or not use them at all. This is where I find lots of people get tripped up, it is something for you, there are no hard-set rules unless you want there to be. You can do what you like, as long as you’re having fun with it, that is what matters.
Challenges like this are an awesome way to experiment, learn new techniques, and simply have fun. They shouldn’t be stressful, and they certainly aren’t the be-all-end-all. Relax, let loose, and enjoy. That is how you will get the most out of something like this, especially as someone just starting out.
You are going to improve
Go ahead, pick up that pencil and put it to paper everyday and see what happens! I can guarantee you that if you put in the time you will see improvement. That is the entire point to challenges like this and that is why I love them so much. You don’t have to share your work either, it isn’t a requirement to participate but it does give you a sense of involvement and community. It can also be a good motivator to keep going if you are putting your work out there and people know it.
Even if you take five minutes out of your day to doodle, you are at the very least building good artistic habits. The act of picking up your supplies and creating something, no matter how small or time consuming, gets you used to doing it and builds up that habit. The more you do it, the less you have to think about it or force yourself to. In turn, the better you will get and the more you will benefit from having those few moments to yourself as well as the benefits of allowing creativity into your life.
What do I use?
I see a lot of people getting discouraged because they see so many posts about people spending all kinds of money on things for Inktober. Truth is that’s on them, all you need is something to draw on and some ink. That can be a pen, fine liner, markers, ink and brush, nib and ink, etc. Whatever you have on hand or like to use. You don’t need fancy materials or to break the bank to join in. You can even just use a regular ball point pen if you want. All I’ve bought this year for Inktober is a few microns (fine liners) because I needed to replace mine anyway.
There is a bit of debate about this but if you draw digitally (photoshop, Procreate,etc) you can even use that. I recently got an IPad, Apple Pencil, and Procreate. I think they are valid options for Inktober.
What do I draw when I don’t know what to draw?
The prompts are a great place to look and find inspiration. If you are at a point where you feel as though you aren’t at a point where you can create something from your imagination fear not, there are many other options.
Around the home- find an everyday item that you use and draw from life, however you like. It is an excellent exercise to ink from a still life.
Try a new technique- maybe you saw a lovely drawing the other day that had some beautiful cross hatching on it and you thought to yourself, “that is awesome, I want to be able to do that”. Well, do that. Doodle and play around with a new technique, practicing lines and feeling how your materials flow and work with it.
Portraits- portraits are a fun way to express yourself, learn anatomy, practice, and have fun. You can draw from a picture or draw from life.
Hands- hands can be tricky to draw but they can also be lots of fun. They can portray all kinds of gestures and best of all you have one of your own to use as a model.
Draw out something that has happened- You could do something along the lines of a comic strip or a panel. It can be anything you want.
Happy inking! If you would like to follow my inktober progress you can do so on Instagram ( @letitiapfinder )
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Until next time my Creative Friends!
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I will be showing two paintings at the Yellow House Gallery here in Toronto starting this Friday November 16th 2018.
The paintings are a part of the annual Precious Snowflakes art sale. It is the perfect opportunity to buy local work at great prices. The show and sale runs from November 16th to January 12th 2019. There are over 100 small works by local artists so, lots of variety to purchase for yourself or a loved one for the holiday season.
The opening reception is on Friday November 16th 6:30- 9 pm and I will be there. Please come and show your support and check out the awesome show. I’ve already seen most of the work and is all wonderful. I am very excited to be a part of this and know the show will be a success!
The Yellow House Gallery is located at 921 Kingston Rd. For more information on the gallery or the show/sale please check out their Website and Facebook page here:
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I recently took a dive back into my first love; acrylic paint. I had given it a break for a few years because paint and young children don’t mix. Instead I opted to paint with watercolours, digitally paint, or draw. Although I do still have young children I have been able to manage some quality paint time. It feels great to jump back in with something so familiar, there’s nothing like putting paint to canvas. It is a totally different experience to the other mediums I use.
The first one I did was on a small wooden panel (6 x 6 inches). I have been finding inspiration in birds lately, we happen to have a Pigeon that has nested on our balcony and has laid some eggs, we often check on them and give them a little food. I love birds in general, but I especially love owls (anyone who knows me knows I’ve been obsessed for a good 10 years), Ravens, and Hawks (we actually have one that lives around us, it often snatches other birds right out of the sky when it’s hungry, kind of morbid but it seems to like to do this in front of our windows… maybe I should be afraid). Anyway, these flying creatures have caught my attention and I enjoy painting them. They also come with a whole bunch of meaning, folk-lore, etc. which happens to also be something I like to work into my art when I can. Everything I do has some sort of meaning, whether it is obvious to others or something more personal to me, there is usually something in my work that is much deeper to me than just an appealing picture.
I ended up creating “Raven” (Available for purchase here). Using darker colours to bring in the darkness of the bird and adding in some pops of colour to bring out the richness, deepness, and often reflective nature of the feathers. The added colour also plays towards light and dark, opposites are another subject I like to work into my work; the juxtaposition fascinates me.
You’ll notice in much of my work I like to play on things like light and dark, good and evil, life and death, fin and serious, etc. In fact, I have been on a bit of a roll with these acrylic paints lately. The next thing I painted was “Life and Death”. The title is self-explanatory and there is lots to look at in this small piece. This time I put paint to canvas and played more with that juxtaposition I love so much, colours, subject matter, meaning, serious and fun elements all tangled together in this intriguing piece. “Life and Death” measures 12 x 6 inches and is available for purchase here.
Now that I’ve worked out some of the rust I am excited to go bigger! It has been interesting to see how my style translates into different mediums now that its developed and different from when I was painting before. Art is certainly a journey and so much of us is put into our work. I hope you all enjoy! I’d love to hear about what you’ve been working on lately. Be sure to let me know in the comments
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Until next time my Creative Friends!
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It is kind of funny that the number one mistake I see artists make doesn’t have anything to do with technically creating work. It’s not using the “wrong” materials, not their proportions, or their skill, etc. It goes much deeper than this…
The absolute biggest mistake I see artists make is: Undervaluing their work.
Creating art takes practice. It often takes many years, lots of patience, and a whole bunch of money (art supplies aren’t cheap, neither is school) to learn to create effectively. I know in my case I’ve spent the better part of my life working on this skill, and that is exactly what art is; a skill. One people get hired for, one people make a living with. I also spent years of my life and quite a bit of money to go to post secondary school to further my skills, just as most people do to be able to gain the knowledge and experience they need to work in a specialized field.
Although whether one needs or should go to art school is another topic for another day (one I will do soon) I know that not everyone does or can go through a post secondary education. There are plenty of people out there who have made art a living without doing this. These people still put in countless hours of practicing and honing their skills.
Art is undervalued in our society. We all love it, buy it, use it, appreciate it on the outside but very little thought seems to be put into it otherwise or into the artist themselves.
This mentality has been so ingrained in us that, as artists, we do this to ourselves. We don’t value our own time or work. It becomes a vicious cycle that perpetuates this notion that art has little value. People hire for things they either can’t do themselves or don’t have time to do themselves. It is usually the former they hire/purchase for. Like I said, art is a skill, it is a skill like anything else. When your pipes are clogged from the main line and just plunging them won’t help, what do you do? You call a plumber. When you’re in need of high quality printing for that book you’ve written, what do you do? You go through a publisher or hire a printer. Car breaks down? Tow truck and mechanic. Tooth ache? Dentist. Packaging design? Graphic designer. Big party? Event planner.
This is the biggest mistake I see artists making: they undervalue themselves and their work. You should be charging a fair fee for materials, time, and skill. If you cannot even cover material expenses you’re doing yourself a huge injustice.
I see this almost daily. I am in a lot of art groups online and know many artists, so this is something I see people struggle with. I see people posting online in search of illustrators for next to nothing, expecting free work, low balling excellent pieces of art, and even not paying for commissions they asked for. I see artists fighting for attention and work, offering their services at severely discounted prices just to snag the job, working for free, advertising along the lines of “professionally done illustrations for only $5 a page”. Then they do the work and sign a contract for exclusive rights to whoever hired them for that $5 a page. What is the point in this? You aren’t helping yourself or others, you are teaching everyone else that your work is worth $5 and that, that is the amount other artists should be working for. Paying yourself cents on the hour for work isn’t helping you get anywhere, just like working for” exposure” isn’t.
This doesn’t mean that you cannot ever discount your work. Say, you feel very passionately about a project, but the person just cannot afford your regular fees, there’s nothing to say you can’t work out another arrangement, use a payment plan, offer them a discount, etc. Where it hurts you is if you offer this to everyone and don’t charge enough to pay yourself.
Believe it or not it is okay to turn down work. I’ve done it many times, especially in illustration. I want to be the right fit for a project, I want the person hiring me to be proud of the work accomplished. If they are writing a book, I want them to be able to shout about it from the roof tops when they are done. If I don’t think I can do their work justice or it isn’t something I feel I could do well then I will respectfully pass. I’ve had plenty of people ask me to work for free, do sketches of their characters, etc. I politely decline and let them know that this is what I do for a living, what I went to school for and that I simply cannot afford to work for nothing.
For example, I’ve had people ask me to provide sample sketches for a book they’ve written when they were looking for an illustrator. These people are in talks with other artists as well. They ask you to do the sketches, and I tell them I would be happy to arrange that, but I will have to charge a small fee for my time. This could be something as small as $10 or $20 depending on what they want a sample of. They are asking other artists to do the same, so they can see who they would like to hire. While I understand their thought process of wanting this for free (you don’t pay to interview someone), that is what a portfolio is for. Say, you do the sketches, then what? Then you’ve done the work with no guarantee you’re going to be picked, they then have the sketches that you developed (creating the characters is a big part of the job) and they can use those sketches for whatever they want because you’ve handed them over and you’ve done so for nothing.
Savvy successful businesses don’t give everything away for nothing, if they did they wouldn’t be able to grow or even survive. We keep alive this notion of a starving artist because we do it to ourselves. Yes, the market is saturated, but most are, there is still enough room for people to create and make a living. There are clients out there for everyone.
The more you respect your work, the more others will. In turn, the more we collectively do this the less we feel the need to. When we value our work and our time, we are sending out the message that other people should as well.
I have worked with wonderful people who value and respect my time, talent, and what I do. The right clients and buyers are out there for you, there is room for all of us in this wonderfully beautiful art world we have created. It all starts with you.
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Aside from obviously being an unfair amount of fun for a career, how is it that art as a career can change YOUR life?
It is an interesting topic, considering the opposite opinion is usually what people are cautioning others about. The whole “don’t become an artist because you’ll starve” argument that so many parents (although probably coming from a loving place and a place of wanting their children to succeed) throw at their kids when they want to get into a creative field.
Art and creative fields in general have become very popular, affording countless job opportunities. The gaming industry is a fantastic example of this. While traditional art may be harder to find something that you can make a more traditional and stable living doing these days it is all about the digital. Digital art is a very viable career option for those of you looking to get into the arts. If you go on a job searching website (something like monster or indeed, etc.) and type in “artist” you’ll get two things coming up: game design artists and sandwich artist. Okay, so maybe you don’t want to be a sandwich artist (they literally just make subs in chain restaurants) but the other options come with great starting rates and the opportunity to create, work on something other people are going to love, and it allows you to be in the arts with a real 9-5 job.
There are, of course many other examples of creative careers and careers in the arts but the gaming industry has come to the forefront here. Freelancing, running a gallery, illustrating, graphic design, interior decorating, creating your own shop and products, etc are other examples of careers in the arts. So, how can going into a creative career change your life and benefit you?
Here are a few examples:
Art is therapeutic, art therapy is an effective way to work through things you are feeling and going through. It is also another example of a career opportunity that has become more popular in the arts ( you do have to be qualified to do this though). Having a creative career allows you to spend your day creating, even if it isn’t your own work. The act of doing can help your mood, relieve stress, and help you enjoy your life.
You get to follow your passion! Seriously, that is one of the best feelings in the world. So many people push their passions and dreams aside, why not follow them? The benefits are obvious with this one. You only have one life to live, live it to its fullest, do what you love, and it will change your life for the better.
You get to make the world a more interesting and beautiful place. It is no secret that art enhances our lives just by looking at it. No matter where you fall in the creative world of business you are adding to people’s daily experiences; making them more interesting and/or beautiful. I find this to be a very rewarding point.
The arts are important yet they are often one of the first things to get cut when funding needs to be revaluated, and often are the career options that are dismissed without any real thought. We don’t think about how the arts have influenced our lives. The packaging we see on everything, the entertainment we watch to relax, the song that we have on repeat because we just love it so much, or that painting that we have hanging on our wall that brings us joy every single day.
I openly admit that I felt this way growing up. Art had always been apart of my life but growing up I didn’t consider it a viable career option. I ended up going in to another field which is when I realized how silly that thought process had been. I took a leap of faith and went to art school to follow my passion. I am so glad I did, it has changed my life!
Here are 5 ways pursuing an art career has changed my life:
Freedom – because I freelance and own my own website, shop, sell courses, and use platforms like Youtube I am my own boss. I make my own schedule and take on only what I want, or feel is the right fit. I make my business work for me, not the other way around.
Ability to work from home (or where ever I want) and Care for my children- Staying at home to care for my children was extremely important to me. Not only that but with the prices of child care in my city I would just be out working to cover the child care expenses. Having the ability and freedom to have my schedule work the way I want or need it to and to be able to spend the time I want and need to with my family is priceless for me. I am not just an artist, I am also a Mom and homemaker (which are like 2000 full time jobs in one, am I right?).
I get to be creative. I get to spend everyday creating. To me that is amazing. When I was in college for social work I spent almost 2 full years without really creating much of anything, I hadn’t even picked up a pencil in that time. Knowing the burnout rate and how exhausting the career I would have gone into was I likely wouldn’t have had the time or energy to create.
I get to help people and make a difference. I help other artists with their careers, I help other people bring their visions to life, I am able to teach others to create effectively and I get to make a difference by providing social commentary through art.
I get to think outside the box. Of course, you can do this in any field you’re in but for me art epitomizes this. I have completely constructed my own business, I can be as “out there” as I want in regard to my work, and my possibilities are endless.
I’ve only listed 5 examples of this for myself, plus the other few I mentioned above but, there are so many more ways an artistic career can change your life and benefit you. Your answers could be a lot different than mine, perhaps even deeper or personal, but that is the beauty of all of this.
What are some ways your art career (or even just your art if you don’t want to or haven’t yet attempted to start an art career) has changed your life?
The “Draw it Again Challenge” is a fun and interesting way to see where you are with your art. You may be thinking that this challenge sounds familiar, it should! Not only has it been fairly popular over the internet it is a tool I use often like in my recent post: 7 Ways to Take your Art to the Next Level Right Now.
What is the Challenge, exactly? It is actually quite simple. You take a piece of work you’ve done. I suggest you use something at least a year old, you can go back farther if you like. Then you take the premise of that piece and you redo it. You do it again but as you would do it now. You can be as close to the original as you like. I often stick fairly close to the original unless my style has changed so much that, I just wouldn’t do the artwork the same at all anymore. You can do this challenge as often as you like but I do like to do it at least one a year.
Why would you redo old work? Isn’t that a waste of time? Nope! Going back to a piece can do quite a few things for you:
Show where you’ve improved
Show what you still need to work on
Show you how your style has progressed
Bring in new inspiration
Give you a more polished and finished piece
I recently redid an old Inktober sketch of mine. I actually really enjoyed this particular piece and wouldn’t have changed much about it composition or content wise now. My style has changed a bit in this time though.
The process:
Usually I would start off with a sketch, try different placements, ideas, etc. I didn’t want to go that into detail with this particular piece. I was happy with it the way it was and was more interested in seeing my process in developing it; particularly the colours.
The original is mostly black ink on white paper with a bit of red for the balloon. My work these days is a lot more colourful.
I started off by drawing this lovely little robot in pencil in my sketch book.
Once I was happy with my rough outline I decided where I wanted to go with colour. I knew I wanted to make it more colourful than I had in the past. I toyed with idea of making the Robot himself a fully coloured and detailed component in the picture. Ultimately I decided that I liked the contrast of the Robot’s bold black outline and wanted to keep that against a lighter but still colourful background. He is the star of the show.
Because the Robot and his balloon are the focus of the image I wanted them to jump out against the background as much as possible. I decided, again, to stick with the darker, bolder red of the balloon in order to accomplish this.
I didn’t outline anything other than the Robot and balloon in black, unlike in the original ( everything was in black).
While I do enjoy this finished piece I did learn a lot from it. I do think it is an effective example of where my style and work has been moving to for some time now. I do not think it is a completely finished or effective piece on its own though. I do still love this little guy, I like that he is now surrounded by colour, I am mostly happy with it compositionally. Looking at it now and had I spent more time on it I would move the Robot down lower, he is too close to the edge of the paper and would do the composition more justice to have him overlapping the buildings instead of just kissing the tops of them. This leaves an awkward balance and flow in the area around his legs. I do think it is well-balanced and overall an acceptable piece but I do see a lot of work that needs to be done. The colours convey the dreamy and fun feeling I wanted but they aren’t as bright as I think I should have gone. Looking at this I’ve noticed that this has been happening in a lot of my work lately. I need to be more conscious of being too subtle with my colour, it isn’t my intention but it has been happening. Much of my work would be more effective being more saturated with colour. There isn’t much point in using these bright and vibrant colours if no one can see them. Playing it safe isn’t helping me here. This is something I have noted to work on for myself; perhaps a different medium would compliment this better.
Check out my YouTube channel on Friday (videos go up at 6 pm EST) to watch the creation of this lovely little Robot!
Have you done the draw it again challenge? Do you Plan on it? Or what do you think I could do differently with this picture? Let me know in the comments below.
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I have always drawn, painted, and created in general. The moment my Mother let me scribble on some paper with a pencil, that was it. I was hooked. Art was always the best part of the day, I spent my free time playing video games or creating, I spent my extracurricular activities taking classes at the community centre or doing something else creative there ( I danced, was in plays, etc), my summers were filled with art ( I was either creating or dancing), even my electives in high school allowed me to spend half my days in the art studios some semesters.
Growing up, being the oldest kid in my family by at least 7 years, I happened to be the only one interested in art (although I do have a couple talented family members now). My family has creative people in it; people who write, craft, sew, crochet but I am the artist. I feel very fortunate to come from a family of creative people even if they don’t see themselves that way. Art has always been apart of my life and my family, luckily, encouraged that. They were the ones trying to steer me into an artistic path when it came time to decide what I wanted to do with my life. They even suggested I become a tattoo artist, I mean, really… what family does that? I love them for that, so much. I was the one that fought back against initially following art into the business world. It just didn’t seem like a viable option to me and I had other interests that seemed like they would be more stable, more lucrative. I love psychology, criminal psychology, biology, sociology, history, and even anthropology. Clearly I love to know why and how we work. My first career choice in high school was to go into the forensic sciences. That didn’t pan out, I didn’t take into account that I wouldn’t be able to do anything that required math (I have a mathematical learning disability), that and I hate it.
So, I found some more inspiration in my life and went with social work. It was similar to some of the things I already wanted to get in to and as an added bonus I could help people, which also happened to be a passion of mine. Going into social work wasn’t a mistake, I loved it and I was really truly good at it; I even graduated with honours. Towards the end of my social work program I realized that I hadn’t created anything in almost 2 years. I had a desire to pick up a pencil and let that part of me out. I had been so caught up in school and in life, that I just didn’t realize that such a large part of me was missing. As I was about to graduate and trying to figure out what to do once school was done ( find a full-time job in the field of social work) I felt unfulfilled. The idea of this didn’t excite me, it made me reflect instead. All of those years pushing back against art I had suddenly felt so stupid for thinking that way. Now that I had social work under my belt I felt like this was it, I could really go for it. I could go to art school and I would have social work to fall back on if I needed it. I got brave. In my mind I had taken the risk out of going to art school and pursuing the career I knew I was more passionate about. Realistically, it isn’t any more of a cushion to fall back on than anything else but it was what my mind needed for that push, it was my way of rationalizing going for my dreams. I am so glad I did. So, off I went to art school.
High School Work
My life didn’t go exactly as planned ( does it ever?) even once I was in art school. I was almost done my first trimester of my first pregnancy at my art school graduation. I ended up having some health issues during this time. Life was once again taking over. I kept my part-time shoe selling job as long as I could ( it helped support me through college) during my pregnancy but I did have to stop working there as the complications in my pregnancy progressed.
In this time I was trying to figure out what I could do for work while not being able to work and with a Fine Art Studio background. I found some online options (society 6 being the one I went with) and I uploaded a few of my pieces there. As I could manage I made some more to stick up but I wasn’t able to regularly work on this. Needless to say, nothing happened with my art career in this time. My shop didn’t magically take off with the whole 3 things I had available. No one was banging down my door to buy my work, no one was even SEEING my work and I wasn’t creating anymore.
High School Work
Once my son was born I was obviously very busy with him. Just after 8 months postpartum I realized that I had done this to myself yet again. I had pushed aside this part of me. I had pushed my dreams aside. Is becoming a Mother the best excuse ever for not focusing on art? Absolutely but that wasn’t the only reason. I had just let it all slip in the ups and downs of life. So, I went out on my birthday and grabbed myself my very first small set of Copic Markers because I had been eyeing them for so long. I slowly brought art back into my life. I even created my art channel on YouTube. I didn’t take it very seriously until about 6 months later ( mostly because of trouble we were having with our internet and service providers, we went months without any internet during this time).
My Boys
As I got going I got pregnant again, this time health issues on top of raising an incredibly active toddler that could give any monkey a run for its money. I had to let it slip again. I tried so hard to hold on this time but it just didn’t happen. After I was induced and my second son was born I went into heart failure and was readmitted to the hospital at 3 days postpartum. Luckily, we had caught it fast enough that we were able to remove the fluid around my heart before it caused any damage. Although I struggled with fluid retention and lingering issues after this happened I was and still am fine in those regards. This was a huge wake up call for me, as I am sure it would be for most people. I didn’t wait this time. Shortly after I was back from the hospital I started creating again ( The first piece I did after my Second Son, Benjamin, was born is pictured below entitled “Birthday Bear”). I slowly built it up. I did stuff for myself, I found some illustration work, I put more work up on Society6, and I redid this website. I was working towards something now. I was working towards what I had wanted to do my whole adult life, so far. I had some set backs, I let life take hold every now and then. I had emergency surgery that set me out for a good month or so. I didn’t let it keep me down this time though, as soon as I was able I jumped back in.
Birthday Bear – Watercolour on Paper
I have learned my lesson, I will always keep pushing I will always be creating and I will always remember what a large part of me art is. I have the best reasons for pushing now. I have two amazing boys who look up to me. I want them to fight for what they want in life, I want them to always be pushing and always be true to themselves. I know there are other artists out there with similar struggles and I want to help you with them. I want to encourage the arts in everyone; whatever your age or stage may be. The arts are beneficial to everyone. In fact, I had seriously considered combining my two career paths into one with art therapy. Although I have ultimately decided that I am not going in that direction I am still able to help people through art the way I am now.
I am an artist because I love to create. I am an artist because I love to provide social commentary. I am an artist because I love to help bring other people’s visions to life; there is something magical about creating something for someone that was once something they could only picture in their minds. I am an artist because this is what I love, this is what I am passionate about. I am an artist because I am good at this and I am proud to be one. I am an artist and I am here because I want to and can help others in their creative journey.
Art was always there, even when I pushed it to the back. My life was always meant to be the creative journey of an artist. Looking back, I have no doubt about that. I am exactly where I should be.
If you take anything from reading this I hope that it is: it is NEVER too late to follow your dreams and to always go for what you want in life.
Why and how did you become an artist? I would love to hear your story, my Creative Friend!
