What I Learned in 5 Weeks

Five weeks ago, I logged into the Make Art That Sells: Creating Collections for Home Décor classroom to learn what would be my first assignment from Lilla Rogers and her co-teacher, Margo Tantau. I had discussed this new challenge with my family. I warned them I was on a crash course, determined to learn more about the facets of art and design I admired while shopping in my favorite stores. Could my art be on a plate? Could my art be printed on fabric to make an apron, or bedspread, or curtains? This was something daring and different. I have spent years as a graphic artist using clip art that someone else designed. Now, the possibilities were exciting, and I anxiously entered this new world created by art agent and fairy art mother, Lilla Rogers.

Here is what I learned:

Although I don't consider myself an illustrator, I invested in a set of fine tip Micron pens and a pad of marker paper, and began to illustrate for the first time since college (that's over 20 years ago, my friends). I scanned in my work and translated it into vector art in Adobe Illustrator. For people who don't know what vector art is: I would say it's a tedious process of turning line art into shapes that can be filled with color.

Those feathers, florals and butterfly wings were pen strokes that had to be converted into solid fields on the computer screen, then assigned colors. I did that!!

I created icons using a variety of methods. Watercolor:

Brush pen:

That's delphinium and different brushstroke flowers that I made into a pattern. I did that!!!

Hand lettering, to be used as a graphic element:

And even a wooden chopstick, dipped in ink:

That wasn't actually an assignment; I was just experimenting with different line qualities. The blueberry and leaf shapes, though, ended up being designed into a carved wooden base of a lamp, for my final project.

The class was over the top -- in the kind of way you imagined walking into Wonka's Chocolate Factory when you were a kid, if it were a real thing. I'm in denial or going through withdrawal, without my Monday assignment. It would be crazy-making to keep up the pace, but there are so many techniques, so many substrates to design for, so many ideas that I could easily continue working. My portfolio would be amazing. But without the camaraderie of the other artists, and the fabulous instructors to nudge us along, life will now slow to a more manageable pace. Phew, I'm ready for that!

I learned that challenges are wonderful, but they also have a dark side for a slightly competitive personality like me. There's a fine line between admiring and supporting, and then letting your mind go to the "I'll never aspire to that level of work" internal conversation. I have to keep reminding myself that I'm new to this; I need to rack up many more hours of art to land upon a recognizable style, and be in that crowd. But, I'm not far from having the confidence to show my newfound commercial art skills to potential buyers.

Heartfelt gratitude goes out to Lilla and Margo. To say they are supportive is an understatement. I give them credit for wanting to teach what they know and bring new artists into the fold. If you are interested in learning more, go to makeartthatsells.com and browse the juicy creativeness.

Creating a Series

This spring, I accepted the challenge of making a series of art pieces as part of an online class, "Y is for Yellow!" with Carla Sonheim.

What makes several pieces of art hang together as a series? I suppose it would be that they were created on the same substrate, using the same art supplies, spanning similar subject matter, maybe with similar color treatment? This was a first time endeavor. What did I know about it?

I set the following parameters for the series:

   1. Pieces would be on same size wood panels

   2. They would all start out with collage

   3. I would work from live subjects, not photographs

   4. Medium of choice: acrylic paint

The first step was to prepare the panels with collage elements and set them to dry overnight. When I went searching for my subjects, I was delighted to find an arrangement with bright orange ranunculus at a local grocery store, and a potted gerber daisy.

At this point, I decided the collages needed more unifying, so I swiped them irregularly with a sage green and off white house paint. I was careful to allow attractive collage elements to show through the paint. Then I set about sketching the composition, and bringing the flowers to life.

The first two paintings settled in nicely. As finishing elements, and another unifying technique, I added subtle bits of color through stencils, and sketched over the top with a charcoal pencil to add details.

This is my favorite part of the whole first two paintings:

A week went by, and I went in search of more subjects. Oh my gosh, I found the most spectacular peonies! (At this time, it would be a good month or more before peonies would bloom in my yard).

I knew it would be a challenge to capture their beauty. See all those petals? I reminded myself that one of the reasons I was working from LIVE subjects was to see the light and shadows, and all the wonderful textures that cannot be captured in a snapshot reference. And here was the challenge: during the time I was working in my studio, the peonies kept opening up...... larger. And LARGER. What were once buds opened to full fledged blooms. As I painted I had to be more creative to depict these ever-changing glories.

But you know what was an even bigger challenge? The dang Irises. My fourth and final subject was a real scoundrel. Those flowers are very, very difficult to capture a likeness of. However, when I shared my work on social media, as I often do while working in the studio, the Irises garnered the most attention. Go figure.

The series is displayed in my studio for now, as I decide if I will have them framed or simply hang and enjoy. My first reaction to them all arranged in a group was that I wasn't sure they worked as a 'series' because of the difference color, which was a little jarring. Some bold and bright, some muted and pastel. I suppose I could have taken artistic license and painted them in a color scheme that was more cohesive. But for my first effort creating a series, I was happy in the end that I stayed true to the natural beauty of the flowers.

Each time I paint I learn new things. I hope I never stop learning; never stop being filled with wonder of the process, of the experiences.

A New Challenge

Have you ever walked into a store and seen products for your home and thought, "That's an awful color," or "That's a horrible design?" Me too. All the time.

So I decided to take my 15 or so years of graphic design experience and learn about new and different commercial design applications. Like fabrics. Or holiday wrapping paper. Spoonflower caught my eye, big time -- I even bought their book, The Spoonflower Handbook: A DIY Guide to Designing Fabric, Wallpaper & Gift Wrap. Yummy fabrics, $5 swatches, eco-friendly printing.... I am crushing on this website and sometimes stalking it, which is weird, because I don't sew. But I do, from time to time, collage fabrics into a painting. How cool would it be to say that the fabric in the background of my piece is also of MY DESIGN? Or that the gifts I give on special occasions are wrapped in papers I crafted and then had professionally printed?

I've designed and cut my own stencils before, and that's a lot like creating a pattern. Except for those darn repeat patterns. Oh, hell -- that's gotta be hard, I thought. Until I enrolled in Lila Rogers' Make Art That Sells professional development course. The self-paced "MATS A" covers bolt fabric, home decor, children's books, wall art and the gift market. Crash course! I wanted to absorb it all, all at once.

My first pattern was nothing to get excited about:

It was made by taking a bunch of gauche paintbrush strokes and pen-and-ink lines, scanning them in, and playing with composition. All I wanted to accomplish was learning the repeat pattern process, and at this point, say "I did it!"

Since that first pattern, I've approached more designs as being a reflection of who I am as a mixed media artist. I thought about all the different processes I use when I make art. Why shouldn't my patterns be an extension of my own experience? Sometimes I sketch, or outline with pen, or create with a brush in all types of media from watercolor to ink to acrylics. Sometimes I make monoprints. I've even tried carving my own stamps. The pattern below right is made by using my own stamps and acrylic ink. I stamped a bunch of random images and colors, then scanned them in, did a little clean up and moved them around until I made a pattern I liked.

It's quite fun to see them come together. Now I carry a sketchbook wherever I go, doodling little clips and imagery when inspiration strikes. The good ones I convert to an ink drawing to be scanned and composed on the computer. Like a good chef in the kitchen, nothing goes to waste.

Then I heard about a company in the UK that does sort of a print-on-demand business model. They have a design competition to put art on a cushion (think 'throw pillow').  I entered three designs; here's what they look like:

Is that cool, or is that COOL?? The contest runs through May 8th, and here's how it works:

• A FB and Instagram like = 1 point. 

• A Cushion sale = 20 points.

• Based on points, a short list will be sent to 20 industry judges. 

If you're so inclined, please visit http://www.wraptious.com/collections/competition-page (my designs are currently on the 4th page of entries) and share/vote/order away.

Meanwhile, I'll just be here, designing more patterns. I hear they start looking at holiday patterns in April.... Ho, ho, ho!

I went missing from this blog. For like a whole year.

Since it's the beginning of a new year, and also my birthday, I thought now was as good a time as ever to get back into composing some words.

Here is what's new:

I opened Periwinkle Art Studio. Here is a link to the website.

I was an active participant in teaching, and learning (via online classes and a super art retreat in August).

In 2016, I hope to pull a lot of loose strings together, and be more present on the blog!

(This is a monochromatic collage experiment in which I thought I was paying homage to one of the Pantone Colors of the Year, 'Serenity'. But I think it ended up being..... Periwinkle.) :)

Cheers to an artful 2016!