Finding My Daily Practice
January was a time of reflection for me. I guess it is with most people, trying to figure out resolutions and ways to make the new year the best that it can be. Looking back at 2018, I am so proud of myself for writing and publishing a book and for tackling the world of social media and marketing. (I still have a lot to learn and a long way to go.) What I didn't do was draw and sketch enough. I didn't create enough new work or get excited about anything except my book. It took over, I’m a little OCD that way.
Last week I had a migraine on and off and couldn't bring myself to do the things I needed to do, such as cleaning my email, finishing my taxes and paying the bills, etc. It wasn’t a terrible one so instead of just doing nothing I changed into comfy clothes, made my favorite tea, put on a yoga sounds playlist and I went to sit at my studio desk. I pulled out all kinds of supplies, and I spent the next three hours drawing, sketching and painting. It was fantastic, the time went so fast and was very relaxing. I almost forgot what that felt like this past year.
I made my goal for 2019 to remember that feeling and make it a daily practice, like taking my vitamins. I tend to get stuck when I look at a blank piece of paper and can't think of what to make each day. So many ideas flood my brain at once and I end up doing nothing. To try and remedy this, I decided I am going to create five different sketchbooks, one for each day the week and each with a different theme. I got this idea from following other artists who post images from their "various" sketchbooks. For example, one might be quick line and shape drawings, one watercolor backgrounds, collage, old book revival pages, general doodling, etc. I love the idea of having more than one focus sketchbook as well as the idea of a specific day for each; boom, the decision is made for me. I can still change my mind, change the order or create something different that day if the urge hits me.
My past behavior of focusing on my one “holy” sketchbook, never worked for me. But if I can make this a daily practice and commit to picking up a different sketchbook each day and spending twenty minutes doing a page or two, I can be creative and not get stuck or bored doing the same thing every day. In a way, it would be like keeping an artistic day planner.
A revelation I had while reflecting on 2018 is that I found that I have become a creative “watcher” more than a “maker”. I spend a lot of time on social media viewing other artist's work and techniques. I get super inspired and collect ideas for future projects. I don't think there's anything wrong with that, on the contrary, the internet allows me to see the visual world from all around the globe. But if not careful, it becomes a time suck and then I find myself not creating at all. Maybe I am saturated with so much that I see, that it is just too distracting. I am hoping that in 2019 I can ground myself in a daily creative practice that nourishes my soul and finds my spark again.
Which Ones Move you?
ROYGBV, we all know it... red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet. Are those still the names you use today? Are you a simple color person or do you see them with a deeper expressive passion. My rainbow would be scarlet, tangerine, banana, jade, sapphire and orchid; or crimson, pumpkin, pineapple, emerald, azure and amethyst; or, well you get the point.
People are drawn to different colors. Some see the millions of shades of a color while others just see the simple pure color. There is a whole psychology to color theory. For example, purples are associated with royalty and creativity while reds are associated with passion and romanticism. Some people love the color orange and others can’t stand it. There’s no rhyme or reason, different personalities are drawn to different shades of the rainbow.
What are your favorite colors? What do they say about you? How do they make you feel? Mine are purple, teal and coral; but I have to say I really love the whole spectrum at different times for different purposes. You may love certain colors for your home amd others for clothes. I am personally drawn more to soft muted colors over bright and bold when it comes to decor. And, although I love when I see a bright turquoise or dark chocolate brown on someone’s wall, I don’t think I could be that striking in my own space. I’d like to think I could be that brave, but I always fall back on soft, neutral colors. They give me a sense of serenity, peacefulness and quiet that I like to live in. When it comes to fashion, I will definitely pick up a scarlet red sweater or a lime green necklace because they are fun and I don’t have to live in them everyday.
“Color is only color when it's next to color” was another quote I learned from a teacher back in the day. A particular shade of red will look different depending on what color it is next to or surrounded by. It wil also appear differently in different light. Color changes, color is subjective, color is beautiful, color makes a statement or can evoke a feeling. Color changes with light as well. It’s not just ROYGBV, it’s millions of colors. Nutritionists say eat your colors everyday, I say live them!
Kaleidomatic App
There is an app that I absolutely love called Kaleidomatic. I used to use it all the time to create patterns from my artwork. When IOS11 came out, it stopped working but I refused to delete it in hopes that the developer would update it. Finally a year later and onto IOS12, they have. I was so excited to start playing with it again.
It allows me to choose an image from my photos and create amazing random patterns using the artwork. I purchased the "in-app" pattern and color packs to have more flexibility. The collage image above started with the flower artwork in the center of the grid. By choosing different options I was able to create the other eight patterns. By twisting two fingers on the screen, you create a moving kaleidoscope image that you can take screen snapshots at various points. The patterns are infinite. And you don't have to use artwork, you can use any photo either from your albums or taken within the app itself.
One thing I am not sure of the quality and resolution of the saved image if I was to try and use it to produce an actual product. I will have to experiment with it and see and maybe write to the developer.
Here are a few more examples. It's amazing to see your artwork in a new way that you couldn't have imagined.
10 Years and It's all Good...
Last month I entered a cover contest for Uppercase Magazine. It was for their 10th-anniversary issue and the theme was "the tools we use". This was the first time they had a cover contest and there were over 300 submissions. I found out yesterday that I did not win, but it's all good. I was happy just to participate and I love the piece of artwork I created because of the opportunity.
If you are a creative person and haven't heard of Uppercase, go pick yourself up a copy, you will love it, I promise. It is a wonderful inspirational quarterly designed and printed in Canada. It is, as it says on their cover, "for the creative and curious". Each quarter has a theme and is filled with artwork and stories from creatives from all over. Uppercase is also an independent magazine so there is no advertising, just lots of amazing print, craft and artwork. When the new issue arrives every three months, I can't wait to open the package. It's not just for the content, but I absolutely love the way the magazine smells. Paper and ink, print shop fresh, reminding of my graphic design days when I used to go on press runs for clients.
Anyway, back to my submission. I wanted to show you the progression of the idea to the finished artwork. I knew immediately it would be a watercolor mandala in my doodle style.
It started with a quick pen sketch. I then arranged "the tools I use" in a circle and created another sketch from that. Once I had a sketch I was happy with, I traced the image with an ink pen onto vellum paper and did a quick color wash. Then I did something I have never done before, instead of redrawing or tracing the image directly onto watercolor paper, I scanned the vellum into my computer and printed it out on watercolor paper made for an inkjet printer. It worked out nicely, but I think I prefer painting onto good quality watercolor paper instead of the inkjet version.
The finished piece looks like this...
And the submission I sent to them to show them how it would look on their cover looked like this...
So even though I didn't win the cover contest, I won because I really enjoyed creating this piece. And coincidentally, 2018 is actually my 10th year in business, so it's my anniversary too. I think I will frame it and hang it in my studio.
It's not easy, but it's rewarding...
Something I have learned on my journey as an artist is that I am not good with sales, marketing and promoting myself and my artwork. Many creatives I believe struggle with these issues, and even though there are many online courses one can take on the subject, it's still very daunting.
When I decided to publish my book, I knew I couldn't just self publish it on Amazon, and boom, the world would buy thousands of copies. If that were true, then my Etsy shop would have lots of orders everyday. Being creative isn't enough, you need to learn the skillset of selling yourself. If I didn't self publish my book and instead had a publisher do it, they would have at least taken on some of this load.
So a new journey began this summer, learning to promote "me," something very unfamiliar. The first thing I did was tweak all of my social media platforms to be visually in sync, banners, bios, images, etc. They were pretty good for the most part, I mean, I am a graphic designer, I should be able to master my own branding! I did the same with my printed materials, such as ordering new business cards, postcards, etc.
The next part was very overwhelming, researching how to use social media properly. I used to post things from time to time, but with no consistency or pattern to it. I began delving into what to post, how many times a day, how to post for an audience and not for myself and so forth. This is literally a full time job and there aren't enough hours in the day. Now I understand why people hire other people to do this. I have found some valuable tools that helped a great deal with this process that I will talk about in a later post.
At the same time, I began researching who my target audience was, making lists of who to send marketing material to, designing graphics and snippets to post on social media, creating a social media schedule and hiring someone to help me with cover letters and press releases. I also decided to create a dedicated Facebook page, Twitter account and Instagram account specifically for the book, (which meant designing new branding banners), and buying the domain "TheABCsofNonConsent" to be redirected to my website if searched by someone. Whew, I'm exhausted, aren't you?
And if that wasn't enough I also started to think about how I would package the book when I sent copies to prospective customers, picking the right envelope color and designing colorful stickers for the front and back of the package. I also spent some time wondering if I should plan a giveaway to get reviews on Amazon that could I run after the book was published and what that might be.
Before any of this even happened, I forgot to mention that I had to learn how to self publish on Amazon by watching countless YouTube videos by other authors and reading through all of Amazon's marketing articles. If you're not feeling overwhelmed from reading this yet then maybe you have the marketing and business powers of a super hero. I am not there yet, but I am definitely earning my cape, and to my surprise, I am finding it all very interesting. If I can manage all this, me the shy artist who doesn't like to talk about herself, then anyone can!
