New Year Has Begun: a Perspective on Resolutions

With the New Year beginning it is time to check in once more and see where I was a year ago and where I want to be a year from now. I don't feel like my resolutions are in fact the life altering go from zero to a hundred type but more like am I on track?... What can I do better? ... How has what I've done fit into my goals and are my goals still the same... What can I do to move forward

Warning! This shit is going to get personal.
I want to be a Surface Pattern Designer and Illustrator...

The Next few Images are chronological order to give you some idea of where I came from!

One of the very first handmade Repeats I ever made, uploaded to Ai
and loosely put together. Late 2013

Original on vellum (Still a favourite drawing surface).

What have I done this past year to make that happen? I have developed mad Illustrator Skills- I never believed that I could learn such a complex thing. For 2016 I want to make it part of my daily routine... Practice Practice Practice. My family has been priority number one and often I use that as a distraction to not practice, so developing my skills has been a tad slow and I have not seen the results I always want. So in 2016- make more time for myself. Yes kids that means more chores!

Figured out how to clean it up early 2014

And turn it into a repeat!

By 2015 it was a matter of practice!

Early 2015

Spring 2015

October 2015

Style is another area I felt that was lacking- I have a personal style but had not had an illustrative style- I have always been here there and everywhere picking up on on different mediums, trying new techniques, in truth my drawing style has always been more lifelike renderings... I have had in the past wanted perfection- I have a personal mantra: If you can do it right then don't do it at all. Meaning don't do a job half assed (for me it is all about craftsmanship) but somewhere I started using it as a cop out to not do things I was not good at and I was limiting myself to only doing what I knew. So this year I started playing around which led to doodling and letting go. And it turns out I was still doing the best job I could do but it was different. Through experimentation I discovered I do have a natural drawing style that feels somewhere between a doodle and accurate representation, that is both slightly quirky and realistic. It also reflects my interests in food, drink, travel, minimalism and abundance. In 2016 I want to see that grow and turn into a solid body of work that I can call my signature style.

Turns out I love black and white!
I also love color but that is for another post.

In 2015 I said I want to be a Surface Pattern Illustrator, this year I am declaring this is who I am. I need to present that to the world. By honing my in on my strengths, skills and developing my style. My outward goal for 2016 it build my brand, sell myself and get a gigs... Personally I want to pay for a house cleaner and buy a Shasta camper, but hey I will take doing what I love, feeling fulfilled and contributing to my family, being a positive role model and good example as a job well done.

PS... I added the images after I wrote the post and I can see that I have had a slightly similar aesthetic all along!

Monday Sneak Peek

Sneak Peek 

What do we think of this for a nice spring design?

I haven't figured out colours or background yet, just playing around with pattern.

And what would I put it on? 

The More you use it, the more you have....

"You can't use up creativity,
the more you use it, the more you have"
Maya Angelou

What started out as a single drawing, kinda a doodle in the top right hand corner of my sketchbook as I was researching midcentury modern design motifs is starting to take on a life of it's own.

I asked the question in my last blog post "can you see it evolving?". 

Home Turf and Gimme Shelter.

I was back on my home turf this weekend. Husband and I were able to get a little weekend

getaway in (why I was so late posting Saturday). Every time we are in Vancouver we make sure to grab breakfast from Granville island, even if that means going there on a Sunday. Get there early enough you can usually find parking,  get your coffee and grab a pastry in a decent amount

of time. 

Do you see what is taking shelter with the frame of the photo?

When we are on the 'island' (what was once our home), I with husband on tow (he likened my art supply buying habit as a black hole) visit Opus (I needed new pens),  and then head over to Emily Carr University of Art and Design- my old school. We both love walking through the Concourse Gallery. A space for rotating works by the students and faculty. The title of the most recent show was Gimme Shelter.

There was a large tent like structure, a couch made out of chicken wire and stones (that reminded me of the time my classmates and I attempted to cover a couch in large ceramic slabs covered in thorns), photo essays and simple wire sculptures, all beautifully done.

But the one I loved most was this piece pictured above. I loved that it was a simple shape repeated and that from every direction it changed and that you could view through it and then over it

and your perception changed.

I would love to know the name of this artist, I feel strongly about citing and giving credit where credit is due but none of the plinths, photos, or sculptures has names on them. Was this an over site? or was this part of the theme? Vancouver is a city where Shelter is on every citizens mind yet though it has a shared common concern it is also a very anonymous city. Hmm... I wonder?!

Someday my husband and I would love to move back to Vancouver, we still refer to it as home but our question is and always has been shelter... We want it to be not only a city we find Shelter but one in which we live and thrive.

"You need Help!" (with) Repeat Patterns.

I recently updated my illustrator going from CS5 to the Creative Cloud CS6 version. For the purpose of pattern and surface design I thought I had CS5 pretty well handled...  I could make repeat patterns, draw, live trace etc but then entered the Pattern Tool?! I am both in awe of it and and little scared of it. 

It Reminded me of a children's story book I use to read to my kids... Today I Will Fly by Mo Williams. The protagonist Piggie exclaims to his friend Gerald an Elephant "I can Fly".... Gerald always the downer says to Piggie.... "You can not fly, You will not fly Today, You will not fly tomorrow YOU WILL NEVER FLY.".... and looking at the new version of CS6 that is kinda how I felt... my inner critic whispering in my ear you Can Not Do This, You can Never Do this!...Gerald in a dismissive- this will never happen kind of way, says to Piggie "You Need Help". And that is What Piggie did, she got help and was able to fly with the aid of her friend a Duck that carried her through the air and over Gerald's head! Gerald was astounded and exclaimed- "You did it, You Flew" and Piggie (quick witted) said "No, I got Help".

Where am I going with this story and what does it have to do with Illustrator? Rather than using the Illustrator how to videos which are great but require a whole bunch of previous experience- I am self taught so my knowledge is geared more for simple illustration and surface and pattern design I turned to experts in the field. I follow a lot of aspiring and talented experienced designers in different forums and groups and someone linked to a free class from Pattern Observer The Ultimate Guide to Repeats. I shoved my fear and self doubt to the side and got help. The help came in the form of simple suggestions and tips... and much to my amazement and excitement I made a simple repeat using the pattern tool... So maybe I Can Do This...

The Three swatches show my progression using the pattern tool to create a simple repeat. As you can see I used the same motif several ways... I love the simplicity of the the first two, the third (not my favourite) was playing around with colour and texture just to see what could be done....

The Self critic will rear its ugly head again, I know that, but it helps know there there is large community that both support me and others like me... There are answers out there, you just have to know when to ask for help. As for where to and from whom, what are your resources?!

Have a Lovely Day!

In my Sketchbook inspiration for print and pattern.

In my Sketchbook, ideas for print and pattern. 

One of the best sources of inspiration can be found in your everyday life.

This summer we added a pond to our back yard with a few Lilly pads, 

lotus flowers and large fancy Gold fish.

The Best time of day was sitting around the pond in the evening, floating candles watching our fish catch the tiny bugs that would inspect the water. 

Scrappy Carp Card

  You can find my fish illustrations on simple blank cards in the Scrappy Carp Etsy shop.

Looking for your own inspiration?

Tomorrow I will be starting a new class... Seven Days of Paper Love!

Join me and share what you create!