'mail me art' entry

So, here is my entry for the 'mail me art' contest in the u.k. I'm reasonably pleased with it, although I had to put packing tape on the edges to hold it closed. I made my own envelope out of bristol (because I wanted to paint on it and wanted to be sure that it would hold up), and did all of the painting/pasting etc. BEFORE gluing the envelope closed. It wouldn't stay closed, due to the thickness, multiple layers of thick paper and slight warping (BECAUSE of painting)...alas. Next time I'll know better! It looked even better after the guy at the post office put the postage sticker on and postmarked it. Perhaps I'll get to see what it looks like after its travels?!?! I hope...!

oh, and the final version of that OTHER page...

...ta daaaaah! Also to be entered as part of the series. I have not finished the facing page yet; have yet to make final decisions on which birds to put where, and am re-doing one bird right now.... ah, perfectionism, you are a cruel and yet often ultimately very satisfying mistress....

another book page

So, here it is, another page from this book I keep going on about... This time I have done a more thorough job of documenting its progress from start to finish (I did scan the origami birds before I cut them out, but can't seem to locate the scan- humf...). It's all done by hand, of course, including all of the patterns... I have just entered this (as a part of a series, all taken from the book) into the Communication Arts illustration contest. This year, I will participate in more contests- within the next month, not including this one, there are two more that I plan to enter. But wait! There's more! Not only will I enter contests, I plan to diligently post AS NEWS on various forums that I have finished this and that, that I have updated my site, etc. In a former life, I would not have accepted this as suitable for 'news'- but it seems to be the thing to do. Ah well. It's one of those things... it's hard to get over the vague sense that drawing attention to yourself is somehow distasteful, or not nice, or something... but truly, waiting for people to notice you seems not to be terribly productive, either. I've become familiar with several illustrator's names and work solely through their repeated appearance ON said news sections of various forums.... Shameless self-promotion full steam ahead! I've been reading Holly DeWolf's book, too, which emphasizes without any question the necessity of continuous, ongoing, creative self-promotion. I'm going to write a review of her book for Escape From Illustration Island this weekend. I'll post it here, also....

2 pages of my book pre-final assembly

The two top (red) images are the pages themselves- they are to be facing pages. The red pattern is hand-drawn and painted in gouache on rice paper. The following several bird images I drew separately and painted in gouache; they will be cut out and pasted onto the two pages in something like a composition. Almost finished with these, finally, hurrrrah! This page (pages) has been particularly painstaking. I redrew the girl and her grandfather twice (the first time I was dissatisfied with the colours I chose for the clothing- made background pattern colour choice difficile); also I drew and painted- I just looked at this- four different background patterns before deciding on this one. I am quite pleased with the result though..... I will be sure to post the pages once I place the birds.

The past month has been busy with the usual holiday-type busy-ness. Back to work, goddammit! I am planning to enter two illustration contests towards the end of this month ( I want to enter several pages of my book) and want to complete another page to enter as part of the series (I will also post this one in progress!). I also want to write a review of Holly DeWolf's book (which I received a few weeks ago) and I have to continue with research, research, researching possible clients. I also plan in the near future to utilize a print-on-demand site to make prints of my work available. Ok, that's all for now. More soon!

Ernie Zelinski, proponent of the good life and wearer of many t-shirts

This book appeared to me quite by chance, unbidden, and completely fortuitously, a couple of years ago. I was, at the time, working at a to-be-unspecified job for a very small chain of independent Canadian bookstores that shall remain nameless. It SHOULD have, been a good job, it COULD have been a good job; working for someone else, it might have been. But it wasn't. It made me miserable, completely miserable. Not only was I not left with sufficient TIME for any of my various art projects, I was so completely consumed by how much I hated my job that I was hardly even inclined.

I had been thinking that I would like to pursue illustration. All of my interests and predilections seemed to point to it. But I didn't know how, and all of my time/mental energy seemed caught up in work. I had no time to work on a portfolio. I wanted to do it, but how? I would think about it longingly , but week after week after month slipped by. And then Ernie Zelinski appeared.

Real Success Without a Real Job arrived at the warehouse as a 'freebie'- it was accidentally sent to us, unordered. Since it was not sent in PLACE of anything, it wasn't sent back in return for another item. I saw it on the shelf where such things wind up, and snatched it up. It seemed clear that that book was FOR ME!!!

His main points: many, even most people, are unhappy and unfulfilled working for someone else, and most likely wish that they were doing something that they cared about. That real success is what you make it, not living up to the traditional view of success, and that real success is living life in your own way, pursuing things that have meaning to you. That working at an 'unreal job' (something, ideally, that you would want to do even if you weren't getting paid) will give you a sense of freedom, satisfaction and fulfillment that a 'real' job can't.

He tells his own story, which is not a tale of miraculous luck but rather of dogged perseverance and dedication to pursuing his dream. He is not, as he readily admits, a particularly 'good' writer in terms of style or elegance, but he IS a good writer in that he writes clearly, expresses his own unique point of view and his inimitable personality. As he so succinctly put it, " I may not be able to write a book by Shakespeare, but I can write a book by me." Oh, did I mention? He is FUNNY.

Clearly, I had long ago joined the choir. The book served for me more to confirm and elaborate what I already knew or intuited. It is more inspiration and pep talk than a step-by-step guide to achieving your particular objective (although he does suggest numerous other books to consult to help you figure out your path). But WHAT a pep talk... I have re-read it countless times, and it has joined the ranks of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Hothead Paisan, Homicidal Lesbian Terrorist, and A Confederacy of Dunces as a reliable remedy for times of discouragement or depressedness.

He has also written books entitled The Joy of Not Working, How to retire Happy, Wild and Free, and The Lazy Person's Guide to Happiness.
His official website: http://www.erniezelinski.com/

p.s. it seems that the edition that I have is no longer available; I suspect that the new book Career Success without a Real Job is probably the same book, essentially.

another page of my book...

Another page of my book-in-progress. I'm thinking of adding some more leaves on the bottom right instead of the sort of strange continuation of the pattern on the house... but for now, I've had enough of fussing with this and will do it later! LATER! I have a lot of work to do; no doubt I'll want to start some pages over again completely by the time I'm finished (in fact, there are already a couple that I have in mind, sigh...).

CRUNCHY .... (illustration friday)

Yes, this is something that I posted a little while ago... but I thought that it fit the IF theme for this week, 'crunchy'. 'Crunchy' seems like one of those words that simply MUST be used to describe breakfast cereal. Although I would imagine that this bowl of larvae is mostly soft, I imagine that the legs are fairly 'crunchy' (as is certainly the case with those huge tiger shrimp!) Bon appetit!