Those other updates I was telling you about!

Hi all,






I painted another Austin scene for work, only this time in glazes instead of gouache, and on a plate instead of paper, which is a lot more difficult! We are using it as a sample right now, to show all the different sizes and shapes we have to choose from. I love to see my work in a different media like this! It's really rewarding, knowing that it's something useable. Eventually I'd like to make more pieces like this.

Also, I have some of my old prints hanging for sale! My boss, Kelly, was nice enough to let me test out the waters a bit, to see if anyone is interested. I've had a lot of positive feedback, so hopefully a purchase or two will be on the way!





And again, make sure you switch over to my Tumblr page, so I don't lose you when I make the final switch! That's all I have for you today. :)
adios,
caitlin

Lots and lots of goodies!

Hello all!
I know, I know. I'm back so soon! Well, my lovely followers, I have so much wonderful news to share!
First of all, here is some new work (I have been very busy!):


"Trees in the Grove," Gouache, 2011.


"Picking Pears," Gouache, 2011.


"Harold Carries, Rosie Counts," Gouache, 2011.

These pieces are from an imaginary children's book I came up with. Theoretically, it would be titled, "Pears, Peaches, Apples," and would be about counting and seeing differences in objects (fruit specifically). I haven't added any text here for two reasons: first of all, I haven't written any text, and secondly, placement would likely be a designer's job, not mine. I had a lot of fun working on this, because of the challenge of a semi-limited color palette, as well as keeping my characters consistent.

Exciting bit number two:
The reason I was motivated to create these spreads was because I received a couple thrilling emails! First was the blog feature I have already mentioned on here. Annie Ericsson, an art assistant at Penguin/Putnam, loved my postcard mailer enough to post it on her website, and suggested that I create some spreads that show consistent characters to push my portfolio further. I have emailed her all of my most recent work.
And now, the Art Director of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has emailed me as well, saying that she loved my postcard and wants me to keep her updated with new work. How exciting is that?! So, I sent her my recent pieces also. Obviously, I will be letting you know if something happens!

And here's the BIGGEST NEWS OF ALL:

Our last Square Carousel challenge was to create a map for the wonderful website "They Draw and Travel," where illustrators around the globe create beautiful and geographically informative artwork. They often create books and calendars from hand-selected pieces, and are widely followed by the creative community. Here was my map (of my lovely home, Austin, Texas!):


"Austin Map," Gouache and Digital, 2011.

This project took a long time, and was pretty difficult for me because I don't usually work with such intricate details and backgrounds, but the struggle was so, so, so worth it! As soon as I uploaded my map to the TDAT (They Draw and Travel) site, I was contacted by the creators, Nate and Salli, saying that they had completely fallen in love with my work (I'm blushing!) and after searching around on my site and blog, they discovered Square Carousel. It was so exciting to them that our group of diverse (and talented!) illustrators had devoted our collective challenge to TDAT, and because of that, they offered to us the incredible opportunity to be heavily promoted by their network.
TDAT then did us the biggest compliment possible by telling every single person they could about our group. They featured our maps at the same time on the website (currently mine sits as the homepage!), with an amazingly large header that links to the Square Carousel page. Also on the They Draw and Travel site, Nate and Salli wrote a lovely blogpost about our collective. Then they took to Facebook and Twitter, repeatedly updating their hundreds of followers on our work. (Please check these links out for yourself, too!) The most exciting of all, however, might just be that Nate and Salli emailed all their subscribers (about 500 people, I believe) with an image-packed update of all Square Carousel's maps. This email also went, with a personal note, to the amazing Lilla Rogers, an artist representative who has corralled some of the most fresh illustrators to date. Even if none of us see immediate feedback from this networking extravaganza, it is such an honor and compliment to be promoted so heavily by one of the best creative websites around! THANK YOU, TDAT!

This made me so excited, so inspired, and so motivated that I decided to submit to TDAT's sister site (also run by Nate and Salli) called "They Draw and Cook." They are currently running a competition called "Cooking 4 Kids," so I did a quick, easy, and fun way to get children to eat their veggies: "Zippy Zucchini" (an allrecipes.com creation). This is the link to my submission and it's comments, but here's the image itself:

"Zippy Zucchini," Gouache and Digital, 2011.

And that would conclude all the exciting news I have for you right now! Stay tuned though, because I have a new Square Carousel challenge that I'm pretty close to posting...
adios,
caitlin

Moving right along

Hey all!
Things are pretty crazy and busy right now, so here's another quick post.
Life update: Kellan and I have moved into our apartment, unpacked and decorated. It looks awesome! Now we just need some house guests... and the internet! I'm bumming off my parents' at the moment.

Here's a couple pictures of my amazing new workspace!

It's in the bedroom, but I divided the space a little with the tapestry.

Big, beautiful window!

Storage and a little personal work on display that you may recognize.


I love hanging art with clothespins! And bulletin boards, as you can see.

The best scanner ever sits on my dresser.

Also, I've started work at Urban Outfitters, although the minimal hours may become an issue by the end of the month. I'm hoping this will change soon though! It is the perfect job for me to couple with freelancing.

Some exciting news: I received an email from Annie Ericsson, an art assistant at Penquin/Putnam saying that she really enjoyed my postcard and posted it on her blog! She enjoys my work a lot, and suggests that I now make more pieces with a continued plot and characters. I'm on it!

Also, I've been getting some responses from other companies from my postcards, but I feel like I shouldn't jinx myself by discussing that too much yet. Baby steps! It's exciting to know that people are seeing my work, though.

The spots I was going to have in the September issue of "What's Up, Annapolis?" Magazine have now been moved to February so they can be larger. Here's to hoping that the next article isn't bumped! I can't wait to see it in print!


"Honey Bee," Gouache and Digital, 2011.

And last, but not least, here we have another post for Square Carousel! You need to go check out the site for yourself, but here's a snippet of my explanation of the piece:

"This quote I found very fitting to my personal life, as well as an interesting fact..."

Go look at the challenge theme! It was a great, and broad idea. So far the interpretations have been really interesting.

That's all for now!
adios
caitlin

As Summer Winds Down

Hello all! This will be a short update. I finished a couple more pieces this summer! Probably the most art-productive summer to date! Not too much to say about them, except that I'm pretty happy with the results and they will fill some holes in my portfolio. Take a gander!



"Moving?" 2010, Gouache



"Visit Austin" 2010, Gouache

Also, meander over to my official site-- it got a pretty major facelift! (If it looks the same, give it a day or two. Sometimes the change is slow.) I like it much better than the one I had before, and I even managed to teach myself a little html code in the process! Super-nerd in the making.
That's all for now!
adios,
caitlin