Season changes

Hello all!
This will be a quick update, because I need to work on a piece for Square Carousel before heading to work (I now have a second job at The Art Garage, a walk in paint-your-own-pottery/art camp/classes/birthday parties place just outside of Austin!).

I completely neglected to show you the last challenge from Square Carousel, which was "Spirit Animal:"
"Wolf," Gouache, 2011.

Visit the site for the whole explanation of why I chose a wolf, but I can tell you this: don't think of the animal as the vicious carnivore from children's stories.

And I've completed another piece for the group, this time the challenge being "Fairy Tales with a Twist." I chose to illustrate the Mother Goose rhyme "The Three Little Kittens," which I suppose is less of a fairy tale, but it was something I held dear from my childhood. Here's the illustration:

"Kittens' Mittens," Gouache, 2011.
I have been getting some feedback lately suggesting a brighter color palette, so I pushed myself a little with this piece. I'm sure I still have progress to make, but I'm proud of myself for using so much pink!


Let me also show you my very latest piece for Square Carousel. The prompt was to illustrate your greatest fear. I have many fears, but I knew immediately that my greatest was to lose my loved ones and be alone in life:


"Greatest Fear," Gouache, 2011.

This piece was actually extremely difficult for me. The first painting I did was absolutely dreadful, and you aren't going to get to see it! Luckily, with a little inspiration from my dearest Mary Blair, I was able to pull this one out of the hat. I realized, although I have no issue seeing the negatives in life sometimes, I truly struggle with portraying it through my art. I suppose for an aspiring children's book illustrator, that isn't such a bad thing! You can read more about my piece on Square Carousel's website.

Also, some exciting news: I have been featured on several websites thanks to They Draw and Cook! The first was on their own art shop, where you can buy prints of my recipe, and even have the option of getting it framed. Then I was notified that my piece was up for sale on Great Big Canvas, a website that sells prints on stretched canvas of varying sizes. The great news about both of these is that I'll see a profit from any purchases of the prints. Thank you again, TDAC! And for the folks who read my blog-- if you have ever wanted a nice quality print of my work, this would be your best option at this point!

After that exciting news, then I found out that Halogen TV.com featured They Draw and Cook, with my recipe front and center, as the first of several example works from the site! And this happened on my birthday, no less! What a great surprise!

Last, but not least, I have one quick piece left to show you. This painting was for a very dear friend of mine who had a baby in August:

"Teddy Comes to Life," Gouache, 2011.

And now it hangs in the baby's room!


That's all for now,
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

More Square Carousel

Just a quick post today to let you know that I have another piece to show for Square Carousel! The explanation is on the site, so here's a little snippet of my interpretation (of my own theme) "Home Away From Home:"

"I picked this topic, thinking that it would be a piece of cake, since I love painting houses, but I quickly realized during the sketching process that this was not an easy concept to illustrate..."

Check out the site for more! Here's the piece:


"Where is my home away from home?" Gouache, 2011.

In other news, I started my day job this week, and am moving into my apartment with Kellan in eight days. Life is moving on!
And so am I! Time to go.
adios,
caitlin

Summer Limbo Land

Well, this has been a very interesting period of time so far for me. It really is difficult to describe. I feel free, in some regards, and more bound in others. I have yet to start a job, although I have been hired part-time by Urban Outfitters (starting the 26th), and am in between interviews with another store for a second job. Kellan and I have an apartment pre-leased for August. Although I've worked hard to take care of my responsibilities as a budding freelancer, it feels a bit like I'm living in the Groundhog Day movie! Every day is very similar to the last.


Regardless, I've made some significant progress with my illustration. At the end of June, I mailed out my roughly 650 postcards. That was an all-day ordeal, putting on stamps and addressing that many postcards takes a great deal longer than you'd expect. Toting them all in a shoebox to the post office certainly got me some strange looks! I also forgot to mention in my last post that the illustration department at SCAD offered to pay me for my portfolio book, to keep as a sample, but I declined. I couldn't give away my baby! So, instead I mailed them a disc copy of the PDF files. I've also prepared my tear sheet packets to be mailed as soon as we move into our apartment.

A couple weeks ago I received an email from one of my cards. I shouldn't name the company, since they haven't given me any work, but they were impressed by my portfolio and are asking for me to submit additional work soon (they need something slightly more specific in purpose than I have just yet). I'll let you know if this goes anywhere, but even if it doesn't, it was a very nice surprise, since I wasn't expecting to get any responses from my first mailers!

The biggest and best news of all though is several months in the making! Today I can officially announce my involvement with the Square Carousel Illustration Collective! It is a group of ten illustrators who met at SCAD and graduated this year. Josh Heinsz organized the group in a bout of complete genius, carefully selecting artists whose styles and personas mesh well together. I see our aesthetics as a gradient-- one person's work may be similar to another, who is similar to another, who is similar to another... The group will have bi-weekly challenges, and will act as a self-promotional tool, also giving us an opportunity to share advice and contacts with ease, now that we are spread across the country (and Canada!) The first challenge was to create our carousel animal, which will be synonymous with our name on the site. Here's mine:


"Happy Carousel Raccoon," Gouache, 2011.

Click here to check out our website! And here for our Twitter. Aaaaaand here for our Facebook page! Please like it, if you're on Facebook!

That's all I have for you at the moment. Check back soon!

adios
caitlin

The end of the beginning of real life, and the beginning of the very beginning of the middle of real life

Or something like that.

I am officially no longer a student, and instead a self-employed freelancer! Kellan and I will be moving into an apartment into Austin, Texas come August, and until then, I am in a little limbo living with family. It's okay though-- gives me a moment to catch my breath and organize myself.

Clearly, no new art to show at the moment, but I do have a few pictures from festivities at the beginning of June.

At the beginning of the weekend, we attended the Communications Arts show, which was organized by the school and consisted of works from Illustration, Graphic Design, Advertising, and Sequential Art. Here are pictures of Kellan and me with our accepted works:

Me
Kellan

Then, the next night, we had our Illustration Senior Show, which for me was an extremely wonderful culmination of all the relationships, experiences, and growth I have experienced over the last four years in the Illustration department. My parents were able to meet my professors, as well, which was really nice, because they had some very kind words to say about my work. I will miss all those lovely folks from Morris Hall! I only wish I had appreciated the community more when it was readily available.

Me and my work!

My dear friend, Casey Crisenbery

My lovely roommate, Catherine Fontenot!

Aaaand my super-talented love, Kellan Stover

The next day, we turned our tassels and were declared graduates! It was a long, hot, emotional, and overwhelming day that I will never forget and will hold dearly to me for the rest of my life. These people have touched me in so many ways over the years, and I owe them so much. Here are a couple pictures:

Procession into the graduation auditorium.

My school!

SCAD's president, Paula Wallace, and our commencement speaker, Whoopi Goldberg.

The Savannah College of Art and Design Class of 2011.

Kellan and I in our caps and gowns

And again in our fancy outfits


Some illustration loves-- Seo Kim and Josh Heinsz

And now I'm back in Texas! Since then, I have mailed out almost 650 postcard mailers and am an established member of the Square Carousel Illustration Collective-- a group created by Josh (seen above) that consists of 10 cohesive illustration students. Check out our site!

That's all for now! More updates soon. =)
adios
caitlin

Okay, I lied...

One last quick post! I graduate in four days... so I'm a tad frazzled at the moment.

My website is 100 percent done and spiffy now!! Go check it out.

Also, did a quick project for my World Mythology class. It is an illustration of the Australian sun goddess, Gnowee, who lights the sky each day with her torch, searching for her lost son. I wanted the piece to acknowledge her despair, but also give a sense of hope. Likely not going in portfolio, but it served its purpose well.



"Gnowee," Gouache, 2011.

Toodles! Next time you hear from me, I'll be a real grown up.
adios
caitlin

One last post as a student...

Can you believe it?!! I'm having a hard time realizing that my entire purpose for the last 18 or so years of my life is now coming to an end. School has been my job, and I have to say, as much as I complain about this or that, it really has been very fun, and I know I'll really miss certain parts of it.

Anyway! Avoiding the emotional and now onto some artwork. Last I left you, I still hadn't received any Getting Published jobs. Well, HOORAY, because that curse has lifted, as I was finally chosen!

First a couple other sketches that weren't picked:


This is for an article in Bay State Parent magazine. The story was about a young woman who loses her beloved family dog. The event makes her realize what she has really lost was that innocent, close relationship she once had with her father. I chose to depict this mourning instead of that of the dog, but the magazine had a more specific other image in mind. I still really liked my sketch for this, though.


For this sketch, we were asked by Crayola partnered with Cartoon Network to create a simulation of chalk-board drawings. The image was to be of a child participating in a sport (we were given a short list to chose from), and then the chosen artist would actually draw this onto a chalkboard, which would then be spray-fixed and not erasable. These chalkboards would accompany the companies as they went on a promotional tour, allowing children to also draw on the board, possibly attempting to re-create our illustration. I was really excited about this job, but unfortunately, my professor did not see my email submission (although I was the first to turn it in, ironically), and it did not make it to the client on time. Completely not my fault, and a big bummer, but I suppose I wouldn't have had much time to spare for the project anyway. I usually don't work digitally, so this was a challenge that I'm happy with the result of.

Regardless, I still won a job with What's Up Annapolis? magazine! The article is about house prices/purchasing/browsing. Four people were chosen to complete a piece (this is the feature article, so we will be spread over several pages), but I was the only one to be asked to complete both of my sketches! What a relief and excitement this was! Here are the sketches:



The first is illustrating housing prices, with the addition of digital color just to help a bit, and the second is showing the concept of "full circle." One day the young family will be old as well, passing their house along to the next generation. The circular composition is intended to help this idea along.
And here are the finals!


"House Prices," Gouache and Digital, 2011.

"Full Circle," Gouache, 2011.

I kept with the same color palette intentionally. Hopefully they will be placed near one another in the article, which will be out in September, by the way!

In other news, I've pretty much wrapped up creating all my self-promotional materials. Here are a few pictures of it looking all fancy together:

Mailer list, promo envelopes, postcards, business cards, and portfolio.

Postcards and business cards

Portfolio exterior and case (so pretty!)

Portfolio first page (my prints all look great, for once! Thank you Gulfstream!)

Another portfolio page, showing the design layout.

My little name tag. =)

Now I am officially professional! Also, quick news: I got my "Rabbit" piece back from Hong Kong, safe and sound, and lookin' good in the frame (which I never saw before!). Finally, I am officially in the 100 Sketches From Life Club from last quarter's Portfolio class.

Oh! And how could I forget? My painting for the mural, which seems like it unfortunately won't happen. Or, at least while I'm in Savannah.


"Counting Mural," Gouache, 2011.

And the last announcements for the day: Thursday, June 2nd and Friday, June 3rd are the senior shows I'll be participating in. Thursday is the Communication Arts Senior Show, and Friday is the Illustration Senior Show. If you're in Savannah, ask me for directions and stop by! There will be lots of pretty art to see.

As you may have noticed, this blog is looking a whole lot spiffier lately! Keep an eye for an updated site sometime soon too...

That's all for now!
adios,
caitlin

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

I have a fiesta of artwork to show you! (teehee)

First off, I finished the Dog Sees God poster, which was not chosen, as they preferred something a bit more humorous. It'll still make for a great portfolio piece, though, so I'm okay with it.


"Dog Sees God," Gouache and Digital, 2011.

Next, a couple more sketches (which also have not been chosen to get published. I am keeping my fingers crossed for some upcoming projects, though). They were for a story in Charleston Magazine, in their "Southern View" section. The text is about a woman who is not from the south, and cannot tolerate the snakes around her new home. She describes them as the "pink elephant in the room" because the locals never discuss their existence. We were told to create either a sketch of a snake on an elephant's back, or the snake as a garden hose, and I chose to do both.




I am working on sketches for two more projects, but haven't finished yet, so keep an eye out for them next time! There is one more sketch though, for the SCAD Illustration Club. We have been asked to create murals in the Children's Hospital, and this is a concept for one of the walls. The project has been postponed a little due to lack of participation, but I really hope we are able to follow through with it.


The idea is to create a subtle counting interaction with the patients, with one monster on the left, two boats in the middle, and three umbrella characters on the right. The flowing from one portion of the piece to next is also intended to be somewhat comforting and intriguing, keeping the child interested and distracted. I'll keep you updated on this project, too.

Next up: I've been working hard in my self-promotion class! First item of completion (other than my artist statement and logo, which I've already shown you) is my business card! I'll be ordering these today, likely, which means I should have them in a week or two.

Here's the front:


And the back (the image is from my "Restless" album cover project a couple quarters ago):



Next, I finished my resume! It looks much more professional than my old one.


You can click on the image to make it larger.

And last, but not least, I finished my postcard mailer! The artwork is original for the card, and I wanted to include as many of my illustration themes as possible: kids, adults, cat-people, birds, houses, patterns, flowers and trees.


"Welcome to the Neighborhood," Gouache, 2011.

I may need to tone the color down a bit before I send it off to get printed (which should be today!) Here is the backside:



On the white background of this blog, it may be difficult to tell what is happening here... But the edges are a quarter inch away from the text in the top left corner, if that helps at all.

Anywho, one last bit of AWESOME news for today-- Kellan and I won first place group at the Sidewalk Arts event last weekend!! I was so excited and surprised. And thankful for the money! Here are a few pictures.


This is our piece! Kellan worked on the two kids, and I did the monster, birds, and ground. We painted the background together (Kellan added that bit of sky at the top, too). This image was taken by SCAD and is on their website. Just look at the bottom to scroll through the winners.


Our first place sign!


Proud parents


Kellan working diligently.


And this is me!

I believe that's all the news I have for you at the moment. Sometimes it's hard to keep track, with so many things going on at once as we close in on graduation. I got my work printed and framed yesterday for the senior show, and will next be working on my new website and portfolio book. Phew! It's going to be an intense four more weeks.

That's all for now,
adios
caitlin