Includes my art process, art shows, new ideas, products that are released into stores, artists I admire, and printable art that is free to download (free printable coloring pages, etc.). Your feedback is always welcome.
A few weeks ago, my 8 year old son asked why I only submit collaged work to Illustration Friday — why don't I submit drawings? I'm not 100% sure of my answer for this yet, but I did decide to draw for that week's challenge, which was "Nest."
I went with one of my favorite styles to work in right now, an all-one-line/not-lifting-my-pen drawing. I then cleaned it up a bit in Photoshop and added a subtle blue tone in Illustrator...
For this week's Illustration Friday's challenge, "Nose," I used my watercolor paintings as my collage material. It was my first time doing so, and I really liked incorporating both of my techniques into one. I definitely plan to explore this further.
I call this piece Portrait of a Woman with Flowers.
MATS Bootcamp for May was really fun for me.
First, Lilla assigned us the "mini" assignment which had us looking at medieval styles in both art and lettering. I found this super cool site in my search: http://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/, and I drew extensively. (You can check out some of my drawings on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/kendrasred/)
The final assignment was to create a tarot card that correlates with our birthday. I'm a Taurus, and my card was The Hierophant. Again, I drew a lot, and then began a collage. This was my final submission...
I've completed illustrations for another cookbook written by Melissa Fouch Machowski of M Delish Boutique, and it is now available for purchase!
One Dish Wonders is personable and enjoyable to read, and its smaller size and spiral binding gives it that old school/potluck-y feeling that I love. I think it would make a great gift, and Melissa has spice kits and other stuff available to package with it.
I'm really proud of this one, and I hope you check it out. More info can be found at mdelishboutique.com. Below are a few screenshots from the book...
If you're an illustrator (working or aspiring) and you haven't heard about Mark Mitchell's Guest Group Critiques, I highly recommend checking it out: http://guestgroupcritiques.com/
This month's assignment/critique is with children's literary agent and artist's rep Nicole Tugeau of Tugeau2 Illustration. You can check out her assignment here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QILCl_CU6Ow.
Nicole chose 15 of the approximately 50 submissions to critique on May 24th, and I'm very grateful that mine was one of them! Here's my submitted sketch below. Off to work on the final!
Time has been tight the past couple weeks, but I was able to re-purpose some collage elements and submit to this week's Illustration Friday challenge: Sparkle.
I enrolled in another year of Lilla Rogers' Make Art That Sells Bootcamp. Previous years' assignments have included creating art for a phone cover, illustrating an online editorial, and making a holiday plate/paper collection. I find that MATS Bootcamp is an exceptional way to try new materials and markets, and the class has really helped to develop my portfolio.
Lilla starts all of her course assignments with a "Mini." This is a just-for-fun exercise, which includes a little research of a given topic and a whole lot of no-pressure creating and experimenting. For this first month's assignment, our Mini was 1920s hairstyles. I found a ton of cool photos online, and I drew and drew. It was a surprisingly inspiring subject for me, and I found myself drawing more portraits in general that week.
After one week with the Mini, we received our full assignment, which was to assemble our drawings and ideas into a faux cover for an adult coloring book. After drawing several faces, hairstyles and patterns, I went with this as my final submission....
For a small fee, anyone can submit their work for live, online feedback by a professional in the industry (as well as from Mark and the enrolled members).
Last month's guest was Peachtree Publishing's former senior art director, Loraine Joyner. She asked us to submit one finished-ish piece, and I chose a spread that I had a few questions about. I thought she did an excellent job all around, and her suggestions for my spread were extremely helpful.
Loraine will be joining us again this month for another critique. This time she gave us an assignment to create a spot illustration/sketch for a Hans Christian Andersen story. She wanted us to choose a character and/or scene and draw, re-draw and draw some more, to see what personalities and details emerged.
After reading a few Hans Christian Andersen stories, I decided on The Nightingale, and I chose this passage for my spot illustration: "and even Death himself listened, and said, 'Go on, little nightingale, go on.'"
Below is the collage I submitted...
I wanted my dragon to be calm, but confident, and made of metal.
I submitted this guy...
On Friday night, the authors of "You, the Magician," Jodi and Josh Carothers, came to my little village on the Hudson River to read to the families of our local elementary school. They did an outstanding job speaking with the audience, and I was truly touched by the enthusiasm and questions from the children and their parents.
After their reading, I offered a coloring/flip book activity for the participants, and it turned out pretty cool. Here's an animated version of that flip book...
It was my first big presentation, and although I'd do a few things differently next time, I'm hoping for another opportunity like this soon!
This week's Illustration Friday topic was Village.
I decided to focus on the parts of a village, and the embodiment of a village within a person. Below is my illustration...
I'm currently sketching ideas for an assignment with Mark Mitchell's critique group, and I've been researching the nightingale. In doing so, I ran across this beautiful bird, often called the Pekin Robin or Pekin Nightingale. So for yesterday's #artaday challenge, I created a collage of this wonderful little animal...
Another week, another Illustration Friday challenge!
Below is my collage for this week's topic: Shelter.
This week's Illustration Friday topic was "Hat."
I first sketched a bird with an actual hat. Then I thought of the Eurasian hoopoe that I recently drew for a client, and the cool crown/hat that it already has.
Using the scans of vintage drawings, I assembled this black and white bird with a hoopoe-style headdress. I also added a vignette effect to give it a slightly creepy, noir-esque tone.
This week's Illustration Friday challenge was "Smart." I think the intelligence of the crow is super cool, and I love fables and folklore, so I chose to illustrate Aesop's The Crow and the Pitcher.
This week's Illustration Friday challenge topic was "Orbit."
Similar to the "Moon" collage from a couple weeks ago, I used photos of grungy and decaying textures to create a scene that was recognizable, but almost accidentally so.
After showing my 7 year old my initial abstract layout, he emphatically felt I needed to showcase the word "orbit" more, so I added more planets and some moons. This is what my son finally approved....
I really enjoyed creating this piece for last week's Illustration Friday's challenge, and I was stoked that I was able to submit again this week. This week's theme: "Tropical."
I haven't worked with birds lately (possibly my favorite subject ever), so I decided to focus on tropical birds. I looked through various images, and considered a flamingo collage, but then I found a beautiful shot of a toucan. Below is my collage inspired by that photo...
I've created art a couple times in 2015 for Illustration Friday's weekly challenge, but in 2016, I'm planning to submit something new at least one week each month.
Below was my submission for last week's challenge, "Moon."
I sketched a collage of hot chocolates last night, and I'd love to see what people can do with it. Add a zentangle? Draw logos or pictures on the mugs? Color with 3 colors, or color with 10?
Below is a preview of my sketch. If you'd like to download and print a hi-res version, you can find it here (available as a JPG and a PDF). Please find me on Instagram and post your final Hot Cocoa art for me to see!
I am so happy to have three more illustrations in the latest issue of Girls' World Magazine! I really enjoy working with their art director, and it was another great experience all around.
