Creative Block by The Jealous Curator

It's finally here! I've got my copy of Creative Block by The Jealous Curator aka Danielle Krysa. This book has been the talk of the creative blogosphere for months now and for good reason. The premise of the book deals with the doubts and insecurities that every artist deals with in regards to their work. Am I good enough, do I know what I'm doing, does anyone care, should I bother, what if I fail, what if it doesn't sell, what if I'm rejected, what if, what if, what if.....this is my soul.

About five years ago Danielle and I met at our kids gym-time and we got to talking about being artists and how we both wanted to get back into making art but it was tricky trying to find time between the dishes, breast feeding and laundry. Besides, it was scary. We joked about how appealing laundry can look when you're being confronted by your art insecurities. While we both wrestled with the doubts, Danielle took to writing about artist's work that she thought was enviously amazing. Hence the Jealous Curator was born. The response to her blog was fantastic and she soon had a large following of her daily posts. 

One day,  I was tearfully complaining to Danielle that I wasn't selling my art like I wanted and that I was wishing that I didn't want to be an artist at all. Maybe I'm just not good enough. Danielle offered to reach out to her readers and see what advice they would give. The response was so amazing and heartfelt. So many people responded with a resounding , "I can relate" comment. Not only were the responses coming from readers but some were from very "successful" artists that Danielle had featured on her blog. I found that I wasn't alone in my fears and that the truly successful artists are the ones who have figured out how to get past their insecurity and create work despite it. 

In Creative Block Danielle asks 50 artists about their art practice,why they feel the need to create,what inspires them, and whether they listen to their inner critic.  She also asks each artist to give a project to the reader to "unBlock" their own creativity. Some of the projects are simple and some are quite complex but the underlying theme to most of them is "just create, don't think. Just do." I will make this my mantra.

I highly recommend getting a copy of Creative Block if not for all the great exercises but for the collection of great artwork. Julia Pott, Jennifer Davis and Kate Pugsley are just a few of my favourite artists that are featured in the book. So lovely, so inspirational.

I just want to say "thanks" Danielle for being an empathetic ear and getting all of us creating despite our fears. I'm jealously happy for all your success. Mwah!

I'm inspired by....Rebecca Green

Today's post is on one of my latest inspirations and art crushes. I recently discovered the art of Rebecca Green and I am so smitten.

Rebecca Green

via Rebecca Green Blog

via Rebecca Green Blog

I love the muted colours, the strong drawing skills, the sweep of the lines, the paint quality, the subject matter and overall melancholy and quiet character of the work. Love, love, love! Please check out Rebecca's website for more of her work and I'm sure you'll be inspired too.

Inspired by Jennifer Davis

Being online and having access to so many images and artists has been so wonderful and inspiring to me as a creative person. I generally complain that I don't have enough hours in the day to work on all the things that inspire me. I have made mention of artists whos work spurs me to create before, but I thought I would share with you today a piece  I created recently inspired by Jennifer Davis. I'm in awe of Jennifer's work and I would love to get my hands on an original of hers.

I took a painting that I had started on canvas and had abandonned and photographed it. I then imported into Photoshop and practiced my digital painting. I really love not having to wait for paint to dry and always having access to the "undo" button. I used a painting of Jennifers as my inspirational reference. Below is the reference and my final image. While I think I strongly referenced her painting I think I was still able to make the image my own.

I uploaded the painting onto Flickr and made a point of claiming my inspiration and contacted Jennifer to let her know about it. Jennifer sent me back the most wonderful letter to let me know that she was not only okay with me using her work as reference but that she felt honored. She also told me about a couple pieces that she has created inspired by others. The results are fantastic.
Here's a great painting of Jennifer's and the reference photo of a lamp that she found on Etsy that appealed to her. Love it.

While many of us hear of artists getting their images ripped right off their sites and used to make money for someone else, we can't deny the benefits to creativity to be influenced by other artists. What are your thoughts on this? What is the line between plagarism and influence? I think the work will always be better when you make it distinctly your own.

Pinterest

Before the Christmas holidays I usually try and think about which handmade gifts I will make for everyone. I always try and think of something I haven't made before so no one gets bored of the type of gift year after year. I used to go through all my saved Martha Stewart magazines and see if there was anything I hadn't tried out yet. This year I found a wealth of crafty how-tos through Pinterest. If I didn't see something on my home feed that I had thought of I would just type it into the search bar and probably find that someone somewhere had tried my idea. 

I just love Pinterest as I'm a very visual person and I love the ability to scan through hundreds of gorgeous photos posted by like-minded crafty people. While my foremost interest on Pinterest is for the how-tos, I also enjoy being able to browse tons of inspirational artwork. Really, this site makes me sigh with admiration. Below are a sample of some of the pins I've put on my boards. You can find all of my boards here. What do you like to use Pinterest for?

Inspirational art

To try list

Baking inspiration

Cuteness

Going back to school

Now that both the kids are in school full time ( 2 days), I've been busy as a beaver. I would like to say that I've spent it all in the studio but I haven't. I can easily see how the housework and errands can take up the entire day now that I don't have to worry about anyone else being bored with the tasks. I'm at the start of my work week so I will have to wait to get back in the studio again.

On Sunday's though I have started taking a Children's Book Illustration course at Emily Carr University and I'm hoping that the course will give me the confidence and push I need to approach publishers. For years I've said that I'm not ready or skilled enough to submit my work but that's just fear talking. My instructor, Lisa Cinar, graduated from Emily Carr ten years (!) after me which doesn't do much for my fear that I'm too old to pursue this career. Why have I waited so long and let so much time pass? I fear the rejection and the criticism. That I don't have what it takes. You can't fail if you don't try. I also fear that I may not enjoy the process of illustrating a book. Sometimes the fantasy is more enjoyable than the reality. But I really don't know the reality of being a children's book illustrator because I haven't done it. I do know that I have a deep affection for children's illustration and it's a genre I always come back to.
The truth is that I want my art to be in books that are cherished by children and fondly remembered by them when they are adults. I want my art to inspire future artists just like the illustrations that I loved and that spurred my desire to create.

Thank you Jealous Curator readers

Anything is possible- Irene Suschocki

A little while ago I did a post letting you in on why I've decided to close my Etsy shop. Since then I've been working on new prints and new techniques and really trying to shift my perspective of myself as an artist. I had mentioned that my friend Danielle of the Jealous Curator had lent me her copy of the Artist's Way and that she has been really instrumental in helping me find a happier path to creativity. One day we were chatting about my sense of failure for still having to work a part-time job as a server and not creating a livelihood with my true talents. Patient as always, Danielle told me that I wasn't the only artist out there with that struggle and she bet that it she put a call out on her blog about it I would hear empathy from plenty of people.

Boy was she right. So many people wrote long and thoughtful comments about being insecure as an artist. About not being good enough. I think I may have checked on her blog post more often than Danielle to see if there was something new written. One of the things I loved about the comments was that I was able to click on the name of the commenter and be directed to their web page. So many crazy talented people! These skilled and successful people felt the same insecurities as me?! I loved hearing that I wasn't alone. I printed the whole set of comments so that I can go back and refer to them when I need a pick me up. It will be more to me than a bunch of inspirational phrases because these were responses to my  personal conflict.

So this post is a huge THANK YOU! to Danielle and all the people who commented on her post. All your comments were very inspiring and I will use them thoughtfully on my artistic journey.

Some sites of interest

For today's post I thought I would share with you a few sites that have been making my sigh with admiration. I don't get much time to read all the blogs and sites I would like of course but I think you might enjoy this small slice of some favorites.

Artist: Laura Perez

agoodson.com

Anna Goodson carries some of the best illustrators around and I'm thrilled that the company is Canadian. I'm often drawn to the site to check out the new work of her amazing group of illustrators. Anna will often bring up illustration topics for discussion on her Facebook page which I really value.

Jamie Delaine

Next up is local Vancouver wedding photographer Jamie Delaine who blows my mind with her amazing photography. Jamie's blog and photos come across as so warm, genuine and authentic that it's impossible not to be impressed by her. Jamie's blog is on of the few that I will actually read fully rather than scan the content. Written in a very personal voice it's hard to imagine that this photographer is still in her early twenties.(!)

Artist: Laura George

Burnt Feather

The final offering is a blog written by fellow illustrator Fee Harding who I "met" through the Pikaland Bootcamp course. I just love Fee's work and because we share a love of illustration, I can't not help but enjoy her Friday Five posts where she features other illustrators who have caught her eye. I love all her picks. A clean and simply presented blog with plenty of great links makes for some great reading. Well done Fee.

I hope you enjoy the sites as much as I do. If you have any sites that you would like to share in the comments, I would love to hear about them.

Work in progress

Now that we're well into January I thought I'd show you what I've busily been working on. For ages now I've been wanting to work in encaustic but I've been too intimidated by the process and the expense to try. It always seemed so mysterious and potentially toxic. Alas, I couldn't shake the interest in was and started researching it more.

This January after having realized that I had double-booked myself for art shows, I thought it would be a fantastic opportunity to create an entirely new series of work based around encaustics. This new series will continue with the mushroom theme I've been doing but it will incorporate linocuts, encaustic paintings, monotypes, drawing and watercolors. I will be tackling many new techniques that I've never tried before and it's gotten me wishing that there was some way I could get rid of sleep and work so I could work in the studio more.

Above are a couple of photos of a encaustic painting in the process. The second one is of painting being carved with my linocut tools to help me create details. The wax really is magical and it's always on the verge of being out of my control. I love that kind of creating. So what do you think? Do you work in wax? Do you have any hints or tips for me? I would love to hear them.

Blogs to inspire

For part my Pikaland Bootcamp course we were asked to research blogs that we enjoy and really look at what it is that is attracting us to them so that we could possibly apply the same principles to our own blogs. Well I have to admit that my blog reading list is quite huge and I don't get to regularly visit as many as I would like. The ones I end up visiting the most are the ones I get through my email and the ones I see on my Facebook stream. There's one lesson right there: get email subscribers and be part of NetworkedBlogs on Facebook.

So I thought I'd share with you some of the blogs that I find inspiring and thoroughly enjoy reading.

Image coyrighted to Lisa Evans

Lisa Evans-Firefluff
 I really enjoy how she shows the process of her work through photos. Most of the computer stuff is over my head but she does break it down into components.


Arrolynn 
I just LOVE the color of her work.
 She has a HUGE list of illustrators and people she's inspired by with their links.  Lots to click on for me.


How about Orange
Jammed-packed with tutorials and downloads. I could spend a whole weekend on here.


Louise- Art and Ghosts
Love the imagery and how it's simply presented with large photographs.


Amy Earles- Wool&Water
I get to see her artwork in progress. She has short and clear posts which is great for someone like me who scans most pages.


You know there are many more that I could tell you about but I just don't have the room to talk about them all. I've put a list on my side bar that you can click to see more. I'm sure that list will get very long, very quickly. Happy reading.

My growing wall of inspiration

Since I started selling on Etsy, I've been continually inspired with the artwork I've seen. I could easily spend all my money on wonderful handmade works of art but I've mostly  only been able to "oooo" and "aahhh" at my finds. To compensate I try and promote the sellers and the great pieces they create because I'm thrilled to know that there are so many creative people out there. I feel more connected when I see other people have the same creative energies and desires I have. The best way of course to make sure creativity thrives is to support it financially. I have been able to acquire a few pieces over the past couple years and I have put them on my "inspiration wall" in my hallway. Below are a few pictures of my collection. You have to excuse the lighting in the photos because it's a bit hard for me to access natural light in that hallway.

Along with some favorite family photos I have pieces by:

Amy Blackwell

Elsa Mora

Cathy Nichols

Lisa Falzon

Francois Dyment

Narelle Badalassi

Click on each of their names to see more of their work. Perhaps I should post some of the umpteen other artists I plan to shop from too.  What artists inspire you?

Illustrators of Inspiration

For me, I imagine my that my dream job would be to illustrate a children's picture book. How great would it be to draw fairy tales, children and animals all day long? It's from the first picture books of my childhood that spurred my desire to be an artist. I would spend hours copying pictures from my favorite books. Still in love with the genre, I collect children's picture books just for the illustrators.

I wanted to share with you some of my favorite illustrators, starting from the first books of inspiration of my youth to some of the books I currently pour over.

This vintage Peter Pan is one of the first books to fascinate me. I remember copying this cover quite a few times. I was fortunate enough to find a copy of this book through Malfie on Artfire and was thrilled to find her located in the same city as me. In less than two days Malfie had supplied me with a small but significant piece of my childhood. Thanks . Now if she can only scout out a Wayne Anderson book for me. I would provide an image but most are protected from copying. Looking at his work, I can see that he has had a significant and early impression on my own work.

As for current illustrators...the list is so huge. Here's a very small portion of them. See if you can find a theme or look that has attracted me to them.

Lane Smith

Wayne Anderson

Mark Ryden

Ryan Heshka

Johnson and Fancher

Vlasta Van Kempen