My Art Showcase Aftermath

And just like that…the show is over. Queue up the song Closing Time.

I was sad packing up my artwork last week. I must have thanked Sandy, like, a thousand times for having me display my work and, likewise, she said that Almost Famous was happy to do so. This opportunity had first posed some questions in my blogpost “I Got My First Art Showcase To Get Ready For”. I’m happy to report that I can answer them.

What my showcase will consist of:

A three tiered display of the different categories of cartoon, realism and fantasy. My cartoon and fantasy were placed on one side of the room, while my realism and portraits were placed on the other side. This helped the gallery viewer, as well as myself, see what I have to offer, creatively.

What styles I need to really hone in on, with my skillset:

My three categories were narrowed down into two different art style approaches. Cartoon and realism. This art showcase helped place a mirror in front of me. It forced myself to make decisions on how to categorize my art and, in turn, help sell my skillset to the public. I’m so thankful for that. I had created multiple events for my family and friends to attend while my artwork was up on display.

Each time I went to Almost Famous, I got to see various people and answer various questions on my art. Due to these events, I gained the confidence to let someone know what I can offer them, when commissioned.

What will get me recognized as an artist:

Lastly, this question was my biggest hurdle to jump over. I needed to do research on not just me, as the artist, but what other elements that make up my artwork.

Some elements were; the mediums, of both digital and traditional (pencil and painting), and how to display them all successfully, the design and print materials that needed, as well as, framing and pricing of artwork. I took surveys of what people thought and put their feedback in consideration on how to approach things in the future. So many great things were learned from this first art showcase, but I also know that I still have a long way to go. That’s part of being an artist though - it really is about the journey and not the destination.

If you have some feedback for me, please don’t hesitate to let me know!

Thank you for your support!

A very important thing that I learned throughout this experience was my art was only one part of the show. The other part were the people, present. Before the showcase, I felt that I created my art only for me, but that’s not true anymore. When I create a retro inspired piece and someone tells me of their stories as a kid…

…or when a person tells me about their loved one after seeing a portrait I drew - it makes me so happy. I’m happy that my art got someone to think about their own life in a positive way.

My artwork has been taken down off the Almost Famous walls, but that doesn’t mean the showcase is over. Keep your eyes open for more art showings in the future. Also, please feel free to contact me on buying existing artwork as well as commissioning me to create something for you!

I really can’t say it enough, thank you.

Shedding Some Light On My Digital Art

Phew, what a whirlwind these past couple weeks have been. Got my art showcase up in running with some help from my friends (thanks Annmarie and Lynda!) I also had fun at the opening and got to chat about my art and commission process with people. The one thing that I needed to discuss further was digital art. I feel that people are still in the dark about this and I thought an informative blog post would help.

Q: Digital art must be easier than traditional art?

A: Nope.

Digital art is the same amount of skill set as traditional art. The only difference is that I’m on a computer screen and not in front of a canvas. I still go through the sketching and coloring process in digital, just like I do in traditional.

The first step to ALL my artwork is sketching the piece. Here is an example of one of my art showcase pieces in the beginning stage.

…and here is the second step, the coloring phase. I created this piece in a gouache painting style. If you would like to see the finished art piece, come to my art showcase!

Q: So then why is your digital pieces less expensive then your traditional ones?

A: In this instance I am treating these digital pieces as art prints and not originals.

Just like what artist do with traditional art work, their originals are more expensive and their art prints of that original are cheaper. If I was commissioned to create a digital one-of-a-kind piece, it would be full asking price and the client would have the file to use as they please. I would not resell that piece. This is similar to what I do with my business clients that ask for illustrations.

Q: Is the price just for the art print?

A: In the art showcase the digital art price is for the print, print material and framing.

Some of my digital art fluctuates due to this. For instance, the cheapest option is the poster style printed on poster paper and placed in a poster frame. These are great for kids’ rooms and man caves ;). A step up from that is the option of my digital art printed on canvas and framed, gallery style.

Q: Do you have other options for your digital art?

A: I do!

The great thing about my digital art is that it is already digitized so I can transform my art into many creative elements. I bring my stickers and art postcards along with me, to the art showcase, for little souvenirs that can be purchased (that is a big hit with the kids!) I have also been commissioned to creative t-shirts, pins, beer koozies even cookies for a wedding!

I hope this sheds a little more light on what I do with my digital art. If you have any other questions, please ask. I will be at Almost Famous tonight, to hang with my art, so feel free to come by and see my artwork and have a chat with me. See ya!

A Little More About This Geeky Gal

I was born to two geeks.

One, is my dad, whom was into movies, TV shows and Intellivision video games. The other, is my mom, whom needed to have a record or MTV music videos always playing in the house. Their pop culture preferences paved the way for my own music, cartoon and geeky interests that I would draw, often.

I can still recall running into my parents bedroom, at 7am. I would jump onto the bed and show them my latest creations I drew while watching the Saturday morning kids art show, Captain Bob. They may not had shown it then, so early in the morning, but my mom and dad were always very supportive of my artwork growing up. That was where my own Geek Gal Go brandmark came from.

This is me.

The bright-eyed, corduroy pants and Hush-Puppies wearin’, 80s child that drew everything in sight. Even though I am now a mom in her 40’s I will never forget to always be that little creative girl, at heart.

This week has been a lot of print cutting, frame cleaning and matte assembling to get my art pieces prepped for the show.

I can’t even count how many times I have been to Michaels. I believe the cashiers all know me by name now. Many frames were bought and many coupons were used (thank God) because buying printing materials has been EXPENSIVE. I have forgotten this, since I have been in the digital world as a graphic designer for so long.

I also have been getting my artwork professionally printed on poster paper and canvas, so cardboard tubes of joy have been showing up on my doorstep, recently. Among all of this, I have been setting aside time to sit and create several traditional pieces that I have been showing WIP (work in progress) posts of. Lastly, I have been working on advertising graphics which I will end this post strong with an ad of my art showcase opening. Hope to see you there!

For My Brother's Birthday I Made Him An Unfinished Megazord

I took some time off this summer. It was nice to get away from time to time and go on some family adventures, but now the summer has ended. It’s back to morning school prep madness of reciting simple chores and “did you remembers” along with daily bento box wrestling matches. The phone has been ringing more frequent with current client projects and new clients that have been requesting my artwork. It is all very exciting, but something is amiss…

Tomorrow is my brother’s birthday. This year, it had snuck up on me. Back in May I was starting to draw a piece for Ryan. I knew how much he loved the Power Rangers, when he was younger, and thought of creating a Megazord art piece for his birthday, in September. I had plenty of time. I then got busy and put my borther’s birthday gift on the shelf. The funny thing about shelves is that you tend to forget things being placed on them.

Sigh.

This is what I have for him, an unfinished Megazord. I know he would be fine with it. I know he would just smile and say it looks great…but I’m not fine with it. I’m not OK with giving him an unfinished art piece. To me this symbolizes something. I have a lot of unfinished work to do. I need to refocus a little bit more on myself and my feelings. I think that is what Ryan is trying to tell me.

I also recently drew my brother, again. It has been a year since I had done the last drawing of him. This time, I drew him older or at least he appeared older to me. Ryan was happy in the reference that I drew of him. The reference was of a family shot during my wedding day. I need to revisit him more this way. I think that this is another thing Ryan is pointing out to me. He wants me to stop being sad and just draw his happiness.

Thank you Ryan, I love you <3