- From Pencils to Pixels
- Feb 13, 2021
- 2 min read
It was about a week ago that I decided it was time to give my website a fresh look, to tear down and rebuild my website and my personal "artist objective." Since then I've put in quite a bit of thought into my brand and what I want to develop. I've spent most of time up late at night adjusting the overall layout, adding and removing pages and sections, determining a color scheme, optimizing custom experience by adding in a ton of navigation links and anchor points to "jump to sections," and now I'm pretty much where I want to be. I left the fun part for last, uploading and updating my portfolio pages. I hope to finish this today, although I must admit I'm pretty tired of looking at this right now and I could use a break, but I'm determined to get this done and I'd rather just push through and finish it so I can sleep easy tonight!
When I finish these uploads, I still have some more graphics I need to design and add into the pages just to give some fun life to each page. That will be a project in itself though. After I add in those "splash" images, I will be moving on to the next phase and updating all of my social media accounts. After that is the final stage, working on new material and self-promoting to try to get some freelance and commission work. I'm not quite there yet, but within a few months I should be all set and ready to take submissions!
I do have commissions open for illustrations, graphic design, and Wix web designs. My other services will open up when me and my fiancé, Nick move out of this tiny apartment. Last summer I tried so hard to start learning how to paint, but with white carpets and a one bedroom apartment to house 2 people and 3 cats, I found myself having to set up my "work space," cover the floors, and then break it all down at the end of each session and put every single thing away. That was a lot of time and work to get everything out and put it all back just for an hour of paint time, it will be much easier and less frustrating once I have a work space again.
For now, I have to just deal with this small living space and draw sitting on the couch. It's uncomfortable, but I can't just stop drawing. I have to keep myself from getting rusty! And this also makes this a great time to work on my website and brand. I can't wait to get out of here though so I can jump into painting. Adapt and overcome, use the best of your time and your resources, and focus on priorities that can get accomplished with what you have available!
- From Pencils to Pixels
- Feb 10, 2021
- 2 min read
Learning to live with the pandemic has really given me time to do a lot of self-reflection over the past few months and really ask myself, what do I want to do with my art? I've got a history of "job hopping" and now that I'm finally safely nestled into a company that I love and feel secure in my role, (lookin' at you Simio!) I'm ready to start freelancing again. My artwork has taken the backburner over most of 2019 and 2020, but now I've got myself in order and I'm more than ready to dive in head first. My personal goals for this year have already been met, and I thought that it would have taken far longer than 2 months. That leaves me with 10 months to completely overhaul my website one more time, focus on creating new content, refining my skills, and learning new ones.
End of 2021 Personal Art Goals:
Draw/create at least 3 things each week
Produce high-quality final pieces once a week (or at least several per month)
Learn how to paint using acrylic and oil
Work on drawing more landscapes and nature
Start doing portrait and pet portrait work
Try out realism, surrealism, and abstract
Refine my animation skills
Maybe even start a graphic novel or comic?
I've fallen into a niche of graphic novel style work, which is fun, but I want to do more "traditional" art as well and not get stuck in one category. This year is all about refining what I know and exploring what I don't. As a company, I will also be setting some new goals:
From Pencils to Pixels Goals
Promote my work through social media and advertising
Increase my social media following
Finish website redesign
Update ALL my social media accounts (bios, content, etc)
Post new content on my social media and website multiple times a week
Update my blog regularly
Start a store to sell my work on t-shirts, mugs, etc
Open up to take commissions!
I'm very excited to focus completely on my artwork (for the first time since what feels like high school and college?!). I don't have to squeeze it in between working multiple jobs at a time and hope I can get 5 hours of sleep that night. Let's get going! I'm ready! :)
- From Pencils to Pixels
- Jun 26, 2019
- 2 min read
It's been an interesting journey the past year with my art life. I graduated from high school in 07, this was the prime time of my drawing persona. Every single day I was buried in a sketchbook drawing away, listening to my headphones in a whole different world. I started college at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh in 08 and graduated in 2012, during that time I was transformed into an employable artist, drawing on commission, drawing on demand, drawing what other people wanted, not really what I wanted to draw anymore. For about... 7 years I completely stopped drawing for myself and everything became a job, a task, a duty, and detached itself from me as an "escape" and became "work."
Now I find myself, not employed as a graphic designer anymore due to low wages and high-turnover, working at a bank no longer doing any art for me or for anyone else at all. A couple months ago I pulled my art supplies out of the attic and back into my life, and now I'm going through a difficult journey of finding out what it is I actually enjoy drawing when no one is sitting behind me telling me what to draw. It's been 12 years since I drew every day for myself, and I want to be that person again.
It's been a source of great anxiety and confusion, lots of sleepless nights lately and just sheer panic in my apparent loss of identity. It may seem silly to be so distraught over something like "I don't know what to draw" but this was truly what made me ME. I no longer am into horror and monster stuff like I used to be, I've moved so many times that even the friends I had in those days are long gone. I feel like a blank slate, its so overwhelming looking at a white canvas, not knowing what to fill it with, but what happens when that white canvas is in the mirror?