Podcasts!

I have a new blog post at the Inkpunks. A bit of stuffs about podcasts, and I interview Sandra Wickham about her experience as a listener and a podcaster. You should check it out.

An excerpt:

"When I’m up to my elbows in an illustration and my music library is feeling overplayed, I often turn to podcasts for some background stimulus while I work. A random sampling from the past month: I’ve been fascinated by the princess who thought she swallowed a glass piano, by sensory deprivation chambers,  by Greg Rucka on writing Punisher (etc), by a tour of the alimentary canal with Mary Roach, and by an interview with rock climber and artist, Kate Rutherford.  (Yes I have eclectic interests and a lack of focus.) The information is vast and varied, the conversation scintillating. All while I’m holed up painting away in solitary confinement.
Now, to bring some focus to the subject. In the SFF community podcasts are extremely valuable for keeping current with happenings in the publishing field, geeking out over shared interests, and as a powerful storytelling venue. Our very own Sandra Wickham has a good amount of experience in the podisphere, hosting the podcast Sound Bytes for Bitten by Books and co-hosting on Adventures in Sci Fi Publishing. Her short story, Brothers, is included in the podcast anthology, Chronicles of the Order. She has kindly consented to answering a few questions about how she got involved...." ~read more

 Interesting thing is, I have to be at a certain point in the illustration before I can turn on a podcast. I have to be past the research and thumbnail phase. Otherwise, I miss everything that is being said.   It's at that point, when I know where the illustration is going, THAT'S when I can turn off the ambient background noise, and listen to something a bit more stimulating.  Just saying.

okay, that's all. Back to work.

getting over the bump.

so I have this serial story to illustrate, and I only have the first installment. I'm struggling to figure out what will be the *pivotal* image to pull out, to work with. But mostly, I'm just a tad dry, creatively speaking. So today, I found myself doing thumbnail after thumbnail and it wasn't even for the project any more, it was just because. And I was pulling up images I love from Scott Bakal and Yoshitaka Amano and doing thumnails based on some of their art work.  JUST BECAUSE.


and it felt great.

Tomorrow, I'll get back to work, the *real* work (see if I can make any headway on that serial.) But today, it felt good to just draw a bit. I do not do that nearly often enough.

(BTW... the moon was *epic* tonight.)

Thumbnails etc

Over at BookLifeNow I have a new post where I walk through creating the illustration for The Ballad of Marisol Brook. Go check it out! 

Since I'm making an effort to have thumbnail sketches be a pivotal part of my process, here's a few recent ones:

Definitely something I'm rusty at (and impatient with), but need to commit to do, even if it's just one or two per project. (Dan Dos Santos does a good break down of the thumbnail process.)

Now just for kicks... here are some notebooks and sketchbooks from famous authors, arists, and visionaries (because I love this kind of stuff, and I need to get back in the habit of sketchbooking/notebooking.)


Okay, back to work.

(Spectrum was awesome)

Too tired to write much, so here's some pics. 

Highlights:

MEETING EVAN AND LISA!
Midnight lifedrawing session.
Charles Vess drawing in my sketchbook. (Oh my, swoon.)
Getting over being a tiny corner in the middle of vast awesomeness.
Doodling a tattoo on Marlyse. :)

Lastly,  at the convention Lisa gave me a beautiful handbound sketchbook she'd made plus I acquired an old japanese ink pen with brush tip. I instantly put both to use:

Spectrum Art Live2. Final Prep.

My boarding pass has been printed off. At an ungodly hour tomorrow morning I'll get on a plane for Kansas City and the Spectrum Fantastic Art Live2 event.

I'll be hanging out at booth 521 with Lisa Grabenstetter, Evan Jensen, a stack of prints, a sketchbook, and a sharpie marker for if anyone wants a tattoo doodled across their flesh. Looking forward to meeting friends, catching some incredible discussion panels and the late night life drawing session is a must.

(But first, I'd better do some laundry.)

thanks to Evan we have an epic booth banner

prints and more prints!

[Women in Genre, Day 26]

So, Haralambi Markov (aka Harry Markov) has been writing up a series about Women In Genre (you really should go peruse those posts, they are packed full WUNDERBAR.) I was astonished and delighted to discover today that I get a place in this series: Galen Dara and Visions from Beyond. 

Harry says the nicest things, I'll be blushing and fluttery all day.  Stuff like:

"I can best describe her work with the words stylized melancholy, because her illustrations carry an air of sadness and possess a wilting beauty with gothic undertones."

and

 "To a point, I can’t help but be reminded of Stephanie Piu-Mun Law... where Piu-Mun Law draws from nature and light, Dara seeks out the less savory and wholesome in her work, which results in captivating scenes where the outlandish and the bizarre intermingle to breed absurd worlds with wicked inhabitants." 

Thank you Harry! Many blessings from the dark ones upon your head.

*******

And now, just because,  here's some Awesomeness I stumbled on today:
[Egg] by Junko Oki:

That gives me all sorts of shivers of delight. And Junko is amazing, just check out her pintrest boards!

Okay, now, back to work, breeding absurd and wicked things... mwuahahah!

Postcards! (for Spectrum Fantastic Art Live)

We Have Booth Postcards!  *shiny*  Come pick one up at Booth 521 if you are at Spectrum Fantastic Art Live.

thank you Evan for designing our cards. **hug**