Officially an Artist... by my own criteria

I have made my first sale out of doing art. Last Thursday evening, through Etsy, the embroidered puffin. Which means I can now call myself an artist, in line with my own criteria which has always been 'if I sold a piece of my artwork, even for one pound, I could then consider myself an artist'.  I'm not saying that everyone needs to sell a piece of their work to be called an artist, and there are probably a lot of people out there who have sold artwork who don't consider themselves/aren't considered by others to be artists. it's just a notion I've had for as long as I can remember.

I was reading My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok, the part where Asher is in his room and his uncle comes in and buys one of his drawings for 'a coin'. That brought to my mind my 'criteria' first of all. His uncle then leaves the room and Asher suddenly longs to have the drawing back. As I was reading that part I was thinking that that is probably how I would feel. There are items that I have made and then couldn't bring myself to list on Etsy because I just like them too much. I read somewhere once that a successful artist can't get too attached to their work. So it was a pretty massive coincidence that when I put down the book and picked up my phone by the bed to check my emails (yeah, I know major cause of insomnia blue light etc) I saw that at some point while I had been reading that part of the book I had got my first art sale.

It is really hard going trying to create anything with Alex around, from the point of view of not getting the mental space to think creatively and also because he is just obsessed with hanging around my art desk when I try to work. I had been planning to give up on the whole thing until he can start nursery when he turns two. But this sale has spurred me on a bit and so I have managed to knock out and list a couple more items. To be honest, the really hard part is getting the work photographed. Our garden is out of sight of the back of the house and up a big (to a toddler) flight of steps and Alex cannot let me out of his sight for a second, so everytime I want to photograph an item I have to get him into his shoes, which of course he doesn't want on, carry him out there and up into the garden with me while holding the artwork and the camera/phone, and the sunshine is getting more elusive now. This morning we were standing out there, Alex clinging onto me, waiting for the sun to come out so I could get a few shots! But we did it...because we are awesome! Here is what we did today...(and proof indeed that the iron DOES get used for something around here).

Now We Are One

Hello. It's been a little while. We went on holiday for 2 weeks last month to Menorca, Alex's first trip abroad. He turned one last month so it was about time he went on a plane and we even managed to go in the cockpit on both the flights! But don't tell anyone or the captain will get fired! Alex was surprisingly good at hanging out by the pool and I managed to sketch some people. Here they are:

The unexpected bonus of the holiday is that since we got back Alex has started sleeping all night! The only thing disturbing him now really is me (we only have the one bedroom). I've had a cough and it woke me up at 3.30 this morning and I haven't been able to get back to sleep so I feel a bit like this:

I've got a sketchbook full of compositions and ideas for free-motion animals and birds I plan to do - I've taken to making bits of art work for Alex's friends, along the lines of the bee I made for Alex's birthday but my own design. The only thing holding me back now is not having anywhere to work. Now he is one Alex is so good at entertaining himself so my problem now is that the only table I have is the kitchen table which is only really good if I want to add some squashed cherries to my work! So I intend to drag my tired self to IKEA today to finally FINALLY buy a desk and set up this art area in our very underused lounge that I've been talking about for so long that seriously I've even bored myself of the subject!!

Looks like Autumn is here!

Man, I was at the end of my tether today. Alexander hasn't been sleeping well for about 10 days now and also not managing to sleep in his pushchair which is usually how I can reliably get a little bit of a break getting him to sleep so I can sit in the park for a couple of hours. We both have an accumulation of tiredness, overtiredness! Today I was pushing him along in that pushchair and he was crying and I was using up every little bit of my energy reserves. In the end I sat on a bench and cried. And then I pushed him some more and finally, finally he conked out.

By this time I'd made it around to a part of the park I really love, in fact it is the best part, a great long avenue of trees. But I've never sat down there. Today I collapsed there on the nearest bench. I attempted to read my book but had a headache, then I noticed that all around me were fallen leaves and I noticed how lovely the browny-orange colour of them looked against the path which is black. I've been teaching Alex lately about Autumn and what will be happening to the trees (obviously not today!) and so I've been wanting to do an autumnal drawing. But over on the other side of the park it is still more summery, which sounds strange now I say it, a bit Narnia-esque. These leaves just looked so nice against their black background so, of course, I drew them. How fortuitous that Alexander howled on the sunny side of the park, and how thankful am I that I had the trusty Moleskine with me! A friend of mine who is pretty fed up at the moment was saying to me this morning that she thinks she needs to get a hobby. I am so grateful that I draw. I am sure it has saved my sanity on many an occasion!

Equipment: Pencil and Watercolour (Sennelier Artist Grade Yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna and a yellow - can't remember which and W&N Student Grade Lamp Black) on Moleskine Sketchbook. I applied the paint pretty dry as it didn't seem quite right to paint something as dry as a dead leaf in a watery way. Also, I like the way the waxy Moleskine takes the watercolours when they are quite dry.

Lush - Illustration Friday

It took me quite a while to come up with an idea for how to illustrate 'lush'. Here in the west of England the word 'lush' is so heavily used you could say it is part of the local dialect. It's used in the sense of 'really really gorgeous'. So that felt like a pretty broad scope! Trying to think of something to fit this definition, without drawing something I've already drawn and without drawing Alex who is of course the epitome of lush and in fact the lushest thing in the world but too lush for me to do justice to with my drawing ability, I thought about the fact that we are going on holiday to the seaside this month and that wonderful moment when you first see the sea. I remember when I was little and we would drive to the coast for a holiday and be waiting and waiting for that magical moment when you drive up over a hill and get a first glimpse of the sea. At which point shouting excitedly! 'mummy, I can see the sea!!!' Alex hasn't quite mastered language to that degree yet but this will be his first holiday and I look forward to one day hearing him say that.

Equipment: Pencil and watercolour in Moleskine Sketchbook.  I really like the way the composition of this turned out but I'm not so sure about the colouring in. I would've preferred the effect of using markers but it was on the back of something else in the Moleskine and they would've bled through.  Actually, I think it is the colour of the sea that I have the problem with. I should've scanned this before I coloured it as it looked quite nice just as pencil on the colour of the Moleskine paper.

Feeling your baby's pain...and using the red pen I'm always scared to use!

We went to get the 8 week jabs done and it was horrible. I felt so guilty taking Alexander to the surgery knowing that something horrible was going to be done to him. Then when the injections were put into his legs and he stuck his little bottom lip out and started to cry I couldn't help crying too. It was awful.

I decided to do a little illustration of this in the sketchbook (which is still by the way the pregnancy sketchbook) because I've been wanting to do a page that is personal to us again. Pigeons in the park are fine but I really like trying to document things that are relevant to this time in our lives. Also, as with most of these type of illustrations, the composition for it had just appeared in my head and I wanted to get it on paper. I love it when that happens, when a composition just pops into your head.

I really love how this has turned out. It reminds me of a screenprint. And I LOVE the red background. I knew as soon as I saw the composition in my mind that the background had to be red but I really struggled to put that 'Lipstick Red' Promarker onto the page and I even messed about looking at all my other colours wondering if I could use a different one. I am SO terrified of this red pen. It is so fierce and has the power to obliterate other colours on a page and destroy a drawing, not to mention the next two pages of a sketchbook with the bleed through! 

Unfortunately, the blue of the tears isn't showing up too well from the scanning. I don't know if I will ever work out how to make my scanner scan with clarity!

My Hiatus: The First Thing I Drew After Having A Baby (and what followed)

This was the first thing I drew after my son was born. I just really wanted to draw something again and unsurprisingly what was to hand was a toy. I sploshed a bit of watercolour on at a later date. I have no idea how I had the time for watercolour! I guess he must've slept in the daytimes more back in those early days. I also drew his other favourite toys in the days that followed..but gave up on watercolour for pens instead as you can use them while holding a baby!

Other things that were convenient to draw...(these sketches all remind me why I always write the time on my page)!

I've also found I do a fair bit of sketching in the park as the walk there usually sends Alexander to sleep in his pram.  It gives me a bit of time to sketch but to be honest I generally think it looks a mess because my mind is so focussed on him in case someone comes along and steals him.

Drawing Perfection aka Drawing the Ones You Love

I think it will be many years before I pluck up the courage to attempt to draw or paint my son. He is just so perfect I have this weird fear of drawing him in case I don't do him justice.  I wonder if this is how painters of royalty have felt, especially the ones from centuries ago when a king or queen could chop your head off for treason, not that my little one would chop my head off I'm sure. I have also refused my mum when she asked me to paint her and I've freaked out and declined when friends have done that thing where they say to you 'ooh, can you draw me now?' when you are sitting in the pub.  Its funny. I don't have any nerves about drawing a stranger in portraiture class or on the bus though, and I think my portraits turn out looking pretty true to the sitter. I wonder whether actual portrait artists who take commissions always felt comfortable with the idea of declaring themselves portraiture artists or whether they also had to get over a fear of making their sitter look like Shrek. On another note, my baby wriggles a lot! So I would have to wait til he is asleep, which I guess I have to do anyway in order to have some time for drawing!

But, he is growing so fast and I know I will kick myself one day if I didn't draw him while he was little. So I have drawn his back while he was asleep on his front...yes, I know babies aren't supposed to sleep on their front, but I reckoned that drawing him meant I was keeping a pretty close eye on him!

I really messed up the left arm. Also, I drew this on the back of the Happiness Tree page, ergo Alexander is covered in colourful leaves...

My Finest Creation!

Here he is, my masterpiece! By far and away the best thing I have created. He is a blessing to me and I am so in love with him, even if he doesn't let him mummy get much sleep!  Alexander Teddy was born on Friday 7th June 2013 at 14.44, weighing 6lbs 13 3/4ozs. I was in labour for 36 hours in total, but it was all worth it when I felt his warmth against me. 

These are just phone pictures but have come out pretty well. I have been trying to take one photo of him a day so that over his first year I will have a photo diary of him. I would like to sketch him of course but heaven knows my drawing skills wouldn't do justice to how beautiful he is...plus I definitely don't have time for drawing at the moment!