State of the Artist 11/5/2012

View halloo, all! Well, Daylight Savings Time is over for another year, and it's back to getting dark early, which is definitely taking some getting used to! Weekly Words Frame thy mind to mirth and merriment, which bars a thousand harms, and lengthens life. -William Shakespeare, 1564 - 1616 Smile, be kind to one another, respect each other, treat others as you expect to be treated, and the world could be a more harmonious place. We spend so much of our time decrying the lack of respect that we forget to respect others in turn. It has to start somewhere. Current Project Hold the phone! I'm 99.999% sure I've found my final Holiday Card art in the latest sketch I was doodling. (I think I really need to start planning my Holiday Card artwork in July in order to avoid this last-minute mad panic in November!) I'm also 99.999% sure I've got the final colors and such all worked out in my head, too... which I rarely know in advance. I spend far too much time dithering over color choices during the coloring process, instead of working that out in advance, either through a mini rough color version, or a digital color sketch just to see how it's all going to work out. Generally, when I'm in the process of putting color on a piece, it's the first time I'll have any idea what color I'm going to use! But, here you go, a sneak peek at this year's Holiday Card artwork! Holiday Card Project So many of you have signed up to request Holiday Cards this year, I'm amazed! At last count (Sunday evening) I have 225 respondents, and the post is open to replies for another 10 days. O.o Judging from the number of comments I receive to my art posts, either here on LJ, or through other social media outlets, I was NOT expecting this kind of response. But, if you'd like a card and still haven't left an address, you can reply to THIS POST HERE as all comments are screened for privacy. Please be aware the request post will be closed on November 15th to get final artwork to the printers so the cards come back in time to be mailed in early December (fingers crossed.) I don't require a fee of any kind for this project, but donations toward the cost of production and postage are greatly appreciated! If you'd like to donate, the graphic below will take you to my PayPal donation page:

Feel free to post links to this journal/community if you feel there might be interest in my artwork! Near Future Well! I've got some project plans for 2013! As has become my usual, January will kick off with the Sketch-A-Day project, and February will see the Work-A-Week project. I seem to get the most responses with the Sketch-A-Day project, so I'm thrilled you all enjoy the daily sketches and seeing them go from sketch-to-finished piece in February. I'm also planning on adding another Sketch-A-Day (and subsequent Work-A-Week) later in the year. I'm planning on Sketch-A-Day sketchbooks, collecting the pieces done in each year's project. A number of people have requested the daily sketches be collected in print editions for collecting, and I think it's a great idea! I'm also planning for a postcard subscription service in 2013! If you sign up (I'm planning on 3,6, or 12 month options) every month you'll get a postcard in your mailbox featuring brand new artwork produced specifically for the postcard project. You'll also get first rights to buy the original artwork, before it becomes available to the general public. Keep an eye out for the informational post about the service in the coming weeks to learn more! I'm planning on offering some limited small-commission slots and livestreaming the production process. If you've wanted an original or a commission, but my regular pieces are just not in your budget, this is the perfect project for you! Commissions will be kept small and you can watch them happen in real time! I'm excited for the coming year! Let me know what you think of the planned projects, or if you have ideas you'd like to see me tackle! Thank you for joining me for another State of the Artist post!