I Give You...Zombies!

ABC SERIES ES FINITO! Except now I have to go back and do the revisions *thud* Not a problem, it will only make everything more awesome in the end. And there will be research, and writing, and layout, and eventually there will be a little-known-self-published book. Yay!

You can see 20 of my pictures on the site, because silly Freeway won't let me put more than 20 pictures to a page. Let me know what you think, and what you would change, because I'm going back in for editing.
Also, Photoshop has been crashing whenever I try to photomerge something, so I've been doing it by hand. I am trying to fix that, so I can go back and get better scans of everything.

And finally, this blog post is brought to you by the letter Z. I give you... Zombies!

Artist Du Jour

Randy Elliott!

A good friend, and great artist. So much detail! I would go out of my head trying to draw all those lines.

Today's Favorite Artist

Mike Deodato!

Excellent and complex use of blacks in his inks. I love when people "paint" the form of an image with ink, and not just draw it.

I Can't Explain It

You just have to try it.

http://www.inbflat.net/

Favorite Artist of Today

Klaus Janson!

THE COLORS.



I'M EXCITED!

I Made A Zazzle Page

make custom gifts at Zazzle

Favorite Artist for Sunday

John Paul Leon!

While his style is very simple, its powerful. I love those deep blacks. It's all shapes, just shapes! (As one James Ransome would say). Sometimes black and white is all you need.

Thursday's Favorite Artist

Jack Davis!

I'm not too familiar with his actual work. He's an older illustrator, comic pro, and all around artist. I just like his wacky characters!

Wednesday's Favorite Artist

Chris Samnee!

I found some very different styles by him. I know he worked on these, I believe he did at least the pencils and inks of all these images.

Favorite Artist for Tuesday!

Bob McLeod!

Mostly I just like how clear his pencils are. They are fun and easy to ink.

Favorite Artist of Today

Bill Sienkiewicz!

Sigh

Sometimes you see art that's so great, you think, "why do I even bother?"

Another Letter Done!

I am very excited by how this one turned out. Completely different from my initial sketch, but it was just turning out...boring. This is anything but.

Vanishing Hitchhiker

Who Knew Grey Could Be So Eye-Catching?

http://illustrationtoolbox.com/articles/artist-jacek-kaczynski/

You need to see this art.

Sure, its Photoshop, but I can forgive it.

In fact, I feel rather like composing a sonnet to it, instead. Why do I like creepy things so much?

Though, the guy playing cat's-cradle really freaks me out.

Just Can't Get You Out of My Head

Ever since I heard about the annual Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert, I can't get it out of my mind. It will disappear for a while, but then I'll see something that will make me need to look it up again. Honestly, I don't think it's really my "scene," but I still can't help being fascinated by it. So I bring you some of the best artwork out of Burning Man:

Art Cars at Burning Man

Take a look around. I'm curious to hear your thoughts on the phenomenon!

JAMES RANSOME

Sophomore year James had us draw with Sharpies. I thought he was nutso. Now I realize the genius behind the madness. It looks so nice! But oh, I do not miss those markers.

Sketches and Some Geese

Some more recent things I had lying around.

Faces!

Here are some faces:

Brand New Space

Finally got a picture of my new studio space. Much better than the last one, which was in a hallway on top of some storage boxes.

Just needs some decoration now!

More Stuff and Things

My ancient iPod, back when they were first cool.

A collection of stuff on my studio desk

I love those tiny Italian cars! I will have one some day.

My mother likes to make things and hang things and decorate things.

I Don't Know Where The Other Two Went

I haven't posted in a while. I dug up some more sketches and things. I found the 7 Deadly Sins series I was working on, like 3 years ago. The one with the circus people. Eventually I might actually finish that. When I can find a context to put it in that actually makes sense.

Happy October

Make a Christmas Card!

Last month, Stranger launched a competition offering artists, illustrators, graphic designers, and anyone else who fancies it a chance to design a Christmas card for ShelterBox, with the winning entry to feature alongside some of the world's top illustrators in a special range of charity cards. If you're interested in entering the competition, you might want to get your colouring pencils out at some point in the next 24 hours as the deadline for submissions is midnight tomorrow (20 October).

We are now pleased to reveal that our list of artists is complete, with the superb talents of Geoff McFetridge (illustration above), Marcus Oakley and Nick Radford adding their card designs to a set also including work by Jon Burgerman and Jenny Bowers (who we announced in September).

We're delighted to have such acclaimed names onboard for our first ever set of Christmas cards for ShelterBox. Californian graphics legend Geoff McFetridge has produced some of the most recognisable images around, including the title sequences for Spike Jonze's Where The Wild Things Are, and Sofia Coppola's The Virgin Suicides. Marcus Oakley has exhibited eye-catching artwork and illustrations all around the globe, including a current Scion exhibition in LA (curated by French) and exhibitions of skateboardable sculptures with The Side-Effects of Urethane. Meanwhile, Cornwall-based illustrator, musician and howies surf team rider Nick Radford has created illustrations for Cadbury, Vodafone, Random House, the Guardian and Freestyle Records.     
"Being someone who gets paid to draw, it makes a positive change that somehow my drawing can do some good. I am very happy to submit a card design connected to such a great and worthwhile charity."
- Marcus Oakley

Get your entries in quick
So far we've received a great variety of interesting and imaginative entries from all over the UK and abroad... But there's still time for you to send us your entry too. This fantastic opportunity to contribute a design is open to everyone, but you'll need to get a move on! The competition closes at midnight tomorrow, Wednesday 20 October.

Here's how to enter:

Email your designs to:
christmascards@stranger-collective.com

Illustrations should focus around a seasonal theme of Christmas, contain no specific religious content and appeal to a wide audience. Designs should be 300dpi, 105 x 150mm JPGs in portrait aspect ratio.

The finished cards will come in packs of 12 - 2 of each of the 6 designs - and will go on sale to the public in shops across Cornwall and the rest of the UK as well as online at Stranger after the launch.

To Answer Some Important Questions

Why do I do what I do, the way I do it?

The reason I work is to communicate how I see the world, it's colors and it's still moments. To continue to learn more about life, finding movement in these seemingly "still" moments.

Where do I see myself, in my ideal situation?

I see myself working on my own projects and ideas, with people nearby who are also working on their own visions. We help and support each other.

What are some things I love to experience?

Adventures
new places
brilliant, surprising colors
subdued colors speaking urgently
the leaves in fall
sunrises
multi-layered music
food


What are some things I love to create?

brilliant, surprising colors
muted yet urgent palettes
effortless and honest music
real connections with others
simple good food

What are my skills?

Finding color in the mundane
watercolors
subdued palettes
spelling
listening to others
organizing
managing my time
setting a plan, and following through
baking

Website Reorganization

Hokay, so I need your input, all y'all.

I am sort of restructuring my site a little. Take a look at it now:

http://catherinelapointe.com

I am in the process of redesigning the Design page to be more comprehensive, display each picture as part of more complete campaigns. I also hope to do more samples, to have samples of the projects I think are the most sought-after. So that will be changed.

I think I will also delete the "Fine Art" page, and just post those pictures here. Because what I am hoping to get from displaying those?

So I will have a homepage, a bio, an illustration page, a design page, a sequential page, and a stock art page left. Within the illustration page there is book illustration, magazine illustration, and my urban legends series. Should I continue these as sub-pages? Should I add Stock Art or Sequential to the list? Or should I separate them all?

Another option is to have "Illustration" and "Design" on my homepage, click on one or the other to get to that "site". Design would just be full of campaigns, perhaps with extra explanation or process work. Illustration would have magazine, book, sequential, stock, etc. The two sites would have different designs, though sharing the design sensibilities of the homepage.

Thoughts? Votes? Thanks!

A New Season, A New Job

So I have found employment. I am no longer a bum.

No longer living with my parents. I am living one town over, with my sister :) (And her FIVE birds). Paying rent and making my own food. So that's a step in the right direction. I am beginning to remember what it is like to be a real human, not an unemployed post-grad living in her parents' basement.

Also a plus, I have a real, full-time, salaried job that I have to dress up for. Exactly what I wanted, but did not expect to find around here. The company is actually quite great, they pay me well, they treat their employees great, I get vacation and health care and a new fancy office chair, and work with some really nice, young people. If only the job wasn't the complete opposite of everything I went to school for. Accounting and IT stuff. What? You trust me to do these things? Everyone else I work with used to go to law school, used to be an accountant, used to work in the industry we support, or is a software engineer. Why did you hire me, software people? You do realize I have no knowledge of any of these things, correct? Not that I'm complaining. We're cool.

However, many things which I declared I would do have not yet come to pass. For example, I am still in the north country. Small town and cows galore. Closer to most of Canada than anything useful in the US. Remember when I said I was going to pick up and move after graduation? And then at the end of summer? Yes, fear of financial failure got to me. Maybe I'll get the guts to do this next year?

Also been sending out postcards like mad-crazy. Still nothing. Ordered more postcards. I think they are quite dashing. I think I'm pretty hot stuff. What, still no news? I have had one freelance gig so far, and that was for a local event that my cousin hooked me up with. Also kept working on my portfolio, updating my website constantly. Also think it looks rather dashing. Though kind of all over the place. That will soon be remedied. Eventually.

Baby steps.

Faceable Faces

Ohai!

Recognize anyone? That's right, I drew you!

And me.

Design Quotables

"Ideas turn up because in every problem the heart of the solution is embedded in the problem like a piece of gold in a matrix of rock."
-Milton Glaser

Op-Ed

 I never really thought about the difference between op-ed art and political cartoons. Probably because my little local papers never had anything like the op-ed art of the big papers, so I never saw them. This video really made me think about op-ed art in a deeper way than I had ever done before. It's really just too beautiful to be in a newspaper, it seems. I really prefer unique ink drawings over more modern vector graphics and photo manipulations. They seem too sterile, too manufactured. Hand-drawn ink is organic, it comes right out of the psyche, without any filters, photoshop or otherwise.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/09/25/opinion/opedat40-illustration.html?ref=opinion%3Fhp

Flux...Capacitor?

Mm, more objects from my object sketchbook. More things later. I have been trying to keep up productivity in the midst of a move to my sister's apartment. Closer to my new job, and out of my parents' house = much better. Things, however, are in flux.