Getting the Ball Rolling Again...

John is on the job, and editing has been in my possession for months now. No, for over a year! My publisher is calling again and it's time to get this book done! I am seriously shocked with myself that I have sat on this for an entire year.  O_o

Well, I had lost my way and needed to find a way to get the book illustrated.  I debated, had people suggest new artists, student artists, etc. But to me,  it didn't feel right. Destiny brought me to John and I decided to give him a chance. He has been in touch and has started on the sketches and I hope to see him soon. We set up a contract and I paid a portion to get started, I will pay a portion upon delivery of the sketches, and I will pay the final portion upon completion. He seems dedicated in everything he does, so I am hopeful it will work out.

As far as editing I have been dragging my feet. I did edit and address the editors comments months ago, but waited to send it back. I still find it is good to let things sit awhile with writing. I did get back to it today after getting yet one more message from my publisher. So, I re-reviewed and sent it in! It has one more editing cycle and then they shift me to the people who assist with the layout.

The marketing department called me last week from the publisher too which I think was quite nice. When I get closer to release they will coach me and assist in doing some things I am not, so as not to duplicate but to assist. They have big marketing packages, but since this is all out of my pocket anyway, I am going to take the best advice and leave it to faith, my friends, and any followers I may develop along the way.

I spoke with a CPA too about how to be able to take a loss before I make a profit. Again. I want the profit to go to charity and hope I can at least make back what I have put into it.

I also used a local company to help me design a logo for the book series/company.  I have sat on their suggestions lately too. So I plan to get back to that and will share that with you all once I decide on the best design. Deciding is the hardest part. For now though, I have set things back in motion with the universe. 

New Year, New Approach!

With the New Year almost upon us I want to take a moment to wish you all health, happiness and great success in 2012! My wish is to get this book completed in 2012. 2012 will also be the year of the dragon and is said to be dramatic fortunes and dramatic losses. Everything will be grand. Here's hoping we get more of the fortunes and success coming our way.

I have been contemplating a pen name since my real name is quite a challenge and quite long. Looking for something shorter. Kim for sure but was considering Grace as a last name and well, that brings up some images unfit to be associated with a children's book. But I really love the name. Should I go with it or go with Kim Hart? Or maybe even just change the spelling of Kim? to Kimm? (this is what my mother made me do in elementary school because I complained that Kimberlee was too long) or Kym? Again - going for simplicity so I am not sure and need to settle this pretty soon.

Give me your thoughts! and Happy New Year! 

New developments!

Helena and I finally were able to tag up and unfortunately her life has changed ironically putting her into a position where she can no longer help with the project. I do hope to work with her one day, but it will not be in the very near future. She is putting her energy into her jewelry line, which is also fabulous. You can check out her work at the following link:
 http://www.etsy.com/shop/MorningDove

So I have had to refocus and search for alternatives to illustrate this book. I currently have found 2 different artists willing to take on the book. I am asking for a concept from each with prices per image, since my "free" deal didn't work out with Helena.  I am very grateful that she was willing to go down the path with me and donate art until we picked up a firm publishing deal. Given that the 2 artists I am considering are also full time artists it is only fair that they are compensated for the work upfront. I think that is the best way to proceed. (and only)  One artist does more simple cartoonist art and 3-D animation and the other one (John Garancheski)  is a tattoo artist with what appears to be great graphics skills which align closer to my original vision for the book. http://www.johngarancheski.com/

I found John because he designed a logo for an upcoming charity event  I am assisting with for Make-A-Wish foundation in the Baltimore Area January 14th. If you are in the Baltimore Area come out on Jan. 14th for a great cause!
https://www.facebook.com/events/146343178805634/

I will be sending in the script for final editing soon - over the holidays. And I called the company from which I received a free logo design and business cards credit. Graphics By Kandi: http://graphicsbykandi.com/
I have an appointment to meet with them on Monday Jan. 2! I will be taking my logo I designed to see what they think and maybe what else they come up with for the series which may be more reproducible. So I will be starting off the New Year pressing ahead with completing this project!

Painting on Dark Days, continued...

At the left side in the top photo are 2 images. One is the Beatrice painting Ive been working on in this blog. On the right you see an older, rejected version. I wasn't happy with body or face and was using this reject to experiment with, mainly exploring the nature of the paper . While working on the leaves a motif came to mind which I hope to draw this evening.

Until there is a brighter day its very difficult for me to predict how these will reproduce. The paper is bright white but as you can see, it looks much darker. even though I brightened the image in Photoshop.

While experimenting I was thinking of the kind of books I liked when very young. Lots of color, clear patterns, contrasts. Somehow this triggered a cascade of ideas which may or may not be plausible for the book.

Painting Beatrice

In the last blog I wrote about looking for a new space and since then have found one. We'll save the details of locating an affordable work space for a different entry because today was a painting day without interruption and I'd like to share what was happening with the art . People sometimes ask whether I use a frisket or mask to keep paint from covering areas where it dosnt belong. The answer is no, never. My work is detailed and to use frisket would take too long, its far easier and much quicker to just paint around the white areas. After regular practice your hand/eye coordination will adapt. A hot press surface is best when leaving minute white areas, the water and pigment glide off the brush and there are no textures to inhibit the flow. At right you see a close up of what is being worked on, at the tip of my brush. In some paintings I draw the negative space in before beginning, other times I just move along leaving the white spaces while painting, wherever they feel right. They can always be washed over later.

Here's a closeup of the above section, partially filled in. I painted the stems first, then came back later when they were dry and applied the browns.

Notice the segments in the leaf and how they are rendered. Compare the penciled lines in the leaf in photo 1, above, with the same leaf, at right. Eventually Ill be coming in with even darker browns and purples, adding some depth to those shaded areas. Doing so will cause the foliage to 'pop' and create the impression Beatrice is sitting above and upon the foliage. This is a timely process, hurrying will result in sloppy brushwork and blurred lines.

I have a difficult time aligning all my photos in one entry. Ive a photo of the entire painting as it looked when finished, but can't seem to get them loaded correctly. On tomorrow's blog Ill include a photo of where I left off today. Sorry!

ARTIST & WRITER WORK SPACE FOR RENT OPPS

CLICK THE HEADING, ABOVE, and link to a typical artists space and residence page. Cities often have several arts organizations offering similar services. In the suburbs, good luck finding anything as space is at a premium, and loft or old apartment buildings are priced to the max. Similar ads appear in Craig's List. Search terms: Art space, artist's space Chicago area, artists studio space. And heres an example of same, but for writers needing a quiet place to work: http://www.chicagoartistsresource.org/literary/node/30465

If you are creating at home, and sharing that home with partners running their own businesses, children and often, aged parents, consider an outside space. It might enhance creative flow and quality of work. My creativity and production have slowed to a crawl after my partner set up his home office and an adult child moved home. I swear, its like running the front desk in a busy airline terminal and trying to paint in between customers, announcements, interruptions and non - stop cacophony from various media sources, meetings, friends and the dog's frantic, angry yapping. Also, for most of us economics and distance are determining factors when finding a space. Id love a romantic gazebo studio or artsy urban garret but in my area even a shabby, downsized version starts at $1500.00 per month not counting utilities and licensing. For now, a quiet place where nobody can find and pester me is the target.

First, investigate what’s out there. Artist spaces are listed on artist guild billboards, publications, online art communities and Craig's List. Be flexible. Example : a small room in a a law firm or real estate office might serve your purpose – many are renting their empty rooms to generate extra cash. Next blog entry will focus on pros and cons. An other option is households with a large spare bedroom, walk in attic, or other spaces. Many empty nesters and singles or working couples are happy to renting out unused space for daytime use. I'd steer clear of any residence with children for obvious reasons.

Factors to consider when sourcing out locations for your space, aside from monthly cost and rental details are below. Italics are responses particular to my own requirements.

1. Estimated travel time to and from, and traffic patterns. I loath driving in heavy Chicago toll - way and north side city traffic even with great music or an audio book. Drive time, one way after the rush hour requires 1 hour 45 minutes, usually 2 full hours. (2:00 a.m. it's 60 minutes)

2. Fuel or transportation costs. Fuel costs are estimated to double by the end of 2011- am I prepared to move out of the studio and find a closer space if this occurs, within a year?

3. Do you want to work around other artists or prefer a quiet place? If another artist in the shared space is overly talkative, plays her music loud or has many loud visitors will this be a problem? For me, solitude is preferable.

4. How much space does your medium require? 250+ square feet is fine.

5. Do you require natural daylight, ventilation? I prefer indirect natural daylight.

6. Days and hours – when will you be using the space? Sometimes you can split the rent with another artist. I’m planning on 3 full 8 hour days in studio per week. Other days will be used for my jewelry business and art related business like web maintenance, invoicing, preparing and shipping orders, phone calls etc.

7. Do you need somebody available to sign for and receive shipments when you are out? No

8. Heat and air conditioning. Heat is a must; a fan might be fine in the summer. In the Midwest temps range from frigid to sweltering.

9. Do you need a location near galleries? Often, nearby artist buildings are included in gallery walks and tours. Nice perk but not essential; I need work space. Socializing with artists or gallery owners and clients, marketing, and community are not on my radar. In 2 years this may change as Ill have built up a new body of work and seeking exhibition spaces.

10. Stairs, elevator, a loading dock, and locks on the doors or a cubical in a large shared loft space – these are some of the details to bear in mind. I may be loading and unloading my studio furniture by myself. This include drawing table, a collapsible work table, chair, lighting, some shelves, possibly the large easel. So I prefer walk in, a lift, or elevator access.

Working With Faulty Design

Below you see my first attempt, traced from our detailed pencil drawing. The butterfly's abdomen is too dark and wide even though its to proportion for this species. Almost at center, the ugly bray blob dominates the space. One way to circumvent this is by rendering the wings as dark or darker, then shading the abdomen in a way that makes it appear smaller than it really is, blending its contours into the wings. Adding an overall pattern or drybrush texture would make good use of the darker areas, like lace placed over a solid color fabric. Another solution might be washing out the darkest pigment until its a midrange tone and when the art is dry, touching up with opaque white or colored pencil. This particular paper, however, is delicate. Its a vintage, handmade sheet with no sizing, which allows pigment to soak right in without puddling. If the area is scrubbed, fibers unravel and the surface will be damaged beyond repair.

Kimberlee and I want this butterfly to be somewhat true to species, which means darkening the wings is not an option, nor is scrubbing the dark area to a lighter value. I opt for cutting my losses and start over with a modified drawing. I've redrawn the wings but modify the body, making it slender and adding curves. This is not anatomically or correct, but when finished, the art will appear believable to the eye. Look to the left of #1: the new butterfly is placed left of the first, blotched attempt for comparison. There's also an actual butterfly that I found in our driveway this summer (already dead) and an assortment of different wing diagrams, etchings and photos.

Painting #2, below, shows the new painting alongside the original pencil drawing. Since taking this photo Ive painted most of the wing area but its now so dark outside (snow is on the way!) that I wont be able to get a good shot. This is a good place to leave off, and the next entry will show the progress and talk about some of the challenges befor us. The colors are coming out BEAUTIFULLY and Ill talk about the brands and pigments selected, the paper choice, and other technical aspects that might interest those of you who share my fondness for watercolor.

CLICK THE PHOTOS TO ENLARGE THEM

PAINTING 1 PAINTING 2

Welcome! I'm Helena

I've always wanted to create beautiful books for children, but writing isn't my forte. One day Kimberlee wrote to me, sharing a book idea and wondering id Id be interested in working on it with her. I've been wanting to challenge myself, move in a different directions with my work, especially in ways that would eventually benefit the upcoming generations: families, mothers, and children. Then Kimberlee called.

Kimberlee and I are both mothers. Her family is young and mine are grown, so we've got a good team here: fresh ideas, talent, and most important, a goal that when reached, will benefit many.

You might enjoy following the ups and downs of our journey, and you are invited to jump in and comment, share your own experiences, or simply click in and skim through every now and then!