Sunday, November 24, 2013

Just Start!

After selling all of our wedding stuff my mind starting churning - what else can I sell? The obvious answer is art, of course! I've got a closet FULL of it...why not pop it on etsy and see what happens?

So yesterday I posted 4 pages out of my sketchbook. I have to admit I didn't find the task to be very fun - taking the photo, color balancing it, measuring it, etc. After posting only half of the photos I set out to post I started looking around at other peoples sites to see what sells and what doesn't and I decided maybe I can make some pieces with subjects that seem to sell well.

My first attempt is of a ballet dancer. Being a dancer myself this theme seems to fit.  I think I will try a few more dancer drawings before moving on to another targeted subject meshed with my abstract style.

On this new adventure my goal isn't really to make money, I'm selling these sketches for only $15 a piece...the goal is more just getting started in art again, and I think it will work.  I believe if I just start doing something, something will come out of it.



Here's a link to my shop if you wanna check it out :)
https://www.etsy.com/shop/UrbanZingara

Sunday, November 17, 2013

Just a Few Sketches

I've done so many abstract drawing that I've started to feel rusty in my drawing ability....so I've been doing quick little drawings to build my confidence back up.

I'm drawing one realistic and one more stylized/illustrative version for each sketch, however I'm finding that the realistic one is easy cheesy and I'm still trying to find a good voice in the illustrative one.

Here's what I've done this week"





Saturday, November 9, 2013

Random Inspirations

When I went to art school it was creativity 110% of the time....but I got burnt out, and now a days it goes in fits and fizzles.

A week or so ago I saw something magical, or at least at the time I thought it was magical...upon further investigation it turned out to be not so cool...but that's even better.  It was a strike to the imagination causing me to yearn to find more magical things.

However, it turns out it's not easy to hunt for magical things.  I looked at the most expensive gnomes on ebay...lame...I looked up the words "magical"  "awesome"  "crazy" on pintrest and craigslist....no luck (unless you think unicorns are awe inspiring).

I did indeed finally find some things...though it took several days, and even my husband began to join in on the hunt and in the end it sparked the desire to create art again, to be in that moment of creating something that feels magical to me....to dance with delight when I make the right move, and to shudder with disappointment when I fail....

It all started with a door knocker (I know random)
Jurnal de design interior  Cele mai ingenioase mânere pentru ușăElephant door knocker  This knocker belongs to a cottage on Holy Island. By coincidence we had listened to Michael Morpurgo's audiobook "Running Wild" on the long drive to Northumberland. It's a great story about a boy and an elephant lost in the jungle.

He's not as cool as he looks....you can buy one on ebay...but the fact that he's not as cool as I thought only makes me want to make what I thought I saw in this picture.

So then I started searching....
I learned from pintrest that you can draw on paper with milk and hit it with a hot iron to create an awesome woodburned look:
Pretty cool.

Then I found a photographer that created this delightful book about random people in New York, paired with lovely quotes from the people.
I have got to find this book, the photos are luscious!humans of new york: humans of new york

http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2013/nov/03/brandon-stanton-humans-of-new-york-pictures


And another photographer taking photos of people who like to dress up as movie characters, in their costumes in their own homes:
Just the two of us, Klaus Pichler, 2013
http://petapixel.com/2013/11/01/portraits-costume-owners-home/

But Blair found the winner that made me feel most satisfied....It's a book written by an architect in the 70's. He made an encyclopedia in a made up language about a made up world. He wanted you, the viewer, to feel like you were a kid again, thumbing through an encyclopedia staring at the images trying to figure out what's going on...and I LOVE IT....the sixth edition has just been printed, and for the first time ever it's actually affordable, but it seems everyone is out of stock until after Christmas...I must own this book!

Fantastic series of nonsensical informative illustrationspage from codex seraphinianus

http://the-dimka.livejournal.com/6645.html

However, now I've become a "magical hunter"...as a result I'm also debating buying a 3ft long museum quality t-rex (not assembled! How fun is that?!) for $50 on craigslist (he would make a great fireplace decoration), a crazy couch (and chair, but I would keep the couch and ottoman and resell the chair), and the coolest craziest Christmas gift for a friend from a restaurant auction, but I can't say what it is in case "the receiver" or anyone related to the "receiver" reads this post...but it's 6ft tall, and who knows how heavy, would be freaking amazingly well received, but would end up right back on craigslist by January 1st....but totally worth it.



And in this playful yearning I'm drawing again!  I can't find my freaking markers, so I'm just doing pencil drawing for now, but my mind is churning and I believe it is ready to go places!!!! There will be more to follow, I'm sure of it.

Monday, November 4, 2013

Trying Something New....

When I went to design my wedding invitations I had a really hard time finding a stock template that made me happy. We're quirky people and I wanted something that reflected that so I had to start from scratch designing something that would make both of us happy....in the end I was really pleased with the collection of work that we made so I thought maybe I would have fun designing for others too.

I've posted an ad on Craigslist, but I'm not so sure that will work because you have to click on "services" when searching in order to see the ad.  I don't know about you, but I've used craigslist a thousand times, I didn't know you have to click on "services" so I doubt others do either....but we shall see, it will be a fun experiment.  

I figured I would charge $300 for a wedding invitation and $50 for an envelope.   When I made my invitations it took FOREVER...I mean I will admit, we're both artistically picky, which is what made it such an impossible task.  (To be honest I'm not even that fond of our wedding invitations....but they were Blair's 'dream come true' so I guess that's all that matters...and on top of that every other piece in the packaged I am in love with.

Here's what the ad says, and some of the samples that were posted with it (for some reason Blogger wont let me post all of the samples): 









Are you looking for wedding invitations that are a little more personalized than those stock templates online? 

I'm a graphic artist who had a blast setting up my own invites, now I'm toying with the idea of starting a side business designing stuff for others.

We would have an initial meeting, talk about what exactly your looking for, then I would design three starting point ideas....from there you would pick one, and you would have up to three more rounds of changes from there. After we come up with the final layout, I can give you a cd with your art on it and I can either help you find a printer, or you can print your artwork yourself, the art is yours. I will sign waivers so you have full access to it.

I would need to be paid upfront after the initial meeting
I would charge $300 for a wedding invitation (however I would give a discount for easier jobs)
$50 for an envelope design

Generally speaking, if your looking for something quirky/unique, it does take some time to make it happen...it's impossible to say how long something will take when you start the project, because you never know if your going to need to hand draw your own art, or if there is art already out there that you can tweak and twist to be what your looking for....but I have a wide range of skills, so if you want something hand drawn, or you want photos photoshopped into something crazy, I can make it happen.

I would be happy to design other stuff too: thank you cards, rsvp cards, save the dates, baby shower, posters, graduation, etc.

Shoot me an email if your interested:  wendy.nisley@gmail.com
http://kansascity.craigslist.org/crs/4167853469.html