Two hours. That is all the time left that I have to soak up the immense sunshine and balmy winds of Florida. At 5:30 my husband will be home from work and we start the mad rush of packing the truck. We’ve rented a Penske truck, 16′ with a car trailer. Last night we looked wearily at our array of boxes and furniture and hoped to goodness we will be able to fit the entirety of our earthly possessions into 800 square feet. I’ve never felt so materialistic in my life until now.
http://www.amanderson.com/2010/05/goodbye-florida/
Rough sketch for children's book concept. Word parts with illustrations depicting their meanings.
It’s been much too long, however my life has been so eventful I haven’t been able to summarize the details into a simple blog post. I will sum up the details in a few words from my last post to this one:
Typesetting. Avett Brothers. Tears. Editing. Job Search. More tears. Interview for Job. Excitement. Flying. Friends. Eating Crepes. Hired(!). More Excitement. Gelatto. LOTS of Family. Funeral. Even more tears. Packing. Fleas on the Dog. (More Tears) Even more packing….
http://www.amanderson.com/2010/05/hopes-dreams-and-packing-up-the-apartment/
So now that I’ve finished a task so monumental as the mural, I now have to continue on to my other projects, equally as monumental, though not as grand an artistic venture. Yes, my next task is typesetting.
http://www.amanderson.com/2010/04/back-to-the-grindstone-typesetting/
I’ve finally completed the mural in the upstairs nursery in our church. And allow me to say, it was no small task. However, just like running a marathon, it was exhilarating and rewarding. And even better, I would do it again. Often I judge a project on its repeatability factor. This project, for me, I would happily do again… and I may be a little wiser next time!
http://www.amanderson.com/2010/04/safari-mural-and-finished/
I’m going to deviate from my normal illustration posts to add some work that has also been consuming my time. I also design websites and my husband implements them. I do plan to teach myself coding in the very near future, but for now the projects I have on my plate just demand design. I hope to learn as much as possible from these projects. There is an entire world of painstaking accuracy, usability, and functionality that a fine artist might not look for right away. I’m determined to train the designer in me.
http://www.amanderson.com/2010/03/web-design/
I finally reached the point where I can paint my mural! This past Monday I went into the church and projected my final image onto the wall.
http://www.amanderson.com/2010/03/safari-mural-the-final-steps/
So I’ve logged a considerable number of hours into this project, and am finally almost to the finish line! I’ve got most of the hard work behind me, and now just have to paint a few animals, and a jeep on the wall of the nursury. However I haven’t been posting my progress like I should, so here I am, making up for lost time!
http://www.amanderson.com/2010/03/safari-mural-part-2-a-work-in-progress/
One of the things I hoped to do with my blog is demonstrate my illustration process, and what better way to do that than to show you firsthand with a project I’m working on right now!
My church, CityChurch in Ft. Lauderdale has been undergoing several maintenance projects lately, one includes the overhauling of a very sad looking nursery. Together my friends and I spent last Saturday sanding, cleaning and painting that small, sunshiny room to prepare it for newly painted walls and an over sized Safari mural!
http://www.amanderson.com/2010/03/safari-mural/
My most frequent commissions are portraits. While there is generally less room for artistic expression in a portrait, you cannot help but find unique opportunities for creativity in every new face you draw.
http://www.amanderson.com/2010/02/new-faces/
I have to admit, my absolute favorite subjects to draw are characters. And not just any sort of characters, I love monsters, gremlins, burly animals with goofy faces and sharp teeth. You wouldn’t know it to look at me, but I’ve a rather wild imagination when it comes to storybook villains. I say, give me a body with character any day over something cute, or even beautiful. I like that hint of ugliness and oddity that sets my characters apart from the rest.
http://www.amanderson.com/2010/02/characters/