I’m a creative, experienced, multi-purpose artist and art director
who can take projects start to finish in a variety of styles.

Good designs sell –
my designs sell out!

Sunday, May 8, 2016

"Tattoo"

I suppose we should all be happy that so many people have tattoos.  They're supporting art.  Unfortunately a lot of it's bad art and can interfere with getting an x-ray, but the trend lets more people suffer for their art and since I sometimes suffer making art, I like feeling understood.  If you've got a tattoo and you're happy, then I'm happy for you.

Onto other things.  I'm going to paint my computer room, the room where I store the bulk of my art supplies, reams of paper, rocks, etc., etc.  I've spent my weekend moving most of it into other rooms for the duration.  Moving some of this stuff brought up emotions, memories, dust, and dog hair.  I swear I'll move out of the house before painting this room again!  Today, I'm moving onto spackling water damage from a previously faulty gutter.  I watched a nice Australian man's video about how to do it.  I wish he were here to do it for me.

What I really want to do is show another piece that got printed in Mensa's 50th anniversary magazine.  The article is about word play, including "peppering Saracens".  I showed the magazine to the ladies who work in my department.  I got my atta girls and considered my bragging done.  Another woman came in so I showed her too.  She was excited and asked to show it around the building.  I let her do my bragging for me.

Maybe you get lots of positive reinforcement.  Betty showing off my work made me face that I've gotten a lot of negatives.  Art can be a competitive, brutal business.  You often get lots of criticism and revisions, and "good job!" is seldom in the vocabulary.

I spend my days with data at work.  The ladies in my dept know I've worked as an illustrator, but the other people didn't.  I liked it that way, maybe because I've spent so much of my life identifying myself first and foremost as an artist.  It was/is so much of how I think of myself, it's nice to be known for other traits -- or maybe I just didn't want to deal with more criticism and suggestions?

I went home that day feeling mighty pleased with myself.  People stopped me in the hall to say they were impressed.  I've been waiting a long time to be able to show this magazine and it felt good to be praised for it.  I felt a flicker of life and hope inside. They especially liked the parts that I spent stupid amounts of time doing.  (They loved my forks!)  Joy, joy, joy and I started to remember I really like getting this kind of feedback.  It motivated me to go into art for a living.

I've often been told to be demure.  Don't be so full of yourself.  Fact is, I think most of us beat ourselves up instead of bragging, and abuse isn't a good motivator.  If you want to get anywhere, sometimes you have to sing your own praises.  People who have my best interests at heart will sing them with me and share in the happiness I feel in my accomplishments.

Lots of people want to break into the art field.  Go for it.  I wish you happiness and success.  Don't let my artistic PTSD stop you.  I'm enjoying having a paycheck doing other things and exploring art as a pleasure again.  I'm happy for doing art I wanted to do for this magazine and pleased to cash the check!

10 comments:

  1. Atta girl, Linda! Beautiful illustrations. The forks are forking amazing! (couldn't help myself).

    It surprises me that some people at work didn't know you've worked as an illustrator. I imagine you as being "obviously" artsy - even if no tattoos :). Happy painting. I need to do some of that too along with some spackling. Think we can get the Aussie guy to show?

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    1. Thanks! And thanks for making me forking laugh :) Maybe it's the environment that people didn't think about my artsiness. At another place someone came to visit me and the bookkeeper sneered "it's one of your type". So I guess some people see the art in me. So far the Aussie hasn't showed up, but if I see him I'll send him your way!

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  2. Let me praise you too Linda, I LOVE this piece, the forks are brilliant but as I studied anatomy I do love that hand too. It really is something to be very proud of. I'm so glad you got that commision, Mensa must have been thrilled with it. Your room sounds like a big project but I'm sure once finished you won't want to move and leave it behind. I'm with your re tattoos but I must admit some are very artistic indeed....not that I would ever subject my skin to one! Enjoy the week ahead xx

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    1. Thanks Jane! Thanks for looking at the hand. That's another part I spent stupid amounts of time on. I agree with you about some tattoos being very artistic. I have a pal who put a beautiful octopus on a girl's back. I'd just like to get rid of the ugly art. I hope you have a great week too!

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  3. I agree with the others, these are lovely illustrations. You deserve the praises. And yes, it makes us fly when we get it, even if it's rare and seldom. Good luck with the painting job. Some things—on contrary to art—just need to be done.

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    1. Too true about some things needing done. I'm telling myself that I'm at least getting exercise up and down the ladder :)

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  4. I love the overall design and I love the details. I really love the forks, too, and the lacy design they are resting on. Thank you for sharing this! I'm glad that part of your your reward for this work is the energizing positive response you're getting from others.

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    1. Thanks so much! It's nice to get the positives, and a happy thing to pass positives onto others too.

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  5. I love your forks too. They're amazing! I had a consult with a writer and at the end, he asked me to read one of his books and put a review on Amazon. It was just so straight forward. I wish I could be like that. Just ask people for what I want. I'm my own worst critic too. I also wish I could build myself up and act like I'm all that. Brag! Instead of drag.

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    1. I suppose some people can be annoying with their demands, but I think there are a lot of people like us who need to speak up more for what we want. Go get 'em!

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