Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Summertime and the living is..... lazy.

I am having a strange summer. I will draw and draw for a few days, then I will do , absolutely .... nuthin'.

My studio is in the attic. A few years ago, my husband turned a Greg Brady bedroom into a working space for me. This is where I spend my days, usually drawing, lately procrastinating - cleaning - finding reference on the computer.

I have started a painting out of frustration with my book. Maybe a change would spur me on.

There's an artist I like very much Ambera Wellman who I found over on Anthony VanArsdales's blog. Amazing paintings of expansive skies! I thought, I'm a decent artist, I'll paint my own expansive sky. So I did. It looked like it needed something, So I added skydiving pigs. - a clear indicator - you have to be who you are, and not try to be someone else. They don't have their parachutes on yet, I was going to paint a companion piece with a skydiving pig with a copy of skydiving for dummies... hence - no parachutes. But I may be kind and spare them turning to hash on the ground. - Apologies to C.G. Young



So - Here's my studio and all the sketches for the book I'm working on... It's going slooooow.







My husband ran plumbing all the way up and installed a small sink to wash brushes.



My daughter has her own studio space. It's my desk from when I was a kid.



You can see Jabba the Mutt and Jedi George Nibbles hanging out. My desk chair's broken - I have to get a new one if anyone has a recommendation -I'd love one. I keep a vintage Varsity sweater that used to be owned by a guy named Lenny up here. It's chilly in the winter. I listen to WNYC all day, everyday, I am addicted. I listen to it on an old AM radio.






I work mostly on a Mac these days - even drawing there - gotta get the new chair. Getting a Wacom tablet has been the best change in how I work in the last 2 years. I like drawing in Sketchbook Pro - then coloring up in Photoshop. I use painter a little but- I need more time to explore that program.




There are great built in shelves that were here from the Greg Brady bedroom - paint can do wonders- they used to be the color of bricks. I try to be organized - but I am a generally cluttered person. The boxes have helped me keep sketches, promo papers and reference almost organized.





I try to keep my favorite chachkes about to make me happy and keep me inspired. The other shelves against the stairs can't be reached easily, so I filled them with memories. You can spot a 70's me here and there, along with my fave childhood books, toys, lots of Mickey Mouse, old crayons, clay- I love anything from the 20-40's that was made for kids, coloring books, how to draw books. And there's Edna- from The Incredibles - when I need a pick me up , I just give her a squeeze and hear "Hellooo Darling!"






Down the stairs - I have the movie poster of The Iron Giant- my absolute favorite animated movie. Above the door - I've made little plaques of people who inspire me. These are people, some visual artists, some not, who followed their own paths - completely ignoring what anyone else thought. They not only have great talent but the ability to believe in themselves and trust in their own unique views of life. I try to look at them each day as I leave... spurring me on to come back to the studio tomorrow.





How many of them can you name? - I'll post their names soon!- now- this was some serious procrastination -back to the book!

5 comments:

Unknown said...

Thanks for the tour! It looks like you have a very comfortable place, (chair not included), to do your creating!

Cheers,

Lewis

Tom Barrett said...

Nice peek behind the talent! As for the faces, need a bigger images of the group. Only one I can see is Walt Disney. :)

Aja said...

What a neat studio you've got there! I bet it felt great when you first had it converted!

How long have you been working on your book? I am about to start on mine this month (ack!) and I'm trying to figure out how much time I should allow myself for story development, research, etc... I've never tackled anything like this!

Best of luck to you, I can't wait to learn more about your works in progess!

Kelly Light said...

Thanks Aja - it was a long year wait for it to get done, but what a difference it makes to have space for nothing but art!

My book - is still in it's first stages. I'm having a hard time with it. I showed the dummy with only 4 spreads done at SCBWI Florida in June - to great reaction. Now I feel pressure to get it done and in time to show the editor while she still remembers me. I'm kinda frozen on it. I came up with the idea last winter - started research and started writing in the Spring. I would like another 6 mos to do it, but I'm supposed to get it in during Sept. The pressure has gotten to me. So- I actually had a good month (july) of doing nothing on it, and now I am starting to work again.

Crazy...I've never done a book before, I'm writing/illustrating it. I should have been kinder to myself and chosen an old folktale/fairtale - but I'm usually biting off more than i can chew.

So- good luck with yours! Go easy on yourself!-Kel

Anthony VanArsdale said...

this is great to see your studio Kelly! and don't fret on the book... you've got tons of talent! the drawings look wonderful!!! and the book will be the same!

oh and thanks for the link in the post.. that's very kind of you :)

Anthony