First things first, I’ve added more work to my portfolio, so please look around! And as always, your feedback is welcome.
So after what felt like an eternity planning, stressing, packing, driving, more stressing, and unpacking, we are finally settled into our new home in Sacramento. My husband has had the West Coast itch for several years now, and I figured I might as well appease him before he went berserk in our 500 sq-ft New York City apartment. The move across country was not entirely uneventful, but with the help of my in-laws, we made it to California relatively peacefully and safely.
So now what? Before the move (and for a little while after), I was unsure of whether or not I’d look for a full-time design job, give freelancing a try, or become a Netflix junkie, permanently affixed to our living room couch. I decided on the second option. And as scary as it seemed, so far so good. I had always been skeptical about freelancing, as I’d been burned in the past by a client who refused to pay me. I took her to court, she didn’t show, and I won. What Judge Judy and Joe Brown don’t tell you is that even if you win, it doesn’t end there. There’s still a ton of paperwork involved and it still doesn’t guarantee you you’ll get your money. I ended up moving out of state shortly after going to court so I just gave up. I’m still angry about it though. I dream of the day I “pop” into her office with my heavy (a.k.a. beefy husband) and demand my money plus court fees and 6 years of interest. Grrrrr.
Where was I? Oh, yes, well, I decided to smarten up and whip up some contracts. The bonus? They make me feel very smart and official. So now my home has also become my place of business, which takes a little getting used to. What I’ve found most effective is if I maintain the same work ethic as I had when I was employed, I’m much more productive during work hours and less stressed during off-work hours. Some examples: shutting off the TV at the start of the day, cleaning my desk up at the end of the day, and pretending the couch/bed/refrigerator aren’t just a few steps away. It seems so obvious, but it took me a couple of weeks to figure out. Duh.
Anyway…I think it’s time to retire my illustrated New York City blog. I might do one last entry if the mood strikes, but honestly, that blog was wearing me down. I will continue to post some things from time to time. I’ll start with a painting I did for my lovely friend from Virginia Tech who now lives in Boston. Here’s the first sketch:
Then the refined sketch onto the canvas:
Then the under painting, just done with burnt sienna:
Then I added white to the under painting, which quite possibly could have been a waste of time:
And after many rounds of ugly, here is the final:
There was a point where it was so bad I wanted to give up. But I’m glad I stuck with it, because it turned out ok in the end. However, I will never paint birds again. At least the ones that have feathers.
