GETTING STARTED

A couple of months ago I decided to leave my cushy salaried job in the private sector and try my hand at being a professional artist.  Preferably not the starving variety.  And, truth be told, the decision wasn't entirely mine, so any hopes of banking a solid year's worth of expenses until the movie rights and book deal came through weren't going to be realized.  I had $500 in savings, a garage full of various art materials, a frequent-flyer public library card, and some natural talent. 

Seriously, what could possibly go wrong?

Yes, I live a rich fantasy life, and I'll thank you not to douse me with cold water until after I've had something featured at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.  A girl's gotta have her dreams.

I prefer to work in colored pencil thanks to the perfectionist gene I inherited from my dad--the pencil gives me the fine, pointed detail I need to reproduce what I see with my eyes.  Forget brushes, they frustrate me to no end (though I'm working on that).  Pencil is where it's at for me.  And this is what I do with them:

Took me about 5 hours to do that, though I did put in another hour to deepen the shadows after I took this picture.  I have very little art or studio education behind me--I took one drawing course and one watercolor course in college--the rest is just . . . what I do.  Like breathing.  Don't be a hater.

Admittedly, there are times when I wish I was as talented in other areas of my life (like walking and chewing gum at the same time or basic lawn care), but we've all got our skills and working with color is mine.  The hope is to make it pay the bills. 

So, to that end, I'm giving myself a crash course in web design, marketing, accounting, and all the various other subjects I need to know to make this work.  This week I start a blog (check!) and start constructing a web portfolio.

I have NO idea what I'm doing.