A Good Change

There's been a shift with my work recently. It might not be a noticeable change to those who are familiar with my work, but it's definitely there, I can see it, and more importantly, I can feel it. That last part is the key because it means it'll open up the work to another space that's finally ready for development. I've always been one to let my work develop at it's own pace, slowly guiding it in the direction it needs to aim, and I've purposely kept outside influences at an arm's length away because I don't like sudden changes. I'm happy in my little world where I can over-think everything until I drive myself crazy and do things in whatever methodical way I feel they need to be done in, because that's just how I function. It's uncanny how much your process is a reflection of your personality. 

Lately I've been developing work that's larger scale and some of it's 3D constructions that I've built. To me this is a big deal and it feels right. I still over-think a project while I'm working on it and that's not going to change, but there's a difference between over-thinking something and questioning something. For me, over-thinking means caring and obsessing about the details. Questioning is more doubtful and not nearly as productive. This latest shift doesn't have me questioning myself at all. 

This shift is also a funny one for me because the influence for it has been sitting in front of me for as long as I can remember, yet I didn't see and realize it until recently. Now that I know what the answer is, it seems so simple – I FINALLY figured out that I could, and should be, combining my non-illustration skills with my illustration work. Coming from a family of carpenters, woodworkers and tradespeople, I've picked up many of those skills and feel at home working with my hands so I guess It was only a matter of time before those influences found their way into my work, and I'm really glad they did. Here's to hoping I don't lose a thumb in the process. 

Communication Arts

I'm pretty stoked to have my work appear on the cover of this year's Communication Arts Illustration Annual. A few more from this animal series also appear in the annual, or you can see them here and here. Commarts has been my favourite awards annual since my first year of art school and it's the only one that I submit work to every year. I do have somewhat of a love/hate relationship with many of the other industry annuals and I've expressed that in the past. Regardless of how I feel about them, having my work appear on this cover does feel pretty sweet and I'm very grateful for it. 

You can also find a quick interview I did with CA's Insight here.

NYNY

Here's a piece that I completed for my portfolio. Originally it was a commission but when the project changed directions and got killed, I decided to complete the piece anyways. Normally my work is very small in size, so the challenge for me was to find a way to recreate my work on a large scale and still have it maintain the desired look and feel. 

In a nutshell…

You know when you trip going up the stairs? That's what being a freelancer feels like.