I have been meaning to post here for a while; I have certainly been slacking somewhat when it comes to keeping up the blog. That’s because the past two months have been full of changes for me. All good changes, but changes that have a way of filling up my schedule and shifting my priorities.

Some great changes have been personal, and some have been career oriented. I’m going to stick to the career stuff here and spare you all the details that have no effect on my art, my website, or any of my products.

I’ll start with the big news first. I have a new job! Sort of. I am still working as a freelance illustrator, but I have accepted a more steady in-house position as a medical illustrator. Working regular hours, and earning regular pay. This is me taking a huge exhale. -sigh- Just imagine me putting my feet up here and letting all my worries flow out of me. That’s how I feel right now and it could partly be the weather.

Honestly, I like freelance work. I like the diversity of the work and meeting new challenges. However the struggle with freelance is constantly looking for new work. Constantly seeking new clients and constantly fighting the competition for jobs. Those of you who are unemployed and seeking employment know exactly the feeling I am talking about. That constant search and anxiety over finding work. Freelance is like that even when I have work, because that project will soon come to an end and I’m looking for work while working at the same time. It’s interesting, certainly, but it can be stressful and hard to plan for the future. Hopefully it will be a long time before I have to look for more work, but I will let you know when I am.

The second bit of news I have to report is that I have renewed the lease on my Studio on Western Ave in Lowell. This means I will be in Lowell for at least another year, making masks and art, and having regular open houses. You can find details about my studio and its Open Houses on my website here.

Having a studio space in which to work and to store my materials is key in allowing me to sell my work at fairs and conventions across New England. My next fair will be the Pirate Rendezvous! A free one-day event for charity up in Maine. Come be a pirate for the day while you shop and enjoy family-friendly entertainment. More information on this fair can be found at their website: http://piraterendezvous.com/ It looks like a real blast and I cannot wait! I will have another blog post specifically on the rendezvous shortly.

I don’t want to make this post too long and wordy, so to bring this journal-entry of sorts to a close, I will say that just under a year out of college and my routine and workflow is really starting to take a comfortable shape. I have several jobs that I still have to juggle, and am feeling busier than ever, but my schedule has at last become regular and orderly. I thrive on structure, and having a more defined separation of work and play actually motivates me more to keep up with hobbies like painting for fun and sewing without the pressure of making a buck off of them. I feel busy but not at all stressed, because even though I have fewer hours to myself, there is less question as to how I will spend those hours.

So, in short, I have a job in my field which takes up a lot of my time, but I will continue to make art for fun, craft leather wares, make costumes, and of course blog whenever I get the chance!

Thank you as always for reading!

(P.S, I am still accepting commissions and taking custom orders for my leather wares, but I will inform you of any longer turn-around times based on the intricacy of your indevidual project.)

Come check out the Western Avenue Studios, a complex of buildings filled with over 100 working artists. Work ranges from textiles, to printmaking, to metallurgy, and prices can range from cheap trinkets and gifts to rather large investments. Studio is located at 122 Western Ave, Lowell, MA.

My studio is located on the fifth floor at number #527 (with the green door). I will be selling original watercolors, affordable prints, as well as leather costume wear and accessories. All the sort of stuff you see on this blog and on my website, I try to have for sale at my open houses. Open House starts at 12pm and ends at 5pm. I hope to see you there!

Please visit my studio page for directions and more information.

I got the idea while ironing a table-cloth for the up-coming brunch, and turned to the internet for help. I found a super easy tutorial on the Better Homes and Gardens Youtube page, and within minutes, my mom and I were folding bunnies. All you need is a cloth napkin and some ribbon or string. The video can be found here.

The tutorial even adds a little cotton tail, but I decided to skip this step and save myself from picking up a zillion loose cotton balls after dinner.

I got so carried away that I think I made 16 bunnies for only 9 guests. Above are the eight “big” bunnies. We were short one large napkin. But we had other white, slightly smaller napkins, and I couldn’t just make one small bunny for the leftover plate. I had to make 8.

Here is my bunny troupe at their table-settings, with a basket of eggs in the center.

I also dyed eggs this Easter, attempting to make designs with stickers and crayon wax. As you can see, some designs worked well, while others not so much. Cute colors nonetheless.

Also available in the Etsy store is the option to add ribbon or a suede cord to any of these masks to make them ready to wear!

You can always add you own cord or ties to any of these masks, but the ribbon and suede that I offer is guaranteed to fit through the holes on the masks, as well as provide just a tiny bit of stretch so that the mask stays snug on your head without pinching.

All hand-made and one-of-a-kind, these bracers are cut from the highest quality vegetable tanned leather. This study yet flexible material insures that these bracers will fit any arm (of the intended gender for which they were designed). Simply tighten the suede laces to fit.

Each bracer also features brass grommets and has been sealed with a waterproof acrylic varnish to improve its durability. Simply click on any of the images to be taken to the listing!

Milestones is a therapeutic school for children with any disorder that interferes with their ability to learn in a traditional school setting including autism, anxiety disorders, non verbal learning disabilities and more. Milestones places children in an environment specifically designed to meet their individual needs, with lots of room to express themselves, and extra staff and support to help them focus and grow. I was invited to participate in their Arts Enrichment Day by teaching two drawing courses: one offered at the middle school level, and one at the high school level.

During my workshops, I had lots of staff support to help keep the kids focused. This was extremely helpful because I typically have to stop the whole class to deal with inattentiveness or outbursts (which can happen anywhere I teach) myself. Having a support team meant that I could keep the lecture going and not risk losing the attention of the other students. I am quick to praise the teacher support team watching over us in the back of the classroom, but they were not needed nearly a often as one would think. The children were very focused and engaged in their drawings, and our open conversations stayed mostly structured and on topic.

I had the urge to go back to the computer screen primarily because of time. It takes me a very very long time to create a full scale, fully rendered painting by hand, and sometimes I lose interest in what I am painting or I have another great idea to work on before my first idea is fully realized. Especially for beauty shots like this, the idea and the passion to draw it only sticks around until the next pretty face comes along and I imagine something new; so there was a sense of urgency to get this face and this stunning collar down on paper before it was replaced by another figure in my mind.

The piece was inspired by a costume I saw at Templecon 2013. I used photo reference to sketch out the face and collar by hand, and then I also inked that preliminary sketch before scanning it into the computer. Once uploaded to photoshop, I started rendering by laying down basic blocky colors. Using photoshop is one of the only times that I render with an opaque medium, making it extra challenging to maintain my style. I blended the colors together using primarily the eye dropper and a soft, low opacity brush. I choose to render over some of my inking to turn the figure more in important or especially modeled places like the nose and lips. I left the collar and hair more linear and stylized because that is how I would have dealt with them were this painting done by hand. However by hand, I would have added the lines last, wherein photoshop, I started with all lines and selectively removed or covered them.

I textured the piece with pattern fills and spotty brushes. Adding texture in highly modeled digital pieces is very important in order to avoid a plastic looking finish. The skin has pores and fabrics have a coarseness to them that is easily neglected in digital pieces. Over all I like how this painting came out, and I think that I will be experimenting with digital painting more in the future.

Fall/Winter Library Hours
Monday-Thursday: 10 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Friday: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Saturday: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Sunday: 1 p.m. – 5 p.m.

Ornaments are free-sliding on a length of hemp cut to the size you specify. I offer a length of 35″ for standard windows, 40″ to hang over doorways, and 60″ for mantles, double windows, and just about anything else. If ordered this upcoming week, I can have them to you in time for Valentine’s, and shipping is incredibly affordable with this light-weight and foldable item.

The second listing is for a yet-to-be-made custom string of garland comprised of eight hearts instead of four. Looking for personalized wedding decor? How about a string of eight hand-made heart ornaments painted the color of your choice? Hang these hearts over any doorway, window, entryway, altar, or bride’s table to instantly transform the space for your special day. Have difficult to find wedding colors? I can reproduce any shade to match your vision. Want multiple colors? I can make every heart a different color at no extra charge.

This cheerful modern accessory is made from vegetable tanned leather ornaments painted with acrylic ink and sealed with a waterproof varnish. Strung on cords of hemp and tied in neat little bows, this simple design matches any decor. The best part about this item is, when the wedding is over, your bridal party can each take home an ornament as a bonus wedding favor! Use them year-round as Christmas Ornaments, & Valentine’s Decor.

If you would like to book me for a how-to-draw manga workshop, you can find more information at my website here: http://shaunart.net/pages/Workshops