I’ve probably mentioned before that one of the things that I love about what I do is the variety. It seems like, although I do believe I need to be flexible these days, there’s strength in being flexible/versatile as well. Just last week I was asked by a client to contact one of their clients, Hubbell Power Systems, about christening, so to speak, a huge wall along the interior of a recently opened expanded office space. They had painted the entire wall with dry erase paint so that the employees could plan, strategize, (and maybe even vent) directly on the wall using dry erase markers, whenever they want.
As a way to encourage them to do so, as well as to just plain inspire them, Crystal Mistretta hired me to draw various employees as caricatures interacting in a water, aquarium, undersea type environment. With the accompanied fish, dolphins, whales, and aquatic birds. Even though the deadline was tight, (it had to be completed in one Saturday afternoon while the employees were away), I was up for the challenge. Fortunately, I was able to go in late the day before and take some quick pictures of the space (and see what I was up against!) This really helped me plan out what I envisioned. And to her credit, Crystal allowed me creative reign. I was able to quickly sketch out, on my iPad, in the app, Procreate, directly on top of the pics I took, which was a huge reference help when I went in Saturday morning. We decided it was best, and only doable and practical in the time allowed, to just keep everything line art. (There was no way to get the work done in line and color in one day.) It also would encourage the employees, once they settled in to their new space, to color where they wanted, and even add their own “fish” as well. I was relieved that it got such a positive reaction, especially in light of the fact that I had created caricatures of some of the key players. (Thanks Hubbell peeps for being fantastic sports!) I posted a slideshow here:
http://akinstudio.com/HubbellWallArt2013/
This week’s Illustration Friday topic is “Robot,” so, what better (easier) way for me to break my woeful drought of non-posting than post up a few Robot cowboy sketches I have going in my “Paper” app on my iPad. Like I am sure I have posted before, I love the intuitive and spontaneous way I can draw-- with color in Paper. I also love the loose, watercolor and ink style it provides. I always challenge myself to just go for it, work quickly and directly without thinking too too much. It’s fun to see what lurks in your surface- subconscious! It’s also easy to organize my sketches by subject in individual virtual sketchbooks, so I don’t have to think too long about how to file them. Also, it’s easy to move them around to different sketchbooks, or even duplicate drawings to work in a different or experimental direction. Looks like a new competitor is in town though,
I realized quickly the first time I went a couple of years ago, that it's great to hone your skills in a live setting whenever possible. The feedback and simple energy from other artists and participants can be a godsend for someone who, generally, works alone. These are a few sketches from last night. (Can you tell which 2 were done quickly on my iPad?) It dawns on me, also, to be grateful for the many people in our lives who, although they may or may not be artists, spend generous time and effort in their support of the arts in general, and artists, specifically.
