Feedback From Open studio 11/22

• Some of the crosshatching feels lazy, and it might be more visually interesting to add an abstract texture. Or really commit to crosshatching/rendering realistically.
• More classically composed pieces would be great
• Draw more faces.  It looks like I am intentionally not drawing them.
• Consider making band posters/introducing typography (for future works)
• This work is more suited for gallery spaces than kids books

Overall, I don’t have a very positive opinion of the the event.  I wish that we could have had actual class with our actual teacher, rather than brief intermittent interactions with adults experiencing sensory overload.

Notes from Lauren 11/26

Lauren countered most of the feedback that i was given at the open studio.

• does the craft support the idea? Does the work surprise/engage? Then it doesn’t matter if it’s anatomically accurate/photo-realistic.
• Successful art makes the viewer see what you want them to see
• Growth as an artist = the growth of ideas
• The imperfections add warmth and a human touch, ultimately making the work more interesting

The open studio feedback “This work is more suited for gallery spaces than kids books” is troublesome.  It was mostly the condescending tone in which it was delivered, as if i were not privy to the fact that kids books generally don’t feature nudity, adults, or the macabre. Oh really?

I plan to make 3 pieces over break that are more suited for kids books. From a purely practical standpoint, I need some new portfolio pieces for the SCBWI conference I’m attending in February. For petty reasons, fuck that feedback.

Lauren suggested doing a take on Aesop’s Fables, Greek myths, or some other well-known story reinterpreted. To address the issue of “avoiding drawing faces” I could create pieces that are more “portraity.”  Lauren also suggested the addition of color: two tone or tints still count as color!

Here’s the art:

I printed out some copies of the abstract pieces to play around with. Here’s a general idea of what I settled on. This is by no means a completely formed idea, but because the pointillism takes so long, I wanted to get started on whatever I could.