Creating a Collection

I’ve really been working hard on my portfolio and building up my illustration career. I’m partway there. I’ve had a few good illustration jobs come my way in the past few years since I started freelancing—including picture books, adult coloring pages, web images, craft stencil and embroidery designs, and hand-lettered quotes. I feel truly blessed that I can occasionally get paid to make art!

It’s easy to get discouraged, though. Despite working for years towards this goal of making a living as a full-time artist, and even though I feel I’ve grown a lot, it’s like a never-ending journey. With the heavy competition out there, it seems like my work will never get seen, or that my portfolio will NEVER be good enough. 

One piece of feedback I’ve received recently is that I need to develop my collections. By that, I mean that I need more groups of coordinating art rather than just a bunch of individual, stand-alone pieces. This is especially important if I want to start licensing my art for use in commercial products (i.e., fabric, stationery, craft supplies, housewares, etc.), which I would LOVE to do. Potential customers need to be able to visualize your art on their products, so having pieces that go together, as well as a variety of formats, is key. 

I’ve dabbled in collections before in my surface patterns, and I’ve made some attempts to expand on some of them by making coordinating illustrations and such. Upon further research and reflection, however, I see just how much I am lacking in this area. I think I struggle a little with focusing my attention on one thing for too long. I just like to keep moving from one idea to the next! So, I have more learning to do, as always.

Similarly, if you're looking to get into narrative illustration (such as children's picture books) this idea still applies. In this case, your "collections" would be groups of illustrations showing the same story, character development, and so forth. This is something I would also like to work on, but for now, I've decided to focus on the licensing aspect. I’ve resolved to go back and revisit some of my past work and flesh them out into full collections. In addition, I’ll work my monthly project into this by building a new collection from scratch...

I know it's a bit late in the month to be introducing my monthly project, but if you've been following along on Instagram, you'll know that I've already started. I've been getting a jump on developing some holiday designs. (Christmas in July!) So this collection I will be creating will be seasonal. I would like to include:

• a moodboard
• at least 4 full illustrations
• a few spot illustrations 
• some coordinating surface patterns
• one or two hand-lettered phrases
• some isolated decorative elements (flourishes, borders, etc.)
• a lookbook with the collection title, description, color palette, art, and mockups

This is going to be a huge undertaking—bigger than any of my previous projects. It might take past this month to get this one done, and it won't stop with just this collection. Going forward, I think this is the route I need to be going with my art. I’m determined to improve and can’t wait to go through this process!

Sincerely, Nicole

Finding Time for Creative Pursuits

Ah, vacation.

This past month, I was able to drive across the country to New Hampshire to visit family for a few weeks. Even the long drive with two little ones was non-stressful and fun. Although I did end up taking work with me (oh, the life of a freelancer—gotta love it) I still got to spend a lot of time with my family, reunite with loved ones I don't see often, and take in the beautiful spring scenery of the New England area, which I consider home. It was a much-needed pick-me-up for my soul.

It's been a bit of a struggle lately as far as my creative output. Work is doing well enough, which is great, but with that comes less time to work on personal stuff. There are several professional goals I've been working toward this year as far as building my portfolio and building my career as an artist. While I've had some successes, I also feel like I've come to a halt. It isn't so much a lack of motivation (as in the past) but it is now more due to a lack of TIME.

Here are a few things that have helped me to make time to create:

1. Draw, write, make... (whatever you do) every day.

Even if it's just for a few minutes. Even if you think it's trash. Perhaps allot a specific time each day, such as before you start work or before you go to bed. It's all about developing habits and creating output. Nothing will happen unless you DO. Creating on a regular basis is the only way you will produce work, hone your skills, and develop your unique style.

2. Learn to let go and get help!

As a freelancer and stay-at-home mom, I often just have too many things on my plate. It doesn't help that I am also a bit of a control freak and overachiever. I want to do everything and I want to get it done ASAP. I really need to learn to step back and let things go sometimes. Not everything needs to be done immediately or done perfectly or done by me. Or even done at all (I'm talking things like cooking dinner—not client work, haha. Yes, my family probably eats out more than we should, but I get more done!) This past month was actually the first time since I started freelancing that I enlisted other people to help me with some of the tasks that were sucking up my time. It was hard to let someone else help me, but in the end, it was a lifesaver. Work smarter, not harder, right?

3. Create a calendar

Write down your goals so you know where you want to be a month, 6 months, a year, and/or 5 years from now. Divide your goals into smaller tasks and map out those tasks onto a calendar so you have a path to where you want to end up. It might not always go exactly to plan, but it is a good starting point and something you can reference now and again.

Now, I am definitely not the greatest at following my own advice. But you can't beat yourself up over it. Just keep going!

Are you a busy artist as well? How do YOU find time to do what you love? I would love to hear from you!

Till next time.
Sincerely, Nicole

P.S. Here are the mandalas I created for my personal art project these past couple of months. Regrettably, I didn't end up doing very many, but hey, I was on vacation, ok? ;)

Links

M is for...

M is for...

​Meditation

My new monthly theme! I am looking forward to making time for some relaxation this month. I’m headed on a cross-country road trip to visit family for a few weeks, which should be lots of fun! I’m going to use this time off to breathe, refocus, and get back to creating for fun.

Monopoly

This page is from a fun alphabet book that I illustrated called E is for Economics by Veronica Goodman, and it’s available now. Check it out HERE.

May

After a busy April, I’m excited to see what this next month will bring!

Motherhood

I always enjoy celebrating all the wonderful mother figures in my life on Mother’s Day.

Mandala

Last month’s personal project (book designs) got put on hold due to time issues, and I will return to it—but not quite yet. Since I’ll be on the road a bit in May, I’ve chosen to do something more portable. I recently invested in an iPad and have been exploring various art apps. I absolutely LOVE apps like iOrnament and Amaziograph for creating mandala art, so I want to experiment more with those. I might work in some traditionally drawn mandalas as well. Follow along on my Instagram (@nicolejonessturk, #sturkartchallenge2018).

Welcome to May, everyone!

Sincerely, Nicole

Blessed with Work

Holy moly, this month was hard.

I think every client I have hit me with jobs at the same time. Work piled up, and I was so overwhelmed that it literally brought me to tears. I worked early mornings and late nights to get things done, and it wore me down. Then there were my daughters. My oldest is living up to the “terrible twos” with countless tantrums and mischief throughout the day. My younger one-year-old has been especially prone to whining lately, probably from lack of attention due to my heavy workload. So imagine long hours of stressful work + lots of screaming. Not fun.

Yet despite all this, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how lucky I am. The past few months have been some of the most productive and fruitful in my short career as a freelancer. With my husband in school, I’ve taken on a major role in our financial support, and it gives me great pride knowing that I can take care my family by not only working hard, but also using the creative skills and talents that I’ve built over the years.

I know there are a lot of hard-working mamas out there who struggle with tedious jobs, or not making enough money, or being away from their kids, or putting dreams on hold in favor of family, so it’s not lost on me that what I have is special.

While I cannot wait for my girls to grow out of their tantrum stages, I love that I get to spend all day with them. I wouldn’t want it any other way. I know that work will level out soon (and, hello, vacation...), and there are bound to be slow times again. With so many people working jobs they hate out of necessity, what a luxury it is that I’ve built a respectable career that I love, that I am good at, that I can do at home, and that provides for me and my family needs, and then some. I am truly blessed.

Anyway, those were just some thoughts I’ve been having. It helps to keep this in the forefront of my mind during stressful times. I’m not always great at remembering to do that (did I mention the tears?), but as with anything, it’s up and down. The key is to try to stay up more than down. Everyone’s circumstances are different. We all have our struggles, but I would encourage you to pause and take stock of the blessings in your life because we all have those, too.

Sincerely, Nicole