From Here to "There"... (and a little Throw Back Thursday ;o)

(Very first blog post 2009 -Pastel work from 1980-something!)

I love all kinds of art and have been creating (very privately!!)  all kinds of art my whole life. But, it wasn't until I  got into the kid-lit world, that it became apparent I needed to have a very public, online art presence. I was new to the technology world, so I wasn't even  sure where to start. I spoke to other artists and heard some were using a blog for that purpose. It seemed easy, so I jumped on board!
 I found it to be a simple, no cost (free is good!) way to share my artwork with industry professionals. Whenever I'd created a new piece, I'd simply post it with a short blurb about what it was and what I used to create it. I kept it all about the visual to make it be as close to a "portfolio" as my  blog format would allow. I knew I eventually have to spring for a proper website  and one day I would get "there", but I was just starting out and this worked for the here and now.

(First Dragon Post -Pastel 2007)
 
 When I finally created my website, I felt that having both the blog and the website doing exactly the same thing, seemed a little silly, so I decided it was time to dip my pinky toe into the very scary world of actual blogging. I began to elaborate,  just a little, with my posts, to make it more than just another gallery  and the response to the change was very favorable, so I continued. It was hard to know what to talk about at first, but I knew I would eventually get "there".  I actually loved reading about other artists' process, so maybe I'd share mine. It was sort of  like creating out-loud.  I was doing a lot of kid-lit work at the time too, so I had tons to blog about...or so I thought.

(Markers and Colored Pencils -2009)

The down side to the timing of all of this, was that a lot of what I was illustrating for the kid-lit world,  was either experimental  or came with contractual restrictions that prevented me from immediately sharing any of it on my blog.  This left big blocks of time without a post... but it occurred to me that children's book illustration wasn't the only type of art I did. I was constantly working on all kinds of art, experimenting with all sorts of mediums and all of that could be shared. So,  I did more of that type of sharing over the last year to fill in for what I couldn't talk about yet and it seemed to go over really well again. It took  a thousand baby steps, but I  got "there"...I was actually blogging, (IN PUBLIC!) and it wasn't nearly as scary as I thought it was going to be! So now what?   


(Dragon in Studio - Acrylic and Colored Pencils 2011)

Well, with the holidays upon us, I've decided to take a short blogging break for the next couple of weeks  to spend some time with my family, regroup  and get ready for all the exciting changes that are taking place in my creative world! When I come back after New Years, I plan to kick off 2016 with blogging not just  about my up and coming, kid-lit,  illustrative artventures, but I'll be regularly sharing a bit of those other projects and experiments  as well.  

( Private Commission, Baby Announcement - Digital and Pencil - 2015)

( Promo Page - Digital and Pencil 2015)

 I will also share about my  creative journey this past year and  how allowing myself the emotional  freedom of "play " in all areas of art, has even informed my illustrative work and helped me evolve as an artist (and blogger!).  Hopefully, some of those posts will help inspire others to try being creatively fearless themselves and if that happens, then me taking that first (very scary) step  towards creating out loud, will have all been worth it! The blog  will still have the same web address, just the blog name will be adjusted a little bit, to reflect more of what I am actually doing with the content. I'm definitely looking forward to ringing in this exciting New Year with everyone!!

 (A Christmas Carol - Acrylic and Colored pencil 2012)

But, until then...  
Wishing you and yours the many blessings and good tidings of this Holiday Season and a very happy, healthy and safe New Year!!
Creatively Yours,
 ~Deborah

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