http://blog.illustrationcastle.com - ramblings & advice from illustrator Heather Castles Sat, 13 Mar 2010 05:27:41 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en With all my encouragement to go green, one thing I hadn't thought of was offsetting the carbon used by having a blog! I read here that a blog with an average of about 15,000 visits a month would use about 3,6kg (8lb.) of carbon dioxide yearly (caused by ... http://blog.illustrationcastle.com/2010/03/13/my-blog-is-carbon-neutral/ Last week Hera & I went to see Amococo, a luminarium by UK's Architects of Air on here during the Adelaide Fringe Festival. Was really beautiful walking barefoot through the inflated labyrinth of colourful tunnels, we caught it at the best time of day when the sun was overhead. Hera ... http://blog.illustrationcastle.com/2010/03/12/adelaide-fringe-amococo/ Thought I'd pass this site along for any illustrators keen to simplify their invoicing process by using an online-invoicing platform to send, save and follow up on invoices and quotes. Simplybill is flexible in that it works well for those who charge a flat rate, to those who bill by ... http://blog.illustrationcastle.com/2010/03/10/simplybill-online-invoicing-service-for-small-businesses/ Yeondoo Jung creates incredibly surreal scenes inspired by children's drawings in this collection titled Wonderland. I love this piece titled "Cinderella," especially the crooked lights! I came across Yeondoo's work through this article about artists who take a grown-up look at children's drawings over at BrainPickings.org http://blog.illustrationcastle.com/2010/03/08/a-grown-up-look-at-childrens-doodles-part-2/ Here's a recent look at my painting of a filthy section of waterfront across from the ritziest shopping district in Mumbai. I've added mainly neutrals and some lights... not the brightest whites yet, I want to build up the texture and colours first. You can see how it looked before ... http://blog.illustrationcastle.com/2010/03/05/mumbai-waterfront-property-part-2/ This is one of the coolest things I've seen in a long time... illustrators who use children's drawings and re-render them with their own style. Dave DevRies over at The Monster Engine stays true to the original child's drawing, but illustrates them in an adult style. I found DevRies art ... http://blog.illustrationcastle.com/2010/03/03/a-grown-up-look-at-childrens-doodles/ Eeeeee! So excited, my copies of Riley's Lost Tooth (Written by Diane Cantrell, Illustrated by moi) arrived in the post! Hera was right into them, opening up each one up, flipping through the pages, then declaring "The End." I'm really pleased with how they've turned out, Brown Books did ... http://blog.illustrationcastle.com/2010/03/01/rileys-lost-tooth-the-books-arrived/ I've just started on a new painting for our living room from a photo we took in Mumbai, India three years ago (below.) I'm working with acrylic as they are safer to work with around my toddler than oils. And we can share so setup isn't a big deal – ... http://blog.illustrationcastle.com/2010/02/26/mumbai-waterfront-property-part-1/ Artybuzz is a new artist community... check 'em out, you can post your artwork online, sell canvas & giclee prints and other merchandise. Being a new community, there aren't many in the illustrator category (only 52 illustrators,) which is a bonus as your work could easily get more exposure than ... http://blog.illustrationcastle.com/2010/02/24/artybuzz-a-new-artist-community/ I really love Elly MacKay's mini-theatre scenes... the warm lighting, the colours, the linework, the way she captures a storybook feel in her scenes. You really have to check out her website, her scenes of children have a beautiful old-but-new feel to them. P.S. My new Chickadee painting by Elly is ... http://blog.illustrationcastle.com/2010/02/22/elly-mackay-mini-theatre-illustrations/