Poster Inspiration

I apparently can't stop adding to my to-do list. First it was a whole passel of new 3D projects (freaky little plush things in jars!), then the idea of painting a few 4" x 6" 'cabinet cards' to go with some of the characters, and now it's a hand-drawn, watercoloured poster for the whole show, to go in the front window display.

See, when I was at Wolfitt's art shop on Queen West on my lunch break yesterday afternoon, the (super high-quality, usually WAY out of my price range) Aquarelle watercolour paper blocks were 40% off, meaning I was able to purchase a 36 x 51cm block and NOT cry over the bill.

The size of this thing completely intimidates me - as I was walking away from the store, I realized that its long side is just over HALF A METRE in length. Then I eyed it suspiciously and asked it if it was going to be nice to me when I start attempting to fill its vast expanse of white space. I found its lack of reply kind of ominous, but I'll overcome my issues and tackle the thing nevertheless.

Now I'm trawling Google Images looking for some inspiration for the Farther's Freaks Official (massive, ginormous, elephantine) Show Poster. Found some good stuff, like this one:



And these:





I look forward to getting a chance to get some sketches on paper - my summer's been so busy it's hard to find large expanses of time in which I can properly immerse myself in art-stuff. Eek. On the bright side, I'm one of those people who works best under pressure. Hope that doesn't just apply to essays and work projects!

Come Meet Esther Blackwood!

EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT!



The lovely Ms. Blackwood (pictured above) will be taking part in an absolutely lovely group show, opening this coming Friday (July 23rd).

Here's another link with more event information (and a map to the shop).

I hope people can come out - I'm unable to attend the opening, so I want everyone to go and enjoy the party on my behalf!

The show will stay up until August 10th, so you've got a few weeks during which to drop in and say hi to a certain lady-owl.

Colours Galore!

This has been a colourful weekend - not only did I manage to make it to an absolutely lovely craft fair and a rollerderby match, I also found time to do some painting and purchase fabric with which to make a carnivalesque dress for my show's opening in a few months.



There's a peek at the fabric I have so far - mustard yellow for the main dress, a little gold tulle for the sassy underskirt. I'm aslo planning to have some red piping involved - the dress is either going to be insanely fantastic or just insane. Hopefully the former.

As for the painting, it's been a bit slow (I keep getting distracted by the ridiculousness that is True Blood), but my latest piece makes use of a myriad of exciting colours, as evidenced by my watercolour set:



And the piece on which I'm working? Well it involves auklets and bunting. Here's a snippet of the scene:



Please note her jaunty cap - she made it herself, y'know!

Rejuvenation

HELLO INTERNET.

Yes, I realize it's been approximately eleventy-hundred-million years since I last updated this blog. I have a few good excuses (started a new job, been working on my next solo show, building proper website, etc.), but nothing to really explain over eight months of invisibility.

As mentioned up there, my art does now have a proper home on the web - Jessica Bartram Illustration finally exists, so you can check out most of my new work there (and the majority of the older work that's in this blog's archives). The new site leaves this blog, as hinted in the title up there, in the position of sidekick, a place for announcing exciting news, updating folks on the latest show's progress and just posting a miscellany of sketches (and perhaps some links to other people's art as well).

Speaking of the latest show, a.k.a. Farther's Fascinating Freaks. Here's a teaser of the progress so far:



It's mighty satisfying to see everything laid out on the floor like that. Makes it more real. I still have a ways to go - here's a snapshot of my Official Character List, all colour coded with highlighters and stuff:



On that note, I'm excited to announce that I've found a wonderful gallery-home for Farther's Freaks: The Show/Electric Boogaloo. More details to come in a week or so, once I've found out the exact date!

Please keep checking back every so often - I'm going to try to keep this blog updated a few times a week with the aforementioned news and tidbits and the like.