Return of the Lazy Blogger

I admit it!!  I’ve been lazy…well, when it comes to blogging anyway.  But I have an excuse…I really do!  It’s because other art related stuff has been taking up my time and I’m really happy about that!  OK, so other social media networking has been a big time suck too…don’t you ever fall into that Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. time warp where you start out promoting your craft and get caught up in the home page posts of friends, cute animal videos & political drama when you realize, CRAP!…I just wasted an hour on fluff?  Yeah, guilty as charged but I have honestly been really busy with for-real art stuff too!  So, to catch you up, here’s what’s been happening in my creative world so feel free to post comments about how you deal with the bombardment of social media & how it effects your work.

TEACHING IS FUN!  Being someone who is not a fan of public speaking I didn’t know how I’d feel about giving art lessons but when it’s one-on-one or a small group, I found it’s awesome!  So I have a cool group of students of various ages (even one across the pond that I do Skype lessons with) & it’s so awesome to pass on creative knowledge and see people really get into it & see how their work progresses during the lessons!  Aside from art lessons I also give creative marketing lessons as I have extensive experience in sales, fund raising & marketing from previous art & non-art jobs I’ve had over the years before making the leap to full time artist!  My goal is to give at least one class a day (5 days a week) & I’m pretty close….so if you want to hone your creativity or know someone who does, drop me a line here & I’ll get back to you!

Dream Of Trees 2, oils (c)Lauren Curtis

Dream Of Trees 2, oils (c)Lauren Curtis

ART SHOWS ARE FUN TOO!  Especially when stuff sells!  I’m currently in a 4 artist show at the Merwick Care & Rehabilitation Center in Plainsboro, NJ & the above painting pre-sold!  And I sold both pieces that were in the last show I did at Gallery U in Westfield, NJ.  Now I’m preparing to submit work to 4 new exhibits so fingers (& nails) crossed. (If you know me at all you know I have crazy Ripley’s Believe It Or Not length nails!).  So hopefully my next blog will be about some of the new shows my work will be in…

YAY! COMMISSIONS!  As a full time freelance artist nothing is better than getting hired to create art & design work for clients!  Luckily I’ve been hired to do illustrations for books, graphic design work, and one of my favorite things, pet portraits, for a variety of clients across the US & abroad.  This has not only kept me busy but helps pay those bills too so the more work the merrier!  Keep it comin’! Here are just a few examples of the work I’ve been doing lately that has caused my lack of blogging…

PetPortraitFlier2017sm

MikeJonesChpt1Sept2017sm

pencil illustration for a children’s book (c)2017

RodneysDogJan2018

Commissions welcome so message me for details!

So, you see?  I haven’t been lazy with my artwork, just with blogging….I’m trying to get back in the swing….so can I ask you a favor?  If you can read, comment, follow & like posts it’ll encourage me to keep at it and to start getting interesting guest bloggers again so it’s not just all about me….there are so many fascinating people out there creating awesome work that I’d like to share so drop me a line if you’re interested & help end the blog slacking!  Thanks for reading…till next time…which will be soon, I hope…..fingers & nails crossed!

The freelance work search

Watercolor illustration for a client from a freelance job site.

So, you’ve decided to make art your full time career but aside from people you know, how do you go about finding new clients?  Well, I’m a member of just about every freelance job site that posts art related jobs and I’m now in the process of updating all those profiles…a job in itself….and applying for more work.  It’s very tough and very competitive, with the big problem of people WAY under bidding and under valuing their work just to get jobs…this doesn’t help any of us!  It devalues what we do and perpetuates the stigma of the “poor artist”.  Art is valuable and serves a great purpose in promoting businesses and products, portraying an author’s ideas,  giving life and an image to just about anything….so, I look forward to bidding my face off and gaining new clients…and providing the best work possible!  You can find me on many freelance job sites or check out my illustration and design work on http://laurencurtis.imagekind.com/   Feel free to contact me for more info!

Artful Wishes for a New Year!

Dream Of Trees 2, oils (c)Lauren Curtis

HAPPY, HEALTHY & PROSPEROUS New Year’s Wishes to you!  Whether you venture out or stay in to celebrate the beginning of 2015, I hope you enjoy yourself & ring in the new year right!  May your creative side come out in full force in a positive way!

I’m starting of 2015 with some exciting gallery exhibits & freelance work, so here’s the scoop…if you’re in NJ, I hope you can join me at these art openings:

DRAMATIC SKIES 2015, group exhibition, Gourgaud Gallery, 23A North Main St. (in Town Hall Bldg.), Cranbury, NJ.  Opening reception Sunday 1/4/15, 1pm-3pm, refreshments served.  Show runs thru 1/25/15.

Dream Of Trees 2, oils (c)Lauren Curtis

Dream Of Trees 2, oils (c)Lauren Curtis


REVELATION/REVOLUTION  group exhibit, Nails in the Wall Gallery (in St. Luke’s Church), 17 Oak Ave., Metuchen, NJ. Opening reception, Saturday, 1/24/15 (time TBA but most likely around 3pm). Show will be up for several months.  

Reminisce (c)2013, watercolor and collage

Reminisce (c)2013, watercolor and collage

I also have an art article in the holiday issue of WILD SISTER MAGAZINE!  To check it out, here’s the link:  http://wildsister.com/latest-issue/

Finally, I’ve been getting some really fun freelance commission work like children’s book illustration and pet portraits…2 of my latest creations are below & click on the links to my art sites for more!

Children's Book Illustration, Oct2014

Children’s Book Illustration, Oct2014

Pet Portrait, pen & ink w/ watercolors, Dec2014

Pet Portrait, pen & ink w/ watercolors, Dec2014


Hope to see you at an exhibition &/or online.  Have a wonderful, art-filled New Year!!
~Lauren

http://laurencurtisart.weebly.com  (NEW fine art site!)
https://laurencurtis.wordpress.com  (my Blog)
http://www.facebook.com/LaurenCurtisArtTalonArt (Facebook Fine Art Page)
http://www.LaurenCurtisArt.com (commercial & fine art) 
http://www.laurencurtis.imagekind.com (cards, T-shirts, photography, illustration)

https://twitter.com/LaurenCurtisArt (now on Twitter)

Hello world!

Welcome to my new blog! Here I’ll keep you updated on exhibits, new artwork, events, etc. Hope you enjoy it, comment, communicate and keep reading! Thanks!

full title: "Flora Meets Aradia"

Oils