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

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…

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

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!

A SPRING in your step

Here in NJ we had a rough, cold, snow filled winter so most of us are thrilled that winter is over and spring has officially arrived!  The Vernal Equinox has just passed…when day & night are equal…and now we move towards longer days and more light!  Couldn’t come soon enough, in my book.  I’m feeling more creative and inspired.  How about you?  Does the change in seasons, wherever you’re located, effect your creativity, artwork, projects, mood?  It has been scientifically proven that a lack of sunlight can have a negative effect on people’s mood, energy and health and that many do go into hibernation mode in the winter.  Not that I don’t appreciate the dark hours and it takes a lot to keep me from being social and going out, especially on weekends, but I definitely feel more energized when spring rolls around.  I’ve started a new Steampunk mixed media series of small, framed collage pieces called “ARTifacts” and MUST get moving on a painting I’ve been procrastinating on.  Also, I’ve been doing some freelance illustration work for clients across the US which not only hones my drawing and design skills but earns me money, so a win/win!

So, feel free to share your seasonally inspired stories here and in the meantime I hope you’ll enjoy some of my spring themed artwork I’ve created for clients over the years!

Flowers, Butterfly & Hummingbird pen & ink w/ watercolors (c)Lauren Curtis

Mixed Media Frenzy

As an artist, I’ve always been somewhat of a creative schizophrenic…or maybe the proper term is artistic multi-personality??  Anyway, I work with a wide variety of media…started with pencil and charcoal drawings, moved to oils and acrylics, branched to photography and pen & ink with watercolors, finally digital art and collage…and now they’re all kind of merging together in a mixed media frenzy (like the tie in to the blog title??)

In this day and age of things going by so quickly & fads coming and going in seconds…and of me striving to earn a full time living as a freelance artist… I’ve found that having this wide selection of modes to work with can come in handy although I also admit that it can get a bit distracting.   So I have to find ways to achieve balance and focus.  Also, being diverse helps when earning income as I can translate my artwork to t-shirts, greeting cards, reproduction prints, jewelry, etc., which offers options for collectors and clients in a varied price range, making my art more accessible to more people!

My Business Postcard

Lately, my personal artwork has leaned much more to mixed media, especially combining collage, either digital or hand-cut, with photography or watercolors.  This allows me to use several of my preferred media all at once and create a new look while expressing my cohesive themes.  I really love utilizing (c)-free Victorian woodcut imagery, as I’ve always loved this era, and combining this element with my painting or photography work adds a vintage feel to modern pieces.  Here’s my latest creation, “Reminisce”.

Reminisce (c)2013, watercolor and collage  (repro. prints available)

And, while creating fine artwork to submit to exhibits and galleries, I also continue working on my commercial art;  in honor of my favorite up-coming holiday of Halloween, I’m having a pre-All Hallow’s T-shirt sale!  Anyone who orders TWO or MORE T-shirts will get 20% off!  Prices go from $20-$37 each, which includes s/h!  Shirts are 100% pre-shrunk cotton, come in white, gray or black, short or long sleeve, women’s cut in white, all sizes, including kids thru XXL!  Price depends on size, color & shirt type.  PAYPAL accepted to me at forestwalker333@hotmail.com  Here are a few samples…more can be seen on http://laurencurtis.imagekind.com

T-shirt Flyers; Lauren Curtis T’s

OK, promo portion of this blog is over…but it serves as an example of various ways to use your artwork to reach many types of people!

So, that’s just a small sampling of how I’ve incorporated my obsession with mixed media into my fine art and commercial work.  Feel free to post any questions about this post or comments about how you use mixed media in your creative endeavors.  Thanks for reading!!