Making a Poster! Make Art that Sells :)

This month in MATS Bootcamp, our assignment was to design a poster for 

Lilla Rogers' Global Art Gathering event in Brighton UK this summer.

We were encouraged to participate in a contest where the winner is paid and

has their design produced and used as the official poster and postcards for the event.

Here's the April Gallery if you'd like to see all the submissions! I'm on page 4 :)

I made some loose sketches and then just went for it, since I had some other 

projects to finish last week.

I stuck to my painterly, kid-centric style, which could limit my chance of winning.

The event is about creating commercially viable art, not solely for the kids' market.

but, you know ...

I've Gotta Be Me - Sammy Davis Jr

I Am What I Am - Shirley Bassey

I Yam What I Yam - Popeye  :D

I still look forward to trying some Skillshare classes to make more 

elegant, funky and/or fanciful lettering, but I think mine worked for 

the overall feel of my illustration. I wanted the Make Art that Sells to appear

as if it was drawn in the sand, but kinda tricky to do. 

Our brief included a color palette, dimensions and the essential information. 

I made my image too long and had to resize it in photoshop.

In the end, I think it actually helped to shorten it, but it sure is annoying 

when you realize your mistake.

Brighton - ice cream man in waders - photo by George W. Hales 1939

Of course, I went to Pinterest to see what Brighton is all about.

I really wish I could attend this event. I'm sure it will be fun and informative.

Plus, Brighton looks delightful!

Below - some of the reference I used for my piece. 

I love vintage travel posters, beach umbrellas and amusement park images.

My dog pays homage to this guy ;)

Pesaro would make a nice trip, too!

Have a great week!

xo, A

My NEW Website is up!

I have a NEW website - YAY!

:::

I decided to use Squarespace after hearing positive things from other artists, 

plus reading a few build-your-own site comparisons. 

I took advantage of their 2 week free trial to set it up 

and it took about 3 days, working on & off. 

I'm sure it takes less time if you have less images to add. 

Scanning new work and locating older images, slowed me down a bit.

:::

I was drawn to the clean style of their templates and I really wanted

a grid layout, so the viewer can see images clearly at one shot, 

then click to enlarge if interested in seeing it in more detail. 

I had to customize slightly to get that, but it was fairly simple 

once the support team helped me out. I'm currently using Avenue.

A big thank you to Carmen of Carmen Mok Studio also.

We're in an art group on Facebook that was organized after 

taking Lilla Rogers' Mats3A class last spring. It's a great group and 

provides a nice way to ask for advice and share resources with each other.

I like her work and the ease of her site. She answered 

some of my initial questions and I really appreciate it!

:::

Once I heard Marc Maron give a 10% promo code on his Monday wtf podcast,

 I knew it was meant to be, so I went for it :)

My only setback is that the company where my domain is registered 

has not gotten back to me about "mapping/forwarding"

my domain - AllynHoward to squarespace, so for now my site is

www.allyn-howard.squarespace.com 

It's a temporary issue, but one I must resolve before mailing out 

new promotional cards, obviously.

A refreshed Ruben & Cooper are real happy with their new home.

I wanted to go ahead and share my site with you guys, my friends, 1st anyway!

When you have the time, please take a look. I would love to hear your feedback.

I assume it will all be constructive.

I have a lot of images on there, but I think it's well organized.

There are 7 Gallery pages listed across the top and a link page that brings 

you here, to my blog.

It's pretty easy to navigate.

Melissa Iwai, I entered your name when answering a survey that asked 

who recommended the site. 

I think you were the first to mention Squarespace to me. 

Regardless, I hope you get some kind of credit or prize!! :D

Thanks for stopping by!

Enjoy the rest of your week.

xo, A

August, you're pretty

"Do what we can, summer will have it's flies." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

:::

On the East Coast, August has been surprisingly dreamy with it's sunny skies and mild temperatures. 

I created these promotional pieces for the CBIG (Children's Book Illustration Group)

digital directory. It's the 1st step in preparing for fall and making another go of it

in the worlds of publishing and art licensing.

The "flies" in my summer tend to be work related, not the cute animals and scenes I choose to

paint, but the interruptions to that, let's just call - my job ;)

:::

These photos were taken at Grumman Studios on LI, where the 

Apollo Lunar Modules were created. Grumman is currently referred to as 

"Hollywood of the East". Fortunately, I never heard anyone actually call it that. 

We were there to work on a pretty ambitious and creative commercial. 

Our work doesn't compare to putting a man on the moon, but it pays the bills. 

I can share the commercial, once it comes out.

I mostly took pictures of the building, my friends and the floor. 

Below, dusty shoe prints on rubber mat covering cables.

A clever production assistant put a hammock up in his cube truck once it was empty. 

Above, scenic artist, Gennadi Barbush relaxes in it.

Scenics take a coffee break in the lot, while I rest in hammock :)

Hard to resist taking a pic of rust this good!

Damage the sun does to paint is often the most beautiful to me. Faded reds, pinks, blues ...

always get me.

Great shape and yellow, not sure how it functions, maybe for fire fighters?

We passed this building on the way home every night. I love it. 

Thought I took a pic with the lighted sign, but now I can't locate it.

Below, detail shots of two of my paintings that sit on either side of my bed, 

in my tiny bedroom. Sadly, they're a bit too large to hang in my apt.

I think they relate to the other photos, but I might just be tired.

Great skies to and from the job. My favorite part of the day - catching sight of New York City.

It will always excite me.

 hand-me-down, carpenter's union tee, don't have 829's, do we have one?

Fellow scenic, Michael Taranov took this photo of me "fighting the good fight".

:::

This particular job was quite a beast, in terms of hours, number of set

changes and variety of fumes inhaled. I want to end my post with a

big Thanks to Bryon Finn, who I work with a lot.

He handled everything with grace and as always,

worked his ass off. 

Ok, I have lunch, I mean work to do!

:

ps- if you like my photos, then follow me on Instagram

I share much more there :)

Have a great week!

xo, A