Whilst the business of writing and illustrating children's picture books is, quite obviously and undoubtedly a wonderful one, there is also a handful of mildly steep downsides, one of which is the, wait for it... waiting.
Specifically I currently find myself waiting for the release of my three new picture books,
waiting for decisions from various publishers on whether they want to publish various offerings of mine, waiting for various clients to pay my agent, waiting for my agent to pay me, waiting for an interview with the Third Way to come out, waiting for art direction on one project from a publisher and waiting on a contract from another.
And then there's the other more constant waiting ...waiting for my son to take his nap so that I can work, waiting for new art materials to arrive, waiting to be nominated for an award, any award, waiting to be asked to sign something, anything, waiting for a royalty cheque, any amount will do, waiting for the summer to begin so that I can use my garden studio again without the need for scarf and gloves and, of course, eternally, waiting for inspiration.
I don't really mind the current pause though. Usually things are insanely manic.
I think it's in the pauses between things happening that we can finally get around to doing that something else we've been meaning to for some time, hence I cleaned out 'the' kitchen drawer the other day (and found no less than 34 unidentified keys), hence I've just finally listed some stuff on eBay and hence this blog.
So here's to delays, interludes and intermissions, may I not have to wait too long for another one.
In the words of Mr Ferris Bueller, 'Life moves pretty fast, if you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.'
Hi Rebecca, it's great that you've decided to start a blog and your website is really great too, i love the themed design. I'm new to illustration and writing children's books and i really admire your illustrations. What medium do you use to create the pictures for 'Just Because' and 'Cubs First Winter'? I'm experimenting with different materials at the moment and i really like your style. Anyway, best of luck with it all, i look forward to the new books coming out. Jayne
ReplyDeleteHi Jayne! Such kind comments - thank you. And so nice to know there are people out there stumbling accross this - makes me feel a little less like a nutter muttering to herself in a lonely echoey cave. I use acrylic paint for the painted stuff - nothing fancy, just Galeria or Windsor and Newton stuff on canvas- style paper. The thing I love about acrylic is that it's fast! You can't afford to hang around if you want to make more than pocket money in this business and you can paint layer after layer of acrylics in one day, only having to wait minutes rather than hours for each one to dry! Check out my demo in the Studio section of my website to see a piece come together. And do stop by again, it's been lovely having you visit! Bec :0)
ReplyDeleteThanks for replying and all the advice, i actually discovered that section of your site after i'd posted the comment, it was a great help. Do you use photoshop and illustrator also? I'm not sure if you already have an etsy shop or something like it, but if not you should definitely set one up,it'd be great to be able to buy some of your prints.I've seen etsy on some other blogs, check out http://firefluff.blogspot.com/ Let me know if you already have one. And don't worry, your not talking to an empty cave hahaha i'll keep stopping by, all the way from Ireland!!! Thanks again for all the advice, jayne
ReplyDeleteI do indeed use Photoshop for some of my work - like the stuff for my new book, 'Zoo Girl' and 'Fragoline'. That's a great tip - I'll definitely look in to an Etsy shop! Thanks for popping back! :0)
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