What next?
“Hugs NOT drugs” 76.2cm x 76.2cm Posca Pens on Canvas with a little Montana Spray Paint thrown in…
Ummm, no one reads this so I can pretty much say what I want. My next goal is another exhibition. 20 pieces. Every single piece the same size. Big square pieces of my style. Cartoony Poparty bright bits. Stay tuned. Giddyup.
What happened at my Exhibition?
Well I put 8 pieces into the Athletic Club. (And sold them all!)
Pricing was too cheap according to punters but I guess its easier to get more expensive than cheaper?
My number one rule was to sell my art to randoms, not family or friends.
I kind of had it both ways. I sold a few to randoms, and a few to friends, none to family. Happy days.
I got some amazing feedback, really nice words. It was surreal.
And it was all over within a moment. So much fun.
What was I anxious about? Not selling anything? People not buying anything?
All is all I was stoked with how my first exhibition went. I got a few commissions out of it which I’m currently working on.
What are the advantages of having an Art Exhibition even if I’m a shit artist?
Having an art exhibition, even if you consider yourself a "bad" artist, can be a rewarding and beneficial experience for several reasons.
1. Self-Expression: Creating art and exhibiting it can be a form of self-expression. It allows you to share your thoughts, feelings, and perspectives with others, regardless of your skill level.
2. Personal Growth: By showcasing your work in an exhibition, you have the opportunity to receive feedback, learn from your mistakes, and improve your skills as an artist. Constructive criticism can help you understand your strengths and weaknesses, and motivate you to grow.
3. Confidence Building: Displaying your art publicly can boost your confidence and self-esteem. It takes courage to share your work with others, and doing so can help you overcome self-doubt and fear of judgment.
4. Connecting with Others: Art exhibitions provide a platform for networking and connecting with other artists, art enthusiasts, and potential patrons. It offers a chance to build community and gain support from like-minded individuals.
5. Sharing a Story: Each piece of art has a story behind it, and by exhibiting your work, you have the opportunity to share your narrative with a wider audience. This can create meaningful connections with people who resonate with your experiences.
While the idea of having an art exhibition may seem daunting, it can be a valuable experience regardless of your perceived artistic abilities. It's a chance to put yourself out there, grow as an artist, and connect with others who appreciate and support your creative endeavors.
What am I doing?
So I’ve been doing arty stuff. Working on heaps of canvases hoping to do an exhibition later in the year. Struggling a little with my style and capturing it on canvas. Transferring from a cartoonist to actually putting something on canvas. The main thing I am working on is getting my pieces cleaner. My work looks a little rushed and you can see pencil marks and brush/pens marks. Imposter syndrome occasionally kicks in. Comparing myself to others on social media. Stealing ideas and putting it into my pieces, failing then starting again. But enough of the doom and gloom. Im painting. I love it and thats all that matters. Stay tuned for exhibition updates. Cheers AW :)
Happy New Year Peeps
And so here it is. The year 2024. Was 2023 what I thought it was gonna be? Nope. Did I sell a shitload of art and retire? Nope. Did I do all that I could in order for this to happen? Nope.
What do I really want? No idea
Goals? No Idea
So how can you get what you want if you don’t know what that is? Fuck right off, stop making sense.
So what do I want this year?
Ok, here goes. Time to make myself accountable.
I want to have an Art show, at a gallery or a public area. Points of interest are King Tide Brewery, Open Studio or The Athletic Club.
Sell a piece of work to someone outside of my network. No family, no friends. An absolute random that likes my work.
Stick with a certain type of artwork for a period! In the next few weeks, I have a mural to do, Spray paint. But after that I want to spend a good month just painting canvases. Getting a collection ready so that I can have a show.
My biggest hurdle/worry is family and friends buying my work, feeling like they have to. I’m not a charity and want recognition because I deserve it.
I figure/feel that my art is the best way I can get my name out there. I will continue to post on social media but will do more on here as I feel this platform is better. The algorithm on Social Media is so shit. No one sees your work. You get 6 likes and they’re from the same people.
Social Media sucks. In saying that, I’m going to experiment a bit more with YouTube this year. Even something as easy as teaching how to draw. My daughter loves it.
I’m on a tangent here.
So this year, Art show, stick to one medium, post to Youtube and care less what people think.
Sorted?
Yep.
Cheers
Woodsy :)
Fathers Day Caricatures
So I was lucky enough to do a couple of caricatures for Fathers Day. Heres a sneaky little vid. Enjoy :)
Caricature anyone?
So for the past few months I’ve been doing requested caricatures of people.
My process:
-Get a Photo of the subject, hopefully a clear view of their face.
-Trace it in Procreate (Ipad Program)
-Once I have the overall look of the person, Hopefully it actually looks like them, I then add the things that they like or have requested. For instance, the person likes cycling or fishing or football. Whatever.
- I then cartoonise the image. Thick black lines, bright colours.
-Print and Frame.
An avocado farmer who loves his bikes and a beer.
Famous Footballer Frank Liddell. Played for Hearts in Scotland. Out of coincidence, Hes the father in law of a friend of mine.
Finally Finished it…..
So I have finally completed it. My third book, “My Dad’s a Weirdo”.
Insert Yippee Noise here
I saw a sign/quote the other day that said that if you wait for everything to be perfect, you’ll be waiting forever. So I bit the bullet and did it. Completely self published. No agents, no publishers, just me. Bought the ISBN number and created everything through Snapfish. The editing is a bit ordinary but Ivy, my daughter, who its about, loves it.
What have I learned about this process? If you dont want to go through the Publishers rejecting your work process, do it this way. Most of the time, unless its super awesome, Family and friends are the ones who buy your book anyway. Better off cutting out the middle man.
What would you change if anything? I’d have Ivy on the cover, and a bit more prominent in the book. The story, what I think, doesn’t really flow either, but that’s me being petty.
What next? Im in the mood to do another book, so Im creating one for my nephew Ari. Its about him and his cat Gerty. Ive been pretty proactive on this one and I feel like I’m going to go the tradiaional route and go through publishers and agents etc.
A Little lost…..
What am I doing? Seriously.
Trying to be all Arty and shit. Stencil work. Really? Eye Roll. Stay in your own lane dickhead.
This is me trying to be cool.
How do I become Original?
I have always wanted to be an artist. Always. I can draw cartoons but I feel that doesn’t really count. I want to sell canvases with cool stuff on them. But for the life of me I cant come up with something original to paint. I know the old adage is to steal like an artist. But I hate the concept. In the past I have painted popular cartoons onto canvases, Bugs Bunny and the like, but it just doesn’t feel right. I tried to do some “Wheres Wally” type cartoons but I copied that off Mitch Revs. Now, I’m thinking of doing stencils of famous figures onto canvases like the artist Johnny Romeo. With a few made up quotes around them. More unoriginality. For the love of gypsies can I please get some original thinking please?
Life goal achieved (Tick)
So I guess as a beer loving artist, the ultimate thing would be to design a beer can label. Yep. So when Josh approached me from King Tide Brewery to design their latest beer “Ragnors Rage”, I jumped at the chance. The best thing about it was that I was given free reign. No thoughts, no ideas, just “Heres Ragnors Rage, its a Nordic IPA and GO!” So my mind is racing, eeekkkkkkk. What do I do? The obvious solution was Viking, so thats what I did. and the results are below. It come out pretty cool.
Sometimes wish I wasn’t a creative….
So why would you want to be a creative? You constantly compare yourself to every person on Instagram, and they’re all amazing, making you feel inadequate and Uncreative. Arrrgghhh.
So of late I have been doing caricatures for people. Ive found a niche’ of doing a caricature, cartoony background and frame it.
People love it.
However, if you take into account the hours spent vs cost I am charging, its a pretty ordinary way to make money, I’d be better off packing shelves at Woolies. One family caricature I did, was 14 hours and I charged $100, Minus the frame, $16, so $84 left, divided by 14 hours and you get $6 an hour. Hahahahahaha. Thats ridiculous, no wonder my wife gets cranky at me.
But at the end of the day, its not about that. Its a side hustle for me and Im doing it because i love it. It could take 20 hours and I would still do it.
I guess my biggest issue is the whole creative charging process. Charging someone something that I do. Something that is easy for me but difficult for them. If they could do it, they wouldn’t be asking me. Would they?
I’m getting to a stage now where I dont care if i get creative jobs or not. Its their loss, not mine. I’m doing some really cool things at the moment, from regular caricatures to murals to being so close to finishing my daughters book. Things I’ve done this past month:
14 caricatures
3 logos
16 pages of a Childrens book
applied for 2 mural festivals
Beer can label design, soon to be released
So yeah, had a bit on and happy at the pace things are going. Til next week.
AW :)
A whole lotta nothing…
The last few weeks I’ve been doing nothing but a whole lot. Make sense. Nope.
Caricatures and more caricatures. Check.
Struggling internally, questioning every single move I make. Check.
Having 47 million ideas and doing absolutely nothing about them. Check.
Soooooo, my idea is to make myself accountable and put a list up, and tick off all the things I want to do.
Finish my book on my daughter Ivy…
Get a continuous stream of work. i.e Caricatures
Paint more and get them online for sale.
Paint more murals
Contact beer companies offering can label services (ART)
And thats about it ladies and gentlemen. Til next time. Kiss kiss.
Caricatures
So something I have never been good at is caricatures. It kinda goes against the grain in what I do. Draw something that looks like the intended target? Nope.
And the eyes, the bloody eyes, simply cant get them right!
Well, someone randomly asked me to do one, so I did and it kind of looked like its intended target. Kind of. They were happy, I made money and we’re parted ways amicably. And now a few others have asked me to do some, so I am completely out of my target zone and doing caricatures now. See below for an example.
However, if you like it, go and buy one from my store, and Ill create something for you :)
Mural thingy
So I did a mural.
As they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Who am I kidding? Someone has come along and put their own spin on a Jean Michel Basquiat piece. So I did what any artist would do and got permission from the walls owner to paint over it.
And was given free reign!
EUREKA…
As an artist, You look back and are never 100% happy with what you’ve completed. But, you live and learn.
Cheers
AW
Where have you been Adam?
And so here I am. What have I been doing for the last month? Bludging I bet or having an artist block in the fetal position crying into a tea towel. I hate everyone!
As a fragmented artist with no plans in place. What now for ol’ random artist Adam? Where are your famous cartoon characters on framed backgrounds?
Well….I’m inspired to create a Children’s Book for my little girl Ivy. So its been most days on my Ipad creating pictures for our new book. Not sure on the title yet but its about the Daddy/Daughter adventures we have. Stay tuned for more to come….
New Ideas…..
“Adam, for the love of Gypsies, can you please get your art stuff off our dining room table!” said Adam’s wife Jodi.
I do all my art of my dining room table as I don’t have an art room. I store my items on the floor against the wall and they are clutter, there, I said it. Clutter.
So I’ve put a few on my website. I’ve sold a couple to friends which is nice. See below the new ones that I’ve created.
What the actual?
So a few weeks ago I posted about entering a “Bar Runner” competition at the Scratch Bar in Brisbane. I sent, what I thought, to be a decent piece of work. See below. Its pretty random, lines are clean and its interesting. Cool. Job done.
Next, I get the dreaded email, sorry Adam, Unfortunately, your entry has missed out this year, but there is always next year! (eye roll)
I understand I am not going to win everything. I get that, but fuck me…
I am sounding like a bit of a debbie downer and have an inflated opinion of myself. I’ll just put the winning 5 entries below.
Story number 2:
I was contacted by a random dude on Instagram. He said that he loves my work and would love for me to design a logo for him. Hes from Brisbane and wants something new. Cool I think. I do up a few roughs and flick them on, he gets straight back to me, straight away, very quickly, so I change things and get them back to him. Hes stoked. Very happy. One last change, I do it and send it back. Radio Silence. I send a quick note asking his thoughts and have nothing. Radio Silence.
Really. Fuckin c’mon. Don’t be a dickhead.
Rant/whinge over
Peace
AW x
