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| Nan's Gift is a quiet story with fun language and warm illustrations, Nana's Gift is appropriate for readers young and old. Amazon.com Amazon.UK |
There
is a great deal of paradox to any art. Pushing on
through creatively means a lot of butt-in-chair time, and one has to master
both objectives in order to succeed.
My mother and grandmother gave me
permission. Go write, go draw. More than likely to get me out of their hair,
but it became a good use for my time. I fell into the love of creating images
whether with words or lines quite by accident. I soon found people responded
with "ooohs" and "ahhhs". I still love the appreciation
people feel about my work, and I love the time spent ferreting out expression
from a page. Each step of the way though I improved, there was more to
challenge me. That was true then, it's just as true over forty years later. I
hope it's still true in another forty.
Perhaps
you're not as luck as I was, being a pain and then being directed toward
falling in love with something before you can say no. But you can pick up a
craft anytime along the path of your life.
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| Frannie never expected a ghost with revenge on her mind! Coming Soon! Mid-grade |
It's the doing of something, the
investment of yourself your time and thought, which transcends craft into art.
Or, as one of my favorite sayings put it, "It's never to late to be what you
might have been." (George Sand).
My new venture has catapulted me into
uncharted territory. I published Nana's Gift last year after years of traditional pursuit and moderate success. The goal is to publish more of my own books, and a co-adventure with the fabulous Margot
Finke. I'm not only illustrating and formatting epicture books, but in
Margot's case, I'm animating her charming stories-- they just lend themselves
to it.
But I knew nothing of Photoshop, and I only knew of WacomTablets a year ago. This year I learned about Mobi and Sigil and InDesign and
Smashwords. As you read this, I'm in the process of learning about
applications, animations, Adobe Catalyst and DRM, and sometimes my mind is
boggled about how much I've learned and how much I need to know. Pushing
through means really applying myself in ways I've not done. Perhaps ever. Whether
you're already doing something outside your comfort zone or thinking about it,
a lot of success is mindset. I thought I'd tell you my secret to the paradox in
case you're thinking of doing something crazy as well.
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| Imagyne |
OF
COURSE DO YOUR BEST! But just as importantly LEARN to your best. Absorb
as much as you can from the best sources you can find and don't be afraid to go
back or spend some time really becoming comfortable with your subject. Recently
I decided to revisit character development, I found someone outstanding in his
field, and for a twenty dollar investment in his books and the time to read and
process them (about two days), my characters became ever so much stronger.
Don't have the money? Get a library card, and check out interlibrary loan.
Research through Youtube, your friends, any professional groups, and don't be
afraid to ask people you admire, what their influences are. Join a critique
group. Can't find one, find a few friends who you can trust, and start one. Yellapalooza just celebrated its tenth
anniversary and I would have been lost with them.
