Artists Archives - Page 9 of 10

Posted on September 8, 2014September 8, 2014 by Patrick LaMontagne

The Other Side of Another Photoshop World

Last week found me once again at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas for Photoshop World 2014. While I’d love to be able to say that it’s all work and no play, I’d be lying through my teeth.

While I did decide to take a break from the conference last year, this was the fifth time around for me at PSW. Every year is different depending on which classes I’m taking and which group of friends is showing up.

This creative community of artists is an interesting mix. Photographers, designers, illustrators, compositors… they come from all over the world and from a number of different generations, but everybody is looking to have a good time and learn a few things. Many of the people with whom I spend my time at this conference are ones I talk to all the time via email and social media, but only get to see once a year, sometimes not even that often. But it’s very easy to pick up where we left off and it’s definitely a working vacation.

On that latter point, I budgeted a little time to check one more item off the bucket list, a flight with Sky Combat Ace to experience some airshow acrobatics in an Extra 330LC, which was quite a thrill ride. Here’s a link to the video.

While the conference itself is very heavy on the photography side of things, it has still been worth this cartoonist/illustrator/digital painter’s time to attend. One thing I’ve learned from taking classes at this event is that whether you’re talking photos, design, or illustration…images are images. The principles that will make an image better in one medium will often translate to another, so a class on composition in portrait photography will help me become a better portrait painter, too.

Since I take many of my own reference photos for a lot of my recent work, editing those images and figuring out how to get the best from them will also help me produce better digital paintings.

In 2010 at this event, I was fortunate to have won two Guru Awards, one in the Illustration category and also the Best in Show award. This year, I submitted three images, again under the Illustration heading. While I knew ahead of time that two of my images were finalists, I assumed both were in that category. When the awards were announced however, my portrait of Bruno was the only one that came up in the Illustration genre. As I’d gone in with low expectations, I was OK with not winning.

Much to my surprise, however, my painting, “One in Every Family” was awarded the Best in Show award again this year and I was very pleased. While the prize that was announced ahead of time was a gift card from the sponsor, B&H (one of my favorite shopping destinations), a surprise addition to the prize was a Canon 5D Mark III camera with lens included. It now appears that I have to up my game when it comes to my knowledge of photography. My photographer friends at this event have all assured me that I now have one of the best cameras I could ever want and have physically threatened me if I don’t take advantage of this opportunity to become a better photographer.

With that in mind, I took the camera with me on one of my regular hikes the day after I got home, and managed to get a few photos that I thought were pretty decent, a couple of them shown here.

I still have a LOT to learn, but have plenty of resources with which to do so and many professional photographer friends who’ve offered their assistance.

As I was already going to be in attendance at the event, my friends at Wacom invited me to present at their booth on the Expo Floor for the second time. As luck would have it, the topic I chose was the story of discovering the family of Great Horned Owls at Grassi Lakes here in Canmore earlier this summer, which led to the painting that won the award the day before I presented at the booth. Add in a little painting demo and I think it went rather well.

I really enjoyed myself at the conference, largely because of the people with whom I spent the week. While it’s too early to tell if I will return again next year, this year’s trip was time and money well spent and I find myself inspired to produce even better work in the year ahead. You really can’t put a price on that.

Posted on July 19, 2014July 20, 2014 by Patrick LaMontagne

Totems, Tourists, and Taking Chances

Gallery owners know their business. If you check your ego at the door and are willing to listen and learn, you’ll find out there’s a lot of middle ground between artist expectations and the reality of the business of art.

In recent years, my prints have sold primarily at About Canada Gallery in Banff and at the Calgary Zoo, in addition to my online and trade show sales. The owners at About Canada have been wonderful to work with and I told them early on that they didn’t have to spare my feelings when it came to what they were willing to stock. Thankfully, they took me at my word, give me honest feedback and are receptive when I reciprocate.

If something isn’t selling well in Banff, I replace it with something that might do better, without any ill feelings. One person’s favorite painting might not be that of others and when it comes to limited space, majority rules.

Limited edition canvas prints are at a higher price point so they don’t sell as quickly or as often as matted prints do, but they’re well worth having. They look great on the wall and attract a lot of attention, but it’s the 11”X14” matted prints that sell best and consistently, simply because they’re still great quality, but at $44, they’re priced well for an impulse buy and are small enough to fit in a suitcase. The 16”X20” matted prints will eventually be discontinued because they’re a pain for tourists to carry home or ship. These are the things you learn along the way.

Initially, About Canada only wanted animals that were found in this area, many of which are my most popular, including the Grizzly, Wolf, Moose, Raven, and Great Horned Owl Totems. But with the Otter selling well online, I suggested they give it a try. It didn’t take long for my little sea otter to become a best-seller in Banff, joined shortly by a few other non-mountain animals, including the Giraffe, Parrot, and Cows.

While the matted prints do very well in Banff, they weren’t flying off the shelves at The Calgary Zoo , despite a lot of interest. The retail manager and I figured that the $44 price tag might be a little steep for a souvenir of a day at the zoo. With that in mind, I swapped out all of the matted prints and introduced a line of Poster Prints I have done at Maranda Reprographics and Printing in Calgary. Printed on a satin finish paper, resembling a high quality magazine print, they look great and are popular sellers at the Calgary Expo. As they’re not archival giclée prints like my others, I’m able to offer a lower price. At $25 with backer board, artist bio and in a plastic sleeve, it didn’t take long to realize that our assumption was correct and they now sell very well at the zoo, even prints of the animals they don’t have in residence.

While on Vancouver Island last month, I figured it was a good opportunity to scout galleries in the Ucluelet and Tofino area. Knowing the area I was going to, I packed 11”X14” matted prints of the Totems I thought would best get me in the door, including the Bald Eagle, Otter, Wolf, and Humpback Whale.

After making inquiries of my hosts aboard the Raincoast Maiden on my wildlife tours and others around town, it became clear that the best venue to approach would be Reflecting Spirit Gallery. With locations in both Ucluelet and Tofino, it would be an ideal arrangement to work with one owner in both communities. I also remembered that my wife and I enjoyed our visit to that gallery on our last trip to the area.

It’s a daunting exercise to cold call a business. With nothing to lose, I went in with a positive attitude, but ready for rejection. The owner wasn’t in, so I talked to one of her staff about the gallery and showed her my work. An artist with work in the gallery herself, she was very nice, encouraged me to come back the next day and I left with a little more information, better prepared for a second visit.

It’s important to keep in mind when cold calling a business, especially one that’s owner operated, to treat everyone you encounter with respect. You could be talking to a member of the owner’s family or one of their closest friends.

The next day, I returned and spoke to the owner. A talented artist herself, she looked thoughtfully at the work I brought and gave me honest feedback. I opened my portfolio to show her the rest of my Totem series and she pointed out others that she thought would do well there. The Raven is significant for the native people of that area and there are plenty of cougars in and around Tofino and Ucluelet. Again, gallery owners know their market.

We discussed price points, consignment rates, and numbers. Before too long, she agreed to take my prints for both of her galleries. Needless to say, this Albertan was thrilled, especially since Reflecting Spirit primarily sells the work of Vancouver Island artists. Rather than order specific numbers of each, she left it up to me to give her more of the best-sellers and less of the others, based on my experience with my own work.

By Canada Day, a large order of matted prints had arrived safely, are on display and for sale in both of the Reflecting Spirit Galleries. It won’t be long before I find out how the prints will do in this new market, but it was well worth the investment of my time and money to give it a shot.

Many artists spend years waiting to be discovered, figuring that if they produce good work, supporters and customers will simply show up. “If you build it, they will come,” was a wonderful premise in ‘Field of Dreams,’ but in real life, success requires that you stick your neck out and do so often. As unpalatable as it is for many creative types, especially those who think it beneath them to sully their creative passion with talk of money, art is a business and it requires sales skills. You not only have to sell your work, but yourself as well.

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Posted on May 2, 2014 by Patrick LaMontagne

Calgary Expo 2014 – The Wrap Up!

This year’s Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo has come and gone. Much more than a ‘Comic-con,’ the event attracts some of the biggest names on the circuit and with attendance approaching 100,000 this year; it has become one of the largest of its kind in North America.

Many types of vendors flock to the Expo, including artists. 2013 was my first year with a booth and it was an incredible learning experience. I spent a fair bit of money on display hardware, retail walls, print bins and other equipment you don’t think about until you have to, so the first year wasn’t a money maker. I brought far too many prints with me, so with what I brought home, I just ended up with inventory that eventually sold throughout the year at About Canada in Banff, the Calgary Zoo, and my online store.

Armed with a little experience (a dangerous thing?), I started my 2014 prep early, bought fewer prints, added postcards to the mix (btw: VERY successful), and tweaked my plans to streamline things a little before setting up my booth for my second year.

Between the daily editorial cartoons, illustration gigs, and the paintings that I never seem to have enough time for, adding even one trade show to an already busy schedule is a frantic juggling act. Talking with other artists who do this sort of thing, seems we’re all just two seconds away from panic and padded rooms.

The addition of a fourth day this year, really just four hours, was an unwelcome fly in the ointment. While the Stampede grounds in Calgary are only an hour and half drive from Canmore, the odds this time of year that the weather could turn foul (especially this year) meant that commuting every morning and night was unwise. Long days in the booth without a break were exhausting, which made falling asleep at the wheel a real possibility. Adding a fourth day meant taking an extra day away from my office last week in order to set up, plus another night in a hotel, an expense that wasn’t justified by Thursday “just looking today” sales.

I figured I could handle Thursday and Friday by myself and it really wasn’t difficult. The time went by fast and when I needed a bathroom break, my next door neighbours were happy to mind my booth for me. For the most part, there’s an atmosphere of camaraderie among the vendors. We’re all in this together.

My wife, Shonna, arrived on Saturday. Our friend Michelle was attending the event and graciously agreed to bring my lovely assistant to my aid. On Saturday and Sunday, the two busiest days of Expo, I really did need help at the booth and I couldn’t have asked for better. I wouldn’t have done so well had it not been for Shonna’s support, and that pretty much applies to my whole life in general.

While traffic ebbed and flowed, it was busy most of the time. People wanted to talk, asked a lot of questions about the work and seemed genuinely interested. Most artists want to stand out from the crowd, and many told me they’d never seen anything like my paintings, sweet music to my ears. One woman said that they looked like, “cartoon animals who found a way to come into the real world.”

I really liked that.

It was a great feeling to recognize a common reaction to my paintings. Folks would be walking down the aisle, scanning their surroundings, and when their eyes settled on my booth, they’d suddenly stop and smile. It happened more times than I could count and most didn’t even know they were doing it. It got so that Shonna started mentioning it to them. They’d smile, give a nudge to whomever they were with and then they’d come over.

It made me think of Kermit the Frog in the Muppet Movie. Dom Deluise’s character gets Kermit to consider leaving the swamp only when he tells him that he could ‘make millions of people happy.’ There are worse aspirations.

While there isn’t a lot of opportunity for networking when the event is in full swing, I did have some good conversations with nearby vendors. I couldn’t really leave my booth to wander and look around, but one thing about staying in one spot, eventually everybody walks by, so I did get to see some of the great outfits. Many enthusiastic people dress up (cosplay) as favorite characters from TV,film, comic books and video games, putting a lot of effort into their costumes.

One of the great surprises this year was repeat customers. People who bought a print or two last year came back to buy more. Best of all, we recognized many of them. I had plenty of people who said they’d seen my work before but couldn’t figure out where. When I mentioned the Calgary Zoo and About Canada in Banff, light would dawn in their eyes. Many needed no prompting at all, they just told me where they’d seen it, and some had even bought my prints at those venues.

This face to face connection and recognition isn’t something I get while working alone at home or through interaction on social media. It was very gratifying.

While I’m comfortable talking to people and public speaking doesn’t faze me, I’m a very private person and spend most of my time alone. Being ‘on’ for four days in customer service mode was mentally and physically exhausting. I was so drained on Monday that I managed to get one cartoon out and spent the rest of the day in a daze, interrupted by a few naps.

There is no doubt in my mind, however, that I want to repeat and improve upon the experience in 2015, especially since it will be a milestone 10^th year for the show. I’ve already booked my booth again and even asked for the same spot. Each year teaches me something new and I learned a lot this time around. I’ll be going into my third year with a more solid foundation and a better idea of how to streamline things, knowing what works, what doesn’t, and with some new ideas I’d like to try.

Even though I cut back from last year’s order and did very well, I still came home with more prints than I wanted, mostly from fear of not having enough for the whole weekend. So once again, I’m having a big post-Expo print sale and everything in the store is up to 30% off.

One of these days I’ll figure the inventory right. Until then, I’ll just keep trying.

Posted on May 10, 2013May 10, 2013 by Patrick LaMontagne

The Space Between Us

A couple of months ago, I finished the above painting of Canadian Astronaut Chris Hadfield just before he became Commander of the International Space Station. Just painting the image was worth the effort because I really enjoyed it. But then Commander Hadfield saw it in orbit, sent me a short message and re-tweeted the link to his followers on Twitter. A tweet from space is quite a thrill and I’ve actually had the pleasure of receiving two of them, the second after I did the editorial cartoon you see below when he took command. Had it all ended there, I would have been pleased enough.

Shortly after Commander Hadfield retweeted the link to the painting, however, I got an email from Tim Gagnon, a graphic and portrait artist who lives next door to the Kennedy Space Center. Since 2004, Tim has worked with five Space Shuttle and nine ISS Expedition crews helping design their mission patches. Tim had some kind words to say about the portrait and then asked me for a little more information about the digital medium and how the painting was done. I was happy to send him some video links that I’ve done for Wacom, some time-lapses of my paintings and I shared a little more information inviting him to ask any other questions.

Tim told me that he designed a special crew patch for Expedition 34 at the request of that mission’s Commander, United States astronaut Kevin Ford, and he told me he would like to send me one. He said that it’s the first crew patch since Apollo XIII to have a motto. The expeditions overlap, so that Hadfield arrived at the ISS on Expedition 34 and then when he took command, it became Expedition 35. I was thrilled at the offer, thanked Tim for his generosity, and gave him my address. In exchange, I sent Tim my training DVDs on digital cartooning and painting to give him more information on that medium.

Much to my surprise, when the package arrived, there was not only the embroidered Expedition 34 patch, but the 35 patch as well. Tim also included a sticker of the Soyuz mission that took Hadfield’s expedition to space. I’ve had the mission patches for awhile, but haven’t posted it on my site until now, at Tim’s request. He was waiting until he had the go ahead from Kevin Ford, who arrived safely back on Earth on March 16th.

Something many of us take for granted these days is the incredible level of connection we are privileged to enjoy. Multiple daily tweets from space are exciting enough, but the simple fact that an instant message can be sent from one side of the globe to the other is truly amazing, or at least would be 100 years ago. What I find so incredible is that a painting I did for my own enjoyment went to orbit, was sent back to Earth, was noticed by another artist in Florida and now I have these very special mementos of the experience here in my hands, keepsakes that I will enjoy for many years to come. We really do live in an extraordinary time and we shouldn’t forget that. It also shows just how small our world really is.

An interesting side note that I found amusing is that Tim’s grandparents were Canadian.

Posted on April 29, 2013April 29, 2013 by Patrick LaMontagne

Calgary Expo – The Wrap Up

This weekend found me running my first retail booth at the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo. All day Friday, Saturday and Sunday, I was selling my wares to attendees of the second largest event of its kind in Canada, along with many other artists and vendors. As this was my first ‘con’, here’s a bit of a review to show how the reality of the experience met with my expectations.

At this event, I was selling prints of ten of my original creations, my Totem paintings. I prepared as best I could by reading blog entries and articles online by those in the know. A talented animator friend, Jennifer Llewellyn has had a booth at this Expo six times now and she graciously shared a lot of information with me both before and during the event. There’s a distinct culture at this sort of show and as I’d requested a booth beside hers when I registered, Jenn served as my guide throughout and was a big help to me.

The first year is where you’re going to spend the most amount of money if you want to do it right. I wasn’t content to have a booth that looked bargain basement as many will do to save on expenses, so I put my best foot forward. I bought retail grid walls that stand on their own, had a professional banner printed, bought bins to hold my prints, and other assorted retail hardware. For product, I offered poster prints for $15.00 apiece, with backer board, artist bios and cellophane sleeves. I also offered the usual matted giclée prints for a discounted show price of $35 (regular $44) and my limited edition 12″X16″ canvas giclée prints at a discounted show price of $220.00 (regular $295.00). As this was my first foray into the show, I had no idea how much inventory I would need. Considering that I regularly keep prints on hand for online sales and supplying the local retailers who sell my work, I figured I should aim high, so that anything I didn’t sell would just become part of my regular inventory, stock I would need anyway.

Last year, this Expo experienced some significant growing pains. The Fire Marshall essentially shut it down on the Saturday of the 2012 event, as there were far too many people inside the venue. Many who had bought tickets and waited in line weren’t allowed in and others who had just stepped outside for some lunch or some air were locked out for the duration. I was on a research trip to this event last year, and I experienced the lockout firsthand. Our weekend passes became null and void early Saturday afternoon. This year, they capped the number of tickets at close to 60,000 and sold out well before the Expo itself, increased the size of the venue, and vowed to fix all that went wrong with last year’s event.

So how did it go? Well, lets start with the cons of the con, from this vendor’s point of view.

My only reference to how things should have gone was from other artists who had done this event before. As the weekend wore on, a number of them said that this was one of the slowest years for sales. Saturday is supposed to be one of the biggest and best selling days, and yet even though I was in a good location, there were hours on Saturday afternoon (yes, hours) where it felt like a ghost town in our corner of the world. The first two hours of Sunday morning were exactly the same. Quite discouraging as I was looking at the many prints still sitting in bins in my booth, wondering how many of them I was taking home with me. Speculation seemed to be that because they had spread the celebrity guest signings and panels out to other buildings and with the limited ticket sales, many people didn’t make it to the vendor booths in the small press section (where I was located) or if they did, they didn’t make it back when it came time to make their purchases.

A big question mark was whether or not I was even in the right place to sell my particular brand of artwork. Here was a typical situation my wife and I noticed throughout the weekend. A person would walk up the aisle in front of my booth, scanning left and right as they walked. When they saw my work, they’d smile or laugh, say something like, “Oh, cool!” or “These are great!” They’d come over to the booth, look through my book, ask questions, and appear thoroughly engaged with the work and have many complimentary things to say. Then they’d often say “Thanks” and wander off to the next booth or say, “I’ll be back later on.” Both my wife and I have worked in retail years ago and have experience with the ‘just looking’ crowd but when the reactions seemed very genuine, we couldn’t figure out the reluctance to buy by many of the enthusiastic visitors. Money didn’t seem to be the issue as our pricing was comparable to the wares of many other artists. One of the most common comments we got was that my work looked like nothing people had ever seen before. As an artist, that’s a great thing to hear, but whether or not it also prevented them from buying it because they didn’t know where to put it, who knows?

One quirk of this con is that when people had multiple day passes, they didn’t want to be carrying their purchases around with them all day, so they said they’d come back later in the day or on Sunday to buy. Anybody who has ever worked in retail knows how that goes. One way around that was we offered to hold on to their purchases until they came back for them and that did work for a few of them, especially one woman who bought a canvas print of the Ostrich Totem. Others, however, just never came back.

Something that really began to annoy us as the weekend wore on was cellphones. We easily had half a dozen potential good sales ruined by somebody getting a text or phone call while they were talking to us. The phone would distract them and they would wander off while taking the call. Or if they stayed at the booth, following the call or text, their entire demeanor changed, as if that distraction had broken the spell of their interest. Cell phones are not your friend when you’re trying to make a sale.

These were the less than ideal parts of this show, but now I’ll talk about all of the positives that came from this event.

There was a noticeable difference in the organization level of this event this year. There were a lot of volunteers, all of whom were exceptionally helpful, friendly and receptive to feedback. We heard nothing but good things from attendees and vendors with how well the folks at the Expo handled everything this year. They really should be commended on how they turned lemons into lemonade following last year’s event and I personally made a point of thanking a few volunteers for their efforts and I noticed a number of other vendors did the same.

First and foremost, there is no substitute for experience, and the amount I learned about trade shows and expos this weekend is immeasurable. It was truly an education, one that was quite enjoyable. One of the best parts of this event was that my wife, Shonna worked it with me. She even wore her two Ostrich Totem shirts proudly on Friday and Saturday. The pic at left was Sunday. Her opinion and insights are always of value to me and the fact that I didn’t have to come home and try to explain everything to her is a relief. She went through it all with me, saw and heard everything I did and worked just as hard. Her help and support was incredibly valuable to me at this event. I could have done this without her, but I wouldn’t have done it nearly as well and it wouldn’t have been as much fun, because yes, as hard as we worked, it really was a good experience for both of us.

One of the benefits of having a booth at the con is that even though we didn’t get to see as much around the venue as I would have had I been an attendee, eventually a lot of the people came wandering down to our end. So, we still got to see many of the creative and elaborate costumes, a highlight of this show for many.

Neither Shonna nor I are big on crowds at the best of times. While I have plenty of experience in sales and working with people, having worked in retail and hotels before I was a full-time artist, these days I spend the majority of my working time alone in my office and I quite enjoy my solitude. But having a booth at a show, you have to be ON all the time. Smiling, laughing, saying Hello and making eye contact, inviting people in, being friendly and engaging, making people feel welcome to come and look at your wares, answering the same questions and telling the same stories over and over again for three days straight. I wondered if I still had it, and thankfully I did. Best of all, I really enjoyed myself and so did my wife. The people were the best part of this Expo because they were all there to have a good time. Even if they weren’t buying, it was fun to talk with them, hear their thoughts, and explain my work to them. Everybody I talked to seemed to really like my paintings and style of artwork, which was a nice boost. Every artist wants to find their own look and I’ve successfully done that.

Commissions! We couldn’t believe how many people asked about commissions of their pets. While many seemed content to just take a card, Shonna had the bright idea to start taking email addresses from those who made inquiries and today I’ll be sending a lot of personal messages to people with the blog entry link that explains all of the information about commission work. If even a small percentage of those who inquired take the plunge, I’ll be busy painting custom pet portraits for a long time.

Suggestions! It is very clear that a panda and giraffe need to be added to my Totem list. A number of people asked if I had those paintings. Others I found intriguing were a Hedgehog, Alpaca or Llama, and a Lizard. All of these would be enjoyable to paint and add to my funny looking menagerie.

Networking! We spoke to many other experienced trade show and expo artists who were very happy to share the information they’ve gathered. One couple who attend many of these shows as vendors stood at our booth when it was slow and took Shonna and I to school. They told us which shows were profitable, which ones were not, which ones were expensive and vice versa. We honestly didn’t meet anyone who was in a bad mood or wasn’t genuinely willing to share information with us and we tried to do the same. There is a thriving community of professionals and amateurs on the show circuit and we were welcomed into it.

Validation! Everybody is warned to have cash on hand to purchase items at the show. Most vendors will not have the ability to take credit cards. I went with the Kudos system, however, so I could take credit card payments on my iPad and I’m glad I did. More than half of my sales were credit card transactions. I would not have sold the canvases I did had I only taken cash.

People really did seem to like my work. We got used to seeing big smiles and exclamations of, “Oh, look at these!” and “These are wonderful!” from people. They would also say things like , “they look real, but cartoony. How do you do that?” And best of all, the adjectives. Everybody sees something different in the expressions of my Totems and since I have no idea where the personality comes from as I paint, nobody is wrong. The same Totem would be called, ‘sarcastic,’ ‘angry’, ‘scary,’ ‘mischievous,’ ‘happy,’ and ‘goofy,’ among other things. They would tell me and others what the Totem was thinking. “Oh he’s thinking, don’t worry, I’ll eat you quickly,’ and ‘what are you lookin’ at?” I loved it.

On Sunday, a gentleman approached me about licensing my Totems for a specific line of products (that’s all I’ll say for now), took me to his booth, showed me what he was talking about and I was very interested. I’ll be talking to him again today via email. Best of all, some of the work on his products was that of another artist at the show, so I went to her booth and asked her opinion of the arrangement. She gave a ringing endorsement, so I can go into these negotiations with a better understanding of the person and company I’m dealing with. Apparently this sort of thing happens at a lot of these events as well. And the reason I was approached? He had never seen anything like my work before.

To sum up, having a booth at this Expo was a LOT of work and expense, both in prep and at the venue, but it was well worth my time. Because the Internet and social media is so much PR and hard to tell where the truth lies, I’ll be honest. While I still came away with good sales, I did not make money at this event, but both Shonna and I are fine with that. The reason is that the first year is the most expensive and costs range from buying the prints and retail hardware to food and lodging and other expenses, all of which have to be considered on the balance sheet. I brought WAY too much inventory, but only because I had no way of knowing where to draw the line, having never done this before. I’m so glad I didn’t try to sell T-shirts and postcards as well this first time out. The great thing is that none of the inventory goes bad. It sells at the Calgary Zoo, About Canada in Banff and in my online store on a regular basis. All it means is that I have plenty of stock for awhile and I don’t have to buy anything in the near future. So I didn’t really lose any money, especially because I didn’t go into debt for this show. All of my expenses have been paid, so this wasn’t a hardship.

In the end, this was an investment in experience. The knowledge we now have could not have been learned without taking the risk and it was well worth it. Was this the right venue for my work? I still don’t know. Will I do this particular Expo again next year? I’m still thinking about it, leaning toward the affirmative, but I still don’t know. Sometimes a first year or two is required just to get people to know your work and develop a following. Will I be doing other trade shows like this to test the waters? Most definitely, especially since I already have the booth fixtures at hand. We’re already looking at a number of possible venues and figuring out our next move.

We came away from this event with a lot to think about and I’ve taken a new step in marketing my work. Best of all, I took another risk and that’s the only way to move forward. In the next couple of weeks, I’ve got a fair bit of post-con work to do from emailing potential clients about commissions and negotiating a licensing deal, not to mention reassessing the inventory I have in stock and figuring out the best way to make use of it. It was a really good weekend and I’m glad I did it.

Even before this show, I had a lot on my plate, so right now, it’s back to drawing and painting, which is what got me into all of this in the first place.

Posted on March 14, 2013March 14, 2013 by Patrick LaMontagne

A Look at the Books

For some reason, I had an overwhelming urge to clear out the books that I was no longer using. I’ve currently got three bookshelves in my office. A couple of them hold novels, magazines, binders, some photo albums, and even a couple of novels I wrote years ago that I never published. Most of what I cleaned out was from those shelves. My wife cured me of any hoarding tendencies many years ago and now I hate clutter and hanging on to things I don’t need. When it comes to art books, however, it’s tough for me to let those go and all of those reside on the bookshelf right beside my desk. Sure, it was easy to recycle the Photoshop World class notes book from 2009 and a Tips and Tricks book from Photoshop CS3, but most of that bookshelf stayed.

Over the years, I’ve seen other artists share insight into what sort of books they have on their shelves, so I thought I’d do the same. First of all, I like reading books and magazines on my iPad, but when it comes to art books, I still like being able to grab one off the shelf, pour a cup of coffee and spend a half hour on the couch leafing through it. It’s just not the same with an e-reader. These are the books I still reference, look through for inspiration, or just enjoy revisiting once in awhile, especially if they’re artists whose work I admire. While I’m not going to go through these book by book, I’ll tell you a little bit about them. I’ve picked these up at the Calgary Expo, bookstores, or online. Some I’ve gone looking for, others I’ve just discovered.

Forgive the badly stitched first photo, but this is the top shelf.

In no particular order since you can find the ones I’m talking about. Drew Struzan is easily my favorite artist and I find endless inspiration from his work. The days of illustrated movie posters are behind us now, but he was the best at it. He still does one or two when fans like Writer/Director Frank Darabont ask him to, but he’s mostly retired, now. Many of these books are instructional by cartoonists and animators I admire and still learn from. Bruce Blitz, Chris Hart, Tom Richmond, Jack Hamm, Tom Bancroft, Richard Williams. Both of Bert Monroy‘s books on Painting in Photoshop are here and those are great. Bert’s style is very photorealistic and while very different from my own work, I’ve learned a lot from him over the years, both in person at Photoshop World and online. There are a couple of books on sculpting with polymer clay, something I’ve always wanted to try but haven’t yet made the time for. A lot of great photo reference books here. Mark Simon‘s Facial Expressions is a fantastic resource. He has one for adults, and another for Babies to Teens. I would recommend these books to any cartoonist or animator. There are a couple of Virtual Pose books, different positions of poses in print and on CD. The Artist’s Photo Reference Series, and not surprisingly, a number of photo reference books for animals. Jill Greenberg’s Bear Portraits and Monkey Portraits are two of my favorite books. She is a master photographer of posed animals and I love her work. Skin by Lee Varis is a cool book for photographers, all about lighting and retouching faces in photos. A lot of applied theory in this book directly relates to painting skin as well.

The second shelf consists mostly of books that feature the work of other artists. The first two on the left are beautiful photo books of faces. Celebrities, actors, well known people of accomplishment. While I’d never use these photos for main reference for a portrait, they’re wonderful for seeing detail in human features, skin texture, lighting. Love these books. Tangled is a favorite animated movie for the artwork. Rustboy was a one man 3D animated movie that never got finished. But the artist had some great ideas, the book is excellent, and he’s moved on to other things. Some artists represented on this shelf are Stephen Silver, Frank Cho (Liberty Meadows cracks me up!), Greg Horn, Luis Royo, Joe Chiodo, Jason Seiler, Bobby Chiu, Joe Bluhm, J.M. Linsner, DPI Studios, Jenn Llewellyn and Tom Bancroft again. A few collections from The Calgary Expo, CrossGen Comics, Ballistic Publishing. Two favorite artists on here that specialize in animal character design are David Colman and Joe Weatherly. Their work has been a great inspiration to me. One book on this shelf, Cartoon Animation by Preston Blair is a must have for cartoonists and animators. I can’t count how many times I’ve referenced this book over the years. And finally, there are books on the right side that I keep within easy reach. Fowler’s Modern English Usage, The Complete Color Harmony, Selling Art 101, Licensing Art 101 and the Graphic Artists Guild bible; Pricing and Ethical Guidelines. While the prices in here aren’t always accurate, due to market fluctuations and the economy, there are great benchmarks for all sorts of freelance artists to base their pricing structures on.

And finally on the third shelf down are the comic strip and editorial cartoonists. Collections of Canadian editorial cartoons by Aislin, Macpherson, Elston, Rodewalt, De Adder, Innes and Raeside as well as a few years of Portfoolio books. Uderzo’s Asterix books have long been favorites, I’ve always loved his artwork. Trudeau’s ‘Doonesbury’, Darby Conley’s ‘Get Fuzzy‘, Berke Breathed’s ‘Bloom County‘ (easily my favorite comic strip of all time), Larson’s ‘The Far Side,’ Scott and Borgman’s ‘Zits‘, Lynn Johnston’s ‘For Better or Worse‘ and Watterson’s ‘Calvin and Hobbes.’ On another shelf, I have four books of Frank Cho’s ‘Liberty Meadows’, which I consider a close second or third to Bloom County.

So there’s a vast amount of useless information for you, a look at which books and artists rev my creative engine and inspire me to want to be a better cartoonist, illustrator and painter. There will always be artists better than you are and it’s in your best interests to seek them out and learn from them. I’ve always found that the best way to do that is to get to know their work.

Posted on February 3, 2013February 3, 2013 by Patrick LaMontagne

Comments and Choices

Just as artists discover their own style, freelance long enough and you’ll discover your business style, too. As the online world changes, faster today than ever before, so will your way of doing things. For example, when I began to post editorial cartoons on this site, I disabled comments because I knew it would turn into a melee of differing political opinions. While I agree with a person’s right to express themselves and argue their point, anybody who strongly disagrees with my point of view can send me an email or write a letter to the editor of one of the publications across Canada in which my cartoons appear. But all one has to do is look at almost any political story on a news website and you’ll see how quickly it gets turned into a free-for-all brawl. Pro-Conservatives will seize any opportunity to further their cause, regardless of whether or not the story warrants it. Pro-Liberals do the same thing. Any real discussion is lost amid the noise. To avoid that, comments have never been allowed on editorial cartoons on this site.

An argument has been made by some in recent years to disable comments on blog posts as well. While I’d never given it much thought, I’ve read some of those arguments, and recently revisited that question. When it comes to interaction with artists, freelancers, and the folks who just generally like my cartoons, social media is where the action is, at least for me. Facebook is where I get the most feedback and where people seem to like to comment the most. It’s also where I get the most questions about how I do things, requests for help, and just general discussion on cartoons, blog posts, and other links. I regularly get commission work on that platform as well.

Twitter is another form of interaction that has proven to be worth my while lately. Not only does it grant access to other people I don’t interact with on Facebook, but I get real time information in short bursts. It also forces me and others to be succinct in posting any links and comments. It took me a long time to see the value in Twitter, but I get it, now, and am using it daily.

Google+ is still an effort for me. I don’t get nearly the interaction there that I get on Facebook or Twitter and have been having a hard time finding the value in the platform. While some would argue that Google+ is where everybody is going, I’m just not seeing it. For awhile, it seemed to be taken over by photographers or at least hyped to be the place where photographers should be, but I only post there lately because it takes two more seconds after I’ve posted to Facebook and Twitter.

When it comes to blog posts, there are many who will tell you that you must keep a blog, while there are others who’ll say blogging is dead. I still believe in keeping a blog, but only because I enjoy writing. If you don’t like writing or teaching, you won’t enjoy it or keep it current.

The point of all of this rambling about my online posting practices is to show that what works for one person may not work for another. Many self proclaimed authorities will tell you the exact methods and devices you must use when it comes to self promotion, but usually they’re just validating their own choices. It’s the same reason the Apple vs. PC, Nikon vs. Canon, Coke vs. Pepsi debates still rage on. If you can get other people to do what you do, then it somehow means you’re right.

The reason so many more people are choosing freelancing as a career is that they want the freedom to make their own choices. It’s a very big reason why I chose to do it. I would much rather screw up and learn from my own mistakes, than take orders from a boss who refuses to admit he ever makes any. With that freedom of choice, it’s important to listen to other professionals and find out what your options are, but then make your own choices based on what you feel is right for your business. Weigh the facts, but trust your gut. We’re all just winging it, even the so-called experts.

When it comes to my website, I think of it like a storefront or a brochure. It’s the image of my business that I want to project. That means controlling the content, the look, and what gets posted.

I don’t get a lot of comments on this site in the first place, largely because most people choose to interact with me on social media, and to be honest, that’s the way I prefer it. While many of the comments I do get are positive and supportive, I regularly have to weed out the ones that are argumentative, ill-informed, and some that are so long, they’re blog entries all on their own. It’s a time suck, and lately, it’s just not working for me. By censoring comments, as well as picking and choosing which I want to show, it would be hard to argue that it’s real interaction, anyway. Consequently, if I allowed anybody to post whatever they want, it would quickly begin to look like a business where the front window is covered in leaflets, announcements, and propaganda for other businesses, agendas, and personal causes. I find neither of those options particularly appealing. The main reason I chose not to sell ad space on my site was to avoid that problem.

Freelancing is a tough gig most of the time, but if you try to please everybody, you’ll be miserable. Make your own choices, judge their effectiveness, make new choices. Keep what works, discard what doesn’t. Repeat ad infinitum.

Today, I’ve decided that even though blog comments used to be mainstays in online interaction, I believe that social media has replaced their usefulness, so I’m disabling them on my website.

Thank you for those who have commented on this site in the past, and just because I’m turning comments off here, doesn’t mean I don’t want to hear from you. I’m on social media every day and am happy to talk with you there. Chances are you found this link on social media in the first place. But if not, here are the links to my social media accounts.

Facebook: LaMontagneCartoonInk

Twitter: @CartoonInk

Google+: Patrick LaMontagne

Posted on July 7, 2012 by Patrick LaMontagne — 2 Comments

Whose life are you living?

Art is a weird job. Whether you’re a musician, painter, photographer or any other professional in a creative field, your job is largely going to be one where you’re flying by the seat of your pants. When you’re first starting out, you spend a lot of time looking to the people who’ve come before you to see how they got where they were going and that’s a good thing. Most success stories start that way. If you’re lucky, as I have been, you’ll find a few mentors along the way, people who might see your potential and give you a helping hand. It’s important to listen to those people because they just may save you from making some mistakes. Oh, you’ll still make lots of mistakes, but if you’re smart, you’ll skip a few, too.

While you’ll always have something to learn as an artist, eventually it’ll dawn on you that you’re no longer a student. You’ll start to realize that not only are you really uncomfortable at the kids table, but you’ve felt that way for some time. Getting up from that table will be uncomfortable as well, because you may not be sure that you’re entitled to. There are some who may turn to look at you with distrust and stern expressions when you do so. Resist the urge to sit back down.

Deferring to your elders will eventually reveal itself to be a double edged sword. While their experience and expertise should be respected and admired, their course is not your course, and in an artistic career, modeling yourself after someone else’s successful career will not propel you forward. It will, in fact, keep you prisoner. At some point, you’ll begin to realize that what worked for somebody else is not going to work for you, based on nothing more than your gut instinct and the knowledge gained from your own experience. Chances are that some who’ve come before you won’t see what you see, and they’ll tell you that you’re doing it wrong. Some will even resent you for your audacity. To move forward, you have to learn to make peace with that and hopefully won’t turn around to see smoke rising from any bridges behind you.

We get caught up in following every little trend and bit of advice, flailing about to hop onto the coattails of others because they may appear to be more successful, and we feel that if they’re doing it, it must be right, even if everything in our being tells us its wrong for our own path. Successful people don’t become so by copying someone else’s dance steps. Photographers that try to be Annie Liebowitz, painters that try to mimic Van Gogh, and actors that pattern themselves after Tom Hanks are eventually going to realize they have no identity of their own and that their life’s work is a poor copy.

Learn from your predecessors, evaluate their methods, and admire their successes, but be yourself. Someone else’s judgment should not supersede your own, simply because they appear to be more successful or have had a longer career. If you only get this one go round, and you’re fortunate enough to be able to do so as an artist, don’t waste it living someone else’s life.

Posted on July 5, 2012July 5, 2012 by Patrick LaMontagne — 2 Comments

Lessons, Light, and Joe McNally

Joe McNally is an incredible photographer whose work I’ve enjoyed for awhile. Visit his website at joemcnally.com, look through his portfolio, and it’ll tell you all you need to know about him.

Sure, I like taking snapshots like anyone else, but I don’t want to be a photographer. The mechanics of photography reminds me of my struggles with high school math, and even though the calculations involved with ISOs, shutterspeeds, and aperture settings eventually become somewhat instinctual to an experienced shooter, I really haven’t the interest in doing the work it would require to become proficient with a camera. My time is already maxed out learning to be a better painter.

So why did I bother attending Joe’s ‘One Light, Two Light’ seminar in Calgary yesterday? Well, there were a couple of reasons. One, Joe is a master of light. There is something in the quality of the portraits he takes that seems a little ethereal. There is a life in his images that evokes an emotional response. To me, that’s the definition of art.

The other reason is that Joe has a reputation for enjoying his work. Anyone who underestimates the value of passion is completely missing the point of an artistic pursuit. Joe will be 60 in a few weeks and has been working behind a camera for more than 30 years. Not only does he still seem to be enjoying himself, but he has an infectious sense of humour and a charismatic way of teaching that is incredibly inspiring.

This wasn’t a Photoshop seminar. All of the work Joe was doing, in fact, was ‘in camera.’ I also found out that when he works for National Geographic, something he has done many times, they require that none of the files ever sees a photo-editing program.

Joe’s ‘no B.S.’ tone when he talks about gear, technique, and ‘the rules’ was refreshing. I hang around a lot of photographers and some of the arguments these folks have when it comes to gear, settings, and quoting the ‘experts’ can be downright combative. Joe doesn’t seem to bother himself with that nonsense. At one point, he even held up his camera and said, “This is just an expensive blender.”

It might seem obvious to say that you can learn a lot from the work of other artists. Too often, however, a painter will only look at other painters, a sculptor at other sculptors, and a photographer…you get my point.

I know of many talented artists who are doing very well and have a great many devoted followers. While I appreciate their expertise, their work may not move me. I’m absolutely certain that many would say the same when referring to my artwork. Hey, different strokes for different folks. So, when you find work of another artist that does excite you, ask yourself why, especially if they don’t work in your medium. Obviously there’s something there that’s worth exploring. Joe’s work speaks to me, and I don’t say that lightly.

When I mentioned on Facebook that I was attending this event, my photographer friend Susan joked, “What do you need with flash anyway?” referring to the fact that the workshop was all about flash photography and the different techniques to get the best results.

Another photographer friend, Gudrun, who was sitting with me at the seminar, posted on her page after the event, “Joe McNally’s seminar today was good, but my favourite part was watching how excited Patrick got seeing some of the lighting results!”

They were both right. While the technical aspects were interesting to watch, most of it was entirely lost on me as a painter. I worked on sketches whenever Joe was talking about the gear. It was the results that made me sit up and take notice, and yes, I found it exciting. Great light just does it for me.

I found myself looking at some of the portraits and techniques, asking myself, how would I paint that light? What would I do differently? How could I replicate that photography technique in a painting?

Art is supposed to be about expanding your horizons, not limiting them. While there are other art forms I do want to try, sculpting being one of them, I’ve never been bitten by the photography bug, which is probably a good thing, considering how much money they spend on gear. Hanging around with photographers for a number of years, however, has taught me just as much about my own medium as it has about theirs.

Posted on December 28, 2011 by Patrick LaMontagne — 2 Comments

The upside of 2011

Bighorn Sheep Totem All things considered, 2011 was a great year. While every year will have it’s challenges, I’ve been fortunate that I’m honestly able to see each year of the past decade as having continual forward momentum. The work I’m doing is far beyond what I had hoped for when I first started in this profession and I’m very grateful for it.

I became nationally syndicated in September of 2001, sending cartoons out across Canada each week, and got very few bites. For two years, I had no more than three newspapers, paying the bare minimum rate, and I will admit to almost giving up on it more than a few times. With a full-time job to pay the bills, I had to get up at 5:00am each morning to get a cartoon out before I went to work. When I came home, I had to sketch in the evening and work on the weekends in order to manage it all. Finally I started making progress, got a few more papers, took advantage of other opportunities, and about six years ago, I was able to leave my job and play this game full-time.

Through it all was my ever supportive wife, Shonna, and I’m incredibly grateful that she never told me not to do any of this. The only caveat given when I went full-time was that if I couldn’t pay my half of the mortgage and bills, I had to go back to work. Canmore is an expensive place to live and we couldn’t do it on one income. Fortunately, it never came to that, and each year has been better than the one before. At the time, it was an incredible struggle, but in retrospect, I’m glad I had to go through it because it makes the present all that much sweeter.

If my 2001 self could see the work I’m doing now, he’d be pleasantly surprised, and I try to think about that when I’m having a bad day or feeling sorry for myself because of a heavy workload or when money is tight. So far, I’ve not only gotten what I wanted, I’ve gotten much more. Best of all, I discovered that I loved getting up at 5:00am to work, I still sketch in the evenings, and being self-employed means you often work weekends anyway, so I was already used to the routine. Now, I can’t imagine doing anything else.

Here’s a recap of my professional highlights of this past year, some of which I’d forgotten about until I went back through the blog entries month by month.

iPad Painting: Started playing around with this in January, and damn if it hasn’t been a lot of fun figuring it all out. Ended up trying four different styli and half a dozen apps. It would seem that I’ve finally settled on the Wacom Bamboo Stylus, the Nomad minibrush, and the procreate app. The combination of those three gives me the best results, and while I don’t consider anything I paint on the iPad to be finished work, I would go so far as to call it advanced sketching, and I plan to keep doing it.

PhotoshopCAFE DVDs: In March, I finished my first DVD, called Cartoon Illustration Techniques in Photoshop. Easily one of the most difficult projects I’ve ever worked on. Having only done a little bit of sound and video editing for a failed Flash animation project a few years back, it was a struggle. But I finished it, it went into production, and is selling well. I’ve heard from many who bought the DVD that have learned a lot from it and complimented me on my instruction, so I’m guessing I didn’t do so bad a job.

The second DVD, Animal Painting in Adobe Photoshop, was a lot easier and a lot more enjoyable as I wasn’t teaching raw Photoshop beginners. It was more about the painting than the software and while it was a challenge, the difficulty I went through with the first DVD paid off while recording the second as there were few problems I hadn’t already solved. Recording one DVD this year would have been enough of a milestone, but I never expected to record two, and to be very pleased with both of them.

Cartoon Ink: While my old website was ‘fine,’ it had become difficult to use and it was no longer the image I wanted to project. While I had always done my own website in the past, this time I realized one of the most important business practices that so many have learned before me. Hire professionals to do their job, so you can focus on doing yours. With that in mind, I hired Erik Bernskiold of XLD Studios in Sweden to create a new website for me. I knew Erik’s work and know him personally, so I was confident he would deliver much more than I could create myself. With the help of Elizabeth Gast at Design by Firgs, another colleague and good friend who consulted on the site, and created an improved evolution of my logo, I was very pleased with the final logo and website and would highly recommend both of their work. The time I saved was well worth the money spent and reduced stress.

Wacom: I began to form a relationship with the great folks at Wacom at Photoshop World in 2010 after I won the Guru Awards for two of my Totem paintings and I couldn’t be happier about it. Having used their tablets since the late 90’s, you won’t find a bigger fan, so I’m very pleased to be working with them from time to time.

Over the course of the year, I’ve been featured in the Wacom eNews, have represented the company and demonstrated their products at one of Scott Kelby’s seminars in Calgary, and have been a featured guest on two of their one-hour Wacom webinars. The people I’ve worked with at Wacom have been incredibly supportive and are absolute pros at what they do and I look forward to a continuing relationship with them.

The photo shown here is Joe Sliger demonstrating the new Wacom Inkling for me at Photoshop World this year. He is also one of the moderators of the webinars.

Island Art Publishers: In July of this year, I began a licensing deal for some of my Totem paintings to be produced on art cards. These are distributed throughout Western Canada and the northwestern U.S. and time will tell whether this arrangement bears any fruit. An artist friend once told me that art cards are often your best advertising, because not only does the person buying it see your work, but so does the person receiving it. You may not make much money early on, but it’s enough to get your work out there to a market that otherwise might not see it. And the cards look really good.

Photoshop World: While it’s true that I didn’t learn much about technique or improving my work at this year’s Photoshop World in Las Vegas, I still think it was worth attending because of the networking opportunities. Having recorded two DVDs for PhotoshopCAFE, it was great to finally meet the owner of the company in person, and see their operation on the Expo Floor. I was able to meet a few more of the Wacom folks in person, and talk with other industry professionals I otherwise might not have had the opportunity to talk to. Online interaction is fine, but it doesn’t compare with face-to-face conversations. So while I won’t be going back as an attendee, I still think this year’s trip was well worth it.

knmadventures At the time, I was doing some illustration work for wildlife photographer and instructor, Moose Peterson as well, and being able to go over sketches with him in person was a real treat, as most of the time this would have all been done online. The other benefit of the Photoshop World conference is that I get to meet with so many talented photographers, many of whom I consider close friends. For somebody who relies on great photo reference for my painted work, their skills and talent are often one of my most valuable resources, not to mention their generosity with their work, and the support they offer for mine.

Paintings: Saved the best for last. I am so very pleased with the progress I’ve made on my painted work this year. The first half of the year, I was so busy with the DVDs and other work that I only painted one animal in my Totem series, the Great Horned Owl. When I realized this in the latter half of the summer, I was ticked off. The work I love to do most, I had placed in last priority. In retrospect, however, I’m glad it happened because when I realized it, I vowed it would never happen again and it stoked the fire. The end result is that from September to December, I’ve painted a number of new images and I feel they are my best work to date.

I had been becoming bored with painted caricatures of people in the past couple of years, but recently, I’ve realized that it wasn’t people I was bored with painting, just caricatures of them. Beginning with a couple of iPad paintings, I’ve discovered how very much I enjoy painting portraits, and I’ve done a couple of pieces recently that I’ve really enjoyed. Inspired by the work of Drew Struzan and others, I think I’ll be painting a lot more portraits of people, if nothing more than for the sheer enjoyment of it. While style is always evolving, I think my paintings now have a definitive look that is mine, whether it’s people or animals, and it’s one I want to continue to develop and refine.

I’m now getting commissions to paint pet portraits and caricature this year, and it’s really enjoyable work. The painting of Don Diego that I did for my DVD, the memorial to Titus the cat, and to being able to finally create a real painting for my folks of their dog, Bailey, it’s looking like this could be a big part of my work in the coming years. Working on another commission at the moment, and having fun with it.

My real passion, however, is still the Animal Totems. Nothing I’ve ever done in my career has filled me with as much joy as that I get from painting these whimsical caricatures of wildlife. Not only are they fun to work on, but they sell well in the galleries which means others like them, too. I’ve been fortunate that a number of wildlife photographers I know have been willing to sell me the license rights to use their photos as reference, or have enjoyed my work enough to want to trade me the use of their images for canvas prints of the painting when it’s done, both of which I’m more than willing to do.

Each of them is my favorite for different reasons, but the one I was most happy with this year was the Humpback Whale Totem. I don’t know if it’s because I’ve wanted to paint it for so long or that it was such a challenge to paint an animal with no fur or hair, and the end result lived up to my expectations. Either way, these paintings are the only work I’ve ever done that I still enjoy months and even a year after I’ve painted one. That alone tells me this is the work I’m meant to do, at least for now.

As you can see, I’ve had a very good year, and I’m grateful for it. For all of you that follow my work, your messages of support here on the blog, through social media, and email are all appreciated. It’s a solitary existence, this freelance lifestyle, and it’s nice to know that others are getting enjoyment out of the work I do. And if you’re struggling with your own creative endeavors, whether you’ve just begun or are just trying to keep going, I would urge you not to give up. It may not seem like it in the moment, but I assure you, if it’s something you love to do, it’s worth the effort.