I'm Still Here!

Wow, it's almost been a month since I've posted anything. I apologize! I have definitely been working on drawings though, I just can't really post any of them yet. My illustration project for "The Mahogany Door" is underway, I've done half of the rough sketches, so I am still on track with the timeline I have set for myself. Hurray! However, I realized just the other day that I'm starting to miss my Ant and Cricket project. It has been put aside while I work on this book and knowing that I probably wont be able to get back to it until the end of summer makes me sad! Maybe I'll try to squeeze in a few more of those drawings as I work.

I have, however, had time to do some reading and pondering. As some of you can tell, I have spent some time studying Beauty/Aesthetics over the past few years and just recently that study has become more intense and the more I learn, the more I WANT to learn! I have read a few good books so far, and I still have a pile sitting on my nightstand waiting to be read. Currently I am reading "Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Art" by Robert Stecker. I haven't gotten too far yet, but it brings up some interesting topics and poses some interesting and thoughtful questions. For example: One section talks about how increased knowledge of an object can change the aesthetic value we place on that object. Did you know, the sunsets we find the most beautiful are caused by the refraction of light because of higher than normal occurances of certain kinds of particles in the atmosphere. A typical cause of the increase in particles is air pollution. So with the new knowledge, does the aesthetic value you place on sunsets decrease? OR does it actually become less beautiful? Should appreciation based on false belief be regarded as essentially flawed? This is some heavy stuff the think about!

I've also recently watched this video called "Why Beauty Matters". It is VERY interesting and has really gotten me worked up about the importance and value of beauty in our lives. We live in an ugly world, but there are still beautiful things in it to enjoy. Modern art, a lot of the time, seems to focus on all the bad and all the ugly. I want to find wonder and sit in the beauty of majestic mountains, not spend all my time complaining about the ugliness of this world that I must live in.

I could go on and on all day, so I'll just stop here. Ha! But I believe my study of beauty and aethetics will be a life long study and I am so very excited to discover more and more.

Hopefully I will have some time soon to just draw for myself so I can post something for you guys! Thanks for sticking with me!

Sketch

Here's a sketch for a project that, sadly, never went anywhere...Maybe I'll use it for something else.

Print Store - Now Open!

My Print Store is now open for all to use! Check it out, see what you like, purchase something, and tell your friends and family! It SHOULD be all set up to be nice and easy when paying with PayPal. Or you can e-mail me your order.

If there is anything that isn't working in the checkout process, please let me know so I can fix it!

Thanks for all your support everyone!

Lauren Gallegos Print Store

The Ant and The Cricket - Spread 8

HURRAY! Another spread complete! 4 down, 6 to go!

Some good news and some bad news...first the bad news: This project is going to have to be put on the backburner again...maybe not completely, but at least partly....but that's because of the good news! I am negotiating a contract with someone to illustrate his YA fantasy novel that he is self-publishing! I don't want to get TOO excited yet....BUT that means I'll technically be a published illustrator! Woohoo!

I'll keep you updated on what I can so stay tuned!

Print Store - Coming Soon!

I have decided to make my own print store for my website. I have been hesitant to do it because it could potentially be a lot of work (assuming lots of people buy prints!) trying to print, package, and ship everything myself. So I considered setting up a store on a host site (like fineprintamerica.com or etsy.com) but they usually have an annual fee, they take part of the commission, and I can't check the quality of the prints. SO, since I like to control everything...I MEAN....umm...since I want to make sure customers get great quality prints, I am going to run my own store. I think it will be a great opportunity to grow in my understanding of the business side of my work (which I'm really not too fond of, I'd rather just draw all day!).

I am currently working on how to organize the store, how to receive payments, deciding which prints to sell, and so on, so it will be awhile still until the store is up and running. But keep an eye out for updates on my progress...it's coming soon!

Recent Work - Freelance Spot Illustrations

I recently was hired to do 13 illustrations for "flashcards" to help kids learn the colors in Spanish. Each image has a story to help them remember the Spanish word for each color. Here are a few of my favorites out of the bunch.

Portfolio on Childrensillustrators.com!

After some careful and reasonable consideration I have decided to purchase a place to put my portfolio up on Childrensillustrators.com. It's quite a bit of money (at least for me) but if I get just one job out of it, it will pay for itself and then some. So my fingers are crossed for someone to contact me for some work! It is a very popular and well used site for finding children's illustrators. When I worked at Piggy Toes it was one of the first sites I was instructed to check to find illustrators, so I'm sure many other publishers do the same!

Here's a link to my portfolio page! Check it out, tell your friends, and share the link with others! Thanks to everyone for your support and encouragement!

Lauren Gallegos' Portfolio