some thumbnails of my illustrations

some thumbnails of my illustrations
Please click on the links below to view my portfolio ........ Images copyright of Carrie Osborne

Tuesday, 10 April 2012

A Dragon, a Singer and a Fish... or remembering how to paint!

A friend of ours offered to have the children for a bit today so I made an attempt to get on with finishing my three spreads for my dummy book which has been taking far, far too long... wish I could fix that darn time stasis machine!
I don't currently have my own work space in the new house, so I took possesion of our tiny dining room for the day and just, only just, squeezed my drawing boards onto the teeny weeny table!

A great impetous for getting on with chiselling off the old crumbly mortar from the walls of what will become my eventual studio!
I found myself terrified of putting brush to these paintings again after such a long time away from them. I don't usually leave a painting until its finished and never come back to finished pieces to meddle, but events just got in the way of progress on these.
I moved them on and the dragon spread on the easel is now finished, but am having somewhat of a crisis of confidence in the quality of any of them.
I think really this has more to do with the fact that these paintings will have to try to sell my story to a potential publisher, and this being my first shot at it I'm finding it hugely intimidating. Still its a learning curve and you don't know if you don't try it. I'll just brace for those rejection letters and dig around for some self-belief!
Here's a bit of work-in-progress on one of the spreads anyway...


I'm looking forward to getting this whole project wrapped up and putting it all together in its 'promo package' as it were, but actually I'm itching to get started on my next story which right now I have so much more confidence in, I'm really excited about the whole feeling of it.
I'll just give myself a little time to get settled and wait for the words to unravel from the images that have been tucked away in my mind all this time.
The natural rhythm of my creative wanderings seem to be leaning back towards language and writing at the moment, so I feel its almost time to begin!

9 comments:

  1. It is such a tragedy that all of us creative souls lose our confidence now and again... or maybe that encourages us to work REALLY hard to improve. Would we strive for better and better if we thought we were really quite impressive? I wonder, and will keep wondering, in the meantime, I'm confindent that the right publisher will jump at a chance to publish you!

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    1. I think a lot of creative people must have that destructive little voice whispering in their ear, mine has a particularly cruel barbed tongue and long claws, and has been with me a long time. It goes deep, beyond my creative life, to the tangled roots of me, but I have learnt to recognise it for what it is - my Ragged Demon, the crippled part of me that I have to fight.
      Now I sound a bit loony, but giving it shape and form has always helped me rise above it...
      But its true, when we push ourselves to overcome obsticals, whether physical or of the mind, then we truly grow and gain strength from it.
      Thanks for the encouraging words... and sorry for such a heavy going response - seemed to trigger something in me there which probebly needed to be drawn into focus and expressed! Sorry you copped it Valerianna, but also thanks for letting me feel able to say it! I kind of feel like you'd get it!
      Carrie... :)

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    2. Ho yes, I know a ragged demon too. And it's been getting the better of me recently. I seem to be unable to pick up a pencil or brush lately, that fear that somehow I've lost whatever it was I had. And like yours, it goes deeper than my creative self. A loss of faith in myself. It's a constant battle, more so for creative types it seems, I don't know why. But I DO know that your book will be gorgeous Carrie, and I am looking forward to being able to purchase a copy for my munchkins (and myself of course!)

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    3. Yes, I didn't realise it until I started exploring this little arty blog world community, that so many creative souls struggle with this. Sorry to hear yours has dug his claws in Christina, I do hope you can banish him away soon... it can feel so crippling in the grips of it, but on the other side of it things can seem to shine more brightly after the darkness, perhaps because of that very darkness.

      Thanks for your words of confidence in my little book! I think its just about ready to go out into the wide scary world and come what may of it! No excuses for putting it off any more!
      Also I have been thinking of wolves lately and of your transfixing poem of Beauty that I absolutely love... From the very first reading it has put down roots in my mind, whisperings of wolf-song and wildness. I would really love to buy one of your prints of her, could you give me a shout when you have one in your etsy shop please and I'll leap over and buy one!
      Take care Christina
      Carrie... :)

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  2. Carrie, the paintings are beautiful. I do hope you'll see your book in print one day - from what I've seen, it certainly deserves to be!

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    1. Thankyou Lynn, I will plug on with it, and if this one is not meant to be, then maybe the next one will be... or the next!

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  3. I agree with both Valerianna and Lynn; your work is wonderful and deserves to be shared with a wider audience. I've received nothing but compliments about the print I was so lucky to have won from you a few weeks ago, so it must be so!

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    1. Thanks Kate, I'm so glad you're enjoying the Raven print, and its getting compliments too, wow :) As you can see I've adopted him for a thumbnail - good to finally reclaim my own indentity back from the business logo on here. It was getting very annoying that the business that demands so much of my time and energy in real-time life, was encroaching on my little creative space here. The business blog can fend for itself, so there!

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  4. I simply love the textures you are able to achieve with your watercolors. Beautiful blending of colors too.

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