I’ll be selling screened paper dolls for $20. Quite a bargain for a screen print! I wanted to make affordable art for everyone to enjoy. A portion of the proceeds will benefit OC Fashion Association to help fund OC Fashion Week coming up May 18th through May 22nd, 2011 in Downtown Santa Ana’s Artist Village. I will also have paintings from my new “Chicks with Glasses” series!

The Los Angeles Times Illustration

Please be on the lookout for my illustration appearing in The Los Angeles Time’s Kid’s Reading Room section on March 20th, 2011! It’s my first illustration for a famous newspaper!

Grrl Fair Speaking Engagement

I will be speaking about Self-Promotion for Artists at the 10th Annual Grrl Fair in Santa Ana on March 12th, 2011 from 4pm to 5pm. It’s free! Stick around to listen to live music, attend workshops, and buy arts and crafts and swing by “Unseamingly OC: Fashion and Art Collide” in Anaheim between 6pm and 10pm.

Also, don’t forget to come out to Patchwork Indie Arts & Crafts Festival in Santa Ana on Sunday, November 28th from 11am to 5pmat Main Street and Buffalo. There will be a TON of other vendors selling great arts, crafts and food! I will be showcasing art, t-shirts, greeting cards, and I’ll have a fine selection of vintage clothing and accessories this time! This is something new for me but I’m excited to share these one-of-a-kind goodies.

I will also will have my portfolio and display of my creative design services at Patchwork.

Need extra style for your marketing campaign, fresh fashion lifestyle artwork or even a birthday card for your little one? I can do it all! Mention this email and you can get 10% off your purchase or a free design consultation!

Hope to see you all soon!

Here’s some photos of me live painting at the opening of the exhibit “Thrown Together” at Glass House Records photographed by Gordon Dooley. Thank you Gordon!

photo of me by Jeehyun Hoke

I had never been to a conference before so I had no idea what to expect. I was expecting to sell myself to every person I met like what happens at conventions. This was not the case. It was more like summer camp for illustrators complete with scary stories of evil art directors, bonding over inside jokes, and a general giddiness that comes from hangin’ with your tribe.

I promised to share my notes with everyone who wasn’t able to attend–and I took copious notes. There was such a plethora of information and I’ve got work to catch up on, so my notes are succinct. If you would like me to clarify or expand upon anything, please feel free to ask!

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Day One – Collage Workshop:

7/15/10 – Collage Workshop: With Maria Rendon, Katherine Streeter, Ellen Weinstein, and Brian Stauffer

The collage workshop began with the presenters sharing their influences and process. Afterwards, they posed the design project “Los Angeles: A city of angels, the city of angles.” I interpreted that from a model/actress point of view. Star struck folks in LA seek their time in the spotlight. I created a collage of angels with wings that were fashion accessories in photo frames bathed in the light bulb’s sunlight. It’s their heavenly moment! Keep in mind we only had a couple of hours for the project! It’s messy!

As I said, the presenters Maria Rendon, Katherine Streeter, Ellen Weinstein, and Brian Stauffer all shared their influences, process, and tips. Thank you Maria, Katherine, Ellen, and Brian for sharing your many years of valuable experience!

Influences:

Joseph Cornell – 40s/50s dimensional work, shadow boxes

Calder – wire figures, circus video on YouTube.

Hannah Hoch – German Dadaist, photo montage

John Heartfield - anti-nazi controversial art

Raymond Hains – removed layers by building and tearing away

Metropolitan Museum of Art – “Playing With Pictures: Art of Victorian Collage”

Raoul Hausmann – Berlin Dadaist

Max Ernst – Dadaist and Surrealist

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Process and Tips for Collage:

Katherine Streeter

• work more conceptual than literal
• with first time clients: do sketches first, explain the stages, send many concepts
• check out “Cannonball Lady”, French illustration magazine
• “American Illustration” magazine

Maria Rendon

• process send 3-5 sketches, line drawings, then fabricate
• uses scroll saw for wood

Ellen Weinstein

• photograph friends for reference poses
• paint textures to scan in
• likes to twist everyday objects in unexpected ways
• important to do personal work, for shows

Brian Stauffer

• collects textures and shapes to use for something else, scan in fabric, wood, etc
• used old magazine photograph of a can for: bomb, condom, shark
• uses the dodge and burn tool in Photoshop to fill in detail
• made smoke in Photoshop with a solid color twisted and warped

More tips:

• used old family photos, no worries about copyright
• if hired by a publication see if you can use their photo archives
• be consistent in your work because folks hiring want to know what they are getting
• don’t ever give your rights away

I hope that these notes are somewhat useful! Like I said, if you need further clarification, please don’t hesitate to ask! I’ll be posting more about ICON 6 soon.

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By the way, I commented on the Keynote Presentation on Friday, July 16th on the future of illustration on the PRINT magazine blog by Michael Dooley. Check it out and contribute your thoughts:

http://imprint.printmag.com/animation/icon-reax-is-animation-the-future-of-illustration/

I sketched these at Handmade Brigade of OC’s Block Party at my craft booth. It was fun seeing people’s responses to my sketches. I am always surprised to hear “I wish I could do that” or “I can’t draw.” I tell folks who say that that anyone can draw! All it takes is practice, just like anything else! I try to draw every day, if I can, though sometimes it’s doodling while on the phone or drawing in Illustrator for my graphic design work.

I try to let myself experiment and try new things. Earlier this year I took a Personal Finance class so I could learn accounting, how to save for retirement, etc. Why not try something new and play with it? There’s so much to learn and we only hold ourselves back.

But it’s OK not to do everything yourself.  Some things (like car maintenance) I’d rather leave to the professionals!

For the folks who would rather hire someone to draw or design something for them, I would like to extend an offer for services. I can design your party invitation, do the marketing materials for your business, draw your portrait, illustrate for your ‘zine, or design your rock band’s flyer! I have a bunch of experience, if you’d like to peruse my portfolio.

I thought I’d throw this out there since I have been getting random requests from people checking out my booth at craft shows. If you’ve been looking for help, I can help!

Email me:

aileen@aileenholmes.com

Thanks everyone for coming out to Patchwork Indie Arts and Crafts Festival last month! Also, thank you SpiderTeo for taking these photos! Please check out his artwork! Also, he drew my portrait. Please check out his site and hire him to do your custom portrait!

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Here’s some photos of Handmade Brigade of Orange County’s Block Party:

It was so great to show at Handmade Brigade of Orange County’s Block Party in Santa Ana. I was born and raised in Santa Ana, CA, the home of such cultural diversity and flavor. I was happy to contribute to the spice of OC!

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I’m psyched. My next show is going to be at Piecemakers Peddler’s Market. It’s a craft show AND a garage sale. I’ll be selling some of my vintage wares along with my art prints, t-shirts and greeting cards!

http://www.piecemakers.com/events/peddlers.html

Please come out on Saturday, August 7th 8am to 3pm, 1720 Adams, Costa Mesa, CA. Oh, and you can buy PIE for breakfast! : )

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Please come to Block Party Indie Craft Show by Handmade Brigade on Saturday, July 10th from 11am to 5pm.  It’s at the Fiesta Marketplace in Downtown Santa Ana on the corner of 3rd and Bush.  There’s going to be over 75 vendors, including me!  : )  I hope you can stop by my booth to see my art prints, t-shirts and jewelry collaboration with Le Modern Trinket.

For infomation, check out the Handmade Brigade site:

http://www.handmadebrigadeofoc.com

Thanks for your support, everyone!  I hope you enjoy your fine holiday weekend!

Earlier tonight at Drink N’ Draw we all laid out a big piece of white paper on the table and doodled.  This is what I came up with!  : )

Christina Sanchez (aka Le Modern Trinket) and I just did an awesome jewelry collaboration!  I provided the imagery and she incorporated it into her awesome upcycled vintage pieces!  Each piece is one-of-a-kind and highly collectible!  She debuted the pieces yesterday at Patchwork Show in Santa Ana.  We will be showing the pieces at my upcoming craft shows!  I’m very psyched about this and thank Christina very much for being such an enthusiastic and creative collaborator!  For those who can’t make it to the shows, I’ll share the Etsy links when Christina puts ‘em up.  : )

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I’ll be selling at many craft shows in the coming months!

Sunday, June 27th - Patchwork Show Indie Arts & Crafts Festival, 11-5pm, Marine Stadium Park, Appian Way @ Nieto, Long Beach, CA 90803

Saturday, July 10th – Handmade Brigade Block Party, 11-5pm, Downtown Santa Ana @ the Fiesta Marketplace on the corner of 3rd + Bush St.

Saturday, August 7th -Piecemakers Peddler’s Market, 8am – 3pm, 1720 Adams Avenue, Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Saturday, August 21st – Santiago Arts District Craft Show, TBA

I hope to see you at my upcoming craft shows!  This is my first time officially setting up a booth at craft shows.  I’ve had booths at The ARTery Gallery and Salon Bleu in the past and I thank them greatly for my upcoming craft fair frenzy!