THE DAY JAKE LOGAN ROBERTSON RAN OUT OF HUGS (And the day a dream came true for this illustrator!)

"All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them"
(Walt Disney)

So today, the 13th of February 2015 marks an important day in my journey as an illustrator and creative business. 
After perhaps six months or more of hard work, my first ever children's eBook "The Day Jake Logan Robertson Ran Out Of Hugs" by  American author A. Nicky Hjort and illustrated by yours truly goes on sale on the publishers bookstore!  The book explores the power that a hug can have. It's a touching and sweet story centreing around a little boy named Jake who inherently knows about the magic a hug can create.

An author (of another book) originally contacted me in June last year after seeing my work on Illustrators Australia and then reading my blog. She passed my details and portfolio onto Jetblack Publishing who then contacted me to ask if I would be interested in working on this lovely book. Jetblack Publishing is a relatively new publishing house based in Melbourne but works with illustrators and authors from all over the planet. One of the reasons I was quick to say yes to working with Jetblack Publishing is that they donate 20% of the price paid for each eBook to the Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation. ALNF is the first independent charity in Australia dedicated to raising national language, literacy and numeracy standards especially in remote in marginalised communities. 

Having been a performing arts teacher to young people for well over a decade I couldn't refuse. I agree with the ALNF in that reading and writing is a basic human right. To know that my work may assist children who perhaps would not be allowed this right fills my heart with hope and pushes my pencil on the paper with much pride.

Visit the ALNF website to see their great work!


And Check out my book in the Jetblack Publishing Book Store!

OTHER EXCITING NEWS
Today is also the day I officially launch my very own website!
The task of creating a website is one I think I have avoided for the past year since graduation with a diploma in design. My web coding classes were the hardest out of all my classes. Codes, numbers and logical thinking has never been something that I excell at. However, after much discussion with fellow creatives and small business owners I knew that a website was imperitive to create one single online hub for all my online avenues. With a website I could link my online shops, have a little gallery of my favourite pieces, introduce who I am with simplicity and of course link my blog!

I used the web builder Weebly for my website. And I must say - the process was very straightforward and enjoyable! No coding was needing. The templates that Weebly offer are easy to use and allow for creative flexibility so that you can create the exact look you are after. The result is a website that I think is both easy to navigate around and stylish.

Visit Lou Endicott Illustration & Design Webpage

I am so exicited to have louendicott.com.au as a hub for my work and for a place for people to contact me for commissioned work.

Needless to say, the heart is filled with much gratitude right now :-)

I hope wherever you are today you are dreaming big!
Creatively yours
Lou

The Shifting Seasons

"In the depth of winter. I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer."

- Albert Camus

So it has been a full season since I wrote on this blog. So much has transpired. Little things, like small crystal beads are slowly threading their way on a string to make up the life of dreams that I wish to live.

In between threading my dream beads via illustration and design, I have been seeking opportunities to be creative, get fit and healthy, earn a living, reconnect with nature and understand the meaning of life and happiness.
Yes. Just small things! I'm sure that they can be figured out in just one season? ;-)

The winter season brought many an adventure and many an opportunity. I was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to direct a primary school musical with a beautiful school. As my first year as an illustrator, the opportunity to work in any creative field in tandem with my freelance work is a bonus (and also helped pay the rent!). The last three months I worked every week at a primary school directing the tale of Pinocchio. 

Here is a doodle I created during a train trip to rehearsals:

I enjoyed using my acting coaching and directing skills as part of this contract. It was a lot of fun and I relished the chance to laugh and create with kids every week and finish with an end result that we were all proud of! 








On performance day I presented my co-director (the school music teacher) with this gift of a framed original water colour illustration. 
I wanted to embody her joy of music and the ideas that flowed so easily from her soul. There needs to be more passionate, open hearted and joyous children's educators in the world, and so I wanted to remind her that her path is mighty, adds colour and meaning to the lives of children and is highly important. I think she liked it! I was reminded of how much I love to give hand made presents - and how much I love working with water colour. I still have lots to learn with this medium, but every project is a lesson in itself.

I am also teaching for musical theatre school on weekends and after school. We are currently working on Disney's "The Little Mermaid". I'm directing three casts aged between 6 and 17years on this musical. My script is filled with doodles galore of course. Here's a doodle from the front page!

 I spent the winter season getting fit and healthy and added regular exercise to my week in the form of jogging, dancing and aerobics. I might have worn my 80s style leggings more than necessary and teamed them with shoes OTHER than my trainers…. 

Apart from exercising I decided to embark on a diet change (a peskatarian version of a low carb high fat diet) that has truly benefited my dream path. Apart from losing over 7 kilos in two months, the true perks of this new diet has included my mind becoming sharper, my mood more elevated and levelled, enjoying energy levels I have never felt before and my health and vitality increasing (including losing swelling and pain around a thumb that doctors had said was "incurable arthritits"). As an artist, this last point needless to say is life changing.

I decided in early July to take a surprise trip up to my family in Brisbane to reconnect with those I love and come back to  my roots. My parents were both in joyful tears with surprise when I showed up (complete with flowers for Mum and whiskey for Dad). I was reminded of the love that is always there for me in my family. I also got to spend time with my gorgeous niece (aged 3 and a half) and have a drawing session with her. One night we went out to a family restaurant. I bought her a "kids activity pack" at the restaurant which included a puzzle, stickers and a colouring-in sheet. I put it on the table as a surprise when she went with her Mum to the restroom. Impulsively I took the back of the order receipt and drew some pictures for her to copy and put it on the table next to the activity pack. When she came back she sat down and within one or two heartbeats contemplated both the activity pack and the paper with my markings and picked up a pen and went straight into copying my doodles. It amazes me how she just trusted herself and didn't let herself double think about what she chose to do or how she chose to do it. Absolute confidence and absolute attention to the joyous task at hand. She is indeed a teacher for me.

Illustration wise, as an emerging artist I have been busy trying to get my work "out there". My Redbubble Shop has seen quite a few sales with some pieces I put up earlier in the year, plus a few new additions as well. Redbubble - Lou Endicott portfolio

Here are a few happy customers who were kind enough to send me pics of happy people wearing my designs! 

 

I can barely express the joy and gratitude I feel when I see these happy people wearing my illustrations! There is something so tangible and so measurable to know that someone chooses to wear your art… It is truly humbling and makes my heart sing. 

And here I am last week exploring the natural wilderness here in Victoria in my own designed hoodie (it's so comfortable - I'm wearing it right now as I type this post!):

And here are a few new designs I have put up over the winter months:

Last weekend I was lucky enough to hear about a workshop with the legendary Oslo Davis - illustrator and cartoonist extraordinaire. His satire, gentle musings and blatant truths have been a wonderful antenna of our society and a new inspiration for me of late. I took part in a workshop at Third Drawer Down in Prahran just over a week ago and was reminded of the power and humour that illustration holds. My friend Bekky Halls (aka illustrator Saint Damascus) joined me to learn some insights on the world of funny and drawing. Check out Oslo's awesome work here: Oslo's Awesome Work

I have also been fortunate enough to be featured in a beautiful Australian magazine "Bespoke" issue 14  that promotes artists and makers. I received a copy of this gorgeous magazine in my mail today!  This issue focuses on Spring and embellishments and adornments. I make mention of two of my favourite handmade jewellery designers in this magazine Tess and Trix and Emiti Order your copy of Bespoke Magazine here: Bespoke Magazine Number 14 

Here is my copy:

And here are my featured pages (I squealed loud enough to startle my cat when I opened the mail today!!):

So what's coming up this new season for this little artist? I have two pieces of work featured in an artshow called Art 4 All which is hosted by Fairfield Primary School (which by literally COMPLETE COINCIDENCE was the school I directed the musical Pinocchio for!! I love how the universe works!) I will be selling prints in the art shop at this event as well. 

I will have two print on show at this event: Here is a snippet! (you may guess that I am celebrating Spring here….)

In other news I am happy to report that I have been contracted to work on my first children's book with Jet Black Publishing. The book entitled "The Day Jake Logan Robertson Ran Out of Hugs" by A.Nicky Hjort explores the importance and the magic of hugs. It's truly a heart warmer (and might give you and your little loved one a happy tear or two). I am honoured and privileged to work with this fantastic publisher (who donate 20% of profits to charities that assist children to read and write) and to work on such a beautiful manuscript.

Here is a sneak peak of a work in progress:

Apart from all this, I am remembering to find myself in nature every week. Last week I took a trip with my partner to Apollo Bay in South West Victoria. Cape Otway and it's natural surrounds are perhaps my favourite place on earth…. Here is Hopetoun Falls (just one of the divine places I hiked this week). Hope Town indeed. Heaven on Earth!

May this season of spring spring forth your most heart felt dreams

xox

Lou

Puntastic!

"Puns are the highest form of literature"
(Alfred Hitchcock)

Ok, so who am I to argue with Alfred Hitchcock?
Not that I would argue.
I am a fan of the pun. In fact I have said many a time that I should be put in a punitentiary. 
Pun ALWAYS intended is my motto.

Perhaps because I have worked with kids for many many a season, puns and lame jokes are one of my ways to engage kids in my classes - "edu-tainment" my partner calls it. Rope 'em in with a laugh then see what they can learn. With kids - engagement is the first and hardest obstacle to overcome. I get to test my pun and lame jokes out on the little people - and I admit I also get some of my material from them! 

Speaking of which, last Saturday as part of a weekly drawing challenge via twitter I set about thinking what I could illustrate under the theme of "food". As I teach drama to kids all day Saturday I thought I would ask them. "Draw your favourite food!" was the first response. Which had us all talking about our favourite foods. Being a vegetarian I said that my favourite food would have to be vegetables. So that started a conversation on what I could illustrate that involved veggies. There was talk of giving them faces, making them dance, putting them in shoes or clothes and putting them with their "best vegetable friends". There was even the suggestion of "put them inside your digestive system!" Which got me laughing. One little girl with big eyes just said "Make the vegetables really funny!"

So I went with that.
And for me punny is funny.

I remembered years and years ago walking through a fruit and veggie shop with my partner. We were just friends at the time and we would always try and make each other laugh.  My partner is probably the funniest guy I know. And together we laugh til our eyes leak, our cheeks hurt and our hearts are full. As we walked through the veggie shop all those years ago we kept picking up items and making puns. A tomato was picked up "Hey! You used tomato to me!" A bag of nuts picked up "You. You're completely nuts". A celery bunch in hand waved above heads "You're my best worker. I'm raising your celery!"

You get the picture.
Groans a plenty.
We even wrote a lame rap around veggies (which I won't go into here as we have a plan to one day release it under a pseudonym complete with animated film clip - so it will go viral and we will make gazillions. You know - real dreams).

So I decided to use my love of veggies and puns as stimulus for an illustration. But I got carried away and drew three. I will bring them of course to my class next week and ask the kids if they approve.

one two caribou!

"Courage and willingness to just go for it, whether it is a conversation or a spontaneous trip or trying new things that are scary - it is a really attractive quality"
(Alanis Morissette)

So it begins! I have just opened my first ever online shop!

Introducing.....

one two caribou - Original Prints by Lou Endicott

Here is a screen grab of my little online shop:

 













 
A few months ago I was asked by a Facebook friend if I sold prints. My answer was "Not yet" - which sounded better than no! I had for some unknown reason had the phrase "one two caribou" stuck in my head over the last few months. I love a good rhyme and a bit of nonsense so the catchiness of the phrase stuck. So when it was time to name my shop the words just fell out onto the screen.

It's been a little bit of a challenge to open this new store. On a student budget, test prints and paper are worth as much as my weekly shopping bill - so it was a risk to put the money forward before having an actual sales.

But I decided that it was worth the risk. I have belief in what I do and have had such incredible feedback from friends and strangers alike since starting this illustration journey. It was time to step it up a notch and to see myself as a professional and begin to play in the market place. 

So far, I have sold five prints. FIVE! This may not seem a lot to seasoned shop owners, but to me (only three days in) it's a cause for celebration. My best seller so far is my Back Stroke Maiden (whose creation I shared some months ago here on my blog). She has remained a favourite with me - and obviously others like her two :-)

Here she is on her side, just enjoying the water....

I go back to college on Monday after a 3 week break (which has been heavenly!) I am excited to be learning new things again but also a little nervous as this term my design course heads into the direction of multi media and coding. Not my strong point. 

But I have to trust that if I don't know how to do something I will have the courage to just ask for assistance.

Recently I decided to be a little brave and contact a Melbourne illustrator for advice and tips on working in the industry. You can check out her beautiful work here:Laura Wood Illustrations  

She most graciously replied to my email with lots of advice and even gave me the name of her printers (which I have used for my shop). I subscribe to her blog and a few days ago received a blog entry that mentioned she gets contacted by students from time to time and she wrote up even MORE tips and advice. Legendary. I hope that when I am working full time in my field my door will always be open to share what I have learnt. 

Among her pearls of advice on her recent blog posting was this one:
Where should a person start if they want to pursue this career?

Regarding starting out, my first tip for someone that is about to get out of college is to not wait until you finished college to promote yourself or find the first commissions. An art degree doesn't make any different in the illustration world, so my advice is to start now, immediately, do not wait any more time to actively start behaving like an illustrator and look for work, commissions and possible clients to contact. 

I would highly recommend you to get a proper professional website (behance is good to share stuff with other peers, but not so much as a professional window for your work to show to a client). Having one helped me enormously. 

Then you could start emailing the clients you would like to work with. A nice brief email introducing yourself with a link to your new shiny website will do. 

Most of them might not reply but some will do! And those might become your first clients...

I particularly resonated with this as it is on the same track that I feel I have been on the last few months. Apart from this blog I have a professional portfolio on The Loop, a Facebook page, an instragram account and even Twitter (though this last one is still a little confusing!)

I am feeling like I am on the right path. It's a bit rocky and the going is uphill, but the view is exhilarating and every bit of encouragement from my friends and peers helps.

I hope that wherever you are today the going is easy and the view is a delight.

- Lou

Swing set of Silly

MAKING ROOM FOR NONSENSE AND PLAY

“A little nonsense now and then, is cherished by the wisest men.” 
Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator

Ahhh.... nonsense.  One of my favourite concepts of being human. Children play at this game well. They know that it serves more than to pass time. They know that play is an essential part of nonsense. Just being there in that moment of time. It's not an experience as in something that happened in the past. Its EXPERIENCING. Being right there in that moment. Catching the wind in the face. Laughing from the belly. Feeling the rush of blood flowing through the body.

And enjoying the silliness.

Someone once said to me "life is rarely as serious as we believe it to be". We spend too much time worrying and fretting. The first three months of my course this year I think I spent a lot of time with my head down mumbling under my breath "this is toooooo hard!!" I didn't leave room for play or for the spontaneous. 

I am making a dedicated commitment to being easier on myself and to find a healthier balance of work, downtime and play time. To remember that balance is the key to a life well lived. As Dr Seuss says:

"You'll get mixed up, of course, as you already know.You'll get mixed up with many strange birds as you go.So be sure when you step. Step with care and great tact and remember that Life's a Great Balancing Act. Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.And never mix up your right foot with your left." 

 (from Oh! The Places You'll Go!)

So to remind me of this balance and this sense of play today I drew a picture of a girl on a swing set. Her pup looks up at her enjoying the sight.

How long has it been since YOU swung on a swing set?  

LITTLE IDEAS WITH LOTS OF HEART

DOODLE IS NOT A DIRTY WORD

"Enthusiasm is the yeast that makes your hopes shine to the stars. Enthusiasm is the sparkle in your eyes, the swing in your gait. The grip of your hand, the irresistible surge of will and energy to execute your ideas"
(Henry Ford)

I am a huge believer in the power of doodling. That is drawing with no other purpose other than for the feeling of drawing itself. You never know what might appear. My enthusiasm for this process is growing every day and every week. I love seeing people at train stations, or cafes or restaurants going through this process of mind alteration. Because I know that it has value.

Here is an interesting TED talk on the power of doodling: Sunni Brown: Doodlers, unite!

So I thought I would share the process of a doodle I did yesterday in class. The class was an interesting one. All about the advertising campaigns and strategies. So my intent of doodling was not to relieve boredom but to let creative ideas flow through. At the end of the class I had a meeting with a group of other students to discuss an assignment on promoting a product. By then my ideas were really starting to flow and I by the end of our meeting I had drawn up preliminary sketches for billboards for this new product.

I think the initial doodle that I did in class - which had nothing to do with the assignment, just put my creativity into first gear and allowed ideas to enter into my mind quicker. When I came back to the doodle later while on the train home, I decided to add in ink. I lost track of time and space drawing the hair at this point. I have to draw more hair! So much fun! I was pretty happy with this sketch by now. So much so that I decided to come home and add colour and an environment to this doodle.  Here is the process:

The pencil doodle:

And then the train doodle (adding ink and pencil shadows):

And then added colour:

I could have left it at that. I liked the pop of red against the cool green. But I decided to put her in an environment suited to her body pose.
Here she is:

I call her "Backstroke Maiden". I think she's rather lovely. Peaceful and going with the flow.

PASSAGE OF TIME

A WEEK OF DRAWING - in reflection

“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.” 
― Mother Teresa

This has been a jam packed week of study for this little graphic design student. I have been in the thick of learning about the design industry, publishing, tech specs for finished art, advertising and of course my favourite subject of all, illustration. I also was on TV for a little feature part (and I mean LITTLE!) for the Australian TV show Offspring.

And I have been fortunate enough to spend time with old friends that mean the world to me.

In betwixt all of these classes, assignment work, study groups, readings and catch ups with beautiful people, I have managed to find time to let my imagination out through dedicated doodles. I admit, some of them were created initially during class! In fact, I find that I concentrate better in class when I have my lecture pad in front of me to take notes and a blank page of a journal next to it to let the subconscious go into flow mode whenever it needs to reset and focus. It's almost like my ears prick up and I take in more of what is being said when my hands are occupied and the "stuff" in my mind has an outlet. Perhaps this allows more info to come in? Info goes in. Imagination flows out..? A theory worth exploring anyway!

My imagination keeps surprising me with the imagery and ideas that are being brought out. As I am given regular practice to this creative flow I am feeling that the blocks I once felt are smaller.  My first post on this blog stated that I was setting out to find creative flow. And finding it I am! 

I have seen a theme emerge this week as the passage and the passing of time. The over riding feeling that is coming through me is to seize the moment. On a train, in a cafe, before bed...  whenever I can. Draw, draw, draw. Practice, practice, practice. And to notice everything around me. Be awake and aware. And alert. The world needs more lerts...

I am feeling more and more that my future dream is to be an illustrator. Drawing fills me with purpose and light and gives me hope that my future on the other side of this student journey will be one filled with pens and pencils - and hopefully work!! Being a student this year is a challenge financially. I am embracing living only on the basics and seeing my sketch book as my palace of promise. But it is a nice thought to imagine not worrying about how to pay rent or feed myself! Ha!

Here are some of my drawings from the week. First up: Little Red Riding hood as a child.

And here she is as a teenager (on her phone of course)

And again here she is as a mother:

The next doodle is an image that popped onto the page before I knew what was what. 

As a side note to this next picture: One of my favourite artists of all time is Brian Froud. Brian worked extensively with Jim Henson creating the creatures from the film The Dark Crystal (among other things). 

He writes in his book Good Faeries.... Bad Faeries that "My paintings are not illustrations drawn from specific stories or folklore texts; rather, they are images painted intuitively, springing directly from visions guided by faery muses, a paradoxical mix of chance and intent".  What a great teacher Mr Froud is to artists like me, finding their feet and their flow.

Here is what appeared:

I am starting to see a style for my figures emerge. I almost am at the point where I would like to name them. They are humanlike - but not quite humans. My proportions and scale are purposely different to real life. They are innocents. Trusting and open. Of this earth, but perhaps not of this world. Not sure what it is about naming things. But I guess it's giving a life and a license to creations. This next doodle I call "One woman's journey".

And here is "One man's journey":

And my last doodle to share with you this week was inspired by my daily commute on the train.
The caption for this one is "Sometimes I want to dance on the train like a pixie and shake up those asleep".

Happy weekend to you readers. May you find your flow, your people, your creativity and dance your own unique dance. x

MAKING CONNECTIONS WITH CHILDREN

INSPIRATION COMES IN ALL SIZES

"Every child is an artist, the problem is staying an artist when you grow up"
(Pablo Picasso)

So yesterday I told of a small boy Luke (aged 7) coming to my door selling raffle tickets. We got into a great discussion about drawing and he set me the challenge of drawing a tarantula and a bushmaster snake. If you haven't read it check it out so that this new post makes a bit more sense chronologically: All Things Creepy and Crawly

After I put the pictures up on the blog I took the originals, put them in an envelope and walked to Luke's house. I wasn't sure exactly of where he lived, but he had given me a house number.  So I rang the bell. Luke's Dad answered the door. And pretty soon I was chatting with Luke and his Mum and Dad and his little brother Liam. 

It's an odd and wonderful thing to find yourself standing in a neighbours house because a small boy changed the course of your day. I think we were all a bit inspired by the power a young boy can have to create inspiration and joy.

They were delighted to hear about the exchange and the challenge that Luke had set me. They also were impressed that I responded to the challenge so quickly! "You have to come and see this..." His Mum said. So I was led into the lounge room to see a coffee table COVERED in drawings that Luke had done since meeting me a couple of hours before hand. Apparently Luke had been talking about me for those hours as he drew and wanted to do his BEST work so that the drawings he put in my letterbox would really showcase what he could do as an artist.

I asked if I had permission to put his pictures up here on my blog. At this point he re-examined them and decided that a few more touches would be needed before they went on the internet.

So....

Today my door bell rang again. And there is Luke and Liam and his Mum. Apparently, to Luke,  I am (in his own words) "My best friend on the whole block!" And in my new buddies hand was a large white envelope with writing on the front.....

Apart from the words themselves (which I immediately treasured), I loved the drawing of the insect in the bottom right hand corner. Almost like a picture mark for the artist himself. Flying bravely forward with delight!

Inside the envelope are the best treasures yet: Luke's own response to the challenge complete with the final touches he promised. They are magnificent (and if I may dare say -  a little terrifying in their accuracy). 

First up, the tarantula. I love the shapes that Luke used to put this picture together. In fact I am AMAZED just how accurate this drawing is. The large back abdomen, the arched legs (complete with perfectly sized and proportioned sections on each leg), the fang (with a drop of venom), and the overall texturing. "You wouldn't want to get one of those needles in your eye!" Luke warned me with a giggle. Indeed not.

Did I mention that Luke is just seven?
The mind boggles.

His enthusiasm and commitment to create this spider (and all of his other pictures) is truly an inspiration. And his drawing skills are second to none.

Be warned... this picture of a tarantula is definitely NOT for the faint of heart!

Next we have the Bushmaster Snake. We see the ferociousness of the snake in it's facial expression and it's dynamic ready-to-move wavy form. It's definitely NOT to be messed with. The leaves and the twigs give this beauty an environment in which to live and to slither about. The red diamonds on the back of the snake scream out "Danger!" 

The whole page is taken up with this scene. Sometimes when I am drawing I tend to stick to a corner of the page or to be quite precious with small and fine strokes. Not Luke. He boldly makes his marks across the whole page. I think I can learn from this...

And here is another picture he gave me to "look up on the internet". This time it's a lizard. An Australian Monitor lizard to be exact. Goanna's fall under the umbrella of monitor lizard. They are beautiful yet fierce reptiles. I think Luke captured both of these qualities exceptionally well.

And finally, Luke's "most special" drawing of all. This last picture is of a completely new creature. Luke has lent me this picture as he would like me to copy it. 

"It's called a Roller Boller" Luke said.
"I'll have to research this creature on the internet" I told him when he showed me. 
"No. You can't do that Lou. Because it came out of my imagination. So there's no stuff about it anywhere. You just have to look at the picture." 
And look at the picture I have. I promised I would take great care with this picture as it's clearly a prototype for something never seen before. 

Between you and me readers, this picture is my favourite.

So without further ado, I give to you the contents of one remarkable seven year old's imagination...

Introducing: THE ROLLER BOLLER.....

I couldn't resist putting some colour in to Luke's amazing drawing:

So there you have it. 
My weekend of inspiration and creative imaginings all thanks to my new best friend on the block.

Luke and me at the front door.

The artist and his work.