DRAWING DRAWING DRAWING

"Luck? I don't know anything about luck. I've never banked on it... Luck to me is something else: Hard Work - and realising what is opportunity and what isn't."
Lucille Ball.

So here I sit and type this on a typical Melbourne day. It's sunny. And cold. And rainy. And windy. And still. And hot. 

In fact, it's all of the above. Which can make it difficult to decide when to go out for my daily bike ride!

The last few months have been a little like the weather in Melbourne. There's been a bit of everything everyday. But not much time to do my blog. So here I sit smack bang in the middle of my few weeks holiday finally getting back up on the saddle.

It has been a huge learning curve studying graphic design this year and the last three months have been exhilarating, challenging, stressful, inspiring, exhausting yet rejuvenating. I passed all my subjects and got some wonderful compliments from my illustration teacher (yay!) I have been drawing almost everyday and have been happy to see that my hand and eye are moving more in tandem with each other.

Here is just a sample of some of the work I have done over the last few months. A couple of the illustrations were for assignments but a lot of these were done just because I wanted to keep drawing...

I recently joined up to Instagram to share some of my work. This has been a wonderful opportunity to connect with other illustrators and admire and be inspired on a global level with what artists are up to. I have put a lot of pencil sketches onto Instagram in their raw form just to keep my pencil and imagination active. My instagram page

And of course I keep updating my Facebook page with my sketches too....Facebook Page

With just a week left of holidays at my disposal I am doing research to start selling prints of my work. I have had a lot of encouragement and support from family and friends with this idea. So fingers crossed, by the end of next week I will be launching an online store through Etsy.

The end of my course is now not so far away. I am about to embark on my third and final term of my course. Next year I will be launched out into the world looking for work. This is a very exciting (yet terrifying!) thought! I am hoping to find a way to make a living doing what I love to do. My greatest ambition is to be a full time freelance illustrator in the next few years. But in the interim I hope to gain work with a design studio to learn the ropes and be in a supportive and creative team. I feel that I am on the right path - however scary it all may seem going off into the unknown. But any time I get the nervous I just remember this:

I have to keep going forward and trust that the feeling deep in my core to be an illustrator and a designer and have a creative career that I am proud of - and ENJOY - is one that can't be ignored.

I hope that whatever you dream of, whatever your core calls out for you to do... I hope that you walk bravely down your dream path with courage in your heart to give it your best.

LOu

IDEAS and INSPIRATION

“When we love, we always strive to become better than we are. When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.” 
― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

What a week it has been for this full time student of design!

The pressure has been stepped up with assignments due every day this week. Lucky for me one of those assignments has been to draw everyday for 21 days. For this assignment we were asked to choose an illustrator we admire who's style is something that resonates with our own in some way. The first week we were asked to study the artists work and make direct copies (full compositions or sections if we chose). The next seven days we were to combine imagery of two or more of the illustrators pieces. And the last seven (my favourite part) was to draw inspiration from the illustrator and create our own pieces.

After an extensive search and bookmarking dozens of sites and reading through books and editorials and asking friends and fellow art makers for recommendations I found my artist to study. Her name is Sophie Blackall. She is an Australian who now lives in Brooklyn, New York. She has illustrated many children's books (and won awards) and recently had a book published called "Missed Connections". I purchased this book (it became an instant treasure) and truly set the wheels of inspiration in motion. Not only are the pictures delightfully unique, engaging and just so plain beautiful to me, but the subject matter was the stuff of pure idea generation. The illustrations are inspired from an online column called Missed Connections. Here, people leave messages after having a fleeting moment with a stranger that got their heart racing. In posting, they hope this small connection can turn into something else (if indeed the object of their affection reads the column and chooses to respond!) Check out her work here: Sophie Blackall  And by all means, purchase her beautiful book!

I decided to run with the theme of this lovely artist's work and turned to my own town for inspiration. Those who live in Melbourne would be familiar with the mX - a free daily publication handed out at peak hour at inner city train stations. There is a column in the paper called "Here's looking at you".  On this site commuters post up little notes to state a moment of affection they had with a stranger in the hope the stranger will read and contact the publication so that the two can get together to explore what may be. So I went through my newspaper cupboard (yes, I have a cupboard of newspaper to put under the kitty litter tray) to pour over these little love notes. And the inspiration flowed right from here. I chose to create my own original pieces with water colour (no digital work).

Here are my seven illustrations:

I enjoyed creating these illustrations so much that I decided set up a Facebook page for my illustrations.  Please check it out and let me know what you think: Lou Endicott - Illustrator  

(I should mention I have an Instagram account now too! Cats Are Baby Dragons (Inspiration and Illustrations by Lou) )

I have a large community on Facebook that I regularly connect with so it made sense to create a page with my illustrations to share for those who check their accounts daily. The response has been very encouraging to say the least! Many kind words have been shared and I am feeling more and more like this path is the path I am meant to be on.

It's such a beautiful feeling to be actively pursuing a dream as an illustrator and sharing this with others. After all, an illustrator is only an illustrator when they can engage an audience and create a response. Until then, I am simply drawing for my own satisfaction. Which is nice and all, but not the full gamut of the power I feel the pencil can wield. I feel in sharing my work and my dream the power of manifestation can only grow...

I hope wherever you are and whatever you are doing, you are honouring your own dreams and sharing them with those who recognise the magic that you have within.

- 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.

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.

GREETINGS EARTHLINGS!

MY VERY OWN EXTRATERRESTRIAL(S)

“The only thing that scares me more than space aliens is the idea that there aren't any space aliens. We can't be the best that creation has to offer. I pray we're not all there is. If so, we're in big trouble.” 
― Ellen DeGeneres

So here is my latest instalment of drawing from my list. This challenge comes from one of my old drama students from a galaxy long ago. I used to set creative challenges for Zoe E when she was a teen. Now she has set one for me. Looks like the tables have turned like the earth orbiting around the sun...

I got a wee bit excited about this challenge and ended up doing quite a few doodles and given them all names. After all, as no one has ever SEEN an alien (well PROVED it) the rules of drawing are out the window and its just a matter of seeing what the pen and the imagination wants to see. Isn't that like most of us though? We often see what we want to see. And we miss the obvious. I often think the search for existence of life beyond this planet is a bit of a misadventure. We have so much life down here already that we haven't quite figured out how to protect. I secretly hope we never find life beyond the blue planet. As I suspect we might mess it up. Instead let's dream up crazy worlds and try and look after the one we already have.

Which one of these ET's would you want for your very own?

THE UNKNOWN POWER WITHIN

NINJA!

Here is my next drawing from my list of challenges. This one comes from my cousin Patrick who requested Ninjas. I stuck to the singular - as in one ninja. I have subverted the lethal archetype of the ninja a little bit here and have named this piece THE LITTLEST NINJA. I have adopted a cartoon style to suit it. My littlest ninja is holding twin sai (much like Raphael of the Teenage Mutant ninja turtles).  

I like the idea of a ninja being childlike and small yet fierce and proud. In fact I think I will wear a scarf over my head this afternoon and pretend that I AM the littlest ninja. And that my power - although not obvious, is one that I will grow into. I am not to be underestimated. Won't you join me? ;-) HOY-YAH!!!!!