Hi,
I'm in the process of trying to get all of my social media coordinated - just posting this real quick to see if it works.  Keeping my fingers crossed.
(check out my Instagram - that's now linked to my illustration Facebook page).

here's a little something I've been working on ....

Illustration Friday - Eye Glasses

Acrylic painting submission for Illustration Friday - Eye Glasses

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY: WINGS

Submitting at the last minute for Illustration Friday, a quick little piece done on my iPad.
topic:  WINGS

I'll be back this weekend with some updates.  I feel like I'm off to a good start this year.

COMIKAZE 2012

Yesterday we spent the day at "Comikaze" - comic convention on Los Angeles.  Though there were some frustrations at the beginning of the day, in the end it was a good time.  We saw a lot of amazing art and illustration and met a lot of great artists.  It was a huge inspiration and really helped me better evaluate my own work (and processing the idea of how many artists are out there that are so much better than I am, but still feeling that I can find a place for myself among it all, which has not been easy).  Here is a little bit of our day....

"Firefly" shirts!!  

"Ron Glass" from "Firefly" and "Serenity" 

"Badger" from Breaking Bad!!! - how awesome!! 

the guy from "Salute You're Shorts" - anyone else remember this show?

I love it when I was a kid.

And some awesome artwork that we purchased!!  Can't wait to get them framed and on the wall

Purchased these two prints from artist Paul Wilson (http://iamwheatking.com) (- sooooo in love with his work. (we have to get the rest of the turtles now to finish the collection).  Check out his site!! 

we also purchased this poster/print from artist Ellison Keomaka (http://keomaka.com).  By far the best Avengers Art I've ever seen.   He had several Hulk prints that were awesome, and after much deliberation we decided on this one.

And my own personal possession that I brought home: a book of sketches and drawing from Illustrator/Animator - David Colman.  It's such an awesome book.  http://davidsdoodles.com

One other artist that really stood out was Chris Kawagiwa (http://cargocollective.com/sketchboy01/)

Almost bought his "Hoth" print but wasn't able to this time.  Hopefully we can get it in the near future.  Definitely check out his work - great Star Wars and X-Men pieces.

Hope you all enjoy and I'll try and post again soon, with some work of my own.  :)

Sketchbook Project 2012

A couple of weekends ago I attended the Sketchbook Project 2012 at iam8bit gallery here in L.A. It was such a great time and I'm so happy that I participated. I was even lucky enough to find my own book, while others searched high and low with no luck of finding theirs in the sea of books. There were so many amazing sketchbooks. The only regret I had was not being able to see them all. (but they can be viewed on their website). Here are a few pics from the event.

I know, I've really been neglecting this blog.  I am getting back on track though, and getting my life in order.  Just a quick little update until I have gathered everything new for an overhaul of this blog, my website and Facebook page.  But in the meantime I just wanted to announce that the "Sketchbook Project 2012" is now touring.

http://www.arthousecoop.com/users/kcarberry/artwork

My Sketchbook theme is "The Grey Side of Life"
     My approach to the sketchbook was to let go of boundaries in terms of mediums and to explore combining them in different ways that I had not attempted before - but only using greys.   I thought this would be a good exercise in slowing exploring mixed media without throwing in the complexity of color.  I'm afraid that I didn't step out of my box as much as I would have liked, but it is a start.  I am pleased w/ some of the charcoal and ink work and may incorporate more of that into my illustrations.  I found that combining pencil and ink did not work well for me, as well as some of the ink washes, collage and the combination of acrylic and ink.  I'm not willing to give up on these completely, but I may have to really rethink my approach of them.
     The idea behind the story is a combination of things that have happened in my life and things I have dreamed, and this is the place where to two have met.  It is a journey from birth to death and everything in between.   It is the place between truth and dreams - the grey side of our mind where you can not tell the difference.
     Here are a few pieces, but you should really check out this exhibit if you can.  So many great artists have participated and it's a wonderfully fun project to be involved in.

We will be attending the exhibition here in Los Angeles at the end of the month.  Pictures to follow.

Today is a new day

    I've had a pretty busy summer  - starting with the wedding at the end of May, then our Anniversary on June 12th, Sacramento for 4th of July, and then San Diego two weekends later for Ken's (my husband's) birthday.  It was August before I knew it and then I was left wondering where the summer had gone.  A few weekends of laziness in August, going to the farmer's market, seeing movies and taking naps.  Then a summer cold hit me the last week of August.  Now I'm really left wondering where all the time has gone.  In the midst of all my vacationing, eating out and napping, surprisingly I've gained some weight and needless to say I'm not very happy about that.   I'm feeling like all of this (the bad eating and weight gain) may be contributing to my laziness and all over defeated attitude as of late.  I decided to post this today because the point of this blog is for me to see over time the ups and downs and what exactly it takes to get where I want to be and that includes the good with the bad.  I can't lie, I've really been thinking lately "what if I just give up".  What if I just accept the idea that I have a job and can pay the bills (even if it's barely).  What if I just get up and go to work everyday and have my evenings and weekends to do what I want, like everyone else on the face of the earth.  What if I had time to - play tennis, go on hikes, go to the movies, go to the farmer's market, have coffee at Starbucks with a friend, clean the house, run errands, cook meals (and the healthy ones that take a little longer to make).  What if I took a nap on a Saturday afternoon with the windows open and a beautiful breeze blowing across my skin?  What if I just painted when I felt like it and just for myself? - what if I could do all of these things without the weight of guilt constantly on my back that I haven't been working on my illustration and I haven't gotten enough done with the time that I have, and If I don't hurry and get it all done and sent out to publishers and agents, that this year will be gone before I know it and I will be one year older and year further away from doing anything with my life.  I've grown tired of the guilt.  I've grown tired of telling people that I'm working where I work followed shortly by the "but i'm doing that while i'm working toward being an Illustrator" - I don't know if I believe it anymore.  I kind of just feel like a liar at this point.  With the worst part being that I've been lying to myself all this time.
     So here I am today - sorting through all the crap in my head.   Trying to get through my pity party in one piece.  I do realize that giving up is not an option.  Putting aside that I couldn't do that to everyone in my life that has believed in me and encouraged me and the student loan bills that are draining our account every month.  Even when I put all of that aside I realize that giving up would never really be an option for me.  I do need something to work toward, something to give me a reason to get up everyday.  I do want to paint everyday, and I do need a purpose behind it.  I can't just paint for myself.  That's just not enough.  I realize that some small part of me needs a challenge, a deadline, a problem to solve.  So I will pick myself back up again and get back to what it is that makes me truly happy.  I realize that I keep going in circles.  It seems that I've written this before.  When I let myself get too far of the path I fall apart.  I know by now that the only way to feel at peace to get that brush or pencil back in my hand.  So that is what I will do.
     I've spent some time today looking at other illustrators and getting in my head that if these people can do this then so can I.  I have to remind myself that I'm not as bad as I may think I am.  I am perfectly capable of really doing this.  I feel a little twinge of inspiration again and I plan to run with it.  Looking back at this post I see that I may have had a little too much bottled up - and now that it's all out (sorry to anyone who may read this), it's time to work.  I hope to be a little more cheerful next time, but this is what it is right now.  I've started exercising again, eating better and I'm ready to get on track.   My next post will bring much more joy!  

     This is the firs time I've had a previous illustration that can be used for Illustration Friday.   Here is my submission for "Launch"

     So much has been going on over the last month or so.  We flew back home to Illinois for one of my best friends' wedding.  It was great to spend a little time at home seeing friends and family.

     A couple weekends after that my husband and I celebrated our 7th anniversary at Disneyland - seems to be our tradition since being out here in California.

     Yesterday we went into Pasadena for the Chalk Festival - which was so inspiring.  What a great time we had.

Now I'm ready to get some work done before we head out to Sacramento for 4th of July weekend.  Looks like it's going to be a busy summer.  I'm looking forward to spending a lot of time outside, hiking, tennis (and hopefully some biking if we can get them working again).  OH!!  some big news that I almost forgot.  We bought an ipad!!!  SOOOO EXCITING!!   I'm starting to work on Sketchbook Pro and getting a feel for it.  I'm really excited to start doing some more digital work, but the main reason I wanted this was to start using it as my sketchbook.   I tend to have my sketchbooks all over the place and am always picking different ones up to work in and then can't find the last thing that I was looking for.  I'm really liking the idea of using this as my sketchbook and keeping everything in one place and always having it on me.  Ken may be doing a lot of overtime at work - so my plan is to have the ipad on me so that I can use the extra time after work sketching.   I'm also liking the idea that I can sketch and print without having to scan the images.  This is really going to help me start going in a digital direction.  I'll post some of that work in a few days.  Till then, have a great Monday everyone.

      I'm hoping that I can really get back on track again.  The last month I've been doing a lot of overtime at work and been pretty tired when I get home, and now I'm wondering where the last month of my life has gone.  Getting caught in that rut again, but feeling like I'm about to get back to what I need to be doing.  I guess it's just how it's going to be, at least for a while.  Getting stuck in the monotony of life and then breaking free of it, then getting stuck again.   This is a cycle that is impossible to break until I can begin illustrating full time.  A struggle that of late is really beginning to wear me down.  But I'm glad to be feeling that little burst of energy again.  I hope that means a productive weekend.
     I've been spending a lot of time looking at other artists.  I suppose that it's all part of the process.  It's been a good way to step away and gain a little insight into what I'm doing at the moment.  I've been really inspired and have been able to see what I need to improve and what direction to go in.  I think it's an important break needed for any artist.  It's great to be really involved in your work and feel driven and be completely focused, but sometimes you can start to drift off course without even realizing it.  It's important to stop for a time and re-evaluate things, make sure that you're still going in the right direction.  So now that  I've begun to gather my thoughts and ideas once more I'm ready to head in the right direction.  I need to step away from the computer and get back in front of my own canvas.
     On that note, I've still been slowly working on the whale painting.  It's coming along, but I'm kind of at a stand still with it right now.  I'll work on some other things and hopefully I'll figure out where I need to take this.  I'm trying to figure out this sudden obsession with water.  I have a few thoughts on the subject, but it sounds silly to say them out loud., so I'll keep them to myself.  But I do know that something about it is speaking to my soul.  the ocean, rivers, rain, baths, tears - all of it.   And something about whales that I'm in love with.  I think it's something to do with a mammal that lives in the water, because fish don't seem to fascinate me quite as much.   Is it living in water, but needing air to live?  Now I'm rambling, so I'll move forward before I bore everyone to death.

      Here is the latest update of my painting ....

I also have begun this new piece - closed my eyes one night and saw this.  The next day I couldn't get it out of my head.  here are the sketches I started with .....

I've gotten it onto canvas board and decided to try a red underpainting.  I want to keep it sepia toned, but bring out the red in the fox.  And then to balance the red fox I'll have to bring out some red in the old woman's house coat, and possibly somewhere on the table.  I'm also going to play a little with patterns on this one.  But, I'm enjoying documenting the process of each piece so i'm going to try to keep track of this one as well.  

So, here is the underpainting, step 2 (step 1 being the sketch) ..

the fox has changed a little and now I'm feeling like the body shape was better in the sketch, so there may still be some changes.  But now what was going to be a short little update has gotten completely out of control.   I'm going to say Goodnight now.  See you all again soon.