Saxon
11x14 inches
Coloured pencils on matte board
After redoing this sample illustration for Macmillan Publishers three times this week (about 30 hours work), I received word today that they have decided not to proceed as they feel this illustration lacks the drama and movement that they are looking for. My overwhelming feeling was one of sheer relief. My family will vouch that I have been a huge stress head and quite challenging to live with whilst working on this project. It has been a goal of mine to try and move more into the area of illustration, but I am starting to have second thoughts. I did struggle with this picture, because those of you familiar with my art would know that I prefer to work on themes that are tender, and gentle, as opposed to dramatic and violent. When working on portraits, and whatever art projects take my fancy, I am generally quite at peace, but the main problem is the unpredictability of the income. Whilst working on Saxon today (and being quite at peace), I started to reevaluate the direction that I am going. One of the main reasons I left nursing was to have the opportunity to work doing something that I love and still have time to be the best possible Mum and wife I could be (I certainly wouldn't have fitted that description this week!) without feeling stressed a lot of the time. My dilemma therefore, is whether to keep striving for a career in illustration and the potential for a better income, or to keep pottering away as I have been. Life is never simple!!!
