So Where Have I Been?

When I started this blog I was given the good advice that in order to be successful at it I needed to be consistent. Well, easier said than done. That was certainly my intent but doing so has proven to be somewhat difficult for me. As a full time freelance artist, I am usually at the mercy of my client’s schedules. Between that, designing new products for my Zazzle shop, maintaining and updating my portfolios & web sites, spending time with my kids and family, and following various creative inspirations as I tend to do, I have not found much time or energy to write in my blog.

I will save you the excuses and leave it at that for now. I do hope to be a little more constant in the future.

Beginning with this one, I wanted to add a couple of entries sharing some highlights from the past few months.

• My CBS Interview

In December I was featured by CBS’s Cydney Long for my creative contributions in the toy industry. Although I was humbled and honored to be featured in such a way, I want to note that there are a lot more people involved in the design process than a short piece such as this can possibly mention. I am certainly proud of the work I have done but now that I am working for myself and no longer a toy industry “insider”, there is a lot of design and innovation that goes on before I get to do my part in helping to bring it to life. I would be remiss if I did not give credit to those who truly deserve it. I have the pleasure of working with a lot of talented people and there is not just one individual responsible for a great toy you find on the shelf. It is a process and I am only one part of the process.

Here is the piece:

 

• Vanessa Williams’ Mary Pickford Award Ceremony Video

In addition to the illustration and design work I do, I also do a bit of video production. I am very fortunate to be able to say that the beautiful and talented Vanessa Williams is one of my clients. I have been doing both professional and personal video work for her for a number of years now. In December she was honored by the International Press Academy as the recipient of the 2010 Mary Pickford Award given annually for outstanding artistic contribution to the entertainment industry. I was asked to create her career highlight video to be played at the ceremony. What an honor it was for me to be asked to provide such a important part. Vanessa is such a talented entertainer and has had such a long and successful career, the hardest part was creating a video that truly represents her range of talents. It was a bit of a struggle getting there but I am very happy with how it came out.

Here was the final edit that was played:

Stay tuned. I will be sharing more highlights in the coming posts.