This fall my agents at CATugeau Artist Agency decided to do a postcard mailing with the theme "Act of Kindness." This is my postcard illustration about an unlikely set of strangers taking shelter from a storm.
RAINY DAYS
9.5" x 14.75"
Oil on Masonite
Continue reading to see some of my preliminary sketches and learn about the inspirations and challenges that lead to the creation of this painting.
Read MoreOne year ago, I started a weekly food painting initiative. Every Monday for the past year, I have created small, 4" x 4" oil paintings. I call these my Wabi-Sabi paintings, after the Japanese word meaning the beauty of all things imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete.
I originally started this because I wanted to try to paint faster and looser. When I'm working on client projects, I don't often have the time to mess around with different techniques. I thought this would give me a chance to play around and experiment with my oil paints.
My illustrations involve a lot of prep work to carefully plan out each piece. I normally gather a variety of references to help inform my paintings. But with my Wabi-Sabi paintings, I didn't want to have any prep work. First thing every Monday morning, I would set up a small object on a pedestal and start painting it directly from life.
The immediacy of creating an entire painting in an hour has become such a rewarding practice for me. The time limit forces me to work faster and much more efficiently than I normally do. I have to look at my object, translate what colors I'm seeing, and then mix them on the spot. I don't have enough time to sit around and fiddle with brush stokes or blending every edge. These paintings have become about training my brain to interpret the world much faster and figuring out how to put it down in as few strokes as possible.
This process has also benefited me in so many other ways than what I originally expected. I didn't realize how much I would really dive into the process of experimentation. I found myself testing different methods for preparing my boards, using different thinning agents, and even using different brushes. Through these short, weekly experiments I've really changed and improved how I'm able to use and manipulate the paints.
Now that a year has passed, 61 paintings still doesn't feel like nearly enough. This is just the end of Year 1 or my Wabi-Sabi painting series. Next week I get to start Year 2 and who knows what kinds of foods will be in my future.
If you would like to support my self exploration project, all of my original Wabi-Sabi paintings are for sale in my Etsy Shop. Grab them while they're still available! Every sale helps support me and my business and is greatly appreciated. As a special anniversary thank you, use coupon code ONEYEAR, to get 20% off each original Wabi-Sabi painting you purchase. Valid through August 12th.
Read MoreThis spring I travelled to Dallas, Texas. Inspired by artwork and culture of the once wild west, I couldn't help but come home and make my own western painting.
OVER THE MOON
18" x 24"
oils on panel
Continue reading to see some of my preliminary sketches and learn about the inspirations and challenges that lead to the creation of this painting.
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Two years ago I joined the Hartford Art School Low Residency MFA in Illustration Program. As an artist, I will always consider myself to be a perpetual student. I'm continually striving to improve my craft and find my voice. I joined the Hartford Art School as another step in my lifelong pursuit.
The past two years have been an amazing rollercoaster ride. We traveled to New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Dallas to venture out and experience the thriving Illustration communities in each city. With lectures and studios visit from artists, every trip was a unique journey of inspiration.
I had the privilege and honor to study under the great Murray Tinkelman, before his passing early this year. He will be deeply missed in the program and across the illustration world. I count myself very lucky to have been able to learn from him over the past two years.
Last week, I completed this program and I now have my Master's in Fine Arts. I'm still absorbing all the insights and information I've gathered and I'm sure I will be deconstructing it for years to come. Thanks to my amazing agents, Chris and Christy Tugeau for all their support throughout this time.
In the end, I know that a piece of paper with a degree on it doesn't mean much. I've spent the past two years waking up in the same studio, working with clients, and living my life as usual. Today I will do the same thing. But there is a part of me that has grown and changed in ways I'll never be able to explain. All I can do is turn the page to the next chapter in my life and see where this amazing journey takes me next.
I have finally dug my hands into the world of video tutorials. For the past few months I have been making coasters to sell on my Etsy shop. Using a method I designed myself, I have turned prints of my original paintings into coasters for your home.
I spent months perfecting this process and I'm very proud with the final outcome. So I decided to share it online for the world to learn! I spent several weeks recording and cutting video to create this 38 minute lesson detailing everything you need to know.
My tutorial videos are now available on the website Skillshare. Skillshare is a global learning community for creators. It's filled with thousands of online classes for anyone to take. I've used this site several times in the past, and I've always been very impressed by the videos.
Check out my tutorial and tell your friends! Use the link below to get 3 months of Skillshare Premium for only $0.99 for unlimited access to this and thousands of online classes: http://skl.sh/295fs6I
Thanks, and I hope you enjoy!
Read MoreI just found out that out my entire "Forest" series has been chosen by the 3x3 International Picture Book Show No. 13 as an Honorable Mention in the unpublished category! I created this series as part of a children's book story that I wrote and illustrated. Congratulations to all the other amazing winners.
My pieces will be featured in their online gallery.
Read MoreHere's as sneak peak into my latest book dummy, The Midnight Kitchen. Cooking is one of my favorite things to do, and it was a thrill to bring this joy of mine to life in this series of paintings.
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The Bear Went Over the Mountain, 19" x 12", Oil on Masonite
Dive into reading once again with my newest painting, The Bear Went Over the Mountain. Nothing can transform a child's world as much as good a book can.
THE BEAR WENT OVER THE MOUNTAIN
19" x 12"
Oil on Masonite
I just found out that my Winter painting was accepted into the Spectrum 23 Annual! It's a competition for the best in fantastic art and the list of winners is incredible. Congrats to my other friends who have gotten in as well!
My piece will be printed in Spectrum 23, available November 2016 from Flesk Publications.
Read MoreThanks to the University of Hartford for this great interview.
Posted by Barbara Steinberger
As an illustration student in the University of Hartford’s Hartford Art School, Christine Kornacki ’07 gained artistic inspiration and practical advice from two faculty mentors in particular.
Professor of Illustration Dennis Nolan “made me fall in love with children’s book illustration,” Kornacki says, while Professor of Illustration Bill Thomson taught her how to work hard, promote herself, and become a better artist. Both Nolan and Thomson are successful illustrators and authors of children’s books.
“Dennis loves life. He loves illustration. You can tell he loves everything he does, and he just instills that in his students,” Kornacki says. “Bill is the one who teaches you the business (of art). He is really good at pushing you. He teaches you to put your name in the wind and see what comes back.”
And that’s exactly what Kornacki did. After graduating from the University in 2007, she moved to New York City and got a job as a security guard at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. At night, she worked on freelance illustrations and sent out postcards promoting her work.
Less than a year and a half out of college, Kornacki got an agent, who helped her land a dream assignment — illustrating books to go with two new American Girl dolls, the iconic, prize-winning dolls that represent different periods in American history. The first person Kornacki emailed when she got the job was Nolan.
Today, at the age of 30, she has already illustrated nine children's books — and she has become a mentor herself, teaching Hartford Art School students as an adjunct faculty member in illustration. Kornacki taught at the University for the past three semesters, and she is hoping to teach again next fall.
“I have a unique perspective — I’m still new enough in the field that I can really relate to the struggles students have,” Kornacki says. “I try to teach them the things that I’ve learned along the way.” For example, she has advised students on how to work with different kinds of clients, and how to promote themselves by going to conferences, entering competitions, and showcasing their work on social media.
Kornacki is still learning as well; she is a student in the Hartford Art School’s prestigious Low Residency MFA in Illustration program, and expects to graduate in July 2016.
All together, she has illustrated six American Girl books that tell the stories of Marie-Grace and Cécile, two best friends living in New Orleans in the 1850s. It took her two years to produce the 25 paintings and 20 smaller portraits that appear in the series.
In addition, she has illustrated three other children’s books: The Sparkle Box, an award-winning book about a child who gives back at Christmas time; an Easter sequel called The Sparkle Egg; and another Christmas book called The First Christmas Night.
For her MFA thesis project, Kornacki is illustrating and writing two children’s books, marking the first time that she has authored a book. One book, The Forest, is about a girl who gets lost in the woods and ends up meeting the four seasons. The other book, The Midnight Kitchen, tells the story of a boy who is a picky eater and who ends up in a magical kitchen, where he learns how to cook.
Kornacki hopes to continue teaching and mentoring illustration students. “It’s very exciting. I didn’t expect how much I would enjoy it,” she says. “It really is inspiring to see the students’ work, and to see how they’re thinking and problem-solving. It’s also made me look at my own work and at the way I problem-solve even more.”
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