Kidlit Artists: Did the feedback you receive during the mentorship critiques either change or confirm the direction of your illustration? Are there any specific examples you can share?
Christina: The
feedback I received definitely confirmed a lot of the ideas (positive
and negative) that had been swirling around in my head for a while. The
art that instinctively comes out of me is colorful and bold, but I had
been feeling that I wanted to infuse more quiet emotion/drama into my
overall portfolio. A few of the mentors touched on this issue as if they
were reading my mind --this confirmed that I definitely needed to do
what my gut had been telling me. I got some great suggestions from the
mentors and am constantly thinking about how to infuse them into my
work. For example, E.B. Lewis suggested I look into my history to find a
great story to tell. He reminded me that personal history will infuse
that intangible emotional connection into the work, which should
translate to the viewer. I'm definitely always keeping that idea in mind
as I paint.
Kidlit Artists: Have you seen a shift in your work since you were mentored?
Christina: Lately,
I've been doing a lot of educational work which is very tightly
art-directed, so there's not much room for adding personal flavor. But,
in my down time, I've been sketching and doing mini paintings on my
iPad which helps to keep things more free. I need to add more
spontaneity into my work and painting on the iPad has been just the
ticket. I'm hoping to infuse some of that spontaneity into my personal
work when I have the chance.
Kidlit Artists: What kinds of projects are you working on now?
Christina: I
recently finished a bunch of educational work/early readers and I just
started working on a picture book about baseball for Stone Arch Books.
After that, I have a few ideas for books that I would like to create
dummies for. My goal is to have at least one dummy ready for this
summer's big SCBWI conference.
Kidlit Artists: Is there any type of illustration (or other work) that you’re hoping for in the near future?
Christina: Of
course I would love to write and illustrate my own stories. I'd also
love to do some black and white work, perhaps for chapter book
interiors. For some reason black and white illustration has really
intrigued me lately. Album covers is something from left field that's
been nagging at me recently too. And of course, can't forget my
childhood dream of working for Disney! Hey, gotta put that out in the
universe, right???
Kidlit Artists: Yes!!!
Kidlit Artists: Please tell us where we can find you online.
You can find my website and blog at www.christinaforshay.com.
Thanks for joining us Christina!
I enjoy reading about your mentorship critique, and personal evolution. What you've touched on about emotion in illustration are the same things that I've had in my mind. Very helpful post!
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