My Art Practice & Artist’s Statement
My art practice is mainly drawing and collage. I work from real life and photographs to make illustrations. I am inspired by special occasions, celebrations and family get togethers and popular culture. My illustrations are bright and colourful. I always start drawing with a black pen and I photograph my drawings before I add the colour, these line drawings make good images for colouring-in books like the ones I had in my exhibition last year. I write stories about imaginary characters and illustrate these.
5 Year Plan – Professional Practice Proposal
Year 1:
. Focus on developing my small business that will sell the follwing:
- colouring-in books, colouring-in books for children and adults. Colouring-in is therapeutic and relives stress. Etsy – print on demand colouring-in sheets
- I will produce books with illustrations and stories about my imaginary characters, not just for children, but for families.
- I will continue to draw food & objects and use these as designs for print-on-demand products such as t-shirts, hoodies, t-towels, mugs, stickers etc.
- I make bespoke cards to celebrate events such as birthdays, wedding anniversaries, Christmas and Easter. I also make get well soon cards and sympathy cards. I decorate the envelopes inside and out with collage. I make the cards for friends and family, and I thinking of making them for sale
Year 2:
.Getting my artwork into the gallery
. Continue to carry on with all of my drawings
. Self-promotion and production of promotional material
. Working to live briefs/ contexts . Making sure that people get inspired by my artwork
Year 3:
. All of my artwork will change people’s lives forever and ever
.Every thing that I sell online will always put a smile on everybody’s faces (including the children)
. I will always keep on writing about myself (real-life), including all of my made-up characters forever
. Anything that I’m seeing or doing with my family/friends or what I’m eating, I always take a picture to remember them as I’m getting older, and to draw a picture of it
. I will continue to write all about my happy times on my laptop as I’m getting along
Year 4:
. Whenever people ask me why I’m doing my own artwork or writing stories about my life, I always say to them that they will always keep me safe and happy forever.
Not only that I will continue to write stories or talking about my happy times, but I will also keep doing still life of sweet treats (and food from around the world), especially cupcakes, birthday cakes and cookies.
As I will become an old woman (before and after I pass away), all of my artwork will continue to live on for all families.
I especially want young children to enjoy seeing my artwork.
I’m hoping that I will get my own company for my work.
Year 5 -I will get illustration & design commissions for:
- Portmeirion Pottery will my pictures of food.
- Patterns for Fabrics & wall paper
Products: cards, colouring-in, t-shirts, mugs, tea towels
individually made cards, colouring-in images, sweatshirts, mugs, tea towels.
Colouring-in Sheets & Books
I always start drawing with a black pen and I photograph my drawings before I add the colour. My line drawings make good images for colouring-in because the lines are clean, clear and bold. Last year in my exhibition I had colouring-in books. I will sell my line drawings on-line. Colouring-in is relaxing and helps reduce stress.
Handmade Cards
I make cards to celebrate events such as birthdays, wedding anniversaries, Christmas and Easter. I also make get well soon cards and sympathy cards. I decorate the envelopes inside and out with collage. I make the cards for friends and family, and I am going to make them for sale on commission.
Sweatshirts & T-Shirts
Cups
My personal Goals
My personal goals are to sell my products on-line and get my products into shops selling craft and artworks such as Glynllifon (near to my home and my dad works there), Galeri, Storiel and Mostyn and I will sell my cards in Palas Print (I know the owners of the shop).
I will develop a series of products and have a launch event and exhibition to promote for sale.
I will continue to work at home on the kitchen table drawing still lifes.
To get my designs on Portmeirion Pottery, I worked in the Portmeirion Café last year.
Where I will sell my art
I will sell my art on line through print-on-demand websites such as: Etsy, The artists printroom, Gelato, RedBubble
How print-on-demand works
- You upload your designs to products in your shop or host website such as Redbubble
- Customers find and purchase products featuring your designs
- Products are produced to order and shipped around the world
- Customers get product, and you get paid
Print-on-demand works by marking up the cost of your product from the cost of production and some host website such as RedBubble & Etsy charge a fee.
Costings & pricing: basic price + artist margin= retail price, Basic price x artist markup % = artist margin
The art design belongs to the artist except if it is bought under licence.
From t-shirts to masks to mugs, your designs will be printed one at a time by third-party producers on high-quality products. And printing to order means less waste, which is better for the planet. T-shirts range from £10 to £25, Individual cards range from £3.99 to £14.99, Tea Towels cost between £13 -15
•Etsy https://www.etsy.com/uk/
The artists printroom https://www.theartistsprintroom.co.uk/how-to-sell-greeting-cards-online/
•Gelato https://www.gelato.com/products
RedBubble https://www.redbubble.com/about/selling
Advertizing & Promotion
To sell on-line needs promotion and advertising. You will promote my work for sale on social media through my website, Instagram, and your YouTube channel. I will develop a marketing plan to show my products to as many potential customers as possible. Through this I will target audiences more effectively. My audience currently is family & friends, but this will be extended through using social media and by attending craft fairs.
Contacts :I have compiled a list of contacts for promoting my products and art for sale and a list of contacts for place to sell my art and products. This list includes my wide family across the world.
I have designed business cards and I am going to create a logo using one of my drawing of a cake on a plate.
Business Cards & Logos
Mentorship
Local artists Luned Rhys Parri, who is a friend and successful artist could mentor me creating a business for making art and drawing. She uses social media, twitter and facebook to advertize her exhbitions where she sells her art.
Postgraduate Study
Soon I will be working at a children’s nursery while I study for a qualification in child education. Several years ago I did art with the children at the nursery and I wish to develop this, so that I can do art workshops for children.
Commissioned Work – Hijinx
Illustration of theatre perfformers. For this assignment I was asked to design a series of illustrations depicting performing arts students in practise sessions for a Christmas show. These images are typical of my personal style of illustration and the characterization process that I have developed over the last three years.
http://www.hijinx.org.uk/illustration-exhibition-2022-seren-haf/
Commissioned Work – Welsh Wool & Slavery
Charlotte Hammond, Cardiff University & Marcia Dunkley Black Heritage Walks Network invited students of Coleg Menai to research and illustrate and create art work and a map of the Historic Welsh Woolen industry and how it is in-tiwnded with slavery in the Carribean.
The illustrations I made will to be published in book.
Celf Seren Hâf Art 