2018: 117-124/365

Wow... this week flew by!

Photo courtesy of my sister, Stevie.

The weather was finally Spring-like, and I definitely took advantage of it... I had a great time helping my sister paint her truck
(but that is a story for another week).

This week, I promised to share more about my trip to Springfield, Massachusetts...

Art by Priscilla Alpaugh

While at the New England SCBWI Conference, I took workshops with Dan Santat, Josh Funk, Russ Cox, and Sara Zarr.  I listened to amazing panels and speeches with incredible authors and illustrators including Jane Yolen, Rita Williams-Garcia, Amy Reed, and Matt Phelan.  I listened, learned, and talked about books.  I volunteered, participated in the Illustrator Challenge, met with an editor, had books signed, and made a lot of new friends.  It was a very full, very fun, and very inspirational, weekend!

It would be impossible to share everything, but here are my top takeaways from NESCBWI 2018...

 Nothing is more important that being good.

Hard work develops talent.

 Practice & push yourself.

Learn from others, but don't compare yourself to them.

 Explore, evolve, & try new things.

and...

Don't be afraid to take risks!

Around Here Lately...

I'm not sure what it is, but there is something about Spring that makes me want to clean up and organize everything!

my new website!

This year, that also means sprucing up my website, 
and de-cluttering & simplifying things here on the blog.

I still have artwork to sort and upload to the website, but I am very happy to have created a new "Freebies & Kindness" section (where you can download my well-traveled "Take What You Need" poster) , and a special spot for my collaborations with Tyler.  I have also dedicated a space specifically for all things silly & random that I can't wait to fill with all sorts of ridiculousness!

In addition to all of that, my first Life Book lesson goes live on Monday!!!  I had so much fun creating the lesson, and I'm really looking forward to seeing what everyone makes!  
(You can still sign up here if you'd like to join in on the fun!)

Yay!!! Registration For Life Book 2016 Opens Today!!!

To say I am excited is a bit of an understatement...

You may recall my mentioning that I will be teaching on Life Book 2016... Well, the time has finally arrived... Registration opens TODAY!

I have submitted my lesson titles and descriptions to Tam, and have begun the super fun process of putting together all of the ideas, tips, and techniques that I want to share with you!  (I can't wait for you to see what I have planned!)  It's sure to be a good time, and I'm joined by 23 incredible teachers to bring 52 (yes, 52!) original offerings over the course of 2016...  It doesn't get much better than that!

To find out more about Life Book 2016, and to join me on this amazing year long creative journey, please click here.

Life Book 2016 Giveaway Winner Announced AND Something For Everyone!

Wow!  I have been blown away by the amazing response to Life Book 2016 so far!  I am really enjoying meeting so many new people - it has me SO excited to teach next year... I wish I could giveaway a spot to all of you!!!  

But since I can't, and since I don't want anyone to walk away empty handed, I drew & painted a FREE (hi-resolution) inspirational piece of art for YOU...

click on image to enlarge, save, print, etc...

(personal use only please)

Please feel free to save it, download it, print it, frame it, hang it, etc... 
(As long as it's for your personal use).
I'm really looking forward to seeing where our imaginations take us next year!!!

Now, onto the Life Book 2016 Giveaway...
(My son, Tyler, was so excited to pick a random name from the hat!)
The winner of 1 spot in the AMAZING year long course is...

Congratulations Kim Costello!

Thank you to everyone for sharing your enthusiasm about Life Book 2016!  (It's totally contagious!)  For those of you still hoping to win a spot, there is still time to enter the other giveaways (see my last post for the list).  And (just in case), please be sure to bookmark this link to sign up for Life Book 2016 when it goes on sale on October 5th!

Don't forget to download my Einstein drawing, and I look forward to seeing you in class!!!

Big News And A Giveaway!!!

Hello!!
If you are new to my blog, Welcome!  
(I hope you have some time to look around and come back to visit.)
If you're a regular, Welcome Back!
I'm always so happy to have you here!!

In my last post I promised an "amazingly awesome announcement", so without further ado here it is...

I am going to be teaching on Life Book 2016 next year!!!  
I am over-the-moon excited, honored, and privileged to be invited to teach with 23 incredibly talented teachers on this amazing year long art course!  I have personally signed up for this wildly popular course since it first began in 2012, so I know first hand how great being a student of Life Book is!  And, which is why I feel so fortunate that I am able to celebrate my birthday tomorrow by giving away a space in Life Book 2016 to one of you!!!  Keep reading if you want to find out more about Life Book 2016 and if you want to find out how you can win a spot! 

First let me tell you a bit more about Life Book in case you haven't heard about it yet... “Life Book, a celebration and honouring of YOU” is a year-long mixed media art class organized by Tamara Laporte from Willowing Arts. Tam is joined by 23 incredible art teachers who are all gearing up to share their mixed media techniques, tips and tricks with YOU! Themed around self-development and healing, you’ll be creating several loose mixed media art journal pages per month which by the end of the year you will bind into a glorious journal (a Life Book)! You will have a wonderful keepsake that you can treasure for the rest of your life!

You can find out a lot more about this wildly popular course (it has been joined by over 8700 people in the past!) by clicking HERE. 

I'm currently planning my lessons, and while they aren't finished yet, I can tell you that I am happily going to be sharing some of my most favorite tips & tricks, and lots of information about how I create faces!

Registration opens on October 5th 2015 and the class begins on January 1st 2016.
Keep this page bookmarked so that you can sign up the moment it goes on sale!

Now then, onto the give-away and blog hop!  I can give away 1 space on Life Book 2016 to 1 lucky winner!  Yay!!!  And if you follow the blog hop (see below for links and dates) you can up your chances of winning a space by entering all the other giveaways also! 

How to enter the give-away:

1. Sign up for my newsletter.

2. Visit my Facebook page and "share" the post I made about Life Book to your page.

3. Leave a comment below letting us know why you would love to join Life Book 2016.

I will choose the winner by random draw and announce it on September 16th!

Here is the list of the other amazing teachers who will be teaching on Life Book – they will also be giving away a spot on Life Book so go check them out and enter their giveaways!

7th September	Tamara Laporte	http://www.willowing.org/
8th September	Annie Hamman	http://anniehamman.com/
9th September	Kristin Dudish	http://kristindudish.com/
10th September	Effy Wild	http://effywild.com/
11th September	Faith Evans-Sills	http://faithevanssills.com/home.html
12th September	Gillian Lee Smith	http://www.gillianleesmithartist.com/
13th September	Ivy Newport	http://ivynewport.com/
14th September	Jane Davenport	http://janedavenport.com/
15th September	Jenny Grant	http://www.flowbyjenny.com/en
16th September	Angela Kennedy / PennyStamper	http://pennystamper.blogspot.co.uk/
17th September	Lisa Viger	http://lisaviger.blogspot.co.uk/
18th September	Martha Lever	http://marthalever.blogspot.co.uk/
19th September	Mary Beth Shaw	http://www.mbshaw.com/
20th September	Melody Ross	http://www.melodyross.com/
21st September	Pam Carriker	http://pamcarriker.com/
22nd September	Pauline Agnew	http://www.seedbedstudio.net/
23th September	Rae Missigman	http://rae-missigman.squarespace.com/
24th September	Renata Loree	http://renataloree.com/
25th September	Roben-Marie Smith	http://www.robenmarie.com/
26th September	Roxanne Coble	http://bybun.com/
27th September	Shiloh Sophia McCloud	http://www.shilohsophiastudios.com/
28th September	Donna Downey	http://www.donnadowney.com/
29th September	Tracy Verdugo	http://tracyverdugo.com/
30th September	Wyanne Thompson	http://www.wyanne.com/

Enjoy the blog hop and good luck!

Thank you for entering, this giveaway is now closed.

Coffee Blobs and Inspiration

Sometimes inspiration can come from the unlikeliest of places...

Kristin Dudish   #dudishdaily 5

If you have been reading my blog for a while, then you know that I am a big fan of all things silly.  And when it comes to silly, Carla Sonheim is the "Squeen" (Silly Queen)!  Whenever I find myself in a taking-myself-too-seriously rut, I turn to one of Carla's books (Drawing Lab is my all time favorite art book!), or one of her classes.

Kristin Dudish   #dudishdaily 6

Last week while catching up on some blog reading, I came across Carla's "coffee blobs".  As you may already know, I have a tendency to "see" things (Click here for an example, and click here for another!)... And if you're familiar with Carla, then you know she fully supports and encourages "seeing" things (check out this tutorial)!

Kristin Dudish   #dudishdaily 7

Well, when I saw Carla's "coffee blobs" I immediately started "seeing" things, so I emailed her and asked if it would be okay for me to print them out, draw&paint on them, then post my results.  Being the generous Squeen that she is, she granted me permission and gave me her blessing!

I had so much fun playing with them, I was sorry to see I had reached my last...

Kristin Dudish   #dudishdaily 8

Luckily, I've signed up for "Year of the Spark" so I have a feeling I'll be in for a LOT more fun, inspiration, and magic in 2015!

Out Of My Comfort Zone

A page from my sketchbook.

As a birthday present to myself, I signed up for 
Flora Bowley's Bloom True e-course.

For those of you that have been reading my blog for a while, you probably already know that I am most comfortable painting faces...

And silly things...

"Cinderellephant"

But, the reason I chose to take Flora's class was not do something comfortable and familiar. Or, to have an excuse to clean and organize my studio (although, it was nice to see it that way for a little while)...

The reason I signed up for "Bloom True" was to learn something new.

When I was in art school (many years ago), I was taught to think, plan, explain "why", and then think some more... While I was sketching ideas and carefully planning compositions, there wasn't a whole lot of room left for "go with the flow".

Please don't get me wrong, I learned many valuable things in art school.  But...
I also believe that there are always new lessons to be learned.  And right now, the lesson I need to learn is how to loosen up...

 Luckily for me, Flora is a gentle and encouraging teacher who says, 
"There are no mistakes."

As a recovering perfectionist, letting go is a challenge.
But, if I can get out of my own way, I have a feeling I'll learn a lot about myself (and my art) through this process.

p.s. Even though I work with EVA weekly to make sure Paint Party Friday is up & running, it's been ages since I actually linked a post of my own... I think it's about time!