Fishing

 Most of my time has been spent looking for work but I used my break time for finishing the barracuda painting.  I also used that time for eating, so painting took a lot more breaks than I expected. Below are two more paintings I dug out from my summer watercolor class. A lot of learning came from these two. All the techniques learned between the two I used for the Barracuda.  It was a whole lot faster to do too, with a better result.

Barracuda Sketch

Not quite fully grown, this Barracuda will never reach its potential.  In a study to show more than a surface portrait of the fish, I've taken the liberty of stripping away the flesh to reveal the remnants of a bone structure.  Once imposing and powerful, this creature is but a testament to life...

Searching for work...

I've come to a crossroads, perhaps even a cul de sac.  I've been trying to pull information on publishers to submit artwork, in an attempt to find work.  I've found that most publishers don't even accept unsolicited illustrations or manuscript(children's books seem to be an exception).  A few sites such as Houghton Mifflin Harcourt http://www.hmhco.com/faq.html#submissions_manuscript suggest to contact literary agents.  OK sweet, but still there is a problem.  Agencies normally don't accept anyone until they have a few years of work experience in the field!  So what is going on here?  Why does this continue to play like the chicken and the egg?

Site Maintenance

     I find it annoying when I post on a site and I have to wait for the post to be approved.  It kills the excitement I had for posting in the first place.  I hoped, on my website, I would not have to approve comments but now I find myself in a dilemma.  I have been getting insurance spam on my site.  It isn't funny and only subtracts time away, making sure my site doesn't turn into a pan handler.  What to do...?  Approve comments?  Leave as be?