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To Illustrate the Point

  • Writer: Pete Gillespie
    Pete Gillespie
  • Jun 3, 2020
  • 2 min read

For many, there appears to be something of a division if you look at the work I produce, a line in the sand that seperates one approach from another.

At one end stands my drawing and painting, the traditional artwork to quote from Deviant Art's complex and divisive catagorising system.

Everything from my doodles and sketches, produced at the back of important meetings, to the complex watercolour illustrations that scatter peoples homes and have now probably faded a little because you hung them in direct sunlight.

These are my bread and butter.....mmm bread.........sorry, these are the cornerstone of what I do, and no doubt always will be. I love to draw and paint. I find the immediacy of being able to pick up a ball-point pen and sketch zombie's on an A4 agenda or the preparatory nature of setting out trays of watercolours and an easel ready for a days painting equally fulfilling. The day I realise I can no longer draw or paint, will be my 'time's up' notification.


ree

Wow, way to put a downer on things.


In recent years however, and certainly during this whole lockdown shenanigans I have taken to creating more digital work.

Commendeering my daughters graphics tablet, cheers Emma, and trying to guide myself through the intricacies of Photoshop, and in particular Illustrator.


An added bonus of using these very expensive apps is that it has brought life to a lot of the sketches that have been sat dormant in the bowels of my sketch books for years.


I love a sketch book, and must confess to starting (though not always finishing) scores of them. However, they can become museum pieces once I've worked through the empty pages.

I have no problem with museums you understand, but everyone wants to know the dinosaurs come to life once the lights are out, and this gives me that opportunity.

So turning funny little pencil sketches into funny little vector graphics, with the added bonus of then being able to use sites like Redbubble to transfer, quite easily, those images onto real products is pretty darn cool.



Now, to be clear, personally I see no division and no line in the sand. Traditional and digital art is simply art. How I produce it may be different, and a poor wifi connection, like on so many occasions can be the decisive factor. Every idea tends to start with a sketch on paper, so if I had to choose, and if someone threatened me with a pointy stick....who are these people, and why are they threatening artists with sticks?, neanderthals......I'd say traditional has the edge.

But no one ever has.


Pete


These designs and others can be found at



 
 
 

Sticking it to the man.

  • Writer: Pete Gillespie
    Pete Gillespie
  • May 21, 2020
  • 2 min read

It would be fair to say that as a business man and entrepreneur I suck massively.

Sales, pricing, advertising...all of that stuff, the insipid, everyday nuts and bolts of trying to extract money out of people makes me a little queasy.

I'm astonishingly grateful to the patrons I've worked with, those that hand over their hard earned cash, many more than once, for my paintings. I appreciate every penny, and the little pot of cash I've managed to build up over recent years.

If I had charged minimum wage for the hours I put in, I'd be looking at 6x the money....though perhaps only a quarter of the sales. But I cannot bring myself to charge more. I know this is a quandary faced by other creative types and I will do a more ranty blog on 'wanting free artwork' in the future because its a real concern.

However, I shall not be ungrateful - making any money out of what I love to do is a welcome bonus, and I'd rather make less and produce more.

I'm mentioning these fiscal quandaries because I have recently undertaken a project whereby I make and sell some of my art online.


Both sites allow me to upload art work, which is then printed on a range of products. The quality of stuff...or at least the photos, is super impressive and make me look really professional.


Professional..........Small pause there.


Now the profits are small, I've sold a few stickers and made less than a tenner, but the hourly rate to make these and get them on the internet is so much smaller than the watercolours I make. The process is also really easy, I don't need loads of space or resources.

It's a winner really.

I have made countless designs already down the years, and they just fill up memory space on my laptop, why not see if I can make me some pocket money out of them?


*cringe*

That again....capitalism making me feeling grubby.


The only way I can publicise what I do is through social media really, aka swamping Facebook..... with my little band of followers, many who have already shown support and are likely tired of me pimping my wares.....I fear TameInk fatigue.


The stickers will never replace my watercolours, but there is an enjoyable creative process and I can't deny that buzz on seeing my phone ping, informing me a Cliff Burton sticker has been bought in New York.

Like so many of my ideas, I start out really enthusiastic and passionate about making a creative statement only to be brought back down to earth by the reality of my talents and popularity in the real world.

But there must be someone out there that yearns for a zombiefied version of yours truly on their morning coffee mug!?


(Me.....of course I bought one)


So for now, shower curtains, coasters and tote bags a go-go!


Pete



 
 
 
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