The Quirky and Cute Art of Stephanie Fizer

Argh.  Pirates are waiting for you in my Etsy shop! Now be your way before we make ye walk the plank!

PS-These little pirate girls will also be available as image/tube packs through Artistic Minds Inc in the near-ish future

It’s been two years since I decided to ditch my terrible day job and take on the challenges of making art fulltime.  I’ve learned much through making my own mistakes as well as through studying the successes of others and although I am be no means a business expert, I feel that my experiences and thoughts may be useful to those who are just entering the art or craft world.  Over the next several Fridays, I will be presenting a short series of articles/blog entries on various topics from bookkeeping and promoting to the actual creative process itself. 

This week we tackle the conundrum of being unique and striving for perfection.  When I decided to try my litlte hand at illustrating for a living, I did a lot of research on what sold on Ebay because that was my first target venture.  I found that fantasy art, especially fairies and mermaids seemed to be very popular amont art buyers on Ebay, especially in the tiny yet collectible ACEO size.  Seeing that as a potential income, I threw myself into drawing/painting stacks of little fairy and mermaid paintings and proceeded to list them on Ebay. 

The result was mediocre, they sold but not for the prices I had hoped.  I continued to plug away in this manner for about my first year, creating what was already selling, hoping to eventually start making money because I was so persistent.  Nothing really changed though until I changed myself. 

Looking back on it, I realize that my heart was not truly in my creations.  I also realize that they were not uniquely me, you couldn’t tell my paintings from any number of other painters who were doing the exact same thing.  And with no heart came lack of perfection in the work, I could whip out a painting in a hour which I took to be a positive attribute.  Once I recognized the problems, I set about remedying them. 

I needed a unique voice in a world full of so much expression.  I spent hours with my sketchbook, searching for myself somewhere in those doodles, trying out different things until something just clicked and felt right.  Now, I certainly don’t expect that I won’t be evolving and changing throughout the years but I do feel that I managed to find a discernible style that I am absolutely in love with.  I love all the girls and animals I create and the little worlds I can draw around them. 

And because I finally truly love my work, I take the time to make each creation truly complete in my eyes.  As I grew to love my work more and more and as my artistic voice become more unique, my business increased accordingly and more opportunities became available to me. 

So what does all this mean?  While it’s only human to admire the beauty around us, when it comes to the business of art it won’t do to simply copy or imitate what has already been done.  It is necessary instead to find a unique voice and work hard to perfect it before releasing it for all the world to see :)  So when you’re getting ready to set up shop, take a good look at your work to ensure that it is cohesive and easily identifiable as yours.  Make sure that it is unique and so well made that you would quickly snatch it up if you happened upon it in someone else’s shop.  And most of all, make it with love and it won’t even feel like work! 

Cupcakes cause the last two days have been much better than the grumpy Monday I had.  This is another in the tiny series of ACEOs that I’m actually working on for Artistic Minds Inc.  As with the other tiny digital illustrations, I am selling ten prints only through my Etsy shop

I’ve got about a billion projects going on right now including these cute hand cut bookmarks from a few of my illustrations:

This little hedgie bookmark and a couple of other designs are also currently available in my Etsy shop.

And now I’m off to sketch and fry my brain by watching America’s Next Top Model.  It’s a sad addiction, but admitting you have an addiction is the first step ;) 

You know some days just don’t go quite as planned and for me this was definitely one of THOSE days.  My early morning walk was ended by the torrential rain that has been pestering us for two days now.   The hours spent at my day job were endless and boring well I only dreamt of getting home.  When I finally came home to package up orders, everything when wrong including running out of nearly every supply, ruining a couple of prints and a complete meltdown on my printer’s behalf that will probably lead to a replacement in the near future.  The task of packaging ended up taking nearly 3 hours which left me little time for painting/drawing/photoshopping.  So of course, I just decided to do a little digital painting only to discover that my new love, the graphire tablet, suddenly isn’t recognized by my laptop. 

So to say the least, I’m curling up in bed early tonight with a sweet boyfriend who always makes me feel better, two fluffy cats and a huge bowl of popcorn to easy my pain.  And I’m hoping for a better tomorrow ;) 

There is one tiny bit of joy though, I found this great site with vintage wallpapers to peruse today at work.  I love love love vintage design, especially the fantastically tacky wallpapers I remember from my childhood.  Enjoy this little tidbit:  Vintage Wallpapers

Happy Mother’s Day to those who are mothers as well as to those who are not :)  I’ve spent a rather quiet weekend visiting with my mother and my boyfriend’s mother.  And I’ve also spent the weekend working on some digital illustrations which will eventually become a new package for Artistic Minds and which will also slowly be released as limited edition ACEO print runs of only ten. 

These two images, the Ninja Girl and the Geisha Girl, are the first from this small series of girls.  For the first time, I’ve made myself actually work with a graphire tablet in Photoshop.  Previously, I simply used the touchpad on my laptop until I almost literally rubbed the skin from the ends of my fingers because learning the use a graphire is like learning to use a new hand.  But alas, I’ve given in and I am much happier with the results that I have been with my previous attempts; I notice that I have a lot more control using the tablet, which is both strange and refreshing. 

So now I’m off to spend the rest of this rainy working on a few more little girl illustrations.  For now, I have released Ninja and Geisha Girls as very limited edition ACEOs in my Etsy shop so enjoy!

Fairy of Dusk.  Original ACEO for sale in my Etsy shop.  It’s been such a long time since I painted a fairy, but I found myself suddenly inspired

Little Red Riding Hood has already sold, but I am offering a few prints of her as well.  Thanks to everyone for being so wonderful!

Little Red Riding Hood Original ACEO.  She is currently available in my shop, but hurry because she will be snatched up quickly as my original ACEOs usually are!

Also, my new image pack and first element package are currently available through Artistic Minds Inc, so rush over there to check them out

So I’ve spent the last several days turning my entire apartment upside down trying to locate several of my favorite t-shirts that have magically walked away along with a few new articles of clothing.   At first, I blamed the laundromat, thinking that perhaps a shirt got left in the washer or perhaps one of the creepy old guys there ganked on of my shirts.  But at this point, nearly 4 shirts later, I’m beginning to think that either I must be crazy or someone is stealing my clothes!  Being one of those intensely organized people otherwise none as OCD, it’s almost impossible to think that I misplaced one shirt, let alone four!  Unfortunately, I tend to think that perhaps someone who visits our house often might have somehow walked off with them. . . .or maybe I’ve just upset the t-shirt gods and they are punishing me by stealing my favorite tees!

In less mysterious news, I know some of you are looking for my new image package at Artistic Minds Inc, I promise you it’s coming, I”m just waiting in line to have it posted!  In the meantime, I am the artist-of-the-month of there, which is pretty nifty in my opinion :)  Just a bit after the new image pack is up, I should also have my first image pack up seen here in a little flower collage: 

These little flower elements will be available as individual items in a package and can be used for tubes and tags as well as for digital collaging etc so look for them soon.  I’ve also posted two new ACEOs in my shop just in time for Mother’s Day gift giving!  Here’s one but you’ll have to visit the shop to check out the other!

It’s been a tremendously busy weekend for me.  Today I:
-spent the morning shopping for grocercies and little bits and pieces to add around the house including a new sofa

-spent the afternoon rearranging the entire apartment so I now have my very own little studio space!  i’m so excited and utterly thrilled.

-spent part of the evening looking for new art from Etsy to decorate my new little studio space

-spent the rest of the evening packaging orders and shipping them at the automated postal center and finally after this very quick blog post, I am going to curl up with a book to enjoy the few hours i have left of my weekend.

I hope everyone enjoyed a productive weekend too!  more art to come so keep your eyes peeled

Rainy Day Friends.  5×7 watercolor and ink painting. Original is up for sale in my Etsy shop.