"Peach"(See all 6 proofs)
So with that said, what do you do when a client insists on "hearts" in her background, with pinks & purples? Well you toss and turn all night long and wish that more clients would just let you do what you do best. Then you wake up in the morning and accept the challenge and you do your version of "sweet", you tackle "hearts" with gusto. You also pause and admonish yourself for being such an art snob, and you start to think about what the symbol of a heart must mean to your client. Her lovely girl Peach is no longer with her and for her the traditional symbol of a heart is the perfect design element to celebrate her tender love for her special pup. So now that you are feeling like a total jerk, you give her not just one sample with hearts as promised, but 6 on-line proofs with hearts and you even e-mail her a 7th option, hoping that one of your efforts will hit a home run ... still crossing fingers.
If you are an artist reading this pause and ask yourself if you have a few snobby areas in your brain that may be limiting your creativity. Just because something like the heart symbol may be overused in the world does not mean that you can't try to put your own spin on it. I often resist being over directed by my clients and yet sometimes the challenges they throw my way are the perfect solution for getting outside my comfort zone. I said on Monday I would try to work with new color combos ... well for me pink and purple are at the very bottom of my crayon box. I am really happy with Peach and the fun variety of heart solutions I was able to present to her Mom. She was totally right, hearts are the perfect solution for a background texture.
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6 comments:
great post and artwork rebecca.
i love how insightful and honest you are.
Thanks so much Melissa. Ha, yep I am often way too honest, and admitting that I can be a total art snob may not win me any fans. It has been a tough week of trying to balance more than a few client "visions" with my own creative instincts and skill limitations. I often loose myself in the process and end up feeling like nothing more than a tool in my client's hands trying to carve out their dreams and their creative visions. Commercial art is such a tough balance. I do my best.
Love this guy. The purples are really beautiful. BTW, you and your client might be interested in photographer Grace Chon's recent photoshoot of a rescued Pitbull. A happy ending to a very hard life...
http://www.shinepetphotos.com/blog/?p=147
P.S. the mosaic blows my mind! thanks for sharing.
Holy cow your art work is AMAZING. I love all the different textures and colors you work with. I stopped by to say hi and just saw Moira's kind comment above :) Hope you don't mind if I add you to my blog roll!
"I often resist being over directed by my clients and yet sometimes the challenges they throw my way are the perfect solution for getting outside my comfort zone."
This is so insightful. I tend to really get clients involved with the creative process -- it's just the way I work - but there is a line
(sorry)
but there is a line that should not be crossed. Usually people respect it but sometimes I am convinced they don't see it is even there. There are a couple of times I have felt like a puppet and I did not like it. I have moved on and learned andgrown from those experiences. On the other hand, I, like you, more often than not have some faith in feedback that may not be what I originally envisioned. I too take it as an opportunity to "stretch" and possibly create something even cooler than what the original was!
I think the key is listening to our instincts about these things, and then being very diplomatic with regards to communication skills. (Easier said than done! Ha ha..)
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