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Monday, June 15, 2009

In the beginning

My artistic life began with a simple box of watercolors. I was strictly a writer/editor at the time, and painting became a wonderful outlet for me. It didn't translate into magazine work until I was hired to write a monthly food column. The art that accompanied my column was so out of line with the text that I was mystified. After the third or fourth month, the artwork was clearly repetitive and said nothing for my writing, so I went to the editor and told him I could provide the artwork with the text as a package; it would save him money and make the column more attractive. He agreed.
My first illustration was for a piece I wrote on eggplants. The staff loved it, and some of them began to look forward more to the illustration than the text. I'm always mindful that if I hadn't asked, I may never have gottten the job. Speak up! What's the worst that can happen? They say, no thanks, and you try somewhere else....
And bread....

And Biscuits Lu for their P.R. company


And peppermills for the Compleat Kitchen



Bon appétit!

6 comments:

  1. I love your images, thank you for sharing! I can't wait to see more!

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  2. Oh, how perfect of a beginning! I love that you shared this with us Colette. I love your illustrations. They certainly got their money's worth!!

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  3. Of course you know how much I adore your watercolors and these are no exception! They are fun and certainly add something special to your articles! I can see why folks were 'drawn' to your column. You are an inspiration, too!

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  4. I've always wanted to experiment with watercolor, but it seems like such a challenge. Just looking at your luscious open paint box, though, makes me want to play (or at least do something with the palette in Photoshop).

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  5. oh my...
    your eggplant truck is

    eggcellent

    and suitable for framing.

    :-)

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  6. Lovely illustrations and I also understand what you are saying about "invisible" - very well put!

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Thank you so much for taking the time to comment. I really appreciate each and every one of you.