Hello, I'm Cassandra. Finally joined, so excited to be here!

[APHOTICMOTH]

Hello, SVS community! I'm Cassandra, a nature lover, and artist, in my early 30's, from Washington state.

I've been following Will Terry, and Jake Parker for a long time, they have been an immense inspiration, and have made me believe that it's never too late to improve, make changes, or to seek opportunity.

Art has been my whole life, not only for love, but as a way to cope, and pass the time. A life full of ups, and many downs, moves, and losses. I've pushed to reinvent myself, and find who I am. To put more thought into what I do, and grow as much as possible.

I've been published with various things like childrens books, tcg, and covers, I'm looking to expand my work and land bigger and better jobs.

Being a quiet homebody, and a bit shy, I've not posted as much as I could have over the years, but it's time to change that, It's been hard to find a "community", many sites seem cold and vast. I love the vibe here, and seeing meaningful interactions.

Here are a few of my pieces, all traditional, even though most of my freelance work is digital:

My newest piece - Watercolors/colored pencils

Watercolors, and a touch of white gel pen.

Watercolors/colored pencils, I see some flaws, but am still happy with it.

Watercolors

Watercolors are my absolute favorite medium to work with.

My goals right now, are to produce more storybook scenes, with full bgs, and character interaction, with the longer goal of getting a good agent at some point. Aiming to complete some small sequential pieces soon. I also have started working on the Draw50things project.

Thank you for this wonderful community.

[Heather Boyd]

@CLCanadyArts Hey,

I love that you use watercolour in deeper tones. I have been recently combining watercolour and pencil crayon and gouache and pencil crayon.

Before I drown on Welcome!

Checked out some of your digital - still love the deep richer colours and the mood that emminates

[sketchbook]

Wow! I love these images and really admire how you handle your environments (environments being the absolute bane of my existence). Welcome! Can’t wait to see more of your work!

[animatosoor]

@CLCanadyArts Hello, Cassandra!

As a fellow homebody and shy person, I understand what you mean, and would gently urge you to post as regularly as you can manage, and showcase your work!

Your watercolours are lovely, by the way.

[APHOTICMOTH]

@Heather-Boyd Mixed media is fun, I hope you're enjoying it. Pushing for deeper tones was daunting, and still is sometimes, since watercolors are so unforgiving. I still sometimes just adjust the values digitally. Thanks for checking out my digital work. It's been pretty dark lately, need to do some brighter stuff.

@sketchbook Thank you, I love environments! Bob Ross and Noah Bradley are big inspirations.

@animatosoor Nice to know that I'm not alone there. I will post more, just don't wan't to be spammy. What is appropriate for this community? I saw a sketchbook thread, would that be best outside of new threads for general thoughts or discussions? I didn't see a rules thread. What about separate threads for different projects? Also, thank you!

[animatosoor]

@CLCanadyArts I think whether you are posting your own art, providing feedback on others' art, or sharing your thoughts on some topic of interest, it is all going to contribute to a meaningful interaction - the kind you mentioned having observed in your original post. It isn't going to be spammy! Hahah

I'm fairly new here too, but I'd say a sketchbook thread would be great if you'd like a place to chronicle all of your sketches and artwork in a single spot. If there is a specific piece of artwork you are working on that you would like feedback on, I understand it is perfectly acceptable to create a thread for it in the "Artwork" category, with an indicator that you are looking for critique. It is also common to create your own thread in the Artwork category for a personal on-going project or challenge you might be participating in.

P.S: On the whole shyness thing: I love that you have been working in publishing, and wonder if the introversion/shyness has ever gotten in the way? For instance, would you say it was difficult to reach out to potential clients? I'd love to learn more!

[Chip Valecek]

Welcome to the forums! I love your work, that octopus is amazing. They are kind of my thing. There really isn't any rules around here. Its like the wild west of art. LOL You can create threads all you like. I have a couple threads I post my work to, sorta like a sketch book type thing. There are a lot of people here that do not follow me on social media. So its like another platform to share my work. Then people also have threads of pieces they are working on and want feedback. So really anything you want.

[APHOTICMOTH]

@animatosoor Thank you for the tips.

Yes, shyness has kept me from reaching out, it used to be debilitating, I was bullied to extremes when I was younger, and it took a long time to work past it. I have lost out on bigger work in the past because of my shyness, wouldn't open my e-mail over anxiety, or meet people in person..But e-mails are no longer daunting, and I can confidently meet people in person now . I still have a hard time partially because I have severe tinnitus (started when I was 11) and not always being able to hear what is said, makes people look at me like I'm dumb, or not paying attention. I read lips a lot to fill in the blanks, so phone calls are hard (harder to hear and no lip reading..), and many larger contacts want to speak over the phone. All of my current contacts have been formed over e-mail.

Getting past my shyness on posting now, it always felt spammy and like I was setting myself up for rejection in the past, but, rejection is ok, and a form of feedback. Not posting definitely hurts ones chances of growing.

I've never attended a con for shyness sake either, and I know opportunity can happen there too, including just meeting good people.

Being too shy can definitely hurt socially, and financially.

[APHOTICMOTH]

@Chip-Valecek Thank you, Chip. I like your catching a mermaid piece, silly creepy fun!

Good to know, seems like there is a lot of freedom in these forums. I like it. It feels relaxed, and fun.

[Adrian K]

@CLCanadyArts welcome welcome, great to have you here. I absolutely love your work, watercolor is a joy to work, with and the way you use it is just breathtaking.

[APHOTICMOTH]

@Adrian-K Thank you, Adrian! Your watercolors are amazing! Following for more.

[APHOTICMOTH]

I just signed up for monthly SVS!! Have been contemplating it for months. Not showing up on my account, but sure it will be resolved soon. I've seen nothing but positive reviews. Time to level up.

[Jonas Zavacky]

Hi! @CLCanadyArts Oh my I love your work!! Right in my taste! Welcome to the forums I am looking forward to see your future projects!

[animatosoor]

@CLCanadyArts This is really inspiring; thank you so much for sharing.

@CLCanadyArts said in Hello, I'm Cassandra. Finally joined, so excited to be here!:

wouldn't open my e-mail over anxiety, or meet people in person..But e-mails are no longer daunting, and I can confidently meet people in person now .

I can relate to this so much. As human beings we can have some really irrational fears, and it's a real shame that some of these anxieties have hindered someone as skilled in their craft as you. What's wonderful, though, is that you have overcome many of those hurdles. All the best on your journey; I can't wait to see you grow further!

[APHOTICMOTH]

@Jonas-Zavacky Thank you!

[APHOTICMOTH]

@animatosoor Irrational for sure. Feeling like the world would treat me the same as those around me. Had to get past it in person as well, created a general fear of people. I still meet bad people, and have even had some down right harsh bad clients, but it's much easier now. Sometimes cutting ties and dumping a job is better than suffering. I love reading the clients from hell page.

https://clientsfromhell.net/

Wish there weren't people like that out there, but it's part of life.

[lmrush]

Welcome, beautiful work!

[shinjifujioka]

Welcome! Glad you're stepping out of your comfort zone to share your work here

[theprairiefox]

Gorgeous work! I love the strength and depth of color and value.

Great to have you here. It is great to get new people in the mix and be inspired by each other.

[djly]

Love your work and admire your storytelling abilities. Welcome!