Dig Deep and Unleash Your Imagination.

What drives you as an artist? I strongly believe that there is a hidden unleashed artist in all of us. We often feel limited or stuck trying to find ourselves. Have you ever had that image stuck in your head that you cannot seem to escape? It follows you everywhere, at work, doing chores, listening to music, and in your dreams. You try to draw it but find yourself making mistakes and wasting mounds of paper. You can’t figure out why you cannot draw a stick figure to save your life when you have drawn portraits,  and landscapes flawlessly in the past. Well Today in this blog I am going to give you a glimpse into how you can begin to make the changes to unleash your potential.

The biggest problem is finding what medium you feel most comfortable with it has to be an extension of you. For me it just happened to be the pencil. The next thing you have to figure out is your style. Each of us has a unique fingerprint, and in art we each have what I like to call an “Art Fingerprint.” An Art fingerprint is an original style that no one on the planet can replicate, almost like your signature. Sure they may try, but all copies will be just that another copy. You have to let go and find your own style to do that you have to take yourself back to that one point in time when you were really excite to finish a piece of art. It could have been when you were a child, in school, or a week ago, but that moment when you caught yourself off guard paused, and smiled at your picture. It’s that excitement you have to get back, and pull into everything you do.

When did art become work, and competitions, and who can sell the most? It’s a pressure that we all face especially in this age of modern sharing on sites like Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and so on. Likes, comments, and shares to the highest bidder. When we don’t see the results we like we fall backwards in fear that our work is maybe not as good as the artist with over 10,000 hits. I will be the first to admit I fell into the category of envy of other artists who hit these numbers because I don’t have the income to pay for ads, or other forms of web advertising. I am going to tell you some wise and great advice that someone very smart once told me… (my wife.) They are just numbers, and do not represent the great artist you are. Remember that as you are fighting an invisible battle online to become viral, because the greatest artists that ever existed were alive WAY before the internet was born.  So do not let competition hold you back. Pressure to succeed in today’s market had me torn, and had me creating art I thought people would like. I changed who I was in the artwork, and it wasn’t me at all. It became only business, and it made me very unhappy. I was un-motivated with no passion to continue drawing the same tired drawings that had no imprint of me in them at all. It was funny how me trying to fit in with the art community and be seen with them was what got me lost in the shuffle. I was just another artist with no originality, and I had lost who I was in the process. I needed to change or I was finished.

So what got me motivated again, the catalyst that broke the mold. It was something as simple as a sketchbook, and freedom. Eliminate the pressure, and just draw. You have to just let loose and let it all come out. No techniques, no references and no hesitation. Just draw the first image that comes to your head. T doesn’t have to be the best image in the world, just enjoy it. You don’t even have to finish it. Then for the next week  I challenge you to do it again, and again. You will start learning how you perceive your imagination. You might even shock yourself a bit, and may be able to find that you had more to show than you thought. The trick is to continue pushing what is hidden within. By just drawing out your thoughts, and experiences you begin to let go of all the pressures the world places on your shoulders.

The next thing you will want to do is refine it. Take the images you drew for the week, and just revisit them all. Ask yourself how you felt when you were drawing them. Find out what motivated you to draw them, this may go deeper in your core than you thought, and bring more than just art out, but I guarantee that you will feel much better when you do.  It may help to write your own journal or blog about each of the seven drawings. Nothing elaborates, but it will help you find out what motivates you to draw, and why you started in the first place. In doing this and remembering your reason for art, you will also come to remember the passion that brought you to art. I want you to carry that passion onto your own new original piece of artwork.

Skin through your artwork in your sketch book and choose your most favorite image. Not the most detailed, but the one that catches your eye. It may be more than one. I want you to incorporate this image into your next large piece. You can even take multiple images new and old from this sketchbook, and compose them into one great image or piece. Take your time on this one, and really enjoy it.  Make it yours and give it your style, your art fingerprint if you will. Place yourself in the scene and picture yourself there. The sights, smells, movements, take it all in and enjoy it. Use references only to refine your image, such as the flowers you drew, or people. Don’t simply copy the image left to right, or up and down like a printer. Move across the paper with randomness, or start from a different spot than you are used to just to get you away from all that technique that locked you down. The point of this is to find out who you are as an artist. In school we learn to look at a picture and make a copy of it, I want you to take that picture right out of your head, and draw it to the paper or canvas.

What it all comes down to is the fear and the challenge. The fear that no one will appreciate your imagination, or understand how you think. To be honest it doesn't matter if they do or don’t. The only person you have to impress is yourself. It’s your art, and your mark on the world. To put it another way do you want to be remembered as the artist who copied other art, or the artist that broke free and decided to do something never before seen. Me I would rather never sell a piece of art and be original and happy doing it, than an artist that just drew pictures that someone else already did. I want you to challenge yourself and bring out the best artist you can be.

 (Then again I would really love to be an original artist and sell artwork too, feel free to check out my website on the links below to find out how you can purchase the originals. :D Cheap plug.)

Thank you, and I hope to see more new great artwork

Derrick Rathgeber-Bruno

http://DerricktheArtist.com

Trouble Getting Started? Tips to Get your Artwork Moving.

One of the most difficult things I have trouble with as an artist is just getting started. To me it’s something that drags me down like quicksand. The struggle of pulling myself together is a fight I deal with daily, and the more I fight to get started I find myself procrastinating more. In my case I feel as if I start one project I am neglecting myself of another. As of now I have split my talents into several different locations, that I am completely scatterbrained at times. It’s as if I am stuck in a dark tunnel with ten paths to choose, and rather than take the chance of taking the wrong path I stay in the same spot. Unfortunately choosing the safe spot moves me nowhere and nothing gets done, and every project suffers.

If you are new to my blog, or website my name is Derrick Rathgeber, and I am a husband, father of four great kids, a colored pencil artist, comic strip writer/artist, blog writer, free online art teacher, web designer, graphic designer, and soon I will try my hand at writing a book. All that is true I have done all those things, and you can find them on my website and right here on this very blog page. What the funny part is that I have put my hat in so many pots that I have overwhelmed myself to the point where I don’t know what I want to do. Each of these things are my hobbies, and I really do enjoy them all equally. I love making people laugh with my comic strips, I love designing characters for my story, and I love drawing detailed pictures with my colored pencils. So how do I choose? When I finish one project, how do I choose what to do next? When I start one I put all my energy into it, energy that I could have put into another one.

This was a problem for me for a very long time. I tried different things, and ultimately what worked best was just being down right organized. First of all my greatest enemy is procrastination. That to this day is the hardest enemy to kick in the rear, but you know what I am learning. I’ll start tomorrow, I never do anything for myself, I am tired, I don’t have what I need and so on. Some great tips to help with this little demon are as follows.

1.  Ask yourself: Is what I am doing now beneficial? What would be more rewarding? How will I feel if I continue to put this off?
2. Put off Procrastination: It may sound funny but think about it. Turn off any devices that may lure you away from your projects ie. Tv, internet, PHONE! All these things will be there later.
3. Reward yourself: I always tell myself if I draw today for x amount of time then I get to have x amount of time to do something I like GUILT FREE.
4.  Break it down: Sometimes we are overwhelmed by a large project. So overwhelmed that we don’t start it. So break it down. Say I am going to sketch it today, color this section tomorrow ect. This also helps you take your time and enjoy your new project.
5. Share your Success: Let people know how important it is to you. Sometimes we feel guilty for taking time from our friends and family. Sometimes they don’t understand what it means for you to be productive. Let them know, and ask for support. Say don’t call around 2-4pm I will be working, or can you watch the kids for a bit. And once you are finished working thank them by giving them your full attention. 

When it comes to deciding on what to work on next that is another hang up us artists deal with. Do we start on that commission piece? Do we draw that picture your mom has been asking for? Do I dare ignore everyone and draw that image bouncing around in my head? Again it answers the question how do I spend my time and energy? In my case I pulled myself so thin at one point that I just fell apart and did nothing. I had to get focused, and combat this problem because I wasn’t getting anything done. So what I did was I got organized. This was very important for me because I was all over the place. I didn’t even know what projects I had half of the time, or what I finished. So these are some of the things I did, that you can do yourself, to get organized.

1. Make a list: Write down a list of projects you have. This can be commissions, drawings you would like to do, blogs, website, ect.
2. Prioritize them: Number these projects from 1-10+ based on which projects you would like to get done, or maybe ones you were putting off that you would like to finish.
3. Make a Time Table: Next to each item write down how much time you need for each project. If it’s unknown it’s not a big problem. Ones that you can finish fast are good ones to knock off in-between larger projects.
4. Make a calendar: This is actually fun. Make yourself a weekly calendar giving yourself that day to work on a specific project, and be sure to add a FREE DAY on this calendar to give you the opportunity to work on projects that are behind, to work on whatever you want,  or just take a day off to rest.
5. Don’t make it Law: If you have to make adjustments it’s okay. Life changes and so can your schedule. So don’t feel guilt about changing the calendar, or missing a day or two. It’s mainly a tool to help you decide on what to work on that day. If your heart is in another project follow it and finish that project, you should never force it.

Once you have everything in perspective you will find your days going much smoother and a lot of guilt that goes along with starting something new will start to pass. You want to get into a good routine of developing yourself as an artist, but also find yourself being productive. Above all try not to make it work. A reason some of us find it hard to start up something new is fear, and worry. We worry that it won’t come out right, or fear that it has become work instead of enjoying it. When you feel that pressure, and fear building up just sketch. Don’t feel obligated to share it, just grab your sketchbook and just draw. This helps relieve that pressure we all feel to be at our very best all of the time. As artists we are our worst judges, and that can do nothing but hold us back.

So today if you are holding back a great new design that can wait, push through the muddiness and get through. Today it’s harder than ever with the many distractions that we face, but we have to close that world off and dive into our imaginations and pull it out. It’s not an easy fight sometimes, but this world of technology needs more creativity. Just remember every time you start a new project you are making the world that much better and more imaginative. That itself is a great reward, and incentive to start today.

Thank you for reading,

Derrick Rathgeber

Feel Free to find me on my website at http://DerricktheArtist.com

How to Draw a Rose with Colored Pencils

 by Derrick Bruno

Http://HalfEvil333.com

Support & Donate by clicking the button below.

Thank you Very Much.

 

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/60869032438165793/

In this lesson I will be teaching you how to create a lovely red rose using some different techniques. We will focus on using colors to add depth and layers into your work to give your artwork that look that has them coming off the page. Another focus we will work on is overlaying colors, and texture shading. I use RoseArt pencils and the colors listed below are what I used for this lesson.

Tip: If you do not have the colors listed below it is okay. You can use 3 shades of red from light to dark, 1 pink, one green, a sienna/yellow color, a brown, and a Black for shadows. 

·         Black

·         Brown

·         Sienna

·         True Green

·         Ruby

·         Cherry Red

·         Red

·         Blush Pink

Drawing the Rose:  We are going to start by lightly sketching out our rose. I like to start at the middle of the flower using spiral curves. As I build the middle I like to braid each side left to right. When I get closer to the edge each petal grows a bit larger. Keep the basic shape of the rose, and use references as needed. Have fun with the stem and add the leaves. I like to have the leaves jagged with curved tips. It gives them character and makes the drawing fun. Remember not to focus on a lot of detail for the sketch and draw lightly. We are going to use this lesson to add details by coloring with the pencils.

Step 1: To start bringing this lovely flower to life we are going to use the Brown first. Lightly shade each area of the rose on the outer edges of each layer. Once you get to the outer layers you are going to shift the direction of your shading to follow the curves of the petals. When you get to the outer larger petals you are going to give them their shaped edges, and details. Start from the edges and draw dark lines where the petals buckle a bit, then starting from one side of the petal and shade from side to side with the curve of the flower towards the center.

Step 2: Next we will define the rose by adding the lightest color. Using the Blush Pink (Pink) We are going to add a layer of pink to the inner area of each petal. You can shade with the curve of the lines from dark to light. We really want the pink to show through because this will help define the shape of the rose and keep the details from getting lost in the layers of red on top of red.

Tip: Keep the pink out because we will use it towards the end to define the highlights & tones.

Step 3: This is the step where you are going to get into the picture. We are ready to add our first touch of red, or in this case Ruby (Darker Red). Start coloring over the brown towards the middle of the flower using medium pressure. If you look at the picture you will also notice that you will want to fill in the corners of the petals and shade from dark to light towards the middle of each petal. By this time you will start to see the flower bloom outward.

Step 4: In this step we are going to fill in the rose with a nice even texture. This is one of two layers on the rose petals that will fill in the vibrant colors. Using the Cherry Red (Medium Red) you are going to use nice even back and forth strokes along the petals. Try to make the lines have some spacing and sketchy this will be filled in with the last shade of red. By keeping them sketchy and the same direction with the flower, you will give the flower a nice texture with little effort. It’s a fun trick, and another reason I love colored pencils.

Step 5: This is one of the shorter steps. We are going to fill in the white area in between the petals with a flat color. Grab the Brown, & Ruby colors and fill in this area. Use as much pressure as you feel comfortable with, but fill it in clean and even using both colors. And with that we move on. I told you it would be pretty quick.

Step 6: We are now going to define the shadows with this step and give our rose a nice clean look. Using the Red Pencil go over the entire flower. Remember to color in the same directions as the other steps. This will fill in any gaps and make the petals solid. Now you will use the Blush Pink and define the highlights around the center of the petals. Now use the Black pencil and begin to really define our Rose. Color nice clean lines along the curves of the inner rose petals as shown in the image above. Start from the center of the rose shade from dark to light on each area. As you move down the flower start shading from petal to petal starting at the sides and shade towards the center. As each petal over laps that is where you will add the shadows from one petal to the other. This will give you a nice layered 3d look. And with that we will begin on the stem and leaves.

Step 7: Using the Brown you will define the lines in the stem. Start with the border, and move inward making wood like lines up and down the stem following the curves. With the leaves you will sketch lines from the center of the leaves to the middle. Make them very sketchy and sparse. We will color over these as we did with the rose petals.

Step 8: In this step we are going to repeat but add to the Brown color to create more of a realistic stem. Using the Sienna (Yellow/Tan) add some more lines up and down the stem, and fill in some areas. With the leaves you will lightly shade from the center to the edges in a back and forth sketchy motion. Don’t fill in the entire leaf with this color you want to leave gaps. Remember you want the color to show through, but not become the dominant color of the stem. What this will do is add layers and make the flower come off the page.

Step 9: Now to make the Flower look young and alive let’s make the stem green. Using the True Green (Green) color the stem from top to bottom with small even strokes. You want to fill in the gaps and color over the other two colors. You will notice how the colors blend together at this point and see your green become a nice blend of earthy colors.

Step 10: Here we are at the final step of our lovely red rose. Using the Black add your final shadows on the stem. Start at the top where the flower petals overlap the stem and leaves. As you go down shade on the left side, and the top of the leaves moving from dark to light. Finally at the bottom add black and move upwards showing the cut stem’s edges. Remember to use your best judgment on the shadows and highlights of your rose. What I like to do is have a light next to me and see how the shadows fall on the page. You can even go one step further and cast a shadow onto the paper from the rose. Make it your own, and have fun.

Tip: Remember the direction of your shading, combined with pressure will give you your textures. This is what you will learn as you go as you begin to develop.

This would conclude our lesson. I want to thank you for visiting and allowing me to help you grow as an artist. Remember if you have any questions feel free to email me at DerrickBruno@HalfEvil333.com, and I will answer them the best I can. I would like to see your own roses too.

Feel free to share them on your favorite Social Media Sites Using the Hash tag #HalfEvil333 I would love to see your progress and work.

Derrick the Artist is on the Rise!

http://DerricktheArtist.com

Oh what a fantastic start for 2014. Where would I be without family, friends, and my fantastic art community? Not where I am today I can guarantee that. I have some building to do, and a bit further to climb, but the direction I am going is definitely the right one. 

Over the past few months I have had some ups and downs on the course of my art career. I missed a few promotions here and there, and even more shows, but that is all in the past. It's funny how God works. Just when you feel angry with him, and you begin to think that he is not listening, he shows you he is. Last month I wrote about my anger with the world. How I have given all that I can give, and I felt it was my turn to get some help now that I needed it. When that help didn't come right away I was angry. I felt like a spoiled brat, but at the same time I knew it was good to voice my frustrations. A few weeks went by and although nothing had changed I felt a change in the air. It was like the pressure I placed on myself had lifted, and I forgot why I was angry in the first place. And that's when everything changed. 

The name Derrick the Artist was already on the Rise. This year alone I have already started my first large show. The Annual Artscape in Riverside, CA. This show is big, and runs from February to August of 2014, and in May I have been asked to draw a few pieces for the Riverside Prom, and join the committee. My artwork which is produced using RoseArt brand pencils is going to be see by a whole lot of professional artists all over. I have never been able to pay for the expensive brand name pencils and to me that didn't make a difference. I used what I had, and did not understand the impact that would have on the people around me. 

On this blog you will notice that I give art lessons using the RoseArt pencils. Despite the critics the pencils are a great price range that all people can afford, but to me they output fantastic colors. As I started to make more lessons using pencils that more students, and young children were using I found there was a need for these lessons to be accessible. I have been getting a whole lot of thank you letters and messages asking me to make more, and they like to know that because they cannot afford the high priced art supplies they to can produce award winning art as well. They weren't limited to their budget like myself. I like being there for these young adults and artists who have questions. It feels good, and eventually I would like to set up an artist mentoring program on a volunteer basis as one of my goals. For now I'll continue building, and working for it. 

Another big deal for me that I received recently was a donation on my website by a lady from Kentucky. No kidding I was running out of colors to use, and I was seeking donations to purchase new pencils, and paper. My last black had whittled down, and I kid you not that morning I received a donation that allowed me to purchase enough materials for the next few months. I am usually the one outputting all that I can, and I cannot believe that someone felt I was worth investing in. It really brought my soul back to life, and I was lifted up with ambition to do more. I cannot wait to pay it all forward and giving all I can give, and teaching all I can teach to all that will ask or listen. 

So as I am on the rise be sure to continue watching to all that I am putting out. I built a shop to sell my artwork on great gifts. The proceeds go to adding more options and building the Artist Mentoring Network. I will be seeking artists who are willing to chime in voluntarily to help young artists, and student artists.My comic Strip Twisted Fate will be growing, and becoming an animated Flash comic by 2015, and my art lessons will continue to grow. Possibly a book by next year as well. Finally new large pieces of artwork to share with the world. I hope you will continue to join me as I grow as an artist with you. Remember to visit my webpage for news and updates on everything. 

I want to see all of you Rise with me as well. 

Thank you for reading, 

Derrick Rathgeber

How to Color a Daisy With Colored Pencils

How to Color a Daisy With Colored Pencils

By Derrick Bruno

Http://HalfEvil333.com

Support & Donate by clicking the button below.
Thank you Very Much.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/60869032437031919/

Let us begin the lesson, and thank you for your support. 

Welcome to the next lesson in colored pencil drawing. In the last lesson we learned how to layer different colors to create a solid multi-colored pink lady apple. In this lesson I will teach you how to train your brain to see your drawing as different individual pieces. The perfect way to do this is with the daisy. We will focus more on directional shading and coloring in this lesson, and how to obtain textures using different strokes.

Grab your box of Colored Pencils out and grab the following colors; Pale pink, Pink, Cerise, Ruby, Light Brown, Golden Yellow, Grass Green, Black, and White. These will be the 9 colors we will be using for this lesson.

Tip: If you would like to change the color of your flower, you may substitute the petal colors (Pale Pink, Pink, Cerise, & Ruby) to another four colors. Just make sure you go from light to dark. For example a purple flower you could use Light Lavender, Lavender, Purple, & Orchid. 

Step 1: Lightly draw your daisy using faint strokes of a pencil, or light grey colored pencil. Start with the circle in the middle of the flower. Follow that with about six individual petals all roughly the same length, but different characteristics. If you note each petal has two fold lines going down the, and the ends are jagged. Behind these petals you will draw more petals. Continue layering your petals until you are satisfied with the shape of your daisy. Now use the Grass Green colored pencil and draw two curved lines for the stem.

Tip: If you would like to skip ahead and focus on the coloring lesson. You may download the sketched out image seen below. Click the link Below.

http://www.4shared.com/office/lLB4l57E/How-to-draw-a-daisy-001.html

Step 2: We are going to put down the base color for the flower. Take the Pale Pink Colored Pencil and start coloring in each petal. Now to do this we are going to use a fun technique. The reason I chose a daisy is because it’s a circle shape. You will want to color in the direction of each petal; to do this can get frustrating because you have to contort your hand into uncomfortable positions. So what we are going to do is keep our hand in the same position and rotate the paper. Use light gentle strokes across each petal evenly, and use more pressure on the lines, and towards the center of the flower. Continue rotating the paper and coloring each petal until they are covered.

Step 3: Practice Makes Perfect. Find a petal to start with, and start adding the next layer of color. Using the Pink we will start off at the base of the petal and color in the direction of the petal. Color only the base of the petal and the center area of the petal. Again rotate the paper as you go and color in a position that is most comfortable for you and your wrist. This will allow smoother lines and more control.

Tip: Treat each petal as a new drawing. Taking your time and giving attention to each one will allow your brain to see shapes that you would otherwise over look. Remember to draw comfortably, take breaks when you need them, and just have fun.

Step 4: Using the Cerise you will continue adding more color and depth to the flower. We are going to start adding some shadows and curves to the petals. Color from the base of the petal with more pressure and lighten your strokes as you reach the end of the petal. Define the shadows for the petals underneath by using darker strokes where the top petals overlay.

Step 5: We are going to fine tune the shadow by adding one more red color. Using the Ruby Colored Pencil we will once again add more depth the flower petals. Rotating the paper as you go of course, sharpen your lines toward the base of each petal around the circle. Then define the lines of each petal using the Ruby color. Now as you rotate the paper use back and forth strokes to really get the dark Ruby color to make an even shadow on each petal towards the center of the flower to make it look like the petals fold inward.

Step 6: Now we are going to get into the middle of this flower. Don’t worry no more rotating the paper for this one, unless you want to of course. This part is actually kind of fun for me. Making a realistic pollen look is easier than it looks. Using the Light Brown find the center of your circle and make a much smaller circle. This will be your starting point. Now continue making small circles around this circle, and continue until the center is full. Once you get to the edge of the petals, use the Light Brown to fill in any gaps between the flower center and the petals. Now add some of this brown to the stem with some lines dark lines, and we will move on to the next step.

Step 7: Now it’s time to add some color to the center. Using the Golden Yellow make even circular strokes to fill in the center area. Continue going over it until you get a nice even color. Once you are finished use the same Golden Yellow color and very lightly go over the base of each petal. We do this because light reflects colors onto nearby objects. Sometimes it’s not noticeable, but just enough will make your drawing look that much more realistic. Then to finish off this step add some more light stroke lines onto the stem to give it an earthy browning like color when we go over it with the green.

Step 8: Probably the easiest step of the drawing. Take the Grass Green color, and color the entire stem. Be sure to color right over the Golden Yellow and Light Brown colors. Remember to color along with the shape of the stem in the same direction. You can even rotate the paper to give you a comfortable position and clean lines. Color the area by the flower darker show the shadow of the flower covering the stem.

Tip: By now I hope rotating the paper comes to you as a reflex. This will help you draw strait lines and curves, and can be used to draw all sorts of shapes and objects. Draw smarter not harder.

Step 9: Now to cast the final shadows. Use the Black Colored Pencil and outline the base of each petal and the flower center. Next begin shading the top petals lightly just enough to show that they curve inwards towards the center. Add some more black color to the petals underneath using the top petals as a guide. Next tilt the black pencil to the side a bit, and give a shadow to the center of the flower. Use crosshatching strokes towards the bottom of the circle to make it look like a sphere. Finally cast the shadow on the top, and down the side of the stem to finish up the shadows.

Step 10: To finish up our flower take the White Colored Pencil and color the edge of each petal. Next blend together the light and the dark colors by coloring from the edge of the petal down to the middle of each petal. This will even out your colors, and help cast light onto your drawing. Next add white to the cent of your drawing, and to the stem. And there you have it a beautiful flower.

Tip: Find your light source. Sometimes when I draw I will cast a light over my drawing and see which way the paper casts a shadow. Use this as a guide for your shading.

That does it for this lesson. I would love to see your work. Send it to us and we would be glad to share your results on my Facebook page at
 https://www.facebook.com/HalfEvilProductions

More Free art lessons are available on my Pinterest page at: 

http://www.pinterest.com/DtheArtist/free-art-lessons/

If you would like to ask a question or make a suggestion for a drawing lesson email me at DerrickBruno@HalfEvil333.com

Thank you for coming.
Derrick Bruno

Http://HalfEvil333.com

2013: The Best of Derrick the Artist

• The Launch of the new website: http://DerricktheArtist.com 

The new website was a great experience. With a new clean look, and completely organized it helped all of my fans, followers and future clients to find me. I created a nice sidebar with live social media feeds, a page for links, and a new home for my art lessons & comics. 

• Social Media Giant

Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, Linkedin, Blogger, Pinterest, Instagram, Deviantart, Tumblr Oh MY! 

I found myself all over the web this year, and made sure no matter what social media site your on I am there. 

• The Blog was a major Success: http://DerricktheArtist.Blogspot.com

I am thrilled at the amount of love I received from the new bog this year. I just created it this year and i am happy to say as of today I hit over 7,000 views. Which means in 2014 there will be that much more to come. New art lessons, comics, art, advice and a whole lot more. 

• Great New Artwork: http://www.derricktheartist.com/apps/photos/album?albumid=10076576

The Flight of the Macaw, The Angel of Death, Fallen, Dolphins in the Reef, and so much more came this year. I haven't said this on my website but my portfolio is not that large. I had a lot of original works destroyed in a severe rain storm that flooded the storage space of my work. 2013 was the start of a whole new portfolio, and I would say that I am off to a good start. It gets even better in 2014!

• Twisted Fate: http://www.derricktheartist.com/twistedfatecomics.htm

My comic strip is growing bigger everyday. Especially on Pinterest. This year I brought it to the web, and it has been repined over 50+ times. They are really fun to create and I love to make people laugh. 

• Free Art Lessons: http://www.derricktheartist.com/freeartlessons.htm

This year I started creating free art lessons for anyone who can use them. I started with the basics of shading, over-laying colors, and erasing for detail. I plan on doing even more next year as they have been helpful for many people. They were also published on RoseArt.com/Blog. 

• Featured in the December issue of Colored Pencil Magazine: http://magcloud.com/browse/issue/663632

One of my proudest moments came at the end of the year. It started as a response to a question posted my Colored Pencil Magazine, and grew to a two page feature article titled Never give Up. It was an article regarding my injury back in 2008 that took a whole lot from me, but in the end I used the experience to grow stronger as an artist. 

• It Only Gets Better From Here

I cannot wait to the what comes out of the hard work, and support I have gained from the experiences of 2013. I was a hard year emotionally, financially, and to come out ahead it feels good. The road is paved  and I am going to take it to the top. 

What Is It Worth To You?

What a month it has been. I have had some highs, some lows, really lows, and an incredible high! Where do I begin. As some of you may know I am partially disabled, and my income is quite limited. Even so I found a way through hardcore budgeting to make sure each of my kids were covered with at least 2 gifts each. Nothing huge, but I know it's going to be a great Christmas morning. I really thought I was going to be able to do much more this month as my exposure was through the roof, and the word is finally getting out with all the hard work I have done this entire year. I was really wondering if it was all worth it at all, or if I was just fooling myself. Honestly I am still a bit iffy about having a full time career in the art industry.

A while back I wrote a blog titled Never Give Up, and it was viewed here and there, but no more than any of my other blog posts.Colored Pencil Magazine read it and asked me if they could do a feature about my blog post, and of course I said yes. I really love this Magazine, they have supported me more that any company by posting my comments, art lessons, even my work on their Facebook Page. I was thinking this was going to be a spot light feature including my name and a picture of my work, but to my surprise they decided to give me a two page large print feature. I am still floored, and don't know how to thank them. They made sure they printed my website in the magazine, and featured me again on their Facebook page. The featured image was my  large 22 x 28 inch Bird in Bloom Piece, and I couldn't be more proud of this piece, and now it  was in an international printed magazine. Things were really looking up big time.

Or maybe I just got my hopes up a bit too much. As far as exposure and reaching out to many great artists who enjoyed my article that was a true success. I am very honored to have a lot off the big guns coming to me for advise and help. I cannot wait until I can contribute more. For now I am looking forward to making a sale. But as of right now I am really hurt, by not only the community of artists and collectors, but close family and friends that have made me really question the value of my work.I have put a whole lot of work into creating these large works of art, months for some. I have four children and a two bedroom apartment so to find time to draw alone is a challenge. But I do it. Not only do I do these works for my portfolio I also find the time to draw and write free art lessons and make sure they are available on multiple social media platforms mainly because I know how rough times are and I know many people of all ages can use them. For that I will continue making more. How much more work am I going to put out to realize that no one wants to buy.

Last month for Cyber Monday I had taken off 50% off every original signed piece of artwork I had. Not only that I did the same for prints, commissions, graphic design and well all of it. Here I am with over 7,000 visitors to my blog, several hundred per social media outlet, and I nothing. No sells, no orders, not even a request. I extended it for an entire week. And nothing. I am in a national magazine with thousands of readers. Nope nada. I think the nail in the coffin was a comment made to me last week by a close family friend was that i was asking WAY too much for my artwork. The piece was was talking about was my Bird in Bloom piece. Keep in mind Bird in Bloom won Best in Show in a live judged gallery competition, and is currently being featured in a national magazine. The piece is large for a colored pencil piece and took me several months to create with a wrist that was still healing from a torn tendon. At the time he was interested the piece was half off for the Cyber Monday deals at $350.00... Basically to me he might as well have said it was worthless. Did he really think a drawing of that size was worth a hundred bucks or something? Was it only worth a hundred? Being that I haven't sold anything it kind of made me wonder deep down if I my artwork was worth selling to the point of making a living.

Right now the way I see it is people like that are going to come and go. Sure he hit me hard with that one comment but I know he was wrong. Am I upset.. Sure if your reading my rant here you know I am pretty upset. Something I am going to take from all this is I am not going to let it stop me from enjoying what I do. I am not a rich man now. I have much more hard work to do. I am not getting paid for the work, but you know what I get something else from everything I do. I get the experience. I get to meet people around the world. I get to help young artists find art lessons that they can use to learn how to draw with. FOR FREE! No sign ups, no membership, no fees. If you want to donate feel free, but don't feel pressured. I get to make people laugh again for free. My online comic strip Twisted Fate is also available on my site. And you know what there will be a day, probably sometime next year, where I'll be so busy I am going to wish for the days when I didn't have a job booked. And so will you.

So what is art worth? Honestly I still do not have that answer yet. I have read formulas, went into forums, and asked many many artists, and they all say what's it worth to you? If you have a piece that you won't part with for less that $600.00 then don't. Do not let someone talk you down because they don't understand the time, pain, love, and everything you put into that piece. They don't see the part of your soul that aches just thinking about selling it. A lot of times they are just trying to get you to question your worth so they can save a buck. I am worth more and so are you. Stay busy, stay positive, and step back and price your work to what you want to because in the end you are and artist, which means you are your own boss.

Thank you for listening/reading,

Derrick Rathgeber
http://DerricktheArtist.com
DerricktheArtist@Live.com

Purchase your own printed or digital copy of the December Issue of Colored Pencil Magazine featuring my article Never Give Up by clicking the link below. Thank you for your Support. 

http://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/663632 

Trouble Getting Started? Tips to Get your Artwork Moving.

One of the most difficult things I have trouble with as an artist is just getting started. To me it’s something that drags me down like quicksand. The struggle of pulling myself together is a fight I deal with daily, and the more I fight to get started I find myself procrastinating more. In my case I feel as if I start one project I am neglecting myself of another. As of now I have split my talents into several different locations, that I am completely scatterbrained at times. It’s as if I am stuck in a dark tunnel with ten paths to choose, and rather than take the chance of taking the wrong path I stay in the same spot. Unfortunately choosing the safe spot moves me nowhere and nothing gets done, and every project suffers.

If you are new to my blog, or website my name is Derrick Rathgeber, and I am a husband, father of four great kids, a colored pencil artist, comic strip writer/artist, blog writer, free online art teacher, web designer, graphic designer, and soon I will try my hand at writing a book. All that is true I have done all those things, and you can find them on my website and right here on this very blog page. What the funny part is that I have put my hat in so many pots that I have overwhelmed myself to the point where I don’t know what I want to do. Each of these things are my hobbies, and I really do enjoy them all equally. I love making people laugh with my comic strips, I love designing characters for my story, and I love drawing detailed pictures with my colored pencils. So how do I choose? When I finish one project, how do I choose what to do next? When I start one I put all my energy into it, energy that I could have put into another one.

This was a problem for me for a very long time. I tried different things, and ultimately what worked best was just being down right organized. First of all my greatest enemy is procrastination. That to this day is the hardest enemy to kick in the rear, but you know what I am learning. I’ll start tomorrow, I never do anything for myself, I am tired, I don’t have what I need and so on. Some great tips to help with this little demon are as follows.

1.  Ask yourself: Is what I am doing now beneficial? What would be more rewarding? How will I feel if I continue to put this off?
2. Put off Procrastination: It may sound funny but think about it. Turn off any devices that may lure you away from your projects ie. Tv, internet, PHONE! All these things will be there later.
3. Reward yourself: I always tell myself if I draw today for x amount of time then I get to have x amount of time to do something I like GUILT FREE.
4.  Break it down: Sometimes we are overwhelmed by a large project. So overwhelmed that we don’t start it. So break it down. Say I am going to sketch it today, color this section tomorrow ect. This also helps you take your time and enjoy your new project.
5. Share your Success: Let people know how important it is to you. Sometimes we feel guilty for taking time from our friends and family. Sometimes they don’t understand what it means for you to be productive. Let them know, and ask for support. Say don’t call around 2-4pm I will be working, or can you watch the kids for a bit. And once you are finished working thank them by giving them your full attention. 

When it comes to deciding on what to work on next that is another hang up us artists deal with. Do we start on that commission piece? Do we draw that picture your mom has been asking for? Do I dare ignore everyone and draw that image bouncing around in my head? Again it answers the question how do I spend my time and energy? In my case I pulled myself so thin at one point that I just fell apart and did nothing. I had to get focused, and combat this problem because I wasn’t getting anything done. So what I did was I got organized. This was very important for me because I was all over the place. I didn’t even know what projects I had half of the time, or what I finished. So these are some of the things I did, that you can do yourself, to get organized.

1. Make a list: Write down a list of projects you have. This can be commissions, drawings you would like to do, blogs, website, ect.
2. Prioritize them: Number these projects from 1-10+ based on which projects you would like to get done, or maybe ones you were putting off that you would like to finish.
3. Make a Time Table: Next to each item write down how much time you need for each project. If it’s unknown it’s not a big problem. Ones that you can finish fast are good ones to knock off in-between larger projects.
4. Make a calendar: This is actually fun. Make yourself a weekly calendar giving yourself that day to work on a specific project, and be sure to add a FREE DAY on this calendar to give you the opportunity to work on projects that are behind, to work on whatever you want,  or just take a day off to rest.
5. Don’t make it Law: If you have to make adjustments it’s okay. Life changes and so can your schedule. So don’t feel guilt about changing the calendar, or missing a day or two. It’s mainly a tool to help you decide on what to work on that day. If your heart is in another project follow it and finish that project, you should never force it.

Once you have everything in perspective you will find your days going much smoother and a lot of guilt that goes along with starting something new will start to pass. You want to get into a good routine of developing yourself as an artist, but also find yourself being productive. Above all try not to make it work. A reason some of us find it hard to start up something new is fear, and worry. We worry that it won’t come out right, or fear that it has become work instead of enjoying it. When you feel that pressure, and fear building up just sketch. Don’t feel obligated to share it, just grab your sketchbook and just draw. This helps relieve that pressure we all feel to be at our very best all of the time. As artists we are our worst judges, and that can do nothing but hold us back.

So today if you are holding back a great new design that can wait, push through the muddiness and get through. Today it’s harder than ever with the many distractions that we face, but we have to close that world off and dive into our imaginations and pull it out. It’s not an easy fight sometimes, but this world of technology needs more creativity. Just remember every time you start a new project you are making the world that much better and more imaginative. That itself is a great reward, and incentive to start today.

Thank you for reading,

Derrick Rathgeber

Feel Free to find me on my website at http://DerricktheArtist.com