©2018 Jacqueline Hurd
When I talk to people about my job as a freelance graphic designer and illustrator, I always get asked “where do you get your ideas from”. That’s a complicated question with a lot of answers that can go in several directions so I never know exactly how to answer it. This blog post explains how I feel about creativity and the steps I took to get it to flow.
Read MoreI created this bee a few months ago to use in a pattern and I loved it so much that I turned it into a placement illustration.
Bees seem to have become a reoccurring theme in the artwork I produce and for a good reason, we need them to pollinate the gardens where our food grows. The more I learn about these fuzzy yellow insects, the more fascinated I become with them. And equal to my fascination is my concern for their well being.
Read MoreMost of my designs have a story. Read about how my “Hens in the Garden” collection came to be. Post also contains a link where you can buy it as fabric, gift wrap or wallpaper.
Read MoreEvery year on April 3rd the 100 Day Project begins. The 100 Day Project is an international art project that anyone can participate in. It's truly an amazing adventure for all involved either by making art or following along. I've found that the 100 day project is an opportunity to grow as an artist and establish a solid routine.
Read MoreSometimes creative block gets the best of me and spins me into a day, sometimes a string of days of creative despair. Creative block is pretty terrible when it hits and it's a great feeling when it finally floats away. But where does it come from in the first place and why does it have to bother me when I have things to do?
Read MoreIf you like me are in the position where you've got to add psychic to your artist title and figure out how to be trendy and fast for the sake of selling some of your designs to the wide world of art buyers, here's what I now know.
Read More1st place winner in Spoonflower's Farm to Tea Towel contest!
Read MoreI realize I'm a little early, but I've got Halloween on my mind. Probably from Spoonflower's Vintage Halloween contest... I started doodling for Halloween and then I was inspired to create a Skillshare class about designing Halloween treat bags, so here we are. It's September 12th, my house is decorated for Halloween, my desk is covered with Halloween artwork and my new class is all about designing treat bags for Halloween. Perhaps I am looking forward to Halloween.
Read MoreI haven't written a blog post since March and there's a good reason for it. I've been quietly working on building a brand with fellow artist, Jill O'Connor of the UK. We are planning on attending the trade show, PrintSource together as a collective Duo in August of 2018. I know that's an entire year away, but believe it or not there's a lot that goes into it. We've had to build a brand and a website- it's live, check it out at jackandjillo.com. We've been researching and studying trends- I'm even learning a little about how to trend forecast! More to follow on that someday soon. And of course, most importantly we've been planning and getting a good start on the patterns and collections we'll be taking with us to the trade tradeshow, we'll need at least 100 unseen designs each to take with us.
Now that we've got things rolling, I'll have a little more time to get back to my normal routine with a few extra hours a day devoted to developing patterns :)
There’s so much more you can do with a doodle once it’s turned into a vector!
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