Joe Mills

Hoang – Vietnamese Artist

My brother-in-law recently got back from Vietnam, and he brought back a lot of artwork. The one I was most impressed with was the one above. I don’t think the picture does it justice, but it is an abstract city landscape of a city in Vietnam. (Forgot to ask which one.) It looks as though the artist took every color in his palette and built up the layers of each building. It is very dynamic and the simple choice of constructing the image is stunning. The smears going up and down add this sense of movement. It almost seems like a mistake that just worked out. I wish I had a web site to send you too, but in some ways, this is just one of many anonymous artists around the world…

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What I Learned at the Festival

Considering this was my first festival experience, it was obviously a learning experience. Here is what I learned:

1) I need something to cover my inventory. I do not want people to think that I have an endless supply.
2) People do not want to carry around a poster for an entire day. Some folks said they would come back and buy a poster and they did. Other folks did not. Do I bring cardboard tubes so at least it can be protected? Or, maybe a music festival is not the best venue…
3) In regards to number 2, I need some smaller items that can be carried. I was giving away stickers, but it might have been nice to have some stickers or magnets or cards that I was selling. Those can be carried.
4) The price was still perceived as “cheap” to people. Now, this is something that I’m struggling with. Since I have been buying at large quantities, the price points I have still allow me to have a pretty decent profit. Yet, if they are perceived as “cheap”, they might not seem as special to people. At the same time, I like the idea of inexpensive art. Something that can be just thrown up on the wall if you want. As I have found out, some people have framed my Chicago 2010 poster, so it can be seen as special if people feel that way. Plus, I feel like my style skews younger. Many older people walked by my booth and then kept walking. Younger people seemed to be more interested in the style and gave me a “that’s cool” even if they didn’t purchase. I’m not sure. I have not fully figured this one out yet…

For my first festival, it went pretty well. Now, I need to keep pushing the posters to shops around the city, prepare for festivals and fairs next summer, and make more artwork. I was able to get a good amount of sketching done in between purchases…

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Chicago Bluegrass and Blues Festival and an Update on the Business

Image courtesy of the Chicago Bluegrass and Blues Festival

It has been a while since I have given a comprehensive update on how the “business” is running, and I figured now would be the perfect time. My first announcement is that I will be a vendor at the Chicago Bluegrass and Blues Festival this Saturday. It is being held at Congress Theater from 11am to Midnight. I will be selling the “Chicago 2010″ poster, and a poster called “Cube Man”. Tickets are still available. I am not sure what to expect as a vendor selling my artwork to the “masses”, but it is the logical second step for me. This will give me a good idea about how successful I might be outside of my circle of family and friends. If all goes well, it gives me more incentive to hit the art fairs and festivals in Chicago over the summer. Or, I could try to hit other music festivals like Pitchfork. This festival is perfectly timed for me!

Speaking of “Chicago 2010″…I have been very happy with how my poster has been received. Us artists can be relatively sensitive, but at some point, you have to just take a leap of faith. I think it has helped that I picked a subject matter that is instantly recognizable. I was concerned that it might seem too “cartoony” for people, but the style seemed to be the right choice. It has given me more incentive to do other work in that style. Although, I will not be doing something as recognizable. I have thought about doing other cities, but I do not want to get stuck doing just cities. The Chicago poster was pretty personal to me, so I’d like to stick to subject matter that I have a personal attachment to. If I do work on another city, I’d probably do Sydney. Finally, if you ever do want to get posters made, I would go with Large Format Posters. They are somehow linked to another company called UPrinting. I was extremely happy with the results of the poster from a production standpoint. For someone who has never gone to “print”, I was understandably nervous. Designing on a computer screen and designing for print are two different animals. Yet, when I opened up that box, I was floored.

And lastly, my one bit of promotion so far has been my joemills.com sticker. If you are ever in the market for some inexpensive, “quick” stickers, I would go with Sticker Giant. They do produce 4 color stickers, but I was not ready to jump in that far just yet. I just wanted a little something to put in my poster sleeves with my web site on it. These stickers did the trick. Which reminds me…I had a hard time finding poster sleeves, but came across Clear Bags after some searching. They have poster sleeves of all different sizes. It is amazing how many unforeseen costs exist when you are trying to make money away from a 9 to 5 job…

I’ll give a post-festival post later…

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Blood Sweat Vector

Image courtesy of Blood Sweat Vector

Since my illustrations have definitely taken a vector slant recently, I was happy to stumble across Blood Sweat Vector. It is a blog authored by vector artists. It is about a year and a half old and the posts are centered on the world of vector art…a world where I am currently a member. They have recently become part of my RSS feed. At some point, maybe I can become a contributor…seems possible.

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Veronica Navarro

Image courtesy of Veronica Navarro

I came across Veronica Navarro’s work through my Behance network. The above work is not on her site yet, but I think it is a great example of her style. I like how there is so much emotion in her portraits. Portraiture can often seem very dry and straightforward, but she amps up the emotion with a quality I can’t quite put my finger on. I think it has something to do with the way she draws eyes. You feel like you are being drawn into the illustration. Amazing work!

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New Vlog About the Completed Chicago 2010 Poster

I just created a short video journal to give people a better look at the Chicago 2010 poster. You can see it here.

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Matei Apostolescu

Image courtesy of Matei Apostolescu

I came across the work of Matei Apostlescu on Drawn! They had featured his polymer toys. I’m not even sure if I can properly describe them, but you can find them here. I was equally intrigued by his illustrations. They are extremely free and fun and energetic.  The details seem to be in place for a reason…it is not just a mash of images, lines, and colors. They are definitely worth checking out.

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eBoy Amnesty International Poster

Image courtesy of eBoy

I am a big fan of eBoy. Here is their new Amnesty International poster. Check it out here…fantastic!

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