VERWHO? illustration

Meat&Bone (and other news)

2012-01-22T10:57:00.001-05:00

I have been pretty dern busy, kids.

If you follow me on twitter/tumblr you might know that I've been working 'round the clock to launch a web comic. It's called 'Meat&Bone', and is going to be a semi-funny story about being 20ish in the city (think of comics like Octopus Pie), but will also be a semi-serious look at female body image and eating disorders. I've been posting a lot of teasers on tumblr! Starting next week I'm going to post a picture and some info about a different character each day until the comic launch on the 1st! Stay tuned.

In other news, I'm part of an art show opening at the Steamwhistle Gallery next month!

Join us for the Opening Night Party, Thursday February 2^nd 2012 from 7-11 pm. Steam Whistle Brewing, The Roundhouse, 255 Bremner Blvd.,Toronto or visit the brewery during all of February long to check out the exhibition.

What comics may come

2011-12-18T10:41:00.001-05:00

I am finally in a financial position to buy all the comics I've wanted to over the last year. For that reason, let me share the list that I've kept (which is far from complete.):

DHARBIN - diary comics 1
Lambert - I Will Bite You
McBess - Malevolent Melody
A Graphic Cosmogony

Mikkel Sommer - Obsolete
(basically everything from Nobrow)

The Anthology Project #1 #2
Asterios Polyp
Les Cites Obscures
Marian Churchland- Beast

Howard Hardiman - The Lengths

Hubert - Beauté, Tome 1 : Désirs exaucés

Yohan Sacre - Eli
Craig Thompson - Habibi
Solipsistic Pop

Love and Rockets

Thickness #2

Rilly - Pope Hats

I'm gonna be good and wait until AFTER giftgivemas, but then I am going out to OWN all these. And you won't hear from me for a week.

Close up July

2011-12-07T20:23:00.001-05:00

Here's a bigger look at my piece in the Kid Icarus Handprinted Calendar 2012! Limited edition prints can be purchased at the Kid's retail store in Kensington Market, or at select retailers.

Yowza!

2011-11-27T16:11:00.001-05:00

I have some wonderful news!

On Sunday December 4th 2011, the Kid Icarus 2012 Handprinted Calendar will be available for sale at their storefront in Kensington Market- I had the pleasure of making the illustration for the month of July. You can pick up an early copy at Handmade Holiday, Saturday December 3rd, St. Stephen-in-the-Fields. The calendar is a limited edition of 125 copies, with only 100 available for sale at $80 each.

If you are unfamiliar with the project, the concept is to take 12 artists and produce a calendar with each artist choosing one month to illustrate and only two colours to pull it off. There are no guidelines on layout or how the information is presented, the artist has full control. The entire calendar is screen printed by hand from the cover, right through to the backing.

Calendars will be available for sale at Kid Icarus, and other locations (TBA).

The 2012 Calendar roster:

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

Jeannie Phan
Selena Wong
Melinda Josie
Claire Louise Milne
Mike Ellis
Reverend Aitor
Katherine Verhoeven
Halley Rigbey
Caitlin Taguibao
Hyein Lee
Nolan Pelletier
Anjo Chiang

National Post - The Month Ahead

2011-11-23T00:38:00.001-05:00

Earlier this month I was happy to contribute to the cover of the Art & Life section of the National Post with a big illustration for their monthly events calendar.

(This is a slightly cropped version of what appeared in the paper)

Thunderbird Update

2011-11-13T18:03:00.001-05:00

JJ Tebrake in pre-construction Thunderbird, with the back door wide open.

With Gillan Blekkenhorst and Misha Snyder. JJ and Misha have been amazing about building things! Here they're putting up walls to protect the exposure unit, which JJ build from an old arcade game. Coool!Gillian is putting some repairs to that table (off camera, I was sanding down some lovely work tables we build against the other wall).

"Let there be light!"

Oh, buy me!

2011-10-31T09:00:00.000-04:00

Dude, I have an online shop. It's totally wicked!

Currently I have my zines up, and some bike prints. You should totally check it out!

SHOP

Canzine follow up

2011-10-26T23:07:00.000-04:00

It went very well...keep an eye out for these items, now available in the shop.
Sold out of "Freedom Machine" prints!

CANZINE

2011-10-22T18:08:00.001-04:00

Tomorrow is CANZINE! Holy moly, that happened fast!

I'll be selling the Bike Print trio as well as the ALL NEW:

- Dangerous Cooking

- ROACHES

- Wolfwood

I'll also be selling a couple leftover issues of Day of the Gib Cats (that sold SO WELL at Zine Dream! Gotta make more!), and will be putting The Artichoke on sale for $1!!

Look for me with the amazing Gillian Blekkenhorst.

401 Richmond

2011-09-25T19:24:00.001-04:00

Somehow in the last couple years I've made enough fine art work to have something of a retrospective art show! Which is pretty neat, especially since it's going to be hanging from October until at least mid November at none other than 401 Richmond - an amazing creative hub in the middle of the Fashion and Advertising neighborhoods in Toronto! Needless to say, I'm very happy my pieces will be hanging there.

Check out The Roastery Cafe, where my pieces are, and then check out the rest of the beautiful, artistic building, including SWIPE books, and the rooftop garden!

Big thanks to Erin MacKeen for making it happen.

2011-09-21T09:08:00.001-04:00

Holy Moly! I have been SO BUSY! Here's a glance at the background to a recent piece I was working on about the UK riots. Maybe a bit to calm, but it felt amazing to sink my teeth into some architectural drawing.

In other news, there are only 8 DAYS left in our silk screen studio fundraiser!

The end of September is going to be very busy and exciting. CANZINE is coming up soo, and I'll have the final printed version of DANGEROUS COOKING for sale there. I also am going to be launching a WEBCOMIC! It will be called 'meat and bone', and I want to have it onling sometime in October.

I'll start leaking concept art soon! Stay tuned.

Zine Dream

2011-09-02T10:32:00.000-04:00

New zines, prints, and my lucky skull

I'm a little late in my post! These photo's are from ZINE DREAM, where I was tabling Sunday the 21st of August, with my good friend and amazing zine-maker Gillian Blekkenhorst.

A zine fair attendee checks out the brand-new "Dangerous Cooking".

I was selling a few new zines (I had my 'Artichoke' comic, which I've been selling since December, as well as a VERY successful reprint of 'Day of the Gib Cats', and the brand new 'Dangerous Cooking'), and was selling bike prints and postcards.

Participating in creative events always gives me huge motivation and inspiration. I have so much more to make! It's great seeing what other creators are doing, and knowing what will be possible once Thunderbird Studio is ready ($130 to go!).

Gillian and I tabled next to the super-talented Eunice Luk. We were trying to make #zining trend on twitter in Toronto!

Zine Dream 4

2011-08-14T13:56:00.001-04:00

Zine Dream 4 at the Tranzac (292 Brunswick avenue) this upcoming Sunday, August 21st, from 12-5pm. Tons of awesome vendors will be selling comics and zines! I will be tabling with the lovely Gillian Blekkenhorst, and will be selling bike prints, `The Artichoke`, a reformatted reprint of `Day fo the Gib-Cats` and am expecting to launch Dangerous Cooking- finally, after all these months!

I hope to see you there!

Silk Screen Studio

2011-07-30T21:54:00.000-04:00

Myself and a few good friends are launching a silk screen studio, but we need funding! If you can't donate, please spread the word, every share is a huge help.

New Threadless - Schrodingers Pattern

2011-07-20T18:16:00.003-04:00

Sweat from your Brow

2011-07-20T08:08:00.000-04:00

Here's one of my two pieces from the SWEAT show, which is running until the end of the month. You should go check it out if you get a chance, it's been very well received! Everyone worked really hard.

Oz Studios, 134 Ossington Avenue.

Illustration Project: News

2011-07-15T11:13:00.001-04:00

Late notice! Sorry dudes. I've got two new pieces hanging, hope you can make it out to see them! Will try and have scans/photo's of it up here when I get a chance.

In the meanwhile, you should swing over to ILLUSTRATION PROJECT, I did the header for this month!

2011-06-30T23:42:00.001-04:00

This is a piece I did for last months promo. I'm thinking of setting it up as a screen print on a bag! Would you buy it?

Illustration Project

2011-06-30T23:16:00.001-04:00

I've been invited to take part in a really great project! I'll be contributing to Illustration Project, which is like a monthly Toronto-centric version of Illustration Friday. It's got some amazing talent. This is my first drawing for the June theme 'Freedom is out of Fashion'. I was pondering how we are giving up our freedom by not voting, as the turnout at election polls dwindles each year.

I feel so rusty with the conceptual work, I'm looking forward to working hard at getting excellent at it again.

A good example of when an illustration gets away from you...

Romance of the Wheel - Prints!

2011-06-04T11:45:00.000-04:00

The openening reception for Romance of the Wheel was last night- and it was a really big success! It was good to see some friends I hadn't in a while, catch up on people's projects (and possibly sneak myself into some new ones!), and well as sell some prints.

Kid Icarus did an AMAZING job with my pieces, and I'm incredibly happy. I made a pretty big run of each, so that's good news for you...all three in the series are being offered at a very affordable rate over at my etsy shop.

Romance of the Wheel

2011-05-28T21:27:00.000-04:00

I hope anyone who's in Toronto will be able to come by for this show! I'm very excited to be showing along such amazing talents (many people have been big inspirations to my continued work). I'm also excited to be debiting three original silk screen prints! There will be three framed for the show, and others available though my ETSY shop (which really needs the new stock!), once the show is up.

Printing is being done by Kid Icarus, which is very exciting as well. They always produce incredible work. I can't wait to share some photos!

I hope I see many of you on opening night.

Jessie Durham - www.jessiedurham.com
Dmitry Bondarenko - http://dmitryillustration.grandportfolio.com/
Ali Hall - www.alihall.ca
Adrian Forrow - www.adrianforrow.com
Kassem - www.kassem.ca
Hugh Langis - www.hughlangis.com
Nat Janin - www.natdraws.com
Kat Verhoeven - www.verwho.com
Inkyung Choi - www.inkyung.com
ilichna morasky - www.strangerfamiliar.com
roben nieuwland - www.robennieuwland.com
Chris Simonen - www.whatsdaytoday.com
Gillian Goerz - www.gilliang.com
Selena Wong - www.selenawong.com
Shen Plum - www.shenplum.com
Cameron Stott
Javier Ortiz - www.javierortiz.ca
Alena Skarina - http://www.alenaskarina.com/
Daniel Downey - www.danieldowneyillustration.com
Sean Lewis - http://seanlewisdraws.blogspot.com/
Jonathan Robert - www.joboblog.blogspot.com

I wonder...

2011-05-15T21:59:00.002-04:00

...what it could be?

Actually, it's a mail-out. One of many little projects I have this week that just need to get done! One down, and a dozen to go...wish me luck!

Process Peep

2011-04-15T15:30:00.001-04:00

For those curious, this is my process for making a final picture, from one of the most recent illustrations over at Drawn and Devoured.

1. The drawing. I usually don't go through too many roughs, especially for something easy to draw like a mermaid. You can tell I had some trouble with the bottle.

2. The transfer. I use a light grey carbon paper to transfer my drawing onto better, heavier paper. This way I don't ruin the good paper by drawing and erasing onto it, and the end result is much cleaner.

3. What the transfer looks like when it's done. It's super light, see!

4. I use India ink to draw the lines, and add shading. This is the most important phase for me, and requires a lot of thought, since I have to decide where I want highlights and lowlights, and ink both those areas. Also here I inked the scale texture separately, because I knew I wanted the tail to have both pattern and shading, but it would be hard to work with if I did it all on one layer.

5. I separate the inkwork from the white background in photoshop. I think the tutorial I got this trick from is probably one of the best things I ever learned (link). Locking the lineart layer, I colour and tint all the lines.

6. What the colour fill layer looks like without the lineart overtop.

7. It's all done! Some last colour tweaks may go into place.

What Projects Abound

2011-04-10T12:13:00.000-04:00

I have been so busy lately! Since February I've been busy launching two new blogs. One of them is a really fun collaborative project with Lisa Vanin, Jessie Durham, and Erin Ornstein, called Tetrad Tarot. It's a 16 month long blog run through tumblr which updates once a week (we're up to post number 5 now!), and together we're making a tarot deck. Awesome! I'm so happy with the work being made so far. My next piece goes up Thursday, which is our update day.
Here's my last card, the Ace of Coins

Tetrad Tarot tumblr

I also launched another tumblr blog for these daily journal comics I'm doing, though I think they're going to become OCCASIONAL journal comics instead of dailies, since I would rather say something when I have something nice to say. Here's the latest of those:

The other project I've been working on is the extended version of the Artichoke comic I posted a while back. That little mini is just an excerpt from a larger graphic novel I've had planned for a while. Slowly, in between all the other projects, it's coming together! I'll have some progress shots soon.

A Very VERWHO? Valentine

2011-02-14T10:00:00.002-05:00

To everyone in Toronto and the world, happy Valentine day from Verwho! That's from me...to you.

The White Stripes broke up

2011-02-12T18:24:00.000-05:00

I am always going to remember this as the band that taught me that music didn't have to be formulaic, and that experimentation is excellent. In that spirit, here is some experimental illustration, different from what you'd usually get from me. I loved the White Stripes, and will keep loving all the albums I have. A graceful bow-out to take on new projects, and I respect that.

May the Whites rock on.

Why thank you!

2011-02-06T23:52:00.000-05:00

Here's a little mail-out I made to thank the people who've hired me. I appreciate my clients!

A Delight of new work

2011-01-20T17:56:00.000-05:00

I've got ten new illustration pieces on display at Delight Chocolatier Toronto, located at 805 Queen St. West (right across from Magic Pony!). I'm really happy with the pieces!
If you're in the area swing by and have one of the amazing spiced hot chocolates, and look over the lovely ladies who I've painted.

This is what Space Looks like

2011-01-07T20:36:00.000-05:00

Long ago I posted a link to some tentative sketches for a show I saw very excited about at the Steamwhistle Brewery.

Unveiling: Drawn and Devoured

2011-01-04T15:00:00.004-05:00

I'm sorry, dear followers of VERWHO?illustration. I have to confess something to you.

I've been cheating.

You should all wander over to my VERY pretty sister blog, DRAWN & DEVOURED. It's a Toronto restaurant review blog, but where every other blog takes photos of their meals, I draw mine. Posting once a week and only two weeks old, it's still a baby, but keep your eyes peeled for the most beautiful food in Toronto!
And here's a peek.

The Ethers.....live!

2010-12-28T22:34:00.000-05:00

Check out this poster I did for Toronto band The Ethers!
They'll also be playing at the opening of Space and Time...which is almost exactly a week away! How exciting!

THE ETHERS

2010-12-18T00:08:00.000-05:00

For our totally awesome SPACE & TIME show coming up in January (and please come by the opening if you're in Toronto January 5th), we've got a couple great local bands playing. One of these are The Ethers, an roots/indie band who have a really great album out right now.
And did I mention I designed their poster? Here's the B&W version!

WING DING ZINE FAIR

2010-12-09T16:48:00.000-05:00

If you're in Toronto, come out to the WING DING ZINE FAIR tomorrow night from 5pm-9pm! At the XPACE gallery, 58 Ossington.
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/event.php?eid=158162027551870

I'll be selling my newly minted zine 'The Artichoke'.

Assange for Assasination

2010-12-07T17:54:00.001-05:00

assange
Originally uploaded by katherine verhoeven

New work sparked by the recent developments in the Wikileaks story.

Space and Time January

2010-12-07T16:42:00.001-05:00

The Steamwhistle Brewery and Gallery

255 Bremner Blvd

Toronto, ON

Opening on the 5th of January and running through the end of the month, Space and Time is a group show of illustrators and textile artists.
Lose yourself in time at the opening with drinks, food, conversation AND live music by

BEST MAN ( http://www.myspace.com/bestmanbestman )
THE ETHERS ( http://www.myspace.com/theethers )

Featuring:
Abe Nelson
Erin Ornstein
Gillian Blekkenhorst
Jenn Woodall
JJ Tebrake
Kaity Hill
Katherine Verhoeven
Laura Harte
Mary Verhoeven
Molly McCracken
Trevor Henderson

Etsy online

2010-12-02T23:29:00.000-05:00

http://www.etsy.com/shop/MissAuryn

Open for Business! Wanna buy some art?
Now selling giclee prints ranging from 20$-45$. Come check it out! Maybe you'll find something for the holidays.

Bawdry!

2010-12-01T22:20:00.000-05:00

Some doodlin' in between editing zine pages. Exciting times!

My Best Yet

2010-11-02T19:20:00.000-04:00

New threadless! Checkit!
"Lottery Winners," to help it get printed on Threadless!

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A Classic Halloween

2010-10-24T20:33:00.000-04:00

Happy Halloween!

The Artichoke

2010-10-07T22:55:00.000-04:00

A little while ago I was invited to submit work to the zine PUBLIC EXPOSURE, for their themed 'for your safety' issue. Due to illness I wasn't able to finish my comic at the time. Here are the first two pages, finally complete! The full comic will go up on verwho.com soon, and I have plans for more of these dangerous cooking comics.

More 4 Threadless

2010-09-23T18:38:00.000-04:00

Score this design: "It Was An Endless Loop," to help it get printed on Threadless!

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Threadless Goes Live!

2010-09-02T16:31:00.000-04:00

I just did my first of what promises to be many threadless designs....so please vote for it!
"Featherbrained," to help it get printed on Threadless!

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I may wind up trying to print the failed designs myself, what do you think?

Space and Time previews

2010-08-22T19:21:00.002-04:00

I'll be part of a group show at the Steamwhistle Brewery gallery in January...I know it's a long way away, but I've been just itching with designs! Here's a few sneak peeks at my initial sketches and ideas, focussing on the idea of teleportation. It's going to be a lot of dark beauty!

New Work from VERWHO?

2010-08-21T20:51:00.005-04:00

Check out www.verwho.com for some new illustration! Featuring work from the 'Humanstitions" series never posted to the blog.

Also, come by Gallery 165 in the next couple weeks to see some of my work in the group show "When a Stranger Calls a Friend of a Friend". The show focusses on the idea of the urban legend, and stories passed on. The official reception is August 26th.165 Augusta Ave., Toronto, On!.

When a Stranger Calls a Friend of a Friend

2010-08-10T12:49:00.002-04:00

Here's a sneak-peek of some work for the Methinks show, "When a Stranger Calls a Friend of a Friend". For those of you in Toronto, please swing by Gallery 165 (165 Augusta) on Aug 26th for the reception!

Peel Your Eyes

2010-07-30T13:09:00.004-04:00

Opening next month is When a Stranger Calls a Friend of a Friend, over at Gallery165 (http://www.methinkspresents.org/project165/). I'll have a couple pieces in the show!

Also, things are shaping up for SPACE AND TIME. What is Space and Time...?
Keep your eyes open for some pictures!

Grad Show

2010-05-12T18:34:00.004-04:00

Last weekend was the Ontario College of Art and Designs grad show, and I was in it! My project "Humanstitions" came out really well (I've been leaking bits for months now). Check out the final spread, complete with hand-bound project book. And over-enthusiasm.

Automated Regrowth

2010-04-17T17:33:00.007-04:00

From the show I was in back in March. Man meets nature. Featuring me, Molly McCracken, and Abraham Nelson.

Here are a few of my pieces. All are paintings done in mixed media, mainly ink and gouache, at 20"x28".

A sweet piece made by myself, and my Molly. One of two huge things we did together. It was being displayed in the front window, thus the line down the middle. Alas!
Collaborating is something I highly recommend.

Many thanks to Joshua von Garber for the photos.

Wallspaced

2010-03-31T22:01:00.003-04:00

In February I was asked to paint a mural as one of the four annual participants in OCAD's Wallspace. I haven't done a mural in years, and it was a blast! Very different from the scale I usually work at.

Look, I've got the whole world in my hands!

Just A Taste

2010-03-16T14:14:00.002-04:00

Some of the new work I've been doing.

My computer has been in the shop getting motherboard repairs for the last month now. Even though I have plenty of photos from a mural I recently did, and photos from a show that will be closing this week that I had five pieces and two collaborative works in, I won't be able to get those nice images up until my laptop comes back.

Here we go, baby!

2009-11-24T08:36:00.002-05:00

So l am super happy to announce that after a month of wrestling, Verwho.com in now back online! Sweet!
l've got a lot of other fantastic news, but l think it's the kind you're going to have to wait to see.

2009-11-03T20:46:00.002-05:00

News on the website: there is no news. Maybe the news is that l find dealing with lT personalities crazy. E-mails sent. Gotta get her back up soon.

Meanwhile:

Website Down

2009-10-23T20:32:00.002-04:00

l am having a really rough time moving my website from one host to the next- mainly because of my inability to cancel my account with my previous host. Though l set my account not to renew, and sent them two e-mails, verwho.com is still redirecting to a 'Site Suspended' message, which is very embarassing...especially when l have all the files on the new host, ready to go. l don't understand it, because my domain should have expired with the old host already, and thus should be useable by the new.
Please bear with me while l try to sort this out.

2009-08-21T19:13:00.001-04:00

I'm waiting with bated breath for the next Creative Quarterly to come out. IT's going to be a thrill to see my work in the pages!

Here's something new, done for the theme ' inspiration'

CQ Whoo hoo

2009-06-05T19:04:00.002-04:00

First good illustration related news l've had in a while: after entering a few pieces to the Creative Quarterly Annual for judging a month or so ago, they've finally announced the winners...and l'm in, baby! l earned a merit award, but l have no idea for which piece yet. More on this when l myself know more!
Wow can l not wait to get my hands on a copy, even if it won't be out for practically a year.

2009-04-02T17:59:00.002-04:00

Website has been relaunched! This new design is tighter, sexier, and all around more awesome. l think so, anyhow!
New features include a section dedicated to comics exclusively, a bio section and a fuller portfolio.
l think this one will stay for a while!

The future holds great promise, my friends, but l'm reavealing nothing.

Old Comics

2009-01-06T23:40:00.002-05:00

When l have the comics section up on the website proper, this comic, and maybe a couple others, will go up there.
This is "Day of the Gib-Cats", a story about the laziness of felines, even those in the employ of deities.

Revamp

2009-01-06T23:21:00.004-05:00

The new site already needs fixing, in my opinion. Fortunately school has me enrolled in a web design and promotional class which shall help me out. Looking around the site so long after it's initial creation, l'm really surprised by the mistakes l'm seeing, even more so since trying to make some changes for the better, and messing up the coding in a way that l just don't know how to fix.
Hopefully VERWHO, version 3.0 will be a marked improvement.
Things l'm planning to add or change:
-a section purely for comics
-putting contact infor on it's own page
-tightening up the artwork displayed
-overall better useability

l'll bust out some designs and post them here.

l changed some of the artwork up on the website for now, swapping out two pictures l was told were maybe less appropriate for what l hope are two slightly more appropriate pictures. Still, the ones removed are favourites, so l'd like to feature them here:

Better Habits

2008-10-28T12:30:00.003-04:00

l think one of the problems l run into currently is the lack of art that l experience. Not just visual art, but all art in general- architecture, painting, sculpture, installation, and all sorts of others. l'm not getting as much culture as l would like to.
Largely the reason for this is my Internet addiction. Since l was much younger, I've somehow managed to whittle away most of my free time every day on the Internet. I'm not even sure what it is that l do there. Certainly nothing constructive- mostly l spend a lot of time in chat rooms, and lM'ing friends. Over the years I've lost so much time that l could have been experiencing culture on the Internet. lt's still a bit of a crutch, but one I'm looking to shake off more and more.
Firstly, I'm trying to at least make my Internet time constructive, and beneficial to myself artistically. I've found a nice design blog, and a good fashion blog, which I'm starting to follow. I'm also trying to find blogs from the artists who inspire me. lf anyone knows of any good blogs along those lines, please- don't hesitate to send me the link!
The reason l'd want to explore design and artists blogs is pretty obvious, since they apply directly to my desired field. You might be wondering though, why a fashion blog? There's two basic reasons for this. The first, and foremost, is that recently I've been revisiting my love of fashion illustration- and it's tricky to do that without actually following what's happening in fashion now. I've always loved the mastery of fabric that the worlds top designers have, so following all the goings on is very pleasant. Some of the designs are so wild.
The second reason has more to do with advice I've received over the years about experiencing culture. Art teachers have always preached that one can hardly expect to create original material without experiencing the evolving world around us. I've often heard the example of an artist who refused to look at any art of any kind in order to stay 'pure'. That simply makes no sense to me, as it didn't to the teacher who presented the example. ln order to see what's in going on now, and to predict what will be in demand next, one has to have their eyes open to everything- every facet of culture. The more culture you're taking in, the more creative you can be. This applied to everything, not just illustration. By doing this you'll have fresher ideas. When I'm in an art block I'm always told to go out, go to a library, a gallery. I've never kicked an art block by just sitting around at home.
Following these blogs is a small step towards immersing myself in culture, even though it still involves me being at home, on the internet.
I've been going to art shows up at The Magic Pony, when there's something new on. They have great books, too. l try to experience the major events the city has to offer. Nuit Blanche was amazing, and filled me with many ideas. These are the things l do to get myself out of the house, and experiencing culture, though l think l should do more still.
Recently I've been looking for more work. Student loan payments lurk over the horizon, so it seemed wise.
I've been extremely lucky to find a job that not only pays well, but that l expect will help me in regards to experiencing the culture of the city. I'm going to be working at the Art Gallery of Ontario. While l won't be on any of the gallery floors themselves (one again l have landed myself a lovely lilttle cafe job), l think l'll be having a lot of opportunity to look around. I'm especially interested in getting up to the contemporary collections to look around them. Being surrounded by so much art, of so many different varieties is sure to fill me with all sorts of ideas.
More than the direct rapport l'll have with art there, l'll be learning a lot from the people. During the training sessions l went through this weekend, l met so many people. l was training with the volunteers, since the weekend was the only time l could make the orientations. Mostly we covered branding, and the AGO's new identity. Most of the people there were much older than me, but they were all very friendly and inclusive.
l've really been enjoying the knowledge and variety of informed opinions these people have. Just listening to the conversations that they would get into was educational for me. l met one woman who has an employee at her paying work who is in an art co-op, and she's going to talk to her about having me involved. l think working at the AGO will be really beneficial from a connections point of view.
Having been at the orientatons with droves of volunteers, l noticed something interesting. l, a staff member, was always focusing on what the AGO and the people there could do for me. The volunteers are all talking about what they'll bring to the AGO, what they'll learn. They talked much more about the infrastructure than about the benefits.
Just a little observation.

Consistency

2008-10-26T21:06:00.007-04:00

There's a mix of feedback we get at school about style.
All of us illustration students know we need to have a style. We're told as much. Most of us want one right now! Many of us just don't have a style that's really solid.
I've gotten mixed reviews from teachers about this. Some of my university professors have said that we should try to have a style by the time we're out of school. Some of them say that we shouldn't worry about it- style will come in time. I've heard that sentiment more often from teachers who l hold deep respect for, especially since they tend to emphasize this with stories of their own trials towards a style that suited them.
A week ago we had a guest lecture by Anita Kunz, and l was really thrilled to hear her talking about how she was in the same position. Coming out of school she got a lot of work doing very fluffy, fuzzy illustrations of animals, flowers, and suchlike- children's book sort of art. Now she's a prize-winning illustrator for her editorial, politically driven works. l found the drastic shift in the old work she showed in the lecture, and the work she's adopted as hers since then to be fascinating, and reassuring.
So many of us at school are worried about our styles.
Yet, even those of my peers l can think of who have solid styles (Ginette Lapalme, and Christopher Kuzma, to name a few) might find that the direction they're taking now is not where they'll want to be in ten years. Most of us don't know what we want for breakfast tomorrow, let alone where we want our art to be in a decade. l certainly don't (but I'm thinking oatmeal).
Recently l asked a couple of teachers for their opinions on my website- my online portfolio. I've had some really nice feedback about the layout, and some of the graphics. I'll likely be doing a lot of remodeling soon thanks to what I've gleaned, especially in order to be more considerate of smaller screen sizes (verwho.com was designed for a 15" screen).
One of the more interesting pearls of wisdom l received from Kathryn Adams, who is my business teacher and a huge influence on how I'm organizing myself these days, was about the content of my website- digital portfolio. She raised a very good point l hadn't considered. There are quite a few pieces l have up that have a lot of personal and mature content in them- nudity, especially, was a highlight. I'm wondering if that extends to metaphorical work, and also work with curse words in it? That would be three pieces out of a small portfolio already. I'm inclined to agree with Kathryn, though- what would potential clients think? ls that a style l want to brand myself with and possibly spear myself on?
My issue now is one of bulk. These images I've selected for my portfolio are those works that I'm happiest with, that are also of a very cohesive style. There's that word again! l feel that looking at them you can tell they were made by the same artist. Should l remove these few pieces, l need to find work to replace them with, and l simply haven't got anything l feel is good enough. Should l put up some of my art that is good, but maybe not as good as l feel that other work is? Maybe l should take a weekend and work on some portfolio pieces. l too am of the school of wanting things now, but l know that isn't always how things work out.
l don't think the content of what l do is going to change so much. What l draw that l now feel might be too 'racy' to put up on my website will go here. l think my sketchblog should be a place where I'm much more honest with what l draw- from the racy and highbrow to the cartoony comics and character work.
The pictures I'm planning to move from my website will eventually resurface here, at any rate.

Sketch Day #1

2008-10-24T20:40:00.006-04:00

l have a few things l want to talk about, but I'm trying to spread my posts out, and this one is most certainly reserved to post some images from my sketchbook in.
Just so you know what to look out for, though: l have a new job, am working on a massive body suit for hallowe'en, have been making templates for contracts, quotes and invoices, and have generally been keeping busy. l'd like to talk a bit about some of my school plans soon, too.

Here's some sketches from September-October:

Warming up a sketchbook is always hard for me. I'm not a doodler. I'm pleased with my style, but when l go to draw l almost always have a purpose. Just letting my hands idly drift across the page is so hard. This was my warm-up. lt's a bit awkward. l like a few of the effects. lt encouraged me to invest in some more doodling pens.

Another warm up. This one really makes me happy. I've gotten much better at drawing birds and animals the last year. Drawing skinny, sad-looking nudes is always a fun time.

Doodled during a lecture. l can't remember what inspired this. l think we were analyzing symbols used in advertising, and had been talking about a series of hair care ads. I've always liked the strength in Lady Godiva's story. Not too happy with the lettering.

l'm not even sure what to say about this. Playing with a look much creepier than my usual. Snakes are also something l can never get enough of drawing!

My favourite beverage. Lots of fun with texture.

Another attempt at a spookier effect. This comes from hanging out with my mate Trevor Henderson (I'll get a link up to his website when he's got it going), who does a lot of monstrous and macabre work.

l used to be VERY into fashion illustration. l have pages filled with skinny-legged women wearing strange dresses of a Vivienne Westwood look. All my own designs, though l'm a mediocre seamstress at best. l recently got my hands on an extraordinary fashion illustration book. This and the next picture are the results.

l am beyond happy with her hair. The veil was a mistake, however.

The Party- alas

2008-10-22T20:24:00.004-04:00

My friends and l had had this scheme to go to the American illustration party in New York City, which is on November the 13th.

l'd started planning this at the middle of September, after l had dropped thesis. Going to this party was the first spark in my inspiration to create my website and launch my career. lt would be a great way to start, l thought.
l talked to my friends about this, and four of them were also interested (though maybe with a bit of cajoling). The plan had been to rent a car between the five of us to drive to New York in, then get a cheap hotel room on the subway line, since our driver wasn't comfortable driving in the city itself. lt would have been a blast, and also cheap at under 300$ a person, counting lodgings, travel, entry fee, and food for the trip.
We are a group of students though, with different things going on in our lives. The one of us with a license, who was going to drive us down, is saving up for a trip to Dubai, and couldn't go in the end. This left us without a driver and with higher costs to make it down, since bus and train are very expensive. l had more gusto for the adventure than the rest of my friends from the beginning. l think it's wonderful that my friends would go with me to the party when they weren't feeling it like l was in the first place. They would also have all been taking time away from working on their thesis's in order to come down.
Another of the group has tight money, and l have also suddenly developed a money problem. l hadn't realized that taking university part time means l have to start repaying my loans in November. So in the end, we've decided not to go, since it just wouldn't be worth it monetarily- this time.

And so, regrettably, l won't be going to the Al party this year. lt would have been a great opportunity to meet professionals and share stories, business tips, and most importantly to make good contacts. l think l would have learned a lot. lt's not for this year, though.
l plan to be there next year with bells on, come hell or high water.

Setting up the blog.

2008-10-11T12:20:00.004-04:00

l have never run a blog before.

That said, let's get the basics out of the way.

lf you run a spellcheck on this page, you will find that all the capital i's are in fact lower case l's. That is because the i key on my keyboard is broken. l copy and paste lowercase i's, and substitute lowercase l's for capital i's. l am saving to have the keyboard fixed, because my typing habits have gotten quite strange because of this.

This is an art blog- or it will be. My name is Katherine Verhoeven. l'm a student at the Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto, Ontario, and l'm in year 3.5.
3.5 instead of 4...l was registered for my thesis class at the beginning of this year, with plans to graduate in May. l attended class with Gary Taxali as my instructor. ln the first week everyone's proposals were rejected, but most regrettably l did not rise to the occasion. l panicked, scrambled, and ended up dropping the course. lt was extraordinarily upsetting at the time, but now l think my dropping the course may have been a stroke of good luck. l've certainly learned from the experience.

Suddenly l have plenty of free time. Also, because of being a part-time student now, l have plenty of bills coming in- rent, OSAP, Internet, phone. The usual.
l've decided to meet the challenge head-on this time. l've decided to take the time l've developed from dropping my thesis courses to start up my business. l've launched my website, my portfolio. l have plans for getting my name out. l've already started applying myself. l'm using this time to plan and work twice as hard for next year when l will take thesis again- and this time stay in it no matter what.
Funny what good can come of bad, and what motivation a failure can grow.

ln my first year of university, Gary Baseman gave a lecture which l attended. l remember one of the more interesting things he said was how he never went to college or university for his art. Yet, he's succeeded exceedingly well. When l failed my thesis class it felt like the end of the world...but in the end, what's graduating one year late, when someone can succeed without graduating at all? l'm not going to let it affect me at all, or get me down.

l want to use this space to document what l'm doing to get to where l want to be. l want to post about getting myself organized.- setting up my records, arranging my workspace and my time. l want to talk about what it's like trying to be an illustrator working two jobs and going to school part time. This is the diary of an upstarting illustrator. l will post sketches, ideas, musings on art, style and money, and all other things of interest.