coyleart

Interview and giveaway on TrueUp.net!

I'm happy to be featured today in an interview with Kim Kight on TrueUp, the blog for the fabric obsessed! She asks insightful questions including one on "warming up" illustrator artwork, which can sometimes look too "illustratory." It also gave me a chance to talk about my online Adobe Illustrator classes on ReneePearson.com. We're giving away my Ink & Paint class which features the Wacom Tablet and instruction on how to use Calligraphic Brushes with the Paintbrush and Blob Brush tools in Illustrator. Kim will be choosing a winner Friday, May 4th, so get add your comment to the post to be entered to win!

Big League Chew and Bill Mayer

If you remember those pouches of shredded bubble gum from when you were a kid, (I do!) you might enjoy reading about how it all got started. The part of the story that interests me the most of course, is the part where the illustrator creates a character for the packaging so endearing that it becomes a big part of the success of the brand. And the illustrator, Bill Mayer also happens to be from Atlanta!
Follow the link to the article on CollectingCandy.com to read the story behind Big League Chew and the amazing illustrator Bill Mayer.

Pencils and Pens

Geek-out with illustrator Scott Bakal in these two informative posts about the pens, pencils and sharpeners he uses daily in his work. You'll enjoy the intimate photos and all the detail he lavishes on these humble materials.

Creation of a Line - Part 1

Creation of a Line - Part 2

Happy New Year!

I want to take a moment to wish you a very happy new year! One of the highlights of 2011 for me was seeing my Illustrator classes and tutorials gain a steady following. I always feel lucky to make my living as an artist, but becoming a teacher of Illustrator and working with Renee and Kent Pearson has made me even more grateful to be in the creative field.

The sense of genuine community and support from those who have signed up for my classes, attended chats or subscribed to my YouTube tutorials has been an unexpected reward and continues to fuel my excitement about this new avenue in my career. I'm very grateful for your participation, encouragement and questions, and I'm looking forward to more classes and chats with you in 2012! 

Wishing you all the best,

Laura Coyle

Manly Christmas Tree

May your days be manly and bright! You'll find this foil-stamped Christmas man tree by Laura Coyle at your local Papyrus store.

Laura Coyle wallpaper designs!

Laura Coyle wallpaper border for Warner Chesapeake Wallcoverings. From the "Boys Rock" line of borders and wallpapers. This border design is called Fun Harbor!

The matching wallpaper is called Sailboat Spot.

Halloween Cards in stores now!

I am excited to spread the news about two new cards I illustrated that are available now in Papyrus stores for Halloween 2011. One is a pop-up card with bats and spooky music, and the other is a modern take on a vampire with articulated, pose-able arms and legs, so the best way to show them off is with a video! You can watch the video on my YouTube Channel.

cutlass

I am cleaning off my desk, bit by bit, so as not to overwhelm myself with the multitude of paper I've accumulated. I found this brushy spot illustration in a pile of sketches. I used to save everything, now I'm considering scanning and saving things digitally - there's just too much. And I don't want to lose this one, it's my friend Michele's white on white Oldsmobile Cutlass convertable - fond memories of driving around Atlanta, talking about moving to New York. We both moved soon after, and the Cutlass belongs to someone else now.

Subway cell service comes to NYC

Back in 1999 I created this illustration for a self-promotion ad I placed in (the now defunct sourcebook) Showcase in 2000. At the time, nobody had cell phone service on the subway, but the idea of portraying this was enticing and it seemed like it wouldn't be very long before it became reality. Well just this week, over ten years later, cell phone service has arrived in the New York City Subway. Here's a list of stations (just six at the moment) on the MTA website.

from the files: air pollution

I happened upon these postcards today, lingering in my files from a few years ago. This was pro bono work for a local environmental goup that unfortunately never made it to print. The concept was provided by the group, and it was a fun challenge to recreate that vintage postcard style typography.

This one is literally vintage as Sonny, our former governor, has since moved on.