Well, this is a surprise.

I received an e-mail from an instructor of mine at The Art Institute of Pittsburgh that apparently a piece of mine was accepted into the New York Society of Illustrators 2014 Student Competition! I wasn’t aware I even had anything entered, as only faculty can submit. I was apparently the only AIP student to make it into the show and I’ll admit that, until he confirmed which piece it was, I thought he may have the wrong girl. Confidence has never been my strong suit, which he knows. So I am extremely grateful to him that he had my back and submitted this piece without my even knowing!

The piece that made it into the show is my Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix Mini-Cooper illustration. I’ve posted about that piece before. It’s funny – the piece itself didn’t win the competition it was created for, but it has earned me a freelance opportunity for a similar poster and now has earned me a spot in a show produced by the prestigious New York Society of Illustrators.

I’m extremely humbled and happy!

I will hopefully be able to attend the event in New York in early May, where my piece will be hanging in the show. Awards are given out and I will have the opportunity to tour the Society’s museum, which has original Rockwell and Wyeth’s just hanging on their walls. Dream!

You can view my piece, and all of the other winning entries, here!

It’s a very exciting opportunity and I’m grateful that, despite my own lack of self-confidence, I apparently have supporters who believe in me and my work. I have been struggling a lot with my art lately, as I’m so out of practice and it’s discouraging. But this has given me the spark I needed to get back into art shape. I may design for a living, but there was a time when art was also my hobby and a day didn’t go by I wasn’t at least sketching. I need to get back to that place, because I was much happier when I was there. Project “Art from Sun Up to Sun Down” – GO!