The Beauty of Deadlines - by Diana Ting Delosh

I'm always amazed at what I can accomplish with a deadline breathing down my neck. It doesn't matter if the deadline is a sale for a postcard printing, submission window, conference or a commission. The hard deadline forces me to find my zen mode, banish distractions, make decisions and finish. It forces me to produce.

Meditating Lady - © Diana Ting Delosh Ink, Watercolor, Digital

Currently I'm in the throes of prepping for the upcoming SCBWI NJ June Conference. I've got about 2 weeks+ to get things done on my list. As usual the list starts out ambitious and very long. Now that time is running out, the list is getting pared down. Rather than a portfolio of totally New Art it's down to new pieces judiciously mixed in with older pieces and picture book dummies are getting their final tweaks. The deadline forces me to get my butt in chair and not get up until that illustration is painted.  

Postcard Front: Odion Skunk - © Diana Ting Delosh,
cover art from my Skunk story PB Dummy.
I had actually picked this as a possibility for the Postcard weeks ago
- was just holding out for future illo.

Monday night, just hours before the 40% OFF Sale at Vistaprint ended at 11:59 pm PT, it was suddenly crystal clear, what illustrations to pick, card size and how many to order. All of which I was fuzzy on until 11:49 pm ET.

Postcard Back: Boy Meets Octopus - © Diana Ting Delosh
This illo was inked, painted, scanned & PSed the day I  uploaded the design
because that morning, I decided my Conference Postcard
must have a kid on it and not more animals. So I just had to give it a go.
It is after all a conference  for the KID Lit & Art set.    

No a deadline won't help you make the best choices but it forces you to make a choice. Sometimes that's the difference between finishing and still working on it. Trust me, finishing things feels very, very good. I keep an annual list of my finished work.

The beauty of a deadline is that it breaks you free of the endless revision cycle. The one that you got lost in when you decided to try your best not to send out crap. Of course you should always do your best but at some point you have to draw a line and say this is the very best I have right now and show, submit, whatever. If it's a personal project, you can always toss, redo and revise later... again and again.

Grab the caffeine and eye drops. Show angst and self-doubt the door. Time to go into hyper-speed and make that deadline.

web: dianadelosh.com

blog: dtdelosh.blogspot.com

twitter: @dtdelosh

Q&A - Barbara Willcox DiLorenzo

I'm so thrilled to be a part of this group of talented and fun people. Writing and illustrating can be lonely, so to have some wacky critique partners to liven up the day makes the journey more enjoyable.

What are you working on?
Currently, I'm working on a book for Viking called RENATO AND THE LION. I'm also continuing to develop a few picture book dummies that are waiting in the wings once this book is finished.

"Stargazing on the Ponte Vecchio"
© Barbara Willcox DiLorenzo

What is your medium?
Sometimes I paint in watercolors. But then I decide to switch things up and paint in oils. My best work seems to occur when I have a simple yellow 2B pencil in my hand, and I'm just messing around on a wet napkin that is in the process of disintegrating. When I have expensive, $20 cold-pressed watercolor paper in front of me, I freeze a little. But that's what good Photoshop skills are for. I've been using the Adobe Suite since 1998.

"Reflection"
© Barbara Willcox DiLorenzo

"Moments Before Opening"
© Barbara Willcox DiLorenzo

Who are your creative influences?
I love Peter de Seve's work. He visited my class at RISD when I was a student, and I absolutely fell in love with his characters. His faces are unbelievably expressive. Seeing his work on the New Yorker is always a treat. I also love John Singer Sargent's oil portraits and watercolors of Venice. Capturing the essence of a person or a place without including every detail is exciting to my eye. For humor, I was raised on Bill Watterson and Mad Magazine. Contemporary picture book makers inspire me, but I hesitate to name names because there are so many awesome people out there. I'm truly excited to see the book format for children's literature grow and evolve instead of being stifled by technology. This is an exciting time to be a book maker.
That said, I do have a dark side too. Edward Gorey is another one of my heroes. Sometimes my dark sense of humor dribbles out onto a cartoon, like the one below. This was born on a day when I felt discouraged, and looked up to see a vulture circling above. It made me laugh.

Your picture book process: do the words come first or the images or both?
My process is a bit of a mess. I start with images. Then I add words. Then I change the images. Then I change the words. Then I throw things. I usually end up by eating chocolate and scrolling through Facebook noting all my friends with shiny new book deals. After that, I regroup, and somehow the work comes together. Isn't that how it works for most people?

If you were an animal what would you be?
A mermaid.

"Late in the Studio"
© Barbara Willcox DiLorenzo

What is your favorite yummy?

I used to be able to answer this question freely. But I am tied to too many professional chefs to be able to single out one particular dish. So I'll just go with chocolate mousse–made by no one chef in particular. Just regular chocolate mousse.

"Leona Was Not Like The Other Hens"
© Barbara Willcox DiLorenzo

Website: www.barbaradilorenzo.com

Illustration Blog: Paint & Paper
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