Hey First name / friends!

 

I used to think that there would come a point in my art career where I was done growing. 

 

I thought that the artists I admired had reached a point where they had gotten “good enough” and stayed there for the rest of their career. I believed that the true mark of a professional was that they’re style stayed the same forever.

 

Buuuut… I was totally proven wrong. 

 

 

Whether you just started your art journey, have a decade under your belt like me, or are a 30 year art career veteran, it's inevitable that your style and business will grow and evolve as the years progress.

 

Here’s an example of this in my own work. 👇

 

I drew the flamingo on the left two months after I got an iPad and started using Procreate. (Feb 2020). 🦩

 

The flamingo on the right is one I drew recently, after 4+ years of Procreate experience. (2024)

I’ve come a LONG way! Not just in terms of getting more familiar with the Procreate drawing app, but also in my style, composition, and confidence as an artist.

 

Don’t get me wrong- I still love the first flamingo I drew in Procreate. It has a sweet simpleness to it and I’m all about that juicy tropical color palette. Plus, I was experimenting with characterization, and I think she’s got a lot of personality. Gotta love those eyelashes, right? 😅

 

But when I compare it against my latest flamingo illustration, I can see how my craft and artistic voice have really developed with time and experience. My use of texture is more thought-out, the forms have more intention and less “blobby-ness" (especially in the feet!), and –most importantly– this newer version feels authentic with my own artistic voice: it's sprinkled with my signature sparkle embellishments, the leaf veining highlights my preference for tapered line work, and the negative space of the moon gives some breathing room to this complex design.

 

I hope this gives you a boost of confidence knowing that no matter where you are on your artist journey, there is always room to grow.  💕

 

And to help you do a little self evaluation, here are the things that helped my style evolve tremendously over the past four years.

 

Believe it or not, linework has always been a struggle for me, and I used to avoid it if I could. A professor once reprimanded me for my inconsistent line work in college, and it made me feel self-conscious about my drawings. But I made it a goal to try and embrace it, even though it was one of my weaker points. After all, I’d never get any better if I didn’t actually practice! 

 

Over the past four years, I’ve become a lot more confident in my line work, especially drawing those smooth and fluid outlines to highlight the flamingo and florals.

 

Be brave and embrace the techniques that you may be struggling with. It might just become a core part of your elevated style! Here's a look at my smooth and consistent line work in a recent illustration I'm particularly proud of:

 

 

I’m all about simple, modern compositions, but there is something so striking about a complex piece. I used to avoid sketching and planning compositions because I was so excited to get into the “real” drawing process. But when I started taking the time to carefully plan my compositions, my artwork instantly leveled-up. 

 

I can absolutely see how I got more comfortable addressing and solving complex composition issues in the last four years. In this Zebra Leap illustration below, I played with depth and tucked a bouquet of African proteas and fan palms behind her. I found that by adding a thin red outline to the zebra, it helped separate her from the foliage “sprouting” from behind her body.

 

Planning might not be the most glamorous part of being an artist, but it makes all the difference in how your final piece turns out!

 

 

I’ve always loved adding a little sparkle and texture to my work, but over the years, those embellishments have changed and gotten more sophisticated. In my first flamingo illustration, I used dots and splatter textures to give the piece some extra visual interest. Today, I use line work, fun background textures, and sparkly embellishments in many of my pieces – including the new flamingo! 

 

These embellishments are a huge part of what makes up my signature style and they also help tie together different pieces across my collections.

I hope these observations help you as you are looking at your own work to evaluate how to grow and find your style!

In honor of this fun style transformation, this week’s challenge is to draw a flamingo! 

 

Flamingos have been a staple in my portfolio for years and they have always sold well. It’s so fun to see how they’ve evolved over the years. I can’t wait to draw another flamingo a couple years from now to see how I continue to grow! 

 

These are some of the older flamingos in my portfolio. And despite being one of my simpler flamingo paintings, this one that I painted early in my career was picked up for a fabulous licensing collab complete with shiny pink foil details!

This goes to show that no matter where you’re at on your journey, you can always create licensable artwork that customers will want to buy.

 

I can’t wait to see your flamingos this week! Don’t forget to share them on Instagram with the hashtag #CreateWithCatCoq for a chance to be featured on my Instagram Stories and in this newsletter!

 

It’s also really helpful if you tag me @catcoq in the actual photo so that I can find your artwork more easily! 

My brand new in-depth program, The Art of Collections, opens for enrollment next week. This course is for artists who want structured support and mentorship to grow their art business to a sustainable full-time career. 

 

This program includes group coaching calls, monthly collection prompts, portfolio reviews, and a behind the scenes look at my exact process for creating and pitching highly sellable art. 

 

 

Join the waitlist to get 24 hours early access to join before the course opens to the public. Click here to learn more about the program and join the waitlist. 

Have a fabulous week!