Jessica Crabtree

Well, I’m back from a bit of a blogging sabbatical (say that five times fast!) and getting into my routine again. I can’t remember the last time I went a whole week without a post!

Many of you will be drawing up the proverbial list of new year’s resolutions: working off those second and third helpings of holiday goodies, quitting a certain habit, or making ambitious plans for a new project. I’ve made a list of few of my own resolutions, goals and ideas for the upcoming year.

Here’s what to expect from 2011:

• A new and updated e-Portfolio. Currently I am using the Issuu platform, but this spring I will be experimenting with some other versions to integrate for my 2011 edition.
• More portraits from the Curtis photos. Of course this is my work staple; I have several sketched out and ready to go. (Spoilers!) Keep an eye out for a profile of a Flathead man, a Zuni girl as part of my Pueblo series, and a full-length of an Arikara woman.
• I’d like to expand to other historical sources for portraits. (Already in 2010 I did my first non-Curtis portrait, Shoshone, 14×24, an experiment in full-length.) Since Curtis’ work documented only Indian nations west of the Mississippi, I’m also looking to feature portraits of individuals from the Southeast and Northeast. I may not get around to it this year, but it’s in the wings.
• New additions to my gallery of wildlife paintings: specifically, portraits of brown bears, bison, foxes, and possibly some waterfowl.
• More nature photography (in my spare time of course). Last year’s summer album was devoted mostly to trees, wildflowers, and insects – that is, largely stationary subjects. This year I intend to add an album of birds and other small animals.

  I recently uploaded some of last year’s shots to my new Flickr profile. Flickr has a great interface and an excellent community of photographers, with the rights information is clearly outlined – making it a great resource for artists. You can check out my photostream here:

  Flickr Profile: Jessica Crabtree

• I’d like to try my hand at pastel pencils. Most of my experience is with soft pastel sticks and Nupastels, and I want to see for myself what the texture of pastel combined with the versatility of a pencil point can accomplish.

  Speaking of which, pencils are my first love, and I hope to spend a little more time drawing this year. We’ll see.

And naturally, I’ll be blogging away with more of the same. So, that’s a sneak peek of what’s in store for my artistic year. Feel free to register or log in and share a list of your own creative endeavors for 2011!