New Years' resolutions tend to be a prelude to disappointment for most folks. We come up with a
list of goals, many of them too grandiose to ever achieve, then by mid to late January we are depressed and wallowing in our failure and hoping that the next year will get here soon so we can start over. I'm going to skip that.
Instead I am just going to make some prophetic assumptions of what 2011 will bring forth in me and my work. I add
assumptions after the word
prophetic because if they don't come true I will be labeled a
false prophet and there were times in which people were killed for holding that label.
Now, even though I just took a shot at
list making, I will still make one here but again we will remember these are not
resolutions. These are projects that are either already in motion or are likely to happen during the course of 2011. If they do not manifest, you are free to give me a hard time about them but I will be exempt from public hanging or being stoned to death because prophetic assumptions
are not prophesies per se.
1) Finish the "Proof of Faith" book - I began putting together a book mid 2009 and many projects and life circumstances kept pushing it to the back burner. It is to the point now that I have scrapped the whole thing and will be starting again from scratch. The book will be a collection of select works from 2006 to 2010 and will also feature a few pieces from my teenage years. I am writing about the inspiration behind certain paintings and illustrations, as well as telling the story of the journey that brought me to art as a career and an obsession.
The book will be released through
Blurb and available two ways. You can get it as a print-on-demand, meaning you order one through Blurb and they will print and mail it to you. Or, I will have copies at my studio which will be signed and come with an exclusive limited edition print. These will be available in my
Etsy shop and at
BigCartel and can be personalized if you wish.
2) Make more (and BIGGER) paintings and drawings - The bulk of 2010 was entirely consumed by the series of 100
Beast Buddies which recently sold out. Due to this enormous project, I had little time to work on 2D pieces. I have a few paintings that were begun more than a year ago which I intend to finish and I have many new pieces swimming around in my head that need to get born (all babies want to get born).
Furthermore, up to this point, 24"x36" is the largest painting I have ever created. I want to move beyond and create my largest work-to-date. I intend to at least
begin this piece this year. I have not settled on an exact size, just larger than 24"x36".
3) Set up a new permanent studio - My wife and I are in the process of buying a house and when this happens, I will be setting up a permanent studio. From there I plan to do some live painting from my
Stickam broadcast channel. You can sign up and friend me on
Stickam and when I am broadcasting you can tune in and out and check in on paintings and drawings in progress.
Once settled in to the new studio, I hope to get back into occasionally posting video blogs on my
Youtube channel. Some fast-motion drawing sequence videos are going to be made as well. With these I will film drawings being created from start to finish, then post a video of the entire process shown in fast motion. That should be fun.
4) Release new sets of customs - With the
Beast Buddies finished, I will be releasing new smaller sets and individual custom pieces. Some will be Dunnys but I plan to create on more Teddy Troops, Munny and mini-Munny, and some works already in progress including a Giver, a Muscamoot, and a Bambaboss. I will be going much lighter on the customs for 2011 as I give time to the 2D projects mentioned above so I am not sure when these projects will be finished. Having said this, if you would like a custom toy created specifically for you please email bryan@bacstudio.com to chat with me about it.
I'm sure that I could add about 96 more endeavors to this list but I won't. These are the projects I wish to share at this time. There are a couple of other adventures I
really want to mention but I have been sworn to secrecy and cannot confirm or deny any information about these clandestine operations at this time. I will leave you with that and may your 2011 be blessed and pure.
Bryan A. Collins
www.bacstudio.comTwitter -
@useeverycolorFacebook -
www.facebook.com/bryancollinsart
