Caroline Hadilaksono

Bench

So this is why I went to sleep at 3:30AM last night. It’s this week’s assignment for my character design class. We’re suppose to show two characters interacting with each other on a bench. 

I’ve been working on it fore the past couple of days. I started with a bunch of sketches, I made myself fill two pages before moving on to do the final one. I usually tend to get lazy with sketching, I’d put down 2 or 3 ideas and move on to the final drawing. This time I did 12, these ones are my favorites. I want to turn some of these into finished paintings at some point… in my spare time. 

Birfday
Been working a ton on character sketches, I’ll show you tomorrow. Until then, Happy Birthday!
#dontbreakthechain #144/365 #watercolor

Slide
Drew a lot today to make up for yesterday non-drawing. You know you draw a lot when your hand’s starting to hurt from holding the pencil.
#dontbreakthechain #143/365 #sketch

Mrs. Whatsit
Spent the entire day chained to my desk, writing. I found that is the most effective method for me to start writing something. By sheer force. It is a very grueling process.
#dontbreakthechain #142/365 #sketch

Look
The only drawing I can show you today.
#dontbreakthechain #141/365 #sketch

Waiting
I can’t show you the stuff I’m working on, so here’s a super quick sketch. And my back is killing me right now, need to lay down, asap. Gnite.
#dontbreakthechain #140/365 #watercolor

Dame
First time to Dr. Sketchy’s at the Slipper Room in LES. This week’s theme is a tribute to Paul Gaugin. The most elaborate model drawing set up I’ve been to. If you’ve never been to one, check out your local branch, Dr. Sketchy’s all over the place, world-wide. Looks like the next one is this Tuesday in SF!
#dontbreakthechain #139/365 #figuredrawing (at The Slipper Room)

Yonder
More of the old man from the park.
#dontbreakthechain #138/365 #sketch #watercolor

Tanned
The man with the dog, from the park.
#dontbreakthechain #137/365 #watercolor #sketch #illustration

Marcella.
Today was an amazing day. Nothing completely out of the ordinary happened, just one of those days when you feel like this is what life should be like.
Hung out with old co-workers at Central Park, then spent the rest of the afternoon sketching. The old man I was drawing came over and asked me to draw his dog, I obliged. He’s from Russia and doesn’t speak English that well, so he just kinda put his dog in front of me and pointed to my paints. I didn’t realize until I finished that he wanted to take the painting home for his daughter, whom the dog belongs to. So I’m gonna have to rip this page out of my sketch book, cause I promised I’ll mail it to him.

After all that, I went to have dinner and talk about the book project I’m working on. I’m giddy about all of it & getting to work on it. If it sounds like I’m bragging, I’m really just super grateful, and half waiting for the other shoe to drop.
#dontbreakthechain #136/365

Shadows
Not much drawing happen today. Spent most of the day working on a story. I find the process of writing very grueling.
These are some lazy sketches I did while waiting at the Apple Store for my phone to get replaced.
We also signed the lease to our new apartment. Whooo! We’re moving to Brooklyn!
#dontbreakthechain #135/365

Angular
Sketch night Tuesday. My favorite drawing of the night. Good night.
#dontbreakthechain #134/365 #watercolor

Droop
Saw a lady that sorta look like this at the library the other day.
#dontbreakthechain #133/365 #sketch

Multitasker (aka maximizing your income)

I have another show coming up with Light Grey Art Lab, it’s going to be my last show for a little while, as I’m shifting my focus to work on other stuff for a bit. It’s the SMART exhibition, a collection of clever, thoughtful, and whimsical artwork made by 35 international artists, curated by Amy Ng, founder of Pikaland. 

It was super intimidating trying to think up an idea for this particular show. Trying to come up with a smart idea is almost like trying to come up with a joke after someone tells you “Okay, now be funny!” It’s just a lot of pressure.

In the end I decided not to sweat it as much and just make something that would amuse me. A few weeks before my last day at OkCupid, I was getting some food from the breakfast table, loading my bagel with cream cheese when one of my bosses came up to me and said, “Yeah Caroline, you better eat as much food as you can now to get ready for the illustration winter.” He was totally joking. He definitely doesn’t think I’m going to starve as a freelance illustrator, but this was something that I did think about a lot during the months leading up to my decision to leave OkCupid and do illustration full-time. I’ve been a freelancer before, I’m familiar with the concept of the “freelancer winter.”

Anyways, I started thinking about what sorts of odd jobs I’d have to pick up if my freelance career doesn’t take off. This is what I came up with: an hourly baby/dog-sitting service, talk about maximizing your income. This might take off, especially here in the Upper East Side, there are so many nannies and dog walkers around, but neither seem to try to do both at the same time, they really should.

The SMART Opening Reception is this Friday, May 17th from 7- 10 PM.

Moms & puke-bags

The fondest memory I have of my mother is this one time when I was little during a road trip, I got really car-sick as I tend to get back then. She let me sleep on her arm the entire ride while occasionally throwing up into a plastic bag.

My mother and I are not close, we don’t hug or talk much, but I remember her as the person who always took care of me when I was sick, she was the one who took me and my brother and sister to Disneyland by herself, because my Dad dislikes theme parks.