Laundry Day | Jill Halliday | Artist | The Ten Collective

It took a long time to shed the shackles of my Animation career. The Industry was rigid, unforgiving, competitive, and the deadlines were relentless. 

              But.

I was in love. I was deeply in love with the romantic magic of Classical Animation. Bewitched I was. Completely besotted, and I remain that way today. 

In 2002, just after my fortieth birthday, the fallout from a massive brain tumour forced me out of the workforce and in to intense physical therapy. I would relearn to walk, talk, and hold a pencil. Due to the extent of the permanent neurological damage, there was not to be a full recovery, and I did not return to the Animation Industry. 

The work I do now is finally my own.  I have embraced one of my favourite parts of the Animation process. That is the earliest phase, the rough gestural pose of the figure, human or otherwise. The sketch is a fleeting posture with attitude that tells a story. Maybe it's a University Student waiting in line for her Cafe Latte, and it's the moment between ordering and pick up, she's impatient, partly because her blood sugar is low hence the crankiness and her huge purse is suddenly way too heavy which normally doesn't bug her 'cause it's so fabulous and therefore worth the hassle but now it's the worst 'cause Joey hasn't texted her his order but who cares anyway 'cause hers is never gonna be ready anyway because this coffee place sucks and ....and......and....

I try to capture that in a single pose.

Or perhaps it's that soccer ball shaped man coming out of the grocery store, carrying two awkwardly overfilled plastic bags bulging heavily downward with too many canned goods ‘cause that checkout kid can't 

pack worth a damn and the Owner is too cheap to give out an one extra damn bag and now the handles are stretching so thin from the weight they are cutting the gawddamn blood off to his fingers and the bags are sure to split open any second and spill the cans everywhere but he just wants to get to the damned car so just keep walking dammit!.......

...... In one pose. 

Laundry Day

"Laundry Day" is an example of this genre of work. She has run out of her own clean clothes, so dons the smalls of her boyfriend.

Our local Coffee Houses, Restaurants, Bakery, Library, Parks, parking lots ..... on and on.....are teeming with beautiful people. I am having such a kick meeting some of them. AND their pets!  So, if on some dark and stormy night, after tucking yourself in to bed, your partner exclaims;

"OMG! THERE'S SOMEBODY LOOKING IN THE WINDOW!!!"

Don't be afraid. It's just me. Drawing you.  

KIDDING!!