A few months ago, my sister-in-law, Rebecca, texted me out of the blue asking if I’d illustrate the pictures for a book she wrote for her daughter. Umm…come again? I hadn’t drawn in years. I’d never done anything like it before and I was wholly unsure if I could draw one picture, let alone 13 for a children’s story. So naturally, I had a panic attack and told her how dare she believe I could do such a thing.
And then I decided to give it a try.
Shortly after that, I started neglecting my hygiene and children because I loved do it so much.
One night, Joe commented to me, “It’s so great seeing you have so much fun.” “What do you mean?” I asked. “You hum when you draw. And you sometimes spontaneously break out in chair dancing. It’s cute.”
It was Christmas, so I drew presents for most of our family and friends. I posted pictures on Instagram and some people were really lovely and so kind. My friend, Hillary, was my first paying customer. I drew her and her new hubby in their wedding clothes.
And then my friend, Lindsey asked me to do the typography for her web banner and threatened my life if I didn’t open an Etsy site. She seriously gave me a deadline and I love her for that.
So, my hubby, who had been slow chanting “Catie, Catie, Catie…” this whole time, taught me how to put my drawings in Illustrator to digitally color them. I did a few more drawings for people and last week I opened an etsy shop called The State of Cate.
I sell custom portrait illustrations, but plan on expanding to various prints, wedding cards, stationary, and logo & web banner design. I’m so excited for new stuff being added this week: Grandparent gifts, prints, & new Valentine’s Day gift options! Stay tuned and check out https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheStateOfCate !!
The State Of Cate 