Fingerpainting #1

Mt. Rainier from Blake Island.

Finger-painting with the iPad while I figure out my new toy. ;)

A period of silence

This is just a note to say that I am still here and that I am still very much alive - but most of the art I'm doing at this moment is in the form of "Chirstmas Present." If I post it here, the secrets shall die!

I promise an update in the next couple of days with some kind of none gift-spoiling piece. I got two new lovely art tools to mess around with. (72 pack of prismacolor pencils and an ipad with some drawing programs! Woop. Happy birthday indeed.)

sometimes we can't be happy

I don't really like this, but Bec has been asking me why I haven't updated my blog all day and, well, I did this today. I had a pretty sketch and then I ruined it by thinking "oh, I haven't played with my calligraphy inks in like two years so why not". I will probably do a prettier version later.

And well, it isn't an animal!

Color added in post-processing. :P

Inigo Montoya

Trying New Things.

This little fellow, who actually is a very large fellow (Gymnogyps californianus: 9.8' wingspan), is made out from watercolor pencils. I have had them for absolutely forever without ever actually using them for anything more serious than ridiculous doodles and/or drawing on skin. (They are really fantastic for that.) Today I thought "WHY NOT?" and made a Condor with them. Because I love Condors. Because birds are amazing. And, so far, 2/5 of my posts have been birds. BACK ON TRACK he is the first little thing I've made with that medium and I'm still not entirely sure what I'm doing, which I know shows at least a lot of bit, but I am determined and my next attempt will be about six or seven times better. Or at least I'll pretend that I did every bit the way I did on purpose.

We'll see.

Until next time, enjoy your life and be a fun person and look at some birds - they really are beautiful.

Jorge.

One day I will draw something that is not an animal, but that day is not today. (Actually I did some flowers the other day but I didn't like them because they are not finished yet.)

This is Jorge. He was a guppy, but he died.

Goodbye, Jorge.

pause buttons

I kind of like starting with a vision in mind and ending up in a completely different place. I almost scrapped this about ten minutes in but I kept going.

I'm filing it under "work in progress" but, honestly, the stuff I put in that metaphorical bin usually stays there. So, goodbye for now little Meerkat fellow. Maybe one day I'll give you some whiskers and a neater paint job.

In other news I'm headed to Seattle the day after tomorrow, after more than a year's absence. I miss the weather up there, and the delicious north-westerly cuisine. Maybe I will draw a big cedar tree while I am there. I miss those trees, and the way it smells like dirt and salt and heady, drippy hot cedar bark when it rains. Here it only smells like wet concrete and car exhaust (not that it ever rains).

pink

I enjoy drawing birds. No matter what I set out to do, I almost always end up with a bird. They are so pretty and fluffy. This is a Lesser Flamingo. They aren't as pink as other flamingos, but they have the best beaks.

An Introduction

Once upon time, before college and love and work and life got in the way, I used to think of myself as an artist.

As it is, I haven't drawn much of anything in nearly three years. A doodle here and there, sure - but my heart stopped being in it. Distractions abound.

Lately I've found myself thinking that it's going to go away - if I don't put pencil to paper NOW, than I'm not going to be able to do it later. This is what this blog is for. Motivation. If I have a spot to share this stuff and eyes to watch and know and judge when I stop doing so, maybe I won't let whatever semblance of talent I have slip away.

I want to decorate my walls. I want my kids to look at something I create and say "Wow." But I can't do that if all I do is think about it.

"Ghost" August - 2012

So here you go! This is Ghost, my little furry companion. He gets to start the show.