Maia Palomar's Uploads

I found this guy the other day, just an older piece on scratchboard.

Drawing Prompt Submission

Here are some drawings of various utensils, courtesy of the madness of quarantine. I ended up giving each a name and a bit of a personality.

This week hasn't been great. My anxiety was pretty high for most of it, and it was honestly for no reason. My brain tends to be very chaotic, I suppose, and I have trouble controlling my thoughts sometimes. This was a random doodle I did last night at 10 p.m. I've decided I'm going to add color to it, which will either look good or make everyone's eyes hurt even more..at least I have a picture of this version.

Drawing Prompt Submission

Here's a quick sketch of myself. (The perk of messing up a drawing of yourself is that you can't offend anyone else...)

Drawing Prompt Submission

The past two days have been interesting, to say the least. My anxiety kicked up again, yielding two more panic attacks...oh joy. There's an increasingly chaotic external environment: COVID-19 positivity rates rising, looting, SAT nonsense (thank you College Board for not giving anyone information and for being very uncooperative). Am I angry at people in the world? Yes, and I know that's a generic, over-used phrase, but I truly am. I'm tired of all of this. I'm aggravated with the current state of the U.S. There's moments where things feel fine, and others when it feels like things are closing in. No one knows what the next few months will bring and tensions are high. Will things work out? They will eventually; they better. But, at the same time, what the heck is even going on anymore?

So this painting began as a simple project and ended up for sale at a coffee shop. I found out recently it actually sold, making it the first official painting I've sold.

A "longer" colored pencil drawing, took about 4 days, 6.25" x 6.25". What originated from a moment of frustration turned into me staring at some flowers in our house, and then into the drawing I now present. The piece's original purpose has shifted, and hey, that happens. I'm not sure what I'll do with it now, but I'll figure something out...

Drawing Prompt Submission

Commission #1 is complete. 5x7, watercolor and pen. To whoever will receive this as a gift, happy birthday!

Drawing Prompt Submission

Drawing Prompt Submission

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! This year I got around to making various cards and simply sending them out to various family members and friends. (It was also an excuse for me to use as many puns as I wanted.)

Everything is a mess and I'm genuinely scared. And it's all out of my control.

"Untitled," 8×10, Scratchboard: I think it's become evident that I enjoy making portraits no matter what the medium is. I still find it fascinating how much eyes can say, and they can usually fill in the gaps where words fail. I took a chance using Scratchboard, but I think it worked out, I'm pleased with it. I suppose this is a new member of the Black and White Portrait Club :)

It's crazy to think that 6 years have already flown by since I first moved onto the Xcel gymnastics team, let alone the fact that I've spent 15 years of my life as a gymnast. Tomorrow, August 6th, 2021, marks my last day as a gymnast on the team since I'm officially a college student. I've genuinely been dreading this day, but it's not the ending I expected...in an oddly good way. I know no one expected to spend the past year in a pandemic, and I definitely didn't think gym would shift so much in the following months, but here we are. Gymnastics has taught me more than I ever imagined it could, and my coaches (especially one of them) have become two of the people I'm closest with, words can't describe how grateful I am for everything. This 'ending' doesn't feel like an end, more so a closing to this chapter. Honestly, my love for the sport has only grown, and it feels like I'm finally figuring it all out. So, although my final practice as a team member is tomorrow, my journey is not over yet. "Goodbyes are the hardest part, and this ending has been something I’ve been dreading, although I know it’s time to let go. I’d like to say this isn’t a permanent goodbye to you or the sport, it’s more of a natural conclusion. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything you’ve done for me and managed to teach me in this short amount of time, I couldn’t have asked for anyone, or anything, better. Thank you most of all for helping me achieve my dreams and for helping me get to a point in which I can say I’m proud of my journey. All that’s left to say is I care about you, I love you, and take care."

Yes, indeed, this is a foot. A foot that has taken up 5 months of my life but here we are. For some context, I'm lucky to be able to take 2 art classes this year (senior year perks, I suppose) especially given the strict scheduling connected to the STEM program I'm in. I'm taking Studio Drawing, and this is my first Bargue drawing. Definitely different than what I'm used to doing (and not the most interesting to look at), definitely mildly infuriating at times, but it's done.

A silly watercolor sketch, I know, but there's a lot tied to this little thing. There are so many bittersweet feelings lately. I tend to avoid putting a numerical value to time, I don't like the count-down aspect to things, especially knowing how obsessive I can be with that. It allows me to live in some semblance of ignorance (they say ignorance is pure bliss). There's a lot of tip-toeing around what I want to say and what I'm afraid to say, or even what I'd love to explore and embrace and simply afraid to. It's something I'm not used to. It's taken me quite a while to finally sit with certain things, or even acknowledge them, and it feels like there's so much more I'm now realizing. It's odd to be so frank to some and worried that others may find out. There's a lot of shifting again, goodbyes coming soon, complicated feelings and situations.

Close to a month ago, I had found out my design was selected for the Art Stop Program, and, yes, this is mainly what I've been working on since. I've never worked on a piece this large before, 72in x 24in, and I rarely make sketches of pieces before creating the final work. It's definitely a cool feeling to look at the finished board and see how the drawing actually came to life. (The Art Stop Program selects a handful of entered designs for the artists to create on a larger board, and these boards will then be inserted into bus stop benches around Niles, IL.) I can't wait to see the bench this will be in, and I'm so lucky I got to be part of the program.