This is Lianhua. She is from the Tang Dynasty in the Year 700 Ad. She is wearing a type of hanfu (traditional Chinese dress) called a Qixiong Ruqun. If anyone knows more on Hanfu and Chinese historical fashion, let me know if I I got the the time period right or if the styles are from different time periods. I did alot of research, but I still have alot to learn. Created with Kuretake Gansai Tambi Watercolors.
This creation of mine is Adeline. She is from Paris,France in the year 1838. Made with watercolors (Jazperstardust, Rublev,Daniel Smith, etc...) and a bit of pencil (just the outline). Made her on my new Arches watercolor paper.
Not a terribly good piece, but I had fun drawing it. It is a take on the Spirit of '76, originally painted by Archibald Willard. I did it upon request, but I did not charge anything. I think it would have been better in color.
I got my first client for logo design and they asked for a custom watercolor illustration of Iris flower. So I researched about iris flower and did a rough sketch. From there, I started rendering color using a special brush from GrutBrushes.
I tried drawing an architectural thing. I'm not good at it, but hey, gotta learn eventually! (I guess. Come to think of it, most people NEVER pick up this skill and turn out mostly OK.)
I had a rock tumbler as a child and really enjoyed it. When my youngest was a child we bought her one. She was eager to enjoy it too, but somewhere after starting on that path, we lost track and it everything inside turned into a solid mass. We tossed it and forgot about it. On a recent beach trip, I collected handfuls of rocks, as I am always likely to do, and, upon return, remembered how I loved my childhood rock tumbler. I immediately researched, ordered and eagerly anticipated its delivery. Of course, with Amazon Prime, that was only a couple day’s wait. As soon as I unboxed it I thought “what am I doing?” I have neither time, nor space for yet another hobby. I thought “what will I DO with a pile of polished, pretty rocks?” I would gather them in my hands and feel their silky smoothness. I would likely gather them in some beautiful glass bowl and…then what? I have toddler grand kids frequently at my home. They put small colorful things in their mouths and up their noses and feed them to the dogs regularly. And I don’t even have a single space to display a bog bowl of pretty rocks. So I quickly decided “I’m Returning the Rock Tumbler” and will, for NOW, stick to painting them when the mood strikes.
Drew this for a professor that mentored me on my first research paper! You can also find me on facebook www.facebook.com/sonialaiart for WIP and updates!
