My 100 day project has basically switched over from digital drawings to watercolor. This is a spread in my sketchbook from the transition. Took a few days but, I am starting to feel like myself when using the medium again. Just needed to reactivate some muscle memory.
Been a busy couple of weeks, school holidays are always a bit tricky to find time. I have been working on some illustrations for a software product that my husband and I are building so I can't share those at this stage but I was back at the gallery today sketching with my new drawing group, I spent most of my time with a bunch of Mesoamerican statues. I am starting to not get so freaked out by people watching me draw :)
Another doodle I did starting with 3 blank boxes, and then I just go with it, trying not to think too much. This little kitty makes me smile. So do the flowers!
This doodle occurred in AP Chemistry, starting with the flower and fern-like leaves in the center. It is a pen drawing and is also available as a print on my art sites (Redbubble, Society6, Fine Art America, Zazzle, and Threadless). Access all sites with this link if you'd like to see: https://linktr.ee/okhismakingart
Essentially what this "Secret Sketchbook" project is, is a sketchbook that I use for my Patreon, that I make doodles in for my patrons, then once I have enough pages, I make it into a zine! I'm currently in the process of getting the very first secret sketchbook printed now, and starting on the second one which will be more exclusive until it's complete!
The inspiration for this collection came from a conversation I had with the Founder and Executive Director of the Underprivileged And Underserved Foundation (UAUF), George Goodwine. While discussing race and whether or not every opportunity was fair based upon someone’s familial structure or “starting line,” I was asked the following questions. How does someone overcome these hurdles? How can the playing field be leveled to make things fairer, when others may only have 50 hurdles to overcome in the same competition?
My response was simple. “The person in front of 150 hurdles has two choices. They can either get discouraged before they begin, or start jumping. In the midst of the race they might get tired, unsure, or discouraged, but if they press on to the finish line they may become more physically fit than the person who jumps over 50.”
I used to dance ballet and at the time, there were a lot of hurdles I had to overcome solely based upon inconveniences that came with being raised in low-income, single parent home. Above are pencil sketches and sharpie drawings that I have drawn from actual photos. I plan on making these images my own by adding more abstraction and vibrant color to them.
Over the course of the project, stay tuned to see how these pictures will transform into a work of ART!!! Check out my artwork at theservingartist.com
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.
"Man on the Train: Hey, are you a dreamer?
Wiley: Yeah.
Man on the Train: I haven’t seen too many around lately. Things have been tough lately for dreamers. They say dreaming is dead, no one does it anymore. It’s not dead it’s just that it’s been forgotten, removed from our language. Nobody teaches it so nobody knows it exists. The dreamer is banished to obscurity. Well, I’m trying to change all that, and I hope you are too. By dreaming, every day. Dreaming with our hands and dreaming with our minds. Our planet is facing the greatest problems it’s ever faced, ever. So whatever you do, don’t be bored, this is absolutely the most exciting time we could have possibly hoped to be alive. And things are just starting" - waking life (movie).
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So the other day I had a beautiful conversation about lucid dreaming with some friends. We shared amazing dream memories that we all had experienced and right the next day this sleeping beauty started showing up on a piece of paper.
What about you, are you a dreamer? :)
♠️
My underground bunker. A large table for painting and arting, and a smaller table for sewing. I'm in between projects, so the surfaces are clear: a rarety!
