An article/rant/annotation to an illustration. A #Hackney bar and its flies.
This picture is not as sad and blue as it might at first seem, I promise.
It is early in the week and the pub becomes the territory of the most outspoken drinkers. Raised somewhere between Churchill and Harold MacMillan, a night such as this is time for them to spin out a yarn of nostalgic fantasy. Encouraged by the lack of a crowd and with space to fill, statements start to fly.
In the opening rounds the barman athletically hits back with factual blocks and reality-check haymakers; statistics and personal experiences are given. Two histories cross examined, one where 1982 means Thatcher and the Falklands, the other renders Reagan and the AIDS crisis. Stoicism and national pride vs mental health and realism.
In the latter rounds the barman is fatigued, swaying on the backbar, glasses begin to stack up as form begins to drop. The older men seem stronger than ever.
The barflies come in close now, they scrutinise his generations work ethic and make wild political comments on poverty, immigrants and the minimum wage.
The barman is close to sheer bloody despair, he maintains his defence and focuses on breathing while maintaining his professional stance.
But at the end of the night the barman knows HE will ring that bell, they will politely leave and they will return again in a week and maybe, just maybe there will be a change, common ground or maybe at least polite silence.
But what these interactions have given despite the salt in the eye is community and an exchange between generations, culture and class of those participating. No home is ever straight forward, no relative without their good and bad traits and in a world where we often slide into echo chambers online or in our physical environments, the pub is still a place where society is family, face to face, pint to pint. Or maybe it's just a room with alcohol on tap?
I've been mailing these quick, improvised, hand-drawn doodled envelopes out to random Instagram followers. I'll be doing more of them so follow me @doodlers and let's be friends.
It’s one of my OC’s (her name is Annie, short for Anabella). She has heterochromia, meaning she has 2 colored eyes, and I tried to match the butterflies with the color of the eye on the opposite side. The angle is supposed to be from above, with her laying down, and her hair spread out.
I uploaded one before this but Inwas not happy with the face so I changed it. Mixed media collage. Portrait drawn separetely then glued on top. I'm still learning to draw straight onto the collage but I"m not there yet.
Chromatography is used in chemistry to dissolve a mixture and place it into a "mobile phase," which allows the solvent to carry it and its components up the paper. It shows the layers, exposing deeper, hidden tones and colors, something only seen when a solvent of the same polarity is used. It's odd. Life feels a bit like that, and I'm seeing the colors separate for the first time. It's all there, everything that's been hidden in the inky mess for the past however many years. And now it's smeared. Bold. Clear. But blurry. What's on me and what's on you? Where do we go from here?
Its funny because this was my first painting and looked very different. Just a bunch of green and a little sky blue blended in that looked like nothing to me. I ultimately gave up on it but revisited it about 2-3 weeks later and turned it into a night sky with rushing water flowing through two trees into a forest. I used a palette knife for most of it which was new for me as well ^^ hope you like. Debating on touching it up a bit...
Sorry I haven’t been around to post much. I’m always really busy during the summer months. I decided to buy a set of oil paints and experiment with them. When my set arrived, it was missing a blue paint so i had to improvise on this one. The painting is still wet so there is some glare in the image. I feel like it looks good, but I am definitely lacking the skill and technique in oil paints. That is why this painting is super simple and easy subject matter. Hopefully, I can start to get a feel for the oils :)
Used a blue pen this time....wanted to add a little coloure. Just trying out a different look for my trees...i kinda like it. Tell me what you think! I would greatly appreciate any feedback on my art, comments, tips, etc.
One of my biggest supporters and best friend passed away recently. My Grammy. My Grandpa has been gone almost 10 years now. So, in real life, whenever a blue butterfly showed up it was Grandpa coming to check on Grammy. Now, she's a butterfly going to be with him.
