In July of 2022, Brianna Grier died falling out of a moving police car while having a mental health breakdown. Since Brianna passed, I have been heartbroken for her twins and family but also reflecting on my struggle with mental health. Mental health needs compassion and empathy, not police and punishment. The brunch strokes are purposeful, but I completed them with empathy in mind. I want to keep the composition simple but filled with meaning. The color theme represents vastness and loneliness, but also kinetic energy found in warm orange tones.
I have a hard time trying to decide what my "style" is. This comes closest I think. Plus I LOVE drawing chickens. These are two of my own grumpy ladies.
Here's the final color illustration created for Osprey Pens featuring the Osprey Pen Factory. It was drawn with the same fountain pen there on the right... An Osprey Milano 5.5 Flexpert Hourglass nib. Great pen! Colored in Photoshop.
This feels like it could be a fun kids activity page. When I started this doodle it was just the hill with the tunnel maze and a few things added in the maze area. It didn’t feel like it was going anywhere, but as I kept adding things I started to get into it and now I’m happy that I didn’t ditch it. It’s always fun when a piece surprises me. It never gets old.
Faster than you think. Simple finale. Drawn with the 'hay' technique, using a computer mouse, all with one brush. I've published the sketches before, so you can follow the creation process. The 'hay' sketch on one layer, then another on the other, on and on until you get the lineart, then shading and colors. That’s all.
