Congrats to anyone else who took part in inktober this year! I focused on combining witches inspired by different types of teas and I had so much fun! I’m conquering my irrational fear of side profiles and I think it’s working, I’ve been really liking side profiles lately and finding them easier to do. I experimented on this piece with adding freckles (they’re a feature in all of my inktober sketches but I haven’t liked how freckles have looked when I’ve dotted them in with a pen or brush) and uh, I guess it was kind of a success? Next time I’ll use my lighter shading colour for them, as I used the ink I use for my lines and it turned out really dark and concentrated, but I think they’re cute! (and I have ink sprays everywhere)
Ice Dream. There’s some strange references going on in this one. If I don’t explain it won’t come together. Back in my day the Europe 72 3 record Dead live album had a crazy kid on the back cover smashing a cone on his head. Later an ice cream truck company called Weaser ripped off that art and would visit my mid Jersey neighborhood daily. Google it if you care. Flash forward to 2019. The ice cream truck that hits my neighborhood EVERY DAYS has a loud obnoxious song and no Greatful Dead connections. It drives me out of my mind so here is the result. I always try to turn my pain into gain. What a long strange explanation it’s been.
"Parts Unknown," Acrylic on Canvas, 18x24 Some actions we will never know the reason behind, and, quite honestly, we don't always need to know the answer. Anthony Bourdain committed suicide on June 8th, 2018, news that was shocking for most to hear. People continue to speculate what could have caused him to commit suicide, some feel he had more to do, to say before he died. Personally, I find there's some feeling of closure or completeness to his death. I don't know what the feeling is exactly, but it's there. It feels like he left on his own terms, decided it was time. I wouldn't consider his death as him waving a white flag to addiction and depression. He said his shows were intended to tell other's stories, tell them frankly and truthfully. It's interesting how blunt and honest he could seem to be about himself, though he kept so many layers held within. Although we'd love to have a clear cut answer, explanation, reason, what would knowing that information change?
White and sanguine conte pencils on toned paper. These ruins captured my drawing itch with the quality of the light filtering brilliantly through the tangled growth outside, and the open shade within. At a metaphorical level, the image is about the sense of having a laborious path set in stone for me by custom, convention, and culture, while way is wide open to the chaotic fertility of nature, should I choose to follow my own feet and heart.
Watercolors and fineliners on Aquarelle, 300 GSM. Fantasy has always appealed to me ever since I was a kid, and I often find myself lost and wandering around in the fantastical world of "could've been's"
More ballpoint pen experiments. This was trying to "blend" colors, using ball point pens in a similar way to colored pencils. I found Layering evenly to be pretty difficult, esp with the pens blotching and very very limited burnishing. The interesting thing is that the paper doesn't seem to get "tired" the way it does with pencils. This is just cheap printer card stock.
I have never loved drawing anything city related because I am lazy when it comes to perspective. However, I have learned that I actually like the wobbly nature of my more recent attempts. Or, I simply embraced my laziness. Either way it has been fun!
Seemingly trapped indoors and inside your head indefinitely, the possibility of living a normal life after COVID seems like a fevered dream. Still one of my favourite drawings from 2020 and a technique breakthrough. Ballpoint Pen on Archival 8.5" x 11" paper
Doodling is what I do. It's a way to make visible the randomness that's in my head - just drawing out a concept right when it comes to mind and scribbling on whatever I can find.
Gouache on Arches watercolor paper. I have been living overseas for 6 years now with my wife. (Originally from the states) We have lived in Seoul, South Korea, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Tel Aviv, Israel, and in the Summer we will move once again to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. So this is a painting is a sort of self-portrait.
"There's a North in us all, but my North can't hold me anymore." Oh man, what a day/week/month it's been. Today was the end of first semester, a bit hard to believe half the year is gone, a bit hard to believe we still have half of a year left. The past 24 hours have been nothing less than mental chaos (maybe my coach was foreshadowing all of this when he asked if I was ok last night...) Anyway, here I am, here we are. Llemette on the left (name credit to Josefina), February journal on the right.
Imagining a better future in the time of COVID isolation seems like a fevered dream.
Bic4 Ballpoint Pen, Sanrio Novelty 10 Colour Ballpoint Pen on Archival 8.5" x 11" paper
Completed my first commission of the year — inspired by my Dream Tree mural in Bristol, for a couple from the neighbourhood who walk by the mural nearly every day
Many beginnings.
Beginning 1.
Kitten was very very lazy. She used to hunt slugs but now she only hunted carrots. She was such a good carrot hunter!
* Starting is easy, it's the middle that is often a muddle. And I won't even mention the endings. Here are some beginnings for children stories that flitter through my head.
Bic4 Ballpoint Pen, Sanrio Novelty 10 Colour Ballpoint Pen on Archival 8.5" x 11" paper.
A breakdown of the Bic4 pen and No-name 10 colour pen layering that I’ve used.
Drawing in a single direction instead of using back-and-forth movement alleviates some of the blotching that happens when using ballpoint pens. The back-and-forth method usually deposits the gunk that builds up on the tip of the ballpoint, smearing them in unexpected and unfortunate places on the drawing. When using the back-and-forth method, I usually have a napkin handy in order to clean the tip of the pen. Model: Meadhbh (Maeve)
Inktober 2020, day 11: "Disgusting". A license not to do the dishes thanks to art! :D
Although I got too carried away trying to capture the reflections to really capture the effect I was after. Also, even though I try to do a line drawing and ink it, my painterly sensibilities keep coming through. When I get a brush pen, I use it like a brush...
Man oh man, it's been a week. The chaos is strong with this one. It was really fun to draw this, there's something so calming about shading with graphite; it felt like the only time I was present this week. But hey, I suppose that's why art is here. As a side note, thank you so much for 70 followers! It's truly incredible to part of an amazing community of artists, and I genuinely appreciate everyone's support and feedback. Here's to creating more art!
Ink on watercolor paper. I am experimenting with different color combinations. I think the distribution of different sized monsters is acceptable, but i am not quite happy with the colors of them. Suggestions are appreciated!
Hey guys, hope yall had a great weekend! I couldn't resist doing another iPad drawing on using the Sketch Create plug-in this weekend.
I think its awesome that you don’t even need to buy app to do drawings like this-Simply get this Edge extension!
