ew

My favorite season is the fall.

Most evenings, I watch a couple of news programs streaming on my computer. During that time, I also make it a point to draw a person (usually from an on-line reference photo) with a No.2 yellow pencil (generally Ticonderoga) on whatever paper is handy on my desk. It's good practice and keeps my hands busy. These are some "News Doodles" done this past week.

I am pleased to present to you the finished Elton drawing. (I finished it today while listening to my new albums; shout out to my mom for the birthday gift.) Does the drawing look exactly like the photo? No, it doesn't, and I can easily pick out all the mistakes I made. At the same time, I'm happy with it for what it is, and I loved drawing it. Anyway, feedback is very welcome, let me know what you guys think and what I can improve on.

Drew all day yesterday about my feelings, with colored pencil over marker!

Sustainable development goal n° 7.2 : Renewable energy

A few sketches from the streets.

This is part of an ongoing series. This time we pass through The Great Exhibition and meet the different characters there to view art or just to socialise and hang out.

Over the course of a few months, I got to work with Good Karma For All on what you might consider a "passion project". The job consisted of freehand painting murals on every single (large) wall and hand-lettering inspirational quotes all over the inside and outside of the building.

"Untitled," 8×10, Scratchboard: I think it's become evident that I enjoy making portraits no matter what the medium is. I still find it fascinating how much eyes can say, and they can usually fill in the gaps where words fail. I took a chance using Scratchboard, but I think it worked out, I'm pleased with it. I suppose this is a new member of the Black and White Portrait Club :)

Things have been so busy of late and my output has greatly reduced. However, I have returned to oil painting. I revisited this piece I started last year and put in a few more hours to finish it. The scene was from a few summers ago when I visited Pen Arthur forest for the first time. The piece takes me right back to that day when the late summer afternoon sunlight struggled to penetrate the canopy.

a new one

Dysodia is a friend's avatar name on another site. I drew this colored pencil drawing as a tribute to her. There are several "leaf moths," this one's common name is: Picture winged leaf moth.

Camden, Maine. Getting back into making personal art after working on a huge commission these past few months.

Where do I begin with this one? This is a drawing of my dad and I; the picture was taken back in 2006, a happier time, I suppose. I don't commonly think about my dad, I don't necessarily think about how much I miss him or how I wish I could see him again, so it was odd for me to sit and look through old photos. I don't really know my dad; I do, but I don't. My dad was physically part of my life for 10 years, the second half of those were not the best. Mental illness, self medicating for years, debt, heroin, arguments, threats, uncertainty. I feel like I remember the negative more because I was older, my parents couldn't hide it from me like they used to. At the same time, when he was sober and stable, life was good. Life was great, things felt complete. So here I am, 6 years since he died. I don't want to say his image is fading, but I know less of who he was than I did before. I see the good from some (the ones who praise him, who act like he was a saint), and I see the bad from others (the one who felt the pain). I suppose I no longer see my view, my memories aren't there anymore. I don't necessarily feel sad, the anger has faded, and I can't say I'm happy. Maybe I'll figure it out one day, but, for now, it is what it is.

The leaf painted by using Watercolors & Splash Technique. It creates nice combo of colors to a Leaf. Dew Drops on top make em realistic. Dew drops show purest form of nature.

Magnolias are spring harbingers in our garden, as well as our annual ornamental cherry display. Star magnolias are over, tulip magnolias are in full swing, and the occasional Southern magnolia is starting. Perhaps I should have done this with a gouache paint, but I used colored pencils. Oh well. Outlined after with various sizes of Pigma Micron pens. Our garden: www.edgewoodgarden.com

Another forest just a purplish color scheme and a few scenery changes tried to add some more detail to the trees

I did this piece with my 4 year old niece. She drew the caterpillar at the bottom. A star in the making!

Our Dining Room is my favorite room in the house. Every family meal we eat at home happens there - breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Meal times are our sacred family time to share our day, our thoughts, our struggles, our successes, etc. We do have a breakfast area. But aside from homework, projects, or reading the newspaper, the breakfast area doesn't get much use unless needed for overflow from the dining room when we have visitors.

Portrait sketch of my new musical addiction.

Inspired by nature. Background layer of the pages are covered by Greenpeace's newsletter papers and used mixed technique with acrylic, ecoline and markers.

A few of my favorite pages from my sketchbook documenting my trip to China in the summer of 2017. An amazing and life changing experience.

***

New Matchbox painting. Available on my Etsy shop

Oil on wood panel 8”x8”

Luisa was my favorite character in this beautiful, fun Disney animation. I drew this in Adobe Fresco in about 6 hours. Still learning the program and testing brushes. Be sure to check out the time-lapse of the drawing on my Instagram. Cheers!

I've been dealing with mental health issues for the past few months. Finally painted something!

I’m often asked about my Bic pen drawings and how I do them. It starts with a good foundational drawing, the ballpoint pen part is just trying to colour within the lines. I try to do my best to explain the process, but the best way to show my progress is by posting my efforts to master pen drawings over the span of 3 or so years. I have been doodling/drawing with ballpoint pens as far back as I can remember - they were cheap, readily available and always lying around the house. It wasn’t until I was bored during a particularly long team meeting-conference call (around 2016-17) that I started to think about the possibilities of ballpoint pens as serious portrait illustration tools. My first experiments with full colour ink portrait drawings were rather crude, but that’s the point of learning new techniques—as long as the curiosity and the love of drawing is there, you can transfer that skill and passion into any medium. Remember, the most exquisite drawings and paintings you see didn’t materialise fully formed, they started out as failed experiments. Failure after failure after failure. It’s important to remember this when you get discouraged (I've failed spectacularly over the years). The only difference between the accomplished artist and the beginner is hundreds of hours of practice. Talent can only get you so far. It’s the hard work that you do behind the scenes that makes your work look effortless. Keep doodling. Keep learning. Stay curious.