This is part of a beautiful moment that was created as I was painting on these mini watercolour sheets. During the journey, I painted around 5 paintings. This is the first painting I painted during my train journey. A group of girls ( students ) got excited when I showed some of my paintings. So I gifted them this. More on the way ....
Last drawing of 2024 and looking forward to 2025!
Did you know 2025 is a rare, "square number year" since 45^2 == 2025. The last time this happened was in 1936 (i.e. 44 x 44 == 1936), and the next time it will happen will be 91 years from now in 2116 (i.e. 46 x 46 == 2116).
Based off the urban legend of Edward Mordrake who was a man from the 1800's that had a twin on the back of his head. The twin supposedly would laugh, cry and tell whispers. This then led to Mordrake secluding himself in a room before deciding to take his own life at the age of 23.
This was the best sketchbook I ever owned. It appeared mysteriously and within a year, was gone to the wind. These are the back pages where I was exploring different water and alcohol marker brushes and ballpoint on the amazing vellum-like paper.
This is a colour pencil artwork based on the likeness of British actress Madeline Smith. She starred in a James Bond film once, and a few Hammer Horror films. Many thanks for looking and hope you like it !
It's a mess, right? Not particularly beautiful or impressive. That is what self-hatred is like. Easy to achieve. Not great to look at. Very common. And very, very hard. To all of the people that struggle with self-hate, it's all in your head don't worry. You are the only one that sees you the way you see yourself.
I don't know what the fuck I just made I was trying to draw a cookie but the reference that I had had a lot of like different cracks in it I wasn't familiar with. I was doing draw a box earlier in 2021 but I stopped doing it because I started getting into my head I started doubting myself I was like why am I just trying to seriously draw now at 27, why did I go to school for 6 years to get a 4 year art degree, why is my art is not at the level I want it to be compared to all my classmates; these are all reasons why I'm doing this 365 challenge and I should remind myself that all the fucking time. I'm also going back to work for the next 4 days and work takes all of my energy to do art. Tomorrow marks 20 days of doing this, I'm proud of that.
I’ve been going through a bit of an art slump lately, but I finally got myself to pick up the pencil and finish this. My reference photo was a bit grainy so had some trouble with that, but overall I’m pretty pleased with how it turned out. Done in graphite, drawing itself is about 5x6 in
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.
This is my first attempt at doodling some trees and it most certainly was not an easy task. I hope as I practice that I will be able to draw more detail and a variety of trees. Special thanks to Jean Garro (@Gentoo201) for the inspiration with her awesome drawings! ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ♥♥ Thanks girl!
First OFFICIAL Commission! 8x10, Watercolor and Pen. Hey everyone! This time, I'm actually back. First off, let me say I was not planning to fall off the face of the Earth again. At the time I last posted, I had a little less than a month of school left and I had hoped I could wrap up all my final projects early and be done. I was wrong. My teachers assigned more and I had work due up to the day before school ended, but I survived! Since my last post, I do have some updates. 1. I did indeed graduate high school! I was very lucky my school not only had a ceremony, but it was at Soldier Field. (I'm very happy to say I graduated Summa Cumme Laude and with the honors of completing the Alpha STEM and the Arts program.) 2. I also got an Instagram! I'll be using it not only to post final pieces but also as a way to post progress. {@mapalomar.arts} With regards to this painting, it is my first official commission, past commissions were from people I knew (family or friends) but this one isn't. I can say I'm pretty proud of the end result, especially as a person who doesn't consider themself a watercolor artist, it's not too shabby. :) Anyway, I hope this piece will have a safe journey all the way to its new home in Massachusetts.
Situational awareness is important these days. Pre-pandemic, I sometimes take my doodles to coffee shops during my lunch breaks and relax for half an hour or so by mindlessly scribbling/shading with my Bic pen. People usually leave me alone but this drawing made me realise that not everyone wants to see a man drawing a naked man. A few people took exception to my subjects’ lack of clothing and made their displeasure known by telling me. Suffice to say, I try not to go into coffee shops anymore while working on subject matter that might offend anyone. Bic4 Ballpoint Pen on 9” x 12” Archival paper. Model: Malik_E
