Been a busy couple of weeks, school holidays are always a bit tricky to find time. I have been working on some illustrations for a software product that my husband and I are building so I can't share those at this stage but I was back at the gallery today sketching with my new drawing group, I spent most of my time with a bunch of Mesoamerican statues. I am starting to not get so freaked out by people watching me draw :)
I've been experimenting doodling on fabric with Sharpies an turning that fabric into pencil cases...I'm getting a good response from people so I think I'll get good quality fabric pens and create some unique items with doodles....
I need to decide which one is going to be the final work as my first task for a lettering course i’m taking. Already hate them all - 3 sketches was too much
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?
The Golden Hate on a Materic Wall, acrylic on canvas (80x100 cm), drawing on paper with frame and glass (35x50 cm), materic painting with carbonate calcium , gesso and wax
hahaaaa... sad times... I had a friend who had recently shot himself, and while everyone else with this prompt drew birthday parties and other kinds of happy surprises, I drew this, you can only imagine how concerned my art teacher was. Also, the lack of sleep I had was wearing on me, I spelled surprise wrong so I had to go on paint and correct it. It was the beginning of the school year and my friend had killed himself just at the end of summer break, when I was so busy having fun in the sun, it was the most surprising event I have experienced. So I tried to paint a beautiful scene with bright colors with a depressing scenario so that it wouldn't really match up... aka surprise.
One of my botanical abstracts, this one centered around a pond. Though I will be selling the original locally, the print is available on thousands of clothing and home good products across my many websites. Browse them all here: https://linktr.ee/okhismakingart
Ye know how it is, a brand new sketchbook and a blank white page, at first it's exciting "what am I going to put in here" but that pristine blank white page keeps staring up at you and you start to think "crap! what am I going to put in here?" So I just doodled and put some thoughts down and doodled around that until the whole page was filled with one big doodle... it broke the silence and started the magic...yeah I said it, super cheesy!
I was assigned in art class to draw/paint/whatever something to do with reset... at first I, just like everyone else, pictured a reset button. After some thinking though, I remembered how each time my family moved from state to state, it was like I had a reset button, a fresh new start. Also, haha fun fact, the random sharpie lines were a result from listening to fast pace rock.
Lufgt Huron, also known as Huron Blackheart and the "Tyrant of Badab," was once the Chapter Master of the Astral Claws and self-claimed Imperial Governor of the world of Badab Primaris in the Maelstrom Zone of the Ultima Segmentum. But ultimately, Huron was corrupted in his ambitious pursuit of power and he tainted most of his Chapter as well, leading them into an open rebellion against the Imperium of Man, known as the Badab War, which lasted from 901-912.M41. Bound to machines which keep him alive and forever in pain, Huron is now a scarred creature of hate. His machine claw clicking, he has strode to battle time and again, followed by the daemonic Hamadrya, and each time the agony of his existence grows and the spite within him deepens.
Yet another plant abstract. This one was built around the red outlined flower in the semi-center, and that’s where it gets its name. Colored pencil and pen on paper.
The five part illustration series Don't Lose Yourself. You can lose yourself in many ways; Consumerism, Heartbreak, American Culture, Loneliness, Giving In, Giving Up, Settling. The five part illustration series, “Don’t Lose Yourself” highlights the chaos we don’t notice around or within ourselves when we’re disconnected away from reality. Sinking so deep, we forget our own values or who we are. The collection reminds us to stay within ourselves by showcasing the dangers of what happens when we don’t.
I am a professional Healer, and I believe in stepping up to shed our past, so that we can become the best version of ourselves. Then we're happier, and those around us become happier - the ripple effect is both needed and profound! I love drawing in my orange sketchbook that my hubby bought me.