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.
All the faces above have the same blot or cloud as a base. When I am sick of the faces I draw automatically, I make a nice, oddly shaped blot and then look for faces (or whatever) within it. This time I did it digitally so I could see how many different faces I could get out of the same cloud. This time I stopped at thirteen, but I am sure there is more.
"Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, love is not pompous, it is not inflated,
it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury,
it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth.
It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NABRE)
Oh boy, markers (NOT a go-to), least favorite color, and a subject that isn’t on my radar. This was a hard one what with 3 negatives going for it. But, hey, it’s a challenge, right?
Choosing a subject came first….we have a house full of Indonesian masks and sculptures. (My husband studied gamelon music in Indonesia.) Garuda, the “mount” of Vishnu and popular with Balinese artists seemed a good choice, esp. since he can be green, red, yellow or orange.
I rarely choose yellow/orange for anything---artwork, décor, clothing...though I do have a soft spot for sunflowers.
First I drew a bunch of images based on one of our wooden Garuda sculptures and then made a simplified marking pen outline and colored it with markers.
At first I planned on keeping this drawing realistic. But over a week ago I learned that a dear friend lost their sibling in an accident. Then this past weekend I worked on a small project that really struck a chord with me. I helped a friend and her son record a song she dedicated to her father, who had recently passed away as well. They sang "Let it Be" by the Beatles. There was so much emotion in the air. And for the first time ever I was brought to tears after I mixed a song. For the rest of the weekend I thought about my family a LOT. Especially my Parents. They've done so fucking much for me and my brother. It sucks that, only as an adult, I realized that every fiber of who I am, and where I am now is due to their love, support, and sacrifice. This piece goes out to the people you can count on. They're there for you no matter what the cost... No matter the pain, even if it's literally killing them. It's Purely out of Love and they wouldn't have it any other way❤️.
of. Malaysian delights: Ais Kacang, Cendol and traditional ice shaving machine :) Ais kacang literally mean “Bean ice” also commonly known as ABC. Which cendol, the brother (or maybe sister) of ice kacang is an iced sweet dessert that contains droplets of worm-like green rice flour jelly, coconut milk and palm sugar syrup.
A slice of cake topped with vibrant red raspberries drips with rich sauce onto a dark purple plate. The background features a blue lattice pattern, complementing the dessert's vivid colors.
Joseph Cornell (1903–1972)
Cornell worked nights at the kitchen table, sorting and assembling materials for his boxes. It was not easy going. Some nights he felt too fatigued from his day job to concentrate on his art and would sit up reading instead, switching on the oven for warmth. In the mornings, his quarrelsome mother would scold him about the mess he’d left at the kitchen table; without a proper workroom, Cornell was forced to store his growing collection of magazine clippings and dime-store baubles out in the garage.
In 1940 Cornell finally mustered the courage to quit his job and pursue his art full-time—and even then his habits changed little. He still worked nights at the kitchen table, while his mother and brother slept upstairs. In the late morning he would head downtown for breakfast at his local Bickford’s restaurant, often satisfying his sweet tooth with a Danish or a slice of pie (and lovingly cataloging these indulgences in his diary).
- From Daily Rituals: How Artists Work by Mason Currey
#dailyrituals #inktober #JosephCornell @masoncurrey
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Wait a damn minute! Would you believe that Winona Ryder was only 16 acting Lydia Deetz in Beetlejuice? With the dark and mysterious delivery, she makes this unusual character a total treat. Thanks to Winona, Lydia Deetz certainly became one of the Halloween legendary images!
Eva Green is one of the finest French actresses of our generation! Her magnificent acting and unforgettable unique appearance are well remembered by everyone. Were you aware that several adaptations of the Novel 'The Three Musketeers' by Alexander Dumas with Eva Green as
Milady were planned for next year? We look forward to seeing her again on screens!
Many beginnings.
Beginning 6.
The best ice cream in the world is made from the clouds you gather at dusk on the beach. Everyone knows that.
* 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. https://www.instagram.com/p/COxp0KSh4KR/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Pastel pencil study of the intertwined hands of the Ambrogio Borghi sculpture, Chioma di Berenice. Faber Castell pastel pencils, Black and White Generals charcoal pencils on 9” x 12” Strathmore Toned Grey sketchbook paper.
I suppose this was just a tester/practice piece? My first actual still life from observation and my first time actually using charcoal (yes, I've never truly used charcoal before. Charcoal and pastels are two things I avoid. Their looseness and freeness scare me, considering how rigid I can be). Not sure how to feel about this one. I'm my worst critic, and I've known that for a long time now. There's a lot of practice and progress to be made, but it turned out half-way decent.
I made myself some motivational stickers to (hopefully) help with the CONSTANT negative self-talk that seems to be an innate part of my creative practice
"Speak roughly to your little boy,
And beat him when he sneezes;
He only does it to annoy,
Because he knows it teases." CHORUS (in which the cook and the baby joined): " Wow! wow! wow!" - Alice in wonderland by Lewis Carroll
