Progression 2 of 5. In this one I added shading to his face and neck and scetched out the hair. His ears were a bit tricky too since they are as distinctive as his eyes.
PSA to not be a dick to retail workers this holiday season (and all seasons!). Working retail during the holidays was some of my shittiest experiences. People become coupon-waving, red-faced monsters that deserve nothing but a trip into Krampus’ sack.
Here are a few things to remember:
1: They have literally no authority. Honestly, the cashier would love nothing more than to accept a stack of expired coupons to get some cranky-ass customer indignantly insisting that “at this point YOU owe ME money!” through the line. But they can’t. And no amount of screaming will change that. Oh, and the manager is bunkered safely in the back refusing to come out and will only troubleshoot through walkie.
2: If you’re nice (like basic human decency) they are more inclined to help you as much as they are able. Being kind and patient costs nothing and might actually pay off. You might even be able to coax out a skiddish manager that *sometimes* has the magic touch to get things accomplished.
3: Corporate overlords. Managers can do a lot but in the end, the retail world is run from corporate overlords through the machine sentries AKA registers. Welcome to Black Mirror, people. If the machine rejects your request then back to the matrix with you.
The inspiration for this collection came from a conversation I had with the Founder and Executive Director of the Underprivileged And Underserved Foundation (UAUF), George Goodwine. While discussing race and whether or not every opportunity was fair based upon someone’s familial structure or “starting line,” I was asked the following questions. How does someone overcome these hurdles? How can the playing field be leveled to make things fairer, when others may only have 50 hurdles to overcome in the same competition?
My response was simple. “The person in front of 150 hurdles has two choices. They can either get discouraged before they begin, or start jumping. In the midst of the race they might get tired, unsure, or discouraged, but if they press on to the finish line they may become more physically fit than the person who jumps over 50.”
I used to dance ballet and at the time, there were a lot of hurdles I had to overcome solely based upon inconveniences that came with being raised in low-income, single parent home. Above are pencil sketches and sharpie drawings that I have drawn from actual photos. I plan on making these images my own by adding more abstraction and vibrant color to them.
Over the course of the project, stay tuned to see how these pictures will transform into a work of ART!!! Check out my artwork at theservingartist.com
I intended to do quick little spot illustrations for Inktober this year, but nooooooo! Now Jimmy is drowning in digital ink and lots of doodle details. This was way too much fun to go simple. I also included the original sketch this time.
Wow! I was invited to spend the day in the recording studio drawing the creation of a jazz album. I will be going back to my studio to create the album cover art for the project. Included are few photos of my process drawings from the session. It was an amazing experience to spend time with these incredible musicians. I will share the final results at a later date.
India ink on tissue paper. I had never used ink on this kind of paper before; I really liked the results! There are some folds and wrinkles on the paper that give the pattern some interesting details. The paper is also super absorbing, which plays nicely with the quantities of ink. Since it's very thin, there can easily be overlays between textures. And finally, when trying to use less ink (so that it wouldn't seep through and cause a big dot - the absorbing quality is nice, but it was also somewhat of a challenge!) I used very little ink on the lettering, causing a scratchy, dry look.
I have made my first attempt on drawing my home for the Home Sweet home competition. I am so badly on this competition, so this is my first attempt and will be replaced soon. Since I hope to come up with a true home star drawing.
Since Killer whales is about to be exterminated, I gave a whale some wings. Now he can fly away to a better place without pollution and plastic from human beings. Well, sad but true. Its on us. At least I can give it some attention here. The whale is now on my Society6 page.
Made in Adobe Draw on the iPad. So its vector. Autumn colors. I need flowers or other pretty stuff in my life now, to not run into the same old winter depression. Oh, why am I not born somewhere with more light? I don't like it, when we only have 8 light hours and they are not so light at all. And I don't like going by airplane to have a small holiday, since its bad for pollution. What to do? Flowers, lots of them..
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"
For Inktober this year, I am following along with Lisa Congdon’s CreativeBug course. I’ve made a few extra rules for myself for an extra challenge which includes trying to maintain a mostly black and white theme. Excited to see where it takes me.
Watercolor on Aquarelle. This piece is incredibly close to my heart. It closely resembles the emotions that I was going through when I painted it. I tried to replicate the numbness and the restlessness that I felt in the eyes.
