When frustrated to the core and you wait for the one and only day, December the 14th,time goes slower than the usual and you can't do anything about it.
When I was a teen, my grandfather had alzheimers, a failing heart, and half of one lung. He was covered with scars and sometimes muttered at walls.
I was asked to keep an eye on him, briefly, one afternoon, while my grandmother did something else. While I was alone with him, he looked at an empty space right next to me, and whispered: "Mom? Dad? Is that you?"
With the exception of getting hit by a car, that was the most terrifying moment of my life.
While Venice has surrendered itself to unadulterated tourism, Lido remains a tiny bastion of slow life. Lounging on the piers, biking on empty roads, sitting for hours in cafes...
I've tried to bring the feeling of motion into my sketch. I like capturing street scenes and wanted to convey the gritty street alogwith the activity of the tourists and Londoners.
My notes and demos from yesterday's watercolor sketching workshop at #waltdisneyfeatureanimation. We were talking about quickly blocking in people from life in natural situations. #watercolor #watercolorpainting #pleinair #illustration #disney #disneystud
(2B pencil on a 195mm x 123mm book title page) The first of five in this project. I chose the Harry Potter book because it tells the usual religious "hero's journey" story, of a boy born for another life that sees outsiders as something different.
Something very different(ish) for me… a touch of life drawing! It’s been near enough eight years since I last had a go at this sort of thing. Pleased to see I’m not too bad at it… definitely giving it another go when I can :-)
I've burned through 6 weeks straight of non-stop drawing. I think it means I'm healing up from a painful relationship I needed to end. Sometimes we attract someone due to a perceived chemistry. Then one day we wake up and realize that chemistry is acid and this isn't actually love. This is a distortion. And I don't need to walk through this pain anymore. I've actually grown enough to recognize that being alone, without pain, is a thousand times better than being with someone who refuses to recognize their behavior. Some people have no idea that words can do much more damage than a weapon. Words can kill. If you can't control your tongue, then don't speak. Make this a rule for your life if you care for someone.
Relaxed tension. Two parents at a national chess competition. Their kids squared off at the board, and so did they — one leaning back, shoe propped up, trying for calm; the other sitting stiff, watchful. The game played out in more ways than one.
Three trunks rising from one root, steady and separate yet belonging. The little bush at their base reminds me that life gathers in layers—quiet companions at the feet of giants. A simple contour line holds it all, the way a moment holds both strength and tenderness.
Vine Charcoal and Oil Pastel make for a messy, smudgy experience. A certain amount of messiness can make a process feel more real and human. When things aren’t perfectly polished, it reflects a genuine effort, imperfections, and growth. In personal life, letting go of the need for everything to be tidy can promote a more authentic existence. The hat is a Stormy Chromer. It also evolved out of a mess. More on that later. Peace.
A 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle I recently painted as as gift for my grandma on her 85th birthday, using objects and photos of significance from her life. :)
Yet another senseless lynching that has me here with a broken heart. Like my other paintings on this subject, I wanted to focus on life. Tyre was dynamic and energetic, so I wanted to paint him soring. I also wanted to paint him defiant in the face of his oppressors. He was a skater, and they are no strangers to defiance. Thankfully, I found some excellent references to help me with the composition. Aesthetically, I wanted the comp to be modern, colorful, and hopefully impactful. I went for a pop art, illustration, and false-color vibe and minimized blending and refining layer edges. I painted this in Rebelle 6 and Photoshop. Much respect.
Many years back, I watched that documentary ‘The Boy Whose Skin Fell Off’ about a fellow called Jonny Kennedy who lived with the skin condition EB. There’s a bit in that film where he talks about what he hopes his afterlife would be like and, for whatever reason, a couple of coffees as I was re-reading the Wikipedia article about it triggered an idea I had to scribble down...
A scene from where I live.The origional photo for this is taken from within a huge wildlife reserve. I should do more plaine air work but the weather in Ireland is not that predictable.
