Doodling has become an essential part of new beginnings in my life. The blank page is encouraging unplanned art that surprises me and pushes me in new directions. This piece speaks to me of fresh starts and flowing into the future full of change and magical possibilities.
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
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 never imagined I could capture so much emotion in an eye—especially on just my second attempt. This piece came to life through intuition more than technique. The values, the shadows, the highlights… they felt like they found their place on their own. Maybe emotion, light, and shadow have always spoken to me—I just finally listened.
What happens in your life that causes you to be surprised? I have a friend who told me that no one is blind-sided. I also have a friend who tells me: 'The greatest lies we tell are the ones we tell ourselves'. It is easy to filter in a certain kind of lie that support these ideologies. I have a very valued friend who tells me that we live in an upside-down world. What is real? What is upside-down? Draw what you see. draw what you know. Be authentic. Peace.
Cont. to work on BnW illustrations, I wanted to focus on making the reflections have a realistic quality. I struggle with clouds, but I felt I was most refined here. My BnW's seem to have so much more life and expression than my paintings. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
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.
To be perfectly honest, the latest lockdown announcement here in Scotland was bound to influence my art in some form or another...
Needless to say this is going to be one looooong winter, one that’ll have me blasting “Here Comes The Sun” by The Beatles once it ends, or at the very least stabilises.
A hand-drawn illustration featuring a classic to-go coffee cup overflowing with ibuprofen pills instead of liquid. Perfectly capturing the essence of a rough morning, a long shift, or just the reality of "adulting.", text that reads: Venti Ibuprofen Kind of Day
The Tool Bench marks my 50th canvas—completed exactly one year to the day after I finished my very first one. This piece is a tribute to work, memory, and the quiet corners where both creativity and responsibility live.
Drawn entirely freehand, it’s built like a snapshot of a lived-in workspace: mismatched tools, worn wood, scribbled reminders, and the little personal things that actually make a place yours. The clipboard holds a “Honey-Do” list that never seems to end. The Polaroid-style sketch of my wife sits taped to the wall like a reminder of why the work matters. The shadows on the back wall match the tools lying on the bench—suggesting a moment in progress, a task paused, life happening between motions.
You know you can always count on me, friend
Like no one else, I've gotten used to the coldness of the stone
So I can be with you often
Silver rain will wash away the tears of the Dread Sky
I will rise with the sun…
I will rise with the sun…
- Valyrym.
Referring to the story "The Dragon In The Dungeon"
Some say I'm hitting the point.
So I strike again.
When the Writer dies, the World creates a seemingly imperceptible void, a void waiting to be filled, greedily begging others for revelation.
For the next One to take its place in this great spiral.
Light.
Narrow tunnel.
Echoes.
Arise.
Rest in Peace
Coyote - Of The Wilds was a talented writer, author of many fantastic stories which he never managed to finish.
He was able to convey true, deep emotion through words, through many unfinished stories. Now, through the ending of the Story.
These stories have contributed a lot to my life in 2020, as I wrote about in “Split Of… Personality”. Like for many others, he inspired me to create. I wrote “Split Of Fate”, deleted it, now I'm bringing it back to life, but I also have other plans - regarding the stories of Of The Wilds… but more on that later…
This was difficult to draw. Difficult without getting eyes wet.
Just a quick doodle…
Well, if I were nearby, I would place an apple on his grave.
St. WIlgefortis. Patron Saint of facial hair and of people seeing a refuge from abusive husbands (and fathers).
When I was doing my research into existing Patron Saints, I stumbled onto St. Wilgefortis. I thought that was a fun combination - until I read to the end. From Wikipedia: "According to the legend of her life, set in Portugal and Galicia, she was a teenage noblewoman who had been promised in marriage by her father to a Moorish king. To thwart the unwanted wedding, she had taken a vow of virginity, and prayed that she would be made repulsive. In answer to her prayers she sprouted a beard, which ended the engagement. In anger, Wilgefortis' father had her crucified."
I considered giving her a knife, to fight off the unwanted husbands and vile fathers, but that would not be true to her suffering. So I included her blood instead.
#dailydrawing #patronSaint
King of the rot
King of decay
Worlds will end, upon his say
King of the rot
King of decay
Is all you bring, just misery?
Upon my cries i heard him say
“Yes its true, I’m father to dismay”
“Loathe me, hate my ways”
“But look beyond the death”
“You find in my wake”
“I may swallow life”
“I may bring pain”
“But how beautiful is the rose that blooms on the grave?”
“How soft to the touch is the grass, after the rain?”
“I am the king of rot”
“I am the king of decay”
“But i also bring new life to the day” #embracingnightmares
this was just a fun little doodle I did of a pretty plant I saw. it was absolutely stunning and the bright salmon/rose/red flowers just POPPED! this was a nice leisure time doodle to do in between some other projects of mine. I find my happy place sometimes being taking care of my plants, taking pictures of pretty trees and plants, walking around a plant nursery, and now drawing beautiful plants I see.
my favorite fact I learned about the amaryllis was that is comes from the Greek word amarysso, which means “to sparkle” or “to shine”, as this plant does indeed sparkle and with its magnificent flowers when it blooms.
I enjoyed mixing mediums and doing one as a graphic doodle with my Micron pens and the other with watercolors - it was a good study for me seeing the detail come to life by lines/dots and then come to life by colors/shadowing colors.
This is a major redesign of an OC that I came up with a while back. She's a hardened battle general, fighting on the worst day of her life. The assault has failed, soldiers have been lost, and the darkness has used memories of her husband to lure her to her doom. She's not going to go down easy.
