In July of 2022, Brianna Grier died falling out of a moving police car while having a mental health breakdown. Since Brianna passed, I have been heartbroken for her twins and family but also reflecting on my struggle with mental health. Mental health needs compassion and empathy, not police and punishment. The brunch strokes are purposeful, but I completed them with empathy in mind. I want to keep the composition simple but filled with meaning. The color theme represents vastness and loneliness, but also kinetic energy found in warm orange tones.
So, I really wasn't going to participate in inktober this year because of time constraints. But I saw some simple line art stuff from others that looked fun. I'll see how far I can make it this year.
I tend to use line art a lot and did this in Procreate to practice breaking free. It was gonna be a T-Rex per my son’s request but it evolved into a squirrel-like creature. Still made the T-Rex too later.
Once again playing with shapes, colours, marks, and loads of squiggly, smudgy ink lines. No pressure. Just trying to get back into splashing around with paint and seeing what emerges.
My last finished painting of 2020. A morning in the woodlands of Ystradfawr Nature Reserve near my home. This is the final result of one of my colour sketches - Spring on the Line. It sold to lady in a care home who's lost her mobility. I hope it gives her a bit of the great outdoors when she's sitting in her room.
This drawing was done as a request for someone, the horse that I drew is an award winning show horse named Black Prince. This was my second attempt at realism using black fine liners and pencils, personally I think I didn't do too bad.
Most evenings, I watch a couple of news programs streaming on my computer. During that time, I also make it a point to draw a person (usually from an on-line reference photo) with a No.2 yellow pencil (generally Ticonderoga) on whatever paper is handy on my desk. It's good practice and keeps my hands busy. These are some "News Doodles" done this past week.
Zoomed in shot of "Pattern Interrupt". 2020. Size: 32" x 40" / Micron pens on archival museum board. This piece was all drawn freehand - no rulers or measuring tools were used to create this artwork.
Watercolour crayon, crayon, fineliner and acrylic paint... . . . . . .. ... . ... .. ... . .. ... .. ............ . ... . . The tree is weary crying for some help, its roots are drowning and the taps on full pelt. Its head cant speak the evil, hear the evil, see it. Whilst its occupiers point the fingers at each other and dont even believe it... .. ... . .... . .. .
Currently exploring image making with fountain pens: immediate mark making, no pencil, no eraser. I'm enjoying the discovery process and embracing the stray mark made with semi-blind contour and continuous line drawings.
(fineliner pen on a 125mm x 75mm notecard) There was a time when manga and animé were cool, but now it's everywhere and a shadow of its former self, with the stigma of hentai attached to it.
