I have been lucky enough to have the opportunity to paint a design on a rather large gorilla! I am so excited to do this. It's taking an age but getting there slowly. When he's all done he will be going on show at Paignton Zoo.
First OFFICIAL Commission! 8x10, Watercolor and Pen. Hey everyone! This time, I'm actually back. First off, let me say I was not planning to fall off the face of the Earth again. At the time I last posted, I had a little less than a month of school left and I had hoped I could wrap up all my final projects early and be done. I was wrong. My teachers assigned more and I had work due up to the day before school ended, but I survived! Since my last post, I do have some updates. 1. I did indeed graduate high school! I was very lucky my school not only had a ceremony, but it was at Soldier Field. (I'm very happy to say I graduated Summa Cumme Laude and with the honors of completing the Alpha STEM and the Arts program.) 2. I also got an Instagram! I'll be using it not only to post final pieces but also as a way to post progress. {@mapalomar.arts} With regards to this painting, it is my first official commission, past commissions were from people I knew (family or friends) but this one isn't. I can say I'm pretty proud of the end result, especially as a person who doesn't consider themself a watercolor artist, it's not too shabby. :) Anyway, I hope this piece will have a safe journey all the way to its new home in Massachusetts.
Tabby Cat....commission for vets. He looks very proud of himself this young man! I am lucky enough to get to draw all these wonderful animals for a vet. He provides the families with an A5 portrait print of their pet as part of his VIP club. This means I have all the original A4 drawings which i am happy to sell.
Close to a month ago, I had found out my design was selected for the Art Stop Program, and, yes, this is mainly what I've been working on since. I've never worked on a piece this large before, 72in x 24in, and I rarely make sketches of pieces before creating the final work. It's definitely a cool feeling to look at the finished board and see how the drawing actually came to life. (The Art Stop Program selects a handful of entered designs for the artists to create on a larger board, and these boards will then be inserted into bus stop benches around Niles, IL.) I can't wait to see the bench this will be in, and I'm so lucky I got to be part of the program.
Pen and pencil tattoo design of my lucky cat, Ariel. This drawing was inspired by maneki-neko cats, neo-traditional tattoo style, anime styles, and my love for my Ariel.
Truman Capote (1924–1984)
He compulsively added numbers in his head, refusing to dial a telephone number or accept a hotel room if the digits made a sum he considered unlucky.
“It’s endless, the things I can’t and won’t,” he said. “But I derive some curious comfort from obeying these primitive concepts.”
- From Daily Rituals: How Artists Work by Mason Currey
“Life is a moderately good play with a badly written third act.”
― Truman Capote
#dailyrituals #inktober #TrumanCapote @masoncurrey
This week has been dedicated mainly to creating a birthday gift for my other coach (Happy 31st B-day!!). I won't ramble on for too long, but I'm so extremely lucky to have him as a coach and in my life. I can't thank him enough for all the times he's caught me/saved me from wiping out, and for being someone I can genuinely trust. Thank you to him for making the gym a safe space for me, and for letting me open up. Anyway, I really enjoyed making this, though I can't deny I got stuck (idea wise) at one point.
I was lucky enough to get to illustrate a beautiful Gorilla sculpture for Paignton Zoo. He took me 18 months to complete as he was under a purpose built awning at my house. Too hot and the pens dried up, too cold and my fingers froze! He now sits at the zoo and I miss him terribly! He Was decorated using acrylic markers on a white gloss base then varnished with car varnish.
This is based on a couple of lino cut prints, acrylic paint and gold ink. I have rediscovered my love of lino cut printing after many years and hope to do much more of it.
I picked ‘S’ because some of my favourite things begin with this letter. Most importantly it’s the initial of my first and last name. Done with green acrylic paint, acrylic markers and alcohol based pens. My lucky Number 7, Seven, Shawshank redemption, Superman favourite films, Seventies decade I was born.
I have many odd objects in my house, but I think the oddest is the 3D printed model of my teeth (with my braces on them). Long story short, these had to be made when I got my retainers, but I was lucky enough to be able to take them and my braces home. (Don't worry, I thoroughly disinfected and cleaned the braces before gluing them on.) I genuinely forgot I had this, so finding them kind of startled me at first.
Everyone thinks that they love will have a happy ending, but those are the lucky ones. What about those who have their heart played just to get the pleasure fulfilled. What happens to those who kept promises but never fulfilled them, just forgot them like they meant nothing, no memories of them were made, it had nothing to do with them. This picture that I developed at this stage of a person's life shows that they don't ask for nothing beside a happy ending, sitting together and enjoying each other's company. What was the need of stealing someone's heart, use them for your own desires and then just throw it away? What did they get at the end? It was easy for them to make promises, gaining their trust, building hopes but harder for them to prove it. Day by day the pain kills them inside but to the world they are nothing more but alive and energetic, but who knows what’s happening from the inside, when they are just trying to live each day until death comes. At this moment of time no one can heal the cuts, them deceitful memories by the one who once said they will never hurt you or leave you. But I guess one day everyone does leave you, maybe today or tomorrow. She was told to forget him because he was nothing beside a memory. He wasn’t worth it. He walked away from her, but maybe she was too caught in his memories.
