Malik straining to keep the twisting pose. Decided to leave this one as a slightly rough red Bic pen sketch for now. There’s something to be said about the energy found in the work-up drawing.
It's crazy to think that 6 years have already flown by since I first moved onto the Xcel gymnastics team, let alone the fact that I've spent 15 years of my life as a gymnast. Tomorrow, August 6th, 2021, marks my last day as a gymnast on the team since I'm officially a college student. I've genuinely been dreading this day, but it's not the ending I expected...in an oddly good way. I know no one expected to spend the past year in a pandemic, and I definitely didn't think gym would shift so much in the following months, but here we are. Gymnastics has taught me more than I ever imagined it could, and my coaches (especially one of them) have become two of the people I'm closest with, words can't describe how grateful I am for everything. This 'ending' doesn't feel like an end, more so a closing to this chapter. Honestly, my love for the sport has only grown, and it feels like I'm finally figuring it all out. So, although my final practice as a team member is tomorrow, my journey is not over yet. "Goodbyes are the hardest part, and this ending has been something I’ve been dreading, although I know it’s time to let go. I’d like to say this isn’t a permanent goodbye to you or the sport, it’s more of a natural conclusion. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything you’ve done for me and managed to teach me in this short amount of time, I couldn’t have asked for anyone, or anything, better. Thank you most of all for helping me achieve my dreams and for helping me get to a point in which I can say I’m proud of my journey.
All that’s left to say is I care about you, I love you, and take care."
Meadhbh standing in front of a green wall. Simplified her hair and the leaves in the background a bit. Charcoal and pastel pencils on 9” x 12” Strathmore archival sketchbook paper, scanned into Photoshop. Model: Meadhbh
Abandoned drawing of Ellie wearing a black turtleneck. The lighting in the room was terrible and the black fabric hid a lot of the shadow detail of the folds and it frustrated me. That’s my excuse anyway… Model: Ellie.
A portrait painting of a vintage dislocated puppet head. Created with mixed media including vintage storybook pages, old photographs and stamps. Pen and ink, gouache, and watercolours.
A friend's children painted a canvas I gave them and I painted them into it. The fun messy doodle background is 90% theirs. I added a few streams to pop out some of the shapes they painted. I might do this as a series.
Over a year ago, I finished my Robin Williams portrait, and I decided I wanted to create a series of different black and white portraits. So far, this is the happiest I've been with a piece in a while. There's no expectation, there's no real pressure on this, it's me falling in love with painting again. I've only been working on this for a week, so there isn't a ton of progress. I suppose I'll reveal who the person is later once more progress is made but for now, enjoy.
