An article/rant/annotation to an illustration. A #Hackney bar and its flies.
This picture is not as sad and blue as it might at first seem, I promise.
It is early in the week and the pub becomes the territory of the most outspoken drinkers. Raised somewhere between Churchill and Harold MacMillan, a night such as this is time for them to spin out a yarn of nostalgic fantasy. Encouraged by the lack of a crowd and with space to fill, statements start to fly.
In the opening rounds the barman athletically hits back with factual blocks and reality-check haymakers; statistics and personal experiences are given. Two histories cross examined, one where 1982 means Thatcher and the Falklands, the other renders Reagan and the AIDS crisis. Stoicism and national pride vs mental health and realism.
In the latter rounds the barman is fatigued, swaying on the backbar, glasses begin to stack up as form begins to drop. The older men seem stronger than ever.
The barflies come in close now, they scrutinise his generations work ethic and make wild political comments on poverty, immigrants and the minimum wage.
The barman is close to sheer bloody despair, he maintains his defence and focuses on breathing while maintaining his professional stance.
But at the end of the night the barman knows HE will ring that bell, they will politely leave and they will return again in a week and maybe, just maybe there will be a change, common ground or maybe at least polite silence.
But what these interactions have given despite the salt in the eye is community and an exchange between generations, culture and class of those participating. No home is ever straight forward, no relative without their good and bad traits and in a world where we often slide into echo chambers online or in our physical environments, the pub is still a place where society is family, face to face, pint to pint. Or maybe it's just a room with alcohol on tap?
My tribute to my good friend who died earlier this year. Another white pastel on black paper. Not my favourite media but I love the effect of it. I need to practice more as I can't get my head around working on negative lol, erasing to get shadows and filling in to get highlights etc. I used a chunky white stick and a white pastel pencil but detail still eludes me lol. It's a technique I need to refine. It's the second picture of a dead person I've put on, apart from humph, so I'm a cheery little soul aren't I lol? Thanks for looking
One of my botanical abstracts, this one centered around a pond. Though I will be selling the original locally, the print is available on thousands of clothing and home good products across my many websites. Browse them all here: https://linktr.ee/okhismakingart
Ye know how it is, a brand new sketchbook and a blank white page, at first it's exciting "what am I going to put in here" but that pristine blank white page keeps staring up at you and you start to think "crap! what am I going to put in here?" So I just doodled and put some thoughts down and doodled around that until the whole page was filled with one big doodle... it broke the silence and started the magic...yeah I said it, super cheesy!
Yet another plant abstract. This one was built around the red outlined flower in the semi-center, and that’s where it gets its name. Colored pencil and pen on paper.
The five part illustration series Don't Lose Yourself. You can lose yourself in many ways; Consumerism, Heartbreak, American Culture, Loneliness, Giving In, Giving Up, Settling. The five part illustration series, “Don’t Lose Yourself” highlights the chaos we don’t notice around or within ourselves when we’re disconnected away from reality. Sinking so deep, we forget our own values or who we are. The collection reminds us to stay within ourselves by showcasing the dangers of what happens when we don’t.
I am a professional Healer, and I believe in stepping up to shed our past, so that we can become the best version of ourselves. Then we're happier, and those around us become happier - the ripple effect is both needed and profound! I love drawing in my orange sketchbook that my hubby bought me.
I created this card for someone to bring to a Law of Attraction event. I drew the flowers, came up with the phrase, and then set the type. The blue background is iStock.
I created this card for someone to bring to a Law of Attraction event. I drew the flower, came up with the phrase, and then set the type. The blue background is iStock.
Inktense blocks. This is one of a whole series of portraits I've done of people's selfies with a galaxy background. My goal with the series is to show just how beautiful and powerful and Universal selfies are. Selfies are a valuable tool in self-love and self-acceptance. We take photos of all the things we love, but so often leave ourselves out. We all struggle to accept our own skins, and often give up, but as Carl Sagan said, "We are made of starstuff," and we are all worth photographing.
A bazillion little round circles and almost as many lines and it still looks static. Sheesh. I'll be working this idea to DEATH over the next few days....
Yet another former business related cartoon. Quick pean and ink on 8.5X11 heavy cardstock, with a little help from Photoshop for the background. Obviously.
Inspired by my little girl as she was sleeping. Will add abstract flowers, mandalas etc. I can’t figure out how to rotate my image on here but it goes the other way round lol
Another half-assed attempt at doing SOMETHING "underground- like". Meh. Magic marker on sketchbook paper. (I still like the name, though.) Late 70's...
Inspired by the Neo-Classical period, I pushed myself as an artist to portray subjects in an idealistic fashion combining drama and artificial lighting. The subject is my sister who modelled as a reference, enabling me to control the shadowy effect over her face. The dim lighting and dark background resonated with the period style, focusing on the facial parts that are visible. The end result looks like she is emerging from the darkness. A somber atmosphere is illustrated through visual expression.
Adding the fast drying oil on the brushes improved the blending of the colours on the canvas which was especially useful when it came to applying strokes on the face smoothly. Visit https://www.martiaposts.com for more
