(H pencil on a 139mm x 87mm postcard) A dreamscape image (automatism) which seems to show a woman with folded arms, stood by a wall. The figure was the main thing which became prominent at the Rorschaching stage of the work, and apart from the faint hint of a wall, the rest was dream construct.
the chesnut tree (‘Kastanie’), that gave name to this pub, or, more precise, the substitute, that was planted some 20 years ago, after the old tree fell in a storm. quite big already
As fun as it is, creating new OCS can be quite challenging especially if you don't have any names or personalities for them at all as well as not knowing what to do with them! Now then...They're called the shadow nuisances because I don't know what else to call them,they can be annoying to the peasant teenagers so,it fits.they are another race of shadow demons resembling phantoms (like Snidecious)so they're shadow phantom demons,they posses ghost like qualities too.all of them come in different sizes and shapes,they don't have noses or ears.having 5 fingers.all of them have different colored stripes in their wrists and in their ankles (I was inspired by the stripes of bees, originally they didn't have any stripes at all)they have the usual ghost abilities they can also enter dreams often causing mischief and nightmares as well as having telekinesis.like imps,they like causing trouble with people often making their lives more difficult.they don't have final forms since they can shapeshift into whatever shadow form they can think of.personalities Blue (I can't think of any actual names for them) he is mischievous,sneaky and very lazy,he likes causing trouble no matter what,he loves fun so he is active with his shenanigans with his group or with people.Purple:She is snarky and negative,she isn't a fan of fooling around,she prefers to discover what new powers she has.Orange:he is the least violent but also the most dumbest,he often questions things since he doesn't understand easily,he's also the most quietest (he likes to swallow things and then see them go through him since he doesn't have internal organs,then again in my version of hell,none of the demon OCS I create do) Pink:He is self-admiring and proud not necessarily vain,he loves his body and loves working out often kissing his own muscles which makes purple mock him for it,he loves compliments and will stop annoying a person if they flatter him.
I am delighted to share that I Am a Dragon! has been named to the Pennsylvania Center for the Book's 2024 Baker's Dozen: Thirteen Best Books for Family Literacy!
Here is the list
( I am in such a good company!):
- “10 Dogs” by Emily Gravett
- “ABC and You and Me” by Corinna Luyken
- “Bear with Me” illustrated by Kerascoët, Sebastien Cosset and Marie Pommepuy,
- “The Concrete Garden” by Bob Graham
- “How to Count to ONE (And Don't Even THINK About Bigger Numbers!)” by Caspar Salmon and illustrated by Matt Hunt
- “I Am a Dragon! A Squabble and a Quibble” by Sabina Hahn, published by HarperCollins.
- “If I Was a Horse” by Sophie Blackall
- “The Kitten Story” by Emily Jenkins and illustrated by Brittany Cicchese
- “Mr. S” by Monica Arnaldo
- “Night in the City” by Julie Downing
- “Ruffles and the Cozy, Cozy Bed” by David Melling
- “Simon and the Better Bone” by Corey R. Tabor
- “You Go First” by Ariel Bernstein and illustrated by Marc Rosenthal
Something I drew a while ago, when I decided to look for things around the house that I could draw, rather than from photos.
This was the first thing I did, a pair of my brown shoes on top of a stool.
There are another 3 in the series of "things around the house", which I will post at some stage in the future.
The Super Bloom is still going in SoCal! On the trail are poppies, daisies, alyssum and now the mustard grass is in bloom. My process was an iPhone photo, then a drawing with color and then collage in Photoshop.
(HB pencil on 130mm x 120mm paper) With pandemic lockdowns happening all the time, it's created something of a Victorian feel to Christmas, so it was no surprise that I drew this for the Christmas cards I do at this time of year, along with a very odd version of a round-robin message attached to it. You can read it here: https://www.skavart.co.uk/2020/12/merry-christmas-2020-round-robin.html
I asked my husband (who is our Covid-period grocery shopper as I am high risk) to bring home a fruit to draw. He came home with a dragon fruit. For those who don't know this interesting edible, it's from a cactus. There are two species: the Asian species is white inside, the Central American variety is shocking pink (see photo). Great in smoothies or when nicely ripe (as this one was) it's tasty eaten out of the skin with a spoon.
✨My plan this month was to celebrate women, among them Princess Leia / Carrie Fisher. A leader and fighter against the Empire's tyranny. If this was today she'd be a health professional, or hygiene professional (cleaners), or food retailer worker or security professional. May the force be with you.
Dmitry Shostakovich (1906–1975)
Shostakovich’s contemporaries do not recall seeing him working, at least not in the traditional sense. The Russian composer was able to conceptualize a new work entirely in his head, and then write it down with extreme rapidity—if uninterrupted, he could average twenty or thirty pages of score a day, making virtually no corrections as he went.
But this feat was apparently preceded by hours or days of mental composition—during which he “appeared to be a man of great inner tensions,” the musicologist Alexei Ikonnikov observed, “with his continually moving, ‘speaking’ hands, which were never at rest.”
Shostakovich himself was afraid that perhaps he worked too fast. “I worry about the lightning speed with which I compose,” he confessed in a letter to a friend. Undoubtedly this is bad. One shouldn’t compose as quickly as I do. Composition is a serious process, and in the words of a ballerina friend of mine, “You can’t keep going at a gallop.” I compose with diabolical speed and can’t stop myself.… It is exhausting, rather unpleasant, and at the end of the day you lack any confidence in the result. But I can’t rid myself of the bad habit.
- From Daily Rituals: How Artists Work by Mason Currey
#dailyrituals #inktober #shostakovich @masoncurrey
The source reference image was from an impromptu photo shoot I did several years ago. The available light in the room was magical and the model was just sitting there meditating.
Pencil, Charcoal Pencil, Pastel Pencils on 9” x 12” Strathmore Archival Sketchbook Paper.
So I had this idea for a series; fun, whimsical paintings of pet rocks. Full of personality, sweet, make you laugh, that kind of vibe. First one I draw is this. I was so horrified by it I haven't drawn another one since. I'm not kidding; I'm actually quite upset to discover I can't draw "sweet". Or maybe it was a bad day.
For a long time, I always misheard the lyrics in the song ‘Torn Green Velvet Eyes’ by The Magnetic Fields as ‘Tom Green Velvet Eyes’… told myself that one day I’d draw something inspired by this mishearing of things and well, here you go!
"Parts Unknown," Acrylic on Canvas, 18x24 Some actions we will never know the reason behind, and, quite honestly, we don't always need to know the answer. Anthony Bourdain committed suicide on June 8th, 2018, news that was shocking for most to hear. People continue to speculate what could have caused him to commit suicide, some feel he had more to do, to say before he died. Personally, I find there's some feeling of closure or completeness to his death. I don't know what the feeling is exactly, but it's there. It feels like he left on his own terms, decided it was time. I wouldn't consider his death as him waving a white flag to addiction and depression. He said his shows were intended to tell other's stories, tell them frankly and truthfully. It's interesting how blunt and honest he could seem to be about himself, though he kept so many layers held within. Although we'd love to have a clear cut answer, explanation, reason, what would knowing that information change?
Was in an art slump, so have started new project (aim to finish by September) where I am drawing a "song" from each of Circa Survive's mainline albums (six total) - the first is from Juturna, song "Holding Someone's Hair Back".
1/10
I was challenged to choose 10 music albums that defined my musical buds and I decided to draw them, so here we are. First one is Unplugged by Nirvana, one of the most important albums in my life.
Daily drawing 671