George the mouse found himself in a pickle. He had discovered the most perfect mushroom house at the end of an alligators nose. The trouble was the door was too small and he could not get inside...
This drawing, with a bit of watercolour, was done years ago in North Vancouver during a figure drawing session. Probably 15 - 20 minutes. Watercolour, subtly employed, can have wonderful affects. The challenge of working fast forced me to ditch excess thinking. And it's funny, because at first I thought, "Oh, this is terrible." Then the next day, with fresh eyes, or checking out the drawing in a mirror, I think, "Wow! How did I not see how good this is?" Never throw out your artwork immediately after a drawing session. Give them a few days and look at your work with fresh eyes.
My sketchbook isn't quite up to the challenge of the sheer amount of paint I dump into it, but that's OK. We forgive each other. Hope everyone enjoys these spooky goodies!
My sketchbook spread. This is actually a moleskin watercolor album which I'm mostly using to draw from life. This is sharp and spiky versus soft and fluffy. The models were the two of my house plants, and aim was a texture and light study.
Due to financial/logistical reasons, I can't do literal linocuts as often as I'd like, so I draw my illustrations in reverse, flip them digitally, have them printed, and then color them in by hand. The result is basically an "artist's print". I only make one of each. These were watercolor, but I've recently discovered gouache, so keep an eye out for future pieces that incorporate that.
Yellow Crab (Eriphia verrucosa) is typically brownish green or brownish red in colour with yellow spots. It has very strong, asymmetric chelipeds, the larger ones typycally bering rounded tuberbles in front of the upper articulation of the carpus. More like this on: https://www.instagram.com/camilojulianc/
