Painted original (watercolor on watercolor canvas) about 15 years ago. Wasn't satisfied and so I put away forever. Except, not forever. Have started a project of revamping old paintings that were not quite right, and that now seem salvageable. This was the first. Worked on it for a few minutes a few days a week for a few months, never going too far. Goal was to improve not recreate. Kinda having fun with this new project. Artists tend to do this, take a new tact, find a new route.
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.
The historically significant American Civil War era Remington .44 Army Percussion Cap & Ball Revolver (circa 1860's). From my sketchbook: HB & 9B graphite pencil on 14cm x 14cm paper.
It's crazy to think that we've been in a pandemic for a year or to think we could ever get used to this new way of life. March 13th, 2020 was the day everything stopped for me: it was the last day I went to school and the last day I went to gymnastics for 5 months. The promise of two weeks' time, something I somewhat desperately held onto. Going into this, no one knew what to expect, it was the first time many of us saw life as we know it stop. Quarantine has definitely taught me a lot emotionally, mentally, and how to reach out and work through (and what bad panic attacks feel like :) ). I think it also goes without saying that I got through most of this because of the people around me, and I can't say enough how grateful I am to be surrounded by such amazing people. So, here I am. Life is still pretty rocky, but it's a process. Thank you to everyone who's been along for the ride so far ❤
A very quickly done Shockwave from Transformers. This was another attempt to do something decent enough in a short amount of time. Check out more of my artwork on sykografix.com.
I first bought some cheap soft pastels back in 2018 and did a couple of sketches. I bought a nice set of Rembrandt pastels a few months later — didn't use them. I bought some pastel pads, none if which seemed right. September 2020, I bought a couple more sets of bargain pastels and tried a couple of pieces — no good, still couldn't bring myself to use them. Jess bought me pastel pencils for Christmas — I was too scared to use them. I even bought a pad of Pastelmat which is supposed to be THE paper to use for pastel paintings in January. I was too scared to use that as well!
FINALLY, after a few unsuccessful attempts at working with watercolour (brush issues), I cast aside my fear and thought I'd mess around with pastels. Some time later, and this was the result. I've finally broken through my pastel fear-barrier.
I've got to say, I love soft pastels and I'm excited about doing more pieces in this medium.
First time I draw a woman's face and I don't have the feeling the result it's an androgyny man. Can't say what's the difference, but this time it worked for me.
"Whirlwind 28”, an original drawing. Micron pens on archival paper. Size: 5” x 7”. Title, signature, and date in the back of the drawing. This drawing is the 28th in a series of drawings posted over a period of 100 days. The original post date on this drawing was September 28, 2020.
There's a series, one of many, I've been slowly getting the motivation to work on. This character is one of a few. I'm going to working on facial expressions and then full body drawings.
"Whirlwind 27”, an original drawing. Micron pens on archival paper. Size: 4” x 6”. Title, signature, and date in the back of the drawing. This drawing is the 27th in a series of drawings posted over a period of 100 days. The original post date on this drawing was September 27, 2020.
I've been working on drawing My character, Florin and his dearest companions his queen and bodyguard today. They're from a northern mountainous kingdom that reveres birds especially corvids of all varieties.
