Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Printmaking

I haven't posted in a couple of weeks while I was creating some more work. Now, here's a collection of some prints that I created as part of an assignment in watercolor. I discovered I really like printing!






Saturday, November 22, 2014

Inktober - 31 Days of Solitude (Part 6)

Here's the final round of sketches. Overall, I'm really proud of the work that I accomplished. Not everything is perfect, some are definitely better than others, but the point is that I got in and sketched, no matter what I thought was going to be good or not. This helped build up my confidence in my drawing.

Not every line I make in drawing is going to be perfect, but that shouldn't stop me from continuing to draw

Enjoy!







Friday, November 14, 2014

Inktober - 31 Days of Solitude (Part 1)

In an effort to get back to filling sketchbook pages (which I'm still really inconsistent with...I got this sketchbook as a Christmas gift last year), I decided to participate in Inktober 2014.

For those of you unfamiliar with it, Inktober takes place each year in October - it's a time where artists take a little time each day in October to complete a drawing in ink. It's a chance to improve our skills and (for me at least) get drawing on a regular basis.

I was hoping to start posting my drawings on November 1st but, then again, life happens (and I get lazy). Still, this is really the first time that I'm posting things from my sketchbook. Usually, I'm so concerned with whether or not the things in it look good (especially compared to some of the other artists I know). But I'm tired of letting insecurities dictate how and when I make art, so here they are.

Why the title? "31 Days of Solitude" refers to the direction the work that I created seemed to take. Because of where I am in life right now (not really busy) and where a great majority of my friends are (super busy), I'm spending a lot of time by myself. While it's not always perfect, I feel like solitude is a blessing in many ways. There is a difference between being alone and being lonely, and I have experienced both lately, so I supposed they both end up in these pages.

Anyway, enough talk, here's the first batch of sketches:





(I wasn't going to comment on any of my work, but I have to say, this sketch is one of the ones I'm most proud of in my sketchbook. I'm thinking of turning it into a digital painting to work on those skills).


Look for more from my Inktober efforts tomorrow!

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Stepping Outside My Comfort Zone

Over the next couple of days, I'm going to be playing a bit of catch-up on here. I've been working on developing my watercolor skills (and trying out some new techniques!) and I filled up my personal sketchbook more consistently than I have in a really long time by participating in Inktober.

To start off, here's some more of my watercolor work (I'm realizing how much I lover working with it). This class is absolutely zero pressure, so I'm trying to get myself more comfortable with unfamiliar methods AND letting myself make mistakes.

After trying to draw trees with pencil and ink, they had started to intimidate me. But doing paintings of trees allowed me to look at them in a different way. 


 I'd done mastercopies before, but never an interpretation of a masterwork. The original piece was "An Evening at Home" by Edward John Poynter. Without realizing it, I had started working in some German Expressionist elements into it.
 (Though it might have been because I had been engrossed in a project about German Expressionism in film for the previous six weeks...)

 The first "abstract" piece I've had to do since high school. Since I am so uncomfortable with the idea of making non-representational art, I really wanted to push myself with this assignment.

Basically, if it felt uncomfortable or incorrect, I put it on the page. That method seemed to work.

This project was a surprise; we got to work in the print lab yesterday. 

I'm preparing to take the CSET in a couple of months and had been struggling with coming up with a third piece that wasn't a painting, drawing, or digital art (which is what I've had experienced in). Because of the opportunity we're having to work in the print lab, I may have another piece.

Hopefully tomorrow I'll post the first few days of my sketchbook work for Inktober.

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Working with Watercolors

This semester I started branching out with the materials I work with. I signed up for a watercolor class, so during the summer I started working experimenting with them. I hadn't worked with watercolors since high school, but since I've started working with them again, I realized that I really enjoy working with them.

My first attempt at watercolor done a Lake Yosemite. It started out as just a tree drawing, but then I thought I'd do a little more.
 Our church went to Sunset Beach a couple of months ago, so I thought I'd experiment with some plein air/quick painting. I'm pretty happy with the result.

 Then the semester started. This was the first still life.

 Our second still life using a limited palette.

The still life from Monday's class, using a limited palette of crimson, Prussian blue, and cad yellow. There's still some improvement that needs to happen with the drawing side, but overall I'm happy!

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

A Change of Pace

 

I don't know why it's never occurred to me to post these videos before. Here's my reel from last fall's animation class. Enjoy!

Friday, August 1, 2014

Reversals and a Portrait

In an effort to get myself drawing and painting more, I'm hoping to start posting work on a semi-weekly basis.

 A reversal drawing based on a Dorthea Lange photograph

Our final project was supposed to be a self portrait that said something about ourselves. I decided to focus on the word "nostalgia". It's a double self portrait, one is me with modern clothes and technology and the second one is supposed to be more old fashioned.

Another wedding gift for a friend of mine.

Hopefully this posting will become a regular thing. Look out for my next post :-)



Saturday, July 19, 2014

Some More Artwork...

I haven't posted in a long time (aside from portfolio critiques) because I've been trying to adjust to a new season of life (sprinkled with just a hint of laziness). But, now I really want to get back into a art-making routine and (hopefully) start drawing everyday. Anyway, here's some of the work that I've been doing on my personal time over the last year.



  
A bridal shower gift for one of my oldest friends.

A 2 hour still life using my growing collection of Victorian era trinkets.

Buster Keaton

A page from my sketchbook and my first attempt at watercolor in a long time.
Lake Yosemite.

One of my personal pieces that I am most proud of . The first character design I've ever done.


My second attempt at character designing.

Okay, so I lied, there's a bit of schoolwork in here...

The assignment was to pick a section from a book and design a layout/painting for it. 
I'm a HUGE Sherlock Holmes fan, so I ended up selecting the climactic scene from the last Sherlock Holmes story (originally) "The Final Problem.