Tag Archives: lady

[un] Sound

       What a horrible year! Or at least January was. February has a lot to make up for. Luckily the check I got from one of my old credit cards was a nice start. So let’s get rolling…

   This one is purely for fun. I bought this tanned paper notebook a while ago and have rarely used it. Plus my prismacolor pencils have been languishing at home, so it was time to dust those skills off.

     The usual tactic here is to use the shade of the paper as one of your colors; it’s a pretty cool effect, but I could care less about it. 

      I’m after time on this one. Not as a sketch, but a complete picture. 

       Honestly, I do images like this to keep the fun aspect of art alive. People always want to see their ordinary lives in art and I could never understand the reasoning. Why? But now I feel that what they’re trying to do is capture a feeling visually.

    So each layer of color adds emotional context. And if you miss that then there’s a good chance that your technically sound picture can feel dead.

     No artist wants a disconnect in his images. The thing with being self taught is that you have to realize this yourself; otherwise you’ll draw a lot of dead faces and mannequins, lol.

New Year, Old Me

    I know, I know… I haven’t been around much. The death of a loved one affects us all in predictable ways. Moving on…

     I’ve caught up (almost) to all my commission based work! I’ve done well this year and look forward to next year being even better! But for now a few people have decided to let me put their images on my page. How nice!

     Of course, some of my favorite projects are going to be in a slightly larger size this year. Now that I have a fancy tilting drafting table, it’s game on! Purchased with the proceeds of my work of course 😊.

      I’m still doing black and white studies for people. It amazes me how much a simple drawing can reach others. And good news! Now that I know what my supplies and time are worth, I have a price index…

         so looking forward to drawing a LOT.

       

Stand 

    Well, it’s Thanksgiving week. Or as some are calling it, last holiday until Christmas. Even though my workload is four times what it was last year, I’m still taking a break.

    I don’t celebrate Christmas. So this is the one time a year I make it home to see my mom. Usually I don’t promise her anything; I just pop in for a day or so, then leave. In a way I’m her Santa Claus, except she gave birth to me, lol.

   That didn’t sound quite right, did it?

     So before I get on the road, here’s a picture of a friend of mine, who goes by the moniker “Callie Cosplay”. As thename would suggest, she’s a model for fictional characters. 

     The first I’d heard of her was about three years ago, through a friend. She was about to do a really cool rendition of Wonder Woman and I asked if I could draw her. At the time I was doing digital art exclusively(which reminds me I need to start again) so her cosplay was a learning experience for me.

     She was ecstatic with it. You can find it here if you go through my archives. Since then I’ve drawn her several times. Her friendliness and openness gave me the courage to approach other people about their cosplays, which lead me to where I am today.

     This picture of her really doesn’t do her full justice. But it’s my small token of thanks for someone who helped me get started. 😊

Ugly 

    I can’t help but notice that the more content I make the less supportive certain people in my life become. Not you guys; you’ve been aces!

    I’m hearing a lot of negativity about bad economy, bad timing, bad decision, etc. So I started the week by announcing that I was going to have to drop individuals based on their level of negativity. 

    I’m down two people.

      Two whole people that told me I wasn’t good enough to charge people yet, that I didn’t have a degree and that I was being stupid. One actually uses one of my pictures as his banner. Really?

     Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that they can’t disagree with me. I have a diverse support system and honestly if all you’re hearing is your own opinions parroted back at you?

   You have issues.

    But anytime you try to improve your position, your real friends should cheer you on, not actively try to stop you.

    So… business plan in hand. Various price points set. Ideal customers found and targeted. Branding beginning and set….

     Here I go.

Autumn Warmth

    This weekend I did absolutely nothing. I drank a lot. Slept. Watched the Crossfit Games on tv. I’ve been really active for a while now and it was a welcome break.

      It was something my dad told me once, “work smarter, not harder”. Sometimes we fall into the trap of believing that if we redouble our efforts we can improve our circumstances. “Always be on your grind” is the new catchphrase. It’s bullshit, of course. How much of that effort is simply wasted energy?

     So instead I sat, rested and thought. I organized my ideas, set goals and made a plan. I’m giving myself six months to achieve my goals. 

     I have a lot of artwork, both digital and traditional. There’s no reason I shouldn’t be presenting it in the best light. Hell, last month alone I made 38 pieces! 

     So I took a weekend to be lay about and consider my near future. Today I’m doing my business plan. I’m going through my social media and determining which pieces got the most responses. That’ll help me find my audience.  I’m also going to set up an artist page on Facebook. But first I need to make sure my chosen product is in its best light. 

    Thanks for being here while I built up a portfolio. But don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere! You guys are valuable to me. You help clear my head and allow me to talk about my life. I need that sometimes. So you get to continue being along for the ride.

Buckle up.😉

Play Through the Pain

      I recently discovered that doing military presses with 200lbs can injure you, the hard way. I guess I’m getting old. It required a few X-ray images, but luckily it’s just a ligament strain. But it’s my drawing arm, so…

        Doing this picture made me very happy for a few reasons. The first is that I was worried about how the fur would turn out, but it came out aces. Second, she was so excited about it that she told ALL of her cosplay friends! So I have a ton of projects lined up, if my arm doesn’t fall off first…

The Road So Far…

      The last time I wrote you guys, I remarked that you only get to see a tiny amount of my output. This is very true and there’s a couple of reasons for it. 

    Truth be told, I tend not to sell much of what I make. This is from a decision I made long ago about keeping my art pure. When my entire portfolio was stolen years ago, I came to a couple of conclusions; that people didn’t deserve to see my stuff and that it wasn’t that important.

     Now I clearly changed my mind about people because I’m essentially a nice person and visual art is meant to be seen. But my love for my art was diminished by a realization that it would be gone one day.

     What rewired the concept in my head was having my son leave home and go out into the world. True I miss him, but that’s what children do; they grow up and go out to make their mark in the world. My art isn’t my baby. 

      It’s my child, grown up and ready to be seen by the world.

       So yeah, I’m back to selling pieces. And yeah, I’ll still be posting here once a week, showing you guys the steps I take to creating it. Some will be sophisticated pieces, others will be sketches. But they’re all my children.

     Welcome them into your world.

Entertain US

       All phases of my life are at full throttle right now. Art, work, home, gym. I’m not burning the candle at both ends; I tossed it into a furnace!

     This has lead me to believe that I’m pretty lazy at heart. I don’t necessarily WANT to be doing this. But for now art is my version of being lazy.

        I know it probably doesn’t seem that way. For every picture i post here every week, there are dozens that I don’t. But honestly it doesn’t feel like work(sometimes). I get lost in it.

      The best ones almost feel like puzzles, where I’m figuring out the best way to bring out what I’m seeing. It’s not always easy and can be frustrating, but I have a knack for it.

        Like most artists, I want to make a living from what I love to do. And unfortunately, like a lot of artists, I suck at salesmanship. But I’m doing something about it.

     I started this blog because after trying to kill myself, it seemed therapeutic to write about my drawing. It made me try to understand why and what I was doing. Prior to that it was all instinct.

  Now it help clears my head and I genuinely enjoy sharing it. I like writing more than i thought I would. And I’m seeing my art as more than just a hobby or therapy. 

All the Mondays

     This weekend I received a message asking if I’d be interested in doing a cover for a comic book! I was so excited! But I didn’t want to rush it, so I took time to come to with some questions about the gig. Then I went back into messenger to write back.

   I couldn’t find it!!

     I’ve been in a panic. Did they rescind the offer? Did I delete it by mistake? Hell, did I imagine it? So upset!

     Ordinarily a happy ending comes through on these things. So far, nope. What if that was my one chance?

     No chance.

    I’m not super handsome and not 1â„… smart, but I have two things going for me; talent and perseverance. I’ll get more chances as long as I continue to improve. 

     I know that reads like arrogance. It’s really more… confidence. I know my story will end the way I want. There’s just stuff I need to do to get there. 

     It’ll be okay.

      Everything starts with faith in yourself. And you won’t know you have it until things start to suck, lol

  You can do it😊

Model for Sale

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     Hey guys! Hope you had an amazing weekend. Mine was a little hectic; had some chores to do and it took the entire weekend almost! Oh well, at least I accomplished a lot.

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      I got to “attend” an artist seminar via webinar, which got me amped up to do a few more images. The topic was “don’t put off your dream projects”.

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        I’ll admit to doing just that recently. There have been a lot of customer oriented stuff coming out of me lately and I can feel my needle dipping below”E”. Not that I haven’t enjoyed my projects; a lot of them have been really fun! But to be honest, I haven’t pushed myself in any of them and that needs to change.

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         So I sat down last night and made a checklist of all the things I’ve wanted to draw in the past 6 months. I figure that it’s a good starting point.

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      I have to be honest. A few of them make me a little nauseous thinking about them! It’ll be okay though. Time to grow!

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So get ready for some upgrades. Because since these will be mine, I won’t have to clear posting the work. In the meantime, enjoy your week.

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