sketch book

what's up people

2010-09-12T12:43:00.000-05:00

Wow, my 200th post is here to tell you that I'm moving my blog to Tumblr.

http://stephillustrates.tumblr.com/

Blogspot's been good to me, but I started this little blog when I was a freshman in college, and I feel like moving on.

Thanks for all the good times and the sweet comments. :) See you around!

funnel cake

2010-08-01T22:12:00.000-05:00

More things I draw when I don't know what else to draw; me stuffing my face!

derp

2010-07-29T23:02:00.000-05:00

whenever I really don't know what to draw, I just draw myself. whee!

mini paintings

2010-07-10T13:02:00.000-05:00

Two mini ATC patchwork paintings. I missed doing these, they're time-consuming and methodical which is a nice change from trying to be SPONTANEOUS and FRESH. They both have their times and places, but I always love doing something redundant once in awhile.
Also some sketchbook doodles, I'm almost done with this book!

Mini fandom painting of Mignon.
A Soiree is fine too.

fran

2010-06-30T23:14:00.000-05:00

Just painting for painting's sake! Trying out new taklon brushes. Hopefully I can do a more dignified painting of Miss Fran!

Envelopes

2010-06-24T21:46:00.000-05:00

The days just seem to fly by, anymore! I feel like it was only yesterday that I wrote my last post, but it's been days and weeks...

I bought this cute little toy recently:

I love it! The smallest envelopes are teeny tiny, and I have tons of ideas already on ways to use them with my art (business card holders! love notes!)

I also bought Tombow OnBook Pencil for my sketchbook (and just because I love cool pencils) and this sexy 122kCal pencil case (in brown too) and my favorite pen brand besides the Precise, Signo (ALSO IN BROWN)

(i love brown)

I also bought lead that I thought was colored, but it turns out it wasn't, and it made me feel kind of dumb. Whoops!

coffee sketches

2010-06-07T23:48:00.000-05:00

Just some sketches I did while at the coffee shop. I've been playing with a really loose and simple style and it's been helping me to just draw cute things and not get all tight and controlled.

I also signed up for The Sketchbook Project. I'll give some more info about my book when I get my package but I'm really excited about it!!

This is just what I need to really get back on board with my sketchbooks, because I've been feeling somewhat lackluster about my books. I think I need to start keeping smaller ones, or thinner ones. I get bored easily, and while I love having a good, worn and reliable little black book with me, I always want to change it up. I don't feel as proud of this book I'm currently using as I do with some of my older books (Though, to be honest half the time I'm never really keen on saving the damn things, but I know it's good to.)

So here's to awesome sketchbook stuff in the following weeks!

another wip

2010-05-31T18:44:00.000-05:00

Just part of a WIP that I've been working on for a few days. I keep going back to it and changing it stylistically. Still got a ways to go on this one.

Happy Memorial Day!

busy

2010-05-24T06:13:00.000-05:00

Work has been time consuming and most of my extra energy is devoted to client work, so I apologize for the lack of fun stuff lately.
The fun added benefit of working full-time has made me want to draw a lot more, though, so hopefully I will have some things to show later!
Also, my host has been down for over a week so I'm currently working on getting everything back online, but this blog will always be up!

Until then, have a picture of the office I co-habitate for 2 and a half hours every week (my morning sketch time).

ATC

2010-04-26T19:21:00.001-05:00

Just a little ATC that I spent some time on today.

I got a full time job. Whee!

April

2010-04-21T16:38:00.000-05:00

Holy crap it's April already! Nothing too exciting as of late, but I've been participating in the zero2illo 12 Week Challenge and doing some traveling and such.
Here is my business plan I drafted up for the 12WC. (I dig infographics so I had to make it pretty.)

And an extremely small run of some promo stickers I made (as of right now I have two left, haha.) I get tired of things that I do pretty quickly, that's something I'm trying to fix.

I'm also in the process of setting up a teeny store so I can sell some things, as well as doing some MUCH needed spring cleaning!

Blue City

2010-03-31T16:01:00.000-05:00

Hey dudes!

This is a pattern I created for the launch of Repeat-X Repeat-Y, a repeating patterns site! It has some really great stuff if you're into such things. I really love making these patterns so I jumped right on that. Thanks Matt!!

The site launches tomorrow so be sure to check it out!

Stubs

2010-03-29T13:24:00.000-05:00

Just a snippet of some client work.

STUBBY!

Geometric

2010-03-24T09:05:00.000-05:00

I'm not dead! I went on a trip to St. Louis and spent more time just kind of unwinding than drawing (though I actually did draw more than I normally do on trips!)

The drawing on the left was completed on the drive back and the drawing on the right was done in bits and pieces throughout the day until I made it back to the other side of the state Monday night. A little different than I normally do but methodical and repetitive drawings like the mandala awhile ago are really relaxing.

On my list of things to do:

-Finish up the triptych for a client

-Put together a snappy new zine version of my old sketchbook zines for Shannon dearest. Possibly create nice printed versions to sell? (Thank you for lighting the fire under this Shannon!)

-Pet portraits

-Get started on a mailing campaign

-Starting up my online store

-Website update

-Reading How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie

two fine ladies

2010-03-10T00:48:00.001-06:00

Some watercolor studies to prepare for a larger piece I'm doing for a client.

One is a Charles Reid study, one is a study of my inamorata.

♫♥♫

Birch ATC 3

2010-03-08T14:22:00.001-06:00

Probably my last little birch painting for awhile... :)

I like how the more I practiced with gouache, the more I ended up treating it like watercolor. I just feel so unfinished if I use thick blocky shapes....eugh, more practice GO!

Birch ATC 2

2010-03-07T11:27:00.000-06:00

A tiny version of a painting I did probably 2 years ago. More birch trees!

Birch ATC 1

2010-03-06T14:25:00.001-06:00

After watching Dani Jones's Ustream, I was inspired to pick up gouache again. I'd bought it a few years ago, but used it rarely since I didn't have much luck with it. I tried again and drew some more little birch trees (or some long red tubes, if you prefer.)
I'm rather enjoying working with it now, so I penciled a couple more blank ATCs to try it with later.

Birch trees

2010-03-05T10:08:00.000-06:00

"You can't polish a turd" comes to mind as I look at this but after sleeping on it for awhile I do like the birch tree part. I was really experimenting with this one and playing with a heat lamp while doing so but I always end up painting birch trees.

Spots

2010-03-03T18:13:00.000-06:00

Just some more spot illustrations!

Zine

2010-02-21T14:46:00.001-06:00

Cool art pal Dustin Williams made a zine! My art is featured in it, along with a bunch of other cool cats like Jeff, Shannon, Mike and Joe! It was really fun to collaborate with them. I hope to do it again soon!

Personal influence

2010-02-19T16:09:00.002-06:00

I'm a girl, so this might make more sense knowing that it's from a female point of view, if you're into that kind of thing.

In my process of trying to grow and develop myself as an artist, and picking up bits and pieces of knowledge throughout the internet, I've learned that really laying everything out that you like can really impact your visual ideas in regards to what you like to draw. (I say this loosely, because you could like to draw EVERYTHING and dress like a nun, or whatever.)

For example, I love really clean basic things, with owls, repeat patterns, typography and simple design, with a lot of organic elements like fur and weaves mixed in. It's interesting to see these kinds of interested reflected in the things I wear everyday, AND in the things that I draw.

It's also just really fun to throw all the stuff you mess with on a daily basis without really seeing it into one pile and notice it all. Since you wear it or are surrounded by it, you don't really notice it anymore.

I did this at Polyvore. It's crazy fun.

Also, here's a really cool link some people might be interested in. Mark McDonnell's Warmup Gesture Sketching.

Some people find it really hard to do sketches because they get super neat and controlled and feel like they've failed a drawing, but it's really inspiring to watch him just sketch loosely.

Focus

2010-02-07T10:45:00.000-06:00

Bit of a late entry for Illustration Friday last week.

"Focus"

Laser eyes!!!

ATCs

2010-01-31T03:44:00.000-06:00

Some cards I painted a couple of days ago. Gotta keep up the watercoloring skillz. Nothing amazing yet, I've spent the last couple of weeks doing some hardcore studying so I'm trying to get back into the swing of things.

WIP

2010-01-27T20:01:00.000-06:00

A WIP for a mini-illo. Kind of having a love/hate affair with the orange.

House Pattern WIP

2010-01-12T19:41:00.000-06:00

Another WIP of a pattern, this time featuring cute little houses.

I also want to mention that my site is down so I can redesign it and fix it up a little. The blog will probably be updated a little bit too. Someday I'll be able to code flawlessly but until then it's just me, a glass of limeade, a long night and an undo button.

Pattern WIP

2010-01-11T14:04:00.000-06:00

A quick WIP that I'm working on; my first repeating pattern! Still color tweaking a bit but I am going to start working on details.

Mandala

2010-01-06T13:47:00.000-06:00

Not sure what this is, but it was fun!

Frenchies

2010-01-04T16:30:00.001-06:00

Some sketches of Frenchie puppies!

Cupecoy

2010-01-02T17:40:00.000-06:00

This is my clock!
Happy New Year, everyone! I'm not dead, just cold.

Pixels

2009-12-16T14:36:00.000-06:00

Just practicing some on my pixel art skills...I'm sure some crazy fans would criticize my color use or something like that but I just enjoy messing around!

My hair still has that yellow splotch in the front but it's hard to translate here so I might end up taking it out. Looks a bit odd...

Samurai

2009-12-03T23:09:00.000-06:00

Quickie experiment with a limited palette (which I didn't stick to anyway haha)

Bags

2009-12-02T03:39:00.000-06:00

I have some cute fabric so I threw together some quick little bag designs so that I might have a new bag for the spring. :)

I love designing things like this.

Mini Me

2009-11-28T18:41:00.000-06:00

Playing around some more in digital.

Kabuki

2009-11-10T23:35:00.000-06:00

Testing some watercolor PS brushes I found. They're a lot like regular watercolor brushes, i.e. can't go over with white, colors will get muddy if you layer too much. I just miss the happy accidents you get with water flow and regular watercolor paper!

Sketchbook Month

2009-10-28T00:28:00.000-05:00

Yay!

Graphic design practice.

Instead of NaNoWriMo I'm doing this instead!

The other day I got a lovely Toulouse Lautrec postcard. I think soon I will make my own postcards so I can start sending them out to my lovely friends. :)

Windmill

2009-10-19T21:16:00.000-05:00

Reference

Trying to get back into painting daily again...I always feel like I overwork paintings. My process is always to be super spontaneous for most of it and then go back and refine it, and I don't think it's really working for me anymore. Watercolor is a tough medium for my tendency of work-stop-work-stop-work, but it's my favorite medium, so I'm determined to make it work.

Another note: I hate masking fluid so much.

Here are a couple of watercolor artists I've been looking at:

Jack Tia Ke Woon

Ng Woon Lam

And here's one of Ng's videos:

I will just have to keep practicing. I really love watercolor so while not getting results instantly is always frustrating, I enjoy the journey. Being a watercolor teacher is one of my many many art related goals. That's something I love about being an artist; you can do so much. If you have some kind of boring career, people feel like they're limited to just doing that. But anybody can do stuff they love...they just have to remember they don't have to be boring and stuffy for the rest of their lives.

Hospital

2009-10-17T16:14:00.001-05:00

Some sketches from the hospital waiting room.

I'm pretty sure this lady knew I was drawing her.

This guy was my favorite though.

Pea Coat

2009-10-17T03:21:00.000-05:00

It's so warm and cozy!

Rock Candy

2009-10-13T21:29:00.000-05:00

10.10.09

The green was labeled as "lime". Instant win!

Domo

2009-10-12T22:29:00.000-05:00

From Thursday the 8th. :)

Dr. Pepper slurpee, mmm.

This was inspired by Kate Bingaman-Burt and her wonderful concept sketches about consumption. As an exercise I plan on doing one of these hopefully every day for awhile to practice my lettering and watercolors.

Hi

2009-10-10T04:54:00.002-05:00

I worked for three weeks straight and I went on a little vacation this week so art is kind of scarce.
I did attend a session of watercolor earlier this week and visited some kindred spirits...Super thanks to Joe, Jeff, Candace, Mike and Dustin for giving me a really great start to the week. Being around other artists is always so refreshing and inspiring. I love seeing other people's work and being around people who love to create like I do. (And being humbled by seeing other people's pieces!)

I do have a couple of awesome artists that I picked out of my reader today that I want to share...
Nathan Fowkes Landscape Sketches
He does incredible little color studies of landscapes. Fast and simplified is not one of my strong suits so I can really learn a lot from looking at his work.
Asnee Tasna (flickr), Asnee's blog
A great pick from Urban Sketchers, his sketches are a dream to look at. I love his intricate linework and I love how he can make otherwise boring buildings look fresh and alive.

Happy Saturday!

Shin Chan

2009-09-23T23:32:00.001-05:00

In honor of the late Yoshito Usui.

As someone else wonderfully put it;
"Thank you for for sharing your visions with us; thank you for bringing a smile to my face when I so needed one."

Staying Organized

2009-09-12T00:12:00.001-05:00

My best way of GTD is just having a sheet with a calendar on it so I can see things at a glance; planners only work so well for me since I often work weeks or months in advance.
(Hey that rhymed.)

I missed doing design so I threw together a few calendars for the rest of the year. (Yikes, 2010 is almost upon us!) I just needed something cute, quick and simple.
If you're dying to have bigger copies for yourself, I'll gladly email PDFs to anyone interested. :)

On another note, I'm really glad Blogger is listening to its users! Label clouds, jump links...they've done really well this year with updates.

Olive

2009-08-31T15:45:00.000-05:00

A quick watercolor of the new kitten, Olive. :)

SomD 2

2009-08-28T21:50:00.000-05:00

Cups

2009-08-27T21:54:00.000-05:00

Stuff on my desk.

Studiesss

2009-08-21T03:59:00.005-05:00

Just some fast watercolor studies. Been sick lately so I haven't done much but lay around and watch TV.

Got a new project idea lined up...

MyMoth

2009-08-07T04:21:00.004-05:00

Moth Fanart for Shay.
Experimenting in Illustrator.

Been in a bit of a rut; the last couple of weeks have been messy. Lots of family in town and painting walls and moving. Today I'm going up north to visit family for the weekend. I'm bringing my paints with me so hopefully I can get some plein air paintings done and just unwind a bit before the school rush begins again.
:)

New Toy

2009-07-20T11:47:00.000-05:00

Winsor and Newton are my homeboys.
Paints are like shoes for crazy bored women, you can never have too many.

Fish

2009-07-05T22:00:00.002-05:00

An oldie I found while going through all of my old artwork.
Not the best but I still think it's cute. :)
It may be one of my best niches but at least it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.

Veta

2009-07-03T20:15:00.004-05:00

An old photoshop sketch that really didn't want to go on any further.

ME!

Delerium

2009-06-25T23:01:00.002-05:00

Summer Fun!

Eggs

2009-06-22T08:34:00.001-05:00

When all else fails...:O

2009-06-17T09:48:00.001-05:00

Itty bitty people in France!

Going to update the look of the blog soon. I can never be happy with a design, I think.

The weather here has been really enjoyable lately. I love falling asleep to rain and hearing it on my roof.

Off to make myself an amazing sandwich. C:

ETA: Here is an example of a room redesign gleaned from Design*Sponge that samples a wall color extremely similar to my new studio color of choice. Whinge all you want, naysayers! My studio is going to look excellent. C:

Tilt Shift

2009-06-11T22:11:00.008-05:00

Experimenting with some tilt-shift photography.

First one came out the best, I think!

I'm looking for some great prints to put on the walls of my new studio!
http://www.theposterlist.com/
http://aestheticapparatus.com/index.php

New Studio

2009-06-05T18:01:00.003-05:00

Finally picked the color of paint for the new studio! I fell in love with it right there in the store. I knew it was the right choice. The accent colors are black and yellow, simply to match with my existing furniture. The majority of it is black, though.

Still cleaning and packing up as per usual. I have an obscene amount of felt. I have an equally obscene amount of fabric. And I did not realize how many books I owned until now. I'm hoping they all fit on my new bookshelf (which is taller than me!)

I think I will nap for awhile. I must sleep off a sugar coma.

New Card

2009-06-02T11:23:00.003-05:00

Little prototype for a new business card. The back has bare trees with my information at the bottom. I'm sending them out to my family and friends. :)
I don't know if you can see but the trees look like cut paper. Mmm texture.

I went to my friend Laura's house yesterday. We watched Robin Hood: Men in Tights and she gave me a good luck charm for safe driving because while I am a pretty okay driver, the rest of the world is not. :(

WHY AM I DOING THIS INSTEAD OF PACKING

Handmade paper

2009-05-20T16:54:00.002-05:00

Yesterday's adventure was pulling out my old handpour mold and tearing up some paper to make handmade paper! I ended up with about 30 5x7 inch sheets. I had lost my instructions over a decade ago (true to my ways) so I had to kind of botch together new ones from memory and random videos. But I'm really happy with the results.
My main goal was to get some new surfaces to play with, specifically doing collages and painting (which was why I made a great deal of plain white sheets). I have about 4 larger sketchbooks that have the worst kind of paper. So instead of throwing those away and buying new ones, I just remade them into thicker, more textured sheets.
I also made a few cups of pure colored pulp and "painted" into white papers with a turkey baster and a spoon. (Can you see the heart I molded into page 5?) When I was done, I just threw in the rest of the colored pulp to make the bright colors you see near the bottom. (Can't waste a thing!)
While in the heat of production I just left them outside on a tile table where they would stick, stay flat and dry. When I was done and still had some soggy sheets, I ironed them. Then I flattened them with a huge book overnight.
Pretty good for a first run, I think. If I do it again I'll take my time and iron each sheet as it comes out.

Jewelry

2009-05-18T19:00:00.003-05:00

EDM Challenge #8: Draw your watch or other piece of jewelry.
My favorite piece of jewelry is a lovely Claddagh ring someone gave me :>

Testing out my new scanner. (A Canon). It works like a dream!! Using a scanner is much like a crazy circus routine, and I am sure many can sympathize. My biggest peeve is having to scan a HUGE image when I only want a small portion scanned, but that is easily resolved with this scanner since it scans so quickly. My last scanner butchered the colors so easily and I could never fix it. Not so with this one!!

Having just finished a tutorial on repeating patterns, this is my next thing to try out. * v*

Omikuji

2009-05-13T02:08:00.003-05:00

Just some practice with Photoshop.

Also trying out a new signature- I originally made a chop stamp but after finishing it I realized I'd done it backwards. * v*

Graduation

2009-05-12T02:51:00.002-05:00

I finally graduated with my BFA in Commercial Art & Illustration! :)
I also graduated Cum Laude ;)
I also finished my Honors Project and did well on it. I'm thankful it came out well; I hope to improve on it this summer.

Drawing in the Owl Book (that a certain special someone got for me) is top priority right now, but I think sleeping will have to come first.
I got a new scanner as well so I hope to be trying that out soon!

But for now, there are no projects, no rushes, nothing but a few weeks of relaxation and reflecting.

Final Show

2009-04-29T16:11:00.009-05:00

It's been awhile! I've been unbelievably busy, along with the rest of my classmate crew, trying to wrap up things for finals and senior year. I'm finishing up my senior project as I type. I've been working on it for the last few months and i'm really pleased with how it's coming together. On top of it I've been working on my show as well and it came together nicely! Here are some "product" shots;
Stickers of my logo! They came out better than I had planned.

CD labels!
My finished zine that I mentioned a few entries earlier-"How to Make an Art Journal".
The actual show!! I think it was a successful venture. I had my portfolio (a Tera 11x14), my ICAP project (the Piper Project), the Yeti and some sketchbooks on the table. I also had my MOO postcards and business cards on the table as well.

I'd also mentioned that I got a new computer; a sweet new 20" iMac that I'd had my eye on for a few months. It's already saved my life a few times concerning all these past projects. Here's a shot of my messy desktop.Already littered with stuff from my senior thesis project. :"> That's also a sweet Left 4 Dead wallpaper on there, including a usb Owl and a mini toy AfroKen!
That's about all for now...not a lot of personal work being done right now but graduation is right around the corner and there's so much left to do!

Oh! Also: stephillustrates.com is up and running!! :)

Fish

2009-04-14T16:48:00.003-05:00

Watercolor sketch for a bigger piece I have planned.
Fish!

Also, a new computer. Pictures soon.

Revisiting

2009-04-07T06:16:00.003-05:00

Watercolor/fountain pen sketch based off one of my photos from Paris. I love how old-world the buildings are, and how close together they are. This view was from the top floor view of the Pompidou.

I just ordered my business cards and postcards for my show. I always change my ideas when it comes to business cards so I only ordered a few of those, but I ordered a lot of postcards. I picked 8 of my favorite pieces to go on there, can't go too wrong with that.

Hi April

2009-04-02T20:29:00.002-05:00

Reposted from Drawn!

Creative Workspaces and Offices.

I love seeing other people's workspaces. :o

There's more on flickr too;
Art Studio
Show Your Art Studio

In Progress

2009-03-27T17:49:00.003-05:00

Just a couple of shots of a journal spread I did the other day.
In my research i usually have a ton of reference photos and i just jam them into the back pocket of my book. But this time I incorporated them into a spread so i could have them without rifling through all the little scraps of paper.

Gesso on the pages, then orange watercolor ink. I threw some blue in there too to dull it down a little.

I added some more gesso to bring back some of the white of the paper, then placed my images.

I moved the composition around a little. I didn't have any medium around so I had to tape the images down on the back and gesso the edges to seal them and make an interesting border. I put some more gesso on the page to create big areas for writing (it'll be here that i use a rubber stamp I made with lines so I could put writing lines in my book and use them.) Later I put some matte medium over the pages to seal them fully.

Some beautiful journals

2009-03-22T15:00:00.001-05:00

Just browsing through youtube some more and coming across some beautiful visual journals. My favorite part of these is that they don't have to be filled with beautiful sketches and paintings from a seasoned artist vacationing in Europe, but they are ordinary people who choose to write and draw about their lives in an extraordinary way.

One
Two (I absolutely love how thick and lovely her journal is, and her pages are amazing. She sells them on Etsy.)
Three (Mini Mole!!)
Four
Five (Beautiful notetaking!)
Six; an in-progress journal spread (there are tons of these on youtube if you keep looking.)

I love looking through people's books not because I seek better art than my own to be inspired (I find enough of that without looking), but I see people who record their lives, parts I don't see, parts nobody else sees, recorded in their own way. I love seeing other people's drawings, even if they've never drawn before in their lives, because it's the most honest representation of their lives. The more techniques and skills you learn, the more you learn to fake things and falsify things and not be true to yourself and just continue creating what other people ooh and ahh over (or as some people say "make ballerinas look realistic")

Mmmmm, Sierra Mist quenches my thirst in ways that cannot be described. ♥

Kokeshi

2009-03-21T19:00:00.002-05:00

Moleskine page. Acrylic and some graphite buried under there.

It's crunch time!!
Remember the Milk is currently saving my life.

Things I must do-
Finish my brand new website
Get things ready for my show
Make postcards, business cards, etc.
Finish my zine (I already have an idea for the next one!)
Finish my honors project

I went to visit my grandparents today and it went so amazingly well. I can't wait to work on this project more. I've done a lot of research and I'm ready to do some good illustrations for it!

All in all, things are looking really good right now.

Good Luck Owl

2009-03-17T19:49:00.001-05:00

031209goodbye
Originally uploaded by axeltorte

My last page of my little blue apple book! I did a lot of sumi-e my last few pages so I could skip ahead to my umbrella book.

Here is the link to my Flickr pool with a lot of pages from the sketchbook.

I'm watching American Idol right now and my god, they are terrible.
Not even so much terrible, just....weird.

I'm having shrimp for dinner and I'm very excited.

Bad Hair Day

2009-03-12T23:38:00.001-05:00

I love stormy weather but I hate what it does to my hair!!

Sketchbook page

2009-03-11T21:07:00.003-05:00

just playing around a bit!
triangle noses!!

Journal Manifesto

2009-03-08T18:03:00.001-05:00

I'm making a zine!

More at 11!
(or later this week...)

Creekbed

2009-03-06T10:12:00.002-06:00

A fun watercolor and pastel project of a pretty creek. :)
Part of my book illustration project.

Secret Pandas

2009-03-05T13:08:00.000-06:00

Red and blue pandas hiding in the paper...
And some strange trees.
:)

Kitty

2009-03-04T23:11:00.000-06:00

Drawn while watching Emergency Vets.
:'(
I miss my kitty.

More Blockley Studies

2009-03-04T09:20:00.001-06:00

Busy busy busy....

Ultramarine blue + any kind of sienna = probably one of my favorite color combinations.

Pencil

2009-02-28T23:04:00.002-06:00

Some practice time with a knife and a Black Warrior....

Happy Weekend!

It snowed a lot up here and it is so nice and quiet and white and fluffy outside. :)

Outside

2009-02-26T01:03:00.000-06:00

Painted outside today. It was a beautiful February afternoon. I made a ladybug friend for a short while as I sat in the shade.

The urge was really strong to just stretch out and take a cat nap, like how I used to do in the parks of Paris.

Purple mountain watercolor sketch...I'm loving the technique using modeling paste and paint.
We'll see how long this layout stays up...blogger's being kind of strange lately so it's tough to customize it right now, but as soon as I like one design, I start to favor something else. Oh well!
Getting things set up for my senior show...going to order cards and portfolios and such soon, and finish up my resume, and getting ready to set up a portfolio website! Got to think of a creative name since my name is too common to use as a domain name...

Landscape Studies

2009-02-25T16:24:00.000-06:00

Some John Blockley master studies I did in my sketchbook. I used a modeling paste texture for the background, which came out really awesome.
Look him up, he's got some amazing watercolors.

Earl Grey

2009-02-24T16:30:00.001-06:00

Sketch of an Earl Grey type character.
Fountain pen!

Black Hole Sun

2009-02-16T23:53:00.000-06:00

More tiny paintings. 1.5x2in, ink and watercolor.
I'd forgotten how waterproof ink handled with watercolor.

Windows

2009-02-15T19:11:00.000-06:00

Tiny paintings, 1.5inx2in, watercolor

Happy Happy

2009-02-14T18:08:00.002-06:00

...Valentine's!!

My first try with stamp carving. I like it.

C:

Green Tea

2009-02-07T23:06:00.001-06:00

Concept showing characterization of "Green Tea". I could have done better, so I will be trying some experimentation with my next one. Bigger canvas, better composition, more texture, better illustration!
Next up is "Earl Grey", which tastes disgusting to me, but I like the characterization behind it. If I continue the series I'll probably do some Sweet Tea or Chai.

Ipod Case

2009-02-06T23:22:00.000-06:00

I linked it in an earlier post but I followed Petchy's tutorial for making a case for my new Ipod nano. I edited it a little bit to fit (Geddy is a 4th gen), but I love how it came out. Lucky for me I had amazing fabric and a sweet ribbon to match.

I sewed it by hand (my sewing machine was being used as a tree stand at the time) and it took some time but I love how it came out. I even sewed the buttonhole myself (easier than I thought it would be!)

Now he's all nice and warm and protected. C:

Still Life

2009-02-05T21:26:00.003-06:00

Watercolor still life of a plant. Focusing on getting my backgrounds to be stronger, so I painted the negative space in the background first. Fun technique!
I enjoy feeling much more energized and being able to be happy with my work.

Giving Blood

2009-01-29T15:27:00.002-06:00

I have been so busy lately. The minute I got back to school it was back to work, every day, all day. I come home and I'm only energized enough to eat! But things are slowing down so I can get back on track. :)

I donated blood yesterday (as you can see from the spread above.) It feels good to do something like that.
On the left are just some watercolor swatches I did during lecture. The little codes are from these wonderful little fountain pens I got the other day. Can't wait to use them....:)

More sketches

2009-01-11T21:55:00.001-06:00

More sketches from the sketchbook. The speech bubble was part of a huge depressing collage I made my freshman year of college. I saved that part though since I particularly liked it.
Also calico and tortoiseshell cats are some of the most beautiful cats on this earth. My baby happens to be a tuxedo, though he is still precious.

Sketches

2009-01-10T11:21:00.002-06:00

Just some stuff from the new sketchbook. Depictions from a strange dream (as they all have been, lately) and a still life of some flowers I have on my desk. The little book is starting to get rather fat already from all the watercolor studies I've done. I'm trying to decide what to put on the front cover. All of my sketchbooks have had front cover decor, and this one is so nice and clean and blue that I'm considering something simple like the Apple logo or just the words "sketch book" in a sans serif typeface.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a fine movie (didn't realize it was a three hour movie!), especially if you are into the idea of crying for pretty much the entire thing!

Horatio

2009-01-05T13:13:00.000-06:00

Watercolor sketches of my fish, Horatio Caine. C: He's an awfully pretty blue butterfly delta tail.

Also, sorry for the mess- I'm trying to fix this place up a bit. All it needs is a new color scheme and a new header!
School starts next week!!
C:

New Years

2008-12-31T19:04:00.004-06:00

I had a fantastic birthday! I got to spend it with amazing people, see amazing things and make wonderful memories. I finally saw Wall-E and The Tale of Despereaux and they are both wonderfully cute movies. I also picked up a copy of An Illustrated Life, which is an amazing read if you're into journaling. I got a new sketchbook from someone who is quite incredible and I can't wait to ring in the new year by using it.

My list of New Year's Resolutions!

Travel travel travel.
Explore everything.
Never feel guilty or afraid.
Be a better person, artist, sister, daughter, mommy, friend, girlfriend, coworker, student and consumer.
Plan better.
Learn to write backwards.
Draw every single day.
Lose restrictions and regain control.
Make an amazing portfolio.
Redesign my blog and my website.
Create a shop and begin my freelancing career.
Make more lists.
Collect more art books.
Make more stuff.
LOVE LOVE LOVE!

The watercolor is a random Ipod nano spot I did out of boredom. (I got one for Christmas. It's Red. His name is Geddy.)

Also, a Cool Link! http://kirino.if.tv/. Some cute and spirited little watercolors.

Happy New Year, everyone!!

Merry Merry

2008-12-25T00:55:00.003-06:00

Not exactly a tutorial, but just a progression of a painting I did for my coworker.
The watercolor was an old old sketch from 2007 that I outlined and then tossed some watercolor on.

Merry Christmas to everybody!!! I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday and gets to spend it with the people they love.
My birthday is coming up soon, along with the New Year. I'm ready to start the New Year off right! I'm planning on totally redesigning the blog so it's more personable and reflects the things I've been following lately. (This is a fun process, given blogger's unforgiving coding.)

Amazing things to come! I'm excited. Next post: New Years Resolutions!

Christmas Spears

2008-12-21T00:58:00.002-06:00

I know everybody does this.

If you don't....do it now!
(Just don't hurt anybody.)
I'm not a fan of peppermint so my candy canes are fruit flavored. C:

Christmas Joy

2008-12-17T23:30:00.000-06:00

My workspace for the winter- I had a cleaning fit a little bit ago, I have a hard time working if there's not a clear space. On top of that I hadn't been at home in a long time so bills and mail and junk piled up on every surface. But I cleared it off, and I recently bought a much larger and brand spanking new watercolor palette because my old one was moldy. :'(
I also found a very small watercolor sketchbook that is perfect for quick messy collage-multimedia work. :D I've already started messing around with it as a precursor to painting. I want to see if I can finish it before Christmas! I miss painting; I miss creating; I miss playing around with paper and paint and fabric and little things and making art, making THINGS.

Featured at the Holiday Fair as my tablecloth, this gorgeous fabric will be used to make this gorgeous little ipod nano pouch. I'm also working on some new stuffy designs, since particular designs sold so well at the Holiday Fair, I will be working on those and hopefully finishing up a line of them in the spring. Alsfkjwdslfjw I can't tell you how much I love sewing.

Oh and I just have to say that I love the wrapping paper I got this year. So nice and vintage-y and BROWN (my second favorite color).

Not much in the way of actual progress but I love this feeling, I love the holidays and being so close to my family and being warm and safe and happy, I love sharing the joy that others feel during the holidays, listening to Christmas music, putting up Christmas lights (I've already got 200 to put up in the room when I get back to school in January!), I love sharing good feelings with people that I love. ♥

My Christmas tree! (As viewed by yours truly)

Polyvore

2008-12-14T19:23:00.003-06:00

If you're interested in fashion and that jazz, Polyvore lets you put together outfits with accessories. This is what I wear on a daily basis (paint on me and all.) It's fun for those people who like generators and drag/drop things like me.

You know you are a boring person when you ask for a ledger for Christmas.
:D
I think soon if time allows I will do a Moleskine review.

Screenprint 4

2008-12-13T20:25:00.003-06:00

Fourth screenprint color proofs. I opted for a much smaller and confined composition for this one. The final result is the lower right one (except her shoes are blue, like her pants.) I also flipped the final design so it goes the other way. I love the red lines.

Final Sculpture

2008-12-08T11:11:00.000-06:00

Finished up my final for sculpture class-
Pine wood, dowels and mahogany stain.

They've been called every which word- legumes, kidneys, bread, doughnuts, bird heads (that particular one is my favorite)
It took a long time to complete, but it was a labor of love. I laminated the wood and sanded every piece until it was the right shape and then drilled the designs into it. Putting it together was fun, but I accomplished it.

Holday Fair Wrapup

2008-12-06T22:33:00.008-06:00

The Holiday Fair was a successful venture! I sold most of everything and had enough left over to give to friends. My wares were a pretty big hit with people, it was nice to interact with shoppers and get feedback, especially to the people I sold things to. It was nice to see where my things were going :)

I made about 50-some charms and painted them all (that's them hanging on the right- lucky for me I have an automated drying system under my bed!) It was a long grueling process but I enjoyed it. I like doing things with my hands, creating things and tinkering with things.

I wish I'd taken more pictures of the stuffies I'd made, but sadly only the picture of the yeti exists. He's the only one I didn't sell, either- but I'm going to use him for a portfolio piece, so it's all good. :) It was all a very good experience and very much worth the time I spent making them. I plan on experimenting more with stuffies, refining my pattern and jazzing them up a bit. :)
I wish I'd had some paintings to sell, since I got a lot of feedback on those from my business cards. Might have to do that next year. :)

Next on the agenda...MUNNY and the greeting card industry!!

Also: DesignWorkLife's Link List.
Thanks Megan!!

Mask 4

2008-11-21T10:33:00.003-06:00

Concept for the last of my screenprinted mask series. This one will be much smaller and will hopefully come out the best. :)

Getting ready to go home and get things set up for the holiday fair! :D