Posting a Post

About Posting a Post tomorrow. Lame I know, things to follow: NEW TOYS! Character Sketches and Concept Art, An adventure into Vinyl toys painting, and maaaybbe some writing :)

Drawing on the Beach: An Exercise in Relaxation

At the beginning of last summer, I made some very big life changes, all within ten days. Shortly after a very painful work experience (yearly inventory) I took a ten day vacation. Unplanned on my second to last day of work, instead of stopping at my normal nicotine hotspot I kept driving on home. I didn't bother telling my boyfriend I hadn't bought cigarettes, nor did I try smoking any of his. The next day, on my last day of work I managed to go the day without a smoke. Several days later my boyfriend says "Somehow I've managed to make this pack of cigarettes last three days" and my reply was "I quit." To this day I'm not really sure why I made the decisions I did. They just sort of came naturally, like my subconscious was telling me I was unhappy with my life and sh*t had to change.

Inspired by my fortitude cease being a chimney stack, I made multiple efforts to go out into the world and sketch what was around me. As someone who is a bit of a homebody, shy around strangers, and detests being seen in a swimsuit, it is rather hard to imagine why I would excitedly look to every date I made with friends to go to the beach. The dates still happened, my friends enjoyed my company, and tourist gawked at my awesomeness.

I have sat around outside and drawn everything from trees in parks, to people practicing karate, to quasi urban landscapes, but nothing compares to drawing on the beach. And I'm not JUST talking about enjoying the warmth of the sun, and the sound of the waves.  Drawing on the beach forces the artist to battle conditions previously un-encountered. Examples of this include everything from battling the sand that blows all over your paper that you accidentally draw over, to the fact that waves refuse to stand still for you at all. Tourist (especially where I live) like to come up and and hover behind you (something I hate) and refuse to stop talking about how great it is that there are still cultured young people out there (try just antisocial). And lets not forget that the tide demands you move your self every hour farther and farther back and if you refuse, say goodbye to those cute little sandels. Oh, and if its on the city beach, don't forget to avoid the used crack pipes and heroin needles.

Summer is coming and I can't wait. This year, the paints come out.

Playful Art: The Importance of Coloring Books

From the Munny line of coloring books #11

When I was in college, there were a few times over the year where I got little sleep for weeks on end, and no sleep for multiple days in a row. Of course I could get away with it having only a bicycle to drive, and no jobs to labor at (except the front desk at the school). During the year, almost all my efforts were focused on the required amount of practice sketches for every class, exhibition trips, art thesis papers on said trips, schematics for 3d design, and the horrible, painful world of material testing. During these trials and tribulations and still to this day it is vividly important to always have fun. Here are a few things one can do to keep it lively:

Utilizing the Library

I really haven't practiced my trade on a consistent basis for a combination of reasons. Firstly, a lack of materials. Secondly, a disorganized lifestyle, and lack of workspace. Thirdly a lack of guidance and inspiration.


I really didn't appreciate just how helpful even the most useless of art classes were to developing my medium. Simply having being told "do this!" clears up artists block better then anything then you can imagine. I've had numerous, brilliant concepts for truly divine paintings blip into my mind over the past three years, but none of them I've been able to see through because I wasn't remembering the basics.

Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain is
practically a legend in art study books, and
one of the first I ever read.

First Writing Exercise Part Deux

This post is the second half of a writing exercise started here.

I know I said this would be posted quite a few days ago, but due to a short term lack in internet connection, and the fact no one is really reading this blog yet I'm just now sitting down to write it, forgive me.

So lets begin, the first page of a graphic novel. This page should grab you by the proverbial gonads and make you want to read more. To do that, there needs to be a unique combination of design, writing, font, drawing style and color.

I'll begin with a legend in the comic book industry:

Charicature Portraits

The scrolls had our surnames written
on them, which I concealed for privacy reasons.

This most recent Christmas, my boss gave me a nifty double sided picture frame. The one side displays a single 5x7 photo and the other side display two 5x3.5 images. While it's not exactly something I would go out and purchase myself, I thought it was a cute gift and was excited at the prospect of putting pictures of me and my significant other in it. I placed the frame in a spot that was out of the way, but easily visible to anyone in the room.

Almost three months have passed and I'm still staring at the sickingly adorable perfect couple stock photo people. Sick of looking at the happy couple staring into each other's eyes while they lay on some grass, I decided the most infinately awesome thing to replace this with is the lovely portraits you see above you. Here's an (lame) account of my inspiration:

Second Writing Exercise

Disclaimer: This post contains profanity, violence, misogyny, and basically is just kind of sick. It is simply for the sake of my meager attempt to be in a character that's not anything like me. It was a basic writing exercise that was pretty freeflowing and unplanned. Please, please, please, please don't bother reading this if you are squeamish or easily offended.

Activity: "Finish the story. Start with: He had a scar."