Sunday, October 17, 2010

Breakfast with Grandpa


This is a re-creation of an adorable picture that I found in an old children's book. I used watercolors and indian ink.

Practice II



This is a re-creation of a picture by another artist. The original picture is a computer generated image, and I just wanted to see how close I could get to it using watercolors.

Practice with Disney Characters



Nothing special, just some watercolor practice with Disney characters.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Photoshoped Pumpkin & Happy Halloween




Right now I'm on a self teaching high, if I can teach myself to sew (which is going very well), then I believe I can teach myself anything. Moving forward with that ideology, my newest project is to teach myself Photoshop CS5. Not an easy task, but after week 1 I'm off to a great start thanks to "Photoshop CS5: The Missing Manual" by Lesa Snider (very informative book that was 100% worth the $32 I paid) and YT tutorials by Tutcast.com (great tutorials, because they speak slowly, provide great explanations and have focused, well filmed screen shots). So, thanks to tutcast, here is the before and after of the photoshop carved pumpkin that I made. Enjoy!

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Illustration Friday: Dessert


This is still one of my favorite images. I absolutely love the "cherry bomb".

Friday, September 3, 2010

A sweet birthday card
























So, for my mom's birthday I got the brilliant idea of making her a card. In fact, since she only wanted a book for her birthday, I made her a bookmark, a birthday card and a reversable tote bag (I'm teaching myself how to sew with Youtube & w/random sewing sites). This was all so much fun, because it reminded me of the glitter covered, macaroni art that I used to give her as a child. Even though we live miles apart and hours away from each other, I still worked with the same giggly, secretive fervor as I used to. Over all, this was one of my favorite projects, and I think I might start making my own cards.

Friday, August 13, 2010

MIA

I fly like paper, get high like planes. If you catch me at the border all da visas in my name. If you come around here...oh wait, that's the wrong MIA, but you have to admit that "Paper Planes" is a good song. No clue what they're singing about, but it's a good song!

Okay, so I've been m.i.a for a month and a half, and my second admission is that I don't feel guilty. I think sometimes I just need to stop and smell the roses. Art is just as much about input as it is about output, and if your candle wick is completely burnt out you can't properly behold all the beauty around you. So, I bought a new wick, beheld some beauty and now I'm ready to set some stuff on fire (figuratively speaking, of course).

Friday, June 18, 2010

Illustration Friday: Ripple



FYI: So, Ripple is a blog that was started by Kelly Light as a way for artists to give back and help the situation in the Gulf. It is an amazing project and I encourage everyone to use the hyperlink and look at the website. My Ripple is a picture of the Statue of Liberty ____ (consoling/passively supporting/helping/holding back/?) a grief stricken Mother Nature. We're all upset, but it remains to be seen how the US will handle this tragedy, so fill in the blank with the most appropriate adjective you feel describes our reaction. This is one that I will definitely revisit when I get better with watercolors. Please comment, and let me know what you think.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

My First Illustration Friday: Trail


The trail to free cupcakes was long and treturous.

The good, the bad and the un-ugly




The Good: This is my first attempt at an outdoor scene and illustrating animals. The Bad: It's not my favorite, it's a little flat. The Un-ugly: Not bad for a first try.







Monday, June 7, 2010

When bad scanners happen to good people...









This makes me sad, because this is one of my favorite pictures--it's got just the right amount of cuteness and cross dressing, but I can't get the colors to pick up on my scanner or camera. I've adjusted the gamma, whiteness, blackness, contrast, hue, saturation, brightness (you name it, I've played with it and these pictures are the best I can do). The true image lies somewhere between the three pictures. The background is a very, very light bubble gum pink, and the tiara, tutu and table are varying shades of pink. Dad's shirt is cerulean blue with green stripes. His earrings, the hairs in the brush and the baby bottle are cad yellow. The baby doll is wearing a very pale version of the orange that's on Dad's cheeks. I would love to show off this picture, so if you have any suggestions about color manipulation leave me a comment! Please!
*While I was adjusting the colors I got a little side tracked and photo-edited the baby doll and the pizza out.








Sunday, May 23, 2010

Second picture from class at Laguna Gloria




This is the second and last picture that I painted during my illustration class. I haven't had much time to paint and draw since the class finished, so I still haven't finished it, but I'm hoping to do so over the next week.
(1st drawing) As you can see, my sketches start with stick figures. Since I'm trying to get the posing and position down I don't spend much time on these.
(2nd drawing) I use the stick figure as my guidelines and I build on top of it. I also played with making the skirt shorter, but I really like the effect of the fuller, longer skirt. It acts as a parachute and makes it feel like she is gliding down to the bed.
(3rd drawing) It's still a work in progress, but I like the richness of the dress and the contrast between it and the wall. I also like the shading on the socks. Right now the dress is the star of the picture, so I want to develop the shading on the little girl so that she pops as much as the dress. Then, I want to add a pattern on the bedspread, and finish the side table and poster.

Ballerina from class with Mark Mitchell at Laguna Gloria (AMOA)


Last month, I took my first illustration class (Intermediate Illustration) at Laguna Gloria. The class was taught by Mark Mitchell, and he is a wonderful artist and art teacher. I don't want to go into specifics about what I learned from the art class, because I don't want to infringe on Mark's intellectual property, but I will say that I learned great information about color, image placement, watercolor materials and how to evaluate my work. Mark was incredibly patient and a wonderful teacher, and I enjoyed hanging out with the other students in the class. Overall, I give the class 2 thumbs up and I can't wait to take the fall illustration class!

I try to draw every night, and the ballerina is a drawing from my sketchbook that I painted during the class. This is my 3rd original watercolor.





Monday, May 17, 2010

Evil Cupcakes Header


The header is my latest watercolor. I'm a huge fan of Shel Silverstein's work, so my next project will be to illustrate a couple of his poems.


Art Studies I


I painted this picture as a way to compare computer generated art with hand-drawn/hand-painted art. The original was done on a computer by another artist and my image was painted with watercolor paints and pencils, and ink. For the most part, the colors were the same, but there was a a certain crispness and precision that my picture lacked.

Barbie 1

As a kid, Barbie was my favorite toy. I could play with her for hours, and I think I did until I was 16. But, as much as I loved Barbie, I always wished she looked like me, not a brown replica of the blue eyed Barbie, but a Barbie with afro textured hair, medium carmel skin and my facial features. This caused me to create an entire series of Barbies that reflected me. Barbie 1 was drawn in the style of the famous 80's Barbie coloring books.

Clang!




I enjoyed drawing this one, but after I finished I couldn't decide which version of the word "Clang!" I liked better. Number 3 (bottom) is the original, but I think I like #2 (middle) the most; I think it's the least expected and that's why it's my favorite of the three. What do you think?

Boo!

I notice that when it's cold or snowy outside I always think of Halloween. I guess the horror movie marathons and the candy corn get stuck in my mind.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Trick or Treat, Give Me Something Good to Eat!



Who doesn't like candy, plastic pumkins and face paint?

Yuck! My Very First Post


This is my first step to becoming a professional artist, not an "aspiring artist" or a "I-draw-every-single-day-but-I-don't-call-myself-an-artist artist". So, I'm incredibly excited about this blog. Thanks to my family and friends, and thanks D for helping me name my blog! Enjoy!