Keep Calm, Carry On

"Keep Calm, Carry On"

Mixed Media. 2010

For this, I created an ink and watercolor drawing, then went in and added more digitally. I really like how it turned out. Funny thing is, I hated the original drawing and almost threw it out. Instead, I left her sitting in my sketchbook for a good year or more, all the while adding a little more to her from time to time. One day I decided to break out the watercolors, and the rest is history. It kind of reminds me of Danny Roberts' work?

I am reeeally happy with how it turned out. It's a little different, but I'm having lots of fun working with color and playing with different media. Tons of fun... One of my fave details is in the shot above- The Russian graffiti in the background (check out the paint drips!) and Zac Posen's braided spike headband.

And just another closeup, so you can really see the colors and textures. I love the lace collar! Very pleased with it. Reminds me of Prada's A/W08 collection.

"One Day..." Illustration

"One Day This Will All be an Irrelevant, Bad Dream"

Mixed Media

2010

Sketch Journaling

Sooo long story short, I've been doing a ton of writing, another hobby/outlet of mine, and it always finds its way into my drawing, so thus, sketch journaling lol. Again, since I have not had the discipline to do painting, I've been doing small scale drawings, and am posting them here for anyone who wants insight into my mind haha.

Minerva. 7/10
I *love* Deftones. Thus, this drawing was done under the influence of the song "Minerva" (bet you wouldn't have guessed that). Any way, that is that...

And next, a piece containing so many random elements that somehow magically came together in some mystical strange and unfortunate way lol. (Oh vagueness... how people cannot understand you...) Without going into details, the juxtaposition of the writing, the calligraphy, and the drawing it all goes hand in hand. I wasn't terribly fond of the girl's sweet, pensive expression, but then I thought about "what if" it isn't some tranquil line of thought she's persuing? Some of us are a little nuts...

risk, caution. 7/2010

And so, if I haven't lost you yet, and you're still reading, I apologize for my blabbery. Business and personal junk aren't supposed to mix, but right now, I can't find the ability to seperate the two. Please put up with me, I promise you I will eventually have something else for you folks haha.

Houston Art Walk

So, I was hoping to have loads of awesome pictures etc etc, but as it turns out, as soon as I got to Betz Gallery, I was immediately sent to work. I didn't even get to see what else was in the gallery! Sad but funny... Before the art walk even started, a young couple came in shopping for art. So, I got to ring them up. Oh so professional... The gallery was already pretty full, so I was lucky to still have room for my art. I had a little space for my work. To my dismay, the band had to be brought inside due to the rain, and guess where they set up... right in front of my work! So I thought "Great, no one's gonna even walk over there to check it out!" Weeelll....

To my surprise, I actually had a really nice girl talk to me about my work, and a couple minutes later, I had a buyer! So `a outrance now has a new home, no longer giving me attitude from her perch in my room, but now someone else's! haha

So, thank you! The piece just kind of started as an experimental piece, just for fun, but I've had such a nice response from lots of people about it, that I'd like to do a couple more in the same spirit. But for now, I'm still just going to enjoy my leisure time lol.

(only in) Remission

"(only in) Remission"
2010



Originally I had considered a red heart. Although it worked for my personal meaning behind the piece, and looked beautiful with her red hair, something about it was just not working. Plus, I didn't want it to look too typical or like some kind of religious iconography, so I had a last minute overhaul of the whole concept-- the night before the show!


The idea of a bruised or grayed/decaying sort of heart came to mind. Then I also thought about how coals are black and gray; dingey and dead looking, yet still containing bright burning red embers inside. From the start, I wanted the heart to morph into something organic. The veins and arteries reminded me of roots (which tied into some complex metaphorical statement I wanted to illustrate, that I don't want to go into right now- haha) and so I was thinking of it turning into roots and twigs; like something was growing from it. The thought of rich blacks and grays reminded me of black irises- thus the idea was born.

One of my favorite, overlooked parts of this is the bust (LOL). Using a super-secret technique, I creating this pattern of colors and highlights, coming through the black of the corset. You should click the image above to see it up close.

Below you can see more textural elements I incorporated throughout this piece:

And there you have it- my latest piece.

Houston Art Walk

As of today, I have signed up for the 2nd annual Houston Art and Culture Art Walk!

My work will be on display at Betz Gallery, and I will also be there working the event.

I know a lot of you readers are not in the area, but if you do find yourself in Houston on May 15th, I'd love to see you there! More info on their site ^__^

Bleep blorp computing error! x_x

Yup, that's the way computers speak to one another... my brain (and my eyeballs) are fried. I've been working on the same stupid painting for about 5hours now... I'm sooo tired of it! haha :P I just need to take a break, go to sleep...

Just wanted to share the progress with you guys. I'm reeeeally excited because I've been having some problems with getting her colors/shading right, and for whatever reason I broke out my prismacolors and went to town... Very happy with the results! Any way, I'm gonna take a break now...

I will leave you with a shot of my messy work area. It's like a squirrel den. Or rat's nest... It can be clean and organized... but not when I'm working. Evvverything gets dragged out and tossed within a 12" radius of me for easy access haha. Those freaking lights too... It is burning up in here with them being on all day! My head hurts... zzzzzzzz

Rant and Rave

Another old pic, since I have nothing new to post lol...

Sooo angry!! My stupid Photoshop isn't working, and my iTunes is goooone!! My music!!! noooo!! Completely unnecessary for any of you to know, or care about, but I am angry! And in need of an outlet for my anger... sigh...

Lanvin Spring 2010 Styling

As usual, the photos suck, but I'm still pretty happy with how this turned out. While I was in Houston, I just spent my idle time doodling away, and this is one of the products. She's based off an editorial featuring Lanvin's Spring 2010 Beauty. (Lots of smokey eyes, whispy updos, and bleached brows)

I really liked the model- as you can see, she had some really sharp, stunning features, and serious attitude. I'm happy with how this turned out, especially with limited art supplies while I was away lol.



I have a couple ideas for finishing this. I like it as a simple black and white illustration, but I think a few subtle colors might be nice, or just a severe black background-- lots of different directions to take it in. That's usually why I choose to color some of my drawings digitally, because I don't want to be tied down to just ONE result.

Going Old School

I am currently working on a painting, several pieces of jewelry, and a quilt. Lots of projects in the works, but none to show off. Soo, I thought I'd share something from the archives that I don't think very many people have seen. It's just something out of an old 2006-08 sketchbook, but I still like it, so I thought I'd share it with you.


She's never really had a title, other than "Untitled" or something like "Golden Moth," because uh, duh, they're gold colored mothy kind of wings.

The colors don't photograph very well, since I used a sort of metallic red/peach ink and gold paint. But, you get the idea. This next pic is a detail shot- I thought it was really cool how it unintentionally had some art nouveau things going on with the back of her hair (see below):


And finally, details from the wing, which I still really like. You can click on the photo to get a good close up and check out all those details.


Any way, patience my pretties, I will have something else to look at soon enough, maybe art, maybe not. I've got a few new sketches, but just haven't had the chance to photograph them. Any way...

geez enough already!

I'm seriously tired of not having anything to say around here! I've started tons of projects and haven't finished a single one, and if I have, it's nothing worth posting haha! My Chicago trip was a bit of a flop- I had to come home due to a "situation" back home (my car is now totaled haha). I'm going insane STILL trying to finalize a sale that was initiated just before/after Christmas time... Working on a quilting project (It's for someone else, I'm not that nerdy, okay???) and I think there's lots more, but that just scratches the surface haha. Sorry folks. I feel like I haven't been here in forever!

Remember that Colbert Nation art contest I mentioned a while back? Well, I never really had time to work on a cool James Jean inspired portrait, so I just submitted my original illustration (see above). The contest is kind of having a hard time with gaining momentum, so I'm not sure how it's going to go... (If there aren't enough submissions, then there won't be a contest lol) Everything just seems to be on hold right now *sigh...*

Road trip, Holla

Yup, tomorrow I'm headed for a much needed mini getaway. I've never been to Chicago, but I hear it's a pretty cool city, so I'll give you my input when I get back LOL. Before I go, I just wanted to leave you with a little something.
I did this a while back and have totally forgotten to post it. She's modeled after the lovely Lily Donaldson. The girl has a gorgeous, unique face, and the "unusual" aspects make her really hard to draw. Eegad... I am happy with how this drawing turned out of her (it looks better than some of my others haha). Any who, like it, love it, or hate it, try not to pick her apart too much, because it'll just drive me more nuts if you do haha. Adieu...

i-D Magazine Cover

Okay, okay, so it's a mock-up, not the real deal... but I thought it would be fun to play around with!Working on getting a new portfolio together to try my hand at illustration... Thought some editorial mock-ups might be a nice touch, to see what could be done...

Illustrations

I've been a little uninspired with painting lately, so I've gone back to my roots with pencil drawings. This time however, I've taken a different route, and I'm trying to shake things up a bit. I LOVE the work of illustrators Kelly Smith and Bec Winnel. They are both working out of Australia, and their art has been featured in tons of shows, fashion editorials, and magazine covers! I LOVE that they can both succeed in the art world, as well as commercially, in the fashion industry. Very inspiring to me! ^__^


Rose Colored. 2010. Alex Teale

I just felt like drawing and playing with color, so I picked up a cream colored sketch pad and half heartedly started sketching. Then I really got into it, ans started getting all kinds of ideas for a new series. Any way, I don't want to go nuts and change up what I do JUST for other people, JUST to sell art. But, I do want to push myself and try new things, just to see what I can do, or rather, what I like to do. Any way, this was the first one from that endeavor, and I'm kind of pleased with it. I was kind of excited to share it, but of course, the photo quality is terrible lol...

"Amaranth" & Updates

"Amaranth"

January 2010

So, I finally got her done... Not really sure what I think, but either way, it's done, and I'll move on! I got all my submissions dropped off today for the upcoming juried show at 500x Gallery. Super excited to find out if I'll be getting in!! I will know sometime between now and Tuesday... I will let you know! I submitted this one, "Paper Whites," "Fight or Flight," and "`a outrance" (the chick in my blog title picture). Any way, lots of obstacles and money put into this, so I'm hoping it works out haha. C'est la vie... ;)

Teaser Pics

Not too much going on right now, just getting stuff ready for the 500x show coming up this month. Submissions are next week, so I'm just getting last minute stuff done. (Framing, touching up, etc) One of the pieces I'm submitting is something I started back in June that I've just put off to the side. I got the figure part done with, but then just got stuck with what direction I wanted to take it in. I've kind of got an idea now, so I'm working toward the finishing touches and polishing it up a bit.

Limited Edition Prints

Colbert Concepts...

After posting yesterday I decided to start some sketches to figure out what I might do for the ColbertNation contest. It was just a small little pencil sketch and then today I got bored and messed with it in Photoshop. It's not anything like what I'll be submitting, but I figured I'd post it any way.

Detail from the original:

Color Edit:

Collage

Got my collage thrown together about an hour or two before class haha. I ended up taping everything up to a crappy crooked foam board lol. I think it turned out alright, considering everything. I really like the colors, but unfortunately, they kind of photographed yellow. Oh well. Here it is...  (click on the pics to view closer)

The assignment was to make a collage about "me" which I thought was super boring so instead I opted to take artistic licence and make it about what inspires me as an artist. touche! So I did little drawings based on my favorite muses, people who inspire me with their own artistic visions (photographers, musicians, artists, designers), and a few people who have shaped my thinking along the way.

Above I have Colin Meloy (The Decemberists), muses Meghan Collison, Coco Rocha, and Sasha Pivovarova, as well as a drawing inspired by the photography of Lara Jade, and last, a drawing based off an old photo of my grandmother.


















And pictured above is Dr. Stephen T. Colbert, DFA and conservative pundit (HAAA) who continues to impart gifts of irony and satire to closet comedians such as myself- as well as the lovely Lily Donaldson as seen in one of my favorite photos. Plus, she kind of looks like Rachel Deschanel in my drawing, which is cool with me too (another muse).

It's quite hard to photograph, so unfortunately you are getting the crappy version of it : (
It's actually kind of like a widescreen/panoramic view. The idea was kind of like people on a stage. Some are in the background, and others, like ol' rabbit ears, actually are hanging off the edge of the stage. And then there's kind of a support collumn running through the center and far left of the stage. I hope to get some scans eventually. Until then...

Side tracked...

Is that one word or two? Any way, I have some stupid collage project due for a class. It's supposed to "represent ME" and frankly, I hate collages. So the very act of creating a stupid cut and paste collage in fact does NOT represent me. lol. And honestly, if I had to cut and paste found images, I would just find cool pictures that go together and just create a picture, not be "true" to the subject matter. SO, I figured it would be "really easy" to just draw all my own pictures to put into a collage. Well, easier said than done, it's taking me more time than I had hoped haha. Here's a little bit of what I got done today.

It's inspired by the collage work of Danny Roberts, so I thought I'd give a nod to him by giving my girl his signature blush circles. The finished piece will be made up of people or things that inspire me- whether it's the actual people, the designers, or the photographers who took the pictures I'm recreating.

It's honestly way more trouble than it's worth, but the class is NOT challenging AT ALL so I thought I could use this assignment to challenge myself, to work out of my comfort zone or to think a little creatively. Sure, it's not totally "original" but for me, it's something new. PLEASE DON'T READ INTO THIS TOO MUCH, [esp literally] but for me, collaging is more just a craft than "art"- it has its place in the world, and some people are pretty good at creating some nifty things, but for ME actually doing it, it just feels like a tedious hobby. So, I'm trying to put some sort of meaning or effort into it haha.