sketching things

More things from another life.

 

the first batch: ink/pencil/marker/gouache. Technique as taught by N. Schureman.

the last batch: charcoal, acrylic/oil. Technique learned elsewhere but for the same class.

intermission iii

 Been a busy bee--so I entertain you with this piece from a long time ago, in a galaxy far far away...

Not that long ago actually, lol. But I'm in a bookish mood because I just came from my first day at this amazing thing. So I share with you this bit of fanart from way back in 2011 for a book I immensely enjoyed, Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld.

"Being dorsal was real flying - the wind in her face,
and sky in all directions..."

Even after all these years, this piece really stayed with me. I edited it quite a bit--with watercolor, of all things! It was originally in oil and acrylic, but it just wasn't catching the brightness and skyiness I wanted Deryn to be surrounded by. I loved her freedom and her solitude. It was equal parts liberating and restricting, and I found that dynamic fascinating!

The inspired Mr. Westerfeld was wonderful enough to feature it on his weekly Fanart Friday blogposts and you can see the original version here. You can also see the Broadway musical poster version of it here (lol!) as well as a few cutesy, chibi versions of the two main characters I did back when I was experimenting with photoshop.

Maybe in the third round I'll try pen and ink. There's something nice about the gesture in the original sketch I really like:

Heck, I even like the back of the sketch, roflol!

 I think that's part of the magic of illustration sometimes. You don't know why something's working, it just feels right. So you just run with it and see where it goes....

Nice memories.



medium: Started acrylic and oil. Then digitally edited to a watercolor background. World is so forgiving with computers in it. Though I guess not so much with the internet in it too....balance?

paintings, still more

Self portraits from Art Center's Portraiture class with D. Luce.

I like these.  I don't know why.  

medium: oil

  

more painting things

Paintings from Art Center.  I forget for what class and for whose class and who was with me in the which class.  

They might actually have been from the workshops.

 

These funny little abstracts are from the end of a painting day.
I hate throwing away leftover oil paint, but I hate saving it too (it gets a weird consistency).
So I started doing smaller alternate portraits on a sketch pad or spare canvas to try to use up all the paint.
Confession: sometimes I like the caricatures better than I like the portraits.

I love painting.  

medium: oils, predominantly.

painting things

Figurative paintings from ye ol' Art Center days past. 

I forget which classes these were for.  My memory failing is not to be interpreted as subtext or subconscious inner-workings (though would I be conscious of it, if it were?) -- it's more likely the accumulation of too much time passing, too many faces blurring, and the privilege of too many great teachers in too many great classes imparting onto us the singular importance of the basics.  As it should be, I believe.   

mediums: oil (maybe acrylics) on probably canvas.