Quick post!

So being that this "blog" thing is supposed to be for MORE than just simply my art (according to my headline anyway...), I thought I'd throw out a quick update with a tattoo I have in progress that I'm WAY into. Likely because I never get to do stuff like this. And that's just a shame.
Pretty self explanatory, but I'm VERY happy with how it's coming out, and my client Jordan sits like a CHAMP! We're two sessions in with HOPEFULLY only one more to go. Then it's on to a sleeve to match/tie into the Koi!
Sorry for the not so awesome pic, but please, do your best to ENJOY! I know I am.

As promised, something different...

The title says it all, though I'm sure all one of you who reads this thing was more than likely thinking I'd do something completely different from what I did.

So here...we...GO!

After my "glowy doomy skull of doom and glowiness FAIL!", I wanted to take a step back, try to clear my head, and move forward with a much more personal/meaningful piece. And honestly, can one get more personal than their own child? Possibly, but not likely. Moving on...

I used one of my favorite photos of my little princess as reference to this piece, she was a year and a half'ish old in the picture I think (she's 3 and a half'ish now), and I'm pretty sure the story behind it goes:

Jordan was eating a pancake whilst Laurie was taking pictures of her by the window of our old house. Laurie tried to take said pancake. Jordan got mad and said NO! And Laurie, being the wonderful photographer that she is, was able to snap a picture of her "NO! face". So a cheerful anecdote aside, giving credit where it is due, THANK YOU Laurie for taking such wonderful pictures of our little one so that I might use them as painting reference one day.

Back to the painting itself. I made it in one sitting. Probably about 5 or 6 hours total time spent on it. This is another little 5x7. And it makes me smile every time I look at it. This piece definitely made me feel a whole lot better about myself and where my art is at. Which I needed. So thank you again Laurie for the awesome photo. And thank you Jordan for being so damn cute!

I have NO IDEA what I'm on to next. Hopefully it's good!

EPIC FAIL!

So...this did NOT at all turn out as I had hoped. I was SUPER excited about the progress I was making. But at some point it went WAAAY downhill. These things happen...right? I will say though, that I had given up completely and just wanted to force an "end" by the time I got to the background. The only positive thing I can really say for myself is, at least I finished, and I can only learn from mistakes made.
However, due to my fail...I will NOT be using this as my Hell City banner. And due to time constraints, I do not have the time to make another painting. So I will be using my good ole "Green Eyed Gal", and hoping that people do not see it and assume I mainly work in the "Asian influenced" area. Fingers crossed.
The picture is obviously my "finished product", I may in the future scan it etc. But since I don't really like how it turned out, I'm not currently going out of my way for it.
Live and learn. On to the next.
Enjoy?

Where the hell have I been?

That's a DAMN good question. Truth be told. I got a bit lazy. These things happen. Not lazy by way of making art, more so lazy with the whole "blogging" gig. And every time I write one of these I apologize for being a slacker and say I'll be better, and then of course I'm not any better/if not WORSE about keeping up on this thing. I'll spare you. But I DO want to be on top of it more.

Moving on...

"Eject; Commence Operation: Shut Your Fucking Mouth!"

This little guy right here is the super loose painting I had mentioned in my previous entry. Again. I've been looking for techniques that work for me whilst experimenting and screwing around. So here you have the product of my boredom. A super loose, Eric Merrill inspired painting of a Transformers Mighty Mugg I own. Cute eh?

The idea when approaching him came out exactly how I had expected it to. If anything he was more an "exercise" in keeping loose. I didn't really go back and tighten anything and I liked it that way. So that's how I kept it. I do believe there is a place for fun little guys like this (he's 5x7 by the way), but I can't see myself CONSTANTLY painting like this. Again though, a fun time passer.

Now then, I had made mention of something that is WAY different from what I'd normally paint. and it is coming I PROMISE, but, I did run into a little wall and as it turns out I had to go forward with something else before starting. The reason being is that I'll be working Hell City in May (my VERY FIRST CONVENTION!), and I need a banner for my booth. That being said. I've been working on getting that done before starting anything else so I have time for printing etc.

If you'd direct your attention to your left, you will see my banner in progress. Soooooo not interesting right? But I thought I'd share being that this is likely the next complete painting you'll see from me. I'm painting it at 9x12, to be scanned at 300dpi, and then printed at 3ftx4ft.

Why this particular piece holds a special place in my heart is because I took the reference photo myself, whilst my father helped me get the cool lighting. So a bit of teamwork between he and I that resulted in a AWESOME photo that I am hopefully doing justice.

Well, what happens if a psycho wanders in?

So it's been a minute eh? That is the slight trouble with working in oils. I can't really post much until the current piece I'm working on is dry. And that takes about a week. And I SUCK at "in progress" shots. So my apologies to those of you with any interest in what I'm doing here. That being said, moving on...

This nifty fellow is the product of what I had last posted about. As you can see I kept him QUITE loose, actually, the next piece you see from me will be just as, if not MORE loose than this guy was. But I digress...as I had stated, I wanted to TRY to take a popular image and sort of do "my own thing" with it. And make it recognizable as a piece of my art specifically. I'm not sure if I succeeded, but I had a hell of a good time trying. Again. I'm still really trying to "feel around" with this medium and find my own style and niche. Hopefully it's slowly developing. And starting to show.

Back to the painting at hand, this guy is not too large, 8x10, on canvas board. I had started in oils using Masonite as my surface. But the more I work with the canvas boards, the more I enjoy it. And the more I like my results. I really had a lot of fun "pushing colors around" on this one to achieve my desired look. And I'm a fan of how the eyes on this one worked out too.

I already have another little piece done and drying. I'm trying to NOT take such long breaks between posts, hence attempting to get myself a bit ahead of the blog. And I have another piece in the works that will mark something WAY different for me. And inspired by a great friend and mentor. SO...with all that said...Stuff is happening! and I'm doing my best to keep up!

Until next time, which will be hopefully sooner rather than later...

ENJOY!

His name, was Jason...

So here we are again. But this time is a little different. This time I'd like to share my next painting before much of ANYTHING is even done on it. Normally I'd never do such a thing as I'm insane and think it's bad luck to show off unfinished/unrealized ideas.
But today that's the point. Maybe by showing off/talking about what I'm up to (which really is the point of all this "blogging" business isn't it?), then I'll keep the motivation going strong knowing I'd feel like I disappointed people by NOT finishing. Does any of this make sense?
All that being said, here we have it. My next painting. Thrilling eh?
The idea here is pretty self explanatory. I like Jason, as well as the Friday The 13Th films. Part IV in the series is one of my favorites, but then again, who wouldn't want to see a 6 foot psychopath in a hockey mask attack a 9(ish) year old Corey Feldman? So here we have Mr. Voorhees as he appeared in the film.
What I'm really digging about this shot in particular, is that though you couldn't really see his eyes much in the reference, they ARE there and there IS room for interpretation. Is that the word I'm looking for? Hence the "mask off" reference you see back there, allowing me to play around and semi accurately add his eyes inside the mask. I don't want to make them TOO clear, just a bit more noticeable. We shall see how it all works out.

Is this the line for the bandwagon?/Green Eyed Gal

Welcome one and all. Or all one of you. Either or. As stated in the title, I'm jumping on the bandwagon and will be using this fine space to "blog" about my art, and any other thing that seems to fancy me at the moment. Shall we begin?

The little lady you see here was a quick (8x10) oil painting I worked up a week or so ago. Since getting into oils I'm constantly trying different looks/techniques etc. So this was my attempt at a "style" I'm very drawn to and would like to almost "make my own". That style being quite loose in most areas, and tighter where need be. I really liked how it turned out and will likely continue expanding on this type of painting with fun and different subject matter. Eventually thus, creating my own kind of unique and recognizable style. So far so good...I hope.

Do I babble?

Are you still reading this?

That's all I have for now. Thanks for looking, stay tuned for more!