Chick #6

This is a study from Taschen's The Great American Pin-Up. The original artist is Al Buell. Other than making her a little too skinny(maybe she needs some of my Hershey's Miniatures...I mean I'm just sayin...), I'm really pleased with this one.

Thanks to Owen at Everyday Matters, for the tip to put a little soap in my water to help break down the wax coating on the pages....so now any painting boo-boo's are strictly due to the operator of the brush, rather than the supplies being faulty. ; )

Hershey's Miniatures

So, if you start one moley, why not start 2? ; ) I had a small watercolor one, and i had some hershey's miniatures, so i painted them. I am not an experienced watercolorist, but i had ordered a ridiculously large amount of Daniel Smith watercolors, and there's no time like the present to try them out. I actually like how this turned out. My Special Dark bar is a little rough, but, that's ok. I played, i learned, and that's what counts. I need to focus some attention on learning more about mixing colors, because generally I just paint straight out of the tube...I know! The Horror!! but, hey, sometimes i just like the color that's in the tube. what can i say. the other thing i might need to pay a little more attention to is light sources and shadows...but i have an excuse for this piece...i ate them before i actually painted the sketch...LOL

Pin-Up Study No. 5

1st off, the pin-ups have a new home...the playboy mansion of journals, if you will...The Moleskine! It's my first Moleskine sketchbook. It's a bit tough to get used to the waxy coating on the paper, however I think once I get over that, this will be one of my very favorite sketchbooks!

So, this little cutie(much cuter by the original artist, mind you!) is a study of one of Rolf Armstong's gals featured in Taschen's The Great American Pin-Up. It's smaller than last journal I was using, so painting that tiny will take some getting used to, just like the new paper, but I think the extra effort will be worth it in the end. It forces me to slow down and really look at what I'm trying to do. I like small detail work, anyway.(most of the time)

Pin-Up Study No. 4

I am loving doing these pin-ups! Each one, I really learn something new, both with the drawing aspect, and then the painting aspect. I know for sure this sketch book paper is crap! Grrrr! If I put too many washes, and by that, i mean more than one(!), the paper starts scrubbing off. BUT, I refuse to not finish a sketchbook I've started...I just may have to use this one for strictly gestures, superquickie sketches,and notes, because I've tried gouache, watercolor, acrylic, and just plain graphite, and they all look horriffic in here. UGH! So, perhaps I'll move the pin-ups to my 1st ever Moley...

I don't think it shows up in the scan at all, but her bikini is gold! ; ) What gal doesn't want a sexy gold bikini and a pair of ridicuously hot purple shoes?!

I still am struggling with hands, feet, and eyes...and getting the proportions of the face right, but it's coming along, so I'm happy...

This another study using my Taschen's 1000 Pin-Up Girls...

Pin Up Study No.3

Here's today's pin-up sketch. These are proving to be a lot of fun, so I'll definitely be continuing...

Today's wasn't based on a drawing, but on a photograph from "Burlesque and the Art of the Teese/Fetish and the Art of the Teese" by Dita Von Teese...

Still some proportion issues to work on, but the hands are a little better, and so is the thigh! Yay! I do wish I hadn't tried to outline it with a 9B pencil...ugh. Next time I'll try to use one of my micron pens.

The Three Graces, Botticelli study-WIP

I started this study a long while ago, but had to put it away for awhile. Finally, i'm coming back to it. Even though it's exceptionally tedious, and I have all the detail in the drapes of the gowns still to capture, it's worth it so far. I love this piece. All of the very dark black is this awesome pencil...the side reads "General Pencil Co. Kimberly 9XXB", so it's darker than an 8B graphite, and it is the most awesome velvety black with NO SHINE! Everythime i go to the art supply store that carries them, I buy one or 2, just in case they ever quit making them. I would be devastated! I don't know how long it will take me to finish this one, but I'm not rushing it....too many lovely little details to capture, and as this is one of my very favorite master works, I have to do it justice. ; )

18"x24" graphite on paper

Pin Up Study No.2

ok, so i could list a million things wrong with this one, however, the face is better than the last one, and even though some of the shading didn't go on as smoothly as i like, i like the coloring of her. i guess that's the point of doing studies, though, isn't it? to mess up, and to learn? it's funny, i started college in fashion design, and abandoned it years and years ago, but doing these studies makes me remember how much i loved it. as a kid, and all the way through high school, i could sit for hours and draw clothes. it was all i did. so it's actually quite nice to sit and draw and paint some fashionable little pin-ups.

Portrait of Christ

I don't know if i'm calling this one done yet or not. I love the colors, and the grid pattern of the photo transfer, but I am debating on doing a big sacred heart line drawing on top of the whole thing in wither white or silver. I am trying to think on it. This is one of the photos i took in the cemetery...I love using them in my work!

22"x30" mixed media on Arches watercolor paper

The Final Red Abstract

This is the final panel for a commission I was working on... The 1st shot is a detail shot of the right side, and the 2nd larger shot is the whole painting. I think this one might be my favorite of the 3, but I might need to see them all together to say for sure!

40"x40" acrylic on canvas

Private collection of Mr. A. Allen

pin up study numero uno

One of my (many!) resolutions is to focus on drawing the human figure, both naturally, and in my favo style...the pin-up. I bought several books last year including Taschen's 1000 Pin-Up Girls, and this is a study from that book, For a 1st attempt, I am more than pleasantly surprised at how it turned out, and at how quickly I did this. I love her, bad feet, skinny thigh, and all! ; ) WHY DIDN"T I TRY THIS SOONER?! LOL

p.s. ...i've mentioned them in a couple of the last posts, but let me mention them here again- I totally heart Derwents watersoluble graphitone pencils. Do a little shading, wash over them with some H2O, and you get the best sparkly gray wash, and awesomely enough, the sparkle will show through your gouache! How can you not love something that leaves a little glitz?

quick sketches for my commissioned pieces

just some rough sketches for 2 different commissions i'm working on, but i like how they came out, so i thought i'd post them. the 1st one will end up being 2 panels, with lots of gold, and using the cemetery imagery. it's based on one of my previous cemetery paintings where i painted on the coffee filter. the 2nd one is going to be massive... a large painting to basically serve as a headboard of sorts, and she gave me free reign to whatever...her only request: japanese tattoo! SWEET! i do have to laugh, because i did all my doodles in pink, and she is most certainly not a pink-y kind of gal. she loves red, the darker the better, so i'll have way more doodles to go with this one, just to get to the red vibe!

You Set My Soul Alive

I am getting a very late start to my New Year's resolution to draw every single day, but better late than never, right? This little hand*book square journal is proving to be a good choice. Another pink, red, and gold gouache spread using those Derwent watersoluble pencils.... the angel is a little rough, simply because i didn't try to sharpen the pencils to a finer point, and because I drew her super fast. i don't mind the imperfections...this was more about me relaxing, letting go, and just getting something on the page. once i get that habit down, i'll work on more detail in the drawings. I can't seem to break away from this color palette yet...it must have something to do with my new attempt to explore my emotions and such...all pink and lovey-dovey! that and just love these colors anyway. i like this style, but i also like the more graphic drawings, too( like my skulls and the ribcage/heart spread) hmmmm... it's weird. i still don't feel like i have developed my OWN style. i guess if i draw everyday, it will just develop on it's own.

Just a note...

Often when i open my blog, i try to imagine what everyone else is seeing. Lately i've been posting all my stuff from flickr, because it has been so easy, but looking at my blog, i don't like how it posts here. it's too small. i know you can click on the picture to make it larger, but i guess it's that whole "1st impression" thing... so i'll be switching back to posting from here. plus you can add more than one picture when you post from here.

What If....

What If....,
originally uploaded by GlitzInk.

I have a few "I wonder what happened to him"s, and more than my share of "what the hell was i thinking when I went out with him"s, but I think i only have one true "what if..."

i love Sabrina Ward Harrison's journals, and this spread makes me think of her stuff. I love the colors and i really like the water soluble Derwent pencil....that thing is quickly climbing the list of favorite art supplies. I also like the challenge of the square hand*book journal. It's going to make for some very interesting compositions. NOTE TO SELF: if you use too much water wih your paint it will indeed seep through in the crease!

The Wild Beat Of My Heart

The Wild Beat Of My Heart,
originally uploaded by GlitzInk.

a new spread in my hand*book journal, with gouache. I am trying to explore more with my journals, both with my materials, and with my thoughts and emotions. The materials part is not so difficult once I get started, but the other part...well, that's a different story. I have been thinking a lot about relationships lately, and so it just seemed natural to do a heart inside a ribcage. I love how it came out! I think I'll do another piece, a large painting perhaps, using this. It's interesting.