Day 14 of my 30 paintings in 30 days challenge. I'm using sketches i created from Instagram photos on my iPhone I did as part of a 100 day project and turing 30 of them into paintings. User: @elleluna
Original Instagram photo:
100 Day iPhone Sketch:
30 in 30 day painting:
Gouache & Ink. 8 x 8 on 140 lb. watercolor paper.
Day 13 of my 30 paintings in 30 days challenge. I'm using sketches i created from Instagram photos on my iPhone I did as part of a 100 day project and turing 30 of them into paintings. User: @crazystylelove
Original Instagram photo:
100 Day iPhone Sketch:
30 in 30 day painting:
Acrylic & Ink. 8 x 8 on 140 lb. watercolor paper.
Day 12 of my 30 paintings in 30 days challenge. I'm using sketches i created from Instagram photos on my iPhone I did as part of a 100 day project and turing 30 of them into paintings. User: @caitlincrosby (photo by @jasminestar)
Original Instagram photo:
100 Day iPhone Sketch:
30 in 30 day painting:
Acrylic & Ink. 8 x 8 on 140 lb. watercolor paper.
Day 11 of my 30 paintings in 30 days challenge. I'm using sketches i created from Instagram photos on my iPhone I did as part of a 100 day project and turing 30 of them into paintings. User: @jaimiealexander
Original Instagram photo:
100 Day iPhone Sketch:
30 in 30 day painting:
Acrylic & Ink. 8 x 8 on 140 lb. watercolor paper.
Day 10 of my 30 paintings in 30 days challenge. I'm using sketches i created from Instagram photos on my iPhone I did as part of a 100 day project and turing 30 of them into paintings. User: @thegivingkeys / @cubbygraham / @charitywater
Original Instagram photo:
100 Day iPhone Sketch:
30 in 30 day painting:
Acrylic & Ink. 8 x 8 on 140 lb. watercolor paper.
Day 8 of my 30 paintings in 30 days challenge. I'm using sketches i created from Instagram photos on my iPhone I did as part of a 100 day project and turing 30 of them into paintings. User: @feliciaday
Original Instagram photo:
100 Day iPhone Sketch:
30 in 30 day painting:
Acrylic & Ink. 8 x 8 on 140 lb. watercolor paper.
Day four of my 30 paintings in 30 days challenge. I'm using sketches i created from Instagram photos on my iPhone I did as part of a 100 day project and turing 30 of them into paintings. User: @northern_wind
Original Instagram photo:
100 Day iPhone Sketch:
30 in 30 day painting:
Acrylic, Silver Metallic Acrylic & Ink. 8 x 8 on 140 lb. watercolor paper.
One day a few weeks ago I decided I wanted to create something new, but I wasn't sure what. I started with just throwing down some watercolors, then took an X-acto knife to make shavings from my watercolor crayons. I spread these shaving out randomly on top of the previous (dried) watercolor. Then I grabbed a spray water bottle and sprayed around on the shavings until they started to dissolve a bit. I let that dry and washed over again with some more watercolors.
At this point I still wasn't sure what this work would become. I knew I had created a base to work off, but that was all. As I sat pondering, I felt a need to express something that would speak about a current social issue. Having been on a trip to Nicaragua this May to help bring clean water to a village, I decided that was what this piece was about. I found some reference photos to use as inspiration, and set to drawing with black Take-Sumi ink using a bamboo pen. Once the ink dried, I carefully went back in adding some yellow gouache.
The result was something that spoke to a lot of people, about an important issue. "A Cup of Water for the Least of These." I recently sold the original as well as some prints. Sometimes, you just need to follow inspiration where it takes you. Sometimes I plan out what I'd like to do, but other times I like to just "play" and see what comes. There is tremendous freedom in that!
If you're interested in donating money to help provide get clean water visit here.
If you'd like to purchase a print of this or other work of mine visit my society6 shop!
I've been experimenting with a scribble style lately, with Star Wars as my subject matter. This experiment is forcing (sorry for the pun) to keep things fast & loose. It seems the more "successful" ones are where I push myself to just keep moving. Scribble more. Stop & adjust less. My line is a continuous line drawing (you don't pick the pen up from the page at all) using various black inks. Most of the color is watercolor paint, watercolor crayons or pencils. Some spots are non-diluted by water. Every so often I hit a spot with a dark blue china marker. And then I add some white gouache and black watercolor paint. This helps to keep things from breaking down completely, keeping to some highlight & shadow values. It helps give the subjects some form.
To be honest, the first one (Yoda) was the hardest. I wasn't feeling loose. I kept worrying about if things looked "right". It's hard to keep yourself moving. That perfectionist voice doesn't like that. So this is another way to beat him. Keep it fast & loose.
Today I did my Skywalker scribble. I chose this scene, rather than a straight up portrait, because this is my favorite scene from Star Wars: A New Hope. Luke's world has been rocked. His aunt & uncle are dead. He's at a crossroads. He must decide to stay behind and try to pick up the pieces or move ahead into an unknown (and potentially) dangerous adventure. This scene always speaks to me of hope, longing and a sense of destiny. Powerful themes in my own life.
A couple of weeks ago I announced the winner of my contest. Jeannie Pauly (@rovingsprout on Instagram) was the lucky winner with her submission of her huge moth photo. A perfect Autumn subject (and yes, kinda creepy). The original art will be en route to her this week!
I figured I'd take this opportunity to not only show the final illustration that Jeannie will be receiving but also show a bit of my process. I know that as an artist I love to see other artist's process. So here we go:
First, I go right to drawing out the moth and surrounding pole / background with my Staedler pens (black waterproof ink - 4 pen set sizes .1 .3 .5 .7). I start with a .3 in size and work my way up to a .7 where I want to add a little thicker lines and darker areas. I used to start with pencil, but found that I erased too much & was too noncommittal in my line. I switched it up after reading a book challenging me to go right for pen, as it helps you with more confident line. And it forces you to work with the line you've made, rather than to get stuck in constantly erasing & redrawing, never moving on to the rest of the process.
Then I lay down some watercolors - starting with lighter colors and hues. A little wash here and there. A happy little moth. For brushes, I primarily use water brushes like these. But on this one I also used a few watercolor brushes I have kicking around. Nothing special.
I build that up getting darker and darker, defining more of the shadows. I have several sets of watercolors I use. It usually is more about selecting the right colors than sticking with a certain brand. I used a few different pan sets for this one. I tend to like colors that pop, and didn't want to keep the brown and almost monotone feel of the original photo.
Then once the watercolors are dry, I'll go back in to a few spots to hit with a darker black Take-sumi ink (that isn't waterproof). I use my TWSBI pen for this finishing touches stage. And, voilà...
And there you have it folks. Here's the original and the final art! I give you "Moth-er, May I?"
