The Power of a "Favorite"

Recently, I added a couple of new original art pieces to my Etsy store. Almost right away, someone favorited this one. I wish I could tell you how much it meant to me that someone took the time to look at it and liked it enough to hit that little button.

From The Sketchbook: Complete Within Herself

Just a little something from my sketchbook. I haven't been drawing much lately, and I'm trying to change that. I'm happiest with the text, which has exactly the effect I wanted - loose, a little archaic, without referencing any ancient culture in particular.

Work in Progress: Medusa

I've been doodling around in one of my throwaway sketchbooks - one of the ones I use when I don't feel like being at all serious about what I'm drawing. It's a good way to work through some block issues, convincing myself that it doesn't matter and it's just for fun. I started drawing some monsters/mythical creatures, like the Sphinx, harpies, angry fairies, and so on. Apart from being an excuse to draw boobs (always fun), I'd like to draw more fantasy art, and this is good practice.

The Medusa popped up in a corner of the sketchbook page, and it made me want to do a more finished version with watercolor pencils. It isn't quite there yet - it's missing something to make it special - but I'm not unhappy with it so far. I layered some iridescent green paint over the pencil as kind of a representation of the power of her gaze. I'm thinking about maybe doing some collaging over it next, adding more mixed media. It's also considerably larger than I usually work for drawings like this, 8"x10".

It's interesting how things changed between the rough initial sketch and the more formal work. They are two very different faces. In some ways, I like the sketch a little better. It's rougher, but it has a vitality to it that I don't feel in the painting. Maybe it's that the snakes are wilder. Maybe it's her open mouth and wider eyes. Both expressions are ambiguous, though, and I like that.

Looking for Light

This time of year, the scant hours of daylight start to get to me. It's not that I don't love the beauty of winter twilight, or enjoy the coziness of the season, because I do, but here we are, in the darkest days of the year, and nothing makes me feel better than days like yesterday when there were a few hours of sunshine and I could get out on my bike and ride for a while in the crisp air and abundant light. I am essentially a creature of sunlight.

I find myself creating illustrations that evoke light in the darkness. They make a light in my inner darkness as I continue to mourn the loss of my aunt. She loved light at Christmastime, too. Her Christmas village was a thing of legend. Someday, when we have room (and space where the cats won't find it a temptation), I'm going to have my own village set up, with twinkling lights and tiny trees.

I shudder to think of what Tobycat, who looks so innocent here, would do to a tiny village if he had the chance. My sweet silly ginger boy! I do love him. Even if he IS the reason we can't have nice things.

Busy, Busy

It's actually been a pretty busy month. I found out about this thing called Inktober over on Tumblr. 31 days of daily ink drawings. For me, it's been casual and fun. It's basically turned into 31 days of cat drawings. I let it.

I've found myself trying some new things, and finding some ideas to work up into more formal treatments. These are the casual drawings that have led (or will lead) to more finished pieces:

 Nyaang, the Last Catnipbender

Many-Armed Cat Goddess

Notre Dame des Petite Chats

 Sibyl Cat

I'll be posting the formal, finished pieces soon. Here's a peek of Notre Dame des Petite Chats in progress:

Light and Shadow

Hand-colored flyer for my upcoming show

In a little under three weeks, my show will be going up at the 5th Street Beanery, here in Eugene. I'm excited and nervous and happy. There's nothing like having an actual goal to work towards to provide inspiration, and more importantly perspiration. I'll be putting in a couple of older pieces, but the majority of the work will be pieces that I've created in the last couple of months.

I was trying to think of a name for this collection that would encompass the range of what I'm doing: illustrated quotes, sunny apron girls, and autumnal Gorey-inspired characters. With typical timing, the name "Summer Light/Autumn Shadow" popped up in my head about two minutes before I fell asleep last night.

Falling, one of the pieces for the show

My goal is to have about thirty pieces ready to go – twenty-five to hang on September 1st, and then a handful of back-up pieces to replace any that sell. I'm about halfway there now.

Oh man, I should have put an owl on the shoulder of the autumn girl in the flyer.

Love and Wings

Love and Wings Mixed Media Collage

This is a little part of my perfect world: living somewhere soft and warm where you are safe with people you love and trust, and it gives you wings to fly with.

This piece will be part of my show next month at the 5th Street Beanery in Eugene.

With The Greatest of Ease

I've been drawing and drawing and drawing lately. Mostly with my beloved Copics, but with this piece, I did something I've been meaning to try for a long time. The background is painted with watercolor. The final result makes me happy.

In September, I'll be the featured artist at the 5th Street Beanery, in Eugene. With a month to go, I have a lot of work ahead of me. I'm excited for it!

Grow, Grow...

I think I've been making real progress on my creative block lately. This ancient quote from the Talmud has been helpful:

Every blade of grass has its angel that bends over and whispers "grow, grow."

It's comforting to think that there's a part of the universe encouraging me to grow and heal and make art. It's up to me to hear those whispers and act on them. Which lately, more and more, I've been managing to do.

Kitchen Witch

Work in progress: Kitchen Witch

The girl from my sketchbook that I posted a few weeks ago formed the inspiration for this drawing. When I was a little kid, we had a kitchen witch hanging up in the window over the sink. It was this kitschy cute 70s/early 80s sort of thing, very like this one here, from this fun Etsy shop:

When I think about the old kitchen witch, I get this warm sense of childhood nostalgia, taking me back to a time when things were safe and simple and I was really innocent and nothing was complicated yet.

I decided to draw a bit of an update of the idea, without using the witchy stereotype of the old woman with the nose. 

Kitchen Witch detail

I'm pretty happy with her so far, especially with the little owl that frequently shows up in drawings. I'm also really happy with the glass jars and their zinc lids, although the pattern I used to signify the preserves didn't work out quite the way that I'd hoped. The colors make me super happy, all warm and soft and cozy. 

Girls In My Sketchbook

A Sketchbook Girl

When I feel like making a quickie little sketch, either in one of my sketchbooks or on the back of an envelope (or for years, in the margins of class notes and on homework), what usually comes out is a girl or a woman. I've never figured out why I'm so drawn to creating the various characters that show up, but from the time I was little, I've drawn people.

I've never been drawn to doing portraits or particularly realistic drawings of people. Maybe because it's only in the last ten years or so that I've understood that (a) I wanted to be an artist and (b) I could actually be an artist.

Ever since I really started to explore the work of artists that I admire and to try to figure out my own style, I've been banging into a wall. Many of my favorite artists and favorite art involve drawings, paintings, collages of women and girls. I want so badly to make art like Cori Dantini or Pam Carriker (they are both just fabulous), but I'm terrified of "copying" them. Of being unoriginal.

A few things have begun to tear down that wall. One is the idea of creating what wants to be created. Another is coming to the understanding that I really do have my own visual signature and that as long as I don't set out to directly copy someone else's work, as long as I bring my own voice to the page, it's ok to take inspiration from someone else's art.

It's my job as an artist to show up to the page, to create the work that wants to be created, and to take care of the quantity of my work, trusting that practice and Inspiration will take care of the quality. And it's ok if what wants to be created are the various smiling, wistful, or knowing faces that arrive on my sketchbook pages and elsewhere.

Frida Progress

Frida in progress

I've been making some progress with my Frida Kahlo illustration. At this point, I'm much happier with her face. The smile and brows are much better (thank you, Heather!) and I've made the eyes just a touch larger, without the chibi-ness of the second version. There's a ways to go on this, though. I need to figure out what I want to say with the composition - the illustration as a whole.

Frida vs Frida

Chibi Frida vs Realistic Frida

I've been working on a vector illustration of Frida Kahlo and I'm not sure which direction I want to take. The more realistic version has its appeal, but the big-eyed, more caricatured version is a bit more what I was going for - taking the visuals that signify "Frida" and exaggerating them to make the finished product more my own.

Which version do you like better?

Art Show at Orycon

My panel at Orycon's art show

Sorry to be so quiet lately! I've been getting ready for (and then recovering from) Orycon. Orycon is our local science fiction/fantasy convention. I've been going to it since 1991, and for the last few years, I've entered my artwork in the convention's art show. And this year, since I've been doing so much mixed media collage, I decided to enter my recent work in the show.

This is probably the best, most polished entry I've ever put together. Bear encouraged me to frame everything, which made a big difference. (I also had a table with some of my felties and overflow artwork, but I let myself get too busy to take a picture of it, silly me.) Nine collaged pieces and three original illustrations.

Overall, it was a great experience. I sold a couple of my felt pieces, and Discovery was claimed by a friend of Bear's, who saw it in the picture he posted to ye olde Facebooke. I think the big lessons I learned for next year would be to make prints of a few pieces to place in the print shop at the show and to target my artwork more carefully.

My friend Vandy didn't sell any of her original pieces, but multiple prints of her work sold. It seems like convention goers are somewhat more likely to buy artwork at print prices rather than original prices. Also, cats and dragons and Dr Who inspired artwork seemed to be the most popular, so I may try to work in more cats next year. Happily, I love cats.

Monday's Inspiration: Emily Hughes

Emily Hughes - "A knight's gotta make a living"

As a long time fan of good illustration, it is SO exciting to watch the next generation of illustrators coming up. One such is Emily Hughes, who blogs over at Emily's Rather Large Adventure and who recently completed her illustration degree.

Emily's work reminds me of a bit of the children's books I loved growing up in the 70's, but at the same time, it's fresh and original. She uses soft, natural color palettes. Her lively lines really bring her work to life. Even in illustrations where the characters are standing still, like in Norwegian Wood, they are vividly alive, caught in an instant between movements.

I need to learn to capture that sense of motion in my own drawings and illustrations.

Toby and Pye, Lino Block Edition

I've been playing with a new method of image-making (new to me, anyway): linoleum block printing. Collage offers classes on the subject every other month or so, and after taking one, I was addicted. There is something kind of magical in producing an image by hand that can then be hand-printed on a variety of surfaces. Also, the printing ink has a slightly different quality on the paper than anything I've ever used before.

This was the first lino block I carved: a portrait of our cats, Toby and Pye. Stripey Toby is chasing after Pye and probably going to stick his face right under her tail. I don't get the cats doing that; I thought that was more of a dog thing. She hates it, but then, they are not exactly friends.

The class itself was marvelously fun: good supplies, clear instruction, friendly encouragement. Collage's upcoming classes are here.

Matroyoshkas, La La La

Monster Monster Magnets on Etsy

I finally got around to putting up Monster Monsters on Etsy! The small square magnets are sold in sets of four, the large round magnets are sold individually. I know it's way early to think about the holidays, but these would make for great stocking stuffers. And all of my magnets are hand-drawn, hand-colored, and unique.

Let Them Listen to Some Other Band

I can't imagine why Marie Antoinette is so often in my mind these days. *wink* I love that her 'do is adorned by an owl.

Inspired in part by the confluence of re-reading the archives of Questionable Content and Noelle's very awesome Broship of the Rings - hipster hobbits! I keep wondering what I can turn into hipsters...cavemen? Swordfish? Grizzled 1800s prospectors?

Pegasnails!

Flying in majestic formation, the wily and elusive pegasnails hope to evade the cranky and voracious pegatortoise long enough to leave their trail across the sky.