Broken Crayons

A couple anatomy studies from today. I should point out that the iPhone, or any smart phone for that matter, is a fantastic tool for an artist. Being able to pull up stock imagery from just about anywhere is very handy. I’ll look up the references in the morning. Both are from deviant-art somewhere.

I got rid of the dudes head in PS because it was rubbish. The girl has no digital post work.

Male Fighter

Random Beauty

Still working on trying to get the likeness of a person. This wasn’t a complete miss but I still have lots of work to do.

Reference

Portrait Study

So I have a confession to make. I have an art crush and… it’s a dude.

I can’t deny it any longer. Everyday when I log on to my computer and start browsing through my Google Reader. The first place I look is Brilliant Anyway. I don’t know Dave Malan, have never met him or spoken with him. I couldn’t even pick him out of a crowd.

But I can recognize his work from a mile away. Wonderful paintings and drawings that show real emotion and character.

Take a moment to go check out his blog, and his official website.

I drew this yesterday and added some basic value. Today I went over it to add more contrast. I’m not sure I improved the image.

Done in my physical sketchbook with a 2B graphite drafting pencil.

Pregnant Woman

More randomness. Get used to it.

The lips and the nude are from observation (photo) the rest was from in my head. I’d like to more naturally come to the conclusion of using basic shapes for initial construction but it just isn’t where I start, typically. I need to work on that. This was done in digital, I forget if it was photoshop of painter.

Random Sketches

Some random sketches I did today at lunch. Since I ultimately want to do art that will frequently involve the human form. I really need to work on my faces and anatomy. So most of what you see on here will fall into that category.

Random Sketches

Okay folks, so I was recently challenged by a fellow artist that my opinion on art was less valuable because I didn’t have any art published to my blog. While I don’t agree with the spirit of the statement, it did point out a glaring omission so expect more, if not daily posts of art, sketches, etc.

Here is a drawing I did as part of the Drawing Jam exercises over at the Drawing Board. I’d post it over there but for some reason I can’t get their site to accept new user registration, so it goes here instead.

P.S. If you know the admin over there, feel free to pass him my complaint since I can’t get anyone to respond to emails either! :(

Drawing Jam (July 2009)

Much like last year, the holidays have got me in an artistic funk. And much like last year, I’ve let that funk keep me from enjoying any sort of creativity as well as enjoying the holidays.

The whole scenario has got me thinking about my own priorities and where the many things in my life lie. In my mind I have the following things that I try to prioritize.

Truth-be-told, since I have started writing or calling myself a writer, most everything on that list has suffered except the family stuff. Now, I’m sure Brad will tell me that if I want to be a writer I have to make sacrifices and I he wouldn’t be wrong. But when I consider that statement and then consider the sacrifices that I need to make, well… frankly, I don’t want to be a writer that much.

The key to the puzzle is, not calling myself a writer but rather, an artist. Is it semantics? Certainly, but the assertion that I am a writer carries the burden of actually writing and doing so with purpose. That is where the problem lies.

There are times when I have some brilliant idea that I simply cannot wait to get on paper. In those moments there is nothing I want to be more than a writer. But when there is no burning story idea that is threatening to burst from me, writing is a chore. A chore that I dread. A chore that I avoid. That avoidance is a source of guilt and to my feeble mind, a sign of failure.

Now, calling myself an artist is different. As an artist I am identified as a creative individual. To take that a bit further, a creative individual who produces some sort of physical or virtual art. But there is no imposed idea of what sort of art. Only that when I have an idea, be it prose, visual or otherwise, I run with it and feed off whatever creative energy is there.

The bottom line is… I don’t want to be a novelist. I don’t want to make a living writing. I don’t think I can make a living as an artist but I am certain that I can harvest the enjoyment of creating something that I think is beautiful in its own way without the soul crushing burden of output expectations. And quite frankly, that is all I desire.

How ya like that title, eh? Thought provoking.

Thanksgiving weekend was nice. I needed the break. Work has been crazy for the past few months and only recently began to let up.

I got to spend a little time with my Mom. I don’t make time for her very often, though I know I should. Our family isn’t close, never has been, but it’s nice to get to see her. I hope to get to see my brother and sister and their families for Christmas, or around then.

My wife’s family is the polar opposite of mine. They spend too much time together. Okay, too much isn’t fair but they do spend a lot of time together. So much that there is a day devoted to spending time together. It’s kinda creepy but after nearly nine years of being around them, I’m not sure what I used to do on Tuesday nights. I’m sure it was pretty boring anyhow.

On Thanksgiving morning I participated in the annual Turkey Trot here in Louisville. The event is annual, my participation is not. Or rather, hasn’t been up till now. I actually knew very little about the run. Absent from my mind were details such as: it’s a five mile race, not a five kilometer race and the first mile and a half are almost entirely uphill.

Remember kids. Read the fine print.

I finished in an hour and ten minutes or so. An average of fourteen minute miles. Truth be told I was probably averaging 10-11 minute miles when I was running but I walked at least 1.5 miles of the race. It was brutal. I’ll post a link to the official results when they are live.

On the plus side, I didn’t finish last. And I’m stoked to do something like it again.

As soon as I can walk without a limp. *grumble*

I’ve started this post at least five times in the last ten minutes which is possibly another sign of the trend I’ve noticed. I can’t decide what I want to do. I mean, I know that I have all this creative energy that I need to find a home for, but the question of how I want to spend it is still unanswered.

My writing is going well; much better than I could have hoped really. After only eighteen months of writing, my success rate has been pretty high depending on how you define success. Only recently have I nailed my first publication, but I have another coming up in January and I’m on a solid Honorable Mention streak with the Writers of the Future. Many, many people enter that contest for years before getting anything more than a straight rejection.

But here it is November 25th and I still haven’t started my fourth quarter story. I don’t even have an idea of what I want to write. Sure I have ideas, but nothing that I think is the right stuff for the contest. Every time I think I want to write I end up doing something else. Usually drawing but sometimes playing video games or annoying my wife or having a beer or watching football. The distraction doesn’t necessarily matter so much as the real issue, procrastination.

All of these things, even drawing, are really just reasons not to write. This blog post is more or less a reason not to write. I went through this last year too except I didn’t have any other creative outlet to soak up the energy. I think I need to put the pan and pencil away until I’ve finished something for the contest. I write well under pressure but I hate sending a hurried piece out to WotF.