Category Archives: Elaborate Costume

Ten Hundred Art Class at Monthly, April 2021

It’s just over one year since the last one so time for a new post, surely.

I am in the middle of a month-long, intensive online art class at the platform “Monthly”, called Draw & Paint Your Imagination with Ten Hundred.

Reader, it goes poorly. The goal of the class is to produce a finished 11×14 acrylic painting on a wood panel. And this is the no good very bad condition my painting is in right now. In fact, I started a second one (also poorly) in case I throw this one in a fire.

Not. Going. Well. The face has been repainted about a dozen times. You can see how I got mad and scrubbed it with sandpaper (and then had to redo a bunch of the pencil lines). I am not used to this painting style and so far have adapted poorly. I am pretty sure this style demands a level of patience I do not possess! But it’s not over yet.

We do have two weeks left. This is the middle The middle is the hardest, right? And then I figured I would write a blog post and share the misery with the few lost souls who find it. I tell you what, I am NOT saying don’t take this class. Everyone has a different experience, is my guess. I am doing more art than I normally would and that was worth the price of admission. Oh yeah, it’s kind of pricey. I used some stimulus check on it and I consider it well-spent.

I will also say this class has a large variety of peers, many much more skilled than me, and some maybe with fewer skills. But the ones who are posting their updates are all KILLING IT with their painting progress. On the other hand, many people are not posting any updates at all, and I am worried about them.

Below is most of what I’ve done for the class. We started with sketches and ideas and then worked toward a final character and image, transfer that to a wood panel and get to painting.

I believe it started going wrong when I wasn’t really happy with my final image, but went with it anyway. The bottom left with the bird is not resolved and needs another or a different creature. The dog character looks too much like a malformed dog and not like an imaginary creature as he should have. Then I didn’t decide my colors ahead of time. THEN I could not get the hang of painting smoothly and being patient. Which is where I am today, as I write this blog post.

Here is my timeline of progress.

So there it is. I hope my next update is much more chipper!

Thanks for dropping in!

Tiny Ink Art with Masks, Flowers, Antlers

Four with Masks Each 2.5" x 3.5" Ink, Copic Markers

Four with Masks
Each 2.5″ x 3.5″ Ink, Copic Markers

Well, it’s been another month since I posted! I started this blog back in 2011 when I got back into drawing. These days I am less consistent about the posting but more consistent about the drawing. Really, we just need a couple more hours in a day. Right?!

Three More Flower Masks Each 2.5" x 3.5"ink, Copics

Three More Flower Masks
Each 2.5″ x 3.5″ink, Copics

If you visit from time to time, you know I switched to larger pencil drawings for a while, and I am planning to get back to that, maybe with some new projects! But I took a break to do all these pretty girls and their fancy accessories, for mail art swaps with other artists from illustratedatcs.com and atcsforall.com. (“atc” stands for artist trading cards, and their standard size is 2.5″ x 3.5″ – so I need to wear my glasses and I use an 005 Uni Pin pen for the tiniest details.)

Four with Antlers Each 2.5" x 3.5" ink, Copic markers

Four with Antlers
Each 2.5″ x 3.5″ ink, Copic markers

Thanks so much for stopping by! Thanks so much to Paint Party Friday which includes many other artists with whom I trade blog visits – though not on a regular schedule these days!

Continued Acrylics – with progress shots

Acrylic painting and pencil sketching continue.

11" x 14" Acrylics, in progress

11″ x 14″ Acrylics, in progress

This one is feeling much more forced than the last one! Probably overthinking things. The black outline was not the best move, but it will probably see a lot of changes yet.

And these are two favorite recent sketches. I am finally using a piece of paper as a smudge guard. Hooray!

Horned Oracle, 9" x 12" pencil sketch

Horned Oracle, 9″ x 12″ pencil

Pavel's Pet Portrait Palace 9" x 12" pencil

Pavel’s Pet Portrait Palace, 9″ x 12″ pencil

I haven’t decided what to do with these, Copics won’t work with this much pencil and the Bristol is no good for acrylics. I could trace the outline on a new sheet, maybe. More likely I will just start the next one.

Thanks so much for dropping by! (All acrylic tips appreciated!)

Fancy Animals Make a Return Appearance

4 Fancy Aug 2015

Four Fancy Animals, August 2015
Each 2.5″ x 3.5″, Copics, fine liners, gel pen

From left to right: Sapphire Spaniel, Waldrich Wombat, Timothy Peppercorn, & Koala Princess.

I am just going to come right out and tell you, I have not found, let alone joined, a life drawing class. I did get a new easel and started a 12″ x 16″ canvas. It shall probably be a cat in fancy clothes. I will let you know!

Thanks for dropping in!

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Hello August. I have Plans for you.

Happy August, fine visitor people! I had this plan that for July I would make certain changes and meet certain small goals. Most of that didn’t happen, but some did, and that was far better than none. Now it is August, and I am considering July a test run. I know that is all rather vague! But this is an art blog so here is some recent art. ;)

Skye, Lou Blue, Mistress of Ceremonies
Each 2.5″ x 3.5″ Copics, fine liners, gel pen

Two Cat Princesses and One Mushroom Princess
Each 2.5″ x 3.5″ Copics, fine liners, gel pen

Faces and more faces. One thing I am looking into this month is life drawing classes, which is I think the right thing to do for my art. Sal Schiebe continues to do life drawing and she already has crazy enviable figure drawing skills. I think it’s time!

Of course, I missed signups for the class at the local art center by two weeks and will have to wait until another starts. I haven’t yet found just a drop-in life drawing class, but I shall continue to search.

Thanks for stopping by! Some progress pics below. :D

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Nine New Cards, Mostly Pen and Ink with Copics

Paige, Jean with Tree, Maddie
Each 2.5″ x 3.5″ Copic markers

 

Two Mad, One Surprised
Each 2.5″ x 3.5″ Copic markers. Also Prismacolor pencils (far right)

 

Three Miscellaneous!
Each 3.5″ x 3.5″ Copic markers

Lots of progress pics! More for some than others. :)

I try not to post so many at once but I thought I would catch up after posting sporadically, recently. Still working on book ideas! And one day I’ll let you know if I get to the next step. :)

Thanks for dropping in! Hello again to Paint Party Friday, if you head this way from there.

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Colorful Girls, Goth Themed, Copic Markers

Four Goth Themed Girls
Each 2.5″ x 3.5″ Copics, fine liners, gel pen

Yet more art cards! I’ve been feeling recently, as I do sometimes but this time even more, that I really, REALLY ought to do bigger things. Like that book I keep mentioning.

Can you people believe it’s just about July already! Egad. Hello to Paint Party Friday people, if you happen to make it over. Lots of progress pics below. :)

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Strange and Colorful Faces, in Pencil and Pen

Coral, Grizeld, Oracle of the Forest
Each 2.5″ x 3.5″ Copics, fine liners, gel pen, Prismacolor Pencils (on Coral)

Some weird and wild faces as I try to get back into the habit of drawing every day. I’ve also done quite a few trees! You might have seen some on my FaceBook page. I will post them next time!

The one with the four eyes creeps me out a little, I admit!

Thanks for dropping in!

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Colorful Accessorizing in Pen and Ink

So these are my four latest art card maidens:

Four More Art Cards, March 2015
Each 2.5″ x 3.5″ Copics, fine liners, gel pen

Left to right: Jade, Brea, Gwennis, Violet. I should add that for most of these recent cards, I’ve been limited to a list of specific palettes that I don’t normally use. Which is an interesting parameter to work with!

I thought it would be neat to compare these most recent four to the first four maidens, made for the theme “Celestial Maidens” way in back in July of 2012 when I thought I should try to start drawing people. The features and details are a bit more refined in the current batch.

Celestial Maidens, July 2012

Thanks for dropping in!

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Four Girls on Various Themes, Copic Markers

Four Girls on Various Themes (click to enlarge)
Each 2.5″ x 3.5″, pen and ink

(Left to right: Celestus (with cat), Tamara, Francine and Skye)

Fine people of the blogosphere, I bring you my continuing tale of illness and the American healthcare system. No, not really. But I did go to the doctor three times in two months, and only on the third visit did I get some antibiotics, which I hope will help. But if it’s viral, they won’t help. But maybe I have more than one issue, who knows?!

The first doctor thought I would be over an upper respiratory infection soon and told me to wait it out. The second doctor, a month later, said I probably had adult onset allergies. And finally two days later, maybe bronchitis-maybe pneumonia, let’s try antibiotics. And if that doesn’t work, next is a chest X-ray. Yeesh.

Enough about that! Above you will find some new art cards, three on a Build-Girl-Theme with various attribute and color choices, and one more beehive-haired steampunk lass, Francine, at the bottom left. I’ve started a new Flickr album with all the fancy gals from 2015 to date.

Thanks for dropping in! More Found Poetry next time, perhaps! [And hopefully no more griping about being sick. Arrrgh!]

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