Fall is coming and I am alive.

Hey guys.

Yeah, I'm still alive. :)

I'm fighting again to get into art school, but in the mean time, it's almost Fall! A lil drawing to celebrate. Guest starring Mouse and Spider.

"Target Practice" made with a Bic Atlantis pen.

A kid using the falling leaves for practice with his "sword." Struck me as amusing, and it was fun. I love using my ink pen. It's kinda a sentimental thing for me. Maybe because I used it so much for drawing pictures in-between note-taking during class? Not sure. (But, I DID take notes. My friends would tell you I took more notes than anyone- and STILL had time to draw somehow.)

I hope you guys are doing well. I am doing pretty well myself. My hands are still giving me trouble, but, I think my health has really improved this summer. I have lots of hope for getting back into school soon.

One Lost Chord Divine

I am back! And with a painting. This one is a commission for a lovely friend who has managed to get two pieces out of me, which is quite an accomplishment actually. I jest of course. A little bit.

Anyway, enough nonsense, here it is. She hasn't actually seen it or okayed it yet, but I wanted you to see what I am working on none the less:

This is a mix of ink and watercolor. Mostly watercolor.

It is based off this poem:

A Lost Chord

Seated one day at the Organ,

I was weary and ill at ease,

And my fingers wandered idly

Over the noisy keys.

I do not know what I was playing,

Or what I was dreaming then ;

But I struck one chord of music,

Like the sound of a great Amen.

It flooded the crimson twilight,

Like the close of an Angel's Psalm,

And it lay on my fevered spirit

With a touch of infinite calm.

It quieted pain and sorrow,

Like love overcoming strife ;

It seemed the harmonious echo

From our discordant life.

It linked all perplexéd meanings

Into one perfect peace,

And trembled away into silence

As if it were loth to cease.

I have sought, but I seek it vainly,

That one lost chord divine,

Which came from the soul of the Organ,

And entered into mine.

It may be that Death's bright angel

Will speak in that chord again,

It may be that only in Heaven

I shall hear that grand Amen. 

-Adelaide A. Procter

Alice and Snowflakes

       Well, I did it. I gutted out a drawing late last night. Heh, you guys are so good. Yesterday, starting in the morning and lasting all day, different people, both friends and complete strangers, encouraged me in one way or another to keep drawing, just do it, etc. That did more than you know. Even the tiniest bit of encouragement can go a long long way, which I need to learn from myself.
        These are two more pages, done once again with my trusty Bic Atlantis pen, for my Arthouse Sketchbook Project book, which is due in less than a month, and I am no where NEAR finished. Grrr. Need to gut out some more drawings!

“Do you hear the snow against the window-panes, Kitty? How nice and soft it sounds! Just as if some one was kissing the window all over outside. I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says, “Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again.” And when they wake up in the summer, Kitty, they dress themselves all in green, and dance about — whenever the wind blows — oh, that’s very pretty!” cried Alice, dropping the ball of worsted to clap her hands. “And I do so wish it was true! I’m sure the woods look sleepy in the autumn, when the leaves are getting brown.” -Lewis Carol, Through the Looking Glass


      Tomorrow I get the results back from some tests, and find out if I need surgery, or if they even found anything wrong, etc. So, again, prayers would be awesome. I am actually more afraid that they didn't find anything than if I need surgery. I have been through this before, and I hope they actually find something wrong this time. Can't fix the problem until you know what it is you know. 


One of the lovely people who helped me yesterday sent me this:

       Thank you, lovely little person you. 

“From one thing, know ten thousand things” -Miyamoto Musashi

“Under the sword lifted high, There is hell making you tremble. But go ahead, And you have the land of bliss.” -Miyamoto Musashi

Now, just why am I quoting an ancient martial arts master? Because the next article I have to illustrate for Ink and Fairydust Magazine is about weapons. And, well, because any excuse to quote Miyamoto Musashi is good enough for me. 

I fancy I am the middle one...

“Do not sleep under a roof. Carry no money or food. Go alone to places frightening to the common brand of men. Become a criminal of purpose. Be put in jail, and extricate yourself by your own wisdom.” -Miyamoto Musashi (just because it sounded cool?)

More such quotes by him:

“The only reason a warrior is alive is to fight, and the only reason a warrior fights is to win” 

“When you decide to attack, keep calm and dash in quickly, forestalling the enemy...attack with a feeling of constantly crushing the enemy, from first to last.” 

“Perception is strong and sight weak."

“To become the enemy, see yourself as the enemy of the enemy” 

I had fun with this drawing. 

Dianthe Illustration

Here is another illustration for Ink and Fairydust Magazine. Well, I haven't actually heard if they will use this drawing particularly, but I thought I'd show you what I have been working on allllllll day. This is the second version- the first had an ink splatter on her nose.

This was a mix of ink, watercolor, and touch-up with Corel Painter X.

This coming issue is on mythology. This drawing was for a retelling. Shew. Now I have to do an illustration about weapons! Hopefully I won't splatter ink on this one, and take all day doing it.

Ink & Fairydust: Fairy Tales!

Hello! I am proud to announce and display Ink & Fairydust Magazine (click on the link!). This issue is special to me for 2 reasons: 1) it's about fairy tales and fantasy, which are always the best topics, and 2) because, ahem, well, I illustrated the cover and one of the little fairy drawings inside. This is my first time illustrating something published, so, I am rather excited about it. I am so glad to be a part of such a fun project with such lovely people.

And, of course, we need a quote about the topic. Here is one by Mr. Lewis that I found recently:

“Critics who treat 'adult' as a term of approval, instead of as a merely descriptive term, cannot be adult themselves. To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence. And in childhood and adolescence they are, in moderation, healthy symptoms. Young things ought to want to grow. But to carry on into middle life or even into early manhood this concern about being adult is a mark of really arrested development. When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.” -C.S. Lewis

Happy Belated Birthday Hobbits!

     And a happy Hobbit Day to the rest of you! Technically, that was yesterday. September 22nd is Mr. Bilbo and master Frodo's birthday, but I didn't realize it until the later morning hours, and didn't have time to draw and post properly the day of. However, I did find a website that said the week containing Sept. 22nd is considered Hobbit Week, so if you haven't had a chance to celebrate properly, you still have almost two days left! I celebrated by watching the Fellowship of the Ring extended version (for fans, there is a HUGE  difference), while drawing these pictures. Can one draw and watch at the same time? You tell me. Did I succeed? To be perfectly and entirely honest, I do think it takes away a bit from the drawing, but, I wanted to do both, and I didn't have time before work to do them separately. I had fun anyway. I think I will have to reread my Tolkien collection soon! There are so many things I have forgotten, and that makes me exceedingly sad.
      I picked out a bit from the "Long Expected Part" chapter of the Fellowship, because I thought that the most fitting.

'You mean to go on with your plan then?
'I do. I made up my mind months ago, and I haven't changed it.'

It is based off this:

Inside Bag End, Bilbo and Gandalf were sitting at the open window of a small room  looking out west on to the garden. The late afternoon was bright and peaceful. The flowers glowed red and golden: snapdragons and sunflowers, and nasturtians trailing  over the turf walls and peeping in at the round windows.
    'How bright your garden looks!' said Gandalf.
    'Yes," said Bilbo. 'I am very fond indeed of it, and of all the dear old Shire; but I think I need a holiday."
     'You mean to go on with your plan then?'
     'I do. I made up my mind months ago, and I haven't changed it.'
     'Very well. It is no good saying any more. Stick to you plan-- your whole plan, mind -- and I hope it will turn out for the best, for you, and for all of us.
     'I hope so. Anyway I mean to enjoy myself on Thursday, and have my little joke.'
     'Who will laugh, I wonder?' said Gandalf, shaking his head.  
    'We shall see,' said Bilbo.


Happy Hobbit Day to you all!

              

 

 

 

Tips and Ideas!

    I read this lovely book called Entwined by Heather Dixon. Miss Dixon was raised with 10 other siblings I believe, and I think her blog is cute, witty, and a nice little place to see some refreshing creativity.

Anyway, on her blog, she is currently discussing the Delsarte method, which I had never heard of before, and I think it is very interesting.

 Here is part 1 of her crash course.

And here is part 2.

If I understand correctly, there will be a part 3 in the future.
Of course, one could always read the book of Delsarte's system of expression, but for now, I am very grateful for Miss Dixons quick, precise presentation. Thanks Heather!

Now, after looking at her blog again, I want to read Mary Poppins myself. Birthday present anyone? My birthday is coming up.

February 24th, 2011

    This is a sketch from a story I am illustrating for my friend, Benjamin Singleton, called Eustace Pennyworth And the Dragon of Chichester. You can check out his facebook fan page by typing the title in facebook search.  I have done a painting for the same story, which you can see here: http://www.marysullivanartwork.com/art/then-he-cried-big-dragon-tears/ . The sketch I did today was an attempt to figure out what I want to do with this scene. I'm not sure I like the composition, etc, but we'll see what happens. I haven't decided if the dragon or the princess should be in front. And I don't know if the princess should be in the water, or on the bank trying to pull off her shoes, or having her crown getting caught in her hair when should took it off, etc.