March 22nd, 2011: Passion Painting

Today I spent hours working on this painting for a priest friend of mine. It features the Passion, with the Divine Mercy rays coming from Christ's side, St. Augustine, and Mary holding St. Margaret of Cortona. It is for a group similar to Rachel's Vineyard, and is focused on helping single and post abortion mothers. The theme of course is chastity, seeing as St. Augustine and St. Margaret are saints who struggled in that area especially. This painting has taken me FOREVER. MONTHS. That's mainly because I had such a hard time painting Christ the way I wanted, especially with painting Christ's face. It is STILL not what I want, of course, but at least it exists FINALLY. You have NO idea how I have fought with this painting! Another thing you should know is that it is only about 1/2 to 3/3 finished, because I plan to add color next. That will be so fun after struggling so much with the faces. I painted it black and white at first so I wouldn't have to fight with color at the same time I was fighting with the figures. I plan to add color mostly in transparent washes, but I will paint over the black and white completely a little bit. So here it is!

Below are some detail images:

I'm not sure If I will post anything else tonight... this wore me out! Heh, I came down stairs and the family tells me I have paint on my face. My sister says it is war paint-- I feel like I've been fighting! And oh my goodness it's super time!? When did that happen? Oh well, I spose that means I'm another day closer to my little trip and seeing my friends. :)

March 21st, 2011: Another Crying Dragon

This is roughly based on Reepicheep and Eustace in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. I always loved this scene, and the idea of a big physically strong dragon being comforted by the little mouse with a big personality. I liked the opposites- which was what I was aiming for with the size of the huge puddle of dragon tears, and the little tiny handkerchief that the mouse offers the poor dragon. How could the little clothe wipe all those tears?

I have also been working on a painting or two as well. So just because I am not posting drawings as I should does not mean I am not busy.
Oh, and I shall be out of town for nearly a week starting Friday, and I do not foresee computer access. But, I do hope to draw while I am gone, so maybe I will have a few things to post when I return.

When you are a Bear of Very Little Brain, and you Think of Things, you sometimes find that a Thing which seemed very Thingish inside you is quite different when it gets out in the open and has other people looking at it. -Winnie the Poor.

Very true, silly bear. Very true.
And it does seem I am very fond of dragons does it not? They are growing on me I must admit. 

March 18th, 2011: Flowers are EVERYWHERE.... more or less

So... I was sick all night, the plans for my day were out the window, and I moped around the house sick all day. So I drew some flowers, and an obnoxiously happy little painting.
     The first is a t-shirt design I did to help out the Little Flowers, a household I joined while at Franciscan University. The second is the obnoxious one. Take that depression and icky feelings! Take the flowers and sunshine and yellows and pinks!! (I  don't really care for too much yellows and pinks, just so you know, so them IS fighting words for me)

So that is my happy picture with the pinks and yellows. It did make me feel better. Even if it IS pink.....

March (I don't want to say it) 15th, 2011: Eustace is afraid!

Ok, so yes, I am a biit behind schedule.... I have excuses, but I am too tired and impatient to get this post done to mention them. So here is my sketch of the day! Again, I am working on princess Eustace for my friends story. I'm thinking there needs to be more people in it, more like a busy court. But here it is:

Trying to think of a quote or some nonsense to say... hmm..... Ah yes, some St. Therese. She's been reminding me of this a lot lately; which, I guess it is always a good thing to be reminded of:

"If I did not simply suffer from one moment to another, it would be impossible for me to be patient; but I look only at the present moment, forget the past, and I take good care not to forestall the future. When we yield to discouragement or despair it is usually because we give too much thought to the past and to the future. "-St. Therese of Lisieux

March 7th: Mermaid Nearly Killed

So I got back from an absolutely lovely girly time with my friend over the weekend. I inked in my Little Mermaid picture, and I nearly killed her. Yes, is is a rather darker sad story, but I did not intend for such gloom as this. I do like it, but it's not the completely sweet suffering little mermaid I had pictured. Heh, I think I did FAR too many ink washes, the many layers seemed to get a biiit chalky. But anyway, it's been a year or so since I did a pen and ink, and I do miss it. Hopefully I will keep with it and get back into practice with it.

Again, not what I had planned, but maybe I simply do not have the control over ink to get the result I wanted. She doesn't have the ink black hair and pale skin I wanted. She's not delicate enough. She looks slightly mischievous or threatening than she should.  Heh, I mean, I haven't done this in a year... of course I want it to be PERFECT. What else would a sane person expect? I do like  how that bit of tail fins look....
     By the way, I have just discovered Jeeves and Wooster. Life now has a whole new meaning. I say, I'm rather dashed! Whato whato whato! I say! I feel rather blitheringly tired! Tootle pip!

March 4th, 2011: Andersen's The Little Mermaid Unfinished

Yes, I have been slacking. Well, actually I have been quite busy, just not with drawing. I've discovered that deadlines for scholarships/applications are much sooner than I thought, and so I have been working like crazy on portfolios and essays. But today, even though I was not feeling very well, I did start an ink drawing. I read Andersen's The Little Mermaid, and, of course, I loved it and wanted to draw it. Yes, I am doing lots of fairy tales lately. But I am doing that on purpose, because 1), I have never read them before, and 2), I knew they would be fun to illustrate. So here she is, the Little Mermaid. The story IS NOT like the disney version, as I am sure you can imagine. She is a beautiful, sad, "quiet and thoughtful" creature, who wanted more than anything to acquire an immortal soul(mer-people do not have immortal souls or after lives) by winning the love of a human. She fails, more or less, but do read the story anyway! She is a very heroic mermaid.

I am leaving for the weekend, and so I will probably not finish this until Tuesday. But I do plan to finish this using some ink washes, and maybe a touch of color here or there. For my other plans (as if I have that many) you will just have check later!
       "Working on our own consciousness is the most important thing that we are doing at any moment, and being love is a supreme creative act." -Charles Dickons

"I always remember to forget those things." Winnie The Pooh

March 1st: Attaching the Foot to the Invention, and The Rose Elf

I have been reading Andersen's fairy tales lately, and this sketch is from a story called The Rose Elf, which I find tragic, disturbing, and absolutely charming and lovely. I do not want to tell you the story here because I want you to find and discover it for yourself. It is only a few pages long, but so packed with details and suggestions. I LOVE Andersen's work so far! I think that this sketch would look good redone as a pen and ink drawing.... I may just do that, after I tweak the composition a bit.

"And the queen bee hummed in the air and sang of the blossom's revenge and of the rose elf, and of how behind the smallest petal there lives one who can tell and can avenge a wrong." 

Drawing number two is from Structure of Man: Drawing the Human Figure From Your Mind. Look! I am attaching the foot to the Invention! Yes! That means we get to move onto the arms and hands soon! 

Art quote:

"I feel there is nothing more truly artistic than to love people." -Vincent Van Gogh....  That right there is why I think that "art for art's sake" does not stand on it's own, more or less. "Only love creates," -St. Maximillian Kolbe.