↣ My Bloody Valentine ↢

Hey, Cupid flew by and left a message: He wants his bow and quiver of arrows back. Yeah, he's pretty upset that you just unleashed a rainstorm of arrows among an unsuspecting crowd.

Now, isn't St. Valentine's Day just lovely?!...No? Well, someone dodged the rainfall of cupid's arrows. I have to say. Valentines Day is a hit or miss kinda deal.

You've either been showered with the lovely affections of strangers, and loved ones to the point where you're flying as high as cupid
OR
You're lurking in the darkly shadows mumbling curses at the bumbling idiots who spend unnecessary amounts of money on Valentine's Gifts and romancing one another.

I may just be a bit more of the lurking in darkly shadows kind. I say that only because I've never had a Valentine. Yes, I admit to being a bit of a scrooge and grinch on a day designated for much loveliness. The day only brings memories of failed attempts to win my crushes over in Middle School and High School. :/....

However!!! This year, I shall come out of those darkly shadows and prance around like one of those bumbling idiots that couldn't find cover when cupid's arrows came crashing down among every Who-Ha in Who-Ville. YES, I SHALL BE CUPID'S SIDEKICK- SPREADING LOVELINESS TO THE CITIZENS OF THE WORLD!!!!....well, at least to my loyal and devoted followers and readers :)

Sorry, I got a little carried away with the comic book narrative there. Now on to the important stuff. I know that this is a pretty text heavy post, but I just wanted to create a monologue-dialogue with my viewers. Monologue-with me talking incessantly & dialogue- Hoping that my audience gives some feed back on their thoughts about St. Valentines Day. Are you a scrooge or a sucker for all things lovely?

Also, I am currently working on a sculpture, dedicated to all my viewers here! :) I wanted to enter my sculpture in the dA Center for the Arts 'Simply Red' Show (https://www.facebook.com/events/451115978275884/?fref=ts). Unfortunately, my busy schedule and this cold weather, that's been making random trips, has slowed progress. So, I decided to do my own Valentine's day project. I'm hoping  it comes out the way I envisioned it. SUPER EXCITED and will be working on it this weekend. Hoping that the weather is a lot nicer, seeing that my workspace is in the garage (which can get pretty cold). So I haven't done any sculpture pieces since my Junior year in college. Let's hope I still have the magic :)

So tempted to give previews...BUT I don't want to ruin the surprise. So here is a picture of a lovely cat meanwhile <3

(Sorry Erik, Pom Pom is MY Valentine)

Until V-Day,
Molto Amore!

Still Life is Real Life

             11"x15" Watercolor                   5"x6" Watercolor & digital edit

How about some flower power for this rainy hour! There is something soothing and refreshing about the sound of rainfall, the wet grass, and the silence that the rain brings as every living creature heads for shelter and cuddles closely. Yes, even us humans take part in the "head for shelter and huddle around each other for warmth." If this isn't you then you're probably the part of the group that runs outside to splash in the puddles and catch the rain drops on your tongue. Then there are the few that may be reading this, grumbling at the mention of rain. To those few I say..A HUMBUG!

Now on to the paintings, which require WATER. :) The first painting at the upper left hand corner was done in my High School art class. I still remember my art teacher's name, Christina. She was pretty awesome. She really liked me, probably because I was one of the few students who took the class to learn and actually made effort. Seriously, it irritates me when students take art courses thinking that it's going to be a breeze and that art is not doing any 'real' work. Well, you know what!? Art does take a lot of thought, design, and effort. I've taken enough art courses, and done plenty of art projects myself to know that it is a lot of actual work. There is strategy, design, math, engineering...Just want to make that point for those doubting the talent of artists. Of course, I am not defending those sham artists, which are probably those kids who grew up taking art courses to pass an easy A.

Now as I was saying, the top left corner watercolor painting was done in my art class in H.S. Actually, both of the above images were painted in H.S. Both were also painted from an image. This was my first successful use of watercolor. The teacher was also thoroughly impressed as she persuaded me to enter the County Fair Art Exhibit and even sell my my painting. SELL IT! ...she believed my painting was worth something in dolla dolla bills y'all. That seriously gave me an ego boost :) I still have the painting till this day. It's a constant reminder that I am capable of doing more than I know. I could have sold it yes, but it has the sentimental value of your first dollar bill on the opening of a new business. So it hangs on my wall wherever I go.

Now, the smaller painting on the right upper corner is just a quick paint of a flower on an image. It really is a small painting that took the first page of my first sketch book. I really liked using orange/yellow/purple together. Light colors contrasted among the deeper purple color looks attractive. That is why one day I plan to create a flower bed of lavender and yellow/orange flowers. Oh, the smells and sight!

Onto our next two. The bottom left painting was done at home in So Cal, taking a few flowers from around the house (roses) and placing them in a small saki cup lying around the house. note: I painted both paintings from real life not an image. I used a different type of paper (drawing paper) rather than watercolor or sketch paper, so the colors are a more muted and the painting looks more wrinkled...rrrr rough. The painting to the right was done while on a stroll through the UC Davis Arboretum. If anyone ever visits the school, do make sure you take a stroll through THE WHOLE arboretum. At the eastern end there is a gazebo, a garden, natural art, a mosaic bathroom, and large areas of open grass to soak up the sun, play a game of frisbee or have a picnic. The arboretum is my favorite place in Davis. FAVORITE. haha. Any way, the right painting consists of a few flowers from the Arboretum garden. The colors are a lot more vibrant than shown here. You can tell the difference from the painting left. The dark frame surrounding the painting gives the painting a more shadowed look. I really loved the soft pink and white against the darker pink flower and brown background. Again, dark vs. light. The best part of these two paintings was sitting outside among nature and contently painting in beautiful weather.

Maybe when the weather is less rainy and I am not busy writing lesson plans and gallery data entering I can start up on some new material for my blog. I could really use a nature retreat outside of home. Sounds like an adventure!

               9"x11" Watercolor                                  9"x11" watercolor

<3 Arrivederci!

Bare Minimum

8"x 11" prismacolor marker w/pen

Hrm...what can I say about this drawing other than it is totally awesome and a nice intro back into the habit of drawing. This was for an internship project at the Design Museum. This was actually my first proposal, but it got turned down because it was too 'out there'...bleh...design students *shrug.

The curator and director of the museum wanted something more simple. It had to be more word based than image based. Psh! Fine, I'll save this drawing for someone with taste. Sorry, bitter resentment coming out. I feel like my drawings are always "too cartoony" "too out there" "too this" "too that"...I get it...be more boring! :/..Maybe I should just start pitching my images to gamers and children's book illustrators. *and end*

For this image, I was going for a bionic bird/dragon of some sort. I found this image of a mechanical, evil-looking bird and configured it to my own taste. The drawing I took influence from had an intricate extended head reaching left (where the head is) and a slightly different wing structure. The body is probably the only portion that is similar to that of the influenced image. 

Other than that, not much to say about this guy. He was just a creation of complete EVILE!!!!muahahahahaha.  

% Under the Cover of Night %

 9"x 11" Charcoal on drawing paper

6"x 8" prismacolor pencil w/ chalk pastels & pen

Decided to make this post Owl Themed. Here is an abstract and representational drawing of owls. As one may have concluded from past drawings...I'm a fan of the feathered friend. They are truly beautiful creatures. My favorite of the birds is the pygmy owl. It's so adorable. I would insert an image, but this isn't a "post cute bird photos" blog. ;P 

A little about each, I suppose I could start with the top one first. I was going through a phase of sleepless nights and late nights make me think of all the things that come alive at night. The owl being the most popular creature of the night, I decided to attempt at a representational drawing of an owl. Of course, I was not going to wait outside in the cold for some magical owl to drop by and pose for me for a few hours. Although I have spotted and heard one on the occasional night. Maybe it's Harry Potter's? eh eh? Yeah, not much of a Harry Potter fan. Sorry, but my loyalty lies with Lion Witch and the Wardrobe and Game of Thrones. But I digress.

So, one night I researched some owl photos (body, wings, etc.), picked up my pencil (in this case charcoal) and started making magic happen. I'm actually quite proud of how this lit'r fell'r turned out. Did not do any erasing, other than to create the feather texture and patterning. 

Now, the abstract drawing of an owl came from a doodle I found in one of my notebooks from school. I believe I was initially trying to draw a swan/dragon of some sort. I think this drawing took place during my sleepless night phase. I tell you, birds of a feather flock together :) I mean, my mind is always soaring and try to dance as gracefully as a swan when no one is looking...ok, maybe I've shared too much. 

After turning my sketch into an abstract image I added some color. I really like working with the greens and yellows and wanted to practice blending and mixing the different shades and tones. So that explains my color choices. I added the white highlights to sort of embellish different sides facing toward a "light source." I still need work on the lighting aspect, but I think I can slide if I push the abstract concept :). 

In conclusion, owls are beautiful, and may just be my animal spirit. 

Midnight Encounters

6"x4" foam board cut out w/trace paper backing, prismacolor marker

Hrm...haven't posted anything for a while...Suppose my nearly non-existent audience deserves a few new posts for a new year.

I made this for my mom's birthday. My mom is a difficult lady to find a gift for..not to mention having to send whatever I got her via mail would probably be pricey. Being hundreds of miles North and with little to no budget (yeah, college!) I opted for a more affordable gift idea.

Now, who doesn't love homemade gifts, made with love, sweat, and tears...Hey, don't judge. Gift making can get emotional when you're running out of time, ideas, and patience..lol. Luckily, I took my mom's interest in wolves and put it into a light weight card.

Of course, this was going to take a little bit of research. First, I needed an image of a wolf in some kind of pose to draw from. I found an image of a wolf howling and used it as help to create my scene. Did the same with the landscape. I found a few images of a desert and meshed ideas. The research and drawing was the easy part. Carving the image out was more difficult, because I wanted that crisp cut. Yes, I used an exacto knife. However, This foam board was giving me some difficulty. Especially when it came to cutting out the cactus. Hrm...I suppose the fuzzy edges add character :).

Cut and pasted the trace paper onto the back, added some color and blending AND vuola, Magnifico! Packed it, sent it (with a b-day card), stamped it and off it went.

She called me a few days later to tell me she got it and loved it. Of course, she may have just said that she loved it because she's my mom and loves me ;p.