Merry Christmas!!

Here I am, 10 hours before my flight to Michigan - packing, doing laundry and wrapping my last presents when I realize "I'M OUT OF GIFT TAGS!!!" Usually, this wouldn't be a big deal, but 90% of the boxes I am currently packaging up are the same size/shape and easily mix-up-able.

So I quick made up a sheet of tags (based off my Christmas cards this year) and figured I would throw them up on the blog if anyone else was in the same predicament.

Click here to download my 2012 Christmas Gift Tags!

I hope everyone has a warm and wonderful holiday!

A few fish

Throughout college, my goldfish tank provided an endless supply of inspiration for mindless sketching. I loved watching my fat little Oranda Peaches and her Ranchu buddy Max bumble about the tank in search of alge or a lost flake of food. I owe many of my 100-level art class assignments to their antics.

I no longer have the vast fish tank I once had, but I still love to paint fish when I can find them!

I hope everyone is having a nice start to the holiday season! I've got a few cards left to mail, some cookies that need baked and of course a ton of unwrapped presents to attend to - but I'll get there. More coffee!!

A Postcard for a Good Cause

I sent in my watercolor piece for the Fowler Art Collective; Year Two Postcard Exhibit on Friday.

My postcard will be up with others for sale at the event on December 7th - with 25% of the profits generated going to NYFA's emergency relief fund for Hurricane Sandy.

The show looks to be a great event, I just wish I could make it up to New York to see it. If anyone finds themselves in the vicinity, let me know how it was!

Happy Thanksgiving Eve!

Happy Thanksgiving Eve everyone!!

Though I've been battling the mother of all colds since last week, I've been trying to prepare for my first S.Florida rendition of Thanksgiving as well as ready my little art shop for the weekend's sales extravaganza.

I didn't do any sort of promotion last year as I was out of the state (and therefore away from my studio) for the whole week. This year however, I am excited to be in my studio fulfilling orders and working on new projects! This will also be my first Thanksgiving as a vegetarian, so I am anxiously awaiting my first bite of a Tofurky. I am always all about the sides anyway (mashed potatoes, cranberries, yams... yum!) so I am not too worried about skipping on the turkey. AND it means I totally don't have to feel guilty about filling up on greenbean casserole. And pie.

But back to the 2012 Thanksgiving Sales Extravaganza!!

I am super pumped to be able to offer a few promotions this weekend in keeping with the holiday spirit. (Or shopping spirit I should say...)


Black Friday: 15% off any order!
Enter code 'FRIDAY12' to recieve your discount. Code goes into effect Friday at 12:00am

Small Business Saturday : Buy 1 print - get a second print free!!
Just pick out any print in my shop and head to checkout. In the 'notes' section, leave the title of the print you would like to receive for free!

Cyber Monday: Free Shipping on any domestic order!!
Enter code 'FREESHIP' and pay nothing for shipping if within the U.S.! Code goes into effect Monday at 12:00am

If anyone has any questions on the ordering process, feel free to leave a comment here or on my facebook page.
Happy Thanksgiving to all and happy shopping!

(Im off to buy more pumpkin mush - can never have enough pumpkin mush!)

Paintings from magazines

I love my Tuesday night watercolor workshop.
Here are a few paintings from our last session, all painted fairly quickly from random magazine clippings.

It's been a very long while since I've painted people in a non-digital setting, so I was a bit unsure at the start of the exercise. But I'm happy with how they turned out and have been collecting images all day that I might be able to use to make a few more tonight :)

Little ChickenBrick Update

It's been awhile since I've shared what I do as Lead Artist for ChickenBrick Studios.
We just started work on a nifty little tip calculator - - and I got to create a robot.

I love robots.

It's a really simple little app, mostly just for fun. Should be on the market soon!

Gray Wolf in ink -- Step by Step

I was out and about this afternoon and felt a *real* cold breeze. Being in Miami, one can experience the occasional "ocean breeze" which is a refreshing degree or two cooler than the current temperature, but a true 'cold breeze' is rather hard to find.

WELL I found one today :)

And as soon as it washed over me and encouraged me to bunch up my sweatshirt against my neck, my head was swimming with thoughts of cinnamon, cider, snow drifts and wet crunchy ice. So, as soon as I got in the door - I lit my 'winter' candle (from bath and body works!), put cider on the stove and started to draw out something from a colder climate.

It had been awhile since I've done a purely ink painting, so I got my trusty pen out and ready to go.

From there, I taped down my canson bristol board,lightly made a pencil sketch and went over it with my pen.

Adding the water!! I am using a #14 watercolor brush and not really paying a lot of attention to where I spread the inky water, just making sure I leave the highlights white. Here is a good place to put down some masking fluid - if I was ever good about keeping masking fluid. The goal on this pass is to complete the majority of the middle tones so everything is basically a light wash. I'll add the darker values next time.

I've started to darken a few areas, namely the mouth/nose and the area around the eyes.

Even darker! Here I am actively trying to shape the puddles of color to emphasize the volume in the skull and fur.

Woo finished.

I scanned it and did a test run of the print and it works out very well, I am very happy with this final product. Which, at the end of a run of several failed paintings is a very nice feeling.

Prints of the Gray Wolf are available on from my store!
Also, make sure to check back in a few days -- I am hoping to have some coupon codes for the upcoming weekend of shopping posted :)

Fus Ro Halloween!

I'm sure there is a better shout to combine with Halloween, infact - I am positive there is one, I just don't know what it would be. Suggestions?

So my freetime for the last few weeks was mostly devoted to the creation of my Dovahkiin halloween costume. I can't really sew and have never actually made a costume before (cutting a shower curtain into a tabbard doesn't count) so this was some pretty new territory for me. The helmet and shield took the majority of my time and were made from cardboard, masking tape, hot glue, mod podge and acrylic medium. (And paint, of course!)

Starting the helmet.

Creating the horns from twisted masking tape.

Construction of the shield.

Gauntlet and painted shield. 

Finished Helmet!

Unfortunately, I ran out of time at the end and had to purchase the midsection piece as well as the rubber gauntlet/shin guards. The "fur" beneath it was chopped up six dollar bathmats from Target.

We headed out to Lincoln Road which is the hub of Halloween night here on the beach. The streets fill up with terrific costumes and everyone has a blast, ourselves included.

Now that I've washed and packed up my costume (totally going to wear it next year too!) I spent a bit more time with another piece of Skyrim-related art; the poster I haven't touched in weeks.

I think it's almost ready for color. After adding the eyes, it's feeling a bit cartoony to me, so I'll probably go back into each of the faces and tweak their expressions a bit. Uthgerd also looks a bit *too* pretty, need to make her a bit more rugged. After ignoring this piece for so long, I am pretty pumped to finish it :)

Progress on 2013 Sketchbook Project

I signed up for this project last year and really enjoyed the process but wished that I had blocked off more time to complete it. This year, I've made a promise to start AND finish well before the deadline. I am really hoping I can keep this promise to myself... last year was a race to finish.

Thus far I think I am making fairly decent headway, *knocks on wood* so I'm just hoping I can keep it up!

Progress thus far on my 2013 Sketchbook Project; BIRDS!!! I've been exploring birds a lot as a subject matter recently and really wanted to continue working with this as a theme.

I've got the majority of the book planned out, in terms of what birds I want to sketch - I just need to make sure I block out the time to complete it.

Woo time management skills :)

Gotye and Kimbra --- on CANVAS!

Yesterday I went to pick up the 20 x 25 canvas print of my Gotye and Kimbra illustration. Not only was it finished early, but the shop (Tropicolor) did a gorgeous job. When I unrolled it at the counter I literally danced. My apologies to the man finishing my order, I occasionally break into dance when supremely happy.

I'll sign it, re-roll it and then it ships out to California. Great timing too, as tomorrow is the Gotye concert here in Miami. Pretty excited, should be a good show :)

Swan Sketch

Had a free moment today after dinner (soy cabbage rolls - yay) and decided to sketch out a swan.

I did this particular quick painting on ancient, really cheap watercolor paper, and it shows. Sadly, the whole page is super warped which doesn't lend itself to being scanned too well. I haven't had much luck flattening it with any of my normal methods, perhaps I'll try ironing it? Running over it in my car? (I joke, I joke)

In other news, I'm about to get my first canvas print created! I was approached by an awesome guy who would like my Gotye and Kimbra painting printed on a giant, 20 x 25 canvas. After many days of research I settled on a local printer to produce the piece and I am finalizing everything with them tomorrow. I can't wait to see the final product!
Pictures will definitely follow :)

A few Skyrim WIPs

I finally picked up Dawnguard, the expansion for Skyrim last weekend.

A few minutes into my illusion-based thief's story and I was already itching to make a new piece of Skyrim art.

I started thinking about my character's journey and how incredibly movie-like the last 45 minutes of play time had been. With that in mind I decided to try my hand at a Drew Struzan-esque movie poster.

Drew Struzan was one of my childhood favorites. His work is probably most recognized in his massive collection of illustrated movie posters, like the late 90's StarWars collection. Mind blowing stuff. And all done on gessoed illustration board too... so incredibly impressive.

On Friday night, I started sketching out a movie type poster using characters from Skyrim that had a major part to play in my Dragonborn's story.

This has taken most of my weekend, and is still super, mega WIP (What is going on with Ulfric's forehead!!??) But I am excited to continue it. Please ignore the eyelessness of the characters -- I like to save those for last :)

Ulfric Stormcloack.

Brynjolf, my fellow thief.

Uthgerd, probably my favorite follower.

My Imperial.

When I finished my tribute to Mordin, from Mass Effect I made a mental note to avoid complicated armor sets the next time around. And what do I decide to do next? Dragonscale armor. It's like I enjoy the frustration of teeny details or something.

I'm hoping to finish up the value study this week and start adding color by the weekend. Lofty goals indeed :)

Little Blue Flowers

Last summer I remember hiking around the Flat Irons in Colorado and coming upon a man who was painting along the base of one of the trails. He had his work laid out on the ground around him, some for sale and some just to dry out. I watched him work for a while (as long as my friends were patient for!) and was entranced by his technique.

In one flick of his fat bamboo brush, he laid out an entire patch of trees, or one blade of grass. His whole arm moved in sweeping gestures, splattering water and paint in a way that made the clouds appear in one flash of the brush. It was dance and it was beautiful.

I've always been interested in learning more about this asian-influenced method of painting, (generally associated with bamboo and cherry blossom paintings). But it wasn't until I started taking classes at the ArtCenter here in Miami that I felt I might be starting to grasp the seriousness of that endeavor. Learning from those who had spent time in China and Japan working under the masters of that type of painting has been an eye-opener. Hearing about the rigidity of their instruction, the countless hours in repetition of key forms to learn to create in that style has been really, really interesting. I know I certainly wouldn't have the fortitude for that kind of strict education, so I'll try to gobble up any bits of knowledge I can while here.

I did this little painting last week attempting to work from my (admittedly very small) knowledge base of asian-styled brushwork.

So much learn, so few hours in a day!

Framed Show Pieces

I finished the matting/framing of the show pieces this morning -- less than 24 hours before they need to be dropped off. Nothing like down to wire...

The show is next week and needless to say, I'm pretty excited. I can't wait to catch up with everyone and see what other work has been submitted.

Also I'm in love with natural frames. I ended up buying 4 extra (of the smallest sizes) to frame some of my recent birds.

In other news, I made the final updates my to my new site! Next up is a new storefront complete with new originals, updated prints and a few framed pieces.

My to do list is still pretty long, but it feels so good to get a few of the items checked off :)

Friday updates!

Fall is descending upon us quickly, which is awesome. I live in the wrong state to really enjoy the fullness of the autumn season, but thanks to the fall line of candles from Bath and Body Works I am able to at least smell some of it. I've burnt through two pumpkin candles already. And it's not even September yet....

I tend to feel more energized, more industrious and therefore more productive as fall draws closer. I have to believe it has something to do with the feeling of starting school. 16 years of looking forward to the fall (I loved school) seems to be rather ingrained in my head.
______

I'm still kinda spread out between multiple projects, although each one is nearly wrapped up. I've finished a small english/macedonian number book for our friends who just had baby. It was a major departure from what I usually do, as it was super cartoony. Very fun project though.

And I've started attending another watercolor workshop on the beach. Small class, great instructor, very excited for the outcome. We had a model come in during the first session, which was a really great way to just dive right in.

I know what you are thinking.
"Wait, is that a picture on this blog NOT taken by a phone?"
Yep, I finally bit the bullet and purchased a scanner. (A real scanner, as opposed to the document scanner we have for office purposes.) I am still calibrating the color output and tweaking all the individual settings, but I love this machine. Will be eating ramen for another two weeks to make up for the cost but I think it will be worth it. And hopefully soon, I should be able to start creating quality prints of some of my recent work :)

Step-by-Step Bluebirds

I've been working pretty steadily on the new website recently, but took a short break today to do a painting of a few bluebirds. AND I actually remembered to take mid-process pictures too, the coffee must be working today.

Pen drawing over a light a pencil sketch.

Starting to fill in with watercolors. A lot of the drippy grayish tones are actually just the pen ink as it runs. It typically dries really nicely, usually separated into blues and reds. I love, love, love that randomness.

Finished!

On another note, the show here on Miami Beach has been confirmed! Sept 20th I'll have 2 or 3 pieces exhibiting at the Miami Beach Botanical Gardens!*(jumps for joy)* There will be a bunch of us attending the opening reception and I can't wait, should be a great time.

And back to the website redesign :)

Pigeons and Busy-ness.

Summer is positively flying by.

I've been out and about for the majority of the season, making stops in San Francisco, Ann Arbor, Canada, and most recently France. With travel and my work, its safe to say I've had a bit of difficulty keeping this space updated.

I'd like to say we didn't have internet, or I forgot my computer... but the truth is I was completely consumed with my watercolor work. If not outside adventuring at one of our destinations, I've been hunched over papers of varying size painting into the night.

If I'm not playing with my watercolors, I've been redesigning my website to showcase more of my recent work. Which... as I am not at all a web-person is a very, very time consuming task. Thankfully, I've got a host of web-people I can turn to for help, but I'd like to get the bulk of it done myself. We'll see how well that actually works out.
Then its a blog redesign, store update... the whole shebang is up for a revamp.

As for news, I've got a few pieces in shows, and some other exciting things on the horizon keeping me fairly well occupied.

- August 16th; Brooklyn, Self-Portrait Project Stop by if you find yourself in Brooklyn, its free and should be a good time!

- Rumors of a possible Sept 20th show here in Miami Beach. More information to follow!

Other than that, I'm trying to put off downloading Dawnguard... I'm already busy, Skyrim DLC isn't going to help my schedule one iota. It's getting harder and harder to resist however :)

I'll leave this post with a fond reminder of our time in Paris these last few weeks... Pigeons. Everywhere. Big ones too, we had a few outside our window that sounded like bobcats.

Flight without turbulence = sketches!

It's been a long time since I have been on a 100% smooth flight. As someone who claws at the arm rests each time the plane dips, a smooth flight is one of my most favorite things in the whole world.

Thankfully, the 5 hour flight back from Google IO was just that. Smooth, totally uneventful and perfect for a bit of sketching.

Google IO was a great time as usual. I adore San Francisco so any chance to head out there for a few days I will take. The cool breeze, the neato people, the seafood... it's all terrific.

Now that we're back and settled, I've been looking into purchasing a scanner. If I'm not incredibly concerned about the quality of picture (for instance, when I am photographing sketches) I usually just use my camera. Or, *gasp!* my phone. But if I'm making prints, I'll take my work to a print shop on the beach for scanning. This is expensive/time consuming.
So now I'm wondering if I can find a similar quality in a standalone machine that I can just set up in my studio.
If anyone has any suggestions, I'd love to hear them.

Now I'm off to the internet to research :)

Watercolor sketch cards

I've been taking part in a watercolor workshop at the Miami Beach Botanical Gardens on Tuesday mornings. Apart from getting up at the crack of dawn to bike there it's been a fantastic session. Our professor is seriously top-notch, one of those instructors that really sees into the work you are creating.

Tomorrow is the last meeting, so we are all bringing little watercolors for the rest of the class to take home with them.

Here are a few of mine;









Still happily stuck on the fountain pen :) This particular brand of ink (super cheap, therefore incredibly non-waterproof) creates some really interesting results when mixed with the watercolor. Probably not archival in the least bit, but I'll be sure to scan them before taking them to class tomorrow.

Another pen + water illustration

Still playing with inks.
My plan was get outside this morning and draw some plants, but it was 92 degrees. 92!!! I guess I'm going to need to adjust my schedule slightly if I want to draw outside and avoid sweating through my clothes. 7 am should be decent, now if I can only convince myself to roll out of bed that early I'll be all set!

Saying Goodbye.

So I finished Mass Effect 3 last week. (I know, so late!)
I decided to say goodbye to the series I've played since winter of 2007 with a painting of my favorite character. Seemed fitting.

A few random WIP shots: (I need to get better about taking WIP screenshots...)

Mordin was a fantastic character. The final scene on Tuchanka was rough.