a new project

A few weeks ago I was reading some article about custom "my little ponies" being sold at auction for charity. I freaked out. #1- I've seen some custom "my little ponies" before- and it's quite disturbing. Mainly because they are taking existing ponies and painting over the top of them- which I think is sacrilegious. and #2- they were actually using blank my little ponies. That's right- All white, never been dyed, touched, or painted on- ponies. Thus leaving me to realize my initial freak-out was completely unnecessary.

That lead me to search the internet for said "blank my little ponies". I found them. At the Hasbro toy shop (here). Being the wanna-be customizer that I am, I had to buy one...ok to be honest I bought 5. But here is my first-unfinished- attempt at customizing a blank "my little pony."

I had many many unicorn "my little ponies" growing up, but they always seemed so...not-like-what-I-would-imagine-a-unicorn-to-look-like, that I wanted to make my own.

I used air-bake clay...which i don't recommend for this. #1- the clay didn't stick to the pony, thus making me have to go buy some Mod-Podge to use as a glue and sealant. And #2- it was pretty messy- for the hands- not too bad on the pony itself- but clean up was kind of a pain.

The only reason I didn't use sculpy and bake it in the oven was because I wasn't sure if the hair would melt in the oven. I figured air-dry clay would be a good first attempt. Anyway, I have to paint it still. Granted it's just going to be white, with maybe grey hooves- but it will be a little different. I may post pictures once that is complete- but as of right now, I'm not sure when that will be.

Like I said before, I did buy 5 of these to work on, so over the next few months, I may have some more to show. If you like it let me know. If you have an idea for one, and would be willing to pay a few $$ for it, let me know- I might be willing to do a custom for you.

Doing this one made me want to get back to doing custom toys- I still have 3 blank munny figures to do something with, and a trooper teddy, as well as some little creatures that I can't think of the name right off the top of my head...but I know there's a monkey and a pig. Seriously, if I get any of those "created" into anything other than blank-ness, I'll post up pictures.

Welcome home Piggie!!!

THANK YOU DEANNA!!!! I love love love this piece of art done by Deanna Molinaro. She's absolutely one of the most creative people I have ever met in my entire life!

I've been admirering her sculptures for probably over a year...maybe longer (we worked together and I'm pretty sure I had seen her sculptures longer than a year ago). I asked her if she could make a pig for me- and this is quite possibly the most perfect pig sculpture I could have ever asked for! Seriously cute and adorable!

It's currently residing on my TV. I have to admit that the pink dots frightened me when I looked in the bag it came in. They were so bright I thought it was glow in the dark and I was like "um, ok, so when I see bright pink dots moving around in the middle of the night, I'm supposed to be scared of it then?"

So it's not glow in the dark, which makes me feel safe that I won't actually be aware of when it comes to life at night and starts playing the rest of the pig collection.
Granted this pig is the star of the pig collection now. It's almost too cool to even keep in a "pig collection"...I need to keep it away from the other pigs, maybe in my "art collection". I just can't get over how awesome it looks. The eyes are amazing, and I love the nose and tail. Deanna did such a great job! I'm thinking I might need one of her octopi next or perhaps a sea monster? I just love what she sculpts...one of everything please! LOL.
If you do go to her website, please make sure to check out her books, they are fantastic! I especially love Lonely Sea Monster and An Inconsolable Octopus. They are all great, those are just my two favs.

people are everywhere

For Starters, this is a drawing that I did to go along with the cat, with its head in the fish bowl, from yesterdays post. This is my co-workers daughter with boyfriend. No official title.

I'm learning to branch out and use more than one thickness in lead too, which is creating a lot more depth in my drawings. I'm kind of liking it!

A word of caution though- just because you see all of the squiggly lines and patterns and everything in someone's clothing, in a drawing that I've done, doesn't mean you should all rush to get me your photos with massive patterns and expect them to match accurately. At best I can make it a representation of what's in the photo. Patterns in fabric are really kind of a challenge and probably won't match very closely. Even stripes are hard to do. I wouldn't think they would be, but they are.

And here's the "mini" drawing of "Love Knows No Bounds". I posted the original that I did back in April/May a few posts ago. This is the one that I just did and shipped out earlier this week. Feel free to compare the two. I know there are some definite likenesses, and some definite differences.

No two drawings are every identical. Sadly.

Here Kitty Kitty Kitty...

Something strange is happening...I've actually begun to like some of my drawings as soon as I've completed them!
To some that statement might sound a little strange. But seriously, I rarely like what I draw, I'll look at it and go "meh, I could have done that better" or "maybe I should have drawn that differently?" But lately, I really like what I've been drawing. Like this cat for example. It's a present for one of my co-workers daughters, I started and completed it in about 2 1/2 hours just now. And I freakin' love this drawing! If it wasn't already sold, I would want to hang it on my own wall. That rarely happens. The one I did a week ago of "Arlene and Brandon", the people on the beach, when I was done with that one I wanted to keep it. I didn't, but I wanted to.
But anyway, just wanted to share this while I had the chance.

Do I get a vacation yet?

#1. Last week I took 2 days of vacation from work. Which turned into me also taking Monday off from work. Why you ask? Well, David went in for nose surgery on Thursday. As he likes to tell everyone, he got a nose job- as I like to correct him every time, I like to tell people he had a polyp growth in his nostril causing him to not be able to breathe, as well as a deviated septum that they had to repair. I can now say (at this date, I can't control my actions later in life), that I no longer want that glorious nose job that I've wanted since I was a teenager...Being nurse to plastic surgery patients is gross.
#2. I finished a drawing while on vacation from work. Remember the drawing "Love Knows No Bounds"? It had a mom with wings, and two girls below her and some clouds? Yeah, I had the requestor request a miniature version for her sister. I currently do not have that picture to show you...I really hope I remembered to scan it before I sent it off...
But in case I didn't (and I'm realizing now that I never actually posted this drawing anywhere on my blog), here is what the original looked like. I have since been informed by the requestor that the mouth was crooked (try looking at something for days on end and see all the problems...), so I fixed that in the newest drawing. I'm just sorry the requestor didn't mention that before I shipped her this drawing. I feel like a schmuck.
#3. I found a drawing I had been looking for and can't remember if I've already posted it or not. If not, here it is:
I think I might put this up for sale. So if you have an urge to purchase it, please comment, or shoot me an email: ASBTSF@gmail.com and we can discuss prices. If you would like to wait until sale time on the website...well fine then...go ahead and wait.

And if all of this sounds oddly familiar...which it does to me- then I think we are experiencing deja vu together...

"You draw to practice drawing??!!"

It has recently come to my attention that many people who are not from an art background/community, do not understand the concept of a sketchbook. So I'm here today, to enlighten some people as to why I carry a sketchbook around with me everywhere.

For me, not all artists, my sketchbook is like a journal- sometimes I write about the mood I'm in to reflect back on later as to why I drew something, or leave a causual note about what's been going on lately, and sometimes incorporate that into whatever I'm drawing. Other times it's simply there for me to pass the time and leave a doodle. Plus, you never know when there's going to be someone sitting right in front of you, that you can draw for free, just to remind yourself of how the human figure looks. The sketchbook is really there because I need to practice.
And today, that's what floored me about one person who laughed when she asked what I do with all of my drawings, and my reply was simply "it's all practice". To someone who is perfect, with no flaws, I guess this seems insane. "Practice, who needs to practice for anything?" No, you're completely right. Musicians never need to practice. In fact, every guitar player I've ever heard on the radio, simply picked up the guitar and started playing perfect pieces from day one. I'm sure Leonardo Da vinci never made any mistakes, anytime he touched a pen, or paintbrush to paper it was an instant million dollar drawing/painting from day one...yeah- oh she's got me, what am I doing?
No folks, artists do have to practice. Any art class I've ever taken they give you a warm up period, where you have to losen yourself up before you tackle some giant project. Any portrait I ever do, I don't just rush right into it, there's an underdrawing that has to be accomplished and cleaned up and then the real drawing begins. But it's not just that, I went an entire 6 month period, right after college, where I didn't draw anything, not one thing. When I tried to draw something again- it was like I was back in Middle School, going "techniques, what's that?"
I guess I was a little ticked off when she laughed as she said "You draw to practice drawing???" making it sound like I was the biggest idiot on the planet. It has made me realize though, that a lot of people out there think that artists can just go at the word "go" and make something spectacular right in front of their eyes. (Don't get me wrong, there are those capable who can make the most wonderful pieces of art right there...but it's definetly not me)
And another thing, why does everything that's ever drawn, or painted have to "be something"? Can't a sketch just be a sketch, that probably will only ever be seen by one person? Why does it have to go on to become this fantastic creation? Oh, AND, why is it that if you can draw, the automatic reaction from people is "you should illustrate children's books?" Why not "you should have your own business"?

Anyway- yes I have a sketchbook; yes I carry it with me almost everywhere; no not everything I draw is a masterpiece or deserves a spot on my blog let a lone my company website; Sure I would like to illustrate children's books, but it's not like that is something I can do after my 8 hour shift at work every night- I would have to be fully invested in it- possibly taking a hiatus from my job- which I can't afford to do right now.

Oh yes, I would love it if everything that came from my pencil that hit paper was a masterpiece and it would sell for thousands or millions of dollars...while I'm still alive...but I live in the real world.

Thank you for letting me rant...

I feel like going to the beach...taking a vacation...

Finished this drawing last night. It's on 14" x 17" paper, done with 2B, 4B, and 6B graphite pencils. I have to say, drawing water is difficult. Faking dirt and trees and what-not is relatively easy, but water- dang! I'm going to pick up a book on Amazon.com to give me some tips on drawing realistic water and other nature objects.

Haven't delivered this particular drawing yet, but hope the owner will like it.

Untitled #2 and tattoo design

It's June. Does anyone else think this year is flying by at a rapid pace? No? Just me, huh? Hum...
Ok, well anyway- with that out of the way I can show you the drawing I finished over the weekend:
This is my former boss, yet still co-worker Susan's father and his wife. I didn't get a title for it, so it's "Untitled #2". This was a tad on the challenging side. She requested 11" x 14" paper, which most portraits that are requested are requested on either 8 1/2" x 11" paper or the 9" x 12". I don't even know if I have done a portrait on this scale **(ok...there was that 18" x 24" of Santana, way way way back in the day...). While it was a challenge getting the proportions correct and getting the shading to look "normal", it was fun to draw. Susan likes it and is sure her dad will love it, which is more than I can ask for.

On another note, I've been getting bombarded with requests to draw tattoo designs for people. I don't actually think anyone has gotten one of the designs I have drawn, but at least it gives them something to go off of. I don't want to post up any of those designs right now, but in the spirit of drawing them for other people, I got to the point that I've decided I need another tattoo- however I fear this one will be much larger than my first. And I want to put it on my shoulder cascading down my arm...which, as a receptionist in a "business casual" environment, may not be the best idea (long sleeves from now on perhaps?)
It's supposed to be a ball of yarn up there at the top, because I like to knit, the pencil is an obvious...hello, I draw! and the 4 flowers have 2 meanings, 1. my lucky number is 4 (also my birthday day date), and 2. to symbolize my 4 grandparents who have all passed away. The one on the left, away from the other 3 represents my grandfather on my mom's side- as he passed away when I was 8, and was my favorite person on the entire planet. The leaf from that flower is touching the bottom flower on the right to represent his wife, my grandma who passed away in 2006, and it's to show that they were always together even though they were apart. And the 2 at the top are my father's parents; they died relatively close in time and were always together. The little buds along the string of yarn represent my path in life, little milestones and what-not. The stars are just there because I like stars. But yeah. Who knows if I'll actually get this, but it's very representative of myself.
I need to stop watching Miami Ink I'm affraid...

** Added note: apparently I've gone off the deep end. My most requested drawing size is the 11" x 14", I usually consider a "portrait" to be one face or a couple posed to look like a "classic portrait"...where as most of my 11" x 14" have either been multiple images combined, or an animal or objects. I do appologize to anyone who read this and has requested an 11" x 14" drawing and saw the above and was like "What is this lady talking about? I have the 11" x 14" drawing hanging on my wall right now!" So my "re-phrase" for the day is: a classic portrait, which takes up most of the sheet of paper I'm drawing on, is considered a portrait, and therefore I usually draw those on 8 1/2" x 11" or 9" x 12" paper. But I did enjoy the challenge for the "classic portrait" on 11" x 14" paper.

Got that?