Tuesday, January 31, 2006
MEfeastO, SNR MEOWblo, MEAZLEbub
Here is a new MEfeastO, and two new characters: Snr MEOWblo, and MEAZLEbub. I bet they can get into all sorts of adventures. I have a boring Sales Conference on Thursday- so we'll see what kinds of adventures they get into in my notebook!
Monday, January 30, 2006
Mephisto
I've decided to create some little cartoon clown characters (what else does one do while sitting on a plane to NYC). This is Mephisto. I did a bunch of roughs, and then started to do an emotional breakdown (like, what would Mephisto look like sad- or angry). More to come on Mephisto.
Sunday, January 29, 2006
Verekai Juggler
Verekai, a Cirque du Soleil show, was playing in Miami this weekend. I saw the production a few years ago in NYC, and really liked the Mexican Juggler. He's now in all of their advertisements. He wasn't origionally in the show, but I thought his performance was great. I'm glad it got on a poster.
Saturday, January 28, 2006
Glamour- Illustration Friday
Glamour is the topic for this week's illustration Friday. I did this on a plane to Miami. I once had a dream that my friend Lynn (who has amazing hair) passed me with our friends Michelle and Brandy on a street in NYC. Lynn was wearing all white, and in my dream, it was the most glamorous thing I had ever seen. I don't know if my drawing can quite compare, but she's a pretty glamorous gal, (and so are my friends Michelle and Brandy!
Friday, January 27, 2006
Dirty Boys from a Dolce & Gabana Ad-
There are not many things that make me blush- but there is this incredibly racy ad for Dolce & Gabana in the most recent GQ (with Heath on the Cover) that really sparked my interest. It's in the first few pages, and I think that the composition of the photo is just close to perfect- there is a strange story going on over a two page spread- and it leaves your imagination spinning. Check it out- This is just a rendering of part of the ad. What the two guys are looking at is even more intriguing!
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Creativity at an all day training
Okay- so today I was at a 10 hour training for my job. I don't know why people think that you can listen to Sales Blah Blah Blah for more then 6 hours a day- at least it gave me a chance to do some really fancy notebook doodling. We also had these strange hats that we had to decorate. We didn't ever put them on, or discuss them, but I'm sure they had some weird team building purpose . I drew the Angel Gabriel on mine. Don't ask why I was inspired draw a Vet begging for change in front of a Crate & Barrel. I like the little dog I drew. His name is Charlie.
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Robot Heath Ledger Contemplates the Destruction He Has Created
Robot Heath Ledger was created using IPhoto techniques. I started doodling on Heath on a train to Baltimore, and just kept working him. Now I see him for the real Robot he is, and the destruction he may cause.
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Ram And Sita
I did this drawing of Ram and Sita in charcoal. I probably should have done it on a larger piece of paper to get more detail in- but it was fun to do anyway. I'll probably do it again, or in another version. My roommate thinks that Sita looks like Elizabeth Taylor from Cleopatra- I guess that's what happens when charcoal smudges.
Monday, January 23, 2006
Hank Contemplating a Liger
Sometimes I wonder if my cat really thinks about things deeply. I think ligers are a thing that cats would think about. Much like we think about mutants, or carnival freaks. Those things are strangely disturbing- much like a liger would be to a cat. What about cabbits (Cat/Rabbits). I think this is what Hank thinks about.
Sunday, January 22, 2006
Why is My Cat so Angry? Illustration Friday-
Can anyone tell me why Hank is angry in every picture I take of him. Maybe he feels that he's not very photogenic. I did this with ink and watercolor off of a picture I took of him. I found this cool website www.illustrationfriday.com- and they give you themes every Friday to illustrate- this week happened to be cats. I've never drawn Hank for a CosCreative project- so I thought it was time. I just wished he had smiled.
Saturday, January 21, 2006
Geisha Planner
I got stuck on the train for a really long time- and my incredibly short attention span quickly grew tired of my ipod/book/gameboy. So I started drawing on the blank pages of my planner. I wrote this quote during a time management seminar I took last week- I don't know why I started drawing a Geisha Lady. I think the two of them go well together.
Friday, January 20, 2006
Woman with Large Headwrap
Sometimes the people of New York City are the greatest inspiration for Creative Projects. I had a fun collage night with my friend Michelle, and as I cut up lots of pictures of fabric, I was reminded of a bizarre lady I saw on the Upper West Side a few days ago. She was a short squat woman with an incredibly intense headwrap. She bordered the line of homeless/ eccentric fashion. Her headwrap was made of hundreds of pieces of fabric, and kind of looked like she was hiding a huge alien glass head- like the Martians from Mars Attacks.
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Lounge Singer
More experimentation with the watercolor pencil. I wanted to see how deep and bold I could go with the actual pencil. They sort of peter out before you can get the bold color you want, and blending isn't that easy. They're a really great medium for incredibly light drawings, like the bird lady in my last post, but trying to get bold definition may be best left to charcoals. That's not to say that you could combine the two medium. This month is really about experimentation with the materials I have, and trying new things. I played with the color a lot in IPhoto, and I think that the end result was more the coloring that I had wanted to achieve. I think that I could do this with the pencils alone- I just need more practice.
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Cirque du Watercolor Pencil
I wanted to give the water color pencils another shot. I tried Bristol Paper instead of Watercolor Paper, and found a huge difference. Watercolor paper is porous, and is hard to pencil on, and because the Bristol is so slick, it really made it easy to shade with the pencils. The figure is from La Nouba, a Cirque du Soleil production in Orlando. I think that the character is called the Green Bird, and I got the picture from a program. I've always loved the picture, because she so slumped over and sad looking in her crazy feathered costume. I guess even people who wear feathers can be sad.
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Koi
It was incredibly hard to find web images of Koi that weren't already tattooed on somebody's forearm. I did this with Charcoal, and had a lot of fun. I don't know why I'm so into tattoo art right now- but I don't think that I will be doing any fairies or roses- unless requested to.
Monday, January 16, 2006
More Tattoo Art
Two posts in one day! I liked drawing the mermaid so much, I wanted more practice. Here are some vintage tattoos I found (most off the Sailor Jerry Website). and sharpied. I need to get some prismacolor markers, especially flesh tone.
More Mermaids the Merrier
I went to sleep very unhappy about the sketch that I did last night. I think the pen drawing just didn't have enough attitude in it, so I wanted to practice my mermaids a little more. I used Sharpie Markers instead of pen, and got better lines. The original mermaid design comes from Michelle Myles (an amazing tattoo artist) who works out of Fun City Tattoo (funcitytattoo.com). I loved the original image- she looks so stunned- so I added the anchor in. Not exactly what Justin wants, but I'm getting there- I think.
Sunday, January 15, 2006
Mermaid Rebellion
This was a difficult illustration for me, and I may try it again. I need to practice my vintage tattoo art skills. Justin wants a tattoo of a mermaid sitting on an anchor facing away (It would sit on his right arm)- with a bob hair style. I tried to put all the components together- much harder then I thought.
I also played tennis for the first time in 9 years today with Craig- I think that's being pretty creative with my body! I wonder if it's too late to be a tennis pro- or at least a ball boy- I was really good at running after tennis balls all day.
Saturday, January 14, 2006
Trying to understand the MOLA
I finally bought some fabric to stitch together a Mola. Molas are the traditional folk art of Panama, created by the Kuna Natives in the San Blas Islands. My family has been collecting Molas for years- and at this point my mother hates them (because she's had to look at them for so long), so I now hold many vintage Molas. Nobody in my family has ever tried to make a Mola, and now I see why- it's a little harder then the "how to" websites let on. My hand sewing isn't that shabby, and I'm having a difficult time trying to find the right stitch. I may have to work with a much less ambitious design. Traditional Molas are made from layered fabrics with a reverse applique technique. You're supposed to cut down to the fabric to reveal different colors, and then sort of quilt them in.
Friday, January 13, 2006
Glitter Ganesha
I felt like working in glitter and glue, so I looked at a picture of Ganesh and drew it with glue. Glitter is always messy, no matter how careful you try to be. I think that you can tell it's Ganesh. Glitter and Watercolor pencils: The two mediums I need more practice in.
Here is the third installment of The Green Coat.
The Green Coat sat in a corner for three months. Kristen was a junior executive, not a housekeeper. When she finally got around to putting it away, she looked at it one more time. She put it on while she cleaned the house. This coat is hot why am I wearing it in the house IÂm too lazy to take it off. When Kristen started cleaning the bathroom, she caught her figure in the mirror. The Green Coat made her look thin. Or was it the mirror? Was it a thin mirror? Have I been fooled into thinking IÂm slim? I should buy a video camera to see my level of fatness. Kristen had been on a diet since the age of 10. She had never thought about thin mirrors, and before she could make a judgment on the coat, she passed the closet. Her mind turned to being a Sr. Executive, and the coat was poorly folded, and stuffed next to a brown towel an old roommate had left in the closet.
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Pin Punched Cowboy
This is a Birthday Card I made for my friend Craig. If I had to pick an older brother, it would be Craig- he's the only one I would ever think of to go car shopping with- or play tennis. So what better way to celebrate his Birthday than with a pinhole-punched cowboy card. I used a fabric pin (the kind with a perpendicular metal head) and punched the larger holes over a piece of cork, and then the smaller holes (for shading effects) over a piece of cardboard to allow for more control. I also added some shading with metallic colored pencils, but I don't think the photograph quite captures that. To see the effects, you'll have to go to Craig's apartment.
My friend Michelle and I also planned a incredibly large quilling (a.k.a paper filigree) project- more to come in the next few days!
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Watercolor Pencil Dancers
Michael's Craft Store is an amazing place, because they have tons of art supplies, many of which are starter kits. I purchased a watercolor pencil kit, and gave it a go, using dancers from Movin'Out as inspiration. I wasn't too impressed with the first go on this because it was hard to tame the pencils, so I tried some other techniques (ink and back painting), and decided it would look better with illumination. To add more color, I painted the back. The kit came with a "how to" book on watercolor pencils- I don't think the artist who illustrated the book, used the same pencils in the $9 kit.
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Charcoal Yoga
Charcoal is really fun to work with, but really messy, especially when you have a cat. I have this great Yoga book with crazy people who can do amazing things with their bodies- this a variation on scorpion (a pose that I have always aspired to do- getting close!). At least I can draw it.
Monday, January 09, 2006
Pillow City of the Future
I haven't done a collage in a really long time. I used stacks of pillows from a Crate and Barrell Catalogue. When I cut them out, and put them on my table I thought they looked liked little Japanese buildings, so I made a little city. Photographing the art changes it a bit, but I liked how the colors adjusted.
Here is Section 2 of The Green Coat. Thank you -to those who have commented on the first Paragraph- You're right, a butterknife is much to dull to get to a Kidney.
The Green Coat had come wrapped in blue foil. When Kristen pulled it out of the box she used her planned smile for presents she didn’t like. First the corners of her mouth moved up, then her lips parted showing her teeth. Her jaw opened half an inch. OhmygodIloveit. Sigh. Her parents smiled back. (Long ago her dad had figured it out. It was the same expressions when they had given her a toaster.) At the time, Kristen had wanted a black coat. You wear too much black her mother said as the coat came out of the box. It clashed horribly with the blue foil wrapping, and Kristen immediately thought that she would look like a Christmas Tree in it. Black and Grey were the only colors acceptable to Kristen. She was, after all, a junior executive. The green coat went back into the box and in the corner. Kristen’s mother had to remind her not to forget it when she left promptly at 5 pm.
Sunday, January 08, 2006
Hanuman
Hanuman is a the Lord Siva as incarnated in a monkey. I am always inspired by pictures of Hindu Deities. I've been looking for a new image for a tattoo, and I found this one of Hanuman today. I've been looking for an appropriate image for a while, and magically I put the right words into the search engine, and found a simple lined drawing. I redrew it, inked it, and broke out the watercolors to give it some life. Hanuman is still said to be incarnated here on earth- if he reads this blog- I hope he likes the picture.
Prayer to Hanuman
Manojavam maruta-tulya-vegam
Jitendriyam buddhimatam varistham
Vatatmajam vanara-yutha-mukhyam
Shri-rama-dutam saranam prapadye
(I find refuge in Lord Rama's Messenger,
who is swift as thought, powerful as the wind,
in control of his senses, supremely intelligent,
commander of the army of forest creatures,
and son of the wind-god.)
Saturday, January 07, 2006
New Harware
I did a couple of creative things today- The first was changing out the old hardware on my dresser. I've had the dresser for a while, and the wooden knobs were starting to fall off. I found some cheap silver hardware at Home Depot about 3 months ago, and finaly got to putting it on today. I also researched how to make Molas (A Panamanian form of quilting). I'm going to try and make one soon. The Cuna Indians work on these for hundreds of hours, so I'm a little intimidated by them- but I'd like to explore the craftwork of my Panamanian Culture.
I also started working on a short story that I will eventually turn into a comic book. I don't write short stories that often- and haven't worked text for a comic book in a long time. Here is the first paragraph that will turn into about 4 pages of comic book. This is the start of the GREEN COAT.
When Alison felt the cold butter knife in her kidney, she realized she had borrowed Kristen’s green coat for too long. Her eyes, watering, glazed over her oblivious date salting his bread across the table. What was his name? This had been her third date wearing the green coat in a week, and in her pain Allison couldn’t remember if it was Chuck or Steve. Who salts bread? She needed to scream out something, so she tried Steve. Chuck looked over his shoulder. Idiot. Her knees buckled, forcing her onto the cold ceramic tile. The fall, pushed the knife deeper into Allison’s side, and she grasped at her chair; the green coat draped over the back. As her eyes started to close she focused on the coat for one last time. “If only I had worn the light blue dress instead.”
Friday, January 06, 2006
Oil Pastels
I haven't used oil pastels in over 6 years or so, but having recently seen some pictures at a friends house, I thought I'd give it a go again. I really like using oil pastels because you have to press really REALLY hard to get a lot on the page. I imagine it is what coloring with lipstick would be like. To mix the colors you have to force your fingers onto the page- it's a really great way to get out aggression- kind of like kick boxing- only with oil pastels.
Thursday, January 05, 2006
Quilling
Tonight I quilled for the first time. My friend Michelle and I had a craft night, where she taught me how to quill. Quilling is where you take really thin strips of paper and roll them around a really small needle. You create tiny little spools of paper that can be shaped into different things. I decided to work on a bird, so that I could try a number of different techniques. I think that I'm most proud of the little flower that the bird is holding in his mouth. Michelle came up with a very good point this evening- she said that the simplist looking crafts usually take the longest time to create. This little bird took about a full two hours of intense work- but I kind of liked it. Quilling is also called Paper Filagree. I think I like the sound of that better. Here is my paper filagree bird.
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
Cauliflower and Models
Today I worked on a puppet show that I wrote called Commander Cauliflower's Carrot Caper. My roommate Ellie had worked on voices with me, and I recorded the male sections. I'm using garage band to produce it, and it's proving to take a lot longer than I had expected- but more fun than the accounting I do at work. Ellie and I also watched Project Runway tonight- my favorite show right now- and we practiced our model walks across the house. Being a model must be very hard because you have to look bored and and walk- looking bored is much harder than I thought, because I kept laughing.
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
Color Cowboys
So today was a hard day to be creative- but I'm stickin to it. One of the main reasons of doing this project, is to take the time to do something artistic. Today was my first day back at work, a close to 10 hour venture, and then a business meeting after work, and very few hours for myself in the evening. It's hard not to just unwind in front of the TV, but working on this picture was just as fun. I took this picture in Austin, it's a large statue that sits in front of the Capitol. I had been toying with IPhoto, and these are some of the cool effects that can happen.
Monday, January 02, 2006
Illustrated Classics
I love the illustrations in the Illustrated Classics Series of books. You might remember them from childhood- the things you read instead of the original to get by on that 7th grade book report. The best part about them were the amazing pen illustrations. I've recently started redrawing some these for fun- it's good practice, and pen/ink is one of my favorite mediums to work in- I think because it's really controlled. This drawing is from The Oregon Trail by Francis Parkman, and was illustrated by Dave Simmons. Since I saw Brokeback Mountain yesterday, I think this is funny drawing.
Sunday, January 01, 2006
The Start of a Creative Year
So this the year 2006- and I have decided to create a new blog trying to chronicle my attempt to be as creative as possible. I've been putting some thought into my life, and I feel that my creativity has been on a downward spiral. So in an effort to do something about this, I want to try and put as much creative energy out there. My first step is creating a plan- or a tree of creativity. I want to expand this as much as possible, and add new branches when I've started to do more things. I created the tree using NovaMind Software- and it's a great way to organize ideas. Cheers to a creative year!
