Illustration Fri. - 'shadows''

My offering for Ilustration Friday's word this week. I've had this illo swirling around in my head - much like images in a crystal ball - since visiting this place. I was travelling down an art-filled road with camera in hand when I happened upon a street sign that caught my eye. It spoke to a part of me that has always been a free spirit with a gypsy soul.

I immediately imagined gypsies and maybe a band of pirates meandering up and down the cobblestone road (it was paved, but as I said I was inspired). Of course to complete the scene a ne'er-do-well or two would be lurking in the 'shadows'.


'Gypsy Alley', 9x12, pen & pencil on bristol

I definitely want to explore this sketch further on canvas with acrylics or oils and maybe digital paint, we'll see....

Have a creative week and don't forget to check out all the talent over at IF!

artist self-portrait in pencil, 10x10

Self-portraits for our last week of Misty Mawn's class, Drawing & Painting Portraits. What a fabulous class let me tell you, do consider taking it if you want to study portraiture in mixed media.

I have grown in SO many ways during this class, Misty really goes all out with lots of videos & instructions, not to mention her weekly assignments to get your creative juices flowing. Personally, I'm not terribly fond of self-portraits, whether painted or photographed (I like to be on the viewfinder side of the camera thank you very much) and have always thought of them as vain & self-indulgent. However, I've come to believe that they are a necessary part of the creative process and our own unique journey....

"Temet Nosce: thine own-self you must know" (from The Matrix: Revolutions translated in the movie as 'know thyself'.) It's something to aspire to, don't you think? If we don't delve deep enough to find out who we truly are, what we are here to do in this life - how can we ever reach our full potential...find our purpose?

(p.s. more self-portrait assignments in the works w/collage & paints, will try to share those soon.....until then, be well.)

More Shoes!

9x12 sketchbook, pencil

Finally getting this posted! By request from Kathleen last week to show everyone the different shoes I sketched. Not a great pic but scanning it didn't improve it so here you have it. I have a few other pages with bits & pieces, random scribblings not much details so the camera couldn't pick it up. I may go back in and do those in colored pencil so will post those too if I do. Anyhow, I found myself being a bit obsessive with this (!) but wanted to see what I could achieve just using pencil.