Illustration Friday - 'Fearless'

"There is no such thing as a fearless warrior or a dread-free artist."
Steven Pressfield (The War of Art)

An entry from my portrait journal for IF's 'fearless'. I've always been fascinated with surreal artwork and actually any art that at first glance doesn't make any sense to me. Yet when I try to create a piece like that myself, logic always seems to get in the way. This was a huge step forward for me as far as being 'fearless' and actually completing a piece even when the elements didn't 'go together', at least not in my mind.

I've been studying song birds recently and as I flipped through my book, a page opened to the American Crow 'Corvus brachyrhynchos', I added it to the portrait I was working on without thinking why/where to put it and quickly too before I changed my mind. I'm not really sure what the meaning of this piece is for me altho I'm sure an analyst somewhere would have a few things to say about it (ha!) - but doesn't all of our work speak for us on some level??

Have a great week!

Illustration Fri. - 'expired'

'the promise' portrait journal, mixed media, 10x10

I wasn't sure I was going to participate at IF this week but worked on a journal page this morning [which I reworked this evening] and thought it appropriate. I was thinking of Spring and that got me thinking of seasons and all those that have expired, only to let new ones in and then of course be renewed themselves the following year - a constant cycle of expiration and renewal dates.

I think that most of us embrace the expiration of one season and welcome the new one. We may decide to shake things up a bit in our personal or professional lives - make a fresh start. Maybe we'll decide to get more organized, take up a seasonal hobby, or set new goals like taking better care of ourselves or finally setting the wheels in motion to make a long-cherished dream a reality.

I'm sure you're familiar with the passage below. At certain times or seasons in my life [particularly difficult ones, like the last six months or so] I've had key people remind me of it. It always makes me stop and reflect, and puts things into perspective...

For everything there is a season,
And a time for every matter under heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
A time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to seek, and a time to lose;
A time to keep, and a time to throw away;
A time to tear, and a time to sew;
A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate,
A time for war, and a time for peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

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Happy Spring, much creativity to you......Be well.

Illustration Friday: 'Focused'

pencil on bristol, 8x10

"Our thoughts create our reality, where we put our focus
is the direction we tend to go." ~ Peter McWilliams

Nice to be contributing over at IF this week, it's been awhile and I thought this sketch might fit for 'focused'. Also I usually focus on the eyes in my drawings & paintings as they lend such a mood and make the viewer wonder (hopefully) what the subject is thinking or feeling...

This sketch was created for Misty Mawn's latest online class: Drawing & Painting Portraits. I've been trying to sketch lots, keep an open mind and approaching these 2 mediums in different ways to see where it takes me.

If you haven't taken one of Misty's classes (or any other artists' that are currently running one online) you should really consider it. The convenience alone is worth it - you show up to class when you want, work at your own pace and participate/ hang out as much or as little as you want in the class groups.

kraft paper journal, 8x10

My latest sketch for Misty Mawn's online class: Drawing & Painting Portraits. I tried some painting over the weekend, blecckk is all I have to say..... I think I will just stay with dry media for awhile, I really don't think I'm destined to have my best work in paints :>

Actually that was one of the reasons I stopped working at it so much last fall, it was frustating at best sometimes and with the way I was feeling physically (I've shared a bit of that here with you) it felt like a chore and yes - like work - to go into my studio and try to create, everything felt like a repeat of the previous piece and the joy of making art just wasn't there.

How do you get past personal blocks in your life, creative or otherwise? I believe it comes from a place that no one can take us to but ourselves...

"We fail to see that we can control our destiny;
make ourselves do whatever is possible;
make ourselves become whatever we long to be."
-- Orison Swett Marden

Hope your week shapes up beautifully, and as always - be well...

Beginning to enjoy what IS

A couple of sketches I wanted to share with you. As you know my artmaking & creativity level has been hit and miss for some time now so when I was inspired to go and grab my journal and pencils last nite I went with the flow. A new season of Project Runway came on and I had just finished flipping through my daughter's Teen Vogue mag (I tucked an issue into her Christmas stocking, love the size of that thing - it's so cute & compact) and it was the push I needed I guess.

I've never been much of a fashionista, but I do love the poses and many moods they achieve in those photo spreads! Plus just working in pencil and having no color to rely on was very freeing in a way believe it or not. I think I forgot how much I LOVE to draw :>

Another reason I've been thinking sketches lately, is that I decided to sign up for Misty Mawn's Portrait Drawing class which starts tomorrow, I really feel the need to get back to my artistic roots of drawing & illustration...

The sketches below were done by my daughter, she loves to draw & sketch too, only she prefers drawing anime/manga etc. She also has a really good eye for life drawing, she just needs to keep at it - hint, hint sweetie if you read this :>

© 2010 Sarah Mark

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I hope you find the time to indulge your senses this weekend and surround yourself with whatever makes your heart light, whether it's through art, music, food or family & friends - enjoy!

"When you stop comparing what is right here and now
with what you wish were, you can begin to enjoy what is."
-- Cheri Huber

Update on my Colored Pencil WIP

Here are the final steps of my project from Friday. I'm so happy I was able to wrap it up over the weekend as I want to frame & mat it so I can submit it for that Women's Day project I mentioned about a week or so ago (the red dress painting is still drying as I decided to do it in oils, will show progress on that at a later date)

Anyhow, here are the final stages of this portrait:

4. I started to work in the left (or right depending on how you look at it) side of her jacket. I was hoping to achieve a 'fuzzy' feel to it to represent the warm texture of it, I think I was able to accomplish that...


5. With the jacket finished I decided to concentrate on the lacing for her hat (details, details...)



6. Hat /hair close-up to show fine details...



7. Finished piece after adding a bit more color & details all around and a fixative spray, it will still need a coat of sealer. I then took it outside to snap a pic to try and portray the colors as true and clear as possible...



I hope you enjoyed seeing my process, it was great fun and very relaxing for me - I've missed my pencils since taking up paint. As much as I love my finished paintings, acrylics sometimes frustrate me because I just can't get the paint to do what I want and brushes don't give me the detail that I crave. I've heard that painting is a lifelong process and to just keep at it....rinse, repeat, rinse, repeat :> Gotta love those learning curves!

Have a great week....