Back On The Ball!

So, no secret here. I’ve been slacking. There’s been a lot going on, but not enough that it should have torn me away from my passion to draw. I feel guilty that I’ve been so distant and uninspired lately. My last sketchpad was a disappointment even to myself. Looking through it was looking at someone who was not having fun anymore.

Work has been disappointing in a personal way. While I love my job and role, there’s a part of me that wants to push the boundaries and be challenged in a way my work can’t offer. This is always tugging at me, whispering in my ear every time I draw an adorable mermaid or princess. This and other work-related events have made me realize that I’m ready for the next step, in a very real way.

Personally, there are things in my life that have been subtly prying through me; each little factor tearing into me little by little until I’ve just retracted and become complacent. The problem is, I’m allowing these things to get in my way. When I look at the people I admire, I see myself as SO lazy. Katie Cook, Jason Seiler… these people are constantly posting and working. They fill themselves with their art. I’m not saying I’m doing nothing, but I need to turn this around. I’m going to make a commitment to myself and my art that I will be more diligent. I will be more purposeful. There will not be a time I do not have a pad or pencil ready to draw the slightest little thing.

As part of my new commitment, I’m going to share some draws I’ve been too lazy to scan and felt too stifled by myself to post.

Thank you to all who support me and follow this blog. I’ll give you more than ever to look at.

Live Drawing

I got a chance to go to Life Drawing over at Crealde this past Sunday (as I never get to do anymore) and realized that I have lost a good bit of spacial judgment that I had. I really enjoy going to this class because it forces me to draw exactly what’s there. No lying, no exaggeration, just the truth. This is where I find how much control I have over myself. As I’ve stated to a few people before, I want to feel like I am making conscious decisions on how and what I’m drawing out at the stands and in my sketchbooks. There are times I see tendencies of others in my work and drawing a live model is the place to find out how well I’m really doing.

The draws were ok, but not great. The shading still seems lifeless and immature. I still have weaknesses in volume definition. I’m improving in the likeness of the model, from a portrait standpoint. The twenty minute draws also seem to be a bit long for my ADD. I find I start drawing the other artists in the room or moving around. Much of this I suspect comes from insecurity. I chicken out on all the shading that I’m not sure how to render properly. Well, enough chatter… here’s the draws.

Where The Wild Things Go.

Yeah, It’s been taking a while for me to draw something I feel like showing off. I wanted to show these because it illustrates a desire. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love drawing the cute cartoon stuff, but I get a bit worn down from it after a while. They can be so watered down in the likeness department. Perhaps that’s just my experience with it, but it is what it is.

I had these 2 kids walk in last week at the end of the night. They wanted to be drawn as Batman and Joker. Now, it was a decent draw, but I didn’t push too hard or anything. (Wish I had snapped it now that I’m making this post.) They came back this week wanting to get a free draw. I told them what I tell everyone. I don’t mind, but I’m drawing what I want. This is what resulted.

They laughed so hard at each others pics. It was so much fun to do some real exaggeration. I think when you’re doing a caricature, you should be able to line up a bunch up people who look similar and have no problem handing the draw to the right person. I’m not saying I do it all the time, but that’s the game I guess. It’s just nice to flex when you can.