Thursday Art Walk

 

In Which The Horse is 20 Hands High
And I am 5'3"

They tell you when you fall off of the horse to get back on. I am usually very good at this.  This month, however, as mentioned on Tuesday, I'm just kind of... not feeling it.

That being said, I did manage to finish one digital piece based off of one of the first week of Cozytober's drawings that never made it onto the blog. You'll get all 31 pieces by Halloween, I promise. I want to see these images come to life!!!

Anyway, here's Prompt #5 - Cabin

"5 - Cabin"; Digital; 2023

I went for something of a storybook/illustrative look for this one, and I'm actually... quite pleased with the result! The original sketch was awful, I'll admit. Barely more than some scribbled lines that vaguely looked like a lop-sided a-frame cabin with a beagle puppy that looked more like a tamandua posed woodenly in the doorway. This at least looks like it's supposed to be a bit more sketchy!

I have... so much more art to do this week. I'm catching up, but it's only 5 days to Halloween, and I want to be finished completely. There's some great prompts to play with.

As for tonight, I'm going to work on at least one more sketch before turning in. The last few days of cat-pilling have taken their toll and I am pooped.

That's it for tonight's blog, sorry!

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Thursday Art Walk

 

In Which I... Am Playing Catch-Up.

Let's be real, I struggle mightily with keeping up with... literally everything. I actually have done a bunch of crochet! I actually have drawn a bunch! I just really have not had the energy or concentration to write in the ol bloggerino.

It's October!

Which means that it's time for me to try and mostly flub an art challenge! This year, I've decided to take on #Cozytober!

Since I'm unhinged, I also wrote out a list of 31 animals and am slowly, carefully, trying to work my way through the prompts with a different critter for each day!

I... am not done with today's prompt.

Turns out it's very hard to draw a cabin.

"01 - Leaves (Colin the Wombat)"
Brush pen & pencil on sketchbook; 2023
[ANIMAL, PLANT]

"02 - Pumpkins (groundhog)"
Brush Pen & pencil on sketchbook; 2023
[ANIMAL, VEGETABLE]

"03 - Home (kangaroo)"
Pencil on sketchbook; 2023
[ANIMAL, LOCATION]

"04 - Scarf (lop-eared bunny)"
Brush pen & pencil on sketchbook; 2023
[ANIMAL]

Today's prompt was "05 - Cabin (beagle)", and I have only managed the vaguest of outlines, so faint that it never showed up on the photo I took lol.

I'll probably have it done by midnight. Maybe.

Regardless, I'm enjoying this challenge!

And I hope I have enough oomph to write more next week.

For now, though, I'm gonna get back to work on that beagle - if for no other reason than so I can show it to Z lol!

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Thursday Art Walk

 

In Which The Universe Is Trying To Tell Me Something...

It was a very wet, very hot, very crappy summer here. My whole goal this year was to paint outside once a week.

I've done it maybe three times because the weather has Not Cooperated.

Today it was gorgeous out.

Puffy white clouds, slightly hazy sky, not that humid, gentle breezes, approximately 75℉ (23,9℃)...

I had to try it. I had to go for my stupid little walk for my stupid mental health! It was now or never!

Well, the walk was pleasant enough - traffic cooperated, I managed to check the produce that gets left out for free at the library (just kale and a few random peppers, but that's on me, I should've headed out before noon), and I even felt comfy enough to shed my flannel shirt.

Main Street was the kind of bustling you get from off-season tourists who just want to see what a small New England town is like when there are no cruise ships or leaf peepers (spoilers, it's cozy but largely boring unless you're into art and relaxation). I hopped onto a bench outside one of the bigger galleries and set up my clipboard and watercolor palette, sketching out a very sloppy view. My goal was to try out some brushwork ideas I'd had, practice glazing, maybe figure out how to do impressionism with watercolor if I was very very ambitious.

A gentleman set up near me with a violin. He had an interesting song selection that he was playing with speakers. Dunno if he was legit or one of the scammers, but that was besides the point.

The point is that this is when I started to get a familiar feeling in my gut that something might go wrong today.

I ignored it, because I'm anxious, so I feel that way a lot.

I mean, sure, I'm anxious because when I feel like something is about to go wrong, it does, but that's besides the point. People aren't supposed to give in to anxiety, right? So I keep painting.

I'm adding a bunch of dabbed brushwork leaves to a tree when I realize there's an older fellow in a western-style shirt standing close to me, watching me work. Okay, that's cool, he seems to be just watching my paints, trying to see what I see. It's a first for me, but I've seen other plein aire artists have this happen.

No sooner does he start asking me questions about my art (which I was really excited about, because this is new! People don't often take an interest in what I do in the real world!), than a yellowjacket starts hovering around me. We both remark on it and laugh it off.

Then it's joined by a friend, who lands on my thigh and starts moving... oddly.

And then they're both joined by a third yellowjacket who zooms aggressively towards my eyes. I hastily packed up and headed for home. I wasn't about to run because I know that a fast-moving target with hornets, bees, or yellowjackets around it is a stung target. I apologized for my quick departure to the baffled art enthusiast and trudged home.

The weirdly persistent bugs followed me.

They followed me for almost a half a mile.

They continued to aim for my face.

I finally lost them by leading them past a bottle redemption place with a whole swarm of drunken hornets outside. My stalkers decided that the booze was far preferable to my face, so they stuck around the pallets of broken beer bottles and crushed Mtn dew cans.

I bought myself a couple of 69 cent cans of soda at a nearby shop and went home, defeated.

Some days the universe just tells you "No, you're not allowed to enjoy yourself outside." This was apparently one of those days.

It's a frigging bummer.

No one has ever talked to me about my art on Main Street without prompting from someone who knows me.

Never.

So of course the one time it does, my stupid stinging-insect-attracting powers have to activate.

Heck.

Anyway, here's the watercolor sketch I was working on:

"God Said Stop Painting"; watercolor on paper; 2023
[ANIMAL, VEGETABLE, LOCATION]

As you can see, I was trying to use a flat brush and fill in the foliage of the tree I was looking at...

Those five dots in the sky are pigeons. Same with the dots on the background building.

And the buildings you can see are a secondhand store, a bakery, a movie theater, and a contemporary art museum.

I've probably just doxxed myself. It's been that kind of day.

Is this the universe's way of telling me not to freaking paint outside anymore? Telling me I'm not allowed to paint at all?

I feel pretty defeated, to be honest.

Weird crap happens every time I try to do anything like this.

Nature just likes to mess with me I guess.

Last time it was a freak rainshower. The time before that, a cruise ship arrived and I felt like I had to leave so that other people could sit down.

I want to sit somewhere with shade and paint.

Apparently the only place I can do that is at home.

That sucks.

Anywho, if you want me to make some art for ya, I'm happy to do that - you can commission me via Ko-Fi, DM me on Twitter (it's Twitter, not X, Elon's a doofus), if you're an IRL person I know, you can reach me via Facebook.

If you just want a say in what I post next week, feel free to drop me a small donation on Ko-Fi with a message telling me what category you want to see (Animal, Vegetable, Mineral, Food, Dedbert, Location, Geometric, Word) and I'll make it for next Thursday!

I'll just probably be painting or drawing it either at the local library or in my backyard.

Probably the library, to be honest, because last time my mom sat outside, she was swarmed by bees.

What the heck.

Anywho, Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Thursday Art Walk

In Which I Legit Forgot To Post This Earlier...

I finished today's sketch in the morning, and I've just... forgotten until now that I needed to post it lol.

Today's sketch is of a fairly famous beaver kit named Nibi, and it's based off of a picture that Z & I send back and forth to each other as something of an in-joke. it's not really a joke, it's just a fun thing we do.

I adore her little face in the original image, so I couldn't resist sketching her.

"Nibi" (aka "Hello!"); pencil sketch; 2023
[ANIMAL]

Nibi is such a cute little thing, but then, all baby beavers are precious chunky monkeys. They are the roundest, most adorable critters in North America and I love them about as much as I love opossums.

This picture almost didn't get sketched, by the way. We're having a lil silverfish problem right now, and one made its way onto the sketchbook. I did not notice this nearly inch-long creepy crawly until I had already carried it downstairs, set it on the kitchen table, and made myself coffee.

I sat down with the coffee, hoping to finish sketching (I had vague shapes lightly sketched, but no facial features), and the bug made itself known. I somehow avoided dumping my coffee and threw the sketchbook across the kitchen in surprise.

I'm not afraid of silverfish, I just wasn't prepared for such a robust specimen to appear next to my thumb so suddenly.

It was definitely not on the sketchbook anymore after its impromptu flying lesson, though, so I brought the book back, sat down, and drew.

I do want to do a few more takes on that cute pose, and I'd love to get a still from the video of her bunny hopping away from the dam and make a pic of her clicking her heels gleefully lol. Ironically, she has since made friends with an actual bunny, so I'll have to make a pic of that, too lol.

For now, though, I've got crochet to finish, pouches to make, and sleep to catch up on.

If you'd like to have a say in what I draw next week, feel free to send me a little donation on Ko-Fi with a message telling me what category (Animal, Vegetable, Mineral, Dedbert, Food, Location, Geometric, Word) you'd like to see, and I'll draw or paint something that fits the bill!

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Talk About Tuesday

 

In Which I Have Had A Week(end)
(A Pretty Great One In Fact)

This weekend was fantastic. On Friday, Z took me to the Farnsworth Art Museum to view the collection of paintings & sketches Edward Hopper (the painter of Nighthawks, my favorite painting!) did in my hometown. It was incredible, especially since, despite having lived in Rockland, Maine throughout my entire childhood, I had never gone to the museum. It was $20 for adults to get in, but locals get in for free.

I am obsessed with Edward Hopper's work. I love that he focused on people and buildings (but mostly buildings), and I love the sense of emptiness in his work.

Since the Farnsworth Museum's bread & butter are their Wyeth collections, they had plenty of pieces by Andrew Wyeth that they showed alongside the Hoppers, and those had that Andrew Wyeth stormy, desaturated appeal. He didn't use a lot of focal colors, eschewing N.C. Wyeth's use of aquamarine, turquoise, and teal in favor of umbers and ochres. Andrew Wyeth's art seemed to be all captured during overcast and dark days, whereas Hopper's pieces tended to be in strong sun. Both had a moodiness about their work, but I think Hopper really nailed the way light works on a sunny day in Rockland.

In short, if you want to know what my childhood hometown looks like in full sun, look at Hopper's sketches & paintings of the area. If you want to know what the same area looks like in darker weather, check out Andrew Wyeth. If you want to see what memories of this town feel like, though, you go with N. C. Wyeth. His weirdly Mediterranean palette really captures the way Maine feels in more carefree memories.

We spent a great deal of time in the museum, looking at the exhibits and oohing and aahing over paintings like Emilie Stark-Menning's Strawberry Moon, or a fantastic Enamel on Canvas painting of a semi-psychedelic forest whose artist I sadly cannot remember the name of, or even a pair of Grandma Moses paintings! I just about lost it when I found out there was a pair of Chihuly glass pieces, too!

After the museum we headed back to my place where we found my dad hard at work replacing the deck.

Which he was still working on today.

The concept of a new deck is very nice, since we've had rotten boards and broken steps for a while. The problem with building a new deck is... my yard is 100% clay and rocks and roots. The auger is struggling. My dad is struggling. It took him 4 hours just to get the supplies. The cable for the railings came faster than he was able to find all the hardware & wood.

It's not going the best, especially since until today the weather has been uncooperative - rain every day but today and at random weird times. They're also building the deck on the side of our house that is close to our next door neighbors' bedrooms, so they kind of have to stop construction after dark.

Regardless, this has been an adventure and a half.

Saturday had me wandering down to my Fiber Circle and enjoying my hour outside immensely. I got so much crocheting done, and I'm continuing that trend today by getting several inches of top done (on the front of the top). I'm cruising along.

I haven't drawn yet this week, though, so we'll have to work on that.

In fact, that might be what I do after this row I'm working on...

If you'd like to be the source of inspiration for a finished piece on Thursday, feel free to send me a coffee over on Ko-Fi with a message telling me what category (Animal, Vegetable, Mineral, Dedbert, Food, Location, Geometric, Word) you'd like to see, and I'll make something based on that!

My plans for this week are:

Art for Thursday

Crochet Progress for Monday

Blather next Tuesday.

For now, though, I'm going to finish that row, throw down a sketch or two, and then play more Stardew, because dang it I am going to get my butt down to the 100 level of the Skull Cavern...

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Thursday Art Walk

 

In Which I Did A Digital Thing LOL

Since I've been addicted to Stardew Valley the last few days, you might be able to guess that I haven't been painting much.

You'd be right.

In fact, I decided to do a random colorplay study with Paint.Net!

"Devolution_Pink"; Digital Art; 2023
[GEOMETRIC]

As you can see, the project was... interesting.

That arrow in there is not a mistake - I used the different shapes in Paint.Net and then built a gradient off of that. the fuzziness of the image is actually intentional - I outlined each shape with a gradient from one color to the next and sort of played around with making my own gradients. I could make a much looser gradient if I wanted to, but I kind of like the slightly blurry look.

To be perfectly honest with y'all, I really love making bizarre little images like this. I like just going bonkers with colors and shapes. I'm trying to train my instincts so that I use better combos of colors, tighten my palette (my first instinct is to Use Everything Everywhere All At Once). I'd prefer to have a tight palette or a specific gradient to play with.

As for the rest of tonight, I'm going to be fiddling around with some more art, playing with my yarn, and maybe I'll throw in an hour or two of Stardew (I'm in Year 3 and Grandpa was Pleased!). I feel pretty cozy, and tomorrow is supposed to mostly be good weather and bright sun, so we'll see about that, too.

For now, though,

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Thursday Art Walk

 

In which I managed a drawing despite being deep in my Stardew Era again...

So I've been playing Stardew Valley again.

And I've been loving it.

My sleep schedule has not been loving this, though, because I keep staying up til 3 or 4am just trying to do one more run in the desert caves. I'm in the spring of year 2, Kent has arrived, and I won the second egg hunt in a row. I don't know if I'll win anything else lol.

As for art, though, I still managed to pull through and draw something!

"Peachy"; watercolor pencil on paper; 2023
[FOOD, VEGETABLE]

So there we have a lil peach on a lil table with a lil shading and I'm actually pretty pleased with it! I managed to create shading and highlight without making it look shiny (because, of course, peaches are fuzzy, not shiny).

I had a hard time with the shadow underneath (obviously) but I'm otherwise quite pleased with it! Sure, the color is more apricot than peach, but I promise I've seen peaches that yellow before.

At least it's not bubblegum pink, which it very nearly was. I saw the yellow I wanted. I reached for the yellow I wanted. I looked up to watch the cat come into the room for a little box time, and when I looked down at my hand, I'd picked up a very pink pink.

I honestly cannot remember the names of any of the colors I used except that I know I made use of the Peaches & Cream shade for the body of the peach and Magenta for the blush. Everything else was kind of snagged at random. I layered a cool gray with the spring green to bring down the yellow tones in the background, but the light blue of the tablecloth was solo.

I used a round brush for most of the piece, especially the shading and the peach itself. I used a 1/2" square brush for the background, swirling it in circular motions to improve the blending of the gray and green.

This was a fun little piece to do, and if you'd like to make any requests of me, you can do so via Ko-Fi - send me a lil donation with a message telling me what category you'd like me to work from (Animal, Vegetable, Mineral, Food, Dedbert, Location, Geometric, Word), and I'll post a piece based on that category!

For now, I'm going to go eat some homemade teriyaki chicken, watch an Italian dad make lentil soup, and probably sneak in some more Stardew before I go to bed lol.

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Thursday Art Walk

 

In Which There Are Updates & Art!

First and foremost, my dad was diagnosed with COVID last week, which sucked big time. No one enjoyed that. 0/10 do not recommend. I'm pleased to be able to say he's already recovered and testing negative! Fortunately, my mom & I were masking and washing and disinfecting and avoiding each other as much as possible, so we've both tested negative, too.

Unfortunately, this is Summer in the Northeast, which means weird air quality, high humidity, and air pressure weirdness, and even more unfortunately, my mom and I have trash sinuses.

So of course, we exhibit sinus infection symptoms all summer.

Which are, of course, also largely Covid Symptoms.

Imagine my deep relief when I tested negative. It's been rough.

Since it's High Summer, high moisture, and high temperatures, I've been struggling to get enough sleep, struggling to get enough to drink, struggling to maintain my salts & minerals, etc.

I didn't like my gums' color today so I snagged a G Zero out of the fridge.

I forgot how much I hate G Zero.

I used to love orange Gatorade. Used to chug it.

Now, the sucralose makes me shudder and there's something in the mix that stings my throat (and it is just the Gatorade, my throat does not sting with water, cranberry juice, or coffee). Maybe there's some kind of melon extract. I should probably not risk it again.

So that was a low point this afternoon.

In other news, I managed to do some art!

"Dedbert"; watercolor pencil and micron pen; 2023
[DEDBERT]

I've been toying with a few other pieces today, but they're not coming together like I hoped, so I'll just table them til next week.

For now, though, I've been up since 5AM and could really use a power nap or something.

Also probably another gallon of water to get the sucralose flavor out of my mouth, eugh.

If you'd like to have a say in what I draw or paint next week, drop me a donation over on Ko-Fi with a message telling me what category (Animal, Vegetable, Mineral, Food, Dedbert, Location, Geometric, Word) and I'll doodle something up to post on the blog!

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Thursday Art Walk

 

In Which It's Fanart Again lol
(And yes, there are mild spoilers for Tears of the Kingdom)

Okay, so today was gonna be some cool digital art but... I'm nowhere near done. I'm about 5% done, in fact. Maybe 7% max. This is a big project, since I'm crafting it pixel by pixel, and it's gonna take a long time. There's a reason that the file name is "da big wun" lol.

And I'm maybe playing a little too much Tears of the Kingdom for things to be good for me.

My initial backup plan was to draw you guys a couple Light Dragon shots - namely a funny perspective shot and then a copy of The Epic Moment of Awesomeness where you get the Master Sword. Seriously, that's such a freaking incredible moment, and I've never felt more like a truly legendary hero in a video game than in that one scene. If you know, you know. If you don't, and you don't mind spoilers, look up the cutscene where you get the Master Sword. It's super cool.

I cannot for the life of me draw the Light Dragon.

So I opted for something a little... simpler.

See, down in the Depths, you'll sometimes spot piles of rocks with ghostly figures standing on them. Each of these spectral people are holding a pristine weapon that goes with their race. Hylian Soldiers will hold regular Hylian weapons - Traveler's Swords, Royal Weapons, etc. Gerudo Warriors will hold Gerudo weapons. Gorons will hold Goron weapons. While I haven't seen any Rito, I'd imagine they'd hold things like Feathered Edges and Throwing Spears.

There are also Zora, who of course hold Zora Spears, Zora Longswords, etc.

I love the weird top-heavy design of the Zora. They have short legs and long arms, and you can tell they're Not Human At All, but they've still got enough human shape to seem friendly.

That friendliness is far less apparent in the Depths, because they have no faces.

Still, those pristine weapons are very nice.

So I drew one of those lonely spirits, holding their Spear, waiting for Link...

Probably scaring the life out of the Yiga who can't see them.

"The Depths"; pen & colored pencil sketch; 2023
[FANART]

I'd love to redo this picture in Krita at some point. I like the idea of it, much like I enjoy the design for the spirits. It's too hard to get the white outline with colored pencil, even having white gel pens, and I just managed to color over it when I tried to leave it open.

That being said, I'd also really like to keep practicing the Light Dragon, and I may even try to do something about the other three wandering Dragons at some point.

For now, though, I'm going to go find some trouble. If I'm very careful, I might be able to take down a Gleeok with my current armors...

And I do still have a lot of work to do on that digital piece.

I hope you guys are having good Art Days!

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

(PS: The Something this week is The Moment from TOTK that I was talking about earlier, so uh, Spoilers Ahoy)

Thursday Art Walk

 

In Which The Best Laid Plans are Often Laid on by my Cat...

I've been working on a couple of pieces lately, and they're going really well, it's just... my cat, you see. She thinks it's a good time to lay on me. All the time.

Yesterday, 90% of my Working time was taken up with Mandatory Cuddles, and they absolutely are mandatory. You wouldn't think an 8lb cat could push a laptop off of someone's lap, but she can and will if she wants those cuddles.

Today at least she decided to sleep on my pillow instead of invade my personal space.

That being said, I couldn't finish either Da Big One (a 4200x4800 pixel piece) or Button Study (which is made on a button template that I had to finagle hardcore because I do not own any form of Photoshop and of course Threadless only offers templates in psd. Thankfully Krita opens that format, but I can't really use Krita for pixel art the way I do it, so uh... finagling). Too much cat, too little work.

Instead, I managed to sketch a little wandering Korok for you guys!

"I Need To Find My Friend!"; colored pencil & ink on sketch paper; 2023
[VEGETABLE? ANIMAL? (what even are Koroks...)]

Here's a lil guy trying to go on an adventure just like the Hero! It's even easier for Koroks, because most monsters and people cannot see them, and therefor, they cannot harm them.

Obviously Koroks can't get hurt.

Look what all these psychopaths are doing to Koroks in Tears of the Kingdom.

I could never! I honestly feel bad when I accidentally let them roll down a hill. Do I almost always deliver them in the longest, most difficult manner possible? Yes. Do I still do it as gently as I can? Absolutely. They're just little guys who don't get why you're disappointed by their rewards. Yes, a giant golden poo is... not a great reward, but my guess is they know you're gonna get a garden and think you could use the "seeds" as fertilizer.

This does however make me wonder if Mineru can attach a Korok onto her back? I doubt it. You can't Fuse them, after all. The meat arrow Recall trick only works because you Ultrahand the Korok to the meat arrow before you recall it...

Of course, future me now wants to draw Mineru with a Korok in a baby sling because I am ridiculous.

Yeah, it's the Big Thing for me lately, Tears of the Kingdom. I'm sure most of you who've been playing have already kicked Ganondorf in his Dragmires several times already, but I'm 1) a coward who is too scared to go into the depths and sweaty-palms their way through the Sky Islands, 2) fighting drift in both sticks now (Link, please stop WALKING INTO THE CHASM I DON'T WANT TO GO IN THERE), and 3) exploring my heart out in all these familiar-yet-utterly-changed places! Seriously, it's such a different world from Breath of the Wild. It feels way bigger than BoTW, just on the surface!

So yeah, that's been my week. I hope you guys are all having a good art week!

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Thursday Art Walk

 

Oh yeah I have a blog...

So yes, I completely flaked this week on blogging. I'm fine - not sick or even all that exhausted. I was just playing too much Tears of the Kingdom to get anything done, like a dweeb. Before anyone asks, I am absolutely not going to hurt the Koroks on purpose. I get why people are annoyed with the lil dudes, but I'm not gonna magic up a rotisserie machine to torment them. They just wanna find their awkwardly located friends.

I do totally Ultrahand them and walk them over to their bros when possible. I find it hilarious to walk past NPCs who cannot see the Koroks because they're probably wondering why Link, the Hero of Hyrule, the Princess's Appointed Night, He Who Wields The Sword of Evil's Bane and who crushed the Calamity, is wandering Hyrule with his right hand in the air, eyes trained on an invisible point. Is he seeking Zelda? Has he gone mad? Is he secretly a Yiga spy? What is going on there?!

Anywho, yeah, I haven't got much work done.

But my most consistent Requester sent me a Request via Ko-Fi asking me to draw some Food (a new category), so I did succeed (after a loooooot of trial and error, believe me) in painting something fun in Krita!

"Taco Time"; Digital art; 2023
[FOOD]

I'm really proud of how this taco came out. I'm still figuring out how to use copy/paste, how to use layers, how to combine brushes and colors, etc, and this, I think, shows how far I've come!

Yes, it's a taco with lettuce & tomato. I just wanted to experiment with multiple ways to paint tomato slices, and yes, the beef is absolutely coated with cheese, but I think it looks tasty, don't you?

Now, this almost didn't happen because that fresh battery we popped in my 2-in-1? It was throwing errors. Dell's horrible obsession with OEM-only part compatibility really bit me in the butt. We had to pop the battery out and close it back up empty.

And my regular laptop was also out of commission, because it was very very sick, so I couldn't even throw on Krita on my main laptop with my XP Pen! My main laptop started randomly freezing and refusing to work. When we finally got around to troubleshooting the first thing my dad & I noticed was that my battery was starting to bloat - major bad news. That wasn't the cause of the freezing, though, because it was still freezing without the battery in it at all. In the end, my dad had me switch my hard drive into his old E7450. It's the exact same laptop as mine, but it doesn't have a crack on the side, the mouse buttons aren't jiggly, it's not full of my hair (yet), and the touchpad's matte finish has worn off in spots.

Also it hasn't frozen since the Swap.

We're waiting on a new battery for the 2-in-1 I use for art, but it still works when it's plugged in, so that's how I spent last night and this afternoon - painting a taco in Krita!

That's enough from me, I think.

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Thursday Art Walk

 

In Which I Have Done Some Art!

This week I received a Ko-Fi Request for a picture of Dedbert!

"Dedbert Afternoon"; watercolor brush pen and watercolor pencil on sketch; 2023
[DEDBERT, FOOD]

The weather turning warmer means that not only do I crave things like boba (yes that's the wrong straw, but you try getting a wide straw into your beak and see how that works lol), but the camper is now being opened up to be checked for leaks and prepped for the camping season.

For those not in the know, my dad has a cute lil pop-up camper that he restored during COVID. He basically had to rebuild the thing from chassis to roof, even getting new canvases so that it wouldn't smell musty and leak like a sieve. It is now a great place to retreat to, when it's set up in the yard. He uses it as an office when he's fixing things and knows he'll need a rest after. I use it as a studio when the tv downstairs is too loud.

So the other day, the camper was open, and I was looking for a place to get out of the sun and the breeze without sacrificing all of the natural light. I succeeded in banging out a very small piece while munching on a Sweet Chili Dorito flavored meat stick and sipping at a Cherry Coke I'd picked up on my earlier walk.

"Floral" watercolor on paper; 2023
[VEGETABLE, ANIMAL]

"Floral", here, is a watercolor sketch. I put down no lines, I did not linger over any single facet of the piece. The whole thing took about 15 minutes total. Much of my art is made in a similar way. I don't tend to give myself a lot of time to paint because my brain still thinks that art is not something I should be doing, there are... stupid reasons for that. I struggle to value my creative endeavors because people don't tend to be happy with me when I tell them "yes, that can be yours, but I'd like some money first", and I... really want people to like me.

Yeah. It's taken a lot for me to get to the "oh, I can offer my art as a service!" stage.

Anywho, let's talk more about "Floral"!

Do I know the names of all the flowers I painted? Nope. I know that three of them are real, but the blue and yellow one is wholly invented, based off of the pansies my mom picked up. The light purple fluff flower is supposed to be a thistle, the yellow fluff is supposed to be a dandelion. I know the red one is a real plant I just can't remember the name.

If you want to have a say in what I draw or paint next week, please feel free to make a Request via Ko-Fi or hire me for a Commission. All info is in the link sidebar, and I'm happy to answer any questions you may have for me!

For now, I'm going to go eat dinner, play some Tears of the Kingdom (I've just finished hunting down the Fierce Deity set, built a house to accommodate the Sword of the Fierce Deity, and I'm tracking down the Tingle Set now lol), and maybe make some decaf while settling in for a YouTube binge with Z!

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Thursday Art Walk

 

In Which Today's Art is Scanned!

Today I have a couple of paintings to share with y'all. One, I completed while still cat-sitting, the other, I finished this morning.

"At the Dam"; watercolor pencil on sketch; 2023
[Animal, Location, Vegetable]

This picture was based off of a view Z and I had when we went down to the dam near the apartment we were watching for my sister. We sat and watched a bald eagle and several turkey vultures soaring over a dammed river with lots of rocks in the water. There was a small rocky island that the birds kept flying over, and while what I've painted here doesn't really look like what we saw, it's close enough to give the feel. The small gray bird to the right of the tree is a mockingbird that was flashing its wing patches at us as it flitted around the area.

"Cocoa"; watercolor on paper; 2023
[Food]

Hmm... should I add Food as a Request Category like the others (Animal, Vegetable, Mineral, Dedbert, Location, Geometric)?

I had a lot of fun drawing this, though I really need to pay more attention to shading. I Am very pleased with how the first painting looks, though. I turned the brightness down to about -30 and scanned it at 600dpi instead of 1200dpi. Since I scanned "Cocoa" first, it didn't get the brightness lowered, and I should have paid more attention to the cropping.

Regardless, I should do more paintings, and I'm still working on a digital piece that has... a lot of colors. I'm planning on doing some weird stuff to it lol!

If you'd like a say in what I draw or paint, week to week, you can send me a coffee donation over on Ko-Fi with a message telling me which category you'd like to see (Animal, Vegetable, Mineral, Dedbert, Location, Geometric, Food) and I'll draw or paint something that fits that category for the next Thursday!

I've also started taking commissions, if you'd be interested in that route, and I also have a Threadless Store! You may also see an Amazon Wishlist on the sidebar, which contains a bunch of random stuff that I would use for the blog.

That does it for the shameless self-promotion for this week, so I'll just head on out and get a little snack before working on more art!

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Thursday Art Walk

 

In Which I Am Out But Still Working On Art!

I'm cat-sitting this week out of town which means that I'm not in my usual "studio" (my bedroom/the local Main Street), but I still managed to make some art, including a Ko-Fi recommendation for a Location!

"Morning" watercolor pencil on sketch; 2023 [ANIMAL]

"Gazebo" watercolor pencil on sketch; 2023 [LOCATION]

The "Morning" painting is a rendition of the cat I'm sitting for and the "Gazebo" is... not the gazebo in the town I'm in. It's a random generic gazebo lol. It's loosely based off of one I used to play in when I was in the community band.

I'm having a blast up north where I've ended up this week, but I'll be back in my own bedroom soon enough. For now, I'm just enjoying my time away and working on other projects. My only regret is forgetting my copy of "Everybody Knows" by Jordan Harper. I'd have finished it on Monday if I'd remembered it.

In a way, I'm actually pretty happy that I didn't bring my Switch or receive my copy of Tears of the Kingdom before I came here. It actually arrived on the 15th, while I was already here. I've gotten to see a lot of videos of mechanics, fun ideas, etc, but fortunately the internet has been very very gentle about story spoilers (at least, as far as I've seen).

Anywho, I'm going to go work on more art stuff!

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Thursday Art Walk

 

In Which There is Some Art!

I've had a busy week, and most of my attempts to paint came to naught. I've wasted several sheets of paper, sadly.

That being said, I did have a couple of good GEOMETRIC pieces!

"BLOQZ" digital; 2023 [GEOMETRIC]

"Ellipse"; digital; 2023 [GEOMETRIC]

Now, clearly, "Ellipse" is a much more successful piece. I kind of lost control of the "Bloqz" pallette, but I stuck to 6 colors for "Ellipse". It's actually quite pleasant to look at!

I might throw that one up on the Threadless store...

Anywho, I'm happy with how this turned out. If you have any requests for next week's art (I'll be away from home, but I'll still be able to do a little art!), send me a coffee on Ko-Fi with a message telling me which category (Animal, Vegetable, Mineral, Dedbert, Location, Geometric, Word) and I'll get a picture done for next Thursday!

For now, I'm going to go watch some videos and go to bed lol.

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Thursday Art Walk

 

It's Thursday, and I HAVE ART!!!

I don't just have one piece of art today, I have three! How productive of me!

First up, we have a silly little fanart I did of a Bulbasaur taking a nap in a Venusaur's flower!

"Bulbasnore"; watercolor on 100% rag 300gsm/140lb; 5"x7"; 2023
(ANIMAL, VEGETABLE)

Aren't they cute? I really like how the background got so soft and swirly!

Next up we've got the blog mascot Dedbert sipping at some kind of pink soda! This one was requested via Ko-Fi and was the first of these three to actually be finished.

"Dedbert Drink"; watercolor on 100% rag 300gsm/140lb; 5"x7"; 2023
(DEDBERT, KO-FI REQ)

Finally, we have the Guaranteed category from last week - "WORD". For this one, I drew a d4 with the highest roll, a laurel wreath, and the word "Lucky". Check it out - the U is a horseshoe!!!

"LUCKY"; watercolor on 100% rag 300gsm/140lb; 5"x7"; 2023
(WORD)

I'm pretty pleased with what I came up with this week. I'd love to hear any feedback y'all have. While I do have to moderate my comments, I'm happy to hear back when you leave them.

If you'd like to make a category request via Ko-Fi, send me a coffee with a message telling me which category you'd like (ANIMAL, VEGETABLE, MINERAL, DEDBERT, LOCATION, GEOMETRIC, WORD), and I'll finish your art for next Thursday to post on the blog!

I've got a lot of ideas this week, so we'll see how many paintings, sketches, drawings, or digital works I make next week!

That'll about do it for me today!

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Thursday Art Walk

 

In Which I Painted!

It's been a hot minute since I did a proper watercolor! I'll admit, it wasn't what I'd planned for, either. I had wanted the image to be a pencil sketch, not a painting, after all.

But it just wasn't coming together. In fact, nothing I tried seemed to work right. I just kept putting pencil to paper and producing garbage.

The first time I actually succeeded in making something un-sucky, though, I went and botched it. See, I drew a desert/mountain landscape in my sketchbook, and then I added color. That's fine, my watercolor pencils are good wet or dry, and I started laying in colors - darker towards the foreground, lighter into the distance. All was well until I backed away from it and realized that what I'd taken as good layering of pencils was instead really patchy and scribbly in a bad way.

So I may have uh... used a water brush to blend things.

In a standard sketchbook.

Yeah, that piece is now a ripply mess. I had to start over.

Thankfully, I remembered that I have a hot press watercolor block, so I started to try recreating the image on a much smaller scale and much nicer paper.

The layering still kind of came out sucky when it was dry so I grabbed my water brushes again! This time, the landscape came together in a much more dreamlike and flowy state.

I waited for it to dry, signed it, then decided to photograph it.

"At Distance" watercolor pencil, 2023 [LOCATION]

I wasn't quite satisfied with the photo, though, so I headed down to the basement to pop the 6"x8" (15,24cm x 20,32cm) piece in the scanner only to find that somehow the hinges had completely detached and the machine had a jam in it somewhere. After much squinting and shimmying, I managed to put the flatbed/printer back to rights and slid my art onto the glass before jogging back up to my room.

Now, hinges aside, I have a major complaint about this scanner. It's too bright. Everything gets super washed out by it. I really should just pop a piece of black construction paper in there with my paintings because it can be very very hard to get things situated properly, color-wise. That being said.... sometimes it does things that surprise me:

Scanned Version of "At Distance"

See, it's super washed out, but I kind of... like it? It's so bright and while a lot of detail gets lost, it's so much more vibrant and you can see the edges of the colors more and it looks more like a sun-drenched dreamscape!

What do you guys think is the better version? Do you have any suggestions to help make scanning easier and more effective?

Next week's guaranteed category is my first Word in a long time! We'll see how this goes!

If you want to add to the pictures I put up, you can request a category via Ko-Fi!  Just buy me a coffee and leave a message with it telling me which category (Animal, Vegetable, Mineral, Dedbert, Location, Geometric, Word) you'd like to see, and I'll draw or paint it and put it in the blog!

Go Enjoy Something!

FC