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 I Made Art!

This has been an eventful week. The storm knocked our power out from a little after 10pm to nearly 3am, and I don't handle power outages very well. I stress out because I don't like being cut off from my friends. That's the Millennial in me, I suppose. But yeah, the whole day was pretty wretched, and yesterday had me very anxious about the power because the wind was still high.

And yet, I still managed to do art! I was given a few prompts (Vegetable twice, Animal once) and I filled them!

"Roots"; ink sketch; 2023 [VEGETABLE]

"Bunnable 0.1" pencil sketch; 2023 [ANIMAL]

"Bunnable 1.0"; pencil & ink sketch; 2023 [ANIMAL]

"Bunnable 2.0"; digital art; 2023 [ANIMAL, VEGETABLE]

As you can see, I kind of got stuck on the bunnies this week lol! I love rabbits. Lop-eared rabbits are my favorites, and little loppy buns with pink noses are the best.

I used Krita to trace Bunnable 1.0, which I had scanned (which was a pain, the scanner did *not* want to work) and then I filled it in with color. Honestly, I think I've just been using the wrong brushes to trace in the past. I used a watercolor brush this time and I think it turned out well! I based the clovers all over the bun on a tablecloth my mother has, and I had a lot of fun working on it.

If you'd like to see me work on something, feel free to shoot me a coffee over on Ko-Fi and tell me what category you'd like (Animal, Vegetable, Mineral, Location, Dedbert, Geometric, or Word) and I'll work on that category! Sometimes, if I'm given one category and I can see how it would cross over with another, I'll combine it like I did with the Animal/Vegetable crossover for Bunnable 2.0!

As for next week's Guaranteed Category, we're looking at LOCATION, so I'll be doing at least one piece of art based on a location next week. What location will it be? Well, we'll just have to find out next week, won't we?

For now, I'm going to continue my new trend of getting ready for bed amazingly early and not falling asleep til about 2AM.

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

PS:

"Lights Out, Dedbert"; Pencil Sketch; 2023 [DEDBERT]

There is text on the page I drew this on in my sketchbook. That writing reads:

"BC of course the power went out at 10PM on a Tuesday... 3/14/2023)"

At the bottom of the page, I scribbled:

"And right in the middle of work!!!"

Thursday Art Walk

 

In Which These Are Mostly Doodles/Concepts...

I have, as you may be aware, been plugging away at the art prompts from Kick In The Creatives' Creeptober list...

But the last couple weeks have been weird.

Last week, everything was all about my youngest sister's wedding, which, as I said on Tuesday, was PERFECT. It was marvelous and I hope the two of them have a wonderful marriage. It did mean that I was a bit wrapped up in the stresses of prep and then the tiredness of the following days (not that I cut a rug or anything, I'm just low-social, and having that many people around me was tiring in a very good way).

This week, you'd think I'd have less excuses to fall behind on art, but... somehow despite there not being anything going on, I still feel very tired and none of that is helped by me not being able to sleep. Yay.

Last night's lack of sleep had a reason, at least.

One of the massive horde of ladybugs that seem to be creeping into everyone's homes found its way into my bedroom, and instead of chilling on the ceiling or on a far wall like one of my spiders...

The big doofus was flying around like an idiot, smacking into walls, pinging off the metal shade to my bedside lamp, and most egregiously of all...

Landing. on. my face.

Ugh.

Nothing like waking up at 3am with little feet tapdancing on your nostril.

Creepy lil butthead.

Anyway, it's missing in action now, so there's every possibility that this headache I can't shake is from ingesting a toxic insect.

I'm mostly joking about eating the ladybug.

Because it really is nowhere to be found...

Anyway, after yesterday's rainstorms, today's gorgeous 65℉/18,3℃ weather with its broad blue sky and wondrously golden light and balmy winds is a treat. A treat that I enjoyed in owl pants and a tee with Putties from Power Rangers on it under the label "Jobbers". Also a yellow flannel shirt. While wielding sandpaper and scrubbing furiously at rocks.

Anywho, I did end up doing the art from the 14th to today, it's just.... kind of more conceptual than finished. And there are some pieces that I'd love to finish some day!

"SPELL"; pencil sketch; 2022

"MONSTER" pen sketch; 2022

"HORROR FILM"; marker sketch; 2022

Yes, Horror Film is flipped on its side. My camera was being very, very combative that day. And yes, it's based on "Halloween". I'd actually like to try this one again, because the idea of taking something that should be Orange and Red and Silver and making it in entirely pink/magenta tones is kinda calling to me. I'd try it in Krita, I think.

As for Monster, that thing is adorable, but I wouldn't want to meet it on a moonless night. And Spell has a lot of potential in a more graphic style - it might make a fun piece of flash some day.

"FESTIVAL"; marker sketch; 2022

Oh Festival... I want to redraw this some day as a proper engraving-style piece. It's supposed to look like a Halloween-themed Maypole being danced around by various monsters - a bat, a skeleton, a headless ghost, a minotaur, and maybe a cat? I would love to play with this concept some more!

"SCARY FACE" marker sketch; 2022

"GRAVEYARD"; pencil sketch; 2022

"GOBLIN/I LIKE ROCKS"; marker and pencil sketch; 2022

"PUNCH" marker & pencil sketch; 2022

"CLOWN"; marker sketch; 2022

"SILHOUETTE"; pencil; 2022

"TWILIGHT"; marker sketch; 2022

"FULL MOON" marker sketch; 2022

"THROUGH THE WINDOW"; marker sketch; 2022

"GOTH" marker and pencil; 2022

I am extremely happy with how both Goblin and Goth turned out. They're both self portraits, after a fashion. I buzzed my hair yesterday and honestly, it's not bad! I can't do makeup to save my life, though, and I haven't owned a pair of purple pants in years.

I'm also thrilled with Silhouette, which is a silhouette of a human skull! Graveyard is based on a still from Plan 9 From Outer Space, and Scary Face is supposed to be a Gengar from Pokemon, but... yeah, he be wonky.

Those are the prompts for the last 14 days! I should post again on Halloween as a General Halloween Blog so check back then to see the last few prompts:

• Costume
• Party
• Trick or Treat
• Something You're Afraid Of

If you'd like to have a say as to what each of those contain, feel free to shoot me a coffee over on Ko-Fi with a message saying which category you'd like to add and for which prompt. The prompts are above, the categories are

• Animal
• Vegetable
• Mineral
• Dedbert
• Location
• Geometric
• Word

I'm really looking forward to closing out this month, and I'm gonna have a good time finishing up!

How about you guys, any plans for Halloween?

And I hope you go Enjoy Something!

FC

Thursday Art Walk

 

In Which Week 2 Was Much Harder

This week's prompts from Kick In The Creatives' Creeptober were way harder for me than last week's. Mostly because I was busy entertaining a cat and making mediocre nachos and noodles. I gave up on cooking after I overcooked corn chips. Let's be real, this was not my week. I spent most of it busy and tired, which is a killer combo for creativity.

Thankfully, though, between Krita and my dot matrix paper, I have several new pictures for you!

"Facepaint"; Digital Art; 2022

I started off with some digital art, but that skull actually took two days to paint because I suck at working from references, and also because I kept getting the layering wrong.

"Candy"; digital art; 2022

I am one of those weirdos who actually likes candy corn. I know, I know, they're not great, and also I'm pretty sure I keep getting the orange and yellow mixed up, but...I enjoy them. It's not like I'll eat a whole bag of candy corn, though, they're not M&Ms or Peach Rings. I just like to snag a handful when I can and nibble those corns over the course of an evening. Not sure why the background turned fully black, though. It was supposed to be like the skull, on a black blob against a white or clear background. Maybe I have to save as a png for that? I don't know.

Anyway, since those two pieces took forever, I used my dot matrix paper for the rest, which are as follows:

"Cauldron"; graphite & Pigma Micron PN; 2022

Since I've been pretty obsessed with rocks lately, I thought drawing a stone cauldron held up by rocks would be neat, and I was right... I just need to work on it some more. Maybe get some references to cauldrons being heated on tripods...

"Witch"; Pigma Micron PN; 2022

BUNNY! BUNNY BUNNY BUN BUN BUN! okay I'm good now. Whew. I love bunnies, and when this lil floppy loppy started taking shape in the sketch stage, I was smitten. Someday I shall do something with this idea. Also, I sketched the bunwitch out with pencils, but when I finished her, she looked incomplete, so I added the pumpkin after all the lineart was already down!

"Mummy"; pencil sketch under Pigma Micron PN; 2022

Listen, I was a 90s kid, which means I went through an Egypt phase. Between the Brenden Fraser Mummy movie and a glorious quarter during which my middle school class delved into that peculiar demi-whitewashed American view of Egyptian history we were all slurping up in the 1998-August 2001 times, I was smitten with all things Egyptological. Including cat mummies. So I drew one! Complete with jewelry and Death Mask! I would love to make a poseable version of this boyo some day, possibly out of polymer clay or something like that, then overlay it with gauze and such. It seems fun. Also I'm really proud of how the near foot and forepaw look.

"Under The Bed"; Pigma Micron PN; 2022

Not thrilled with how this came out, but I was very distracted by my cat sleeping in my lap and snoring like a freight train, so it's basically just eyes under a very bad footboard... If I were to expand on this, it'd be with paint and I'd make the eyes glowy and put an indistinct appendage reaching towards the viewer. Also I'd figure out how to actually draw the foot of a bed...

"In The Dark"; graphite and Pigma Micron PN; 2022

I'm actually quite pleased with how this one turned out, even if it didn't photograph particularly well.

I have a lot of fears. I'm a coward. But one of the dumbest things I hate doing is going into the bathroom in the dark. Seeing my shadowy form walk towards me in the mirror. I hate it. I don't like walking past reflective surfaces at night. Never have.

So this is something that legitimately creeps me out - my own silhouette.

Because I'm a wimp.

lol

Anyway, that'll do it from me this week. Next week's prompts are:

• Spell
• Monster
• Horror Film
• Festival
• Scary Face
• Graveyard/Cemetery
• Goblin

I'm gonna be real with you.

Goblin might be a self-portrait lol.

I hope you guys are having a good time getting your spooky on, checking out challenges, and being creative!

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Thursday Art Walk

 

In Which A Beautiful Day Was Also Busy!

Full disclosure, I finished today's painting yesterday and the sketch on Monday. I didn't work on anything else because I knew I'd be busy today! It was a crummy day yesterday, gray and cool and not at all inviting to head out, but today has been gorgeous. I spent most of the afternoon enjoying the sunshine and 65℉/18,3℃ breezes.

First I took a leisurely stroll down to the shops where I buy snacks and bought my guy some cheddar popcorn (if you're paying more than a dollar, you're paying too much, the weird religious Brim's popcorn is just as good as Smartfood) and candy and some Cokes. How is Coke still in business? They'll lose the public because it's about a dollar more expensive in a six-pack than Pepsi! Then I popped next door to buy myself a lime Jarritos and some Lindor truffles - two milk chocolate, two dark chocolate. You can tell that the Food Service here in town serves the Asian restaurants (two Thai places, a sushi joint, two Chinese restaurants! In a town with less than 10k people!) because they sell black vinegar, sambal, Chinese cooking wine, rose water, and more, wholesale!

After my snack run, I toddled back to my place, waving to the nice City Workers who were clearing up the brush piles by the side of the road, and got the cat ready for her walk. It took very little effort to slip her into her harness and get her out into the sun. It took more effort for her to leave the neighbor whose dog looks just like my childhood dog, Sam, alone. What a silly cat!

It's a good thing we headed back inside an hour later, because the hawk, who has had extremely poor timing lately, finally caught something! It was a starling, I'm pretty sure, but it was... brutal. The cat was enthralled.

So were the crows, so the hawk vamoosed with its prize.

After that I made myself a bowl of chicken broth with a bunch of dumplings (beef & chicken bulgogi, in fact!) and settled in to correct the edges on the painting so I could present it to you!

"Cactus Practus"; pencil & pen on sketch paper; 2022

"Dream Prickles" watercolor on watercolor paper; 2022

I'm still not 100% satisfied with the overall violet effect in the background, but I learned a lot about how to blend out colors while working on the cactus itself! I'm so happy with those transitions, too. I'm learning a lot, recently!

I think my next painting will be another abstract. We'll see!

As for me, it has gotten late. The day fled before me like scream-laughing toddlers before a mock-roaring uncle at a family reunion, and now I am sleepy and cozy and quite satisfied with my work, both predrawing and painting!

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Thursday Art Walk: Year End Birb

 

In Which I Got Art Supplies And Made An Art!

At long last, it's the final day of the Year of the Dumpster Fire. I'm not going to get all hopeful and say that 2021 is gonna be any better, but I'm glad that this year is finally closing out. So today I made some art to celebrate the final day. Dang, if I was a more thinky person I'd have made a Majora's Mask-based image. Instead, I just bring you something I made with my brand new art supplies!

The Supplies in question!

Both metallic and glittery gel pens!

I haven't used gel pens since probably 2008? So after 12 years of not fiddling around with them, I'm pretty thrilled with what I came up with!

"Farewell to 2020"; gel pen on sketch pad; 2020

I'm pretty pleased with how that worked out! And I can't even see the worst mistake - a blob of black ink got stuck to my hand and smeared on the bottom of the banner where the first 2 of the 2021 is. That's why I included 2021 lol.

I'm really pleased with how the plaid came out, and I think I should thank DrawingWiffWaffles on YouTube for that, since she draws a lot of plaid on her awesome illustrations, and that's what gave me the courage to try it! I think it came out pretty cute, especially considering that I initially just scribbled it in with the metallic red and layered the glitter red and glitter black on top lol.

I hope to use these pens more often in the future and try out some of the cool challenges I see on the internet (though don't expect greatness from challenges, I'm still learning how to control my flabby fingers lol).

I hope that the year did not crush your spirit, that your creativity is intact no matter what your medium may be, and that over the next twelve months, you're able to create and share and sell your art. I want to read your books. I want to see your art. I want to hear your music and poetry. I want to walk into the buildings you design or decorate. I want to try your patterns and recipes. And I want you to know that whatever you created this year? It was worth the effort you put in! Even if it was just the outline of your novel or the barest sketch, I'm proud of you. Even if you were only able to think about your art for five minutes a day, I'm proud of you, because it was hard this year, and everything you tried artistically was important!

I love you all!

Happy New Year!

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Thursday Art Walk - Final Witches and Faux Marketing

 

In Which There Are Witches
And Dedbert Has Ideas

It's been an exciting week, artistically, since last we blathered! I finished the last of my witches for Witchtober 2020, and they look pretty rad, if I do say so myself lol!

"Elizabeth"; Wildcard Witch; 2020

I may have taken Elizabeth's prompt a bit too seriously. I know that when you have a prompt list, like that of A_Ginger_Witch's, the term "Wildcard" tends to mean "Draw Whatever You Want," but I hate having that kind of freedom during a challenge (weird, I know). I just decided, you know what? 1910s witch lady playing cards. Her pose was awkward without something for her to rest her hand on, and I didn't want to draw a boring old table, so I gave her a weird looking dog. I look forward to redrawing her some day, because she's awesome and I love her outfit.

"Capy"; Pumpkin Witch; 2020

I couldn't not draw a capybara as a witch, guys. It was a requirement. After all, I was a capybara for Halloween this year, complete with a crocheted tangerine on a headband lol.

There they are! The final witches of 2020! But I finished those on Halloween, so what did I do for today?!

Dedbert was chatting with his dad, my partner, the other day, and they were talking about the Ovaltine I'd made earlier. Dedbert was a bit upset that owls cannot drink Ovaltine, so he has decided to make a malted beverage for owls! Being a very proud parent, I, of course, want to support my boy in all of his endeavors, so this is what we came up with:

"Owlvaltine! This New Malted Beverage is Really For The Birds!"; digital; 2020

Isn't he a clever young fellow?

That's my boy :)

Alright, that'll about do it for me this week!

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Thursday Art Walk: Two Days Of Witchtober To Go!

 

In Which My Wrists Are SO SORE

"Jaq"; Cactus Witch; 2020

"Rita"; Beer Witch; 2020

"Teuta"; Pirate Witch; 2020

"Yawen" Rain Witch; 2020

"Scathach"; Warrior Witch; 2020

"Maud"; Tattooed Witch; 2020

"Aster 2"; Forest Witch; 2020

Detail from "Aster 2"

Detail from "Aster 2"

I'm pretty exhausted, and I had to fight tooth and nail to format today's blog as well as I have. This has been a rough day. Thankfully, I'll finish my last two witches tomorrow and Halloween, posting them to the blog as I go, and then I'm finnnniiiiisssshhhheeeddddddd.

I'm excited to move on to other art - found a neat website that creates palettes for you and I can't wait to play with it! I will also get to finish working on other projects, which I'm looking forward to as well.

I always enjoy my time doing Inktober and its lovely variants, and I'm very grateful to Instagram user @A_Ginger_Witch for making the prompt list I drew from, but holy cow is it grueling to make art every day. My thumbs ache! Maybe I'm just old lol.

Anyway, I hope you've all enjoyed this year's passel of witches, and I look forward to exploring next year's art community's prompts!

It's about time for dinner, so I'm gonna head down and eat whatever's there and then come back upstairs and maybe... not draw for 12 hours? That sounds nice :P

Please go and

Enjoy Something!

FC