The Gift of Giving...Paintings!

Okay, I know I'm waaaay behind on posting here. My life has been a bit hectic as of late. Since my other half and I are moving away, I've been preoccupied with that and looking for a new job. Not only that but so many other stress related things going on in my head. That's what being an adult is all about, huh?

Anyway, my latest completed projects were two large paintings I made for gifts for my Dad and my younger brother. Since we live in Nebraska, my Dad is a fan of the Cornhuskers, and I've made him several Big Red related items, so this time I went with his favorite pro team, the Minnesota Vikings!

Ta-da! This acrylic painting is approximately 30'' x 32'' on quarter-inch masonite. Dad likes it and has it hanging in his office at work. My parents house doesn't have much wall space left between my Mom's art and mine.

Now, one of my prouder paintings. My brother is a big fan of the Halo series for Xbox, and of course his favorite character is Master Chief; but whose isn't, right? Ha....  So I got the idea to make this beauty for him to hang in his dorm and then his apartment, hopefully making his friends jealous so they can order their own version from me.

I'm so proud. This is one of my top five paintings, easy. My Mom also thinks it's really awesome. So, it's an acrylic painting on quarter-inch masonite and measures 4' x 2'. My fiance isn't a Halo fan, but he wants a painting like this one of Corvo Attano from Dishonored.

These took a lot out of me, and I'm currently working on some take-out menus for a local burger place and some lettered signs for the appliance shop in town. I keep forgetting how much a hate painting letters, I really need to stop agreeing to create worded signs....

I still plan to finish my level two drawing challenge...eventually....

Reaper

Oh hey, I forgot to post this when it finally got finished.

My latest drawing challenge was to combine the redesign of a book cover that is NOT a movie  with a monster performing a mundane task.

I chose Reaper Man  by the wonderful Terry Pratchett. In the book, Death takes a holiday and winds up helping an old lady on her farm. So the mundane task is using is scythe to harvest wheat!

I know I've gotten a little lazy with the last two drawings. I've gotten busy with actual paintings and pre-wedding to-dos and all those other things that life can throw at you. I know that shouldn't be an excuse and I'm getting much better at toughing it out and doing it anyway. Also, the ink I used for this image must've been old, because it bled into the paper kind of strange.

Another distraction was getting ALL of my jewelry listed in my Etsy! Not all of them are live yet, but at least 15 brand new items are up! Check out these awesome Christmas gifts!

I also just finished by fiances birthday present and I'm quite proud of it. I will post it here after he gets it!

Next challenge is to combine favorite actor/actress/movie character with a liquid in motion!

Sew I Did a Thing

I'm really hoping to get some actual art done sometime. I keep getting distracted.

Today I took in an old flannel shirt that used to belong to my late grandfather. He passed away in the spring, and this is one way to keep him around.

I know they aren't the best pictures, but I'm not a photographer. Anyway, here's the before.

And here's the after! It lays a little awkward on me, but it's a better fit than before. At least accomplished my goal. Yay for flannel!

Rings and Mysterious Things

Okay, I'm finally around to posting my next drawing challenge step. The fifth challenge was to combine my favorite cartoon character with a mysterious device. I had a difficult time deciding between Courage the Cowardly Dog and Invader Zim. Both shows are utterly amazing and both contain many mysterious devices. 

I had this drawing started, then my amazing other half proposed to me so I had to say yes. (Duh) So the last couple of weeks I've been a bit distracted with all sorts of wedding nonsense. Here is a picture of my perfect ring! I had no idea what style I wanted, but I could find a thousand I didn't want. I believe he picked one wonderfully, nevermind he spent ten months looking for 'the one.' 

Beautiful and simple, traditional and unique, sapphires, I can show it off but it won't be in the way.

Anyway, back to the art. This is my drawing #5 in my level two drawing challenge. I got lazy because it's not quite a finished drawing and there is no background, but I hope to come back to this one someday. I have a bad habit of getting bored with a piece of work if I don't finish it soon enough or if I leave it sit for too long.

Either way, ta-da! I hope you enjoy the image and look for a redesign of a book cover that isn't a movie combined with a monster doing a mundane task!

Courage the Cowardly Dog is trademark of Cartoon Network, this is just fan art.

I Sew Too!

Not only do I make traditional artwork, I sew too! The other day, I made a yoga mat bag in about an hour or so. I found the tutorial here, and original credit goes there. I fudged the measurements just a bit so I could use the imperial system since hers are in metric. It all worked out quite well!

I had just enough of this fabric for the whole bag and a few scrap pieces left over for a future project. Isn't it beautiful?

You can see my modified pattern below. I simply traced a roll of tape that was about the right size since I am currently without a working compass.

The piece for the bag has been cut and the loop for the drawstring is pinned in place!

I folded over the edges at a slight angle so the finished product wouldn't have fraying seams.

Here is the strap piece all cut out and pinned.

My very first attempt at sewing a circle bottom to a tube. Rather difficult, but it turned out just fine!

Ta-da! The bottom edge of the strap was in on that circle above.

Add random drawstring and sew top end of the strap in place.

Simple, yet excellent! It turned out to be a little longer than anticipated so there is extra space in the bag above the mat. That just translates to room for accessories like hand weights or a yoga strap!

I hope you were at least mildly entertained by my simple sewing adventure.  Until next time!
Namaste

The Puppeteer

I was driving back to my place one night, just me and Kora, listening to some good 'ole rock music, when this image popped into my head. I told myself I should really create it, but my inability to draw hands may never cease.

I tried anyway. I tried to draw these hands for hours with not a single one looking anatomically correct. I gave in and photographed my hands in the position I wanted them and uploaded the photos to my computer. I then fixed them on the computer and printed them out the size I wanted them to be. After that, I traced the hands and did a little artsy magic to make the one female and the other male. 

Finally, they looked like I might have a little talent at drawing anatomically correct hands. (Which I still don't.)

I present, The Puppeteer in watercolor. 

I'm working on my next drawing challenge piece. I'm also hoping to get working on a big project for a special someone....

Pop Ewoks

Another drawing challenge complete! This challenge was to combine Star Wars with an unlikely candy.  Of course, I had to create a Star Wars/candy pun! Some of the candidates included Yoda-Pop, Death Starbursts, Jedi Beli Flavored Beans, and Tatooine Rolls, but the ultimate winner is....

POP EWOKS! 

I was seriously considering creating yoda-pop and death starbursts as well, but I was running out of oomph for the day and really wanted to post this one. Maybe they will appear one day. 

That's all for today. Keep an eye out for my next concoction: a mysterious device  combined with my favorite cartoon character.

(Star Wars owned by Disney and Pop Rocks owned by....Pop Rocks.)