Painting
Create & Heal: Watercoloring
Allow me the indulgence about how the universe works. I asked a network of professional women for a recommendation. I sought a woman of color who was a illustrator or animator. I even included two examples of my illustrations from my current work, The World’s Sexiest Dictionary. No one made a suggestion. I wasn’t sure … Continue reading
Opportunistic Parasites
In a sick way, scammers and con artists are pretty good psychologists. If only they’d use their skills for the forces of good…. For my second novel, The Adventures of Infinity & Negativa, I painted 24 oil canvases to illustrate the story. Perhaps, in retrospect, it was a cumbersome way to illustrate a book, but … Continue reading
Watercoloring Breakthrough
May not look like much to others, but with this painting, I stumbled onto subtle blending–except for his hands. There’s usually an area or two where I just concede that the effort has defeated me. For this painting, it’s definitely the hands. The hands are so bad, one may not even notice the lips aren’t … Continue reading
Sexiest Dictionary: New Colors
After nearly two months upon discovering that my set of 84 watercolor crayons didn’t match the picture on the front, I returned to the art store to purchase several browns, nearly black, nearly white and two shades of red. The same woman who’d helped me before, helped me again. She remembered me. When she asked … Continue reading
Sexiest Dictionary: Latest Round
Although I like the blending and contouring in “Contentious,” this guy’s chest remains undefined because the model in the picture was wearing a shirt. I have to develop a technique for painting an attractive man’s chest. I realized after the fact that his head was too small. In the picture I used, the guy wore … Continue reading
Sexiest Dictionary: Contouring & Shading
This week’s painting challenge was to add contouring and shading, so I could possibly cure the facial paralysis my subjects had. I still used non-watercolor journal paper, which made blending rough and it wrinkled. Plus, I still hadn’t bought the watercolor crayon colors I needed: black, red, white, and brown.This was my first attempt at … Continue reading
Sexiest Dictionary Paintings: A New Approach
In the latest round of practicing my illustrating technique for the sexiest dictionary, I disassembled my home office. Totally worth the sacrifice. I had no desire to sit at my work desk on the weekend. Instead, I relocated my work computer and monitor to the living room, so I could paint while the TV entertained … Continue reading
Sexiest Dictionary Rough Draft Paintings
Despite the fact that computer paper isn’t the best for watercolor paintings, all practice is good practice at this stage in the project. Here’s my workaround to not knowing how to draw. I used painter’s tape to place my paper onto the laptop screen. Then I brightened the screen, turned off all other lights, then … Continue reading
Watercolor Crayons
After researching about which medium I wanted to use for my latest illustration project, I finally bought the biggest set of watercolor crayons the art store offered. Making the financial investment came in a roundabout way. I’d bought a plane ticket to go back east to attend an event, which was a financial sacrifice, but … Continue reading
2017 Austin People’s Gallery Reception
Being a part of the 2017 Austin People’s Gallery became real to me when I drove up to city hall and saw the line out of the building. I arrived 30 minutes late, or “on time,” according to some cultures, but I found two yoga friends already in line. The security check had created the … Continue reading