Back to Work

My apologies for not posting these past couple weeks! We just had hours cut at my full-time job and the new hours have taken some getting used to!

In the upcoming weeks I'll be working on a special Christmas swap horse, two commissioned pet portraits, as well as sales pieces and personal art again! I also hope to get some work done on a couple giveaway Breyer Stablemate customs, but those are a maybe!

NaMoWriMo ended up being a bust, unfortunately. I may just make December my personal writing month to make up for it.

Sorry for the short posts! Upcoming ones will have more heft to them!

Till the next time!

Heartland All Mini Fall Fiesta Show

Last Saturday I was in Omaha, NE for he Heartland All Mini Fall Fiesta Model Horse Show. In my limited showing experience, I have to say that this was the best show I've been to! The people were amazing & of course there were a bunch of amazing models too!

My friend, Shannon, and I, made a trip out of the whole weekend, but this was definitely the highlight of the entire trip. I met a lot of great people, including some Model Horse Blabbers, and I look forward to going to this show again!

While it was great to have ribbons and rosettes in Original Finish, I was super stoked when my own work placed (and won)! It was a pleasant surprise!

(Oh Gentle Sir-The 1st win of the day that nearly had me in tears)

(Lantern-New mini to the show ring. Not too shabby for the first time out)

(Spiderman-2nd time out and now that he's got the right breed assignment, he's off!)

While seeing the models I painted & owned win/place was fantastic, it was even more fantastic to see the work I'd done for Shannon place too!

(Shannon's Flicker Burnbright)

(Shannon's Obsidian & also the companion to Flicker. Think The Black Stallion & Flame :) )

There were so many fantastic models! I wish I had had the time to photograph all of them! While I wasn't able to photograph them, I did follow Shannon's lead. Shannon informed me that she liked to hand out small "awards" to people for their models, basically saying that she liked them. I LOVE this idea! So for this show, I joined her with my own little awards a piece of paper stating that the model I placed it next to was awesome along with a chocolate. It was worth it to hear the exclamations of joy when people found the little papers and to hear the "Thanks Chocolate Fairies!" from the room. I hope that this will catch on, as it brought so much joy to the other showers. Maybe some of them will do the same at the next show they attend. Spread that happiness around :). 

(Sara's Choice Award paper slips were distributed around the hall along with some chocolates)

Till the next time!

The Ink Process

While Inktober may be over, but ink artworks can be created any time of year. I definitely will continue to work in this medium. The last time I worked in it was back in high school, and I bought the ink and nibs earlier this year as I'd been itching to get back into drawing with ink. 

First, let's examine the tools used to apply ink. First there is the traditional ink pen or dip pen that has a shaft with interchangeable nibs (which is what I used, mostly). The traditional ink pen is used with an inkwell, hence sometimes being called a dip pen as the nib will hold a small amount of ink. Then there is the technical pen. Unlike the traditional pens, technical pens are free to move in a variety of directions with no risk of splatter. Sometimes these pens will have a brush tip. Of course, there are brushes too, like for Japanese ink paintings. 

(Various types of ink pens-not my image)

Before we go into the Monster Mash process that I used, let's first review the basics of ink drawing. Ink, like many art mediums, is an additive process. However, once it's down, it's down. Even inks like eraser pens are difficult to remove if you apply too much pressure to the stroke. Understanding the medium is the first step before moving on to your actual artwork. Due to being black on white (typically) this leads to pieces that have strong contrast. My suggestion is to play with the medium on a scrap piece of paper or in a sketch book (which I need a new one after 31 ink drawings!)

As you experiment, it's important to practice the basics. There are various techniques that can be used to create depth/shading to your piece. The basic techniques are pictured below and are the following: hatching (lines going one direction) cross-hatching (lines crossing over each other), stippling (dots), random lines, and contouring (following the direction of the shape/object). If you were to apply the ink with a brush, you might even do an ink wash (like watercolor). All of the basics are pictured in this post. Many of them are in the first picture. Do not feel limited to these techniques either. Feel free to experiment! I have made ink drawings out of letters (pictured further below).

With the theme being Monster Mash, I knew I needed to sketch out each individual animal before I attempted to combine them (see the below picture with the Monarch Caterpillar). Once I'd sketched each animal, I decided what features I wanted to combine to create the "monster" of the day. What you don't see in the first picture is that there is a fur seal also sketched out in the other corner. 

(Sketch, various ink techniques, and the final product of that day's Monster Mash.)

From there, I sketched out the initial creature, sometimes tweaking features here or there based on what I liked and how it looked overall. From there it was a matter of deciding which ink technique(s) I wanted to use.

(Beaver X Alpaca-predominantly random lines)

(Vampire Bat X Platypus-hatching, cross-hatching and contouring at work)

(Fur Seal X Monarch Caterpiller-dominantly hatching)

(Dung Beetle X Crocodile-dominantly cross-hatching)

You will notice that I did not use stippling and this was simply due to the size of my nib tips compares to the size of the paper/drawing. They were simply too tiny for the area I wanted to cover.

After the ink had dried I would erase any remaining pencil lines. Then voila! Ink piece is complete.

As I stated above, make sure you experiment. While I stuck with the traditional techniques used in ink drawings for Inktober, I have delved out of it before. As a bi-monthly challenge, I ask my DeviantArt watchers what they would like me to draw, what medium it will be drawn in, and the challenge for a period of 7 days. One such challenge was to draw the creatures of a group called Nasty Beasts, using only the letters of said creature's name. I was allowed to distort the letters slightly, but they should be recognizable. 

You will notice that there are ink splatters on those two pieces. This is because I tried to move the nib too fast when I was pushing the nib rather than pulling it. It IS possible, to push the nib away but it needs to be done at a controlled speed, and usually slower than the pull. 

Of course, I also did a pig in ink too.

(March's Pot Bellied Pig)

The Pot Bellied Pig piece is a great example of using disasters to your advantage. Rather than being frustrated with the splatter that occured (thankfully it was minimal on the pig itself) I simply added to it, adding more splotches and splatters to the background. 

Do you like ink? Interested in trying it? Let me know in the comments!

Till the next time!

Inktober: Monster Mash: Days 21-31

And with today, October 31st, Inktober is officially over (or will be once the clock turns to midnight on November 1st). With all the activities I've had going on this month on top of Inktober, I am pleasantly surprised to find that I have finished the 31 day challenge. If you ask my DeviantArt followers, I usually struggle with my 7 day challenges (at least finishing them in the time frame-I do finish them...eventually). 

I will be posting tomorrow or over the weekend, the process that went into these ink drawings (I know I said that last time but life got in the way). In the meantime, enjoy the last Inktober pieces.

(Dingo X Vicuna)

(Dung Beetle X Crocodile)

(X-Ray Tetra X Bonobo)

(Squirrel X Ibex)

(Skunk X Abyssinian)

(Bumble Bee X Tiger Barb Fish)

(Adelie Penguin X Warthog)

(Cougar X Wolverine)

(Octopus X Asian Giant Hornet)

(Yak X Opossum)

(Guinea Pig X Lion X Rhino)

Inktober is done! 

For some reason I decided that NaNoWriMo is next. Wish me luck!

Till the next time!

Inktober: Monster Mash: Days 11-20

Over halfway through the month & man has it been a journey! I forgot just how much I loved ink as a medium...usually. I do wish I had more tips to use rather than just fine pointed ones, but alas, I was not able to get any before the month began (or since).

There will be a post between this one and 21-31 post on the process that goes into these critters. It's not just quick sketches of creatures. Alas, that is for a different post! This one is just for the ink drawings! So without further ado: Days 11-20.

(Day 11: Fur Seal X Monarch Caterpillar)

Can I just say that I love this critter? Seal with stripes & antenna is adorable!

(Day 12: Musk Deer X Boer Goat)

(Day 13: Ring-Tailed Lemur X Mynah Bird)

These gel pens offer a different challenge in that there is no true brown and there is definitely no black! So trying to get black areas or brown (or in this case lack of brown) is an exciting endeavor. 

(Day 14: Water Buffalo X Mouse)

(Day 15: Zebu X Zebra)

Day 15 was another of my favorites. I felt I achieved a reasonable blend of both animals (unlike in some other ones). 

(Day 16: Appaloosa X Eland)

While I am completely biased with these last two days (equines) I really do like how the Appaloosa X Eland of Day 16 turned out. Even if it is dominantly an equine form rather than any deer attributes.

(Day 17: Hippopotamus X Chipmunk)

(Day 18: Shrew X Reindeer)

(Day 19: Orangutan X Dormouse)

(Day 20: Snowy Owl X Grizzly Bear)

With Day 20, I had reached a point in the day of "Why did I decide that I needed to keep the Snowy Owl's markings?!" as well as "Why did I decide that I should start this so late in the day?! Sleep is required!" It was worth it though! 

That's 11-20 only eleven more days left! Do you have any favorites so far? 

Till the next time!

Inktober: Monster Mash: Days 1-10

Inktober is off to a great start! We’re ten days in & I’m ready for more! It’s been fantastic to use Indian Ink again & I received some awesome gel pens from my friend, Shannon for when I was away this past weekend.

Here they are!

(Day 1: Silver Fox X Koala)

(Day 2: Jackal X Mandrill)

(Day 3: Boar X Sonoran Desert Toad)

(Day 4: Ewe X Chameleon-my favorite so far.)

(Day 5: Walrus X Eagle Owl)

(Day 6: Gila Monster X Aardvark. My favorite of the two gel pen pieces.)

(Day 7: Beaver X Alpaca)

(Day 8: Bighorn Sheep X Clown Fish)

(Day 9: Platypus X Vampire Bat)

(Day 10: Quagga X Ermine)

Days 1-10 are done & I'm stoked for the other 21! Anyone else doing Inktober? Did you stick with the actual prompts or did you decide to do something different? Let me know!

Till the next time!

Studio Planning

Sometimes my full time job & part time job take time away from my art. This has been the case these past couple weeks (and I caught a cold-bleh!). Even though I wasn’t able to paint as much these past couple weeks, there has been lots of planning.

October is Inktober. Thanks to my DeviantArt watchers, I am participating, but with my own theme: Monster Mash. Two randomly generated animals will be combined to create an all new creature. So every ten days I will share them here for everyone to view.

I do intend to continue working on the Stablemates & minis for the Oct. mini show as well as acrylic paintings (maybe even some watercolor paintings as I’ve been wanting to do those again too).

Enjoy a couple horse pictures of the lesson horses from my part-time job as a riding instructor.

Till the next time!