Winter Break Day 12

Time has slowed--it must have for each day is the length of three.

anywho, back to my very delayed promised post.

here is a closer view of the works I chose to put up in my studio area:

 somehow the work I put up matched the colors that were in my portrait. Most of the work seems pretty relative to its neighbors, though perhaps not the creepy Olsen twins.

The end of semester show came together pretty will given what preceded it.

NOW it is winter break. and it is boring. SO a new challenge is presented: FINDING OR MAKING THE PERFECT SKETCHBOOK FOR SPRING. more to come on this topic.

END OF SEMESTER POST COMING SOON

Fun

drawing Kathryn the other day

watercolor and pen

chopped

off a bit of my hair with the assistance of Andy Scissorhands

quite a bit shorter but a welcome change

I'll leave you with this handsome gradient

How about that RUMP

Watercolor and Pencil

watercolor

Figure Drawing Remix

today in Organic Perceptions we worked with torn-paper collage

I decided to use my sheet of rub on letters too and see where that went
It was nice to mix it up for a change away from the two mediums I hate most: vine charcoal and newsprint.

 

Thank You

For Carol Fabricatore, who spoke to my illustration class via skype
It looked a little dreary so I added shimmering pink

watercolor class adventures

and misadventures


this class sux I wish I was oil painting 2304 squares of color again

A face of Apathy

You're Invited...

to Mary-Kate and Ashley's Birthday Party

acrylic ink, transparency, watercolor, vellum, pen and ink, glitter

TBD

finding motivation to work has been especially difficult for some reason, but I've got to remain focused and get things done. Even when assignments are totally trivial as is the case for this portrait assignment for a watercolor class which I have "digitized" and will later overlay with watercolor washes or something.

Today I did yard work for a few hours, physical labor leaves a really satisfying tensity because you actually feel like you accomplished something from the soreness.

Midterms Over

without any major disasters


today I started working on a series of drawings/paintings based on photos of my friend Oliver's home which recently burned down, thankfully he and his family escaped unharmed. The photos of the wreckage are for some reason appealing to me and with Oliver's blessing I am going to continue exploring them.

first attempts, I am unsure as to ideas about color use.

This is my desk

I spend a lot of time here.

myth makers

My last two myth makers assignment,

first is the Victorian style childrens book illustration of Baba Yaga's hut that moves around on a chicken leg. Baba Yaga steals children and eats them. My grandma used to tell me about her.

The Second is my anthropomorphic pulp style illustration. It definitely wasnt a subject I felt too comfortable with but Dexter inspired me to do something super creepy. 

6x6 inches with Rapidograph pen

6x9 inches with ink and Rapidograph

FORTUITIOUS

Today has been a pretty good day, Ive been making lots of progress on my squares, organized my calendar for the rest of the semester as much as possible, and ate lunch at Eden Alley.

For Lunch...I had a super delicious grilled cheese sandwich on artisan garlic bread with mozzarella, blue and cheddar cheeses. As well as organic onion and tomato. Super tasty kiwi-strawberry iced tea too. Oh yeah, and it was FREE.

Later today....  (Ten Minutes Ago)

As I was sitting outside taking a water break from painting squares earlier a man carrying a rubbermaid tub of leather portfolio cases walked by and asked if Andy, Jules, and I were art students.

( pretty obvious by the fact that I was sitting outside with my macbook, jotting down philosophy notes and drinking from a gallon bottle of water...with paint smeared all over me...I know right?)

The nice man said a friend gave him all these cases and he had no use for them and gave them to me, Andy and Jules!

Now I am the proud owner of a large and medium sized leather portfolios already filled with plastic protector pages. My organizational obsessive side is gleaming with joy.

Calendars are so helpful...but so overwhelming at the same time.

BACK TO WORK
L8TR

p.s. if anyone reads this they can look back to embarrassing art by me from now to years ago on my flickr  which is seriously overdue for some re-organizing and weeding out of old crap.

lately...

I have been working on a 2,304 one inch square color mixing exercise portrait...

I have mixed each individual color so far...so much fun.

To take the edge off of square painting I have been doing a little soldering and making little trinkets.

made a red one also to layer on top of one another (also an homage to Dexter)
 

oil painting of a bowl...so exhilarating.

thats all for now...I just remembered I have a class besides illustration studio...whoops.


ooh guess what? (presumed reader)
tonight my illustration class went to see a talk by the creator of the spiderwick chronicles (a very successful childrens book series apparently) and I won a raffle that includes a 30 dollar gift card to Eden Alley the "best vegetarian/vegan restaurant in all of the central united states" and a pair of tickets to an author presentation thats coming up soon. hazah!

What an inconvenient time

To get sick.

Figures

this lady kept talking about her job at the renaissance festival

  

I used to be really uneasy about my figure drawing abilities but we have started out the semester with a really relaxed attitude, which has made me not stress so much.

this lady had a very masculine body, it really looked like that i swear.

i really like doing blind contours.

we are also focusing on an object/theme outside of class in figure drawing, heres a scan of a picture i posted earlier.

my theme is things animals shed

sunnday 9/12

Today we had an illustration BBQ festivity and it was super awesome and sunny and great.
Steve Mayse the head of the department hosted the event in his absolutely amazing home in Lenexa.

Here is a small view of the house which he designed + Nicki's head.

the house was on a couple acres of property and had terraces everywhere as well as a pond and tree house. not to mention an awesome studio.

I brought my scanner into studio which is always a good way to eat up time scanning in cool scraps of paper or old images from national geographic magazines.

these three ladies are taped up on the edge of my drafting table and keep me company.

a random collage I did yesterday in my sketchbook from found paper.

a fun scan of the vellum layer of the illustration i posted a cellphone photo of earlier.

We are starting a childrens book illustration assignment and I've been doing some searching around the internet for inspiration. I came upon these two images that are really nice, I'm sort of thinking about a circus scene or something.

maypoles seem like they were all the rage in victorian times

Who wouldn't like this? This victorian style really appeals to me because of all the intricate linework (pretty evident considering the drawing I did earlier with all the Victorian houses)

Thats all for now, time to stop looking at drawings and actually start some.

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

it's always the worst when everything is due on one day...

this week was pretty exhausting.
it was comprised of a lot of things, including but not limited to:

blind/semi-blind contour drawings

oil palette knife color matching practice paintings

victorian house unfulfilled dreams

steampunk buca di beppo outings, of course

Time to go back to my homeworks

Fall-ish Friday

Last night I started my new work-study job as a door monitor in the Foundations building which I basically lived in last year. It was pretty nostalgic...but mostly boring because the internet wouldn't work and all I had planned to pass the time was watching Netflix.

I also did five loads of laundry yesterday. yes. five.

Today hasn't really been too productive yet...it's too perfect outside to really concentrate on work.

I started a drawing of Harry S. Truman's house in my sketchbook and did some silly Paula Deen playing around.

toilet paper etc

today has been pretty eventful for a day with only one class.

I worked for a few hours on this oil painting of a roll of toilet paper. matching colors is pretty tasking.

not looking too fresh here.

Besides that, I had to install a new car battery! that was pretty fun...

I cooked bratwurst for dinner and o'brien potatoes (cubed potatoes with sauteed onions and bell peppers. mmm)

I went back to studio. I am working on a poster design about children on leashes.

help!

I'm trying to think of one word descriptors that could be put on the poster alongside the leashed children.

maybe....nurture, heel, parent, etc.

BUTTER Y'ALL

I'm the only person in the studio right now and it's a little creepy in this new space.

The only bad part is that during the evening people can see inside and I can't see outside. Opposite in the daylight.

I'm doing some brainstorming on an illustration of Paula Deen and her butter empire. Maybe her intertwined with a giant stick of butter or in a bathtub of butter ala American Beauty.  We'll see where it goes.

MM TRANS FAT

check it out

there's a somewhat new up and coming website all collage enthusiasts should check out..

kohlage.com

it's pretty neat, you can make an account and show some of your work and see others'

http://www.kohlage.com/users/87

that is mine, I haven't put too much energy into it quite yet, but I will!

Catch Up While I Can

I promised a friend I'd send them a big envelope full of goodies a good month or two ago and I'm finally getting around to it.
Who doesn't love letters and mix CDs?

Case for a mix cd.

Well...lets not kid ourselves...its only because sending mail = getting mail.

Busy!

YAY FOR SCHOOL
Illustration started this past Monday at 8 a.m.... it lasts until 9 p.m that day with two 40 minute breaks for meals and of course small breaks. This is every Monday and Wednesday. On Tuesday/Thursday I only have one philosophy class thank goodness.

The first day was rather long but really super exciting, especially because it was my first time seeing the studio space!1!

The sign was made by the head of the department, Steve Mayse. Its backlit and looks really nice.

Well, that's all for now, I have to sleep and read some Communist Manifesto.

morning after freshman friday

I think I may be hungover. 

This is my reaction to learning about the existence of the ozone layer, and how big I thought my hands were as a child.