Shading sketches

So after about an hour or so here is what I’ve got!  A few lettering styles with depth, an ant, a brain with eyeballs, a wormy apple, a Bean Bat, and a sliced open tube all with shading.  All of these were exercises from the book, and I am pleased with how they turned out.  I still have a long ways to go with learning to shade but we all have to start somewhere!  Drawing takes muscle memory just like riding a bike.  Getting your hand to get comfortable drawing certain shapes, pressure and fluidity, and letting your brain see shapes and depth on a flat surface are some serious muscles that take developing and training.  I’ve also learned that drawing takes a certain level of confidence with yourself and trust.  To trust yourself to let go and be free with it, and have confidence that it will turn out.  I’m trying to put my eraser further away so I don’t try to edit myself before the piece has worked itself out!  I challenge you to do the same.  Don’t pull the eraser out until the sketch is done just to clean up any spare or loose lines.

Do you have any tips for freeing yourself up from the inner critic in us all?

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“Ann” Vintage paper, pen, ink and acrylic on wood. 11″x14″x1″, $180.

I believe the whimsical and playful characters fit comfortably with the circus culture. I love all the unique and bizarre characters that put their stories on display for others to see. They could be ashamed or shy, but they own who they are and that is very inspiring.

“Bonny and Brandie” Vintage paper, pen, ink and acrylic on wood. 16″x20″x1″, $210.

If you want to get an early viewing of ALL the new pieces sign up for our newsletter by tomorrow at 6am and you will get a very special sneak peek into the whole family of The Circus Strange. 

“Maggie and Max” Vintage paper, pen, ink and acrylic on wood. 16″x20″x1″, $210.

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So obviously she also works digitally and its been inspiring me to try it out as well!  As much as I love her digital work and would LOVE her tablet… I would love to hang a painting by her in my house even more!

I just love all the detail, depth and emotion in her work!  They are such cute characters with big personalities!  I would love to spend a day with Adolie Day in the studio and just see how she works.  She has such a great style and skill!  GAH I’m just gushing over all her beautiful artwork!

I wanted to show these two images together just to really see the comparison from her drawing to the finished digital piece!

Adolie Day works with a photographer to do these last four images and I love the mash up of photograph and digital illustration!  It works so well!  Kind of reminds me of the Roger Rabbit movie and even what I try to do with my doll photographs!  She is also an inspiration to me as a licensed artist!  I actually just signed up for a class with Lila Rogers to learn more about licensing art work, and of course the wonderful Adolie Day is represented by Lila Rogers.  Expect to hear more about that class since it starts in about a month and will have me creating lots of artwork!  Another funny little tid bit is that the first time I saw Adolie’s name it was written like this Adolieday and of course trying to read it like a hash tag I kept reading it like “A Dolly Day”  which I think suits her work, but also tells you how crazy it gets up in my brain sometimes!  Alrighty then, I like I’ve publically swooned over her work enough.  I’m heading back to her blog to keep checking out her work and I suggest you do the same!

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A mermaid drawing I did with a little help from the Humongous book of Cartooning!

My favorite Cat drawing I did with the help of the Humongous book of Cartooning!

Knowing that there is ALWAYS room for development, I dedicated yesterday and today to drawing.  I particularly need to work on drawing animals.  Animals are out of my comfort zone so I am pushing through and learning!  In the future I have more objects and perspective drawing skills to master as well!  However even I know I can’t take it all on in two days!  So for now I bought a few relevant books, Humongous book of Cartooning, and The Cartoonists big book of Drawing Animals both by Christopher Hart.

Two cartooning books by Christopher Hart and a Borden and Riley pen paper pad.

These books and a quite space away from the distractions of the gallery should help me dive in and get things rolling!

My Studio for today!

I like to lay out all my tools for the day!

So I’ll be on the comfy couch all day today surrounded by all my tools, resources, blankets and pillows!  Speaking of tools, my favorites that I practically bring everywhere with me now are Copic SP black pens, a traveling case full of Copic Pens, multipul erasers, pencil sharpener and of course a set of Staedtler pencils!  I honestly lug everything in the image above back and forth in my backpack every day to the gallery and then back home.  Even while running errands or going to church, a number of these things will be found with me!  I need to have my tools just in case!

Do you have any tools or things you just can’t leave the house without?

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Kelly Rae Roberts Products

Thank you friend by Kelly Rae Roberts

You are not broken by Kelly Rae Roberts

As a mixed media artist, Kelly has several layers to her work.  However I find the most interesting layer to her work to be the text as she incorporates inspirational words and sayings into her work.  I see it as her layering in her past career as a clinical medical social worker and her current views and emotions about life.  She really pours her heart and soul into her work which you can see if you read any number of her blog posts!

Hope full soul by Kelly Rae Roberts

Embrace Change by Kelly Rae Roberts

Collectable figures by Kelly Rae Roberts

If you enjoy Kelly’s work I really encourage you to dig through her website and learn more about her and her journey to creating a living from her art work.

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The crowd of circus characters waiting to be turned into paintings!

So today I will try to finish at least one painting and get started on a second.  I’m pretty sure I have the ideas all planned out in my head!  Keep your fingers crossed no dirty little mistakes pop up and ruin my plans!  These last three are the most difficult so far, because they all involve two characters in each painting.  Too many twins!

Planning out this characters painting.

It sure is fun to see this family come together though!  This is the second installment of “The Family Strange” and I still have 6 more family trees to do.  I’m still in the phase where every time I paint or draw I learn something new.  Plus I love experimenting with new materials so my process is always developing and evolving more and more into my own style.  So off I go now to finish painting the circus!

What is your favorite circus character?

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'Crazy Creatures! ' by GoodeyDolls

Sometimes you just need a little crazy creature in your life to remind you to loosen up! Who needs "normal" when you can just be you!

Jeremy - Creature Serie... maissito $90	Musical Creatures - Ora... PaulsArtCompa... $10	Original hand drawn cre... ArtByCASH $35	Lightly Go Lolly: Mediu... SarahCochranS... $160
HUNGY the Blue Monster ... teacatimagina... $14	Plush Pin Brooch Felt F... farburvur $30	Benny 'The VIntage ... valerydesignw... $20	circus sideshow strongm... amberleilani $225
Avian Bear Creature NessaCraft $24	Cute little Monster Pri... alphabettymon... $10	Cat illustration, child... inameliart $17	Valko Space Crab Cotton... cottonmonster $50
Baby Frost Monster - Mi... stuffedsilly $36	Easter Bunny White Rabb... TheLonelyPixe... $28	Woodland Animal Jambore... MyZoetrope $20	Winter Animals - Illust... hazelvaranese $15

Treasury tool by StylishHome.

I obviously have a bold taste in art which you can see in this treasury, the art I make, and the art I buy.  It isn’t for everyone but it makes me happy and luckily my husband too!  So love what you love, shout it from the roof tops, be a crazy creature and embrace the awesome individual that is you!

What are some of your favorite things that make you unique?  A weird food combination, color combo, crazy handmade sweater, collection, hobby or any other number of million things out there that make up who you are!

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Margaret Keane Painting

So when I started sculpting my art dolls and my process started leading me in this big eye, unrealistic style, I decided to just go with it.  I really did try to sculpt realistic faces a few times but it usually just made them look even more alien like!  So I stopped fighting what I thought I had to make and embraced what was naturally happening!  That’s when I started researching other artists who use big eyes and really learnt about Keane’s history.

Margaret Keane Painting

I found it very interesting to know that her husband actually tried claiming he did the paintings!  I mean seriously what a poop!  So of course when they were getting a divorce in the best way ever she proved the paintings were really hers!  She painted out in the open right infront of the judge and everyone to show the work was really hers.  So when the husband was asked to do the same “I can’t I have a sore shoulder”.  Needless to say, she won the case and has continued to do HER work!

Margaret Keane Painting

As all artist progress and change through their life and career, Keane’s work has experienced shifts of change.  In her early career her characters or style were known as “Big Eyes”, “Sad eyes”, “Waifs” or simply known as “Keane”.  Many times a tear graced the characters cheek.  However, after the divorce Keane moved to Hawaii and while stylistically the same her paintings became brighter and a bit happier.  Then again later in life after joining a church her paintings became even a bit happier.  So when a tear graced a face, at that point it was of joy not sadness.

Margaret Keane Painting

Her work was highly criticised in the art world and yet they were some of the best selling art in the Western world in the early 60′s!  You may or may not like them yourselves, but there is no denying Keane’s influence on American pop culture!  A funny fact for me is that Tim Burton is a long time fan and collector of Keane’s work.  Going so far as to commission an art piece, and now working on a movie about her career and court battle with her ex-husband!  Although that movie has been talked about for a while, I’m still waiting patiently for something to actually happen with that!  I find it funny because I get so many people coming into the gallery saying “this is very Tim Burton like” or referencing him somehow.  Which I really don’t mind because I love his work, but in reality I didn’t even consiously think about his work when making mine!  I looked at a lot of Keane, Mark Ryden, and Katie Olivias for stylistic inspiration and a myriad of other art doll makers for technical know how.  So now seeing that our inspirations crossed paths is a funny little tidbit for me.

Margaret Keane Painting

Keane is now located in San Francisco where you can visit Keane Eyes Gallery and see her work first hand.  It is by appointment though so don’t be a dummy like me and think you can walk there and go right in.  Or you’ll end up peering through the windows like me!  Have you seen her work or similar work before?  Or have you seen how it has influenced pop culture at all?

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Sketch by Kaitlin Phillips Goodey

Ok this little lady got a little sleepy eyed on me but she has a present for you!  Makes it all better right?

Sketch by Kaitlin Phillips Goodey

As you can see I’m working on some greeting card themed sketches!  Birthdays and celebrations!  Mind you I have a long way to go yet since they need color!  All the same though, make a wish!

Sketch by Kaitlin Phillips Goodey

I got bunnies on the brain!  They are so cute.  Plus I’ve been watching all the old Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes and there is a demon character named Anya who is afraid of bunnies and I just find that hilarious!  I give that writer a good pat on the back for a job well done with that little tidbit about the character!

Sketch by Kaitlin Phillips Goodey

It’s ladybug season!  I planted my first garden of flowers this year and am eagerly awaiting some play dates with ladybugs.

Sketch by Kaitlin Phillips Goodey

Can you guess what will be joining this little lady?  I haven’t quite figured out how I want to do their wings but this sweet girl likes the company of butterflies!    Oh and all these black lines were done with my wonderfully new set of Copic Multiliner SP pens.  Hopefully this way I won’t fight smudging so much!

Soon I will be doing a recap of Snap conference to share with you all the good stuff I learned and awesome people I met, but for now I still need to get back into the swing of the gallery!  I’m down in the gallery today redoing some of the displays since some awesome people came in for Art Walk and decimated our inventory!  On that note did I mention we have a Justin Hillgrove original in the gallery? And we have some huge canvas prints too!  They are amazing, but you should come in and check them out for yourself before, but beware if you take to long I might snatch them up for myself!  I’ll post some images to social media (Instagram, Twitter and Facebook) as soon as I rearrange the display!  If you don’t live near by or can’t come in you can call or email for more information!

What do you do on your day off to relax?  Any tips or tricks to get rid of head colds?

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The Rockin Rabbit! Great for any Rockers home!

The thing that I really enjoy about Daine’s work is that it is the use of color and they can be placed around the house as a piece of fun art or used as a cuddly friend in times of needed companionship. The Rockin Rabbit is not the only fun plush she makes either.

Charlie the Grumpster knows what’s cool.

A monster hoodie for the little monster in your life.

This guys name is Hank. I think he wants to hang out with you on the couch.

If these guys are just too cute to not be in your home, head over to Daine’s Etsy Shop and also check out what other stuff she has. 

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