Here There Be Monster Heads and Rambles

Hello! I apologize for the silence on this blog - it's not intentional!

My wrist and shoulder have been feeling much better, but my attitude and ego have not. It's been a stressful couple of months and these past few weeks have been extra taxing on me due to working so much at my day job (which always makes my hand and shoulders hurt, then makes me mega frustrated and depressed). I'm happy to report that I put in my two weeks notice on Monday and by the end of the month I will be unemployed - but free from the world of retail!
The plan is this: The same week I work my last day at my job is the same week I'll be going out of town to the countryside of Ohio, and I plan on just leaving my laptop at home to get a breather from all my external stresses here and truly relax. When I come back, I want to whip myself and my work into shape. I have a schedule set up where I'll study three hours in the morning and then do four hours of portfolio work. The idea is to have some images to show off at Workshop SF 2012 and hopefully get some pointers on getting some freelance jobs. What happens after the workshop, I haven't a clue, but I just want to keep it like that and adjust when the time comes.

That also means more blog updates! Going to start bringing back Sketchy Saturdays (that does mean more life drawing, I miss my LCAD buds!) and I'm going to begin a new series: WIP Wednesdays where I'll post up any WIPs I have and will allow crits on it. In between those regular updates I will post up any finished images I complete, and will begin to put together a portfolio site (FINALLY).

I welcome any cheers of support and some slaps on the wrist if I stray too far from my goals. I blog because it helps not only let others see my progress or hurdles, but allows me to see how far I've come. And having voids between posts doesn't show much progress.

Okay, without further ado, here's my current sketching binge - MONSTER HEADS!

While visiting Arizona last month, I had the chance to sculpt one of the monsters! I want to do more of these, they're a lot of fun and it's so awesome to be able to hold a monster head in my hand. 

Thanks for reading!

Hibiscus Troll

I can't really put into words how much my mom means to me. There was a time period that I was really distant with her and it pains me to think how much my teenager self alienated her so much. She has always supported my creative efforts - encouraging me and enrolling me into any classes that piqued my interest. For a while, she was my agent - always marketing me to friends and family alike and getting me small art jobs. I really appreciate all that she has done for me, and also her constant support since I've left the nest. Mom, if you're reading this, know that I love you a lot and thank you for putting up with me the past twenty-two years. 

I created a hibiscus troll for her. 

An armless troll that likes to sit at the top of hibiscus bushes because they love how much the sun feels on their petals and especially love spending time with their young ones. The youth's petals won't be fully developed until adulthood.

I grew up having a hibiscus bush in my front yard and would always admire the red flowers. They remain to be one of my favorite plants, a mixture of elegance with the large petals and spunk with the stem. Unfortunately, it died while I was in junior high but every time I see a hibiscus flower, I can't help but think about that bush.

Sketchy Saturday: Shut up and DRAW!

I'm in a little disbelief how much I've fallen out of the swing of things. A little update on my hand is that I have some nerve irritation in my arm and shoulder that causes pain. While it's not as severe as the tendinitis, it still hurts and I will admit that I'm a little over cautious to not draw when I'm in pain. This struggle between my need to draw and my need to rest has gotten me a little down, but I'll continue to do my best to draw while I can.

One of the ways to get back on the horse is to start attending life drawing again. Oh my lands, how out of practice I am. I felt like there was a rock tied onto my hand when drawing, struggling to capture both the pose and the likeness of the model. I could hear the inner-dialogue in my head constantly commenting on either how I need to look more, how I need to redraw something, telling myself I can do - and have done - better, and the occasional off topic thought. I had to tell myself several times "SHUT UP AND DRAW!" instead of constantly berating myself.

Even though I've drawn this model several times before, I can never master her face. Gah!

It's my goal in May to attend life drawing once a week again, along with starting another study schedule to get back into drawing.

As an added offering for not updating my blog as often, here are some monster and demon exploration going on in my sketchbook.

Sketchy Saturday: Slow Down

When this post goes up, I will be wondering the premises of Monsterpalooza! In the meantime, have a quick ramble about my life drawing from the last week.

I've been recovering quite well, mostly by going slow while I'm drawing and learning quite a lot by doing so. Mainly, it's important to do something right instead of doing something fast, which helped me begin to master the ways of the pen. As you should know, pens don't come with an eraser and trying to cover up mistakes will only lead to bigger mistakes. Drawing in pen helps me to select what I feel is important in a pose, and also slows down my mind to really think about what I'm seeing and how I choose to translate it. 

These life drawings are some of my favorites, I can't wait to do more sessions in pen! 

Also as an added bonus, two new trolls! Both are birthday gifts to some wonderful friends. I'm really sad how attached I am to these but am quite glad to see them go to happy owners. I need to draw some for myself next time, hehe.

Daniel and Stacy Trolls

I am not dead! I simply had to take a break due to my wrist pains getting to the point of unbearable. Long story short, I'm now in physical therapy and am making a good recovery. My therapist OK'd me to keep drawing so long as I go slow and make sure I'm holding my pencil correctly. Hopefully I'll be back to posting more regularly.

In the meantime, I did a little gift for my wonderful boyfriend, Daniel. It's his birthday today. I had the idea to turn he and I into trolls. I've included the original sketches I did back in February, the composition sketches and the final completed in marker.

Sketchy Saturday: Watercolor Pencil

Due to my wrist pains, I've been using a watercolor pencil to draw with and use a brush pen that has a capsule for water on it to darken my lines when I need to. It's training me to not draw so dark thus reliving tension in my wrist.
I also got a new sketchbook that I plan on doing looser drawings in. Moleskines are difficult sometimes because I'm scared to ruin the nice paper with bad drawings, but I plan on getting on to do more refined drawings once my wrist is better.

 

 

And today's life drawing session, I didn't get a chance to continue reading Michael Hampton's book but it's interesting to see last week's lesson merge into my current habits.

Scculent and Cactus Trolls

I made some trolls last month based off some plants I saw when hanging out with friends.

I've always meant to do some more, and the inspiration hit me when Daniel and I purchased new plants this past weekend at IKEA. We are now proud owners of a little cactus and a succulent plant!

I started off with some sketches to get an idea of what they would look like. 

Instantly I knew I wanted the succulent trolls to be bothering the cactus.