Waiting for Paint to Dry

Tiger WIP

2011-12-27T22:35:00.001-05:00

My scanner is still broken, so this inadequate pic will have to do for now. I am concentrating on getting the values right before I continue on. Still some way to go.

Oh noes!

2011-12-19T20:24:00.001-05:00

I think my scanner might well be dead this time. Sad times. I unplugged it and I'm gonna let it sit for a week, sometimes that does the trick (it's like getting an old Nintendo to work sometimes).

I don't have anything to show because, well, you know. The scanner's broken.

Still Working...

2011-12-03T16:21:00.001-05:00

Still plugging away at the fish eagle painting. Feathers are so time-consuming in colored pencil, sigh.

Here's a scan (much better than a camera-phone pic).

Fish Hawk

2011-11-28T20:08:00.003-05:00

Still plugging away with the artwork. This is the latest big piece. Turns out I can only work on colored pencil pieces for so long before my shoulder cramps up now. Yeah, I don't know either.

Pic taken with my phone, apologize for the poor quality.

Scratch scratch scratch

2011-11-18T20:37:00.001-05:00

It continues. After hemming and hawing for a bit, I decided I wanted to add some color to this one. I have to learn how to do it eventually, might as well do it on some small pieces that don't cost me an arm and a leg (and don't take me weeks to do).

Still working, and a show!

2011-11-15T14:31:00.003-05:00

So my show has started. It's at the Mahtay Cafe in St Catharines. For more information clicky here.

The self-induced panic of the show has caused me to be stupidly productive for the last few weeks, so I'm going ride this wave of creative drive until it crashes. In utter contrast to the looser watercolor work I've been doing recently, I've also started to work with scratchboard again - something which is about as detail-orientated as it gets. Here's a WIP of my latest, a serval (yes I know his nose it not done yet).

Craft Show

2011-11-10T21:46:00.002-05:00

For any local peeps, I will be at the craft sale at the Stanford Presbyterian Church this Saturday. In a panic for slightly-unrelated reasons, I indulged and ordered some small clayboard pieces in.

Oh god how I missed clayboard. It's like we were meant to be together forever.

It never rains...

2011-11-04T12:47:00.002-04:00

But it pours.

Seriously. Just before November hits I find out I have a show on Nov 14. And am reminded that I have a craft fair on Nov 12. And it's November so I'm trying to do NaNo, too, which--because I am a moron--I am doing hand-written. God help.

So anyway this is WIP of a painting that might end up in the show (more likely it will be a back-up piece in case something sells). I want to learn how to manipulate the granulation in paint more, and this piece is done almost entirely with granulating paints.

I also started another five pieces last night, smaller pieces destined for the craft show. Some of them are on aquaboard. I was not particularly thrilled with it when I've used it previously, but I had some lying around and decided it was time it got put to work.

And when you use granulating paints in wet washes on aquaboard, the paint just does wonderful things. Very exited to see if these work out.

Pelican

2011-10-11T19:25:00.001-04:00

This pic was taken with my cellphone so bear with me.

I did not expect the beak to be such a pain in the ass, let me tell you.

Finally, another WIP

2011-08-28T20:05:00.001-04:00

I hate painting feathers.

Not done yet, although I don't know how much more work it actually needs. We'll see what happens.

Sketchbook work

2011-05-20T12:17:00.001-04:00

More sketchbook work from our trip to Pennsylvania.

Hawk WIP

2011-05-11T23:12:00.000-04:00

This painting is fighting with me already. That's what I get for trying a new technique. Argh.

Anyway, this is after the first few washes. Still a long, long way to go.

Tiger WIP

2011-05-09T14:40:00.001-04:00

This is a very small piece--5 by 7 inches--and it's not quite done yet. Something is off about the value or color of the tiger and I am working on it bit by bit. Also started painting the mangrove hawk piece today. Wet-in-wet paint takes so long to dry. Argh.

News!

2011-05-03T14:13:00.002-04:00

Want to buy my artwork? Of course you do. On rather short notice, I will be attending a local church bazaar.

This Saturday, May 7th
9:00am-1:00pm
Stamford Presbyterian Church
3121 St. Paul Avenue
Niagara Falls, ON

I will have lots of original artwork, from very small to large pieces available. Come say hi and tell your friends!

Hawk WIP

2011-04-26T20:54:00.002-04:00

The drawing for the mangrove hawk painting is done. I don't usually leave this much graphite on the paper when I am painting with watercolours but with this series (three paintings of birds I saw in Costa Rica) I am trying something different.

Anyway. The paper is stretched now. I can start painting anytime.

More Sketchbook Work

2011-04-25T15:02:00.003-04:00

We went birdwatching in Pennsylvania last weekend and while we were there we stopped at Lehigh Valley Zoo. Here's the first batch of sketches from that visit. They have mexican grey wolves, which were actually moving around. I don't think I got anything really good out of them but I'm throwing them up anyway. I've also started using a thicker pen for some of my gestures.

Back to Work!

2011-04-15T14:39:00.002-04:00

Finally started another painting. This is more or less just a value-study to help me when I am painting, since the photo I am using is not the greatest. I'm thinking about actually using a full sheet of watercolour paper for the painting (I am so adventurous).

Waiting for paint to dry indeed.

2011-03-14T17:32:00.001-04:00

I have not forgotten about Andre. I am still working on it, frequently.

Every time I touch it, I know I just have to tweek a tiny little thing. Then, as is my habit, I put it aside for a day and come back to look at it.

And every friggin time, I see that tweek was not enough and needs to be tweeked a little more.

I am frustrated.

I am telling myself it almost done. It should be almost done.

Ugh.

Soon, soon I will something for you...

More WIP

2011-01-22T01:36:00.000-05:00

The ink stage:

Still working!

2011-01-18T18:03:00.002-05:00

You all thought I was sitting around doing nothing, didn't you? I am still working on Andre, but it is being extremely uncooperative and I'm not sure what direction to take it in at this point. To distract myself, I started a new acrylic yesterday, and just realized how much of a faster painter I am now than a year ago; what used to take me fifteen or twenty hours now takes me two. Awesome.

And I started another ACEO, this one of a snow leopard. Here's what it looks like so far:

It's a tree!

2011-01-12T20:42:00.001-05:00

I wasn't actually sure what the background was going to be for this, but as it turns out it's a tree of some sort. Awesome. Anyway it's coming along nicely.

The Pouring is Done!

2011-01-11T15:56:00.000-05:00

The pouring is finally done, thank god. Here's what it looks like with the masking fluid removed:

Weekend Time...

2011-01-08T04:25:00.001-05:00

Another layer of paint on Andre; this is what it looked like yesterday. d

Still painting!

2011-01-05T16:10:00.002-05:00

Did a little bit of painting yesterday - this is also a poured painting, so there's a lot of waiting for paint to dry - and also re-stocked my watercolour palette for the first time in more than a year. I forgot how many different paints I actually own, and got an idea for another painting while I was doing it.

This is two layers of paint in, anyway.

Andre started

2011-01-03T19:02:00.001-05:00

The last in this particular series was started yesterday. This is the drawing I am working from right now.

A whole week? Wow.

2010-12-23T15:42:00.003-05:00

Probably a good thing that I've been posting so much that taking a week off from it seems like a lot of time.

Anyway, spent that week finishing off Shredder little by little. You can find it here.

I was also working on this while I was working on Shredder, and scanned it while I worked on it so those interested can see how it progressed. The finished image is on the bottom.

Another week, another WIP...

2010-12-13T13:54:00.001-05:00

It's coming along. It's not done, but it's getting there.

Shredder - First brushwork

2010-12-09T18:53:00.001-05:00

I was feeling a little burnt out so I took yesterday off. Picked it back up again today, this is what it looks like after about two hours of brushwork. The background is going to kill me on this one.

The Pouring is Done!

2010-12-07T22:47:00.001-05:00

The pouring is done, thank god. Now the real work begins.

Also started work on another ACEO today; maybe I'll post the WIP soon.

More Shredder

2010-12-07T01:09:00.001-05:00

One more pour, one more pour, one more pour...

The Weekend - Shredder WIP

2010-12-05T23:28:00.000-05:00

Worked on this guy some more. Remembered how much I hate masking fluid. Have also run into a small problem. I am painting these on ARCHES watercolor blocks. Besides the fact that they are cut in very weird dimensions, the glue on them is not made to put up with the sheer abuse I am putting it through. And tonight I noticed that on one side, the paper has come free.

I am not sure what I am going to do about this.

Shredder WIP

2010-12-03T18:23:00.003-05:00

First step of the new painting I'm working on. This is what it looked like yesterday; I've worked on it since then but it's still wet. Also I'm uploading this with my phone so let's see how this works.

Edit #1
Oh god this looks horrible I am never uploading like this again.

Edit #2
I couldn't handle it so I scanned it after the latest step; this is after the second layer of paint. Probably four or five more before I take off the masking fluid and start painting old-school. There's about two inches missing from the top of the scan (this painting has the exact same dimensions as Peter and Simba), but I'm feeling lazy tonight so meh.

Washington Visit

2010-12-01T17:37:00.004-05:00

I went to Washington for the rally in DC last month (which was a lot of fun) and while we were in the city we stopped by the Smithsonian Zoo. It was surprisingly awesome, and I was surprised when I realized it was actually free It is a great zoo and I encourage everyone that has the opportunity to go to do so.

Because I am an idiot, however, I forgot to bring my sketchbook or pen with me, so I had to buy a new one while I was there, and a new pen. It took me a while to get used to the new pen; it had a much thicker line than I was used to.

When it rains...

2010-10-17T21:19:00.002-04:00

Well. This weekend was exciting. We came home on Friday night and Darwin was suddenly limping. More like hopping, actually; he wouldn't put any weight on his rear right foot. Knowing of another Eurasier that recently tore their ACL, we are just hoping like mad that he didn't hurt his. 'Cause if he did, it's three or four grand worth of surgery and months of recovery. Today he seems to be doing better, though; he's already putting weight on it. So it's likely just a sprain, and not a tear. Find out for sure (hopefully) at the vet's tomorrow. Either way, poor baby isn't going to the dog park for a long time :(

On a completely different note, started my pre-NaNo reading: No Plot, No Problem, How Not to Write a Novel, The Fire in Fiction,andThe Power of Point of View.

The fun begins...

Return to gouache

2010-09-30T15:26:00.003-04:00

I haven't used gouache since second year (I refuse to do the math you can't make me), but thought that the opaqueness of it would be appropriate for this painting. Problem was, this one of those 'spur of the moment' paintings, and I got rid of most of my gouache paint years ago. I had, in my gouache-paint inventory: one (rather large) tube of zinc white, one tube of sepia, and one tube of prussian blue.

Most of this painting is still watercolour, though. Most of the gouache is on the head, and then I used less of it as I worked down, and then lots of white/prussian blue mix in the mist.

I forgot how...distinctive the smell of gouache paint is. Also, I forgot that my scanner doesn't hate gouache; I didn't have to fight with it at all. Nice change of pace for me.

One of these days, I'm gonna start updating more often. (promises, promises, I know...)

I am tired

2010-08-02T18:25:00.001-04:00

I am so tired I almost had a nap today. Oh yeah, this is serious business, people.

And here's a horrible page of sketches I did at the zoo today. At least the servals were being all adorable and angular and such.

An update? Madness!

2010-07-29T17:06:00.002-04:00

WIP of my latest poured watercolor. The pouring is done; let's see what happens.

Also, never, ever, use blue masking fluid. That stuff is malevolent and spiteful.

Vacation - Day 4

2010-06-17T20:53:00.003-04:00

Everything going good so far. When it does rain here it rains like crazy. The food is very good. We went to a pizza place today, just to see what it was like. What they call 'Canadian' pizza has bacon, tomatoes, and jalapeno peppers. Yeah.

The birding has been awesome as well. This morning a small group of toucans was playing outside of our hotel window. And we are even starting to get the hang of the new camera.

Vaction Update

2010-06-15T17:39:00.002-04:00

Been awhile since I updated this, but I did just get married, so cut me some slack.

It's our second day in Costa Rica. I woke up at at 10am on Sunday in Niagara Falls and didn't get to sleep until about 10pm on Monday. It was a long day.

Then we were up at 5am this morning to go on a birding tour. It was a lot of fun, the guide clearly knew what he was doing and was very helpful. We saw a little over thirty different species, and all but three of them were new for me, so that was awesome.

Now we're just chillin'. We're still exhausted, and you feel perpetually damp here.

Also, the coffee is ridiculous. I am totally bringing some home.

Another WIP of latest piece

2010-04-12T20:11:00.002-04:00

Because heaven forbid I actually finish anything.

Anyway about two more hours of work done; the head is nearly complete and the first layer of colour added to the neck.

I'm going to pretend it's Friday...

2010-04-05T22:01:00.001-04:00

Because the weekend didn't happen. I didn't get any work done.

What's this? A post?

2010-03-26T22:49:00.001-04:00

What I have learned thus far:

Sleeping in every day never gets old. Ever.

On another note, here's a WIP of what I'm working on right now.

More zoo sketches

2009-10-08T16:23:00.003-04:00

More sketches of Andre done a few weeks ago. This Sunday will be the last time I see him until next spring. On the upside, Zooz got their CAZA certification, so that's really great for them.

More Artwork!

2009-09-28T15:56:00.003-04:00

This was a present for my dad for his 50th birthday; he's an avid birdwatcher, and there are the four of us kids running around. It's based off a reference pic that I took of the swallows that lived on my porch this summer, just a few days before they took off for good.

Watercolour, ink, and coloured pencil on cold-press illustration board.

Simba - finished

2009-08-09T17:20:00.004-04:00

The finished piece. This is Simba, a lion that lives at Zooz. His mane is absolutely ridiculous - it goes all the way to his back legs, he's like the epitomy of a lion. Seriously, it's crazy.

Anyway this is watercolour, and I barely touched the background at all from the last update, it's mostly work on him.

And just in case you hadn't seen anything cute yet today, here's a picture of Simba I took today with his newest offspring - the cub is less than two weeks old. Enjoy :)

Before...

2009-07-28T19:08:00.003-04:00

Thought I'd give you all a sneak peak at my latest piece before I start on the brushwork. Up until this point, all the work that has been done has been paint that has been poured - which requires an maddening amount of masking fluid. But the end result is something that looks like this. Now the trick is to not butcher it adding in too much detail and losing all the colour gradiations in the shadows.

So, anyway, before the detail work...

More sketches

2009-07-05T19:14:00.001-04:00

Another decent day of sketching. Drawing big cats lying down is always an exercise in forshortening, they just have to throw their legs all over the place.

More sketches from the zoo

2009-06-29T12:29:00.002-04:00

Got very damp, but got some good drawing done yesterday. Also Noah tried to eat my pants. Greedy bastard.

One of those days were I didn't get a good page but every page had something good on it, which is something I guess. Enjoy :)

older sketches

2009-06-24T20:05:00.001-04:00

Did a little bit of drawing this weekend but nothing turned out great so here's something from a couple months ago I did that I didn't upload yet.

Urg

2009-06-16T20:44:00.002-04:00

Rough day at work today. 'Less said the better.

Anyway didn't get a chance to do the sketching I wanted to do this weekend, so here's some more random cat sketches. Their current obsession is staring out the front door at the swallow's nest on the porch...it must be watched carefully, for pygmy ninjas are everywhere.

Kestral finished!

2009-06-08T20:31:00.001-04:00

All this lifing is really hard on my detail brushes.

And yet another update!

2009-06-02T15:24:00.003-04:00

Man I'm updating so regularly soon it's gonna stop being noteworthy.

Anyway worked on this piece some more. The breast feathers are looking a little too rufus, they're supposed to be white with red-brown markings, I think I may be making the reflected colour too strong. It's getting there.

Painting WIP

2009-05-26T19:41:00.002-04:00

Started this piece, like, a year ago, and made myself pick it up again. It's on aquaboard, which is very different to work on than watercolour paper. Lifting paint seems to be more effective than trying to save the whites. It's a very strange support.

The head's mostly done, and the rest is just blocked in roughly.

Zoo sketches

2009-05-19T21:42:00.002-04:00

Ha! Two posts in a month! Take that internet!

I live! Still!

2009-05-10T22:46:00.002-04:00

I can't believe I've only made two posts since my last birthday, and now my next one is like next week. I am a terrible person.

Enjoy the only thing I've finished in the last six months.

Sketch Dump!

2008-09-13T21:56:00.002-04:00

I live, I promise!

Art bleh

2008-06-07T13:13:00.002-04:00

Pretty much everything I've tried to paint in the last two weeks has immediately turned to crap, which is more than a little discouraging. On the other hand I have been drawing more, but still. Meh.

Did these on Monday at the aviary.

Quarter Century

2008-05-21T15:15:00.001-04:00

I got the whole set of Red vs Blue and a Caboose shirt for my birthday. Rich knows me so well :) And my sister gave me a tea-steeper, so I'm having a lot of fun with that too.

Some drawings I did on the weekend, started the next set of coloured pages in my sketchbook and tried a new watercolour-pen thing. I don't know if I like it or not, I have to keep experimenting.

Etc

2008-05-11T18:20:00.002-04:00

Iron Man was unbelievibly awesome. Man that was a great movie. And I found out I actually get a four-day work week the week after next, three day weekend! Haven't had one of those in...a really long time. Stupid work.

So anyway.

This is what I did today. Except for the background wash (which the scanner butchered horribly, it's so pretty irl), I did the whole thing in one three-hour sitting. I'm very happy with the bird, it turned out almost exactly how I wanted it to.

And then I was seized by the urge to clean my studio. So it got a thorough cleaning. It's nice and organized again.

Ah, clayboad.

2008-05-04T13:15:00.002-04:00

I love clayboard. It the greatest thing ever.

Might be the first in a series, or it might be a stand-alone piece, I haven't decided yet. I started this about eight last night, and worked on it for five straight hours, which is the first time I've done that in...months, it was awesome. I did some touch-ups this morning but I pretty much finished it last night. This is a quick photo, I'll take a scan later and put it up so you can all bask in the glorious detail.

Another WIP

2008-05-01T21:50:00.000-04:00

This is taking forever. I need to stop being lazy.

A quick little experiment

2008-04-30T21:39:00.002-04:00

I the brilliant idea to try the pouring technique on a watercolour block and see how the paper stood up to it. It actually worked pretty well; it has it's own challenges but the paper drys very very flat, and doesn't try to fly off the block or anything. This started as a pour and then I added the antelope in; playing with silhouettes mostly.

Sketches from the aviary

2008-04-20T20:16:00.001-04:00

Went to the aviary today. It was good. Also got a filing cabinet and now all the piles of paper piling up everywhere are organized. I am content.

An update!

2008-04-06T20:24:00.002-04:00

With the full time job and all, haven't really had a lot of time to update this thing. Anyway I finished the first peahen piece, it's up at Deviantart if you want to see it. Since then I've started two new pieces which are in various stages of completion.

This is the second peahen piece, I haven't touched it in a few weeks, but I plan on having it done by May:

And this is a an acrylic piece, done on stretched canvas, that's gonna hang in my mud room when it's done (so it'll be the first thing you see when you walk in my house):

This pic was taken a few days ago, and I've refined it a lot since then but it's still not done.

Also got a PSP last week, so that's been sucking away a lot of my free time. Curse you Crisis Core!

Another Peahen Update

2008-03-02T00:05:00.001-05:00

Almost done, just have to do the breast feathers and then do some touch ups. I'm pretty happy with it so far :)

Monday

2008-02-18T19:09:00.002-05:00

There aren't enough days in the week let me tell you.

Anyway here's what the peahen painting looks like right now:

It's gonna take awhile.

Thursday

2008-02-14T11:40:00.002-05:00

It's almost kinda a nice day outside today; 'bout time after all that windy hell.

These sketches are from the aviary on Saturday, some turacos; I love watching these guys move around, they hop from branch to branch and just always seem so perky.

Happy Darwin Day!

2008-02-12T13:26:00.000-05:00

Feb 12th is not only the birthdate of Charles Darwin but the anniversary of the publication of Origin of the Species.

So here are some pretty finches I took a picture of:

Monday

2008-02-11T10:46:00.000-05:00

Well things have been exciting since last night. Last night was probably one of the coldest nights we've had this winter, and at some time during the night my furnace kicked out. So it's 11 degrees in here right now. My dad came over and fixed it, and apparently the problem was that the air intake pipe was frozen solid. That's how cold it was last night. So my house should start slowly heating up.

But holy hell it's freezing in here right now.

Anyway this is the other painting I'm working on right now, it's a coloured pencil piece, and this is about six hours in; still a lot to go.

Hurrah!

2008-02-10T19:47:00.000-05:00

Re-installing the drivers seems to have fixed the problem with the scanner, for now anyway. That's enough anxiety attacks for me for one weekend.

This is one of the paintings I'm working on right now, I'm doing a tutorial on it as well so I'm documenting it step by step.

Curses!

2008-02-09T21:57:00.000-05:00

So I've started looking for a new camera; nothing wrong with my old one, 'cept it's a little too bulky for some situations. So I've got it narrowed down to two options, both very very compact but still good enough for most of my needs. Gonna buy a new 'big' camera next Christmas time or around there or something.

And my scanner breaks. My amazing, 'scan down I can scan anything mwa ha ha oh by the way I've been discontinued for two years' scanner. I can probably buy one on Ebay but the timing is just ridiculous.

AND WHY DOES NO ONE MAKE THESE ANYMORE? Not one manufacturer thinks these are a good idea? The artist market alone would love them to pieces forever. No need to take photos of your artwork when you've got one of these babies. Stupid companies. Being stupid.

Anyway I went to the aviary again today and did some sketching and took some pics.

Tuesday

2008-02-05T15:05:00.000-05:00

Getting lots of stuff done today so far, working on three seperate paintings at once and it's all going great.

Watched 'The Brave One' a few nights ago; it's a pretty good movie, although the ending seems a little too contrived and unrealistic. It is about a vigilante, but it's much more focused on how the killings affect her than watching her running around killing people. So don't go into it expecting that.

Sketches from the zoo a few weeks ago, the siberian tiger and cubs.

Monday

2008-02-04T12:17:00.000-05:00

And another week begins. I'm finally starting to get over my slump and get back into the swing of things, of being able to multitask in the studio. My schduale at work has been a little more normal (practically 9 to 5!), so that's really been a big help.

Last page of drawings from the ROM:

Saturday

2008-02-02T23:34:00.000-05:00

After work today we took Darwin to our friend's house so he could run around in her background, which is huge and fenced. He had a lot of fun. Work today was alright. Swings are pleasent enough.

The red-tailed hawk at the ROM bird exibit.

Friday

2008-02-01T16:36:00.000-05:00

I was supposed to go training in Missisauga today, but they decided the weather was too bad and it got cancelled at the last minute. So I had an unexpected day off, which is always pleasent. Spent some time with Darwin and got some odds and ends done.

I finished this a few nights ago, makes it the first painting I've started and finished this year.

Thursday

2008-01-31T18:31:00.000-05:00

Week's almost over already. The month's almost over already and I've barely gotten anything done at all, which is kinda depressing.

Anyway more sketches from the ROM, these are drawings of the barn owl in the bird exibit.

Wednesday

2008-01-30T19:48:00.000-05:00

I'm not used to having Wednesday's off, it screws with my whole internal calender. For those interested, "Shake Hands with the Devil" is one of those thoroughly depressing movies with no closure at the end (which isn't too surprising, given it's subject matter). And "Outing Riley" is a much better movie than I thought it would be.

More sketches of Darwin.

Tuesday

2008-01-29T22:42:00.000-05:00

Today feels like a Monday. On the other hand, House started again tonight, which is always good. Why a Christmas episode I dunno, but I'll take what I can get.

What I'm working on right now, bought a small watercolour block so I'm experimenting right now.

Saturday

2008-01-26T20:55:00.000-05:00

More sketches from the ROM.

Thursday

2008-01-24T19:39:00.000-05:00

Some sketches of Darwin I did last night, more to come tomorrow. Tonight I'm watching Chuck.

Wednesday

2008-01-23T20:56:00.000-05:00

Darwin had his last shot on Monday, he weighed 9.1 kg, which is a 50% increase in a month. He's getting big. But he's pretty well behaved overall; keeping him exercised makes a huge difference.

First of a couple pages of work I did at the ROM a couple days ago, these are some assorted birds in the bird room.

Friday

2008-01-18T22:25:00.000-05:00

An updated WIP of the painting. It's much nicer irl than this, the scanner decided it was in a foul mood tonight. The colours are much more luminous than this grey sludge. Anyway, I'm just about ready to declare it Finishe but have to get the opinion of the client first.

Wednesday

2008-01-16T19:52:00.000-05:00

More sketches of Darwin. He's starting to get big.

Monday

2008-01-14T21:19:00.000-05:00

I don't wanna do inventory tomorrow. At least it's at the other store and shouldn't take very long, but still, getting up at 4:45 in the morning is unpleasent. And then I come home and I'm exhausted and Darwin wears me ragged, and I open like the next three days after that, so I won't get to sleep in until..I dunno when.

WIP on the piece I'm working on right now, it's a commission. And I love the colours right now. Now, to not screw it up...

Saturday

2008-01-12T13:29:00.000-05:00

Darwin starts obediance classes today. Which means I get to go show him off to everyone, and I get to meet a bunch of other puppies which are almost as cute as him. I win forever.

Here's some sketches I've done of him lately. I've got a special sketchbook set aside for sketches of him, so hopefully it'll show a progression from fluffy puppy to fluffy beast. If I remember to draw in it.

Thursday

2008-01-10T20:49:00.000-05:00

Assorted finches

Tuesday

2008-01-08T19:34:00.000-05:00

Holy hell inventory leaves me completely wiped out. I can barely move right now. My scheduale for the next two weeks sucks, it sucks bad, but then I get three days off in a row. I am fooling around with the idea of going to Toronto for a couple days. We'll see what happens; going up by train is actually pretty reasonably priced.

These sketches are from last week, I'd upload new stuff but the thought of walking into the computer room and getting the scanner out is unfathomable right now. I like toucans.

Sunday

2008-01-06T18:33:00.000-05:00

Ah, a day off. Good stuff. And even on my day off I got called in to make my shift longer tomorrow. Some things never change.

I went to the aviary today, and will probably do a little bit of painting tonight. I organized a lot of things yesterday and I will soon be in the position to start big paintings again. Soon.

Some toucans. These are a black species, and they are one of my favourite birds at the aviary. I started a new sketchbook today (yay!). It takes pen, pencil and smudging pretty well but, alas, hates the water-soluable graphite. Tear.

Saturday

2008-01-05T10:49:00.000-05:00

Dragon Wars is a very unintentionally funny movie. Some of the cg is great, most of it is just okay. And some of the blue-screening is very bad. But I did really like the dragon at the end, it was different. Also there is a part involving an old lady and a fence that made me giggle a lot more than it should have.

I did these sketches yesterday while I was watching tv. One page left and this sketchbook is finished!

Friday

2008-01-04T20:37:00.000-05:00

Not much to report. May go to the aviary on Sun, may not. Tried to do something different for dinner tonight, and it failed terribly, and so we eat pizza. And now we are going to watch Dragon Wars, which I'm sure will be wonderfully terrible.

More sketches from the aviary, these are cheerfull little birds called turacos.

Another day another dollar

2008-01-02T14:24:00.000-05:00

That'll show me for thinking I might actually get to paint tonight - called into work again. Very frustrating. At least Darwin is being pretty well behaved today.

More parrots from the aviary. These are water-soluable graphite, which I've started to really enjoy using in my sketchbook. I was sitting down and sketching these parrots when a large family noticed me and all the kids just sat down around me and started watching, and as the kids were asking me questions I ended up giving an inpromtu art lesson. Wasn't expecting that.

Happy New Year!!!

2008-01-01T13:45:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone, I'm really still alive, I promise! I've decided to turn this into more of an 'artblog' than just a sketchblog, 'cause honestly I barely have time to eat everyday, nevermind sketch (seriously, I'm losing weight. I call it the 'barely have time to eat because the puppy is awake' diet). My parents bought me a membership to the local zoo for Christmas, and I bought myself one to the aviary, so hopefully that will help keep my sane while my job drives me to drink.

For those not in the know, my bf and I bought our house last August and moved in a few months ago, so it's nice to finally be on my own again. Until about a month I was doing pretty good on the art front. Then Darwin showed up and I don't have time to do anything.

So here's to me trying desperately to update this whenever I can and trying to get some work done!

And just for kicks some parrots I did on Boxing day at the aviary. More to come tomorrow!

Weekly Update!!!!

2007-07-29T19:19:00.000-04:00

Well I know I am a terrible person and haven't updated all week. I am ashamed. So as a special treat, a WIP of my latest piece, a great blue heron done in coloured pencil.

Weekend Update

2007-07-22T22:52:00.001-04:00

I did absolutely nothing yesterday. Today I did a little bit of sketching outside, 'cause it was nice out. And so I give you squirrels:

Squirrels are surprisingly difficult to draw when they stay in the trees. And anyway. The best part of the weekend was when we got my external harddrive to work again, just long enough to put all the files on my laptop. My laptop is bloated, but god damn I recovered all my photos and saved myself weeks of re-scanning things, so all is right with the world. I'm organizing everything tonight and tomorrow, so that we can burn everything to dvd and then format my poor laptop.

Friday

2007-07-20T17:58:00.000-04:00

Who's finished three paintings this week? I have. I'm so awesome.

Thursday

2007-07-19T17:00:00.000-04:00

I didn't get much done today, 'cause I slept in, and then my dad took me out to lunch, and now I gotta go to work. This is what the painting looked like when I took all the mask off this morning:

I've done about an hour of detail work since then; his head and some of his torso is done. It's a lot more work than I anticipated and it might take 'till the end of the weekend to finish.

Wednesday

2007-07-18T21:35:00.000-04:00

Today I finished a painting that I started a month ago and made a lot of headway on the one I started yesterday. And I sketched a page of my sister's geckos; it took awhile because they don't move around very much, so I'd sketch one and come back in an hour, etc.

They're so cute :)

Tuesday

2007-07-17T23:06:00.000-04:00

Rough working thumbnail of the painting I'm working on:

It should be done tomorrow, or, at worst, the day after. Two in one week, I'm on a roll.

Monday

2007-07-16T22:31:00.000-04:00

Okay let's see if I can keep this going again. Things are settling down and I'm slowly getting back in the groove. So here goes:

Some Canadian Geese I did in my sketchbook, from photos I took at various places.

Monday

2007-06-18T20:03:00.000-04:00

Another quickie from Wednesday.