Radio Silence

I've been quiet lately.  Part of it is that it is that time of the school year when life gets crazy with AP testing, state testing, award ceremonies, trying to finish murals, trying to help those students who are failing get a passing grade, dealing with changes within my department, and helping out with family stuff.  It amazes me how a few small changes has a huge impact on your life. I've been pretty exhausted lately.  I've been in this state of not wanting to think or have to make decisions, which is never good.  Laziness has been my enemy lately, but I feel like I'm putting up a good fight.

In the midst of my busy schedule, I participated in my 4th RAWartists showcase.  This time it was located in Costa Mesa at the Shark Club.  The venue was much larger than the previous locations.

Photo by Alex Gomez

To be honest, I was a bit disappointed with this showcase, but I guess those details really don't matter considering this was my most profitable show. It seemed like the whole night I was making a sale. I sold mostly prints and dolls, but a few originals went to good homes. I like doing these shows because I enjoy meeting other artists...or realizing how small the world is and running into familiar faces.  I like hearing the stories of other artists and their journey.

Mom's paper weight on her desk

As for my art journey, I've been creating a lot of small pieces.  Carpooling with my mom a few days a week means having to kill time waiting for her to get out of work.  So, I've been working small, so that it is portable and I have something to do while I wait.  

Some of the drawings were done on her post-it note pads because I was really bored and forgot to bring something with me.

 Most of the other drawings were done in my sketchbook.  Here are a few of the sketchbook drawings:

The sketches I like the most, I would redraw them onto mixed media paper and begin making color versions. A lot of them are incomplete, but they keep me busy as I wait.  By the way, I'm in love with my Derwent Inktense pencils!  The color is so vibrant!  It doesn't work well for large areas, but I'm figuring out ways to work around that.

Mini Challenge

The La Habra Art Gallery is displaying their Small and Miniature Show this month.  Art work has to be 8x10 or smaller.  It seemed like a fun challenge.  I began with my blank wooden nesting dolls.  I had bought them over a year ago.  I never drew on them because I was afraid to mess up.  But I ended up having a lot of fun drawing on them. I used pencil and a rapidograph pen.  The ink began to bleed in some areas, so I coated the wood with a light layer of gel medium.  That seemed to help.

I always seems to have odd sized canvases in my home and decided to draw on a small 4"x 4" square.  This is the 2nd piece I did for the show.  I wanted to include a drawing of all of the main Mizzles that I love to draw.  After finishing the drawing on the top, I began to draw on the sides.  The entire canvas is drawn with a rapidograph pen and ink.  

The last piece I created is my favorite and from the amount of "likes" on Facebook, it seems others feel the same.   The canvas is 12"x4".  I drew this illustration onto watercolor paper and used Derwent Inktense pencils and Prismacolor Watercolor pencils to color it.  Then I used Gel medium to adhere it to the canvas.  I was a bit surprised to hear that it won 3rd place.  The work in the gallery tends to be more traditional.  I like showing my work, so I never expect to win any awards when entering the group shows.  But I'm delighted about the award!  It makes me feel like I'm definitely headed down the right path.