A new painting after a long time... Not sure I have it in me anymore...
I had to paint some swallows because they're trying to make a nest in our house. Unfortunately, that part of the house is going to be sealed off within 2-3 months (it currently is wide open because our house is not finished, and because if we don't seal off that part, we can't get house insurance), so the worst thing that could happen to them is not being able to return to their babies. So we keep destroying their barely-started nest, daily (because they keep coming back). It sounds cruel, but it's the right thing to do. We already have another swallow nest on an external part of the house, and that's all good. We love to have them there, swallows are great and very smart birds.
It has been many years since this combination of red poppies and blue delphiniums bloomed in a bed in my garden. In the meantime, other flowers have long since taken their place. The memory is preserved through this watercolor painting.
Dad liked it! Hadn't painted or drawn anything for months, so it took many hours more than it should have, but still. He liked it.
I changed my mind about which way around I liked it, and then signed it again after scanning. Choose your own orientation, I guess. 😄
Pigma Microns, pattern drafting rulers, gold ink and Ecoline brush pens on Fabriano hot press!
I still love this art I did back in 2012, of Miyara mid-transformation into Eternal Ara! Sometimes I look at art where I know I leveled up and go "man, why can't I draw like that anymore" :zerotwoevillaugh:
I did this for an Anime Iowa art showcase, iirc. I swore off the con after my first and only booth but I entered this showcase. I wasn't...expecting much, but it would have been nice to get something, if it did. Maybe like some comments getting back to me or something but that never happened.
Instead, most of the prizes ended up going to one person 🤣 It got to the point where even the forums got in a little tickle discussion about it...I remember folks pointing out the oddity of one person winning almost everything, and asking for reasons. I could have guessed myself based on my own experience, but it was nice to see I wasn't alone in feeling blah about the whole thing.
I don't remember if the showcase happened again, since I stopped paying attention to anything Anime Iowa after that ^^;
One or two more sessions and I think this painting will be done. Not unhappy. I enjoy working larger, this still isn’t quite large enough…but it is starting to give me what I’m going for.
My entry for the Folio Society Book Illustration Award ☠️🌸🔪
This one was very personal. I'm a longtime fan of @neilhimself, possibly the nicest man on the planet and an astonishingly good writer.
So many artists and illustrators who have influenced me went into this. There's a lot of me in in two, parts of it are old art I drew nearly 2 decades ago.