A Bird on a Beach

A little bit of San Francisco, too. Here's a photo I took with my Canon Rebel, with my telephoto lens (which, sadly, has since been broken...)

I'm still learning about photography, but it has really been an exciting adventure for me... not to mention, it's a great help when I can't think of anything to draw! 

And So it Begins - With an Indian Paintbrush!

Months and months can go by, and nothing interests me about art. Not the people, not the concept, nothing! And then, out of nowhere, BAM! An idea.
My idea: an Indian Paintbrush.

I began with my favorite style: thick, dark outlines, with thin, separating lines inside. I like pieces, and I like texture. The paper, by the way, is something I saved from a purchase at Bath & Body Works.

Next I brought in the color of the Indian Paintbrush, using Prismacolor. I went off of a picture that I had taken of an Indian Paintbrush in East Texas, and here's the thing that I've learned: It really doesn't matter the exact of what you see, the perception is all that counts. There are many lines of color that can go into this particular drawing, but only a few types of color and types of stroke create an impression. At least, that's what it seems to me.

Finally, the leaves. I simply blended types of grey with a darker, hunter green, and a brighter, lime green. I've been working with colored pencils for about four years now, on and off. I've yet to really embrace their potential (I've seen AH-mazing stuff done with color!), but I'm surprised that my idea here worked - I didn't think grey and green would blend well, certainly not purple and pink...

Here I added the background, a sort of addition that was intended to emphasize the focus (the flower). I'm not sure how much this has worked, but it's interesting that I seem to go for bold, bright colors, with dark, detailed lines along with them. It's difficult to tell in this picture, but the leaves here are embellished with thin lines.

I brought in some acrylic paint, blended it along the outside of the leaves, and that's it! The piece took me about a day and a half to finish, I'd say about 8-10 hours total. Oh, and yes, I was watching Memoirs of a Geisha, if you were wondering!

I'm Going to Work More... I Guess...

I don't know what it is, but I've always had a thing for color, for mixing and mixing paint until I get what I see; for blending until transitions are seamless; for curving lines again and again until it has the right impression. But, for some reason, I've always drifted away from this that I enjoy so much. So, now that I passed calculus, now that I don't have to worry about team sports again (at least for now), I guess I'll embrace what I've always wanted. My art.

It started when I came home for the summer. My brother wanted some art work for his new apartment, and gave me a canvas. I haven't touched a canvas in about a year, and I've been doing a ton of photography, so I didn't really know where to begin.
I'm pretty boring, though, so it didn't take long for me to resort to the simple things, like lilac in acrylic, and leaves in sharpie.
I don't sketch, but not because I think I'm too good for sketching, or anything. It's because I get so extremely bored and I can never think of anything. Try sketching what I see, you say? A cup, a glass, trees, buildings? How dull!! To be honest, I'd rather mix oil paints all day, and ultimately do nothing with them. Yes, I'm serious!

So, here I am, trying to get back into the "World of Art." How exactly does it work, though? How does someone become a successful artist, especially when that person is me, who doesn't care much for practice, and just cares for a product? How do I sell this stuff? Can I sell this stuff? Is it crap? Is it beautiful? I don't know, I guess we'll just have to see.

And here it is, the first piece of many, many more!