Sketchbook - My new medium...

OK, so now we get to the new stuff.  I wanted to get started in a medium that was portable, somewhat cheap, and could be used in as many environments as possible.  I settled on watercolor.  I already had an almost complete watercolor setup that I have never really used.  Granted the paints are pretty low quality, but they will do the trick until I can replace them with the good stuff.  

Cat Statue - Watercolor on paper

 I've really never worked with watercolor before.  So far I've found the medium to be very useful in the portability department.  They are quick to set up, clean up, and there is no need for potentially harmful chemicals.  However, in my opinion, watercolor is unforgiving.  If you make a mistake in oils or acrylics, you can paint over it.  With watercolors, you have a few moments to perhaps lift it out with a rag or paper towel while it's still wet, but that only works so often before the paper starts falling apart.

Skylanders - Watercolor on paper

These are just quick sketches.  I didn't spend any more than a couple of hours on each.  I'm trying to figure out the manipulation of very wet paints, and the color mixing which is very different with watercolors.  The pigments seem to be way lighter or darker once they dry causing my values to get knocked out of whack.  It is a lot of fun doing these sketches though.

My Art History

My endeavors into art didn’t really start until about seven years ago.  I enjoyed doodling and perhaps occasionally drawing cartoon characters, but I was far too intimidated to try any serious artwork.  I was firmly under the spell of the talent myth.  However, once I started the pursuit of my “passion”, or “talent”. or “calling” or whatever you want to call it, creativity and visual arts kept coming up.  My attempts to pursue these arts were doomed to failure due to my mindset at the time, but my interest was obvious and unavoidable.

Graphite on paper (2010)

Here is a very small sampling of my work from that period.  I wanted to give a definitive skill progression, but that turns out to be extremely hard to do.  Apparently even a total novice can churn out some amazing artwork, just like a pro can deliver a pile of crap.  Since I didn't use date stamps in all of my sketchbooks, its hard to determine which came first. 

Pen on Paper (2010)

As you can see, I'm having issues digitizing my traditional media.  I have a scanner that will do an ok job on small format work. The larger format work will have to be photographed, and lighting is an issue right now.  

Digital Painting (2011)

This is, by far, some of my better "old" work.  There is more, but I don't want to spend too much time looking that far back.  I think this sampling will give a good idea of where I was.  

Digital Painting (2010)

Next time, I will show you some of where I am now.  Until then, stay strong and keep drawing.

Hello and Welcome - an introduction

My entire life, the arts have called to me, but my belief that talent was something you were born with held me back. I've recently come to the realization that talent is a myth, and all those talented artists really just worked their asses off to master their craft. So, that is what I'm going to do.

I am a father of three children, and work a full time job just to make ends meet. Basically, I'm just like most of the world. I've decided that I've spent enough of my life not really pursuing my dreams.

For as long as it takes, I will be studying, practicing, searching, working and interviewing until I can say that I have mastered my craft. Since the idea of mastery is fluid and no artist truly believes they are a master, this could take a while. I'm looking forward to this challenge, and I'm looking forward to sharing it with you.