I attended First Thursday last night with the Meetup group. It was pretty enjoyable. I haven’t been to an event with that group since – oh – June of last year or so.  So it was nice to get out with some other art-types  (as well as meeting new people which apparently is a goal I have this year).   There was even some discussion with a fellow art-shaped being about getting together to do some art making – specifically art card making. If it pans out, it could be fun. Could get my ass motivated to actually create an art card. 

Beyond that, last night also afforded me the opportunity to discover some new artists – Lisa Brawn, Ricky Fraser, Rachelle Kearl, and the fine designer toy folks at Nation. There are a couple more wonderful artists that I discovered, but I forgot my notebook at home and my memory blows.   But believe me, they are wonderful!

All in all, fun night. Looking forward to some more.

I sent my self-portrait to Brooklyn yesterday! Very excited.  I hope the show goes well and I can’t wait to get my digits on the book. Hee.  Now I just need to figure out what I want to do with myself.  I should probably start on the next self-portrait in the series I have been kicking around, but I am just not feeling it.  I also haven’t touched DAZ in about a week. And i haven’t been sketching during my lunch break at work.  It’s a bit of a void right now.  And I’m pretty grumpy about it.

On a completely unrelated note, make sure you watch the Closing Ceremonies of the Olympics tomorrow night. My girl, SMc, is participating! She says that she isn’t a featured performer, but she’s the star of the show to me (and the only reason I will probably watch)! So watch! Enjoy! Cheer her on!

Title: Self-Portrait 2010
Size: 8½ x 11″
Medium: Prismacolor Marker on Aquabee Manga Artist Paper
Time: 6.25 hours
Status: Completed

I think I am done!  There are a couple things that I will need to tweak before I slap it into a frame and ship it to New York, but mostly, I am done!

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Title: Untitled
Size: 8½ x 11″
Medium: Prismacolor Marker on Aquabee Manga Artist Paper
Time: 5.0 hours
Status: Work In Progress

I finally snuck in some time to work on my self-portrait.  I am pretty pleased with how the mouth is shaping up.  Especially the teeth.  Though, I might look at softening some of the lip creases.  They feel a bit… harsh right now.  Too line-y!?  That said, with any luck, I should have this baby done by the weekend. Then it’s off to New York!

I also finally used some of my DAZ reference images.  I was just messing around on my lunch break. Overall, I think its going to be very, very helpful.

I might go back and do some more inking of this particular drawing during my lunch. Her hands and feet (as usual) need a lot of work.

In other news, I signed up for the intro class at Burlesquercise. It runs from March 10th to April 12th (I think!?) and I might have an opportunity to perform. In public.  Scary! It should be fun though!

I need to buy a boa.

I wish I had better news to report. But I was a slack-ass this weekend. Och. Well, that’s not entirely true. There was art and art-related good ness.  I did muck around in DAZ, but all of the head way that I planned to make on my self-portrait went out the window. I plan on rectifying that this evening.

Speaking of which – well, kinda – I made a trip to Mona Lisa’s on Thursday.  I finally picked up the Cool Gray set, some additional flesh tones, and some more paper. I also discovered that Strathmore is now offering ATC related goods!  I’ve always wanted to give art cards a go. I’ve even talked about it here. So I scooped up several packages (they were very cheap!) and have put ATCs on my ever-growing To-Do list. Trading some ATCs might be a hoot.

Yes, I said hoot.

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Title: Untitled
Size: 8½ x 11″
Medium: Prismacolor Marker on Aquabee Manga Artist Paper
Time: 4.0 hours
Status: Work In Progress

I’ve been playing so much in DAZ that I have been woefully neglecting my self-portrait. As hard as it was, I put the shiny new toy on the back burner and drove into some really-real art making last night.  I only did an hour – mostly because I was having dog issues – but I am happy with the progress.  I’m still in love with the markers. Most so, in fact. I think my adoration grows exponentially each time I use them.

I also found out that I probably won’t be able to mat my drawing for the show.  Understandably, Art House Coop is restricting the size of each piece to 8×10″. This includes any framing you wish to do.  I’m a bit disappointed because I have a specific way that I like to frame my work. Seriously. I might not have an art style, but I have framing style!  Just look at any work I have done in the last five years.  They are always matted the same and in the same type of frame.  But, I guess its not a huge deal. I’ll be able to use my standard frame, just not mat.  I can re-mat it when I get it back.

Oh speaking of which, if you are planning on participating in the Self-Portrait project and haven’t signed up, this is the last week to sign up to participate!

Title: Untitled
Size: 8½ x 11″
Medium: Prismacolor Marker on Aquabee Manga Artist Paper
Time: 1.5 hours
Status: Work In Progress

I’m all signed up for the Self-Portrait Project (and I even preordered the book!) I also started my piece yesterday.  I didn’t get far.  Mostly just a rough sketch.  The sketch part probably won’t go any further than this.  It will soon be time to toss in some marker.  Yays.

On an unrelated note, can anyone recommend a good DIY lightbox (the artist’s tool, not the photographer tool)?  I discovered last night that a lightbox would definitely come in handy. Especially when translating my sketches from sketchbook to a fancy piece of paper.   I think it would greatly reduce the cumbersome and awkward set up I have.