Lino, cut

This is the sheet of lino that I carved out a dragon from for part of my MA final major project. I inked it up and got a reasonable result. I would like to try again and see if I can increase the complexity of the work. Its always good to learn new skills (without causing injury to myself). I don’t know if you can tell but it’s a dragon in flight. There is a girl riding it, the story is she helps it find it’s way home.

I’m still here!

Proof I’ve been working on my MA project all day. I’m going to give it a rest now. It’s ten thirty in the evening and I’ve got to cook our evening meal. No rest for the wicked at they say. I also want to do today’s #bandofsketchers prompt before midnight! Then more work tomorrow. I’m really quite tired but also excited. I spent an hour with the PowerPoint slides too big. Thought it was a major problem. Turns out all I needed to do was click control and – (minus)! Thanks to a student friend I’ve managed to do a lot today. But I need a rest. X

Blue roses

Another Sketchfu. I think that there would be a reference photo and artists at the site would try and copy them. These roses must have been put in dye so that it would be sucked up into their petals. I’ve also seen multicoloured roses and other flowers where the stems are split so different sections get a different colour.

Chocolate orange

Another Sketchfu drawing from the now closed site. This is a picture I drew from memory about ten years ago. I used to love eating these at Christmas. I think it was probably a challenge to draw something sweet. Strange how some things suddenly became fashionable but then lose their appeal again. I don’t think I would buy one now.

Dragon pot

Part of a coffee pot that just has foreign stamped on the base. It has raised decoration of a dragon on it. I am not sure how old it is and whether it is Chinese or Japanese. Its a delicate design and it arrived wrapped in bubble wrap and it has gone back to its home the same way. I guess some of the design is airbrushed on, but that might mean it is more modern than I think it is. It would be interestingvto find out.

Friend

A friend reading at Etruria Industrial Museum. The orange area is the ink from the previous page showing through. I did this with a brush pen so it works slightly differently to a fine liner pen. Dark areas fill in better than with a thin pen. I might add texture in Photodirector later. It’s great to try and switch things round and explore different ideas. Practice in anything improves what you do. I’m also trying to teach myself a bit of lino cutting. More of that soon.

Nerves

Its almost time to submit my final major project but I’ve become very nervous about it. Such a lot rides on how I do. I’m already suffering from insomnia but this is just making it worse. I’m wondering why I can’t sleep, but I guess it’s thoughts like “have I got enough images?” “what if I forget to include?” “how do I create?” Don’t get me wrong, I have learnt a lot over the course of the last two years. I am attempting things I would never have done before. And what am I going to get out of it, apart from those new skills? Would anyone employ me as a free-lance illustrator/ author/ crafts person? Lot’s of questions. I think my style is my USP. I tend to do my own thing. I am probably too analogue. But I have a passion and I want what I am doing to be interesting. Do I have to be subsumed into a generic style? I hope not!