Finished sketch

                           Finished Sketch...............Rough Pose & Character Work

This child has been dancing around in my head for a couple months now.

At first she appeared very far off in the distance. Pacing around the hazy edges of my consciousness. Gradually she started coming closer, more and more into focus each week. 

I'm still learning about her background and have a bit of it pieced together. Well, not so much her background but more so her situation. Kinda.
The things I don't know make up pretty long list. For instance: Why does her head float above her torso? I don't know that one yet. And what is she trying to do? I have my theories but I'm reserved to tell. Nine out of ten times an image looses it's power when the maker tells their meaning behind it. I'll see how well I can communicate what I know about her.
But I'm not sure how effectively I can tell her story in the paintings to come. If they ever come. There are a couple reoccurring themes she always has with her. Perhaps if I can display them properly to the viewer they can figure out just as much about her as I have.

I've just gotta do a bit of painting practice before I take her to the carved wood panel I have set aside.

For the heck of I did sparse inking with a pen holder and nib. I haven't touched a nib pen since... golly gee I guess way the F back in two-O-one (2001)
Totes out of practice. I got ink globs allover the place here. And shaky... you'd think I did this in an earthquake.
Although, In my older age (compared to the me in 2001) I now prefer a little shake and wonk to the lines. It lets you know something was indeed done by hand. It's a nice opposite to the easier perfection of a digital piece.
I'm not saying blood sweat and tears don't go into a digital illustration just as much as an anolog one. But it's certainly much easier to endlessly edit and correct on a computer than it is in life.
Bless you Ctrl+Z. Even when working in my sketchbook, my left hand twitches for your mercy.

I've gone and done it.

I've joined the masses and set up a blog.

With the hopes of accomplishing what? ...To be honest, I don't know.

I simply enjoy trying to make and do things. Anything. Some projects stick and become more. Some fade away into boredom. 

What I hope to do with this blog is to... Rather, what I think (as I sit here typing this now) I want to do. 

• Simply see if I can keep up a blog. 
• use it as a record of what I've accomplished in my work and especially as an affirmation of what I've learned. 
• Allow others to learn with me or teach me a thing or two as they follow what I do. 

I used to be a very secretive artist. 

"Nuu, Copy right ME! Do not steal!!" 

Wha wha whaa. 

It's a mindset you see echoed all over artistic web communities. Sup Deviant art!

That your work is so original. Separate from everything else. That you must guard it at all costs or risk never attaining any kind of recognition. What you risk loosing are many life and career fulfilling links and friendships. 

In recent years I began to feel that sort of mindset to be a very immature, irritating and exhausting. If someone came to me with a question I would do my best to answer it and be helpful to them, but I would also try to keep back important tidbits. Then I came to realize how pointless it was.

It doesn't matter if somebody figures out how exactly you did something. Let them. In the end what they produce will be different from your work. Cause they aren't you. They have their own skill level, design sense and focus of interests. Some artist are secretive for fear of handing more skill and power over to someone that may or may not be better than them. Or deep down, they don't want to see someone rocket past them. 

Again, Let them have your knowledge. If it turns out they blow you away then turn around and learn from them instead. Take a close look and examine how they took the same tools and technique and made it work better.

So I suppose that's what this blog will be about. It'll serve as a vehicle for this developing frame of mind. Watch my mistakes in the hopes of avoiding them yourself. Watch my progress and triumphs and go accomplish the same, or more.