Don't Be Afraid to Make Bad Art - The Artist's Way

Make art everyday.  Live your life as art.  Art imitates Life.  It all seems simple, but if you're not careful, fear can grab a hold of your muse and trap them till you've lost hope.   Making art is very personal.  Making YOUR art is very scary!

In the book The Artist's Way, Julia Cameron writes that Morning Pages get everything out of you, so that you come to [your] work as a clean slate - blank.  With all of your To-Do lists written and worries and fears and etc. written out in the Morning Pages, you can find the art.  It flows more freely from you without distraction.

I'll admit this has been hard to put into practice, but the times in which I've emptied my mind of all the junk I couldn't stop thinking about, I found myself more at ease.  Even though it's hard enough making art everyday, writing everyday is just one more thing you have to do.  It may not come naturally at first, but it's hard to deny its effectiveness.

Lets be honest,  who doesn't go through almost an entire day trying to remember some important bit of information or chore to do.  When the glass is full of such things, trying to think of ideas for your art just runs over the side.  Let the your planner, phone, or post-its do the remembering, to leave your mind free to wander more fun places!

Another trick I try, when the writing seems too daunting or dry, is the doodle.  Very simple, but I pick up a drawing utensil, and tell myself, "fill this page with nonsense".  And do just that.  Often times I find that a good idea sneaks in.  This also lines up with what Cameron writes, "don't be afraid to make bad art."  That's a hard one I know for many artists to accept.  But when fear paralyzes you and not a single mark gets made, this is like breaking the ice.  I have truly terrible drawings, horrible perspective, and doodles that resemble a child's.  But it all is in fun, and I don't think about trying to make it good.  Then I turn the page, and when my pen begins to make a mark, it is loose, warmed up, and performs much better.

My mother once told me a quote: "The pain now is part of the happiness later."  You can relate this to your personal life, romantic relationships, and you can relate this to your biggest relationship, your art.  It's as if your mind must purge sometimes before it can run smoothly.  Junk must be discarded to make room for the new.

Make art everday, and don't be afraid if sometimes its bad.

This Artist's Way

I've been inspired to write here after reading a great article about promoting your art through blogging.  It's almost funny that I thought I was doing this all the whole time!  It hasn't always worked the way I want it to but after reading this article I found perhaps the missing piece.  The person behind the art! 

Perhaps I thought of this as a simple portfolio blog where I could post all of my ramblings and progress shots of work I'm doing, but maybe it can be more. I'm not sure I can always be inspired, but collecting my thoughts and writing them here may prove useful. 

With that in mind, I've begun to revisit one of my favorite books about creativity, The Artists Way by Julia Cameron.  In it I have tapped into some confidence in my work that I've searched for every time I hit the page.  Creativity is a powerful force that is ever present and waiting on you.   I can't recommend this book enough.  

Some ideas that come to mind are the ups and downs of my relationship.  "Drama belongs on the page, not in your life" Cameron states.  There being a new beau I find myself in many conflicting states of mind, and often he sees this on my face.  I don't mean to be insecure but at moments I am weak.  I began a series not long ago about my feelings for a friend who was in love with a mutual friend, rather, my best friend.  It seemed like high school fodder the way it all played out but in the end I realized more about myself than I thought was possible.

 

While I feel I'm moved past many of those issues that were the cause of so much heartache, I am finding many of the same insecurities are still there.  This may be a good time to revisit this series I never found the heart to finish, and maybe in the process find a resting place for old thoughts and emotions.  I also believe it's important to trust one's instincts and finish what's been started.  While it might not be easy, I look forward to a sense of accomplishment with that particular body of work, and closure on these personal issues. 

Interview

I had the pleasure of being featured on the Ripple I.Y.T. Soundcloud channel run by my friend and colleague Taylor. Check it out

https://soundcloud.com/therippleinyourthalamus/003-johnny-perez 

We talk art, movies, anime, inspiration and upcoming projects. On a side note im not a big fan of my voice, but hopefully it just sounds normal to anyone else.  Anyone else think their vocabulary changes when in an "official" capacity. Yeah that. LOL, anyway it was fun to do and I try to relax and be informal.  

Sketchbook Entry

Here is a sketch l did recently of a Woman jumping through space.

Watercolor demo

http://youtu.be/Azv-SBFLl_4

Here's the latest video on Optic Opera Inc's  YouTube channel. It's a demo in my sketchbook with watercolor. 

I actually talk in this video which is weird because I don't really like my voice, but I wanted to talk about my process and tools to those that might be curious. Personally I am a fan of the "just watch me paint" type of video. Part of this may come from my innate introversion. But that's a tale for another time. 

I'm also trying to make music for my videos with garage band. It's rough stuff! So if you hear something funny or crazy that's probably why. 

Please like and share with your friends and colleagues. I'll try to post every week, and things should be getting more advanced once I get in the groove of video making. 

Thanks!!

Sketchy Eye Demo

http://youtu.be/JHTq0QVZ10E

Here's a quick tutorial on drawing eyes, with lashes for days! This is a sketchy eye done Micron pen 02. Then shaded with Faber Castell brush pen in cold grey and warm grey. 

In case you didn't know my best friend and partner in art, Andre Williams, we started an art coop type business called Optic Opera Inc.  The name is a play on a few things. Chiefly the fact that I love the color Opera Pink in my work and that our work is often inspired by music. It's also a nod to opera as an art form in that our work is beautiful music for the eyes. Optic for "Visual" as in "visual art", no-brainer there. 

We have pretty much all the social media outlets covered. But we are starting to post demo videos on our YouTube channel.  Http://www.youtube.com/opticoperainc 

Promo video I

Here's a promotional video I did for Optic Opera Inc, a company I co-founded.

http://youtu.be/U4Sv1czcdmo 

HotPressed : My Etsy Shop

HotPressed sells original art and prints by Johnny Perez

HotPressed is live with some fresh pickings from my latest work for Dallas Comic Con. If you missed me there, you can find what was for sale here! I've posted all prints by me, and some original art!  Etsy has been a great community to showcase online, so if you have an account, go ahead and give me a favorite! Let me know what you guys like, and what you'd like to see more of.  This is also a good spot to get a private commission! I'll be posting a listing for just this opportunity.

Also be sure and check some of my Con friends in my favorites, and like us all!  They are truly a talented bunch of artists, and I'm honored to be amongst their great company!  The con environment can be a scary place for business first-timers, and I'm glad it wasn't really that hard to make friends. Check out this awesome pic of me in the ZONE!

Sketching out Marko and Alana of Saga

 I'll also be posting work soon that relates to my total obsession with fantasy culture. I'm thinking of doing some character studies and original sketches.  Stay tuned for all of it. Also find me on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.  Bookmark me, visit me, tell me about your day.  Thanks!

Dallas Comic Con - Fan Days COUNTDOWN

Super artist team, Andre and I will be taking the October leg of Dallas Comic Con: Fan Days by storm! Literally!  Honestly Storm is my biggest muse, I really can't get enough.  She's shown up in most of my work so far and I couldn't be more thrilled! Of course I'll try to branch out into new characters, but for now, I like this...

Storm - watercolor, ink, gel ink, gouache

Yes I am a little partial to "Mohawk Storm" which is odd because I'm a hair kind of guy. I love to see it flying, I love it when its taking over the character, and becomes a character unto itself.  But I dunno something about the bad-assness of mohawk era of Storm that can't be captured or pulled off by any other character. IMHO.

My Instagram pics of recent Storm drawings (@aztlanean)

After a while though I did incorporate some other characters in this idea I had to make the X-Women a smooth Soul/R&B/Jazz band.  I mean the girls like to express themselves in other ways than showing off mutant ability or kicking butt.  Sometimes, some things are best expressed through song.

And speaking of musical expression, I mean why wouldn't Storm have played in a band while she was out sporting her edgy look?

I drew that in ink, and then colored on my little iPhone. It gives me a good feel for the color scheme I want to use, and it occupies some good time at my day job.  And the guitar, I mean come one, what else would she play?!

There's much more to come now that it's crunch time!

Portrait of an Artist

My computer desktop as I left it circa early 2012.

I thought it was funny this weekend that my computer decided to come back from the dead.  I've been without my beloved for almost 2 years. I gave up on trying to fix it, get it fixed, or thinking about it.  Then a couple of days ago I wanted to say hello to the gray startup screen and watch it try to load.  To my surprise, it did load.  I nearly lost my breath when I saw my desktop from over a year ago pop up on my screen.  I had forgotten the things I'd left out.  I forgot the things I used to look at daily. I'd forgotten my digital memory.

Of course I immediately started downloading data, pictures, music, movies that have been neglected all this time, and found a home somewhere safe in backup. Speaking of... do it. You never know what you have till its gone. That goes especially for the small bits of your life you want to remember, and suddenly can't.  Back up.  Just do it.

Anyway I thought it would fun to share some of the things I'm able to see now again.  And I want to remember this moment that me and Storm (so named because she is a silver Macbook) were reunited. Who knows if she'll stick around, but I hope so.  Until then I won't waste a minute.  So without further ado, using her built-in camera, here is a portrait of an artist over the years as seen through the eyes of my dear friend and computer.

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Me playing once again, today, 2013

and again...

I miss this.

		As evidenced by the last 3 pictures I took just now,  I've missed recording my antics, hairstyles and apartments. Something has been returned to me. :)