One Hour Quarantine Chill

Many of you have probably seen my YouTube channel where I've shared a number of my artwork process videos, but finally we've come to a small milestone.  ONE HOUR SKETCHBOOK AND CHILL.  :-D  I'm not one to be on camera often, I've done some artist struggle videos but I'm mostly speaking on a subject to which I feel passionate about (being artsy) lol!   But I've never just... shot the $*#! on camera.  It was not very natural to me!

There was a learning curve to talking to myself (on camera) so I think I muttered "Umm" and "Like" about a million times :-O  Hahaha.  I edited as much of them as I could out, but many are still there for your viewing pleasure, perhaps it would be a fun drinking game! ☺️  So in keeping with being myself and overcoming the very real fear of...that, here's a video where we can talk, chill out, and oh yeah, do a little bit of drawing!

Sketchbook Entry WIP

Work in progress from sketchbook of Johnny Perez ©2018

Sketchbook Entry

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

Find me on Tumblr

http://aztlanean.tumblr.com/post/55566990409/cassiopeia-sketch-inspired-by-the-sara-bareilles

Scribbles

In often find in times of creative block that something I don't understand is trying to get out. When this happens I like take out one if my favorite pens (usually a Micron 05) and do a few blind drawings. I let my mind wander and I stare into space and let my hand move where "the spirit" wills it.

The results are sometimes interesting, probably only to me. But I like the thought that creative energy flows through and makes what I don't have the comprehension or courage to make. At times I'm surprised at what's on the page either because it resembles something or happens to be inspiring. I would say its akin to seeing shapes in the clouds, except I made this cloud.

I've never been a fan of scribbles in art myself, because they just seem to be a cop out. And yet I find so many works in museums that appear to be just that. Anyone who's attended art school for any length of time can tell what a last-minute work looks like and sounds like.

However I can see the value in such an exercise. It is very freeing, it loosens up the muscles, a warm-up if you will. We often did quick sketches in college for just this reason.

One of my favorite writers on art and creative processes, Julia Cameron, wrote a couple of things that I ponder daily when making art. One must be willing to make bad art, and one must create at all times, not just when "the mood" strikes. Among the great many artistic truths she writes about in her many books, I find these two to have been the most helpful to me in getting to work. Fear of perfection should not hinder progress. Fear of any kind should not stop you.

Bloodstorm

Character variant from the alternaverse where Storm is seduced by Dracula and becomes vampire herself.

Game of Thrones

So I'm all caught up on the show, only took me less than a week. With the upcoming Comic Con in Irving I thought I'd do some sketches. Daenerys has captured my heart, I love her growing strength and independence. Enjoy these sketches for now, more to come!

Sketching in public

I don't care what other people say, I happen to like the cliche image of the artist at work in his local coffee shop. It's not the only place one can create and it's maybe not the first option we choose. We do however crave exposure, if only for a moment of validation from a passerby. If the world is not exposed to us then how will our ideas grow? Not to mention the lure of coffee and free wifi access whilst being around other like minded individuals in need of getting lost in a crowd of strangers. Often cliches exist for a reason. Perhaps they are useful.

My favorite scribble.

Among the faces that came out, almost 50 now, this is one of my favorites.

Thor?

I found some nice color combinations in an illustration I saw and thought I'd apply them to something more to my aesthetics.  This was some experimentation in my sketchbook that I thought was interesting. Funny how it just reminds me of Thor now though, which wasn't really my intention, if he was a golden model. Haha.

Commission - Dogs of Law (thumbnail)

I recently got commissioned to do an animal piece depicting the pets of a friend. I don't often do pieces consisting of animals since humans are where I feel more comfortable but I love exploring animal shapes and textures. Here is the progression of the thumbnail from this upcoming piece. This is about 2"x3".

I hope to accomplish more works delving into other creatures and/or creations. I have a few sketches I'll post soon on elephants, inspired by a friend's nightmare. I thought it would be nice to reconcile the two and perhaps they wouldn't scare him so much :)

D&D Pin-Up Challenge

So anyone who knows me, knows of my love of fantasy, combine that with my love of games, and presto! You have a love Dungeons and Dragons. I played with some friends a while back and it was truly some of the strangest and funniest times we've had. So I've often thought about trying my hand at doing the artwork since I had so much fun doing it for my character. Auroran was his name and some of my work with him can be seen here. How I miss playing!

I've been following the Art Director's weblog, and anxiously waiting to enter some of the challenges he's put forth. This particular challenge is to create a pin-up work of any of the various races in the game. Once again my friend Domonique has aided me in anatomical reference! So here are a few sketches of poses I'm thinking of.

Watercolor Studio - Thumbnail La Muerte

This is a thumbnail for a painting I'm thinking. I have a few planned that are heavily Latin influenced. I've always wanted to do them, but have been hesitant because I wanted to do them justice. I figure they'll only get better with time. The chance to include myself in some cultural art shows has also spurred the need to crank some of the bad boys out!

The painted work is still in progress, I need to add some more color and shadows, and then it will be a good working thumbnail. I even hesitate to make it a larger painting, because the small size gives it some intimacy. So the thumbnail could become a finished work maybe. We'll see.

New Sketchbook!

I love getting new sketchbooks, sometimes to the point where I have more than one I'm working in at a time. It seems silly but I rationalize it by saying to myself that I'm organizing my ideas. But we all know better. My latest book is by Pentalic and its called the Illustrator's Sketchbook. If feels like a Moleskin with bright white pages, ribbon marker, elastic closure, and a pocket in back, but also a lot cheaper. Here are a couple of pages.

Sculpture Studio-Bronze

In Sculpture we'll be learning to make a small sculpture out of bronze. Its a lengthy process that will take about 6 weeks. I immediately knew that I wanted to do something personal for this assignment after seeing and becoming inspired by the work of Kim Obrzut. She does bronze sculptures based on her Hopi heritage. They are usually of women carrying out ancient traditions and celebrating the culture.

So my take on this will be a woman inspired by my own mother. I sketched this while I was at work thinking about what to do. It may or may not change, but I do love this sketch, and I'll admit I teared up a little while doing it. LOVE YOU MOM! Hehe. The woman carries 3 babies on her back and armfuls of corn and wheat. I can't wait to get started on this!

Sergio

Just for fun I did a drawing of one of my friends.

Marisio

A friend of mine was kind enough to let me use a pic of him to draw and probably paint in the future.