Waiting to hear back from Voertman's show is nerve-wracking! In other news I've found myself looking for new inspiration. An artist seeking to create through experience will sometimes find himself lost in it unable to return to that in which he found comfort.

Voertmans

As a class requirement this year, I'm entering the Annual Voertman's Student Art Competition. There are 3 Watercolor dedicated awards. I'm optimistic about entering, but there is a lot of great work out there and it really depends on the taste of the juror. My stuff is not very traditional, or mainstream, but thats what I like about it. Here are the pieces I've entered, wish me luck!

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.

Watercolor Studio-The Visitation

Today me and some international students got interviewed for our roles in the International Art Show coming up. I'm excited about my my piece. See my earlier posts for progress pics on this!

Watercolor Studio-1st Spring Painting

I was glad inspiration struck as I was going through some photos looking for a good one to start with this semester. I got the idea for a sudden spirit visitation, and I turned to some Chinese festival dragon costumes for some inspiration. While I was painting in studio I got the comment of how closely it resembles the cockroach from Men in Black. I can see that too, and I'm not opposed. Heh.

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.

New Semester

Classes begin in a few hours. Bring on the creativity! Bring on the emotion! Bring on the bad ass ideas! LOL

This semester I'll be focusing on creating a body of work. It looks more professional, and it will help me really work out my ideas and explore them fully. I know its hard for me to stay focused because I want to move in a million different directions and I get tired of one style, or I want to blend a multitude.

This year in general I want to enter more shows. I'll be glad when the Bath House show comes up, I'll be making a few pieces for that. I had such good luck with the last show that I sold my piece. That was a really good feeling, one I'm sure every artist remembers!

Its my last semester in college, and I'm going to make it a good one!

Sleepy.

I just can't seem to stop playing Super Mario Bros. on Wii. Guh. So addicting, and such a nice way to spend time yelling and screaming with friends. I love propeller hats!

Another Year

A friend of mine pointed out that often we are excited about a new year, and despite all the resolutions and good ideas we have for it, many of them do not come to fruition. If this year is different for any reason, it will be to change that to the best of my ability.

My biggest and most important goal this year will be to graduate. Its been a long, hard road. I've been looking around to see what exactly I can do with this little degree of mine. My ultimate goal here is create art and get paid for it. I'm very interested in the illustration arena, and with that I will need to work hard on creating a portfolio to reflect that early this year. Another big interest of mine is game design. I love concept art, character design, background even! As a kid I could say my work leaned toward this area more strongly, I was constantly developing characters and background stories, and villains for them to fight. One idea I had was to resurrect those characters in their odd glory and breathe new life into them. I ran across some of those old sketches from grade school, and wondered what happened to that kid? Hah.

I also plan to work out more. That resolution always comes up after the holidays, as they often force me out of clothes that fit fine just a few weeks before. I'm thinking of trying yoga. I'm not real big on a lot of action, so it seems like something I can get into.

I want to start participating in more opportunities to show my art. So be on the lookout for announcements to upcoming shows! This past year I kept up with many galleries and annual events that I was really interested in, but couldn't seem to find the time or funds to enter. This year will be different. I'm sure I can hold off on that new season of anime to purchase an entry into a show, hehe.

This past year also saw me as an indoor locked up individual. Too many times I listened to the nagging of my friends trying to pull me away from Oblivion. As I begin to enter my career as an adult I need adult activities to help me network, expose, and perfect my craft.

This year will be about overhauling nearly every aspect of my life. It will be hard, but I have to say I'm excited about making something new.

Little Mama Sculpture Update & Merry Christmas!

Hope everyone had a good Christmas, looking forward to a different and inspiring new year!