Thinking about painting digitally

I've decided to start working on character pieces from my favorite shows on Showtime. I'm not sure if I want to paint them traditionally or digitally or both. So I took my sketch of Leiv Schreiber into Photoshop using a new brush called Stumpy Pencil that a coworker told me about. I turned it into a blue brush and threw in some sketchy marks over the top of my existing pencil sketch and I actually like the result. Now to paint it. That'll be the next step.

Foxy Mother

My mom really liked the fox I drew for the infographic image I made with the Yeti. So I thought I would take it a bit further by drawing a mother fox with her kits. Gouache and enamel on wood. 8x10

The Yeti and the Fox

I made these cute plaid bellied, wooodland creatures for an infographic presentation at work this week.

This is how Ty see Stella

Looking out for each other's backs.

Stella's Sides

I'm turning 44 this year and I always find it strange when things are coincidence. I have been thinking about doing these little profile portraits 5x7 then framing them in a double frame (the kind your grandparents always had of you and your sister). I was originally doing these small pieces to go into my Sketchbook Project for this year but never got around to meeting that deadline...no surprise there. Then I was just going to do sweet little profile portraits and put them in individual black frames and eventually have several ready for the TNF art show this year. But then I went down to LA a couple of weeks ago and went a Punk show and saw this great band called The Black Widows. They were dressed as ninjas and it occurred to me to have my sweet painting have a darker side. I came back home and painted these two ladies for my sister for her birthday and now have started my double portraits. To me the coincidence lies in the doubles....weird and amazing 44.

Selfie for the Sixty

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! I wanted to create another self portrait for my mom this year with a fun celebratory theme that included my sister Tyanne and my mom's furry creatures Thor and Ginger. Celebrate! Celebrate!

On a side note: I must always remember to just be inspired - not completely influenced. I love it when the more natural, unafraid me creates from the heart not just the mind. I tend to over think my pieces and I truly believe that was drilled into me as an illustration student. Perhaps that is the clear divide between illustration and fine art - the freedom to completely express yourself without a definitive  meaning behind the piece. I tried that freedom this time - when creating my mom's 60th birthday gift. To have a fun theme but not let that concept totally rule over the process.

"This Started Out as a Cat Painting" Series

These pieces all have secret cat names on the back to know what cat I started with in each. These are painted on reclaimed wood that were originally used in an installation piece in Atlanta. They are 15x15 and made out of vintage paper (some dating back to 1890), handmade stamps, graphite, acrylic and house paint. They were made for a show that The North Face puts on every year to raise money for the Bay Area Wilderness fund. I was proud to be part of the show as a The North Face artist.

The elements...to a start

All the pieces but where to start? Trying to push myself to create my pieces for the "Moonlighting" TNF artshow.

See Me For Who I Am

A piece I did for Illustrating a Point for the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University. This piece was done for their mental health theme, directed by Mary Campbell.

Thom Yorke...will you marry me

This is a piece I did to try to make it into Imaginary Million show this year. Unfortunately, I was not picked to be one of the 100 artists. But I love this piece all the same!