It Begins...

Yesterday, I think my head exploded.

I got into this state of creativity, and activity like no other! I played around in photoshop all day. Took a long walk to balance things out. Several ideas crystallized in my head and formed decisions. More on the decisions later. :) But first art...

I am exploring light and shade right now in photoshop and I made another graphic novel scene. For those of you who don't know what a graphic novel is, the best way I can describe it, is it's a comic book for adult audiences. It deals with more serious, darker issues. They use usually mostly black and white stylized art. Frank Miller is a great and prolific example of a graphic artist.

Here is my scene:

Subway Encounter

(click on image to enlarge)

It's full of mystery and intrigue, and little bit sexy too. My focus was light and shade. Light and shade. S0 I took out all the colors except her lips. It took me a long time to do this because drawing with a mouse is becoming increasingly challenging. I need to stop whining about it, and go buy myself a tablet already. I'm taking the day off Wednesday for my birthday, so that is what I will get myself. :)

The next piece sort of came out by itself. I started freehand drawing without really thinking about it. I was going to draw yet another scene from this graphic novel which seems to be developing on its own, frame by frame. (More things to ponder...)

Cityscape

(click on image to enlarge)

This is all new to me. What I like about this above piece is the free-flowing "nothink" (thank you Kim ) way I made it. I didn't attempt to be realistic in anyway, yet it captured the essence of this city. I am surprising myself! It's really exciting to create. From nothing, comes something. And there it is!

The Decision

I could not ignore the screaming, and from your lovely advice, I didn't. Besides, I couldn't if I tried.

So Ola! Moana is reborn... here! <-Please, click on the link and leave her some ♥ love!@ :) It's a blog-zine (has this be coined yet?) in its infant stages, but I am excited!

I have to say all this surge of creativity is in large part due to you!

Y0ur encouragement, your comments, your own amazing creativity in whatever form it takes, is fueling me. Leah's Creative Every Day, Jamies' Next Chapter series, your sublime art, writing, cooking, decorating, photography, collaging, pottery, videos, child rearing, crafting, jewelry designing, Mantra Mondays, Trash Tuesdays, Project 365, Celebrating the heArt loveliness is infectious and I love it!

THANK Y♥U! and Blessed be :)

Cynics and Scapes

I had a couple of "encounters" yesterday with people from the Tribe of Negative. They spewed their cynicism and criticism, trying to dominate a foothold into my consciousness. Guess what happened? They didn't succeed.

I can be a cynic. I have been accused by those who judge too quickly that I am. Sometimes truth can be seen as cynicism. Sometimes when I point out the disingenuous, I can be called a cynic. But I have not put someone down, and certainly not for the sake of making myself feel better.

I can be sarcastic. Hello? I'm a Capricorn. We have it patented. But, my sarcasm is more societal than personal. My sarcasm is my sharp wit, but it is not used to cut someone up into shreds (unless they ask for it). Not to make myself feel smarter than someone who is feeling low. I don't take someone's genuine intent and belittle it, publicly, for the sake of humour so my nasties can laugh. That's just playground bully tactics.

I often tell my students that there is an intrinsic difference between a critique and criticism. And that is in intent.

When one critiques, one takes an objective look at a product, and assesses it first for its successful aspects, and then makes suggestions for its aspects that fall short. Critiques are valuable both to the creator and to the person offering his/her opinion. It is not a personal attack.

Criticism is. People use criticism to find fault, to belittle, to tear apart someone's genuine effort. The critic pretends to be objective, but the criticism takes on an ugly face. It attacks the creator through his/her creation.

I know many will not agree with this differentiation, but it is key. There is value in pointing out where something can be bettered, where weaknesses can become strengths, and anyone who offers their work up for public consumption must be prepared for it.

The problem is, we now live in a society where tearing someone down has become this mob mentality of gleeful destruction. Look at any "entertainment news" show. Read some reviews. Go to some "spoof" blogs whose sole purpose is to make their cronies laugh at the expense of someone else's genuine attempts/endeavours.

Anyway. I had to get that out! Thank you for indulging me. :)

I am not going to go into further details, because these people do not need encouragement or acknowledgment. But I will thank them. Because they showed me their true colors, and they showed me who I do not want in my life. And that is wonderful! :)

So now. Art.

Treescape

(click on image to enlarge)

I have always been engrossed by trees. Metaphorically they offer their root system for grounding, their reaching up toward the sun for freedom, their many faces for emotions. Spiritually, they offer the solace of endurance, stability, nourishment, and safety. Trees can be majestic or frightening, depending on the setting, the circumstances, the scene. There are so many types of trees, each with his/her own personality. They bear fruit. They flower. They carry houses where laughter and secret societies bloom. They sway in the tropical breezes, or shiver in the frosty fog. Trees are tall and stately, or dwarfed and knotty. They have faces; they have life force; they have wisdom. Trees are just plain magical. So I painted trees. In PS for the first time. And guess who came to visit? Little red and a magpie! :) But I didn't stop there. :)

I have always been captivated by graphic novels, anime, and their artistic style. So I decided, I would experiment to see what I could do with it. Remember, I'm a total newbie. But here it is:

Toonscape

(click on the image to enlarge)

I painted the girl and man trying to make it as stylized as my outdated PS and mouse will allow. (I simply must get a tablet!) I worked on the shading, and its a bit off kilter, but trust me when I say, hours of work on them and multiple layers to even approximate the effect I was going for.

Some of you might recognize this man. He has appeared in two of my Tarot cards, and is a face that recurs.

The backdrop is from a picture a friend sent me long ago of a neighbourhood in NYC. She didn't include the name of the place and I have long ago lost track of her (sad), so I cannot enlighten you. I manipulated the light and texture to make it more stylized to go with the effect I am trying to create. Et voila! Toonscape.

I am committed to trying as many new things and styles as possible in my creative ventures.

One thing I have been mulling over was to resurrect an online magazine (e-zine) I started a few years back with a partner who dropped out almost immediately because of personal issues. It was a tongue-in-cheek woman's magazine hosted by a character we created called "Moana". We called the magazine "Ola! Moana". My friend, Danette, drew most of the images that went with the various sections. It has been now prodding me daily and the idea is now screaming. "Make me into a new blog!"

Can I ignore screaming?

I don't even know where I have put all the material. Do I start from scratch? Can I keep up with this blog and all the wonderful bloggers, the two blog projects I am participating in, my art, my job and this?

I have a lot to think about, no?

What do you think? :)

May your days be merry, full of wonderful scapes and no nasties! :)

Blessed be :)