steal like an artist – Quixotic Mama

he curled up
on the floor
fetal position
& asked me,
“would you take care of me
if i had polio”
& i blurted
“no!”
i was nineteen
he was my first
real
boyfriend
& what?
now i’m nursing a polio
victim?
eventually
he left me
(shortly after i got
a cyst)
&
my heart was broken
all apart
& i was crying along
with neil diamond songs
for months
after
but
eventually
& thirty years later
it was all
just
a funny story.

an ex-fiance that got in touch with me recently, stirring up old stories.

first page of the new journal!
after posting about being a one trick pony, i tried to emulate david mack (one of my favorite artists.) i am not sure i was successful, but it is a change of pace.

so i am always looking for ways to break out in new directions with my art. i can do something for quite awhile (like draw myself almost 500 times in a row.) however, i eventually get sick to death of me.
so while admiring the work of lucy k draws over on instagram, i realized i need to go back to doing some figure drawing.
i have played around with figure drawing in the past, but i have fallen into a portrait drawing rut that is kind of starting to annoy me. so after studying a bit of lucy k’s work, i then realized i had a little bit of her style in me already & went into my bathroom to find a magazine to borrow from.

my first effort defaulted into the realm of portrait again….

but i was pretty happy with the second attempt (featured image for this post.)
so i am embracing figure drawing, my bamboo pen & ink brush, and playing around with exaggerated features while trying to do more realistic shadowing.
that’s what i’m up to.
artistically speaking….

i love the art work of lucykdraws (in my head i always read it as “lucky draws”??)
so i decided to study her a bit & try to emulate her style.

in doing so, i realized the similarities between our styles. it was a lot of fun, and also reaffirmed my love for working with bamboo pen & ink brush.

i love when i find an artist who inspires me & influences growth in my own style.

and at the same time reaffirms my faith in my own creative path.

(all of these images are copies of works done by lucy k over on instagram)

okay–so i was going to stick to one color with my initial practicing of ink & brush. but then i saw this picture of a squid and the colors were so amazing so i just had to fuck that up.
ha!
i once took a water color class, and there was this girl in it who could paint photo perfect watercolors. they were totally amazing and took her days & days to finish. i could do like 10 watercolors in the time she did one. more even. that’s me. that’s my style & my nature. i work fast & sloppy.
ironically, the piece of hers i liked the best, was one that was in disarray because it was not done yet–that’s the one i would have bought.
i mentioned that i am in a facebook inktober group–so my feed is full of inkings by other people. some are alright. some are crap. some are amazing. and i am all like, “i want mine to be amazing!!”

then i have to remind myself that my art is my art and has something of me to it–whether others think it is amazing or not.
plus, i think if i find other’s art inspiring, i should try to incorporate–aka “borrow”–aka “steal like an artist”–aspects that i find amazing.
challenge myself.

but, one step at a time. right now i am challenging myself to work only in ink brush.

for a bit anyway.

ps.
fidgit is doing INKtober with me. i am posting his to the same group i am in. so far, he gets way more facebook likes than i do.
you know what? i am totally okay with that. i want him to be a better artist than me. i want him to have the encouragement & opportunities that i did not.
he is amazing.

Tag: steal like an artist

boyfriend

new tricks…

stealing like an artist

day three INKtober