John William Waterhouse

 

J. W. Waterhouse. His paintings will grab you by the balls. He painted various women from famous myths and legends. The imagery is always powerful, which is so refreshing after studying so much artwork depicting women as wimps.

Hooray for Watercolors!

The art therapy class I took last fall really opened my eyes up to different media. I had never painted with watercolors before, and now I'm crazy about them! The painting above was done with watercolors and Sharpie, which I found to be a wonderful combination. See more of my work below.

I encourage you to try watercolors. Just experiment, get to know them. Then if you like them, try adding another media, like ink, crayons (which will resist the paint for lovely effects), or collage materials.

Artist Review: Jake Parker

Welcome to the delightful world of Jake Parker. His artwork is warm and wonderful. Upon exploring his website, you will find robots taming birds, a boy with antlers, and rather impressive concept art. I had the pleasure of stumbling upon his comic Hugo Earhart from Vol. 1 of the graphic novel of short stories Flight, which is also available to read at his website (and I highly recommend that you go read it). Parker's imagination is rich with fantasy scenarios that tap into a dreamlike world. Enjoy and share.

 

 

You Know Who's Awesome? Emily Martin.

Emily Martin, aka The Black Apple, is one of those painters you just fall in love with instantly. At least, I did. Her artwork reminds me of old fashioned storybook illustrations that got left behind when Walt Disney came to town. Girls in dresses with wide-set eyes, pastel surroundings, and tame bears are the stuff of fairy tales. I love it.

Proportion

I recall teaching a class full of kids about the importance of proportion, and one student had an interesting way of thinking about it. He said,"It's kind of like, when you change the size of a bug, it can either be a monster about to step on a person, or a person about to step on an insect." 7 years old and already knows his art principles.

The subject featured in the photograph is my parents' cat Sophie. The baby has yet to be named.

Weekly Drawing: Not a Drawing

You may have noticed, this is not a drawing. It's a watercolor. I didn't use watercolor pencils either, so it is truly not a drawing at all. The fact is, I need to take more pictures of my drawings. Another fact: I need a new camera. So today you get a painting. Self-portrait, actually. Hope you like it.

Weekly Drawing: Stegasaurus

Sorry about the quality of the photo, I took it with my phone. This was a design I did on craft foam for a mouse pad. Unfortunately, the marker ended up smearing :/ 

Weekly Drawing: Meditation

Weekly Drawing: The Toad

Weekly Drawing: Diversity

Note: I know my updates have been few and far between.  Life has thrown me a few curveballs and my priorities have been rearranged.  I am still drawing almost daily, but my camera is busted and I have no scanner, so posting art is going to be tricky.  I will do my best to get back to posting weekly.

Thanks to those of you who have chosen to stick with me!  You are super wonderful, and you should know it.

Weekly Drawing: Avocado?

Weekly Drawing: Detached

Ever feel like your head is floating away from the rest of your body?... Just me?

How to Draw Poop

Yes.  I found a video.  You know you want to watch it.

Weekly Drawing: Burn-Out

Interview with Artist Robin Richardson

If you enjoy intricate illustrations of animals and people with a morbid storybook feel, then Robin Richardson's artwork would be right up your alley.  Not only does she sell original pen and ink drawings in her Etsy shop, but she also sells prints and incorporates her work into jewelry pieces.  I recently had the privilege to interview Robin and learn more about herself and her work.  Enjoy! 

Where are you from?

I'm from Toronto.

Do you live with family (significant other, kids, pets, houseplants, etc)?

I live with my boyfriend in a charming little attic apartment.

What made you want to be an artist?

I love to make things and I really like the idea of having a career that allows me to move around and make my own hours. That’s one of the biggest perks of any art in my opinion.

Where do you get ideas for an artwork?

I get ideas from everything: film, books, and other artists…. Usually when I start a new project I surround myself with reference photos and nature books that I’ve collected over the years. I also tend to start a drawing without any specific idea in mind just to see where it takes me.

Walk us through a typical day for you.

The first thing I do in a day is head out to a café and do about two to three hours of work on various projects. The rest of the day goes to whatever part time job I have at the time.

What do you like to do when you're not making art?

When I’m not making art I’m writing. I just graduate from OCAD with my BA in illustration only to decide to go ahead and get my MFA in poetry of al things. I’ll be leaving Toronto this Fall to attend Sarah Lawrence College, where I will hopefully be able to get a lot of writing and art done. I’m really hoping that my Etsy sales might help subsidize the whole thing. My hope is to one day combine my art and writing somehow, maybe an illustrated book…

Name two of your favorite artists (living or dead).

1. Aubrey Beardsely
2. Arthur Rackham

What advice do you have for new artists?

My only real piece of advice to young artists would be to work hard. Never settle for something when you know you can do better. Almost everyone I know who has any real success got it through sheer determination and had relentlessly high expectations of themselves.

Weekly Drawing: Celebration

Weekly Drawing: Balloon Heads

Weekly Drawing: Smoke Break

I used to smoke cigarettes.  I could sit here and tell you all the negative consequences of smoking, but actually I really enjoyed it and don't regret the 5 or so years that I indulged in this habit.  It was great while it lasted, but I started to realize that it wasn't for me any more, and quit last January.

Weekly Drawing: Pear and Plums

This is a drawing I did in college with conte crayons.  I asked a friend (@sushirevenge on twitter) to take bites out of the plums and pear because at the time I wasn't really a fan of those fruits.

I should draw food more often.

Weekly Drawing: Hieroglyphic?

This is a drawing I did for A Beautiful Party.  Pretty random, no?