Shadowness - t4mk4t

Shakin' Off Winter

Wed, 15 May 2013 23:55:51 -0400

She emerges from her den, eyes squinting as the sunlight glances off the last remnants of snow left behind by winter storms. Her stomach rumbles mightily but it is her thirst she answers to first; into a nearby stream she lazily slides, mouth open to gulp the fresh, chill water. She rolls and splashes playfully, warming her limbs with activity much needed after her hibernation. She drinks more water before pulling herself from the stream, shaking vigorously to rid herself of the water and the stagnation of winter. Spring is calling to all of us; how does she speak to you? 8.5" x 5.5" watercolor, coffee/tea staining and colored pencils on 90lb paper

For the Love of Spring

Wed, 08 May 2013 00:34:07 -0400

A pair of freehand drawings I created while experimenting with combining watercolor pencils and color pencils. If rabbits could jump for joy, this is what I think it would look like! Both drawings 4" x 3", watercolor pencils & color pencils

Spirit Tree

Mon, 06 May 2013 17:14:04 -0400

A freehand, emotional painting created on a recent "Girl's Night Out." We visited a local art studio for a two-hour class in which we were prompted to create "ornament trees." The immediate immersion without time spent planning or sketching allowed me to overcome the "fear of the white paper/canvas" and restored faith in my ability to create with acrylics! It was a very rewarding experience and I hope to create more works like this in time. Acrylics on canvas 15.5" x 27.75"

On the Nimbus of Dreams

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 13:53:04 -0500

This fantasy piece is based on the line art I created from a photograph of an Arctic fox by Stephen Oachs, National Geographic.. If it looks familiar to you then you may be a gamer; the background elements and color scheme were inspired both by Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and World of Warcraft: Pandaria (I just finished playing the former while my husband plays the latter). ;-) Fun fact: I used 29 colors in this piece, and it took me about that many hours to complete (erm, I work slowly). 8.5" x 6", Prismacolors on 70lb drawing paper

Knowledge

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 01:18:22 -0500

It can be said that in our psyche there are many doors; the key to these is the right question. The process of individuation, or building Soul, requires that we do the hard work of finding the keys so that we may unlock these doors and see what there is to see... Perhaps the hardest part of this is enduring what we find inside...what we have glimpsed we cannot ignore; the little token key will bleed profusely unless we face the horrors behind the door and take action to deal with them. We build Soul and strengthen our animus when we can face these "horrors," see the energies for what they are, deconstruct them and then rebuild them into something useful. I have been immersed in this sort of thing lately, and while re-reading C. P. Estes' Women Who Run with the Wolves (1995) the image of this key came to me. I saw it as a good opportunity to explore myself, redirect some energy into creating and to discover the capabilities of my new Wacom tablet. I first sketched the key on paper, then traced over the drawing on the tablet before painting completely over the original line work. I am mostly pleased with the way it came out and am encouraged to do more work with the tablet; for future works I would like to challenge myself to create more depth by using a wider range of values...your critique is most welcome. :grin GIMP

Warmth

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 00:51:48 -0500

An emotional work, this piece is for my husband. I sketched the original drawing during a period of separation and it has been one of his favorites of mine for a long time. Last Christmas (2011) he bought me my very first Wacom Tablet...this seemed a natural pick for my first digitally-colored piece. I chose a cel-style for the coloring as the original is drawn in my cartoony style (this is what I end up with when I don't use references and draw straight from imagination). I used GIMP to clean up the lineart and render the color. I played around with layers this time, experimenting with "division," "multiply," "soft light" and other layer types. I have also fallen head-over-heels for not just the tablet, but for the "ink pen" tool as well! I hope to do more work in this style as it is really fun to do! I welcome comments and critiques on this, my first digital painting. GIMP, no references used.

She Goes Her Way

Sun, 20 Jan 2013 10:11:16 -0500

Birds and butterflies Rivers and mountains she creates But you'll never know The next move she'll make You can try But it is useless to ask why Cannot control her She goes her own way "Mother Earth" - Within Temptation This piece was inspired by the concept of the "Life-Death-Life Mother" introduced in a favorite book--C. P. Estes, Women Who Run With The Wolves--as well as the lyrics above. I have depicted my view of how Mother Earth -- or Gaia -- would look if she were caught in the act of letting die what must die and starting the cycle anew by spreading life. Her horn she uses to create the gentle breeze across the plains as well as the gale forces associated with devastating storms. Her scepter she uses to create the lightning which strikes the ground and nourishes the soil, or strikes brush and burns acres of woodland and scrub. Her song and her dance she uses to bless and honor those things which must die. She also celebrates life with song and dance, creating anew the habitats and their denizens. She is the Wise Mother, toiling to keep the cycle going. PS...it was only after I did all the inking and posted this that I noticed the toes on her left leg are on backwards! Oops! Lesson learned for next time! :grin Micron pens...no ref used

Arctic Fox

Tue, 15 Jan 2013 00:47:06 -0500

In my quest to better my life drawing skills I drew this fox from a photograph by Stephen Oachs, National Geographic. I think maybe I got a little carried away drawing the fur, but otherwise this was a challenging and rewarding drawing. UPDATE: 1 Feb - I have since colored this piece, and it may be found here.

Ravens

Mon, 14 Jan 2013 03:17:46 -0500

***Update: 14 Jan 2013 - replaced penciled version with ink*** Lately I have been making concerted efforts at improving my life-drawing skills; this pair of ravens was drawn from photos found on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website. I have always loved birds but until recently I had never seen a raven in real life; they are massive, engaging creatures! I hope to complete this piece in colored pencils, maintaining the detail and character of this line drawing. I used grids to ensure I got things right as far as the birds but the background is out of my own head. Micron Pens

Jaws Of Love

Mon, 14 Jan 2013 03:17:45 -0500

I love alligators; to me, these beauties are deeply misunderstood. For instance, they are capable of delivering immense crushing force with their jaws and yet, an incubating mother will delicately take each of her eggs into her mouth to test their readiness, carefully puncturing a ready egg to facilitate emergence. When encountered in their natural habitats alligators will freeze, relying on their ability to blend into their surroundings to escape harassment (I witnessed this several times during an internship in a swamp sanctuary). As a keystone species their presence and activities in their natural ecosystems support a great number of other species; they create "alligator holes" which support aquatic life during the drier seasons, providing food for wading birds. Their activities also support a stable swamp ecosystem by keeping vegetation in check and cutting down on invasive species such as nutria. Plus...they are just plain gorgeous! Those scales, those large, liquid eyes, those claws, that lazy power and grace....gorgeous! XD I found this piece in my portfolio recently--I had completely forgotten about it! I still consider this piece a fair representation of my ability at creating line art; I am debating on how I would like to color it (if at all). Any suggestions? Micron pens