December - Part Three - Dragonflies on Bikes

I did less drawing and painting the last couple weeks....  

Black Meadowhawk Rides a Red Cervelo I - Process

I tried painting a dragonfly on a bike. I like bikes. I painted other Critters on Bikes (though not insects, before this). My sister likes dragonflies.... it seemed like a good idea at the time. 

I was pretty dissapointed with it at this stage (the bike - in particular the wheels - looked a little too chunky - like some kind of insane 29er+ gravel bike), so I started over...

Black Meadowhawk Rides a Red Cervelo II

(18cmx13cm, Ink and Watercolour on paper,  December 2020)

This one I liked even less, so I went back and tried to fix the first one - painting some gouache onto the rims to make it more clear that they're supposed to be deeper aero rims... 

Black Meadowhawk Rides a Red Cervelo I - finished

(18cmx13cm, Ink and Watercolour on paper,  December 2020)

It sucked less, so... 

and... that's about it... I did some sketching out of ideas foe more paintings/drawings, but no finished stuff I feel the need to share... Hopefully some of those ideas will be actualized in the new year. 

I guess that's it for this year. 

Not going to lie, 2020 sucked chunks... but I am glad I got back to making art. Hopefully this continues into the new year and we all get back to a sense of normalcy. 

December - Part Two

 Things slowed up here over the last week or so... I've done a bunch of rough sketches of ideas... but they were kind of all over the place and I couldn't stay focused enough to manage to turn many of those ideas into finished drawings or paintings.

Here are a few things I did get to... 

Process picture of work on Daemon Prince Garzongdong - another portrait of a character in a game I play. 

GARZONGDONG - Daemon Prince of Slaanesh.

(30cmx30cm, Ink and Watercolour on Paper, December 2020)

Garzongdong was once a captain in the Emperor's Children Space Marine Legion (32nd company). After the fall of Horus, he led what remained of his company around the galaxy in the relentless pursuit of all manner of excesses. They cared not where the currents of the immaterium took them, on that there were worlds for them to burn and plunder and bathe themselves in all manner of indulgence. After a thousand years of such debaucherous pursuits, the Dark Prince rewarded Garzongdong with Daemonhood.

Daemon Prince Garzongdong leads my Warhammer 40K Daemon and Emperor's Children Chaos Space Marine forces. If it looks a little like the old Keeper of Secrets model.. well.. it's because I'm USING an old Keeper of Secrets model as my Daemon Prince of Slaanesh (as the old Keepers of Secrets model is about the same size as the current Daemon Prince model, and the newer Keeper of Secrets utterly dwarfs the previous model - over twice as big!)

(he might just show up in the Wrath & Glory game I have been running.... y'know... when we get back to playing that...)

I did a little thing... there was so much enthusiasm amongst my friends on Facebook for the Dinovember 2020 drawings and paintings, that I thought I'd make a few calendars for those that wanted them. Amanda makes photo calendars for our folks and my sister every year, I though possibly I could do the same, but with the pics I took of all the Dinosaurs. So I put a post on Facebook, collected pre-orders until the first and then ordered the 30 I needed (I sold 26, then there was one for me, folks, sister - who are all getting TWO calendars this year - one with dinosaurs, one with pictures of the kids. 

I also sold off most of the originals - at least the ones that were on separate sheets of paper - not the ones I did in my sketchbook. 

It was a fun little project - but ended up taking up a lot of time - messaging back and forth and keeping track of who ordered how many and laying out the calendar and placing the order - and then a LOT Of anxiety over how it was going to look (it ended up looking pretty good - much, MUCH better than the worst possible fears - which is where my brain always goes!). 

Back to prairie landscapes for a day (or maybe two)....

Cows and Clouds

(25cmx20cm, Watercolour on Paper, December 2020)

Wasn't happy with this one. 

Added a dinosaur. 

It didn't help.

The next one - process. This one I actually used a photo reference (a picture I took myself while out on a bike ride in the country side a few years ago). 

Cows in a Field

(25cmx20cm, Watercolour on Paper, December 2020)

I actually painted this for Amanda's mom. I posted it on Facebook and tried changing the permissions so that her mom and sister wouldn't see it.... then I moved it into an album with all my other art. Apparently, when you move pictures to a new album, Facebook changes the permissions for the picture to that of the album... so she saw it - and commented on it. I didn't mention in the post that it was for her, but it's not going to be as big of a surprise. At least she said it was "[her] kind of painting".  

Zilla and Ringo Meet a New Friend at the Park.

(20cmx20cm, Ink and Watercolour on Paper, December 2020)

Another surprise for some friends. Not going to make the mistake of posting this anywhere - well, anywhere people actually LOOK at things. I ALMOST posted it to Instagram - then realized one of the couple I painted this for is a follower (though I don't think she's ever liked or commented on anything I've posted on Instagram... still... not going to take the chance). I feel pretty safe posting things here as I'm pretty sure NO ONE is even following this blog anymore - the few views this one gets are redirects from my OTHER blog. 

Going from the early dino illustrations my sketchbook (ink drawings, coloured with watercolours), to the dinosaur paintings on paper (just watercolour), to character portraits (ink drawings, coloured with watercolours again), to the cow paintings above (back to just watercolour), to this painting/drawing above... I've come to realize I think I prefer using watercolour to add colour to what are essentially ink drawings - rather than strict watercolour painting... 

More Cows

(29cmx29cm, Ink and Watercolour on Paper, December 2020)

I think I'm done with cows. Not sure what I'm going to do with this one. It was kind of the back-up plan painting if the other one didn't work out (started painting this before finishing the first). The first is okay and was smaller and easier to parcel up - and, in fact, WAS parcelled up before this was even finished - so there was no real options to send it off if it DID turn out "better"... 

What next? 

Back to character portraits?

I don't know. Guess we'll see what tomorrow brings. 

December - Part One - Character Portraits

 I wasn't really sure what I was going to do this month, but I thought I'd start off December doing some portraits of characters from role-playing games I've played. 

(for MORE Game Nerdery, see my GAME BLOG) 

Here's what I got up to the first week... 

This is VX-923 - an Adeptus Mechanicus Lexmechanic played by my friend Randy in our (currently on hiatus) Wrath & Glory game. This was a lot of fun to do and got me really pumped about playing again - maybe in the new year... or... maybe SOONER!?

I actually painted this at the end of November, but it kind of goes with the rest of these, so I've reposted here as well.. 

Indebted 79 - a Death Cult Assassin.

This is Jonathan's character for our Wrath & Glory game.

Tempestor Castus von Traggenstein

Another character portrait from our Wrath & Glory campaign. Sole surviving member of his unit of scions was offered the Emperor's Peace or a life of service to the Inquisition. He wanted answers about what happened to his unit and figured the Inquisition might provide them...

Basillius - Sanctioned Psyker - or so everyone tells him... apparently, at some point in his career, he saw something that he really shouldn't have, but the inquisition figured he was too valuable an asset to have him eliminated, so they ordered a memory wipe. But the memory wipe was a little TOO effective and he completely forgot that he is actually a sanctioned psyker... hijinks ensued.

This is Christian's character for the Wrath & Glory Game. Christian always comes up with just the craziest characters for every game he's played in.

one of the initial sketches for Christian's Character - this is Christian - I wanted to based the character portraits on the actual players, to some degree. I'm actually pretty happy with this... I hate it when I nail it on the first sketch, and then NONE OF THE OTHERS LOOK RIGHT!? 

Without glasses. 

Considering poses and other stuff - I had considered a tattoo or brand on the forehead... but then... didn't...

My current workspace. I've been doing these on Strathmore 400 Series Mixed Media Paper - which I cut to an 11x11 square and tape down to a board. I've just started working on this paper - I was a little anxious when I did my first wash on one and the paper buckled a LOT - which caused a little pooling. Much to my surprise, however, once it dried, it went right back to being flat!? 

This is the last of the group - Ivan the Inquisition Acolyte. I painted this one back in October, but thought I'd include it here again, so they're all in one place. It was done in my sketchbook. I may have to redo it now that I've done these others on good paper... 

I've had a lot of fun doing these, an will probably continue with more throughout the month. There will probably be a focus on Wrath & Glory and other Warhammer 40K Characters, but I might do a few from other games.... 

Like Gronq the Barbarian - MY character from the Four Against Darkness game my son Finnegan is running for me and a few friends. I thought I might do his portrait like a comic book cover and was messing around trying to make a logo inspired by the Conan the Barbarian comics that marvel produced when I was young... 

Dinovember - Week Four

 I was losing steam on this project and only managed to get two more painted this past week...

I didn't even get to titling either of these. Both were about 28cmx28cm (11"x11").

I decided to put together some calendars - just for a few friends - and spent the last few days collecting orders and laying out the calendar and selling off a few of these Dinosaur watercolours (again, to a few friends, who were interested). And now I'm DONE with Dinovember... for this year at least... 

Not sure what I'm going to do in December. I have a few ideas... 

I might do some character portraits (of characters from role-playing games). I started with one today... 

This is VX-923 - an Adeptus Mechanicus Lexmechanic played by my friend Randy in our (currently on hiatus) Wrath & Glory game. The painting is 28cmx28cm - watercolour and ink on Strathmore Multi-Media Paper. This was a lot of fun to do and got me really pumped about playing again - maybe in the new year... or... maybe SOONER!?

Dinovember - Week Three

 Kept at it for another week. One more to go. 

Last week I moved out of the sketchbook and started using actual watercolour paints (rather than just watercolour pencils) and started painting on actual watercolour paper. I've been painting in groups of three - cutting an 11x14 sheet into an 11x11 and two 4x4 sheets. 

Experimenting with different skies and washes this week - and towards the end of the week trying out masking fluid. 

Day 18

Red Sky at Morning, Dinos Take Warning - study

A Pair of Prairie Pteranodon at Dawn

(try saying THAT five times, really fast!)

Red Sky at Morning, Dinos Take Warning!

Day 19

Triceratops Trudging through Deep Snow at Sunset...

Red Sky at Night, Diplodocus Delight!

Day 20

Red Sky at Night, Deinonychus Delight

Friday ended up being a busy day, between a library run with Keira and then heading back downtown for an x-ray of my hand... but while I was downtown, I popped into Art Placement and picked up some masking fluid to play around with... 

Day 22

Tyrannosaurus Frolics in the Snow

Day 23

Apatosaurus in the Snow

Day 24

Tyrannosaurus Tiptoes Through the Trees 

One more week of this, then it's on to something else. 

Not sure what that something else is going to be just yet... 

I did sign up for an online Domestika course by Mattias Adolfsson (a Swedish illustrator whose work I just adore!). All of their courses are currently 75% off - for the next three days! Perhaps I'll work through that in December and share all my assignments...? Check it out here:

The Art of Sketching: Transform Your Doodles into Art

Dinovember - Week Two

Continued on with Dinovember this past week....

sort of...

I was losing interest and took a couple of days off. I don't LOVE dinosaurs - not like some people do. That's not a criticism or anything. Just different strokes for different folks. I have to say, I do LOVE some peoples passion for dinosaurs and the incredible art it inspires them to produce. If you haven't checked it out, look at the #drawdinovember and #drawdionvember2020 or even just the #dinovember hashtags on instagram! There is some really amazing stuff there - and, if nothing else, I'm glad I learned of this and participated in it a bit, because it's introduced me to some really fabulous artists out there, that I might not otherwise have come across!

I'm not sure if I'm going to continue with this for the rest of the month... I was kind of tiring of the project and dissatisfied with the work I was producing and kind of dropped off for a couple days, but at the moment I am typing this, I'm pretty happy with what I came up with today - despite, what I see, as a few flaws.... we'll just have to see what tomorrow beings. 

Here are the pics i came up with this past week. 

Day 8

So much snow. The city is pretty much shut down for the day. I figure there won't be much in the way of dino sightings, but then I go out back to clear a path to the garage and there's a pteradon hanging from my soffit like some kind of giant bat!? Looks like it's asleep. Wonder how long it will stay there? What do they even do in the winter? Do they hibernate somewhere? Migrate to warmer climes? Why is this one still here out in the cold. I just hope it's not dead!

Day Ten

Not sure what prompted this? It seemed like a good idea at the time...

Day Eleven

After being housebound by snow for three days, I thought I'd walk downtown for an appointment on Tuesday (still a bit too much snow on the roads for riding!). Spotted a pack of Velociraptors frolicking in the snow (at least SOMEONE is enjoying it!?) and just slowly shuffled on by hoping not to catch their eye before they noted the diplodocus around the other side of the building.

From a picture I took at 1st and Queen - looking at the back of the Great Western Brewery. 

Day 14

Oh, Give me a Home, Where Diplodocus Roam...

Watercolour on Strathmore Watercolour Paper

November 2020

27cmx27cm

Busting out of the sketchbook - I thought I'd try actual watercolour paints on actual watercolour paper. I was pretty happy with this. I had been losing interest in the project and had taken a couple days off and was wondering if I should bother continuing or figure out something else to do. 

If you look REALLY close there are a couple of spots where I apparently dripped water on the painting - which re-activated the watercolours and made little circles in the sky. A friend on facebook suggested I turn them into meteorites... I thought "happy little meteorites"!


Day 15

I did a pair of micro-mini watercolours - with offcuts from the larger piece the day before - just to mess around with things. 

There's a Triceratops in the Back Forty
Watercolour on Strathmore Watercolour Paper
November 2020
9cmx9cm

Diplodocus on a Snowy Field in November
Watercolour on Strathmore Watercolour Paper
November 2020
9cmx9cm

Day 16

Ugggghhhh.... Yeah. This is why I should just never do watercolour... 

Such a slob. Why would I even think I could pull off anything with this medium. 

Diplodocus by Old Shack in the Snow
Watercolour on Strathmore Watercolour Paper
November 2020
27cmx27cm

I tried to go all Bob Ross and turn it into happy little clouds... which makes the flaw less obvious - could probably get away with it on tiny screens on telephones... not-so-much if you're looking at the actual work. 

Not sure where I'm going from here. I'll probably just continue playing with the watercolour dinosaurs to see the Dinovember thing through... 

Dinovember!?

 So I had a pretty solid challenge for myself in September. Without a clear plan, I kind of flailed around throughout October. It looked like November might be more of the same, but then on the morning of the first, I happened to be scrolling through Instagram and came across THIS FABULOUS PICTURE by Vancouver artist Rebecca Dart - and I happened to look at the hashtags - #dinovember #drawdinovember -  and thought; "'Dinovember'? That's a thing?" and I kind of just decided right then and there I'd have go at it and... see where it goes...  

I took Keira to Irish Dance class in the afternoon (I was playing hooky because I have a LCL strain ad my knee was feeling a bit tender) and it was such a beautiful day I decided I had to get out and draw or something while waiting. I ended up going to campus and kind of right there decided I was going to draw dinosaurs in and around Saskatoon. I did a sketch of the Geology and Biology Building on campus and... it was awful... but I drew a second drawing with a dinosaur later after I got home... and... it sucked a little less... 

Dinovember - Day 1

Miasaura spotted on campus near the Geology and Biology building. Poor little guy, he's got a broken finger just like me... or... big guy, really... or... big GIRL, for all I know!? 

Dinovember - Day 2

A Tylosaurus Saskatchewansis (a Mosasaur.. not actually a dinosaur... but, y'know, whatevs...) swims past the wreck of The Prairie Lily at the bottom of the South Saskatchewan River.

(No animals were harmed or watercraft sunk in the making of this picture - the Prairie Lily is still afloat on top of the South Saskatchewan River!)

Dinovember - Day 3 

A trio of Triceratops I ran into on the Blairmore Bikeway. Now, not only was I once a five year old, I've had a couple as well, so I know more than your average palaeontologist about dinosaurs... and so I knew they were herbivores and wouldn't EAT me... but when one of them noticed me and kind of gave me the stink-eye, I was suddenly reminded of the fact that hippopotami, also herbivores, just happen to be the deadliest mammals in Africa... knowledge gained also due to having five-year-olds... I just backed the fuck out of there reeeeeeaaaaaal sllllllooooooow like...

Dinovember - Day 4 

Ugh... More trouble at that house across the street... but... not the USUAL kind!? I mean what do you do? Call Animal Control...?The cops...? A Conservation Officer...? Seriously, even if they DON'T think it's a prank, what are they even going to do!?

Dinovember - Day 5

Megalosaurus ("Big Lizard") in My Back Yard

What is this world coming to? I mean, you can't just let your stuff out of your sight for five minutes anymore. I go out for a ride on the Surly Steamroller and get a couple hundred metres down the road and realize I forgot to bring water, so I turn around and zip back to the house. I just leave my bike in the backyard because it's going to be, like two minutes - I just have to run in, find my bottle, get some water and I'm on my way. I get upstairs and grab my bottle and look out the window and there's a fü¢king Megalosaurus back there chewing on the Steamroller and taking a HUGE dump (You should see the way it $h!ts!?)

Dinovember - Day 6

Even the brachylophosaurus know it's Pizza Night at the Night Oven on Fridays...

Dinovember - Day 7 

Snow - Day 1

Had our first big snowfall of the year... and WOW!? It was +17°C a week ago... by the end of the weekend there was about 50cm of snow on the ground and the city was pretty much closed down. 

I missed Day 8... so I'll post more in a week, starting with Day 9!

October Challenge - Part the Third

Continuing on with my October drawing challenge - whether you call it inktober or artober or sketchtober or whatever... The idea was to draw something everyday in October (Part the First, Part the Second). I actually did something similar in September as well. 

Wednesday, 21 October 2020

A WEEK after I pinched my finger in an overhead door, I found out it was actually fractured. Tuesday we went out and got a splint for it. It took some getting used to - it was SUPER irritating at first - my finger actually felt WAY WORSE in the splint. I seem to have come to grips with it... or... just got used to it. I get to wear it for 4 weeks. fun times. 

from a photo of Germans surrendering to Canadians at Vimy on 9 April 1917

In the evening Amanda was watching some sort of webinar and sitting relatively still, so... 

Thursday, 22 October 2020

In the morning we went to get influenza vaccinations. Afterwards we had to wait for 15 minutes - in case there were any immediate reactions. 

Started to draw Amanda... but then she decided to take her jackets off. 

One friend on facebook suggested I should have gone all Marcel Duchamp and practiced my cubism skills.. A well... next time...

Jackets off and settled in with a book for a few minutes while we waited... 

Saturday, 24 October 2020

Amanda. Chillin. 

Also Amanda Chilling. 

Do you sense a theme developing here...? 

Sunday, 25 October 2020 

Lucy Dickhardo (Amanda's Burlesque alter-ego) from a photo I took of her during a break at the Babes, Boobs, and Bands fundraiser for the Saskatoon International Burlesque Festival. 

Monday, 26 October 2020 

Lucy D again. Also from a picture taken while she was getting ready for a show last year. 

Wednesday, 28 October 2020 

Amanda. Online office meeting. 

Another meeting. 

Thursday, 29 October 2020 

Amanda again. It may look like she's falling asleep during a work meeting - she's actually looking down referring to cue cards while leading an online Yoga Nidra session she's been putting on for the Grad Students Association. 

Friday, 30 October 2020

Lucy D again - also from photos. 

and... that's it... 

After a solid month of a clear project in September, I kind of feel like I've been flailing this month... Ah, well... some drawings got drawn... Maybe next month will be better...