Inktober

October for artists is also known as “Inktober,” and this year I jumped in despite the busyness of my life with 3 little kids and working from home. I’m glad I did, because it’s definitely a lot of fun. I’d been meaning to draw “realistic” versions of the Octonauts for my kids for a while and this gave me an excuse to do that and I had the ink, gifted to me by a friend, to even try color. Many days were random, or punny topics, and my husband got to choose what I drew on his birthday, of course. The most intense part of Inktober was when it coincided with the 24-hour comic challenge, which I also took part in with a group of other artists, recreating the very first Superman comic in our own styles. Because of copyright issues, the lead artist on the project backed down from actually putting the pages together, but it was still fun to do, and taught me more about drawing comics.

I have been toying with the idea of turning a story of mine into a graphic novel for some time, and even decided I was going to do so in August of this year. Since that time I have made it my mission to study and learn as much as I can about drawing faces/expressions, backgrounds, ways to shade and color, as well as developing a consistent style.

I am reading Scott McCloud’s “Making Comics” and continuing to work through story details so that I can have a clean, straight-forward tale to tell. I am excited about this endeavor, even though it could very well take me decades to accomplish, as I don’t have a lot of free time to draw at present, and I have to balance personal projects with art that actually pays the bills.

I believe in this story, though, and that it is worth telling. So here ‘goes.

Character expression sheet

A group of characters from the story

2019

As it has been a year since my last blog update, I figured I should probably post an update. The past year has been a busy one, artistically, as well as in other ways. I had a baby, the girls started preschool, my job shifted, and I took part in the Create-a-thon again, though this time my sister from Arkansas joined me. It was great fun as usual, though challenging in other ways (the children came down with strep throat in the middle of things and my husband was out of town). I chose to use colored pencils as my medium this year and used a 19” x 24” sheet of Strathmore Bristol board, cropped down to fit a wooden frame that was given to me by a friend. We were assigned the theme of Noah’s Flood, and I decided to go the darker, grittier route by illustrating the drowning people. I wanted to remind everyone that such are we, save for the grace of God.

“Hope of the Wicked”

I wasn’t sure how well my morbid rat-infested horror illustration would go over, but it turns out the judges really liked it, and I won first prize. It is currently hanging at the front of the church sanctuary (pig carcass and all). I am uncertain if anyone will actually buy it, however, as it is not the most pleasant image to hang in your house. XD

In other news the lemon tree broke nearly in half during the monsoon storms last August. Thankfully, our crop did not suffer too terribly, and we are now using up the last of our citrus fruits. The sweet scent of new lemon and orange blossoms fills the air and attracts butterflies as the days grow warmer and warmer.

My youngest child will be turning one in two weeks and so far we have planted a tree for each kid on their first birthday. My first received a mesquite tree and the second a lime tree. We will have to decide soon what kind of tree my boy will get. Trees that produce some sort of fruit make sense to me. If we’re gonna dump gallons and gallons of precious water on it (remember, we live in a desert), we should gain something from it, I think.

I’ve also completed three comic book pages for a charity project that my friend Bryce Morgan put together. I have added it to the “Book Illustrations” section under “Captain Sun and the Night of the Piper.” It should be available later, both digital and printed, with all proceeds benefiting “The Butterfly Project” - an organization that helps young women in the Philippines to get off the streets.

For more about the comic go here: https://itscaptainsun.com/bp/

Special thanks to everyone who helped me with poses throughout the process!

Create-A-Thon

Every year Camelback Bible Church hosts a 48-hour art contest where the first place prize is $1,000. It is always worthwhile, not only for the possibility of a prize, but also for the opportunity to meet other artists and chat about our craft and techniques. I almost always find myself working up until the last minute, and it was no different this year, though I was working in a different medium than last time (polymer clay). I was able to reach a good stopping point, though, and after the judging took place I went ahead and added some light acrylic washes to tint the clothing and separate the skin of the figures a little more. My friend and fellow artist, Sandi Miller, stuck around to keep me company (as well as bring me some dinner!), which I greatly appreciated. Julian Gibb also was very helpful in providing access to storage for my piece, and allowing me to continue working until I was finished.

 I will find out in a week whether I placed or not, but no matter the result, I had a fun time! I would recommend it for any artist in the area who has the weekend free in February.

After working so intensely for so long, it was hard to stop, and I found myself illustrating a peacock last night for no particular reason, though my hands started to ache. I liked how it turned out, though it serves no further purpose than to look pretty on my website now, I suppose.

Still, it is good to have a place to post my work - random or not! Having a website pushes me to be more productive in general, I think, to show more and more what I am capable of creating.

"Tales from the Crib" Expanded

I had so much fun creating "Puffy's Pie" and enjoy even more the reactions I see when people read it. So I finally decided to add another book to the series. This one is about being a big fish in a small pond. These books are simple and take about 6-7 hours to draw, but it takes time also to come up with a story that has the same flavor and snap as the original.

I hope you enjoy this next installment in my "Tales from the Crib" series,

"Big Boss Bear."

New Beginnings

"You should have a website."

The pressure has been there to establish some sort of online presence for some time as more and more people see my work, but I've put it off, choosing to focus instead on personal projects, family, and work. After all, there were plenty of alternatives to showcasing my art online for those who were interested. Admittedly, none of those avenues are quite as useful, nor as professional as my own space. So here it is. My little company, Vizon Artwork and Design now has an official web presence - complete with blog!

It seemed appropriate as the upcoming birth of our third child approaches, to open up new doors and air out my gallery. Perhaps one could even call it... digital "nesting." Vizon Artwork & Design has officially existed now for seven years, though I've kept the modest little LLC mostly to myself (with the occasional commission here and there).

But there is so much more I would love to do.

My passion is drawing, writing and illustrating characters and stories, but I also enjoy shooting my own photographs, sculpting people's pets, and creating fun little gifts to brighten others' days. So if there is a way to branch out more - create more - and especially produce more smiles, that's where I want to go.