UGG Australia II

Everyone always says to challenge yourself as much as you can, that way you can get better at what you are doing. For example, when it comes to drawing models or pictures of magazines, I always tend to try to and look out for models that are in weird productions; something that I hope that I succeeded in today.

Another Ann Taylor Ad...

I tried to practice more rendering today, something that does take great concentration, I do admit. Thing is, this coming fall semester, I have to take a rendering class, something that I'm excited about. However, the more practice I get, the more I can get out of it.

Bermuda, a trip that I will never forget...

Being the first of our cruises yet to come, Bermuda was a perfect destination to go to. The first thing that I saw of Bermuda was how colorful the island was. You could see pink, blue, green, grey, and yellow houses. It made the country all the more welcoming as we pulled into the port of Hamilton. There were beautiful sights everywhere, the beaches were something that you had to see for yourself. You can say that I am officially spoiled by the beaches that the tropics have to offer, compared to the polluted waters of the New York City.
However, the craftsmanship of the boats and houses was something that I wanted to capture when I decided to draw out the landscape that Bermuda has to offer. I wish I could have applied a bit of color, but that could be for later.

The Atlanta Backyard

I was surprised to see how much Atlanta had that we New Yorkers don't. Nature, for instance, is something that I find inspiration for in most cases, when it comes to art. Atlanta had a lot of that, and I'm sure glad I saw it.
This particular drawing is actually my uncle's neighbor's backyard. The heat down in Georgia was something massive, so in order for me to draw outside, I had to be underneath a garage door, unless I wanted to be cooked alive. I wanted to add more colors, but this is the result.

The Atlanta Trip

Nowadays, airlines always want to rip you off, especially when it comes to baggage. This particular airline called "SPIRIT" was one of those airlines. However, we did get to our destination safely, and thats what counts.
We had to make two connections from New York City to Atlanta; From N.Y.C. to Myrtle Beach, then from Myrtle Beach to Atlanta. It took us almost all day to get there, but hey....
Therefore, in Myrtle Beach International Airport, I decided to draw the next plane that we had to board for Atlanta. This one was particularly hard, because of the perspective and all. It was something to pass the time.

Self Portrait Project

Since yesterday, I decided to take it upon myself that I wanted to create my self portrait, paint and all. I have been wanting to do this project for quite some time now, since first semester, and now that I have some time on my hands I say, why not?
I prepared the illustration board yesterday, gessoed it and taped the edges, you know the usual. So today, I put down the basic drawing, added some darks and lights to indicate where the shadows and the lights are and all. I'll probably  tweak a few things on my face and hands. However, I think that by tomorrow I will be able to put a wash down and start on some underpainting. Can't wait!

The American Girls

I'm telling you, I am really starting to love this walnut ink! I'm trying to stay away from just outlining the figures or whatever, by creating mass with washes and all that. Again, I'm merely practicing drawing figures and people in general from pictures and photographs from magazines, so that I can draw the life back into it. It has been pretty good exercises so far. And a good sign that I have been seeing a lot lately is that thanks to this blog that I have created, I have been itching to draw every day, and have been trying to keep my word as well.

Ohh Firefly, Ohh Firefly

Fireflies are a few of the only bugs that I mostly adore. They also have a very symbolic meaning, the beginning of summer. I saw one today and it just absolutely made my day. I'm looking forward to seeing more, but I don't believe in keeping them in jars with holes on the top. Fireflies are bugs and are meant to roam free.
With this thought in mind, I decided to draw a sketch of a girl on a typical beach day. Oh how I would love to go to a beach around here in New York City, but just the sight of one just brings me shudders throughout my whole body. Not to mention public pools, ugh! Maybe when I'm out in Long Island or somewhere MUCH more cleaner, I won't mind jumping into the water.

Say Cheese!!!

For starters, its gloomy out in New York, and to me that means laziness for me. Too bad I have to go work tonight, but hey I have to keep drawing. For that, I kept it simple today. I simply drew from a Walmart ad, and instead of posing for a picture, I felt that this was a more natural pose. I want to keep practicing facial expressions. At first, I used a pencil to sketch out the face, and then I used a china marker to add in the shading and tones.

The Great Norman Mailer

I was going through my old pile of Rolling Stone Magazines today, and I came upon the interesting article of Norman Mailer. According to Camille Paglia, the writer of the article, he was a novelist, a new journalism pioneer, a public intellectual and a pugilist. I'm into these types of people now, especially if they tried to make a difference in our non-understanding society. To this day he is still remembered as a great writer. That's a good reason to draw him, right?

In a Summery Mood...

Yeah, yeah, I know what I said before about me being not too happy about the coming of summer, but the weather has been really cooperating. I mean you could feel the heat and all, but its cool at the same time. I'm in a better mood for tomorrow, being the First day of Summer and all, and its going to be about 80 degrees, and the rest of the week is going to be 70 degrees. This is absolutely brilliant!
So in order to inaugurate the new season, I decided to draw this model, that seemed to just have come out of the water. I wanted to create this "beachy feel" to it, if that's even a word. I experimented on her face, adding colors that may not have seemed right at first, but I think it worked out fine in the end. What do you think?

I'm back!

The road trip was long, as it was meant to be. Our destination was Montreal, and we had to cross all of New York State to get there. It was a rather sad trip, because one of my relatives had died, so i really couldn't get that much drawing at all. I merely did two drawings, and I felt sad for that as well. I wanted to give my family support and care, because that's what you do, right?

One of my aunts had caught a liking for my sketchbook, and so I showed her my work. She then told me a personal experience that had happened to her at the funeral service. My aunt said that she had seen the Virgin Mary, with a greenish veil, which was only a profile, but her face was covered. She had wanted me to draw that appearance for her, because she wanted that image to stay with her.
After various sketches, we came to the finalized one (above). I'm happy to say that she liked it. With this experience, I caught a little insight as to what the Illustration world is going to bring for me. Sometimes, you have to go through various sketches and ask again and again, but the result is worth it. I'm happy that I went with my family to Montreal to share the love and to begin again.

P.S. I haven't drawn for today yet, so there is more to come!

Heads Up!

So, tomorrow I'll be off on a little road trip for the weekend, and I will not be able to post anything for the next few days. However, I will be sketching, so I will not forget about you guys!
This drawing is brought to you by sketch paper and brown conte, and don't forget about the pencil! I wanted to challenge myself with the odd way of the person looking out and up. I really emphasized the face, and didn't really pay much attention to the rest of the picture. Challenging though....

Originate Your Own Sound

Besides art, music also serves me as an inspiration, especially when it comes to jazz music. I admire musicians who want to make a difference in their music, and have their audience members read between the lines, you know? Of course, it depends on your taste of music, but to me their aren't many musicians who do that anymore.
However, without knowing what type of music Leigh Lezark from The Misshapes creates, I wanted to draw her, because I'm also in love with leather jackets; and the one she is wearing from GAP is a bit up there in the price range. I could only dream, right? The sketch is self-exaplanatory, just pencil on paper, but I really emphasized on the darks in her jacket.
On the other hand, I will definitely look into her music, and see if it serves me as an inspiration.

Here's Johnny......

Johnny Depp, what more can I say? His name just gives me a reason to draw him. Depp is such an interesting character, on and off the camera. Therefore, I kept it real simple. I merely used pencil and white chalk on kraft paper.

Liv Tyler, yup Steve Tyler's daughter....

So I felt that today I had to redeem myself from yesterday. I decided to draw Liv Tyler, the lady from Lord of the Rings, and of course the daughter of Steve Tyler from Aerosmith. You better believe it!
This drawing is a simple pencil/tonal sketch of her, posing for a Gap advertisement, wearing the "Boyfriend Cardigan". She is one of my favorite actresses, because she seems so sweet on the inside and all, which is a pretty good reason to draw her.