Bonus Post: Deku Link

Currently battling off some sort of allergy/cold thing, but here's a picture of Deku Link from Majora's Mask I did yesterday for Sketch_Dailies on Twitter. 

onward and upward,

Beth

May Sketchbook '14

Lots of sketches this month. I went to a live Birds of Prey demonstration a few weeks ago and filled up half of my sketchbook that day! 

These last two designs are for a character called The Onion Princess. I'm not sure who she is or what she's about, but the concept was so interesting that I had to doodle it out. 

onward and upward,

Bethany

Landscape Painting Practice

As I've mentioned before, I've been working on a landscape painting for a friend of mine. Trouble is, I don't really know how to paint landscapes. So I figured, what better way to learn that to do a few practice rounds before I attempt the final piece? It seems like such an obvious course of action, but you'd be amazed at the number of times I just want to jump right into something. Or get paralyzed by lack of direction and just give up on the whole project. (I do that way more often than I'd like to admit...) Anyway, these studies have really helped me learn how to start out with the larger forms and work down to the details, (my arch enemy). Here are the first three pieces.

Jon and I especially like this winter one. ^_^ 

In other news, you might notice that my blog looks a bit different. I've been wanting to make some changes, like the web address and blog banner, for awhile now, but lacked the necessary motivation. Well, yesterday I decided to get a Twitter account, (another "some day" goal) and that gave me the kick start I needed. Over all, I'm much happier with how the blog looks now. I'll probably keep tinkering with it and possibly even venture forth into the social media world a bit more. Stay tuned for more about that later!

onward and upward,

Bethany

May Skill Building '14: People, Animals, Objects

I'm in a bit of a rush today, but I wanted to get these skill building sketches posted. Interestingly enough, I heard it mentioned recently that some people think you should never post any of your "bad" artwork online. I have mixed feelings about this opinion. Obviously, these skill building sketches are not my finest work, but they do sometimes end up being a sizable amount of what I create over the weeks and months. Since I want this blog to be accurate to my artistic process, I've continued to feature them once a month. (And so far, none of you have complained. ;-)) Also, if you're constantly worrying about whether your art is "good enough" to post, people will get to see very little of your work. You should be careful, of course, to do your best on each piece, but as you improve, today's best won't be good enough any more. Plus, I think it's kind of cool to see people grow in their skill level. It reminds you that they're human, too. :-)

onward and upward,

Bethany

Painting: Guiding Chaos

Today I decided to share a little bit about my painting process. I realized a few weeks ago that there is very specific method, dare I say, style, to how I paint. I've talked a little bit about my process in the past, but now I want to go into a little more depth about my painting philosophy.

Painting, for me, is more about guiding chaotic forces than it is meticulously putting in each tiny detail myself. In college, I discovered, quite by accident, how fascinating the paint became when I watered it down and let it run together on the canvas, The colors, textures, and patterns that formed added more depth and beauty to my image than I could have ever put there myself. I began incorporating this technique into my pieces, going back to add structure and details to the forms and subtracting what I didn't want after the paint had dried.

There are some projects that I can't use this method on and I have to be more controlling with my brush strokes. And when I do chose to go with a more chaotic approach, it's a bit nerve-wracking to step back and let the paint do it's thing. Sometimes the colors don't look right, or I get lines where I don't want them to be. But those are the things I can change later and the happy accidents are well worth the risk.  

As with all approaches to painting, there is a danger of falling into repetition and mediocrity. I sometimes worry that, if I rely too much on this technique, my paintings will become predictable. That is the double edged sword of style; what can set you apart from others can also keep you from growing. But, so long as I am aware of this danger, I can keep pushing myself to experiment and try new things. Although 3 years of experience have made me competent enough to try bigger, more challenging paintings, they have by no means made me a master at this craft. I hope to continue improving and allow my method to improve with me.

Thanks for letting me share some of my thoughts about painting. I'm thinking of taking the advice of my friend Lauren and writing a few reflective posts about my works from college. Stay tuned for more about that!

onward and upward,

Bethany