Tarot: 6 of cups, sketch

Well, since this is a behind the scenes blog (ha!) I thought maybe I should actually show how I work sometimes. This is also sparked because I just did a demo for my mom's art class last week. O.O I can't believe I'm two years out of college already!

ANYWAY, since the demo was about my layering technique and I used my six of cups card as an example, I figure I can show how that came into being. Starting with the sketch stage.

Okay first things first, research. Tarot is complicated and has meaning stacked on top of meaning. So TO THE INTERNETS! This page and this page are great resources for learning about tarot and their imagery. Also note important colors, people, animals, scenery, etc.
After I've gotten a good idea what this particular card is about, on to thumbnailing. Seriously, I never learned the value of thumbnails until the very end of college. I did 11 thumbnails for this one card. Sometimes I only need about 4, but this one gave me so much trouble. I use thumbnails to get all the "crap" in my head out on paper, it's there, I acknowledged it, moving on to something better.
Now, during thumbnailing I'm also looking for reference pictures. That's where Google Images is my friend. References are fun and irritating at the same time. You don't want to copy line for line, but sometimes it seems like nothing is working. This is why I like using LOTS of references.

A major inspiration for all my cups cards is Zena Holloway. She's ground breaking in terms of underwater photography and her images are just breath taking. Here I used this image as a reference for my boy, but notice just how much I changed.

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Now here, there's nothing referenced except the mood. Children underwater, playful falling tea cups, light and happy.

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I love this grotto print and you can see I took a lot of the scenery from this image. But the black and white only serves as a value study, I want color, thank you. ^.^

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Reference for the fish and the kelp, maybe looking at color now, seeing how distance is applied underwater.

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Okay, this one has many references. The little girl in the green shirt on the left, the blocks in the fore-, mid-, and background. Looking to change those ferns into coral, that kinda thing.

credit- no idea, it's in the depths of the internet.

So, here's the first draft of the sketch. The first thing that changed were the size of my kids and that's the joy of Photoshop. Seriously, cut and re-size that shit, no need to redraw if you don't have to.

So to end, for now, with the "final" sketch.

The great thing about this technique is that it is not set in stone quite yet. In going to the next stage, I realized I still didn't like that fish at the bottom. So, I opted not to transfer it onto the illustration board and redrew it in the opposite direction to create a better composition.

Next time, sketch to illustration board and the "breaking of the white" underpainting. (that is, when I get around to scanning stuff.)

Horse Headshots

Well, I figured I'd show some of my favorite horse headshots now that I've got quite a bunch under my belt. ^.^ I'm seriously having a blast with this. Come on, how could I not? I get to paint a horse a day and they pay me for this! Awesome! You can go here to see the SIM game they are a part of and to my site here to see a bunch more headshots. Enjoy!

Book List: because I have the flu

How did it get to be mid-March already? Where did the time go? O.O


Well, since I'm coming out of the flu and I don't feel like doing much else, here's the run down on my book list so far. ^.^

74. Dragondrums, 75. Dragonsong by Anne McCaffery (finally have all three together)
76. Masques 77.Wolfsbane 78. Dragon Bones 79. Dragon Blood by Patricia Briggs
80. Touch of Darkness (finally finished that series!) 81. Chains of Ice (annnd just like that on to the next one!) 82. Someday My Prince (ugg, not as good) 83. Rules of Attraction (also not as good, the heroes were so... asshole-y) by Christina Dodd
84. Burning Water by Mercedes Lackey
85. Chalice by Robin McKinley (I want this one for my own!)

These next few books fell into my hands because L showed me how to buy LOTS of books on ebay... Oh, how he will regret this. ^.^ I think I need more shelves...
86. Impetuous Innocent by Stephanie Laurens
87. Midnight Pleasures with a Scoundrel by Lorraine Heath
88. At the Duke's Pleasure by Tracy Anne Warren (interesting book, although I'm more interested in the secondary character's story)
89. Rules of Engagement (that seems to be a popular title) 90. A Lady's Guide to Improper Behavior by Suzanne Enoch (surprisingly liked these and this author a lot!)

91. The Complete Guide to Massage by Susan Mumford (total departure from what I normally read, but it was very informative and had lots of pictures and I like to give massages. So there.)

To be read: Some Brian Jacques (RIP good soul), some Patrica Wrede, and maaaaybe this old Judith McNaught book that's as old as me that came with the book lot on ebay... we'll see. I couldn't get through Mary Balogh's Web of Love, too rushed and I wanted to smack the heroine upside the head, luckily the author's gotten much better over time. ^.^

I'm sure there are more, but I've forgotten and I'm tired and I can add to this later. :P

Changes

New month, new year, new decade...

Strange how stuff can change so fast. All of a sudden things turn on a dime. In the Tarot, that probably is the Wheel of Fortune making its appearance.

I don't think 2010 and I got along very well. At least... most of 2010, the ending actually went better than expected. Actually, come to think of it, the whole decade kinda sucked on a grander scale. I mean, yeah, I graduated high school and college in that time, and I got married, and moved into our own house, but take into account the recession, 9/11, the war, the total LACK of jobs after graduating, my dad getting cancer and loosing his job, all the personal family deaths... it's just... I'm glad that's over with for the most part. Hopefully, everything will turn to something better.

On a more personal level, my Tarot deck is sprinting along with 29 out of the 78 cards sketched out. Still distracted about the mushroom dancers, but it's a good distracted! Because I've been working on getting a job! ^.^ Maybe even more than one job, which would be even better! Details to come, but I don't want to jinx anything until I get some confirmations. Just... it's pretty awesome all around right now. So, here's some work that I've been up to, nothing too recent, but I'm pretty happy.

First up, the sample I did for one of the jobs. It was way too detailed for what they wanted, but I'm learning to simplify for what they want. He's still a beautiful boy, so I wanted to show him off here.

 

Second off, a sample sketch for the six of cups. Original is about 5x7 inches. I work best small, then scan and enlarge for the actual painting. Still debating over doing this digitally or traditionally...

I just realized I should probably update my website in the near future with more galleries for all the new work that's going to come in. O.O


I'm wishing everyone a happy and safe New Year for 2011.
<3 Gwen

The amazing thing about Photoshop

So I was asked to do some photo restoration with some old family photos for one of our clients and it's just amazing sometimes what Photoshop can do. Here I cleaned up dust, spots, film errors, and restored color and clarity. It was pretty fun! These are rated from least amount of work to the most amount.

 

Books!

Yay! More books!

Mary Balogh's: 62. First Comes Marriage, 63. Then Comes Seduction, 64. At Last Comes Love, 65. Seducing an Angel (I have to finish them ALL now!)
66. Irish Thoroughbred 67. Irish Rose both by Nora Roberts
68. Rose Daughter by Robin McKinley
(these were short stories in a collection called On the Prowl, but they still count individually since I read them in their own sitting.)
69. Alpha and Omega by Patricia Briggs
70. Inhuman by Eileen Wilks
71. Buying Trouble by Karen Chance
72. Mona Lisa Betwining by Sunny

73. The Spymaster's Lady by Joanna Bourne (which I am now reading aloud with L because it is awesome, disregarding blatant man-boobies on the cover, it is actually a great romance book for guys to get into- spys, torture, intrigue, historical France, humor, and of course love.)

Lord, I read a lot of romance... but they are just so good. :P Attempted Foundation and got seriously bored. Had to give the Odd Thomas books back, but they weren't really my cup of tea anyway.

Hopefully, I'll get back to my discount bookstore soon to buy more, otherwise I'm going to have to hope Christmas and the birthday bring some good books.

November trials

Gah! How did it get to be mid-November already!?

After my best friend's wedding (which was amazing and she looked beautiful and now they have a new puppy!), I've just been speeding along with work and art.

Working at Scotsgrove is great- I get moving, I get out of the house, I work with kids and animals, oh, and I get paid. That's always nice. ^.^ Last weekend was our Fall schooling show and I finally got to go after being absent for 5 years! I'm planning to have a big update this week (possibly today), but that get's it's own post.

As far as art goes, I had a long discussion with L while we were on top of our mountain. It's been bothering me for some time that I couldn't "get into" my art any more, that I felt fake, definitely unhappy. Getting to the bottom of it was an interesting journey. L was finishing up "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" and started talking about why he would get angry at a problem, how to fix it, how the book put into words exactly what he felt. And being human, I started to apply the same logic and came to the startling conclusion that I was not enjoying art anymore. Not at all. Not even a little bit. I was doing art to please others (an undefinable, unknown other- the audience). I was taking short cuts (yes, I admit it, that's part of the reason I couldn't like it). I was trying to make something that would "go in a gallery" or "be sold easily".
Now, don't get me wrong, part of the reason I was doing this is because I do want the money. Student loans are a bitch and I have to come up with a lump sum every month. Some months I make it, some I don't. Plus, my husband takes care of me. I've got it easy compared to some! He keeps a roof over my head and has money in the bank for food and bills and loves me unconditionally and in return... I am a housewife (ugg- I hate that term) but I clean the house, the dishes, the laundry, get groceries, make dinner, make sure when he comes home life here is peaceful. And so far it works, but I still feel guilty over not putting in a monetary contribution. So yes, I do want to make money as an artist. All our lives we are told- you go to school, you'll get a job. But it doesn't work that way.
SO, I've scrapped most of my art projects (figuratively). I've kept on the Mushroom Dancers because damnit- I have two more to do and I'm so close and I'm NOT giving up on them. Plus I like them. And I have started a new project, just for me, because I want to do it, and it's a challenge. A Tarot deck- all 78 cards of it. (I'm sorry Jess, I'm jumping on your project too, but it sounded too fun to skip out on!) I'm starting on the minor arcana first because I realize this may take years and I want to be better instead of worse for the Major arcana. In twelve days, I have the rough sketches for 10 cards already and I'm still liking it. Lord, I'm dreaming in heavy symbolism and imagery. So that has kept me actually drawing for the past few weeks. As soon as I get to my parents to scan stuff I'll try to get an update. (Dear Santa, please send me a scanner for Christmas. Thank you, Gwen)

As for what else I've been doing, it's mostly website work, which isn't as fun, but at least IMS now has different languages for the front page! Oh, and Scotsgrove has a Facebook page, which is an amazing feat in general. ^.^

And any other free time is spent on this site: Discovereads.com. It's like Netflix for books. I've had to rate about 100 to get through books I've already read plus give them something to "know" me by, but it does work. I now have over 20 books in my "to be read/to go get" pile. Speaking of books, I will have to update my book list soon. Yet another post to look forward to. :P

Sorry for link spamming, and emotional upheavals, and no pretty pictures, but that's my life so hopefully you are at least somewhat entertained. ^.^