Wheee

I'm not dead. I still draw and sketch, but nothing that's any good has come out of it lately. I hope this artistic-brain-fog will end soon. >-<

Figures- babies

These were done in pencil.

Figures

These were done in pencil/graphite. Sort of gesture, but with a bit more time put into them. Still trying to get better at drawing the male body.

Raptor - painting

This was created with gouache paint.

Color study - plant

This was created with gouache paint.

Character sketches

These were done in pencil and are from my sketchbook. :)

Very Tired

I had drawing projects that I wanted to complete recently, but this last week I have had no energy. It's very hard for me to get out of bed or even go outside of my home. Today I figured out what the problem might be- I had recently stopped drinking Sweet Tea/Iced Tea. Not for good, but I wanted to take a break and see how long I could go without sweet tea. I really wanted to stop feeling the need to drink tea everyday and decrease my sugar consumption which is pretty high, in my opinion.

The problem is that not only do I lose the energy from sugar but, more importantly, I lose the caffeine boost. You would not think black tea had enough caffeine to even matter. However, I brewed some tea today (unsweet) and after consuming most of it, I felt a lot better and instantly regained my energy. I'm still trying to cut back on sugar, so I will have to suffer through unsweet for awhile. It's either drink unsweet tea or feel tired all the time and never get around to completing any of my artwork. And I'm pretty slow with my drawing even with the tea, so meh.

Some mini art

I feel bad for not updating in awhile. I still draw/sketch, though... Here are some ACEOs (Art cards, editions and originals) that I have completed- they were all done with Prismacolor color pencils and gouache paint. It's interesting trying to create a drawing on something that's only 2.5x3.5 in size.

I will soon put them up for sale in my Etsy shop. ^-^

Sailor Scouts - wip

Sailor moon is so much fun to draw- the designs are just amazing.

Studies- figures and horses

Still Life- Lemons and Limes

I wanted to see how well I could do a still life in color- something I haven't done in many years. It turned out okay. Next time I will use stronger paper and better color pencil techniques. This was done with prismacolor pencils.

Car Study

Done in charcoal.

Male studies and Gesture studies

These gesture studies are 1 to 5 minutes each

Figure study

It's been awhile since I have devoted serious time to studying the figure, doing still life, or depicting landscapes and backgrounds. This is probably one of the longest times I've gone without going back to the basics of drawing and I feel that this has caused me to lose my edge. My drawings are not flowing from me- the process feels forced and tedious. So I'm going step back from style and practice realism for now. Some time will be devoted to gesture drawing in particular to gain my confidence back in making marks on the paper. Right now I've gone back to the bad habit of doubting what I put on paper and end up erasing it several times, in effect killing the life of the drawing and turning it into something dull and boring.

I really want to go back over my figure drawing abilities and brush up on my knowledge of anatomy. One problem that I am having is figuring out how to apply what I know about human anatomy and translating that into a manga/comic book style. It's easier for me to draw the human body realistically, with plenty of shading and detail, than to strip it down and try to express the same idea in a much simpler style. How do you depict the figure convincingly without the aid of all those details? I'm still trying to figure that out.

I think it's important to go back over the basics of drawing and redo some of those exercises we either learned in school or on our own from the local library/bookstore. When you are able to successfully draw according the rules again and realize that you still have that ability to fall back on, it can be a real boost to your self-confidence as an artist. It seems that way to me, anyway.

Artist in France

I would probably never get a tattoo myself, and I'm not a fan of the usual tattoo art that involves skulls and blood, etc. But I do appreciate tattoo designs that are original and creative, that stand out from the crowd- like this artist-

http://ipomee.canalblog.com/

If I *did* ever get a tattoo, it would probably be similar to one of those designs. I especially like the one with the nails down the side of the body. Check it out! :)

Drawing in progress

I felt like drawing one of my characters from my story, Potential. This is Ristretto and she is riding one of the giant rabbits that are known to exist in the demon's world. They're stubborn and hate to follow commands, but that didn't deter her. ^-^

New drawing- Father

This is an image I made to compliment my "Mother" drawing that I did back in May/June. I meant to do this one in June, but some things happened and I got sidetracked. Created with Copic markers.

Some new sketches

Some self sketches I made in my sketchbook. I decided to practice shading and color them in Adobe Photoshop. :)

Miracle Frooties

I mentioned Miracle fruit in another blog post and how it's supposed to coat your taste buds and make sour things taste sweet... well this nice company offered to send me samples of their Miracle fruit product, called Miracle Frooties. Their website is at: http://theworldsbestfruit.com/

I just got them today in the mail and got to try them with Kiwi, Lemons, and Tomatoes.

I tried a lemon first. Wow, what a difference! I have never liked lemons in any form- not lemonade, not lemon sorbet, not anything. But with Miracle fruit, the lemon became a treat and for the first time I could actually eat them without needing a big glass of water. The level of sweetness I experienced was similar to that of an orange (a fruit I like, btw). The kiwi was a similar experience, though I preferred the lemon.

I also tasted cherry tomatoes- the taste was strange when it first hit my tongue but once I got to chewing it, it was pretty good. It seemed to have a sweetness to it like candy, yet not- the taste is sort of hard to describe. I already liked tomatoes so this was just an experiment to see how they would taste after consuming the Miracle fruit.

Miracle fruit is also supposed to enhance the taste of strawberries and oranges, so that is definitely on my list of fruits to try. I will post again and let everyone know how those taste.

Again, check out their website: http://theworldsbestfruit.com/
There's information on there about how Miracle fruit works and gives ideas on what fruits and foods to try. Check it out! ^-^

Cheap art buyers

I am sick and tired of people bitching about how I price my original artwork. I don't even price them that high- the most expensive one is $150. Even at those prices, I am being pretty cheap and running the risk of being considered an amateur or "student". Artists who are considered professionals usually price similar artwork anywhere from $300 to $2000 for an original piece. That's one of the reasons why I am selling prints- they're cheap and affordable for people who don't want to spend a hundred bucks for artwork. Seems like a nice compromise to me.

If you are too cheap or too poor to buy a drawing or painting for that price, fine. You can either settle for a print or just appreciate it from afar. But please don't complain to me, please don't come to me about "wow, those are so expensive, good luck selling them, hah!" or mock me for trying to make a decent living. And no, I don't sell them very well but that doesn't mean my price is too high (it's actually too low). It just means that I have either not met the right buyer yet or that the demand for my artwork hasn't gotten to the point where I can sell my artwork one right after the other. I'm not that well known yet and probably won't be for a few years.

But you know what that means... when I do get demand and my artwork does start selling regularly, the price isn't going to stay the same. It's actually going to go up. So instead of selling my pieces for $50-$150 I will be selling them for $250-$500 or maybe even higher. So either settle for a $5 or $10 print or shut up- cheap asses like you are the reason why so many artists have a hard time being able to do what they love for a living.

And why does nobody really bitch and moan about the plumber who charges you a steep fee for fixing your pipes? Or about the repair bill for your car? Or when you get the bill from a doctor for your checkup? These are all skilled trades that take years to learn, so people usually respect that and pay what's due. Why are artists considered different and are the only ones expected to just give their skills away or give them away for such a low price that they can't possible make a living and have to work at some crappy retail job to make ends meet?

Being a great artist is not easy. It takes years, decades, to fine tune our skills and get to the point where we can even consider selling our artwork. Instead of hanging out at parties with friends or going to see that concert in town, we sat at home and spent hours drawing and sketching. Most artists spend more time learning to draw, more hours, than most students spend to earn a college degree. Yet no one has any gripes about paying someone a higher wage for having that piece of paper... but they want to gripe about giving an artist a fair wage. And that drawing that an artist made that you really like, it probably took him anywhere from 10 to 30 hours to complete it. So when you see a painting or drawing that is priced for a $100, $300, or even $500... you're not just being asked to pay for the skills that come from years of practice and study. You are also paying for the time it took to create that particular artwork.

So a $100 dollars is actually pretty cheap when you think about it. So if even after considering all that, you still want to make a fuss over the price, then at least keep your comments to yourself and don't let the artist know how you think. Anytime an artist has to deal with cheapskates, it just makes them think that maybe being an artist isn't worth the crap and makes them consider giving up. Just don't do it.

New sketch

I like working in pencil. You get all sorts of shades. ^-^

Miracle fruit

I don't like lemons or lemonade. I never got into the sour-tasting candy craze. But I found out about something called a miracle fruit which might make it so I can enjoy sour stuff. It's miracle fruit! Apparently this fruit coats your taste buds in a way that tricks them into thinking sour things are sweet- find out more at this wiki- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miracle_fruit

I found out about it from a comic I like to read (it's really funny and unique!). You can check out the comic here. Warning- it's for people are are 18 or older- http://www.darcomic.org/2008/07/02/2miraclefruit/

Mach - inked

An inked sketch of my character, Mach. He's a demon casting a spell. This was inked with a purple Sakura Micron pen and colored with Copic markers.

New drawing

Uploaded a new drawing to my deviantart account-

Raptor in Autumn

I like trying to use colors to depict light in my drawings. When you add in lights and shadows, the effects you get with colors is endless.

Blank ACEO cards

This shop on ETSY sells blank cards that are ready to be drawn/painted on to make your own ACEO or ATC cards. Check it out and other cool supplies here- Krazy Kate Designs

ACEO and ATC are like trading cards for artwork, and can be either original works of art or prints. You can find out more about them at this wiki- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artist_trading_cards

Writing

I've been trying to work on writing my book. I don't really know how to describe what it's about other than I am trying to write it in a stream-of-thought style like William Faulkner or like the Catcher in the Rye novel. I don't think I'll ever actually write it unless I make some kind of schedule where I work on it for an hour a day, or something like two days every week.

Problem is, I'm bad with schedules. I like my life to be more spontaneous and free-flowing. Schedules seem to get in the way of that.

Ghostbusters!

I just watched the two movies and now I want to watch the cartoon series from the 80s. I remember watching that when I was a kid. Maaan I miss those days. They don't make cartoons like that anymore. ;-;

Character headshot - Mocha

A sketch of one of my characters, Mocha. His design was pretty simple (he only wore shorts basically) but I'm going to put a cowboy-ish hat and a long coat on him. It seems to go with his laid back personality. ^-^

Wow headshots

A couple of headshots of characters from the World of Warcraft game. I think I am getting better at coloring but I'll keep working on it anyway. You can always get better when it comes to drawing. :)

These were both sketched then inked with a pen, then colored with Prismacolor color pencils and watercolors.

New drawings and new prints

Uploaded two new drawings for my deviantart page-

Mermaid and Fish

and

Patriotic Raptor

They are available as prints on Deviantart and also as framed prints on my Imagekind website- http://jjsketch.imagekind.com

More artwork coming soon.

New drawings

I have completed two new drawings, you can find them on my Deviantart page-

Lady and the Moon

and

Sweet Tea

They have both been uploaded as prints on Deviantart and on Imagekind. Sweet Tea is the featured drawing for my Cafe Press store. Hope you like them. ^-^

Cute artist

I just wanted to share this website with everyone-

http://www.tastypeachstudios.com/index.html

She is an artist who creates the cutest little accessories I have ever seen- I don't know how she makes them. They're so little! ;-;
http://mooglegurl.deviantart.com/

Current drawing projects

My current drawing projects. Two of them are almost done.

Bunny and raptor sketch

Poor George, I hope he doesn't get eaten. :(

Landscape sketch

This is a quick sketch of the parking lot in front of my apartment complex. It took about 20 minutes and was sketched with a pen then colored with prismacolor color pencils.

Lanscape sketch

Messing with prints

It's never ending. Everytime I think I'm done messing with all my online prints, I find something else that needs to be worked on. Whether it's because their description is too vague and I have to go back and edit it or the file is not big enough to get many print sizes, so I have to go find that drawing and scan it again to make a bigger file. I'm tired. :(

Comic - Random 1 and 2

I gotta cut down on the time it takes me to complete these comics. It's not that I do too much detail (I could do a lot more). I just have a bad habit of drawing very faint lines at first, then I go back over those lines a little less faint...and over and over until I slowly get to the point where the drawing is dark enough for it to be complete. I'd save a lot of time if I would just lay down darker lines to begin with. It's years of bad habit that I have to unlearn...

Lamp Sketch

A pretty lamp at the bookstore. Black prismacolor pencil.

Random sketch

I was hanging out at a bookstore and saw this guy sit at a table across from me. I like his hair, so I drew a quick sketch based on him and then colored it with Prismacolor Pencils.

Making sweet tea

I think I've discovered one of the secrets to making really good sweet tea. At one of my favorite sweet tea making eateries in town, I've noticed that after they brew the tea they add the sugar, then stir the batch for a minute with a really big spoon and let it sit for a few more minutes (unless they're getting a lot of business, then they're kind of forced to serve it before its properly 'done').

At first, I assumed this was done to make sure the sugar was completely dissolved and mixed thoroughly- Istill believe this is the main objective to that. However, it occurred to me that in stirring the tea that they were also airing it out. I made some tea at home and after brewing, added the sugar, stirred it, and then let it set for a few minutes. It might be in my head, but it sure seems to taste better than my past failed attempts at making this beloved beverage. Viva Sweet Tea! ^-^-b

Latte Flying

This is my original character, Latte, for my graphic novel. This was mostly an opportunity to practice my lighting and shadows. Drawn in pencil, then colored on the computer in Corel Painter. Character and art (c) J. Johnson

Trent sketch- original character

Here's an original character of mine for my graphic novel.

Study of light

Stegy!

George the bunny meets a stegosaurus!

Snobby raptor

Naked - pg.06 and pg.07

Time

It feels like May was just yesterday and now its June the 7th already. Why does time go by so fast? And to think I might live another fifty or so years. The best part of my life ended over fifteen years ago. How much longer will this mediocre style of existence continue? I wish I could see the future. If I could see the future and know for a fact that I have nothing to look forward to, then maybe I could go ahead and end my life now.

Everyday I keep hoping for something better... and something better never comes. I don't want to keep going and always hoping. There's gotta be more to this than the same routine that I repeat day after day, week after week, month after month. Sometimes I am tricked into thinking I am actually going somewhere, but I'm not. I haven't even taken a step- I'm still at the starting line. What am I waiting for? A sign?

Connections

I have been watching the Pixar film, Wall-e. Every time I rewatch it, I find something new or see a different meaning that never occurred to me before. Seeing the love blossom between Wall-e and Eve always puts me in a state of awe. It is one of the greatest depictions of the special bond that we, as human beings, share with one other.

We have so many mechanical devices now that revolve around ways of sending messages or photos to our friends- and with the internet and its many community oriented features (such as youtube and myspace) there really is no limit to how we communicate with each other. Even so, I cannot help feeling that the more we use these new gadgets to talk, the more distant we become. I have recently discovered text messaging on my phone and often send messages to my friends when I have a random thought or have a question for them. It is convenient but does not come close to that same feeling of connection that I feel when I am talking with someone in person. Before text messaging, I had trouble using a phone (and still do) because you lose so many visual cues when talking on a phone. The human voice seems inadequate for expressing feelings and ideas when entirely by itself. The way you move your body, your facial expressions, how your hold your hands... even the atmosphere of the room you happen to be sitting in- all these elements are apart of the experience of talking with someone. And they are all absent in the text message or phone conversation.

Wall-e also reminds me of something else I have always valued but never gave much thought to before- holding hands with someone. The last person I regularely held hands with passed away years ago, and I miss it. We do not always need the big finales of sex or rough housing to be close to someone. Just being able to be with someone, hold hands with them, and share that moment with them... that is everything.

Cool electric car that's coming

I found this wikipedia article while browsing the internet- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aptera_2_Series

I want one. ^^

Comic

I remember trying to bind my chest for the first time around the time I started high school. I hated having breasts when I first got them. I couldn't wait until I could get surgery to have them removed. I like them alright now, but I wished they were flatter when I am wearing men's clothing. I feel like they stick out too much sometimes and ruin the effect I'm going for. ^^'

I'm starting to get the hang of making the process- starting to understand the process a little bit better. I enjoy drawing them in pencil. Whenever I tried inking them I would lose a lot of character and they always ended up lifeless compared to the original pencil renditions. I'm doing better with word bubbles and paneling on the computer. Used to take me forever...

Having to work at a day job

I found a blog post going over how most artists need to work at a job unrelated to their craft in order to support themselves. http://joannemattera.blogspot.com/2009/02/cotter-its-day-job-time-in-america-and.html

The post made by S. Dineen expresses how I basically feel about this predicament. This is what they said-

"Its hard not to get really angry about the "OK" comment. It is the worst feeling to want so badly to spend your days making the work that means something to you while you are trapped selling shoes, framing pictures to match people's couches, selling chimney sweeps over the phone to people who don't have chimneys, working as a gallery assistant for someone who blows a gasket every time you have a question about the 1980s computer system he refuses to update, serving obese tourists large quantities of fried seafood, cleaning these same tourists' toilets, and maybe worst of all using sponges in the shapes of hydrangas and leaves to paint the most hideous pottery for again these same tourists to put in their suitcases. (Sorry, I didn't participate in the older post about jobs). The years tick by and resentment builds. Its demoralizing and humiliating. Little by little you choose what you are willing to put up with, keeping an eye on the prize of eventually spending ALL of your days making the work you NEED to make.
The person who really thinks its "OK" for artists to have a day job has obviously never been in our position."

Lady Xoc posted this statement further down the page-

"You needn't know all the jobs I've had; not one of them matters, because they are a painful distraction from my real work. And yes, I'm a quick study also and way too many years were squandered doing high-priced babysitting for idiots, but I had rent to pay. There is no safety net when you are a perpetual freelancer, adjunct or whatever. Not only that, there is not even an employer to pay half of your Social Security contribution. I often tell people that being an artist is like having a handicapped child. It is not something you choose. It is not for sissies. You have to begin by acknowledging the reality and then providing for it in a material way, protecting it and nurturing it despite being hungry, cold and scared or having your brains bleed from the boredom of giving up 10-12 hours of your day to some exercise in frustration for the sake of a paycheck.

What Tony said: "Working practice is part of the work and immediately you start letting it drop you risk much more than an interruption" resonates with me. The real work of my life only grows when I am not distracted by the demands of a day job.

What S. Dineen said: "The years tick by and resentment builds." SO TRUE. Its hard to maintain a creative spirit when I count up all the time I could have been putting into my work. But then, to succumb to negativity is not an option. Staying strong is the biggest challenge now. Community helps. As does intelligent, informed discourse. Thank you all."

I feel the same way. I resent having to work at my job, mostly because it sucks up so much time that could be spent working on my drawings. I wish I could just work my ass off for a few hours a week and get the same pay as I do now working several hours several days a week. But that's just not how it works. I don't know why the hell not... it's humiliating to waste so much of your life away doing a mediocre job that brings nothing to you or to anyone else except a paycheck.

Unfortunately, most people don't see anything wrong with this. It's difficult trying to explain my frustration to the people in my life and their response is either a snub or a roll of the eye. How dare I not enjoy my job... don't you know how many people dream about making smoothies to idiot customers that treat you like some sort of failure? Yaaay for me.

Yay men

Sometimes, it's nice to work at a gym. ^^

Bunny Ninja Star

New comic. ^^

Latest Comic

I would like to do a series of comic strips. I think I will do them in pencil because I lose a lot of character when I ink them. That and my inking sucks.

Awake

As long as they keep me on my medication, as long as I am drugged... I can tolerate this mediocre life.

Someday I will decide to stop taking the pills and wake up. Then I will go on a journey. Who knows where I'll end up? The sky I look up to now is the same sky in Florida... but I can't see the waves from here.

Mom's Birthday

March 20th is my mother's birthday- I don't know how old she would be if she were still alive. I guess I could take a minute to calculate... but it doesn't really matter, does it?

She loved the Beatles. Her favorite band member was John Lennon and she cried and mourned for him when he died. She got two Beatles albums on her birthday and cried. A few days later she got her stroke and went to the hospital. She listened to her albums in her room until they took her off the machine- she died on the 29th.

I was not there- I was not allowed to be there.

Latte Sketch

Here's a sketch of my character, latte. She's one of my favorite characters to draw. ^-^

Sneak

This is the cute mouse creature for that comic I am working on. I like to sketch him once in a while.