My daughter, known as Birdie to the internet for the sake of maintaining anonymity, is a very fun and interesting subject to doodle! Babies are weird. Crazy anatomy.
Haven’t posted in a while, though I’ve been meaning to, so in the meantime I offer up these!
Blind contour drawings are an excellent exercise for improving hand-eye coordination and observational skills, as well as a fun way to warm up by making some unapologetically “bad” art!
I love to do these as sketchbook fillers. However, these two in particular were actually sketched on my Boogie Board. It’s reminiscent of my old magnetic drawing board I had as a kid, but completely different technology.
I love how temporary it is, everything can be erased so quickly with the touch of a button. Because of this, I can make lots of crappy doodles without worrying about wasting paper. But when I make something I happen to like, as shown above, I just save it using the Jot Boogie Board app.
(This is not an advertisement, this post is not sponsored, I just like to be specific about what I use! If you feel like buying one after reading this though I’d honestly recommend just getting a kid’s magnetic drawing toy, they’re cheaper and in my experience a bit more fun! After my No Buy is over I might pick one up myself…)
A wood giraffe cutout from the dollar tree, painted by me, with Craft Smart matte acrylic paint.
Had a lot of fun with this little guy. Learned a lot about giraffes in the process! They are so cute! No wonder they’re my partner’s favorite. This is a birthday gift to her.
I’ve also been exploring Neurographic art lately, so stay tuned for a post about that hopefully in the next few days!
I’m happy to report that I was able to get a few doodles in during the hospital stay before our daughter was born!
Birdie was born very healthy via a semi-emergency cesarean. I was induced but failed to progress for 24 hours after my water broke, and then she was having some heart rate dips. Turns out she had the cord triple wrapped around her neck! We are very lucky that things turned out as they did, even though the whole situation was very stressful… Not to mention uncomfortable. My spinal failed so I had to go under for the surgery but luckily I was still able to meet her not long after. C-section recovery is no joke, I have never been in so much pain in my life. Luckily now I am more or less all healed up, though I do have nerve damage on my lower tummy.
She’s almost 2 months old now and doing very well so far. She is getting progressively wigglier as she trains to start walking and crawling! I can’t wait until the day she can grasp a crayon…
I actually came here to write a different post, but I realized I hadn’t updated you all on the baby situation! So here’s that. Stay tuned for another post hopefully quite soon!
Armed with my new monogrammed lidded mug and fresh home-made poppyseed bread, I made a feeble attempt at filling 9 pieces of marker paper in 24 hours or less.
I only accomplished one piece in 5 hours, most of that time spent researching references or procrastinating, and now I’m mentally exhausted!
I’ve had this idea floating around in my head lately- “wouldn’t it be fun to try to fill an entire sketchbook in a day?” And since I haven’t touched this Strathmore marker paper pad in over a year, I asked my partner if she’d like to partake in a silly challenge with me.
There were 18 sheets left in the paper pad, which I divided into 9 sheets for each of us. I thought that if we really gave it our all we could definitely get this done in 9 hours or less… Oh how naive I was! Sure, it’s only been 5 hours since we started, but I can tell for certain there is no way we will successfully fill all 18 sheets in the next 19 hours.
For starters my partner and I are both perfectionists. Part of the point of this challenge was to overcome our perfectionism, but to the surprise of absolutely no one: that’s easier said than done. Second of all, we both have ADHD! That part speaks for itself. It’s probably hard for anyone to dedicate a whole day to one activity, but it’s especially so with ADHD in the mix. And lastly… Making art takes so much mental energy!! I was hoping we would really let loose and just do some really bad doodles… and my partner was attempting to do just that… She still ended up calling it a day after two sheets full of thumbnail sketches. I got totally sucked into wanting to make something that looked good, so in the same amount of time I only accomplished one piece. At the very least my partner got down several different ideas!
Despite all of that, I’m so happy we decided to take on this silly challenge! It got us to draw, it got us to start using up materials that have just been collecting dust, and it got our creativity flowing. We probably won’t fill up all 18 sheets in 24 hours, but even then the challenge still accomplished exactly what I hoped it would!! A very successful “failure” from my perspective.
I went into this challenge with very low expectations, knowing full well that this exact scenario might occur. I accepted the possibility of failure in advance and gave it my all anyway, and in doing so I was able to do more thanI probably would have today otherwise.
It’s better to quit 15 minutes into the race than to never pass the starting line in the first place! Trophies for participation might be unnecessary, but I find that participation and the experience that comes with it is it’s own reward.
We will still try to fill up this paper pad as quickly as we can, perhaps modifying it to another “fill one page or more a day” challenge like we’ve done in the past. Definitely more manageable and a lot less pressure!!! Maybe one of these days I’ll be able to succeed at a sketchbook-in-a-day challenge, but I’m content with today not being that day.
Since I’m nearing the end of my pregnancy, I’ve been having loads of doctor’s appointments. At this point it’s a weekly occurrence, so that means lots of time spent waiting in the waiting room, and then waiting in the office between being triaged and actually seeing the doctor. The best way to pass the time is to whip out my tiny sketcher and just doodle the minutes away!
This last week I made some art, as my mom specifically requested art she could hang in her house as her birthday present.
I decided to use the opportunity to try something new, I wanted to try using my Molotow chrome marker on black canvas.
Luckily for me, Michael’s was having a huge sale on all of their Artist Loft brand canvases! On top of that, I had a $5 coupon with them to use up, so I got 4 canvases for pocket change. Awesome purchase!
I also used my circle template and ruler to make guidelines this time. I wanted it to be as symmetrical as possible, especially since I was working with a perfectly square canvas. As much as I love to freehand my mandalas, I think that technique is best for sketchbook pieces rather than these finished pieces intended to be viewed often by many.
I’m quite happy with the results. So happy in fact, I jokingly told my mom that I wanted to keep it for myself! I’m obsessed with that contrast and that shine!!
On the day of her birthday we had quite a while between waking up and leaving for her house, so I decided to also make her a birthday card to pass the time. I wasn’t sure if I’d have the energy and I knew she would understand if I didn’t, but I felt good that day and had a fun idea for the cover art.
I used the wet on wet watercolor technique to make the balloons have a tie dye effect. I started with just the middle balloon, and let that dry fully before moving onto the background balloons, so that they could all be different and not bleed into each other.
Once all of the water had dried, I added the chrome details. I knew I could have left the balloons with just the tie dye effect, but I enjoyed doodling on them. I’m really happy about how it turned out, it’s very much a birthday card! Simple but effective.
Both of these pieces were very satisfying to make. Very sensory pleasing experiences.
I’m glad that when I’m presented with a reason to make art, I’m generally able to make myself do it. A lot of the time I can’t get myself to create on a daily basis like I would like to in theory, but when I have some outside motivation I muster up the courage and creativity necessary to get the job done.
I’m proud of myself, and my mom loved her present. Nothing makes me happier than giving my art as a gift to a loved one and having them be over the moon about it. I’m so glad to have had this opportunity!
Quick side note: Our daughter’s due date quickly approaches. Most likely she will arrive in 3 to 4 weeks, but it could be any day now. So do expect a long period of silence on this blog while I adjust to our new life, though I’m sure by now you all are used to that haha. I hope to return sooner than even I expect though, hopefully with new art to show off to you all! So until then, I wish you all the best!
I bought a brand-new watercolor sketchbook (a Strathmore visual journal) a week or two ago, but I hadn’t gotten it “dirty” until today. I did some swatching and testing in the back of it, but until I actually create art in a new sketchbook I don’t consider it to have been started.
It’s been a long time since I’ve really tried to paint something that looks like anything, so I decided to take it easy and start with something simple. I recently watched some YouTube watercolor videos for inspiration, and decided to take the abstract florals route. I ended up painting the pink flowers in a patterned spacing by accident so I went with it.
Had a lot of fun making this piece. My partner is impressed by it too, and her reaction made me very happy.
Just a simple floral doodle pattern!Detail shot to show the shimmery-ness! I just can’t resist adding a bit of sparkle.
Sorry to all who follow this blog with genuine interest- I’m so bad at remembering to do things! Even things I like doing!
Although a lot of the time it’s not just a matter of forgetting, it’s also a matter of a mental wall that makes me not want to do things even though I actually enjoy doing them. I think this is what a lot of people call art block. For me it is also a product of my neurodiversity, from the executive dysfunction. My combo of ADHD and autism makes it to where I don’t want to do anything that isn’t the easiest thing a lot of the time. Art can be hard, so my brain likes to prevent me from doing it, even though I usually very much enjoy myself when I actually get around to doing it. Blogging is never really that hard per say, but it does require me to actually take time to use the computer and write, and a lot of the time I just can’t be bothered.
So anyway, here’s an update. In the past several months I’ve been playing around with different mediums.
For example, here is a Molotow acrylic marker painting I did on a wood cutout from The Dollar Tree that I did for my partner’s dad. We have a very limited number of colors in Molotows, and he’s a veteran, so I figured it was a good excuse to use a color pallet I don’t use very often: red, white, and blue. He likes to garden too, so the flower shape is also fitting.
Despite the simple design, this mandala took me about two weeks to complete due to perfectionism and procrastination. Most of the work was just trying to decide what pattern to do next!
Another medium I’ve taken up lately is a collaboration with my mom! She likes to do “coloring page stained glass” crafts. She’s not much into drawing herself, so she generally just traces free-to-use coloring pages. I create free-to-use coloring pages, so I offered to do the tracing part of the project for her of some of my pieces! I love to do elaborate designs on my mandala which were a little intimidating to her, so doing it myself allowed me to have a piece of the action and let her just color the piece stress-free! I consider any instance of someone coloring one of my coloring pages as a collaboration between myself and the person coloring, so it was especially meaningful to me to have my mom be one of those people. The first one I did for her was April’s Mandala, which she colored, backed, and framed for me as a gift. It now hangs on the bedroom wall in memory of our lost daughter.
April’s Mandala coloring page stained glass craft: A collaboration between myself and my mother.
I have done several more of these for her since then, and I always find it very enjoyable. Retracing my line art is very soothing and nostalgic for me, and I have the opportunity to correct tiny mistakes I made in the original line art which is so satisfying!
I am now getting back into watercolor and I’m in the process of creating my own palette using a nice little tin I picked up off amazon with empty half pans and tube watercolors mixed with glycerin. I don’t have much of anything to show for it yet, as this is quite a recent development. It is getting closer to September so my anticipation for autumn is building, I think I will be doing some seasonal pieces soon.
Our rainbow daughter is due in October (yes I know, how perfect!) so I think I may create some autumnal birth announcement cards to send to the extended family members. I want to get on that sooner than later so that I don’t have to think about it postpartum! I am sure I will not have the energy for any sort of creative endeavor for quite a while following her birth.
That’s all for now folks, I’ll try to update you again at least once more before Birdie gets here! No promises though unfortunately, hahaha.
I’ve never actually drawn a comic before, as far as I can remember at least.
I’ve been trying to replace my phone habit with books. It’s difficult, even though I’ve gone out of my way to make my phone as boring as possible. It’s almost entirely utilitarian apps! The main problem is that taking off the web browser off is 1) impossible actually 2) not a good idea anyway because sometimes I rely on it when out and about for certain things. I have this problem with compulsive googling and then reading way too much internet, most of which is just a bunch of people’s personal opinions and not actually informative. Even after leaving the vast majority of social media I still find myself getting locked into scroll loops on my damn phone. When will I learn!?! When will I break the habit!?! I only use two hobby-specific forums, WordPress, and YouTube nowadays. I only use them on the computer, too. Despite this I still find a way to get distracted by that darned little screen. I miss the days of dumb phones.
A wise person on twitter once said:
Literally my favorite tweet ever. Really encapsulates all my issues with the internet and TV.
I drew this the week after we found out I was carrying our rainbow baby, as you can see I wasn’t feeling very optimistic. [Glitter markers and black Posca on rough sketchbook paper]
So, I’m pregnant again. I updated my “about” page a while back to reflect this, but unless you’re new here you probably haven’t seen that.
They say it’ll happen when you stop trying. For us that really was the case, I conceived the same month that I completely and utterly gave up. It’s really annoying it worked out that way though because that is the most condescending and insensitive advice you can give to anyone trying to conceive.
Due to how traumatized I am from my first pregnancy ending in miscarriage, I have spent most of this one convinced that something will go terribly wrong. It doesn’t help that I already have a severe anxiety disorder, I worry about everything all the time no matter what!
So far though, everything is going suspiciously smoothly. We have seen our dear “Birdie” (their nickname until they are born) twice now, and both times they were in perfect health for their gestational age. We are now in the 14th week and if everything continues to go as planned they will arrive in October.
Of course, now we’ve been exposed to COVID-19, so I have a legitimate reason to worry about the health of our baby. That hasn’t been fun at all, I had an extreme panic attack the day we found out, and now I’m worried I hurt Birdie from panicking so hard! Hopefully nothing terrible will happen, most pregnant women who get COVID end up fine and have healthy babies. I just can’t forget the stories of loss, those lost mothers and children matter so much to me. I wish this pandemic never happened.
The longer this pregnancy progresses, the more I get my hopes up. It’s impossible for me to regain the naivety I’ve lost though, I’ve read plenty of horror stories about late miscarriages, stillbirth, and neonatal death to know that you’re never truly out of the woods. Life is just crazy like that. If it’s alive, it can die. It’s not fair and we don’t have to like it, but life in general isn’t fair and shit just happens.
Sorry to be such a Debbie Downer but honestly that’s just who I am. Don’t get me wrong though, I’m extremely excited and grateful for this child. I even dedicated an entire blog to writing letters to them. (Although frankly a lot of those are pretty depressing too. I’m not the kind to lie to my kid and try to shelter them, life is hard so I’m gonna be honest about it! I want them to get to know ME… not a projection of who I wish I was.)
You shouldn’t be all that surprised that this isn’t a unicorns and butterflies kind of post though, it did say “vent art” in the title didn’t it? Haha.
Well anyway, thanks for reading, if you read any or all of that. Any well-wishes, prayers, words of sympathy, etc. are very much welcomed and appreciated! It’s gonna be a looong 6 more months.
Ari October Art 