I actually finished this painting (which sketch I previewed in early February) a few weeks ago, but I never got around to posting it here. I’m quite pleased with it, over all, though of course it’s not 100% what I initially envisioned–but whose art ever is? It taught me (like most of my paintings do) that I still have a lot to learn.

It reminds me of a detail from a medieval tapestry, one of the mythic beasties flittering about in the leaves that surround the main subject of the image. Of course, now I am inspired to try and paint a unicorn…

I kept seeing paintings of firebirds everywhere — in the bathroom at the craft store, a set decoration on a tv show — I finally decided yesterday that I ought to try painting one myself, and the composition just popped into my head right then. Within a couple of hours I had not only this sketch done, but I’d begun the work on the canvas itself. If I had good lighting, I might have kept working on it for hours. As it was, only the the bare outlines and rough background are complete. Hopefully, I’ll have a chance to work on it a little bit more this afternoon.

Right now, though, I need to go get ready for a writing date, and make some progress on the other work in progress — my novel! Free time is about the only good thing about being unemployed, I guess!

And this the previous issue; I think this is the issue that made me really fall in love with art dolls.

I was surprised when I took over this magazine, nearly a year ago, how much affinity I’ve found for the delightfully odd world of art dolls. With the exception of Artful Blogging, I don’t think any of our publications contain quite the variety of form, media and style as ADQ does.

The difference is that with Artful Blogging, I only get to see the photos of the artwork I publish. For ADQ, I get to see it up close and personal like. I’d like to show you a glimpse of the neat things lurking in my office right now, for the winter issue, but I’d have to have my camera with me. Instead, here’s a few spreads from past issues that show something of the diversity of the art doll world:

I could go on and on about why I love this styff, but the real reason I’m writing about ADQ right now is to tell you about the Pink Artist Doll.

I was very happy to publish “Love Squared” in the Autumn issue (on the stands right now!) not just because she’s a beautiful doll, but because of the cause she is dedicated to. 182 artists contributed to the making of this doll, and right now she is being raffled off to support breast cancer research. $10 bucks buys you two chances to win this one-of-a-kind piece (or one of some other fab prizes) and you’re helping a great cause too. I know most people who read my blog probably aren’t artists, but we all know people who have been touched by breast cancer, and this is an easy way to make a contribution to the fight. So go buy your raffle tickets, or go read more about Monica Magness, the creative trailblazer who dreamed up this project in an interview I did on the Stampington site (and then go buy your raffle tickets). It’s win-win for everyone.

My choice was made a lot easier by one thing. Well, two things, the second being that Chris was just plain ol’ wrong about That Guy being him. Chris is a much better looking guy. (I’d prove it with a photo, but I don’t seem to have any but this picture of a picture online anywhere.)

The first thing that made it easy for me was that Melissa and Gabrielle each created a very interesting character … but neither of them actually gave him a name! Since that was actually the point of the contest, I am forced to eliminate them from the competition. No hard feelings, I hope? Rules, after all, are rules.

So (by default, and I’m glad of that because it means I didn’t actually have to choose), Annie is the winner of the Name That Guy contest! Here is Annie’s entry:

This is Hoben and he’s one of the Creators in the land of Ephily. The Creators are a select few artists who sit in a room and sketch pictures of new creatures and when the sketches are finished off with a dusting of magic sand over the ink, the creature then comes to life somewhere in the land. What makes Hoben a good creator is that not only does he have a mind for subtle detail, but he also understands balance and incorporates that into what he creates.

Hoben is a good fit, I think, and I love the idea of people sketching their world into existence. I wonder if I could get a hold of some of that magic sand and sprinkle it over my picture of Ben Barnes … no, Stace, no. Don’t go there.

Annie, let me know if you want the bookwish or a picture. Actually, I owe you several pictures, since you suggested three of the subjects I took on in the past month. Let me know which (if any) you’d like to have.

Thanks, everyone, for playing along!

Given that I had only 3 days to draw those 7 pictures (because my self-discipline is poor and I did not draw every single day, like I was supposed to)…

… and because I wanted to test my consistency by redrawing the same face multiple times…

…. and because I wanted to try out drawing a bigger variety of expressions…

… and because I still had it in mind that I wanted to bookend my project with self-portraits…

I decided that I would draw 7 pictures of myself as a sort of grand finale to this whole thing.

It started off well. I went home Friday night and took a bunch of cheesy snapshots of myself with cheesy expressions on my face: anger, surprise, etc. They weren’t great photos, but I got them printed at the drugstore, so you know my intention must have been sincere, if I was going to let some teen-aged photo clerk see photos of me making a fool of myself. But the photos were meant for a reference only, so I didn’t really care what they looked like.

So, come Sunday afternoon (yeah, yeah … I waited till Sunday afternoon; ref. above mention of self-discipline deficiency), I sat down and pulled out my sketch pad, pencil and photos. I told myself that I wasn’t going to spend too much time on any one picture — I had 7 to do, after all, and even if I only spent 30 minutes on each one (a reasonable estimate for the others I’ve done this month) that would mean 3 and half hours. These were going to be rough and dirty sketchwork, only.

I was on number 3 (surprised!) when I realized I wasn’t having fun. Remember way back at #9 I said I wasn’t enjoying trying to draw real people. So what made me think I’d want to do it 7 times in a row? And, compounding the issue, do it 7 times using less-than-flattering pictures of myself? Disregarding the quality of the pictures, which wasn’t encouraging, I couldn’t get past the boredom of what I was doing. Not even giving myself permission to be perfectly bad by saying I wouldn’t have to post them made me want to keep going.

Was it the repetition of doing the same face over and over (so much for my career as a graphic novelist!)? Or was it that my face is just so darn boring? I dunno. I just knew I didn’t want to draw that face anymore, no matter how many funny expressions it was twisted into. I even tried a few hours later, but couldn’t urge myself beyond a basic oval for the head and circles for eyeballs.

I told myself that enough was enough and there was no sense forcing myself to do something I wasn’t enjoying, and that I wasn’t going to be proud to show off in the end. So I stopped, and since I felt relief instead of guilt, I know it was the right choice.

The only thing left to decide was whether or not I was going to try and make up those seven faces once my 30 days was up. Which, ultimately, was more important? The time spent or the quantitative output. Truth is, the answer would have been a toss-up, except for one thing — there are all these words battering at my brain, trying to get out.

See, what with trying to produce a decent looking drawing a day, all my personal time has been pretty filled up, and my writing output in the last month has been practically nil. Now, it could be that I needed that verbal down time, but my writer-mind is starting to reassert itself. Drawing is fun, but those words are always going to demand more attention from me.

So, I am calling and end to my self-imposed 30 Days, 30 Faces challenge, with only 23 “finished” drawings. I have learned a lot — especially how much more there is to learn! Don’t think that this means you won’t see more drawings from me in the future; revisions of some I’ve done this past month, and new faces that suggest themselves to me. I also want to try and paint some of them — for some reason, I have a particular reason to paint Emryn. And sense I am a shameless exhibitionist, you are sure to see some of it pop up here.

I want to offer my sincere thanks to everyone who commented — your encouragement meant (and continues to mean) a lot. There’s just something about having an appreciative audience that compels me to keep going. It must be the latent actress in me, always seeking applause. Seriously, you’re the best.

Oh: today’s the last day to make an entry into the contest to Name This Guy. I’ll make a decision tomorrow and post the winner.

That is all! We now return you to your regularly scheduled blogging.

Yes, that Inigo, but not based on Mandy Patinkin in the movie. Nin suggested him as a subject a few weeks back, but before I got to him I decided I wasn’t having much fun trying to draw actual likenesses of people and failing miserably.

But then I realized that I could just draw Inigo from the book, not the movie. Never liked his hair in the movie anyway …

– an then Piccoli was pieced by something so dazzling even he had to open his eyes –

– to see a young man approaching, tall, blade-thin, muscular, spring-legged, who was handsome enough but would have been more than that, save for two scars that paralleled his cheeks –

I think he may be a little too angular, and the scars make him look even more gaunt. I didn’t have too much time to spend on the hair, either — this was done on my lunch break while in the park. And his goatee needs serious attention.

Well, maybe revisit later, if Nin wants the picture!

I’m preloading this post to go up on Sunday afternoon. I’ve got 7 more pics to do this weekend — that’s a lot! I don’t know if I’ll get it done or not. Tune in Monday to find out!

Long hair still a problem with this size paper. His nose could maybe use a bit more definition.

But over all I’m pleased.

I like that character that comes through, but he looks a little too … Disney-ish. A bit like Gaston, non?

(I don’t know if the pic is showing up or not … link is here.