Mandala 1 - A Nontraditional Watercolor Mandala

I have not been doing many abstract watercolors lately. I've gotten kind of carried away with monsters. Elements of the monster paintings are abstract or freeform, but they're not like the paintings that have no plan. So this weekend I decided to do something a little different. I've been using circles in my pen and ink drawings and comics and I decided to use a circle in a watercolor and ended up with what I think of as a nontraditional mandala:

I tried not to get too carried away with color... This is mostly Cobalt Blue, Phthalo Turquoise, Shadow Violet, I think Antique Silver, and a couple of Daniel Smith's Quinicridone colors - magenta maybe and rose? I get those mixed up. I have the whole set. This painting is available on Etsy. It is 8 x 8", all watercolor & signed in ink. The best part is you can decide for yourself which way is up...

Pen and Ink Drawings

I mentioned in my last post that I try to work on art every day, even if only for an hour. I did some pencil sketches but I've also done some pen & ink sketches, of which these are a few.

I use mostly Pitt pens in size XS and S with some accents in size B, and a few touches with white gel pens. As you may have seen from a post earlier this week, I liked the pig walker enough that I later did a small watercolor that was similar. Click on any of these images for a closer view.

Pencil Sketches

I have been trying to draw or paint every day this year, if only for a few minutes. I've managed it probably 90% of days so far. Tbese are a few sketches done with mechanical pencil. The 1st one has some watercolor and gel pen over top.

The quotes are:
Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in.
--Leonard Cohen

“Solitude is the soil in which genius is planted, creativity grows, and legends bloom; faith in oneself is the rain that cultivates a hero to endure the storm, and bare the genesis of a new world, a new forest.”
― Mike Norton

The last one says "things which enclose me" which is a reference to an EE Cummings poem, though not a direct quote.

Schnauzer Portrait

For Christmas my mother requested a painting of their beloved rescue Schnauzer, Taser. (He came with the name. I am not sure he answers to it unless there is food involved but he likes people paying attention to him.) He's 16 now. They have had him since he was 3. I painted him looking a bit more like his younger self. The last time he got groomed my mother had the groomer cut off his little beard - he's not such a tidy eater any more. Now he has been immortalized in paint.

Upcoming Events & New Monsters!

Hello folks! I hope you had a good holiday. It was really nice to have a few days off work to regroup and think about what art I want to work on for 2015. I've got a few upcoming events to tell you about, too. So without further ado:

1) This Saturday. January 24th I have a piece in a group show featuring the Artists of Ballard Sketch Team at Push Pull Gallery, in Greenwood, Seattle, from 3pm to 7pm.

2) I will be participating in Exterminator City 3, February 21st from 3pm to 7pm, also in Greenwood, Seattle. Exterminator City is an independent comic artist event, and I will have a new zine premiering there, Stories and Dreams #2. Unless I change the name between now and then, I am still working on it.

3) I will have work(s) in another group show at Push / Pull gallery in Greenwood, Seattle, in March, more information on that will be forthcoming. This show will feature women artists.

4) I will also have a solo show at Miro Tea Shop in Ballard, Seattle, in March 2015. Artwalk is 2nd Saturday. I will post more info on that soon!

& I have some new stuff in my Etsy Shop.

Here are a couple of peeks at things I have been working on recently...