Experimentation and stuff

So a couple of weeks back, right after I'd finished my spider girl, I also drew this "proof of concept" for a graphic novel which may or may not happen. Yet more art nouveau.

A3 and black ink

This concept has been in discussion for a while and, as it's set in the late eighteen hundreds, the style seemed contextually appropriate.

Anyway I've also started a new project. It's been a long time since I've tried anything that isn't two dimensional and I've missed it. Here is a wee hint.

Also my right hand has little wounds, like the one in the photo bellow, thanks to my Raynaurds. If you read my previous two blogs you will know what I'm talking about.

So, I'm almost up to date agin. ~Nuggie

Monsters can be Beautiful too

So another art nouveau piece finished. (Completed last Wednesday as planed) I'm not sure if this should have taken me twenty-two hours. It is in ink, on A2. Perhaps the scale and the need for a very steady hand makes that ok? Anyway, now I'm looking to colour this at some point, preferably water colour, so this is going to take even longer. Eh.

Monsters can be Beautiful too

I really disliked nouveau when I was introduced to it as the examples I was presented with, and the books I was shown that specialised on it, only featured glorified drawings of women. Women, women, women. It was boring. Boring, boring, boring. Stylistically it was great but the specific choice of subject made it less engaging. Having returned to it in my own time however I found it was used creatively in architecture, graphic design, jewellery, furniture and drawings, that didn't feature women. It does compliment the human form but it has become over saturated with arbitrary drawings of women so I did this "spider girl" instead.

Any honest comments or critiques are appreciated. It's not for ego preening or reinforcing my self confidence.

Meh.

Scrawny Hands!

So I have this little thing called Raynaurd's Disease (or Raynaurd's Phenomenon). It is a condition in which the small blood vessels, in the extremities, are over-sensitive to changes in temperature. So, on a particularly cold day, the blood supply to extremities, such as fingers and toes and sometimes the face, is halted. This is usually referred to as an attack. When an attack occurs the effected extremities become saw, turn pure white and eventually go numb. But sometimes, instead of going numb, they become hyper sensitive to contact (the slightest touch can be very painful) and sometimes the event can simply be excruciatingly painful from the moment it starts to the point of subsidence.

Owie-ouch!

Once an attack subsides the sensation of returning blood flow can be equally uncomfortable, occasionally worse, and people frequently describe it as a burning sensation.
The severity of the condition varies between individuals. Where as some need to be out walking through strong winds to experience an attack, I have experienced one when lifting a fractionally-cooler-than-room-temperature-apple from the table and another from the slightest breeze on a summers day. (Yes. I am pathetic.)
Usually an external source needs to be a little more aggressive to trigger such an event but regardless of the cause the recovery can be damaging as this is when a person can develop chilblains if their hands warm up to quickly.

Whelp, I got the chilblains last week.

You see, I was so determined to get so much done last week that when my hand went white and holding my pencils and pens felt like I was piecing my fingertips on pins I kept thinking, just a few more minutes...just a few more minutes...and then after a day of this I huddled over a heater to warm my hand up and, boosh, the hand inflated and went red and lumpy. Unfortunately for me I'm scrawny so I had one bony hand and one chunky hand. Tadaaah!

The left is the "normal hand" the other is the chunky one. Perhaps not the best photos but they looked quite representative on the camera screen last week...that hand was so lumpy...

So that was how I damaged my hand. Anyway I was in the midst of a new piece and, as the seemingly obsessive person I am becoming, I decided I would keep working especially as I had made my mind that it would be finished by Wednesday: decision final.
After my success with the art nouveau mermaid I thought I would try another nouveau piece. For now I'm calling it "Monsters can be Beautiful Too." I think I quite like that title so I may just stick with it. Here is the is the crude initial A4 sketch alongside the A2 that I would be converting it onto.

Converting a piece onto A2 can be a daunting, especially when you make the initial pencil strokes, as these will effect the placement of the rest of your piece. Getting it right is kind of important.

Initial construction lines always look a little goofy...

Then just got to add a few layers....

So by this point my hand was still poofy and a little painful but I was still determined to have it done so I went onto pull an all-nighter, fuelled by a trusty can of Monster. There is something peaceful about working through the early hours of the morning. I enjoy the sense of privacy and isolation. I may just start doing this more often.

Rawwww!

I mentioned starting a piece on A2 was a little daunting but, once you've got to a point where you're happy enough to ink it, that fear is far worse. Just one slip and you've ruined it. Meh!

Eeeeeh...

The worse part about art nouveau? All those curvy lines!

This was a long one. If you made it all the way to the bottom then thank you. I'll upload the finished piece tomorrow. ~Nuggie

First sale and a commission

So I sold my first piece and just finished my first commission.

This commission was stylistically out of the norm for me. To start with I was asked to create an image of a mermaid-no guidance-only merely that I was to create what ever came to mind. I felt that what I had currently been doing would not compliment the mermaid concept so I looked to nouveau. It began with a pencil draft on A4 which, once I was happy with it, was redrafted onto A3 a couple of days later. Personally, I like experimenting with anatomy and creating what might have been or could be, but it occurred to me that perhaps this was more something that only I would appreciate.

 

So, I decided to start again. I had been asked to create a mermaid after all and perhaps I should look to create something a little more stereotypical. On top of that I was looking to create a piece of nouveau art and I was missing out on the opportunity to experiment with all that hair! So, a couple of days later, it was redrafted and a new version, inked, on A3.

I've never tried nouveau before but it was fun to experiment with. (I never predicted that maintaining such steady hands could take so much time. Even got a hand cramp!) I'm considering even changing the actual content I've been producing and perhaps pursuing nouveau. I feel it could be quite versatile, not just half naked women and too much hair.


So, on another note, the piece I sold was "Quack, Quack, Quack." I think I've actually grown quite attached to my ducks so I'll be sad to see them go but on another note I'm glad that somebody will appreciate them.

Bye, bye ducks...