My Creative Journey 26 + Watch me Paint! Ep. 11

Every journey begins with a step...and continues with countless more. There is no end to the creative path. Only progress. To get better you have to do. Your skills, your mind, your art will not get better unless you try. And trying means you will fail a lot. But, if you keep at it, eventually you will triumph, break through, and be where you want to be. Here is another step on my journey.

Daaaaamnnnn, I didn't take a break again. Though I didn't write this blog yesterday like I was supposed to. I was gonna pull out my computer and finish up once I got home but... Let me tell you how tired I was. After finishing up at 5pm at my job, and working on my blog until 7pm there to avoid traffic on the way home, I laid down in my car and fell asleep for close to an hour. Like, got in the driver seat, said, 'nope,' and got in my backseat with the pillow I keep there and was out like a light.

However, I did do some sketching in my book while smoking and chilling while watching Netflix.

What happened, well, I'll save that for the next post.

But, the night before last...Thursday I believe...I had promised to take a break but while smoking with my friend at the beginning of the attempted for break I got inspired, went home, and pulled out my paints. It was a wild night of good, bad, meek, and horrible. Mostly on the lower end, but, I don't really care. I learned and I had some fun. And, I think I entertained like 30 people via my live broadcasts on Twitter and Instagram. Someday soon I'll include some of those videos here, lol. They're worth a watch if you've got the time and want to giggle like a little schoolgirl (sorry, really high right now, my neighbors caught me on the way to the coffee shop and asked a question I couldn't say no to.)

Please, oh please, laugh your asses off at this one. I know I do.

A quick story about the 'Almost Iconic' bit on the painting.

While at my buddies place smoking on the front porch a couple guys pulled up and started chatting with us. It was some good stuff, business and philosophy, and out of nowhere. So, of course my art came up...I love to share :) I showed them some of my work, and one of the images, 'Iconic' ink on Strathmore paper I did a while back came up. He's like, 'I like that Iconic bit.' So I was a inspired to use that as my thing. I don't know, sounds cool. I think I've got that vibe. But, that's just me, hehe.

So, that's what I tried to do...something Iconic...a portrait of my buddy that went very, very, very south. And, since it makes me smile, I like it and screw all the haters.

Which leads me to my next spectacular failure of the evening...and also some good lessons.

I didn't want to give up yet on the idea of a portrait of my buddy, and so I took another swing. This time in color in one of my favorite combos. I wanted to be different, so I created a frame. For some odd reason the self portrait by Dali came to mind as I made the first strokes.

Now, I'll be the first to admit that the accuracy of this representation kinda misses the mark on the accuracy of colors and lines and well, pretty much everything, but...

In a vague sense, it really is a good representation of the reality of my buddy. I look at it and I see him, so it passes the only test that matters, mine :) I'm gonna do more of him because he's a big part of my life as a creative inspiration soooo, stay tuned :).

My faces are getting better though...in their own way. So, progress.

Which makes me excited to show you this one, muahahahaha....

I can hear all the experienced art painter people here screaming at me right now...I know, I know. It's heavy, and not in a deep thougth provoking way...it's just, heavy. It's neither thick with color in the right way, nor light enough to give it a more comic feel...so it just sits in-between. And that yellow...it's killing me. Ugh, and how I tried to force 'Iconic' onto this monstrosity...

But, all in the name of learning and experimentation :)

I fucked up...woot. I did it. And, now I know what to avoid in the future. And....that inspired me to try again on one aspect, the gas mask.

Something about them I think fits with my aesthetic right now, so I need to get better at them. I want to get better at them :)

This one is really cool. I like it. A lot. It's stupid simple but the color combo just really hits home and makes you wanna stare. I know it's hard to see in the pic, but it's true. I might hang it center in my main wall for a minute while I focus on inks for the next week. No other paintings but it... :)

And you know what? You can actually watch me paint this if you want. Here's Ep. 11 of Watch me Paint!

Music by: Cullah

I had a blast with the evolution of this one. Each step between the colors I had to think about how everything would look together. And, remembering the lesson of leaving the unpainted areas, how to leave the correct bit of space everywhere to achieve the affect I wanted. Like, what colors would look together, and fit with the imagery? I'm super stoked about the idea of lighter and darker shades of color. Adding some white, using them to accent...stuff like that. Basics if you've done any sort of real art course, but, I'm like a little kid right now playing in the park for the first time. Someday I might know too much and it will be a lot less fun... :\

But, anyways...the huge thing for me on this painting was at the end.

I had finished the mask and didn't like the balance of it. Nothing popped about it. I had the base colors sitting there but the border was still open. I looked up and around my room for some inspiration...and hit on red. I resisted at first, because in my mind I was like, Red-Green...dammit, Christmas. But...I hadn't then realized the power of having multiple tones of that image and how it shades the affects of complementary colors. I splashed a bunch down, of course leaving white space to increase it's boldness, and loved it. Stupid, simple, pointless, whatever, I like it, and that's art. If it kicks someone, anyone in the gut and makes them feel something, it's succeeded.

That's about it for that night. A break that turned into another intense art session...which left me both exhilarated and exhausted. I'm definitely not 20 anymore... Sometimes I wish I had discovered this thing inside me sooner...but, fate doesn't work that way. You come to things when you're supposed to. I had to go through certain things to get here and would not have been the person I am had I not. Get's into quite circular and strange logic really quickly...because if I had taken a different path I would have ended up somewhere else as someone else...eep...going to end this here and move on to my next set of tasks. Which will probably be another post, hehe.

So, stay tuned! Much love to y'all for dropping by and hopefully enjoying my creative journey. Comments are always appreciated. Love to hear what you think, even if it's to say your child makes better art walking across a floor with muddy feet, lol. :) Be well all!*

Wessel