I’ve been in an artistic mode lately. Wanting a break from client-centered projects, I’ve been easing back and listening more to myself, trying to figure out what is it that I really want more of in my life and taking action to make room for those things. I realize that I want more art, more active creativity in my life. I want to make more things, and express myself in that way. Client work is restrictive in that aspect, or at least I haven’t been able to mesh my own expression with client work, and I’m not even saying that is what I should be doing. After all, client work is for the client.
“Do what you love, and find a way to monetize it” –Dominic Lawson, The Startup Life Podcast
I love to make art, all kinds, but specifically, I love to draw, and more recently digitally painting images. I have always loved to draw. It’s funny how we spend so much time trying to learn new skills to be able to do new things, all the while many times, as children we are already doing the thing which we are meant to do most. For me, that thing was drawing. I had to go back to my childhood, so to speak, to a time where I felt most at ease, when money, fear, and stress did not drive me to do things solely in alleviation of those factors. There has to be some happiness, some fun somewhere. I realized that I was not having much of it. So how can I have fun? and still be working? and still get paid?
“When was the last time you truly had fun?” — my therapist
How do you know that it is time to let go of something that you’ve revolved your life around for so long? Sometimes, doing something different it what is in order for us to continue to grow and learn about ourselves. Alluding to another piece I’m writing about “space,” sometimes, you don’t know you need a change until that change has actually occurred. I find myself enjoying what i do for work less and less and viewing it more as a utilitarian thing that must be done to fund my lifestyle. Then I think, “but what lifestyle is that–this lifestyle of always working and never having fun?.”
So, I’ve been going back to the basics. Allowing myself to be pulled toward those things that excite me the most and embracing the feeling.
I came across a photo of a girl with an afro. She had very deep dark skin that was looked very alluring to me. Hair, has always been a muse of mine, since I was a child trying to figure out how to duplicate it’s essence and texture in a drawing. It was the most fun part for me, but sometimes, the most tedious as well. I wanted to create this image of this person-unknown to me, because I simply thought that it was beautiful. How simple right? It was striking, and although it was beautiful, it was quite the opposite of what I see reflected as beauty in my daily surroundings. So I knew that others might be struck by it in a similar way I was upon viewing it. Although I love dynamic hair, I approached the hair on this subject simply, only adding subtle detail. An afro is a sort of controlled chaos. I wanted to focus more on the skin because, I felt that was the most interesting part of the image.
“There’s a universe in her afro…There’s a power in the Black folk…but that’s forbidden knowledge” — Forbidden Knowledge, by Raury
When I make draw like this, I tend to start with a sketch from a reference. That sketch can be hand-drawn and scanned or more frequently now I sketch digitally as well. It’s SO forgiving, yet still organic. Then once I get the proportions I like, I began to color it, laying down some base colors then building on top of them with highlights and shadows. It’s simply said, not easily done, but fun to do. (Fun…there it is.) Sometimes, I will use colors from the reference, sometimes I change them up. I’m technically inclined, so once I “finish” the coloring portion, I tend to alter the image further, especially as it pertains to contrast and color, choosing what elements I want to emphasize. In this case, it is the skin. The topic of what then to put in the background is a whole other beast…at least for me. Sometimes, an afterthought, as I tend to hone in focus on my primary subject matter. Maybe it’s something I’ll explore in a different way later, but as for this one, it was important that this piece fit in with the aura of my living space.
I’m in the midst of, rearranging my home. I don’t like the term “decorate.” I’m merely making it more reflective of myself. I asked myself, how could this piece fit in with the moods that I want to inspire in my home. I’m starting to make things for myself, and part of that is learning to be my own favorite artist, showcasing my work. What seemed to intrigue me the most was the figure on a pale pink background. Pink is usually not a color I am drawn to, but it worked well with this image. I toyed with the idea of making her black and white on the lightly colored background, but I chose to leave a hint of the original color because it draws one to look closer and really explore the image. I emphasized darkness, not in an eery way, but in a way of vastness and beauty.
