Well, here we are, almost two weeks since my previous post. Here I am, still hoping to be more consistent in the studio now that the kids are back in school. Here I am, starring down several more hectic and busy weeks. *Le sigh* (that must be read as Pepe le Pew. If you didn’t know to do that already…then either I’m old or you’re uncultured).
Anywhat, I haven’t been completely not in my studio or otherwise making art (though it sure feels like it). On the second day of school, my wife took her last vacation day of the summer and the two of us (just the two of us!) hiked our favorite local trail. It was a gorgeous day, and the weather was nice, too (badum bum). We paused long enough at the top for me to sketch this:
Nice rock with a nice receding view behind it, just a few dozen feet below the summit…and the crowds.
I didn’t get to sit long enough, but it’s better than nothing. I’m thinking I need to start taking some solo art hikes when I’m not under a time crunch or holding others back.
Outside of that, I’ve been finding short bits of time in the studio, but not enough. Recently I managed a total of 5 hours spread out over the day, which is (sadly) the most I’ve pulled off in a single day since before summer started up, but it still doesn’t feel like enough. I read about and look at professional artists and they log 8, 10, 12, sometimes even more hours a day, often times working late at night to meet deadlines or to squeeze in time for personal projects. Sure, I have lots of obligations, and I tend to put the needs of others before my own, but I still feel lame. I should be working more or working harder or something.
Anysquids, I did one of the things I said I would and took a crack at refining that sketch of PMD playing the cello with a flute.
Remember this? It wasn’t THAT long ago…or maybe it was. I’ve been so busy, time has gotten more fuzzy than usual.
That sketch for my cousin took about 30-45 minutes and was a bit rushed. It’s an image I knew I could have a lot of fun with if I had more time, so I gave myself some more time with it.
The Cello Flute is tough to master…
I put about 20 hours into this, I think (including that 5 plus hour day I mentioned). There’s plenty I don’t like and would like to tweak, but I’m happy-ish with it overall. I might go back and adjust the curtain color some, it’s kind of eating Plunger Monkey. He’s not popping from the background enough for me.
In other news…I’ve just been plain busy with life. I’m still sitting on the same stages of getting the t-shirt venture going (setting up a bank account, coordinating the website stuff, generating listings, etc), which is incredibly frustrating. I make a little progress and think I’m “almost there” only to get sidetracked for weeks. I did discover that the company I’m using to print the shirts also does embroidered baseball hats, which is another area I have wanted to delve into. I’ve thought of doing one of a kind, hand painted hats (think along the lines of Van Gogh’s Starry Night painted over the entirety of a hat…but with my own original paintings), but I’ve also thought about some simpler, mass-produced, embroidered graphics. Some of the t-shirt designs would look cool in that format, and I have a ton of other ideas, too. So, that’s yet another thing I’ll be looking at more at some point.
Alright, the real world beckons, I hope you enjoy these sporadic posts which will hopefully be more frequent.
Please let me know what you think, it makes my brain happy.