you promised me polyps

I finally started working on Exhibition pieces. Finally started the unfinished digital piece that will now become the finished traditional piece. I have 2 more planned after this one for the group exhibition in October. 2nd one is Mayan themed. 3rd one has horns. Looking forward to getting into them.

Drawing feels so alien to me these days but it’s good to get back into it. It’s relaxing. Cathartic. I’ve been missing creative outlet for so many years now.

Doodle of a guy with no doodle? Ok.

Looks better in the book. Also looks better full view. Click it.

I actually picked up my Wacom for the first time since the last post. I really need to get this finished and start on my exhibition pieces. I was going okay, then I ate 3 cookies and the sugar made me crash. I really can’t tolerate sugar these days. 2 muesli bars make me crash also. Not good. Anyway, I thought you might like to see my progress. Hmm. I’m starting to attempt to fill in the forehead now. Working on the background and neck for so long, I’ve forgotten how to draw the tediously detailed sinuous flesh.

My new friend Rachael reminded me that doodling is important. I squiggled lines and was struggling to see anything, but this popped up. I’d like to do a larger, more refined version some time. I kinda imagine it as a giant floating tree-like city. Like a tree castle. I dunno. But hey look, COLOUR. Amazing. Quick little doodle.

черный мëд – (Black Honey)

This picture has given me so much grief, mainly because I only worked on it when I was stoned. I hate realism because I am a perfectionist, and when it’s not perfect, I get all kinds of fucking shitty. I had a LOT of trouble getting this to look any kind of acceptable to myself. But fuck, I erased the entire face and re-did it twice, and I’m calling this DONE. FINAL. NO MORE. The hair was entirely made up, so of course it look ghey.

On the other hand, it has been good. It’s made me realise I really need to work on TONE. I’m too scared to lay down heavy blacks to accentuate the whites. (For some reason, even a 3B looked really light on the moleskine paper) but yes – I have to get ballsy. Lay down fat blacks.. coz shit is correctable, you know? That’s what erasers are for! So I think what I should do soon, it just a bunch of tonal exercises. Take it back to primitives and just nail tone, tone, tone!! Tone helps with dimension, as you can see from this progression.. wow. What a flat looking face. No wonder I was so fucking disgusted with it, haha! But looking at the final, there are things I still am not happy with.

But hey -  this is what practise is for, right?

Besides, I was fucking RIPPED.

I was coming down off hallucinogens. I had some weed to chill out with, and I pooped this one out. I kinda like it, but I am not very happy with parts of it. I’d like to do this again, possibly minus the crystal hair and the weird facial crevices. Zis one is for a frand.

I went on a journey, and this is what it taught me.

English: “Cupcakes at any moment now!”

Graphite on Moleskine. Another piece just to practice and shit, it was done pretty quick (within a day.. that’s super fast for me, come on…)

So the other day I had a thought;

“If I was in a wind tunnel, my head would look like an octopus.”

So I drew my best friend and I. Something a little different… first time using Illustrator, too.

Du som var med svøpet i et slør spunni av liv og død.
Ut av moders djupe kjød, inn i verdas grøne lød.
Døy og bli født på ny.

[English]

You who were wrapped in a cloth woven by life and death.
Out from mother’s deep womb into the green of the world.
Die and be reborn.

Second picture I’ve done in pencils.

Larger version.