The Human Canvas - Dia Deux

At long last. We return.

This first photo is from a previous session

on a friend here at KVCR.

 

 

 I used

her name in the title,

calling it "Dia de la Moreno."

Funny,  because she IS a brunette... but anyway... 

You can link to that session with a click HERE.

A few days later, I was in Boulder, Colorado.

Whilst in the middle of

a game of Cards Against Humanity,

I noticed the availability of canvas next to me.

I don't remember if she even cared what went onto her.

I mean, she probably DID care, but trusted me

(to a certain extent) to not be

too foul or profane.

 

Sorry it's sideways.

I think most of us were sideways too.

 

So as I was thinking

about  the relatively few sugar skulls

I've drawn on people here and there, a woman

pointed out her bracelet - a rather STUNNING

Day of the Dead inspired piece.

 

 

It inspired ME...

to get out one of my new metallic pens.

Still working out the bugs on these things,

but THIS session turned out well. Amongst the

favorites (if not THE favorite) of a friend

and recovering canvas, Tracy.

 

I liked it a lot as well.

Fairly basic and simple, really.

And the silver was not always a COLOR, per se,

but sometimes only an accent.

 

 

Then adding these lines,

and connecting them, we ended with

a sort of piece of jewelry. A bit of a scarab perhaps?

My goddaughter had just painted up her own arm

with something similar. Really love her work. I've

posted some here and there on these pages.

Check out at least one of those

groupings with a click

HERE.

 

Back to this one.

Done with the drawing,

and having made her twist her arm

so her skirt would serve as a backdrop...

 

 

We found that

putting her amongst the quartz

was quite nice, and I'm sure more comfortable.

 

Only one more session

left from the Boulder trip, and it's a doozy!

I'm getting impatient to get caught back up,

so we'll be seeing that soon.

 

Enjoy your dia.

The Human Canvas - Drawing a DRESS onto someone...

 

A dress that was drawn on,

not UPON, but drawn onto a person,

using the most vivid of colors...

 

 

...May be really cool to try someday,

but this wasn't the case.

 

Today was the second time

to try out one of my metallic Sharpies.

The first time was on Karen, pictured below.

You can link to that session HERE.

 

 

Simply put,

I had her take off the

heart-pendant she was wearing,

then I (kind of) drew it back into place. Scroll

back up to the first picture, and you see

Shaelyn with a treble clef-pendent.

So let's try it again.

 

 

What you're also seeing here,

with the red showing up around

where I've drawn, is the only kind of

reaction to the ink that I've ever encountered.

And Shaelyn has served as canvas SEVERAL times

by now, with large back-pieces being among them.

No real worries about reaction. It actually fades

from one part about the time

I'm finishing up the next.

 

 

Now to the chain. 

Not really a line, per se,

but rather a bunch of closely

connected dots - flowing over the

clavicle and around the neck. Then just

coming back in with some black dots.

Not everywhere.

 

 

Just enough to

suggest holes going through

the silver "line." Then more black

around the "pendent" before we can call

it done. A bit heavy here and there,

but like the other one...

 

 

...Turns out nicely when you step back a bit.

 

 

Shaelyn was happy with it.

Or at least smiles well for pictures.

 

 

At the time of this writing, I've only used

the metallic Sharpies once more. Not to recreate

jewelry once again, but this time it was inspired BY

some wonderful jewelry. A really nice, Dia de los

Muertos-inspired bracelet. We'll see that one

in the near future. It's amongst my favorites

to date. I know it's the favorite of

another friend as well.

 

 

Again, we'll see it soon,

but we may be seeing Shaelyn less.

She's moved from the area. I've known Shaelyn

as a student of my wife, as well as a pupil of my own.

An adept and critical learner, she was a valued asset

at KVCR, and some of her work continues to air to

this day. She did at KVCR, what many

people hope to do SOME day.

 

I'm grateful most of all to have her as a friend.

Thank you Shae!

The Human Canvas - Artists in Action - The Vault, part 3

So these are the stragglers, I suppose. 

Of the two Artists in Action events I was 

a part of, we saw a nice butterfly (and more) in 

Part one (click HERE). We saw SEVERAL more 

butterflies in Part Two (click HERE), and an epic 

appearance from a couple of epic members of 

an epic band. These can be seen with If I 

had a Songhammer. Click HERE for 

a link to that one.

Only a couple ones to show here. 

First - one that will be seen again once I get 

more drawings of this nature.

A tombstone? 

Well, not really the nature of a tombstone. 

Rather, a play on words of sorts. We'll come back to that.

The other one was one I was rather disappointed with. 

It shoulda been simple. 

I was working over a tattoo that was 

already present. Something I've done many a 

time before, with wonderful success. 

But on this one... I dunno. 

Maybe it was the angle? 

All I know is it got muddier as I went...  

To the point where 

I was truly embarrassed to have done it. 

Of over 250 images to date... 

This is one of only 

a very few that I DID NOT LIKE AT ALL.

But I'm trying to show them all. 

So let's go on to one I did like. 

The one we started this post with. 

A simple design. 

Yes, a tombstone. 

The person who owns 

the arm I was working on is named Grant. 

Thankful for his willingness, as this will go 

into a special collection soon. 

A collection of bad puns, 

or just drawings that have something 

to do with the person's name. In this case, Grant. 

Grant's Tomb. And as the saying goes, 

Who is buried in Grant's Tomb? 

Who IS buried in Grant's Tomb. Oy.

The Human Canvas - Artists in Action - The Vault, part 2

So...

 

 

Remember Roxi?

She got the first piece of

the night at the previous week's Artists in Action

at The Vault. The Vault is about my favorite watering

hole in Redlands, and it didn't take much for me to want

to be a part of this. Learn more about NerdPop,

Rob Mardis, and everyone involved in making

these events happen with

a click HERE.

 

 

Or for it to be publicized again.

I sure didn't mind. No matter what I've done,

or who I've been fortunate to have

been able to interview...

 

 

It's still kinda cool

to have my art up on a flyer somewhere.

Even if it's mostly online. Much of my art

washes off in a couple of days.

 

The previous week saw

Roxi getting a butterfly. One of my

earliest REALLY cool sessions involved

a LOT of butterflies, and the model suggesting

I start the piece on one leg, and continue it onto

the other. You can link to that session HERE.

Again - a fun one!

 

 

For reasons I won't go into here,

my heart goes out to her today as I write this,

but I CAN'T draw a butterfly without thinking of her.

At least a bit. And butterflies are close to my favorite

thing to draw (on a person) nowadays.

 

 

This week I was QUITE fortunate

to have my friend Mike Munoz serve as

photographer for me. He's done so several

times in the past, and this REALLY frees me up...

 

 

...And let's me stay in the moment...

 

 

And just - draw a butterfly.

 

 

Or two. 

 

 

Really, having Mike

there also really helped to
get more of these "step-by-step" photos,
without me having to time away from drawing.

I mean...
Beyond the whole thing about
"getting out of the zone," it just takes
a LOT of time to stop and photograph.

Especially when
I'm quite fond OF these progression shots.

 

So it's nice that I can do these relatively quickly.
Quick enough that the model still
has the energy to smile.

Even AT the camera.

So...
Done with these two.

So let's start a third!

 

Wow!

That third one turned out nicely!

So of course we couldn't be done without

me stepping back and deciding on a fourth 

for this loose shirt to frame so nicely. It was really

the color and flow OF the shirt that got this all going.

So I think we were able to call this back-piece done.

 

 

And then move on to the front!

Really - just for one more somewhat

stationary step-by-step.

 

 

But again though.

Lookey how the shirt hangs.

SOMEBODY had to put a butterfly there.

HAD to. I'm glad I was there.

 

And then to the back

of the bar for a great, well, backdrop for this back.

Thank you SO much Roxi.

 

 

And to Courtney,

I wouldn't even BE drawing

butterflies (on people) if it weren't for you.

Thanks again for getting this going, in a way.

Again - something I now LOVE to do,

can do well, and can do

relatively quickly.

 

You remain on my mind as I type,

and will be again when I revisit this page.

Thank you for something special.