Thoughts.

Painting Spices | Gouache Tutorial! The Creative Compass

Thoughts.

HEY.

Let’s talk. These past two weeks, the Black Lives Matter movement extended across the US and the globe, a movement that should have been widely acknowledged and heeded long ago. A call that should have been answered long ago. I am so sorry to the friends and families of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and countless others as they grieve the loss of their loved ones.
I won’t pretend to have long-standing or thorough insight because I’d long assumed being not-racist was enough. But these last two weeks have opened my eyes as to why we must do the work to become antiracist. As a white person, I acknowledge that I have immense privilege. The systematic racism built into the core of the country must be dismantled, and it means many of us have to get uncomfortable and we have to do the work. I’m committed, for the long haul, to listen, learn, and unlearn. Even as I’ll make mistakes, I promise to work, as an individual and as an artist, to dismantle white supremacy and lift up marginalized voices. To lift up Black voices. I stand with you.

This week, The Brown Bookshelf hosted the KidLit Rally 4 Black Lives. “Around the nation, people are hurting. Award-winning authors Kwame Alexander, Jacqueline Woodson and Jason Reynolds (have) organized a Kidlit Rally for Black Lives.” The rally was incredibly insightful and amazing - the first hour was geared towards children, and the second hour was for librarians, teachers, and adults. You can find the video on The Brown Bookshelf youtube channel. You can also find their list of antiracist resources for children, families, and educators here.

This week, I also began reading How To Be An Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi and I highly recommend it.
I’ll be sharing more as I read them, though there are countless lists available if you need a place to start.

ALSO VOTE.

I’m in the process of planning and organizing ways I can be of service not just this week, but in the long term. Beyond voting, donating and learning, I am focusing on ways to be of service in the realm of promotion within the publishing/illustraton industry, and mentoring. In the meantime, if you’re a creative and you have time in your schedule to provide pro-bono work for BIPOC businesses, you can offer your work here at Deloris.

Black Lives Matter.

Drawing from Life (again) May 29, 2020

Maybe you’re a pro at drawing from life. Perhaps you find time to paint on location, sketch a study of your kitchen counter, or keep your hand drawing while stealing glances of the lovely folks seated near you in coffee shop. If so - I commend you! I, myself, had taken a hiatus from observational drawing. I came to think of it as boring, and since I wanted to move away from realistic work, I decided it just held me back from diving into more imaginary worlds. Really, the only time I drew from life was when I was alone at an airport, or if I was doing research for a project. I do love to journal but honestly, most of my visual journaling is done from memory and not on location.

During the last couple of months, however, staying (and working from) home, I dove back into drawing from life.

It all started with The Good Ship Illustration. I’m taking their six-week course (more on that later) which I love. It’s made me feel like…an artist! I learned about The Good Ship Illo from Helen Stephens’ newsletter (one of the three that run the course along with Tania Willis and Katie Chappell). I first learned of Helen’s work from Sana AlFalasi (@thecuriousnomad) when we met in Japan last year. We were discussing being loose and playful in our work and she mentioned ‘drawing in the rain’ - a tenet she’d learned from Helen. Fast forward a year later, and The Good Ship Illo released a free Sketchbooker’s Friend, which I used to ease my way back into drawing from life as a practice. What’s beneficial about this approach is that you don’t have time to think - you’re just reacting - allowing your natural tendencies to shine. For me, this is brilliant because I often overthink, placing more value on time and struggle than I do the joyous liveliness of a drawing unpolished.

Riding the observational train, I joined a virtual life drawing event in the UK hosted by Endless Love Creative. As I’m in Japan, it meant joining a zoom event at 3 am but it was completely worth it. What I loved most was the host, Charlotte, encouraged different drawing strategies to loosen up, instead of trying to realistically capture the image. Draw with your opposite hand. Concentrate on values. Do lines and high contrast. It was freeing. Also drawing in the middle of the night when the world is quiet was magical. The next day was not though, I was so tired!

A couple weeks later, I joined the virtual sketch night at the Society of Illustrators. This one was two hours long, tons of 2 min. poses, some 5, 10, and a couple 15 minute poses. The models, The Pearling Principle, were amazing. They did an outfit change, so many fun and intimate poses, and there were many different props. The live music was performed by David Farer. This one was a little more traditional, but wonderful all the same. Seeing the emotion of the models too, was lovely. I’m really drawn to emotion and interaction in my work and doing studies like these reminds me of that.

I also dove into more observational drawing as part of The Good Ship Illustration course I’m taking. I’m doing the course rather privately and am not really sharing the process because I want it to be as free from pressure as possible. But I will share this study I did, because it demonstrates what I find to be the most valuable part of drawing from life: discovering personal patterns and making the imagery work for you.

For example, even though drawing foliage and plants is my least favorite thing to draw, I stood in front of a large chaotic bush bramble of who knows what and decided to pick out what I liked. I appreciated the competing textures, the lines of the tall grasses leaning in the wind, the tiny dots of ground covering. Then I noticed the tree branches thinly whirling up in the wind and it felt special to note it. Then, a bird landed on the branch and I knew I had to draw it because I like my images to have life in them. Plants are alive I know but YOU KNOW what I mean. I stood for maybe 5-10 min and inked in the lines with a thin felt tipped pen. The next day, I worked from the drawing and painted the scene in gouache. After, I painted just the tree, and then did some line work, which is probably my favorite from the whole lot of them.

What am I learning? That I love lines, simplicity, seemingly insignificant details, and emotion/interaction. I like for things to feel hand done, messy, human. When I draw from life, I hone in on what compels me and motivates me as an artist (which is a worthwhile discovery when you make images for a living).
It’s encouraging and reassuring for us to witness tendencies in our own practice - not to cement them - but to notice and celebrate them. It’s a way of finding ease, fighting insecurity, of growing at our own pace. If we feel what moves us, what motivates us, what feels so indulgent that we doubt it’s merit, we’re onto something. Those impulses don’t lie. And what’s better is that they don’t require outside validation. Instead, they are like small beacons welcoming us home. (AND I literally just realized why The Good Ship Illo’s logo is a lighthouse - clever!!!) It’s true!

SO drawing from life might not be your go to art practice. You might resist as I did. But I would bet a pan of brownies (worth more than gold to me) that if you sat down for five or ten minutes and drew what was in front of you, you’d learn not only something about drawing, but something about yourself as well.

Light Grey Art Lab Senior Show, May 22, 2020 - June 30, 2020

CONGRATULATIONS to the CLASS OF 2020.

LIGHT GREY ART LAB is currently hosting a virtual exhibition to showcase recent creative grads.
”The exhibition is a giant virtual gallery of the world’s collective commencement exhibitions for Spring 2020. This project is designed to give the students a chance to install/curate their work, similar to a commencement exhibition and envision their collection on display. Graduates will then have their work virtually exhibited alongside their peers from schools around the globe in an effort to provide the visibility and connection they deserve at a time like this. The virtual exhibition will launch May 22nd, 2020 and will be promoted through the month of June.”

As part of the exhibition, businesses, art directors, and professionals sponsored scholarships, mentorships, in kind donations, and such. I would like to share the three scholarship recipients whom I had the honor to award!

MELGADINE MENTORSHIP: Sònia Albert
Her exhibition consisted of three projects:
”The first project is a sequence of a boy playing with his own shadow. Reaching the point were the imagination wins the reality. The artwork is done with mono-print with bits of drypoint.

The second project is a graphic novel, MIA, aimed to teenagers. It tells the story of how her first relationship becomes toxic, and how she evolves during this experience.
The artwork is done with ink wash and slightly colored digitally - to help explaining the mood of the moment.

The third project is another graphic novel, The Summer Camp, that tells the first time Greta goes to a summer camp and how she ends involved in a mystery story and tries to resolve it.
The artwork is done with pencil, black pastel and digital color, with a limited palette - to help creating the atmosphere and giving importance to the light.”

The requirement for this mentorship was that the work be some form of traditional media. When I saw Sònia’s work, I was captivated (and intimidated!) All of the work carries a level of confidence and expertise. The emotion that is conveyed through the most subtle marks is a testament to skill and care. Though the work is quiet, it absolutely pulls you in. It’s quite moving. CONGRATS Sònia! Below are images from the three projects, and you can find more of her work HERE.

CHILDREN’S BOOK REVIEW: Julied Jasmin
Her exhibition is titled Eko in the Forest.
“The goal of my final year was to develop a narrative and a character for a children’s book that reflected a part of my heritage. Representation isn’t something that I got to experience growing up in England. So, I wanted to create a basis for a fun and heartfelt story that is rooted in my culture! Something that is playful and adventurous that all kids could get lost in- and perhaps providing some kids a chance to see themselves in a story where they may not otherwise.

Eko in the Forest is a story about a mischievous and hot-tempered young girl named Eko. After a confrontation, Eko is consumed by a darkness and finds herself lost in a forest full of ancient spirits and creatures she’s only ever heard of in bedtime stories. She discovers that there the forest is slowly turning to stone and dying. To be able to return home she must journey to heart of the forest and return the fire that once allowed it to thrive. Healing must take place before the forest is restored and she can return home.”

What I love about Julied’s work is the brilliant balance in character and setting. The setting is a chracter in and of itself and there is a lush and detailed balance between the two. The emotion, movement, and strength of Eko shines. I can’t wait to see this published - CONGRATS Julied! Below are some images from the project, and you can find more of her work HERE.

SUNDROP SCHOLARSHIP: Angie Hewitt
Her exhibition is titled, The Town That Never Was.
”A series of illustrations that follow Lucia on her journey through a ghost town to find her missing dog, Pillow.”

I immediately was drawn to Angie’s work for her use of line, lighting, and environment. The emotions are subtle but slightly haunting and moving which I love. She also is able to bring so much texture and detail a piece without it ever feeling crowded or unclear.
CONGRATS Angie!! Below are some images from the exhibition - learn more about her work HERE.

I want to extend a HUGE congratulations to every artist in the 2020 Senior Show. It was HARD to choose - I had dozens of names on my list and it was such a difficult task to narrow it down to three. I saw such brilliant work and I have no doubt we have some serious talent breaking into the industry. Conrgats all - my hats off to you!
The Senior Show Exhibition is on display through the month of June. You’ll find artists graduating in Illustration, Design, Animation + Visual Development, Comics + Sequential + Kidlit, Studio Art and more. HUGE thank you also to Jenny and Lindsay and the crew at Light Grey Art Lab who work so hard to provide platforms and oportunities for artists.

Thank YOU, for being here, in this community. For the support for my work, for one another, for learning, and for being the kind and bright creatives you are.

All my best, always,

Becca

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