2012 Excitment

What shows am I excited for this year? Well, Mad Men for starters. I realize it's not till March, but I love that show more and more every episode! My favorite Mad Men moment? Lawn Mower.

The Closer is ending this year, but I'm still excited for the finale. I know watching it makes me seem like, as my friend Matthew says, a "80 year old man", but I don't care. I love me my crime drama!

 THE HOBBIT. It's not coming until the END of 2012, but I am so excited for it I'm re-reading it! Well, I shouldn't even say I'm "re-reading" it. I read it when I was in middle school, didn't understand a thing, and don't remember it, so I should say I'm reading The Hobbit before it comes out in theaters.

Ahhh Downton Abbey. How I have missed you. I keep trying to convince my boy friend that we need to travel to England so I can watch it already! I get that they have a license thing, but darnit I want to watch it already!

So, this may be the elementary school girl Leonardo Dicaprio lover in me, but I am SUPER excited for Titanic: Blood and Steel. I'm mainly excited to learn about the history. I feel like, although James Cameron came out with a great movie, he kind of skated right over the actual history that is, Titanic. This has the issues of women's rights at the time, and gets more in depth of the actual people on the ship (ahem, check out Chris Noth as JP Morgan!).

I enjoy learning about the royal family. I also enjoy learning that the Duchess can get a clothing company out of red because she wears their clothes! If I could afford it, I would certainly try to dress more like her. Of course, our jobs are a bit different. She travels the world getting informed on world issues, while I work with flowers and typically splash buckets of water all over myself. Wearing a 300 dollar dress may not be the most appropriate choice for work, but I can dream!

By the way, I disagree with the woman that says she needs a stylist. She's apart of the royal family for goodness sakes! What, do you want her dressing like Lindsay Lohan with her who who peeking out? What is wrong with someone dressing respectfully? We're an odd society if we thinking someone dressing well for their body is bad.

Glee - River Deep, Mountain High por pedrinhorafa no Videolog.tv.





Currently my favorite song, and favorite duet on Glee. Although I enjoy most Glee songs, this is one of the best in my opinion.

Meat

I'm working on a freelance piece with my old teacher from MCAD. It's for their animation collaboration class; this is Meat. It's a youth baseball piece that's trying to promote the idea of kids going outside to play, instead of sitting inside with their video games.

Happy Halloween! Love, Linus and Sally

My boyfriend and I went pumpkin hunting this year, and got ourselves this wee little guy! He was too perfect for me to carve into, so I named him the Great Pumpkin, and painted some Peanuts characters for decoration. Of course Linus was my number one pick. His love for the Great Pumpkin always makes me smile. And always gets me in the Halloween mood!

Happy Halloween!

William and Catherine - The Beginning

Here is the start of my portrait for my William and Catherine. You've got Buckingham Palace in the background, Westminster Abbey, and the House of Parliament. In the middle will be William and Catherine on a horse drawn carriage (a little "Cinderella" moment going on...) with confetti, crowds of people, and houses will be sticking out on the sides. I've actually colored Westminster Abbey since I've taken the picture, but I wanted to post this regardless. Oh, and I should explain that this is actually 3 canvases taped together in the back. Once I'm all done I will take off the tape and it will be 3 pieces that I will space out a bit.

I wanted to emphasize the church, government, and royalty of England. Being from US, I find it interesting that this country was once ruled by one person who was born into their position, to now a person who is voted on. And yet, even though the royal family is no longer in charge, they still mean a lot to England as a whole. I think this marriage is the best example of that. William (a royal) marries Catherine (a commoner) and this brings together exactly what is happening to this country. It's not like a think this is a bad thing in anyway, I just find it interesting!

Anyways, that's where I'm at so far. I'm also painting a pumpkin! I'll post pictures soon!

The Finished Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon Portrait

It's done...done done done done! I know, it's been a while. Sad, seeing as how the only thing that I needed to finish was the pictures on the wall. I'm going to keep them the same for every portrait. Behind Henry is his brother, Arthur (Catherine of Aragon's first husband). On the left, behind Mary, is Henry VII, Henry VIII's father. And right in the center is his "crest" if you will. As he get's older it changes. But this was it for his early reign. 

So the Anne Boylen portrait is next, and I'm currently painting the William and Catherine one. Yeah, out of order...but that's how my mind works. I should be posting process work of that, but I'm being lazy with my posts. That's got to stop! I'd like to blame work, but that's a pretty lame excuse, so I'm just going to say that I was enjoying my Minnesota summer weather, and now that it's cooled down, the art work will come out faster!

What has been happening

This is what's been going on in my world lately

One year later...diploma = framed!

Here it is! After a couple of months of sitting at school (because I didn't feel like driving out there) and then about a year of sitting in it's original envelope at the bottom of my scrap book box, I finally got it framed! A nice, shinny gold frame...I love it! I'm not usually too excited about diplomas (my AFA and high school one's are...somewhere...) but this frame made me pretty pumped. 

I also felt like bragging about my "Keep Calm and Carry On" poster. It was only 8 dollars! 

Steve the giraffe!

My friend Nikki with Steve. She thought he was a thumbs up! (He was her house warming gift)

Steve is finally finished, with a quote from Mr. Pablo Picaso:

"God is really another artist. He invented the giraffe, the elephant and the cat. He has no real style, he just keeps trying other things."

Mountain Top!

I'm trying to decorate my apartment with lots and lots of pictures. My parents never really did, and my ex was very much into the "white wall" look. And although I'm not painting my walls, I will be putting lots of photos on my walls! So far Everything that I've already had framed is up (I've only been in my apartment for 2 months now, so I don't feel bad that it's not all decorated yet) and now I'm trying to figure out what pictures I want to print off and frame. Most of the stuff that's up is art work and posters. So this mountain top is something I took while I was off in Colorado. I have another one, but blogger isn't a fan of it. (I think it's something about the length or something...I don't know)

By the way, I'm melting. It's uber hot here in the MN and I'm just not a fan. I'm sitting next to the fan and I'm not sure if I'll ever fall asleep. Last night I woke up and decided that the bed was radiating heat and was thinking about throwing out the feather mattress that I sleep on, and usually brag about.

Tomorrow I will be finishing, and posting my giraffe painting that I've been working on. His name is Steve, and along with the royal series that I've been working on, I'm also doing a safari animal thing. I'm not sure how it started (I honestly think it's from when I purchased two scarfs from Heartbreaker, one with zebras and another with elephants and cheetahs, but I'd rather not admit that) but I'm rolling with it!

Finished?

I think I'm done with this one...I'm just debating if I want pictures on the wall.

Catherine of Aragon (as of June 16th...)

Here is the latest in my Henry VIII portrait series! I've decided the background is going to stay the same in all 6 portraits, it seems to make sense to me since all that changes is his wives (and his weight). I'm working hard to get all the details on the background where I want them to be, and then I can move on to Anne Bolyn! Oy, but I keep changing my mind with everything! Floor colors, rug color and DESIGN (yes, I'm still obviously still working it out) and wallpaper. BUT I'm getting it down, and once the rug is done (I want it to be pretty detailed) I'm going to add some pictures in the background.

I'm glad I've started this series. It's bringing back my art itch!

Catherine of Aragon (Almost done!)

Here is another work in progress for the Catherine of Aragon and Henry VIII portrait. So far the people are done, I'm just working on the background. The floor, shadows, and lighting need to be done. But I just finished the wallpaper and I'm pretty happy about it!

Illustration Friday - Asleep

The topic for Illustration Friday: Asleep

This is Becca from my senior project. It's acrylic paints, and cut out paper. I found a lot of fun textured girly pink paper at Jo Ann's, so I had a lot of fun with this!

Henry VIII & Catherine of Aragon

Here is my work in progress of Henry VIII and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. (And don't worry, I didn't forget about Mary I, she's about 9 in this image). The lady on the side will be Anne Boylen of course!

Illustration Friday - Soaked

Illustration Friday topic: Soaked

Basically what happens to my hair after it gets wet and dries. POOF goes the curls!

Royal Sketches

First off, I moved. So I wanted to show off my lovely new work space! (And yes, I roll around on the hard wood floors with my rolling chair all the time. Good thing no one lives below me!)
This first image is a rough sketch, well two, of King Henry VIII and Anne of Cleves. It's said that he dumped her because he didn't like what she looked like. He saw a painting of her, and thought she looked pretty, but didn't think that the picture depicted her well once he met her.
On the left side is a drawing of Catherine Howard (how she would dress) and the left is Catherine Parr and her outfit. (5th and 6th wives of King Henry VIII)
Left side is Jane Seymour and her dress, and the right is Anne of Cleves. (3rd and 4th wives of King Henry VIII)
On the left is Anne Boylen, and the right is the 2 different caps that women would wear during that time. Anne was said to wear the French cap, while Catherine of Aragon was said to wear the English gable.
Here is an image of Catherine of Aragon, King Henry VIII's 1st wife.
This is a image I did a long time ago, the first idea I had for a portrait of King Henry VIII and Anne Boylen. Now I'm thinking it will be full length, and her head will already be off.
This I did earlier this year, it's Catherine Howard (the 5th wife of Henry the VIII) and a mock up of what the men would wear.
On the left (top) is Elizabeth I, and all her men. She was the Virgin Queen with a lot of proposals.
The left bottom is what I will be doing for Mary I. Her marriage to Prince Philip of Spain was never a happy one, and he left her a lot. In the background will be a open window, showing images of people burning, to symbolize the 300 people she had burned for religious beliefs.
This will be King Edward II. With his four children around him, and his wife with a sword to his neck. It is not known how, or technically when he died. All they know is that after she made it so he abdicated his crown to their son Edward III (only 14 at the time) he was imprisoned and she held a public funeral for him months later. But there is no real documented prof of how he was murdered, so I'm just going with the sword.
This image is hard to see (so feel free to click on it!) but it's Empress Matilda. She will be wearing her white gown, and in the back of her will be her family. Her husband will be the furthest back, flirting with a unknown women. The marriage was never a happy one, and he fathered many children outside of their marriage.

I'm having some difficulty with King George III and Queen Victoria with Prince Albert. I guess because nothing to outlandish really happened in their marriages. They both had a lot of children, and neither had affairs! I want to incorporate the fact the King George had dementia and was the King when the United States broke away from England though. I'm not sure how to do that yet, so I'm still working on it. Victoria and Albert might just have a happy portrait though. What's wrong with a happy royal marriage?

Walk for the Cure

Here are some illustrations I did for a Walk for the Cure benefit at my Mom's work last year.

Try some meat soup!

I just wanted to show off my mad sign making skills for Whole Foods. I'm a back up sign maker, and this week I got to show off my painting skills for all the world to see!

Royal Portrait's Illustrations

I have recently been feeling like I have been in a "artistic slump" if you will, and have decided that I need to do something to make me feel like I'm back in the art world again. I graduated a year ago now, and without a job in the arts, it makes a person feel like they're failing. Although I know I'm not, and have had a successful animation internship since graduating, I guess I just had some type fantasy that I would get an offer right away. Then after the offer (from Pixar of course) I would become a millionaire in San Francisco with all of my school loans paid off.

After many nights of denial, tears, and just plain whining, I have decided the only thing I can do to get out of this slump is to create a illustration series. What would that series consist of? Uh, English Royals of course!

I have been very interested in Royal history for a couple of years now. Pretty much after a drawing teacher of mine suggested that I read "The Girl With the Pearl Earring" (yes, I realize that has NOTHING to do with English Royalty) I did, and soon after wanted to watch the movie. Although it was not as good as the book, Netflix recommended that I watch "The Other Boleyn Girl" (something to do with Scarlet Johhanson I'm sure) and I was HOOKED on the Tudors drama! I started reading all the Phillipa Gregory books I could get my hands on, and quickly became obsessed with learning all I could. I was just amazed with Henry VIII, and all 6 of his wives.

Soon I was learning about all the children he had, and what became of them. Next thing I new I was learning about all the different families that have ruled, and what became of each of them. I was watching movie after movie, and reading books and articles about the royals! So, after weeks of investigation and thought, I have finally come up with 8 of my favorite royals to create portraits for. I won't deny that the royal wedding had some influence on this series, so I thought I would embrace this, and make the series about Royal Couples through the ages. Here are the royals that I have chosen:

1. Empress Matilda : The crown was suppose to go to her, but she was passed over and lived her life determined to get it back, and to make sure her son became King. This same determination and thought didn't really get put into her marriage though.

2. Kind Edward II : Was married to Isabella of France, and even though they had 4 children together, she wasn't a fan of his and had him killed.

3. King Henry VIII: Like and normal man, he liked new things that made other men jealous. His object of choice, his wives. He had 6, and most weren't too happy about being replaced, so he took care of that.

4. Mary I of England: The first (and legitimate) daughter of Henry VIII. She was made Queen and got married after being pressured into it. It was said that she very much loved her husband Philip of Spain, but the same is not said about his feelings toward her.

5. Elizabeth I of England: The Virgin Queen. The title may be debatable, but what's not is that she never married and never produced a child. Where's the couple in that? I'd say in all the proposals she got.

6. King George III: He met his wife the day of their wedding, but he never took a mistress and they had 15 children! If that's not romantic, I don't know what is.

7. Queen Victoria: She married a man she very much liked, Prince Albert, and they had a very happy marriage that produced 9 children. But after a short life together (he passed away only in his 40's) he left her in years of mourning. Who can get a woman out of years of depression? A cute boy of course! John Brown may have only been her servant in her children's eyes, but if so, why is she buried with his ring on her finger?

8. King George VI: His wife didn't want to be married to the royal family, and he didn't want to become king. But I guess in life you don't always get what you want, and even with his stutter he was made King, and she, Queen.

Don't worry. I'm not leaving out the happy couple, and will have a portrait of the newlyweds in their carriage ride through town, as well as a map of England pointing out some of my favorite hot spots in this royal country!

I plan on posting pictures of my concept work soon, and after each image is completed, posting that final image as well. My plan is to have all of my final sketches done by the end of this week, and then give each image 1 week for completion. They all will get 1 portrait, except Henry who will get 6 (1 for each wife) and Victoria who will get 2 (one for Albert, and one for her friend John Brown).

I hope this will not only get me out of my slump, but will also make some people amused. Which is why I went into the arts in the first place!

Back from Colorado, Demo Reel 2011

New year, new demo reel. I finished up an internship about a month ago at Mighty Fudge Studios out in Boulder, Colorado. It was a great experience, I learned a lot about Flash and Illustrator, and that I really dislike driving through the mountains. It's not that I don't like mountains, I LOVED the mountains! I just really disliked driving through those small mountain roads near the top of the mountains (the ones with NO guard rails!), they just made me far to nervous. BUT I had a really awesome time and I'm so glad I did it! I got to travel by myself for the first time, and met some really awesome people. I made it to the top of a couple of mountains, and even though my stomach did not enjoy the altitude, I feel in love with the views. I can't wait to go back again!