Sunday Sketches - Last Fiverr piece

Hi all at Sunday Sketches!!

This is the last installment on the Fiverr Sherlock Holmes story. As seen, an elderly woman on a bed is supposed to be lying on a bed sleeping while an empty bottle of wine lies at her side. The doctor and our spying friends look on, puzzled.

These were all completely done at the 'client's' behest and, as stated earlier, I do not know fully the whole story behind it all. All I DO know is that, after this, I am taking that gig down. It gets a bit too much to handle after a while!

I want to know if anyone had any New Year's Resolution? I don't know if I officially had one, but I have been becoming fitter, All really since Jan 13th vs Jan 1st - all just in time for that Saturn Venus transit as it turns out! Doing it by exercising once a day for a 1/2 hour, looking at Jillian Michaels videos on YouTube.  Ha ha, I never though I would resort to that but the weather does not allow for long walks. And it's been neat I mean, I had never managed to do real bloody push-ups in my life--- till right now!! Got to count for something..... have also given up most carbs, something which has been easy - except for right this second. For some reason. We'll see how it goes.....

Hope all are well!

Sunday Sketches - Fiverr Holmes piece

Hello all at Sunday Sketches!

THis is another of the fiverr installment pieces - another piece for the Sherlock Holmes.

It's not exactly a collaboration - an author contacted me via the site fiverr to see if I would do these few illustrations for her book which I assume she's going to self-publish. I have been asked to do 5 in total, and this is the 3rd.

As can be seen here, the indefatigable friends are wandering through a cemetery, and see a mausoleum with the statue of a fellow with an outstretched arm on top.

While making this I had a chance to view a fun old movie by the Beatles - you can see the whole thing elsewhere but meanwhile, here's  a segment -

Hope all are having a great Sunday!

Sunday Sketches - Fiverr, Holmes playing Violin

Hi everyone at Sunday Sketches!!

This week I wanted to share one of my Fiverr pieces. Every once in a while the gig is dormant, but every once in a while I will still get them in.

These are apparently to go towards a book about Sherlock Holmes - have already done 2 and possibly will do more.

As can be seen, this scene shows a standard view of Sherlock playing the violin while his sidekick Watson reads a paper nearby.

Speaking of which, does anyone know the relationship or deal with Watson and Holmes? How did they get to be friends? What do they do aside from solve random mysteries? What's the back story there? I have never actually read any of the books - maybe I will someday.

have a great weekend!

SS - JITS

Hi all at Sunday sketches! This is another fiverr piece, which essentially ended up being a logo. It was one of those involved images that cost client more than $5.

The company was a Jujitsu magazine - so one can notice all the small little details related to Brazil, martial arts, and fitness.

The hardest thing (as in time consuming) was the type. I had to measure and very carefully draw. After that, filling in (using various models off the net) was pretty easy.

Hope all are having a great Sunday!

PFF & SS - Pet Dream

Hi all at Paint Party Friday!

I'm happy to say that I have a new painting commission! More information on that later - it is very exciting to me.

This week, however, I wish to submit another of the drawings I have completed for my fiverr gig. For this one, as can be seen, I had to draw an adorable puppy with a tuxedo, and the site title below. Not thrilled about the type, and the doggie was weirdly hard to draw, but am reasonably happy with how it turned out.

Just for fun, and to make it more 'painterly', I decided to embellish it a bit on Photoshop - and the result of that can be seen here below.

That's it for now! As usual, will strive to get to everybody, even if it's as late as Sunday! PFF is a wonderfully lively blogging group, and I do love both seeing & commenting on everyone's site - likewise am very grateful for those who make a comment on every single post (you rock!!) and thus strive to be that person as well. However, I acknowledge it takes a lot of time, which is why I leave myself till the end of Sunday, since weekends are incredibly busy as it is, what with art fairs and whatnot.

On another note, thanks to all who viewed/voted for my ThriftyFun contest!!!! I won after all :D

Here's another one I submitted - this time it's a photo that my husband took. He's a big photographer, and has a marvelous nature photography series documenting the 4 seasons in Appalachia. It is currently on display at the Southern Appalachia Repertory Theatre lobby in Mars Hill, NC. In any event, the photo can be seen here.

Have a great day all!

Jesus Portrait commission - PPF & SS

Hello Paint Party Friday friends!! Am very excited this week because I finally have a new project to share!

Will post this to Sunday Sketches as well because am out travelling & have no time for a separate!

This was a commission from the fiverr gigs I post on here once in a while - for this one I got a slightly more income due to subject matter.

In any event, fellow was very specific on what he wanted - an image of Jesus bringing power to a heart.

I had a live model for Jesus (convenient :D) - aside from that, the process involved drawing a lot of hands so as to make sure they are correct - as well as taking a photo of said live model, adjusting for various details, and filling in.

I begun a very very rough draft on a different sheet of paper - then created a grid to create a more detailed, better draft.

As an aside, I currently have a contest going on the site ThriftyFun, for the best tip of the week! I would love it if people read it and gave me a big Thumbs Up so that I could win a prize! So if anyone wanted to stop by, the link is here. Would definitely appreciate it!

Hope all are having a great time! Will strive to get to folks when I get home or tomorrow

Sunday Sketches - Jesus picture

Hi all at Sunday Sketches!

My week's offering is a nice fiverr commission that will involve paint at some later date - the commission, in a nutshell, was drawing hands holding a sorry cracked heart, then Jesus' hands holding them, and thus transferring loving energy to the heart which begins to heal. A very complex subject!

Am still in preliminary drawing phase, as can be seen here. Still a few things to iron out but I hope I can come up with something decent in time!

Many people, I am told, turned down the commission - and I wonder why? It was a bit hard to conceive of the idea, but aside from that, why neglect the idea? I took it on as a double challenge, on the one hand a pictorial challenge, on the other, in a peculiar way a spiritual challenge too. 

I guess appropriate for a Sunday or whatnot to discuss this theme. Was actually hoping folks would share their thoughts, especially in regards to portraying a powerful spiritual archetype. I don't know. I was hoping Jesus would somehow look more... epic.

The hands are also tough... of course. Working on that separately, before anything else, really, because of the nature of the position v. the various objects, etc. Also taking advantage of feedback I've received re. project.




Hope all are having a great weekend!

Just came back from an art fair or else would have posted earlier

Sunday Sketches - possible Fiverr piece

Hello all at Sunday Sketches!! As I was stating earlier, now that I have finished the EPP, I am happy to go back to other artistic pursuits, such as.... fiverr!!!!!

This was an on-spec thing I didn't spend much time one but a possibility of being chosen is to get to illustrate someone's vampire ebook. Eek!

That would be cool indeed, we'll see what happens. I'm not anywhere near 1000% thrilled with these drawings but that's just the way it is sometimes - at least on the bright side was working without a model! That for me is pretty HUGE - it's very difficult for me to do anything quasi coherent/convincing unless I am, essentially, copying - either from photos or real life. So in that aspect... am pleased.

Hope all are well at Sunday Sketches! Will come round towards the end of the day so as to grab as many ppl as possible.

SS - and nicotine!! plus Etsy springcleaning

Am posting this rather dire image from another fiverr gig, mainly to illustrate the "blissfully" nicotine-free state I have enjoyed lately.

I have written about this earlier, and what can I say, it has become an on-again, off-again project since about 2009, quitting smoking.

What I would like to know at this point is a rather informal survey:

what's worse, cigarette addiction or sugar addiction?

And the real problem is not how much I miss cigarettes - and many things about the smoking state gall me, both in action & in retrospect - but, for some reason, it seems, contrary to all indications, it's only a month or so after being clean that I start fiending for the stuff for reals. People love to say 'the stuff's out of your system in 3 days' - LIARS!!!

the other sad thing is living in western North Carolina - tobacco country - where smoking is practically an act of economic solidarity. IE --- hard to go into the topic of quitting pains with the 78 year old granny who's still happy puffing away, in spite of all dire prognoses re. said dirty habit

In addition, I find myself feeling icky & unwell through the obvious replacement: sugar. So then it seems - what's really worse-- icky bloaty feeling or icky smokey feeling? There's a third choice of course - detox from all of it. HAH! That will be the day... indeed...

speaking of DETOX, I am launching a 2 month Spring Cleaning of my Etsy store. I am selling all - I mean, ALL - in my Etsy store for 30% off + free shipping within continental U.S. Amongst some items are Epoxy creations, dreamy nature photography (digital or prints available), & some oil on wood pieces. Hoping to clear out inventory so as to add more. So if you know anybody....

Codes (can be used simultaneously as far as I can tell):
Free ship: SHIPSHAPE1
30% off: SPRINGKLEEN

thank you all & please visit Sophia at Sunday Sketches!!

Sunday Sketches - Cool house

Sunday Sketches and the cool Sophia crowd here!

Had a weird 3 weeks there, where not only did I have to visit a dentist, a doctor for weird infection (RESOLVED) and my huge painting project to contend with, but where, for some reason, I kept & kept getting these fiverr gigs which caused an even greater demand of my time. Now - I end up doing these highly elaborate drawings for what amounts to chump change, & though in general the experience is enjoyable, more fun arts training, etc, it is difficult not to become surly about the whole thing when you have so much else, of seeming higher priority, nipping at your heels at the same time.

Shortly after this I also got a lenghthy translation gig which WAS well-paying but - as it pushed the Epic Painting Project aside, it also cause a certain level of consternation and annoyance. Funny how doing nothing but painting has become priority #1! Especially since, on top of it all, I've been dilatory in fulfilling my Kickstarter rewards obligations and am not as far ahead in either blogging, promoting, or even finishing the painting project as I'd like. So... it's all very iinteresting in any event! IT's hard for me not to get upset when a sense of too much to do/too little time exists. Very difficult indeed. Esp. when some of it's health related!!!

I know there are some gentle souls out there who are so organized that they could do all these things - and more - and all I can say is... bless you. I want to be like you! As for me, I just keep trying....

so this is a house, in any event, made at around that time. It came out OK - I helped myself with a printed outline template allowimg me to capture the dimensions of walls, etc, so as to leave time for the real drawing - it's not sthg I usually do, but at the time I sorta felt I had little choice.

Sunday Sketches - Eerie Spaceship

This week has been artistically interesting!! Started my Epic Painting Project on Wednesday and have thus far completed one oil painting, and have 1 large one almost (I hope!) finished and a third one needing many layers. So... in a sense i am on track re/ one painting a day but in a sense, not.

As well, a filling on my front tooth decided to go AWOL meaning I need to locate dental insurance and a dentist ASAP, before I start to have actual pain. On the bright side it has made me take a break from smoking.

As well, my Windows machine eats CF camera cards and card readers. THus, no access to photography taking, thus no access to documenting Epic Painting Project. THus, needing to create silly webcam videos documenting the process.

As well, a mysterious chest pain for over a week which served to remind me that the last time I saw a DR was 2006.

As well, a possibility to market a previous past as a tarot reader through this site: it is an exciting opportunity. Needing to call into the system.

As well, a possible buyer for a bunch of old epoxy works. That would be so great!!!!

So, here, for Sunday Sketches, a spaceship from my FIVERR gig, draw whatever you want. And the interesting mixed-bag week. Will go check y'all out either late late today or tomorrow ---- after the obligatory painting a day!!

Have a great day Sophia and all else at Sunday Sketches!!!!!!!!1

Sunday Sketches - another Fiverr piece

Once again, almost too late to participate in this week's Sunday Sketches hosted by Sophia, I submit another Fiverr gig, from my "I'll charcoal draw anything you want!"

Interestingly enough, 75% of my orders have involved portraits or self portraits (in this case). THis presents a peculiar set of difficulties not the case when drawing random objects, etc.

This difficulty can be summed up with an interesting factoid attributed to a famed plastic surgeon - apparently, the only difference between a 'beautiful' person and one of average looks can amount to only a few millimetres' difference. The ration between a woman's eyelids and the space between her nose and upper lip, for instance, must be identical. If the distance is even a millimetre off, this woman is no longer beautiful - and this minute distance must be fixed.

Leaving aside the ghoulish idiosyncracies of the commodity-fetish glamour world, the paraphrasing above illustrates PRECISELY why rendering a faithful likeness can be so difficult. If a millimetre separates a belle from a turnip, this same millimetre is what separates one person's face from another's!!!

I had this grave problem with this guy's picture because, at one pt and regardless of what I did, he kept looking like a certain famous person whom I won't mention so as to not sway others' experience. Finally I felt OK enough to submit it.

SUNDAY SKETCHES - Children

From another fiverr gig comes this request to draw two charcoal children to be used as a computer background. A neat idea!

I relived how fiendishly hard it is to create a true likeness of someone, especially from a photo. For some reason, it was harder from a photo than from real life!

THis will be my Sunday Sketches submission for the day

cheers!