Bug-A-Day Zero: Happy New Year!

With a New Year comes the desire to improve oneself...in other words...Resolutions. For starters, I've decided to renew my Bug-A-Day project and see where that takes me. Maybe I can get past the three-month mark this time. Maybe I won't make it past one. ;) The goal is to complete a year.

So this is Day 0, because it's December 31, 2019, not January. I was really motivated this morning and eager to get started. It took several hours to color this "metallic" wasp sketch (I think it's one of those solitary parasitic wasps, which are frequently metallic). I saw the photo and was dazzled by its pretty colors.

Moving forward, not everyday will be so elaborate and time-consuming, but the most important thing is just to complete something. And it isn't perfect, but that's also the point. Perfectionism can be a killer - it can prevent you from completing things, or sometimes even from starting things.

I will be posting them on here and my Tumblr page to help keep myself accountable.

New Year Resolutions for 2020:
1. Bug-A-Day, to help keep the creative juices flowing and hopefully increase my skills
2. Do a better job at keeping in touch with friends. I've been horrible at it lately and I miss my friends!
3. Exercise more/get outside more. I feel a lot better when I do.

[December 31, 2019]

This is available as an ACEO giclee print HERE

Comments

How I Make Tiny Art Books

Moon Phase & Black Cat Version II Tiny concertina softcover art book, 1-1/8" square I have loved tiny books since I was a kid, and I used to both collect them and make them. I usually made them with staples, because as a kid, that seemed like the most logical binding, but I also experimented with string, tape, and brads. I would draw comics in them, usually cats, after they were bound, which was rather ass-backwards of me. So now I'm a wee bit older and I still love making books (and I still have 4 tiny books from my original collection). I wanted to show how I made this one, which is composed of thick black paper, parchment style paper, hand-carved stamps, and a ribbon closure. All materials are archival safe. How it's Made: It always begins with a pencil drawing. After sketching out the moon phase cats, I transferred the drawings to pink stamping material and carved each one by hand. I love the primitive look of hand stamping and I wanted this book to be reprodu

Day 16 - A Word for That

"Invent a new word and illustrate or demonstrate its meaning" " PETASUSAURUS " Noun . A lizard, preferably a chameleon, that is placed on the head to control bothersome mosquitoes. From the Latin, petasus , meaning "hat" and the Greek, sauros . meaning "lizard;" or literally, a "lizard hat." Modern usage : " Hey man, nice petasusaurus! " (I haven't drawn in anime style for ages!) (October 17, 2016) Update: I've been corrected, "Hey (wo)man, nice petasusaurus!" Thanks, AS

Peninsula Cooter lays her eggs

Pseudemys floridana peninsularis , through binoculars Maceo spotted her first through the window, I was too busy making paper flowers. I think this was his first turtle. His posture was hyper-alert, a cross between sitting and crouching on his haunches, with his ears pointed forward and his eyes wide. At first I wondered why the turtle was wandering back and forth around the yard - seemed like odd behavior. Then I saw her attempt a few scrapes...she's going to lay eggs! Lucky for me, she settled on a spot right outside my rear window. I took a few photos of her through my binoculars from the window, and also through the cattle gate at the rear of the Dirt Patch. I know some people have walked right up to turtles laying eggs before and didn't seem to bother them, but how do we know it doesn't stress them out? I decided to stay about 20 feet back while outside. I was a lot closer through the window, but the screen at least formed a bit of a visual barrier since it was

OniOniOniArt

Search This Blog