This past January was magical.
I have finally started work on becoming an independent creator, and I am having to focus on the business side of making art in my name and not freelance for the first time.
In my last post I have written about the big project that I came up with, but long story short the idea is to create a collection of paintings, 8 to 10 at most, of well known local landscapes.
Having the opportunity to give this a serious try is both a dream and a privilege. I can understand that from the outside, these paintings may look like a side project or a distraction from the books. But the pragmatic truth is, bills need paying, and every artist should take the business side of art seriously. It comes with the job, and I could really use the practice.
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Art
While most of my art time has been going towards the landscapes, I have been brushing up on my gouache techniques.
I have found some amazing resources on Japanese animation backgrounds, and have been studying them with gusto. There are so many things I want to learn and so little time to learn them.
I would like to work on my gouache painting techniques for the cover of the books. I always envisioned them with that aesthetic, so every so often I try my hand at it again, hoping that I’ll have it figured by the time I need it.
I think that once I am done with researching the background painting techniques I should compose a comprehensive guide or class on how to navigate it, there are surprisingly little resources in english and I think lots of other people would enjoy it.
My gouache paintings won't earn me any prizes yet, but I’m working on it.
Writing
Surprisingly, I wrote a poem.
It is surprising to me at least.
I haven’t made much progress with writing this last couple of months, not as much as I would have liked to anyway, but on the other hand it kind of gave me a boost of creativity and I tried my hand at a simple little poem for the “Explorers” stories.
Here is the first half of it:
“Shade, dirt, leaf and sun
Count the legs one by one
Seven, eight, nine, ten
Crawling fast over my handLittle bug, tell me why
there’s so much blue up in the sky
Look at me
Look at you
Look at all the things you doRub your hands
Clean your shell
Scratch the dirt
Looking swellLittle bug
Full of goo
Pulled his legs
Two by two…”
There is more in the final version, so you have something to look forward to. I must say it, poetry is not easy, but it is very satisfying. You have to love how it all clicks together like a puzzle.
But now a little bit about my home project.
Renovations
I was totally locked in on planning the kitchen renovation, and everything came together exactly as planned, but it was both exhausting and stressful for a really long time. I am really happy to have finished and closed that chapter of our story.
After nearly 4 years working on our house, this room was the last one that needed work done, and the most work at that. A few weeks after being done with the freezing and dusty room, it already feels like a lifetime ago. Let me share a bit of it, both for posterity and for those of you who are nosy, like myself.
Movie, Book, Game.
What was this past month’s favourite entertainment?
Movie: Puss in Boots: The last wish.
Book: The watercolour artist’s bible
Game: Sonic Origins
Today’s 80’s character is: Atreyu from The NeverEnding Story
Thanks to
for the suggestion, and if you have a suggestion for the next one please leave it below, I’m thinking of picking 2 for the next one.Today’s pun theme is: Animals.
So Fur so good. We’ve had some solid puns but Owl be the judge of the next ones.
Whale? What are you waiting for?
Leave me a comment with your best puns!
As you can likely tell, I have been in good spirits recently. Very excited for the times ahead and I will do my best to bring you along on the journey. That’s all for today, see you soon.
To you, from the home of magic.
Marco D Blanco.
SO COOL!!!!
Gasp!! Atreyu looks PERFECT!