Works from Drawing I

The following flood of works are from my second semester at New World; I had Drawing I with Aramis O'Reilly and it was one of the most gratifying classes I've taken so far. He pushed us to improve our technical skill, our understanding of light and shape and allowed us to explore concepts we were interested in. This is what resulted from that.

19" x 25"

Conte crayon + charcoal on paper

2014

18" x 24"

Charcoal on paper

2014

18" x 24"

Vine charcoal on newsprint

2014

18" x 24"

Vine charcoal on newsprint

2014

19" x 25"

Conte crayon + charcoal on paper

2014

18" x 24"

Vine + compressed charcoal on paper

2014

19" x 25"
Conte crayon + charcoal on paper
2014

37" x 25"
Charcoal on paper
2014

37" x 25"

Charcoal on paper

2014

Figure drawings & still life

Female figure
18" x 25"
Charcoal on paper
2013

Male figure
25" x 18"
Charcoal on paper
2013

Paper bags
19" x 25"
Conte crayons on canson paper
2012

Fabric
19" x 25"
Charcoal on paper
2012


So these are the first figure drawings I've spend time on finishing. The other couple of times I've done nudes is at figure drawing classes, and quite frankly the last person I went to see was so ugly I couldn't pay attention. Ahem. Anyway, the female figure was pretty easy to work on. It took about three or four sessions to finish up. The male figure was a little harder, and I actually started it before I started the second one. The proportions are wonky compared to the reference, but time wasn't agreeing with me to fix it. It was something new for me.

The still life of fabric was done after I finished the shoes still life. I did the same thing with this as I did with the last still life.

As for the paper bags, I used different materials. Conte crayons are pretty interesting, it's just that you have to keep the white and black from mixing while drawing with them and it can be frustrating. For what it is, it came out better than I expected it to.

I didn't mention that I hate drawing, huh?

The Three Goddesses

Wisdom
14" x 11"
Oil on canvas
2013

Power
14" x 11"
Oil on canvas
2013

Courage
14" x 11"
Oil on canvas
2013


As I mentioned in the past post, I had painted the three goddesses of Hyrule. Nayru is the goddess of wisdom, who is associated with deserts and oceans. Din is the goddess of power, and created the terrain of Hyrule. And Farore is the goddess of courage, representing the forests.

I painted all three of these at the same time due to time constraints, it was ridiculous. But it was an exciting project. I only wish that I had more time to work on the compositions of each portrait.

The newest series

Rising
Oil on canvas
30"x 24"
2013

Falling
Oil on canvas
30" x 24"
2012


I decided to fill up my portfolio with something that I love dearly: the Legend of Zelda. I had to make five new paintings. They became three small portraits of the three goddesses, and two main paintings representing Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask. I basically wanted to make an altar piece.

Ocarina of Time is considered to be one of the greatest video games of all time. Not exactly an upbeat storyline, but Link finds himself becoming more courageous as his journey goes on. Majora's Mask, on the other hand, gives me nightmares. The games are very much opposites and it was a fulfilling and frustrating experience creating paintings for them.

I started off painting MM, and it was incredibly discouraging. The process seemed to go on forever and had a lot of elements to pay close attention to. On the other hand, OoT was much easier and came naturally. Kinda like the games themselves.

Catching up

Hey everyone! Due to being incredibly busy with school and finishing up my portfolio, I haven't posted anything in about a year. Now I have lots of finished paintings and drawings, so those will be up soon. I'm trying to update everything. Bear with me!

-Rachel

Liquid and rocks

After many months of trying to adjust to oils and charcoal, both pieces are finally done. I'm not sure which one was harder. They were both equally frustrating, that's for sure.

Jerry Cantrell
Oil on canvas
30" x 24"
2012

My first project with oils was to paint a portrait of a musician who I have not stopped listening to ever since I was 12. Alice in Chains has been one of my favorite bands since then, and his solo albums have inspired me artistically as well. When I'm trying to think up ideas or warm up for painting, I listen to his music nonstop.

This was my steam valve, as my art teacher calls it. After the chaos that was my Scholastic portfolio, I guess my brain was so broken that a new project within 3 weeks of finishing made sense!

My teacher painted a portrait of Layne Staley a while back, too. I wanted something to match it.

Shoes
Charcoal on paper
21" x 28"
2012

This is when my teacher made me feel like I was in a humanities class. She had me cover the whole sheet of paper with charcoal, then I had to erase in the outlines. Basically drawing in reverse. The process was pretty damn tedious and tiring, but the end result is fun to look at.


I'm now currently working on another charcoal drawing like this. Soon, I'll be starting a new series of oil paintings. I'm not exactly sure what it'll be about. I've just gotta prepare for August 2013!

My next long project

So, since the Scholastic Awards, I've been a lot less busy. Melancholy earned me a Gold Key, which is awesome.

Now, I'm working with oils and charcoal. This is all going towards trying to get into New World for college. Sketches, paintings, and a full sketch book! It'll be fun. I think...

Just thought it'd be nice to fill in a new post since it's been a while. New work to be posted soon!

My favorite folklore stories

Well, this past few months have been eventful. Juggling school and painting is hard and will drive you absolutely insane, but I did it, so I rule. Anyway, the second series I made is based on Scandinavian stories that I love. I've been reading these stories and books since I was about 12, and they have a way of sucking you in. Here are the demon creations!



Nøkken
Acrylic on canvas
28" x 20"
2011

This painting is about water trolls called nøkkens, and they're pretty mean. They prey on anyone depressed or lingering by a lake. They also like to shape shift to trick their victim into believing that they're king beings, like a lady or a horse. Then... They face their doom.



The Treasure Bringer
Acrylic on canvas
20" x 28"
2011

This one's about a poor farmer who sells his soul for a helper on his crops. The kratt will either bring you riches and happiness for life, or turn on you and make the rest of your days miserable. That's what happened to our farmer who, unfortunately, freaked out and abandoned the kratt just as he finished creating it. As much as he tried destroying it, it wouldn't die. Which only caused the farmer's death in the end.



For Long Springsday
Acrylic on canvas
20" x 16"
2011

This one's pretty inappropriate, let's just start off. A girl is told to save the family's meat for the spring time. A vagabond overhears the mother tell the girl, "You have no sense or reason!" When he comes back, the mother isn't to be found. The girl is naive and doesn't realize that she's talking to a bad man. So, she gives him their food. And even after he's already taken all of that... He finds a way to sexually take advantage of the girl, and she never realizes what's happening. I had a hard time figuring out how to make this damn thing safe to look at. But hey, it worked.



The Human Soul Coming Out as a Fly
Acrylic on canvas
16" x 20"
2011

This one's actually pretty sweet. There's lots of variations of this story with different animals. As one person is sleeping, the person they're with notices a small animal coming out of their friend. That animal goes on a small adventure and finds its way back to their human. That person then wakes up to tell about an adventure they went on in their dream, which was really them as that small animal. A fly isn't cute or anything, but there you go.

Coming up with the concept for the series was fun, but executing the whole thing was nerve wrecking. I drove myself mad, I was close enough to becoming the Happy Mask Salesman from Majora's Mask! And while I'm not completely happy with everything, I'm glad everything's finished and looks presentable. Deadlines really kill your motivation to make things pretty. But I actually wanna paint something new now? OH GOD!

Just enjoy, everyone.

Last one! Augh!

Sanguine
Acrylic on canvas
24" x 18"
2011

The Humors are done! There! Okay, I still gotta explain this one.

Sanguine is the good humor. It has its life together, sleeps 8 hours a night, and eats lots of broccoli. So, you can trust this one to not go nuts on you! You can also hate it from afar because they're just so damn good at life.

Its substance is blood, its element is air, they are emotionally stable and sociable. Yeah, go ahead and hate them. They'll produce too much black bile one of these days!

PS: Working on two other paintings right now. I got a deadline to January for four paintings. Yeah... It's fun, trust me. Oye!

I've never actually seen snow before.

Melancholy
Acrylic on canvas
24" x 18"
2011

Now we got #3 here, the moody humor. And it's quite fitting, since painting mulch is... Yeah. Let's not mention such things.

Melancholy is probably the most well known of the humors. From Albrecht Durer's etching, to the Smashing Pumpkins turning the word into a fun album title, people seem to relate to it. Melancholy comes from a person producing black bile more than anything else, from the gall bladder. Its element is earth, and the qualities are cold and dry.

Something very green to go with Earth Day...

Phlegmatic
Acrylic on canvas
24" x 18"
2011

Number two is here! After an insane amount of time trying to get a proportionate shoulder and chest area, it's ready to take its place in the series. It's the quiet, thinking part of all this, as phlegmatic temperaments are introverted and thoughtful.

By the title, you know the substance is phlegm, which is produced by the lungs. Its element is water, and the qualities are cold and wet. The background is kind of obvious with that, as well as looking like the color of snot itself. Icky things like that can be pretty, too!

The first painting of a long series...

Choleric
Acrylic on canvas
24" x 18"
2011

The process of this painting began on April of 2010, so trying to finish this has been pretty long. Due to a computer dying, I had to retake references and kinda start from scratch. But finishing it has helped me put a foot forward in getting this series done. And the series? It's about old timey medical theories!

The four humors, or four temperaments, are elemental fluids linked to one's state of mind. Not that it's actually true, but those kooky folks coming out of the B.C. times didn't have much of a mind for the human body.

The four humors are sanguine, choleric, melancholy and phlegmatic. An even balance of these fluids keeps a person healthy and stable. An imbalance will cause disease, disabilities, and basically insanity. You know what they did to cure that? Drain the excess fluids. Like I said, folks back then weren't too bright...

Choleric is characterized by an emotionally unstable personality, while being aggressive and extroverted. The substance is yellow bile, produced by the spleen. A choleric person's element is fire, so you could assume that a person with this personality is angry and touchy. Just how I felt while trying to complete this!

Updates soon!

So now that winter break is over with, along with 2010 all together, new things are soon to be completed. I'm finishing up the first painting for my series about the four humors, drawings will follow, all that good stuff.

Stay tuned, kiddies!

This thing gets around...

Entomophobia
Acrylic on wood
11" x 14"
2010

For Tate's Monsters Under My Bed art show, it was easy for me to pick a subject. Roaches are creatures I've always been afraid of, so painting them (which requires looking at them CONSTANTLY) wasn't easy at first. But soon I began to look at them as references and subjects, rather than just shiny and creepy.

After getting the whole piece going, and when the roaches were done and in place, I glazed them over to add the shiny/icky factor (an idea my teacher suggested!) The rest of the painting came from one reference photo, which is me leaning into a tree that's by my house.

The womb

Florida
Acrylic on wood
11" x 14"
2010

Another Tate's entry here, for a Florida themed gallery. As someone born and raised here, I had fun with this. Especially as someone who gets frustrated when Spring Break comes along...

This was great fun until the very end, when it came to filling in the fence. Thankfully it's been fixed and looks presentable now, and some things have been tweaked. (including the title!)

The first self portrait

Self portrait
Acrylic on cardboard
11" x 19"
2009

This is my true introduction to painting, so I needed a simple concept and my face just happened to be that! This took a backseat to Memory Lane for about a month and a half, so it got done in about six months.

Bear and Bird's Halloween art show

Memory Lane

Acrylic on canvas

11" x 14"

2009

Aren't I just so clever with that title? Ahem!

Here in south Florida, we got this awesome shop called Tate's Comics, and they've got a little shop on their second floor, Bear and Bird, that holds galleries for short periods of time. Two times a year, they let local artists submit their own work for themed galleries, and this was for Halloween.

I did this with very little time, hardly any references for the background, and little experience with painting. This was my first finished painting! I had another one on the side, but my teacher really wanted me to start getting into shows, and this sorta thing still happens a lot with us.

The idea of Satan dressing up as an angel was funny to me at the time, and still kind of is. (but in a bratty sort of way) And again, I had little time to do this, so whatever halfway decent idea was good to go for this.

I stretched canvas for this one, and was taught the magical world of fast-drying acrylics. (that was both a good and annoying thing) So this was a pretty simple painting once I got used to how things worked.

And something to be proud of!

Mikael Akerfeldt

Pencil on paper

11" x 14"

2009

Another one of these. I was listening to lots of Opeth and Mikael's pretty easy on the eyes, so why not?

This was my first time filling in a drawing with a background, and thankfully the reference photo had a blurry forest scene. Starting the drawing up was ridiculous, it took a few months for me to even get some basic lines down, and in the end I almost erased everything. I nearly gave up on this, but I kept some lines down and decided to just go for it. It was a sorta blurry photo entirely, so my teacher and I had to mess around in Photoshop to catch different lights properly. This is still something I'm very happy to call my own work, even with the problems that came along with it.

This one took quite some time

Richard D. James

Pencil on paper
11" x 14"

2009

Another musician portrait! These are a habit of mine. After Iggy, I still needed practice, so another one of these had to be done. And I guess whatever music I'm into at the time becomes the subject. Richard D. James goes under the name of Aphex Twin in his music career, and he's an interesting fella.

Again, graphite pencils on paper for this one. The fabric and hair are an improvement here, but his eyes were insane to attempt making look normal (again, reference problems). This drawing itself took entirely too long to finish, and mostly out of laziness and going nuts over trying to finish it!

One of my first portraits...

Iggy Pop
Pencil on paper
11" x 14"
2009

So this drawing is simple enough, it's just an Iggy portrait. My art teacher asked me to begin drawing a portrait of anyone who I thought was interesting, so he came up! And at the time, I was listening to a lot of The Stooges, it worked.

I used various graphite pencils on sketching paper, and used a photo from a biography as the reference. It was a small photo too! So that's as far as the process went for this one. It took a few weeks to finish, because drawing this was also the first time I'd start filling in hair and fabric.