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.