Quick Update on Commissions & Oliver!

One of the commissions I've been doing for the kind people that have donated to Oliver's treatment

So this past week has been really tough, but amidst the craziness and all of the anxiety, we had a great day so far today.
Last Sunday we took Oliver into the emergency vet because he had stopped eating and was very weak. One of his medicines gave him a stomach ulcer and was making this whole ordeal much more complicated. Side effects are so confusing. One medicine heals, but causes something else that needs another medicine to counteract. I don't understand it all -- I am not sure if anyone really does!

Today, though, I'm hopeful! We went into our regular family vet, talked with them for a while about how Oliver is doing. He had a tube to help get him some food while he was sick and they were able to take it out today. He almost instantly perked up, ate some food on his own, and explored the office (we brought him to Paper Bicycle for a little bit as we were on our way home) after it was out. It was such a relief. Seriously. I have been on pins and needles for a week hoping he'd do well!

Now I am just hoping for a speedy recovery and that his appetite gets better, and he can go back to cuddling and roaming the house with his normal chipper attitude. It's always a scary thing when your loved ones are sick - especially from complications of one of the things that are supposed to help heal them.

I wanted to write a quick post to thank everyone that has been super sweet to me during all of this!
As you can imagine - running Paper Bicycle, Light Grey Art Lab, teaching and trying to keep my regular life together on top of all this is a juggling act, and people have been so wonderful and understanding.

I am hoping that the craziness is over for now, and that we can go back to "normal". Cross your fingers for us!
We are still fighting the battle, but for today, things are looking up!

I hope to post more of the commissions I've been doing, too - thanks to everyone and their never-ending patience!
I am finally getting around to tackling some of the later ones! Thanks again!

Everyone go hug their loved ones! :) Hug them all for me!

Creeping Charlie, the pattern.

Here's the mini view of this huge pattern I made tonight.

When I first got my cat, Oliver, I had named him several things before something stuck. Charlie was one of the names that was high on the list. Oliver is, by far, the creepin'-est of cats, and as I was making this pattern tonight I thought for a second that it would have been very fitting had I named him Charlie.

I don't know why I labored over this pattern so much tonight, but I'm glad I did because I really like the way it turned out. It started as a complex sketch and turned into a giant winding beast. I took some liberties with the actual colors of Creeping Charlie - and I'm surprised I did because I am usually all about putting purple all over my artwork. But there was something really sinister about having red veins for vines -- and so it goes.


Here's a little close-up of the artwork

I had a really great weekend. I got the chance to spend the weekend hanging out with Francesca (it was her birthday! Happy Birthday, Francesca!), and some great friends. Games were played, Japanese food was enjoyed, and I got some artwork done, too! I'm looking forward to my 32nd Birthday this coming Tuesday. (Yikes! I'm not sure how that happened! I barely remember turning 30, or even 20 for that matter.... hmmmm....) But I'm excited to see it come. I think I've got zen mode on this year (or at least I'm trying!) and I'm thinking of spending my Tuesday just relaxing.
Maybe ever devouring a good book.

It'll be the first day in a long while that I've actually taken a day off, but I think I'm going to do it!

Wish me luck! Another year, another adventure.

Making Progress

Progress on the color so far! - Second layer of blues layered in

Ok, so I decided to go for something super complex this time - not really in the way that the pattern is made, but the technique that I'm using to paint it. I'm trying watercolor out for the first real time since high school and it's been... interesting.
I wanted to show you a little bit of what I'm working on though it isn't a repeating pattern quite yet.

I have plans for a Damask pattern -- as you can see I'm working on the diamond shape right now. I've set it up so it'll be fairly easy to repeat once I have the whole painting complete. I'll just have to tile it up and let it go!

It's been exciting. I've been making this while watching Discovery Channel documentaries on mount Everest (thrilling and terrifying!) and plugging away at it after I teach night class. I don't think I have much left to do, but once I get it finished up, I'll make sure to post it!

Just for fun you can see a little bit of my coloring process here!


First Layer of Blues


Preliminary Underpainting

So far I'm just using burnt umber and prussian blue (at least I think that's the blue I'm using!) to do all of the lighting and shadows. I've got this on hot press watercolor paper, too, which I usually just use for ink washes. It's been really interesting.
It looks pretty dark in the first photo (my most recent photo), but this morning I looked at it again and the color had faded a little. I'm not sure if it was just the lighting or the way the paint works!

I'm really looking forward to coloring it to look like an old hand-painted photograph. You know the one's I'm talking about? Sepia colored photos with a little bit of color? That's it!

Vanilla Flowers, winding!

Tried something new tonight!

So - here's another new approach to pattern-making. I'm teaching an advanced pattern-making class at MCAD in a couple weeks and I've been trying all of these new ways of putting patterns together. It's been a blast trying to figure it out but it was definitely a challenge!

I tried a pattern with a couple layers this time - large foliage in the background, and smaller bits in the front. There are actually three layers that went into this and surprisingly, I started with some swirly vine things and went from there!

I had a great time making it - sorry for the huge size, but I had to make a tall one to make it work! Hopefully it just makes the detail easier to see.

What was interesting about this process was that I started out having to sketch the whole thing out before tossing it in the computer. This is certainly a new thing for me - as I usually just make a bunch of icons that are nice together and toss them. This time I had to puzzle piece the whole thing together before hand. It was actually really nice.

I am really interested in doing some HUGE patterns. I'm sure you may have noticed that there posts are taller! The more I get into these, the bigger they're getting, and the more room I need to make these complex things look good! I think I'll try some kind of damask pattern in one of my next patterns. I'd really like to see if I can make a new method for those, too!

Memories of old summer days

Hello again. I've been considering how to do this pattern all day and finally bit the bullet and committed to something a little more complex and more process intensive than some of my usual patterns. I have had a great time lately drawing in my sketchbook with graphite and carbon pencil and wanted to try something today involving that process.

Here's a Egyptian Lotus flower in a limited negative space pattern. I've seen other types of lotus flowers on my trips up north to my grandparents' cabin a couple times. I remember going on canoe trips with my dad early in the morning so we could catch a glimpse of the open lotus flowers before the mid-day sun made them close back up.

It's been a couple years since I've had that experience, and it may be many more years before I get that experience again. At least I remember it fondly.
***


Here's the original sketch before I added all of the shading and the coloring

It's freezing here now. I'm sure that anyone else that lives somewhere in the Midwest (or any place to the North) knows what I'm talking about. Some of these memories are possibly surfacing because I'm sitting here freezing my butt off.

I visited L.A. last week with Jenny and Francesca and though it was pretty nice down there in the 50s, I still found myself happy to come home to good ol' frigid Minneapolis.

It doesn't mean I don't pine for warmer days... Until then, I'll make due with wearing a million sweaters and cuddling with these cats.

Olive.

Close-up of the inked detail

I have been spending quite a bit of time working in my sketchbook these days. I spent my Friday night sketching away amongst a bunch of talented people. We worked through the night on our different projects and I found myself craving a little bit of hands-on art making rather than my purely digital process.

I did a pattern the 'good ol fashioned way' this time, where I inked each layer separately, then compiled them together in the computer and colored them.


The repeat tile

I'm really enjoying letting the inky brush strokes show on these and backed by a dark background you really see it.

This pattern is inspired by the olive flower. I really like the shape of the leaves more than anything, so I did something a little viney -- reminiscent of a wall paper pattern.


And here it is repeated

School just ended this week. Another semester is over and I'm feeling a little sad from it all. It's funny -- I've felt the same way every time another semester goes by. From the time I got out of school to now, it feels the same. I miss all of those people that I got close to over the semester. I won't get to see some of them until the new year, and some of them I may never get to see again for a long while -- or ever.

Waah, maybe it's the music I have on right now, or maybe it's because it's 3am and I'm finally posting this pattern before I head to bed, but whatever the case, I was just thinking about those guys. I had an amazing last day of class with everyone. I suppose nothing can last forever. I'll just be thankful I got to share the semester with everyone. It was a blast.

101florals: Banana Flower Pods

Seriously -- you could have fooled me. After last week's temperatures, I would have sworn that I had just taken a vacation in the tropics rather than a stay at my parents' house in Mequon, Wisconsin.

Temperatures were in the 100s, and I was wilting under the summer sun.
It's been a while since I've been on a real vacation and this was as close to a week of rest and relaxation as I was ever going to get.

I spent my time swimming in the pool, eating vegetables from my parent's huge garden, and bumming around the house with Francesca.

Both of my parents are go-getters. They have an incredible amount of energy and they never skip a beat. This year their project-pride-and-joy was their 30 x 45 foot vegetable garden. I spent some time in the sun while I was there - picking radishes, harvesting beets, (delicious, I know.) and taking the occasional instagram photo of a head of cabbage.

I was definitely impressed by their inspirational gardening efforts and even more impressed by the dozens of canned, pickled radishes and beets my mom made after the harvest. (I'm almost positive no one will want to hang out with me over the next month as I finish all these off.)


Here is my pattern in repeat. Pods! Everywhere!

I actually had a great time just being.
It was also awesome seeing my brother, Brian. I don't get to see him much - seeing as he's in a different state - but when I do, I'm reminded of how funny and awesome he is.

I really miss all of them a lot. It's great to go home, but I'm always a little melancholy as I leave. It never seems long enough.

This one is dedicated to my family. Here you guys! I made a pattern for you!

So, in honor of hot days and relaxation. Here's my 101 florals pattern of the week, the center part of the Banana Flower in repeat.

Cross posted with 101florals blog.