Norway vs Europe

So, from what I've gathered, outside Europe not many knows that Norway is not a part of the European Union. We're in NATO and UN, but we're not in EU.

Some of you might've seen the street art becoming popular with the EU flag in some way or another and NO WAY with the R either missing or slightly obscure... well, yes, that would be us. Norway. The No Way.

Anyways... Slightly insomniac today. So I did a political piece. Which is not something  I often throw out there. Two blog posts in one night, oh my.

Pillar of me

The pillar of skulls... No, I mean, the pillar of me... This isn't Planescape: Torment... ;)

Just messing around. Let's call it getting ready for November 1st (Self Portrait Day). ;) Strange times, when I sit down my drawing is competing with my writing these days, as well as school as I've started evening classes.

Anyways, it's fun and it's helping me with some fundamentals. :)

Portrait of an alien

After struggling with so many images lately, using days and days to get things right and pushing myself (and not really having the time to draw that much anyway..), I just wanted to do something relaxing and totally within my comfort zone and tiny little box.

Tonight that meant making some kind of portrait, and finding some ref photos when I had decided what I wanted to do with my sketch. 

Since I watched Guardians of the Galaxy yesterday, this is what I ended up drawing. A few hours of playing around. :)

Lady on top of a ... friggin horse.

So, this is the thing I have been fighting with. I could go on and on about that, but whatever, artist blah blah blah. C&C welcome and appreciated, here, FB or PM. I know, the bg needs work. I just deleted all the people looking at her too. Sometimes posting something helps me see the mistakes in another light.

Anyways. I kind of love it and hate it. As usual. :P Work in progress.

 

Oh ops, I seem to have deleted her eyes too. O.o

Victory: First question was "is the back legs crossed?" instead of "are the legs broken?" ;) 

The heat. THE HEAT!

So, you could say that it's been hot here lately. So hot that in fact I've been more busy cooling down myself and my family more than doing too much art. Also, a bit of summer things like amusement parks, roller coasters, tenting, swimming and building play houses to fasten slides on (there might be a panel about that later...).

Anyway, I've done a bit here and there, and after being to an indoor concert today where not only the people on the stage almost melted off it but the audience almost melted off their chairs, I ended up finishing this one.

I've started on both more panels and drawings, so hopefully I'll post some more later. I just haven't really had the energy to finish any of it, heh.

But here's a photo I've posted other places from some sleepless nights earlier in the heat wave, I worked my way through them doing an old thing I used to do a lot:

Drunk brides. And bunnehs!

Been away for a few days, and what's the first thing I do when I come back home? I make another one of these thingies. I guess they're kind of relaxing, and there's barely any space for learning in my head these days. :)

And for some reason I seem to attract a bit of hits here with these, so... Not sure what that is all about. 

Anyways, first a small note about the weekend...

Also, here's one that I made before I left, but didn't have time to get out here. Sorry about the quality of the text and stuff... I was actually fighting quite a cold.

Birthdays. And a vacant brain.

Yes. This did also happen. And it's a new silly quick comic.

... I guess, for context, I should add that my husband comes from US, I am Norwegian, and we live in Norway. Which makes his family live far away, so we're not exactly having a daily life outside the internet with them. Thank goodness we have that though! :)

Based on a true story. Bork.

Yes, this was us last night.

Yes, it's a silly quick comic. 

How I spend my Friday nights

So, I tend to spend my Friday nights drawing. That is my choice. Often I accompany that choice with wine. Or rum. Or beer. Or just soda. Or tea. Or coffee. It is my choice.

These Friday nights that I spend like this is not because it's the best I can do. It is because it's what I choose to do. It's what makes me relax, leave the world behind, how I make my brain do loops that it's not allowed to do elsewhere in my daily life.

I do not make money on my drawing. Well, not enough to call it a living anyway, even the tax office laughs and assures me I am in no danger of overstepping any boundaries anytime soon. What you see on my blog, my pages and any exhibitions is stuff that I have made for myself, my own goals, and not for any clients.  Which also makes me able to choose when to show my stuff - as there is no deadline, no publication. If I feel it's not something for the public eye... it's not out there.

It is, however, how I survive. I might not be making any money on it. I'm actually not even sure I'd manage to live in a world where a client dictates what I am drawing - I am not that a good artist that I can fulfill other peoples visions. I am not good enough for that.

But it is how my brain recuperates. Even when it's a fight to get the image done.

So yeah, I might not be a pro. But I love it nonetheless. And I don't care about how other makes their stuff, how they're marketing it, how they're making a living, how they're doing whatever. If I like it, I'll look at it. If I don't, I won't. Simple as that.

That was kind of a comment to a bunch of stuff I see happening these days within my chosen art community. That said, this thing has been fighting with me from the start, but I seem to be unable to put the darn thing down. So here it is so far, any C&C appreciated, here, PM, email, comments on FB, whatever.

Kid and butterflies

Playing a bit around with stuff lately, as I'm trying to find a way to do a project, this is one of the things that came out of that.

Might do something more later, but for now I am finished unless someone finds anything glaringly wrong, since I've gone a bit blind on it.

Yes, that is my kid, hehe.

Russ - a spring phenomenon in Norway

So this year I got to decorate a "russe-van" and some "russe-sweaters" for these wonderful youngsters celebrating their 12 or 13 years of (free) school is over and done with. They're old enough to drink, vote and drive by the time they become russ, and therefore, of course, it is all celebrated by a huge party starting late in April, ending at 17th of May (our National Day). Usually there is either an old beaten up car or van or a huge up to date bus driving them to their parties and celebrations.

I won't get too much into the insanity of russ here, I think I've told people enough about them earlier, but the gang I helped out this year wanted "team sweaters" that they started to wear during their "russekro" which is basically last year students only private pub parties starting months before the actual celebration and a van decorated for them.

I haven't actually seen neither the van nor the sweaters myself, but they are very pleased, so I am pleased. :) And I hope to see it soon. Here's some pictures they've sent me though, I thought I'd put them here for fun. It is, after all, something I have created.

They were very specific about what they wanted, how they wanted it, and after making sure I knew exactly what they had in their brain, they let me just do my job. Perfect clients! They had a clear picture in their head, and had even made their OWN early sketches! :D

Anyways, a bunch of girls from farms, this is what they wanted:

(the black field is just to hide her last name, their sweaters were with their full names. :) )

Here's a closer look to what they wanted. :)

 

This is why I was asking about vector months ago. I still haven't learned it, so I better get around to, in case I get asked again. That was some big .psd files for the car print firm. :D 

The hours that matters?

So, I was doing this as a study of light.

I won't say how many hours I've used on it after I started, but it's waaaay too many. On the other hand, I *do* feel like that the amount of things I learned compared to the hours spent after I really should have been done with it was worth it.

And that's all that matters, isn't it?

Random art update

So, it's been a while. I've been rather busy for a while, both with not painting, and doing stuff that I can't show. Since it's been so long I thought I better post some random WIPs and stuff I've made just for fun.

I dunno, I saw this character in a Miss Marple thing I liked: 

Just a random forest:

Oh, I'm attacking something. I guess:

Some random rather small paintings I did testing out some paint:

 

'

And here's a drawing I did for Christmas: 

Anyways, until later! :)