Mariel's Art and Sketches: portrait

In caran d'ache, caran d'ache dry pastel

Hush

, by Mariel

In carandache, colored pencil

Upon the Night Sky, The Brightest Blue of Them All Shone Ever-so Vividly

'They twinkle day and night,
they burn without end,
yet the brightest of them all
is the one who lingers eternally in the celestial sky.
The blue of her robes shone fiercely as the bluest of the stars,
gigantic flames of lapis lazuli swirl about her as she traverses the sky,
forever wandering in the dark expanse of the universe,
hoping that one day she could find a place to call home.
And yet so often the other stars would call out to her,
other galaxies so tempting she could never resist their call.
So she settles for her fate
as she hovers and dances and shoots her way
throughout the galaxies in search of something to marvel at.
If one squints at the constellations at night,
the bluest star of them all would be seen
as she explores the ever expanding worlds.
May you bid her good luck
as even stars need well wishes, too.'


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This piece is the first one that I used blue paint on in large amounts. I am usually more partial to warm colors but recently I find myself drawn to the mysteriousness of blue, especially of lapis lazuli. Also, I am inspired by Hans Holbein's unfinished sketches, particularly how intimate and delicate they looked with minimal colors and details. 

The BBC documentary titled 'History Of Color' presented by Dr. James Fox has been a constant source of both inspiration and intrigue for me and as I make one illustration after the other, I keep this three-part series in loop. Nothing beats learning about art as one goes about doing it. 

Creating this piece was a challenge. A challenge that I gave myself, to be honest. I haven't been used to using color  yet and had largely ignored it due to 'comfort' and fear of making mistakes and wasting resources such as paint and paper as well as precious time.

However, who learns new things by being afraid of such factors?

Art is a risk, just as our everyday decisions are.

There are new techniques that I've explored here -- some I've observed in old paintings and some are very much solutions I've stumbled upon as I created her portrait.

It was such a fun and thrilling experience! But to be safe, when this was still a sketch, I scanned it and put in the colors digitally. Satisfied with the colors, I then proceeded to apply the actual paints on the paper illustration, using the digital color exploration as my guide.

Alright, so it wasn't truly a complete risk wherein I'd dive right in and see where things go.

I have to be sure first before taking the plunge.

Mixing the color and trying to match what I see on the screen and what I'm getting with the actual paints was one of the challenging parts, if not fun. 

An added objective here is to also not push myself to the brink of muscle pain.

Last May, I slipped on the wet floor and fractured my thoracic-11 bone and had started wearing a back brace just this July. Ever since that slip, my back was hurting like crazy. Aside from the fracture, the x-ray had shown that I have scoliosis though whether that is caused by the slip or I've had it for quite some time, I am not so sure. 

This piece will be part of the new book I'm making, along other illustrations and stories both old and new. I'm very much excited for it, to be honest. The workload is huge and I realized just how hard it is to create the stories and illustrations as well as the whole other aspects of book-publishing --- it's a LOT of work. But you know how I am, I am willing to work extra hard.

Just as how Dr. James Fox had described William Harvey from his BBC documentary of British Renaissance:

'William Harvey was a workaholic, an insomniac, and a coffee addict.'

My thanks, Dr. Fox. Just the way to describe me in three adjectives or less. 

, by Mariel

In artist, artist portrait

Ko-Fi Account :)

, by Mariel

In birds, drawing

Birds of Flight

, by Mariel

Forest

, by Mariel

Herbs and Wildflower Nymph

, by Mariel

My Society6 Shop! :)

, by Mariel

Red

, by Mariel