For reals though… sweet tap dancing Moses am I sore. I went to CrossFit 2 days in a row. Now that isn’t that big of a deal and normal for me, but ooouccchhh. The last two workouts were really hard. I am basically a little puddle of mush laying on the floor now. So here is a drawing. This is the only position that doesn’t hurt. Don’t forget to roll out!
Plate Coral Maiden
September 4, 2014
It’s been a few since I’ve drawn a chubby mermaid, so here we go!
Done on real paper, with real markers, and real red pencil. Craaaazyyyy. I actually LOVE LOVE LOVE drawing in sketchbooks, it’s just that usually I am at my desk or laptop and photoshop means no messes.
Does anyone else have problems with finishing a sketchbook? I swear I have 40 just laying around randomly with only the first 3 pages filled in. Maybe I just like buying sketchbooks because it makes me think of potential drawings… and I just never get around to them.
ALRIGHT. Quit twisting my arm, I will fill one up this year.
xoxo
-Tracey
Landscape studies
September 1, 2014
Last thursday at Imagineering we had the most amazing lecture by Nathan Fowkes. If you haven’t see his painting or been to a lecture you should. It was so inspiring that I am going to make it a point to implement his concepts into my own work. His mastery of value and color are just fantastic. He composes with light and shadow and everything he does is painfully good. So good in fact that while watching his lecture I thought to myself “shit, I will never ever be this good.” Obviously that’s not the right way to look at things. I will just need more milage. I don’t paint a lot, I mostly draw, and most of my drawings are almost technical and based on things that will eventually need to be built. So there is that… But you know what, I would like to be kick ass at everything.
These are two 20 minutes landscape studies from photos of Sedona Arizona. I think the comp on top needs to be simplified more, it got away from me. It was part of what Nathan was saying about picking what’s important in your artwork. There isn’t really a focal area in it. Live and learn, or in this case, paint and learn.
Carry on,
-Tracey
Fish biscuits tries to be a model
August 27, 2014
It doesn’t work out. Look at her trying to be sexy. What a mess.
A boy & his fish
August 26, 2014
I’ve never done animation. I don’t really think it’s a course Art Center College of Design offers. I was a straight up illustration major. At the time I was attending ACCD (2001-2005), there wasn’t an entertainment track. Publication was celebrated, everyone who was anyone did editorial illustration- or they’d suffer the harrowing hardships that is the fine art gallery world. I never really bought into that whole thing. I loveeee illustration and it’s obviously great. It takes a lot of work to create a story in a single image. Illustration has it’s value, and the skills I learned in the foundations at Art Center were beyond measure. I didn’t want to do editorial though, I am not one for continually trying to sell myself or hitting the streets with constant barrages of self promotion. (I know, I know, I have a blog now; the irony isn’t lost on me that I am self promoting).
Instead of going the editorial route, I wanted to have a “real” job or somewhere I could have some type of security. I have no issues psychologically with being a “corporate artist” in fact I rather enjoy it. I like working for Disney and I like the collaborative nature that a film, animation and gaming bring to artistry. While I am pretty introverted personally, I never particularly held much value in my work as an individual. So while I was at Art Center I changed majors twice to get classes I thought would be more valuable than Illustration 1,2 & 3 along with the other required editorial based courses. Instead I took film classes, storyboarding classes, and 3D modeling classes. In the early 2000’s computer graphics were just starting to get good, the computer was being utilized more and more as an industry medium and physical painting was on it’s way out. So I sort of paved my own way through the education system of Art Center and created what I thought I needed to make it as a corporate artist. I guess I was successful!
Though I don’t do animation I have been trying to get that style in my drawings. I love the fluidity that story artists and visual development artists have in animation. They have such a playful style and their line work and expressive drawings are enviable. Gestural drawings were not all that celebrated at Art Center. Realism and anatomy coupled with technique were definitely emphasized. As a result you end up with that cookie cutter design style you see from the students graduating from ACCD. Not bad obviously because they’re fantastic artists… just sort of stiff.
This mermaid has nothing to do with anything, though it is an animated gif.
Mucha Mucha mucha
August 22, 2014
I had some time on my hands for the first time all week. I am taking tomorrow off of work so that I can make the long trek up the 5 freeway for the annual rafting trip. Every year I participate in Raft 4 Life, a charity event where the proceeds go to fund research for Angiosarcoma (the type of cancer I had). Since I wont have any free time this weekend to draw mermaids, this will be my last post for the week. I think it’s only appropriate to take the weekend off! Enjoy!
Thanks Instagram!
August 21, 2014
I have 100 followers! That might not seem like much in the scheme of things, but I am more than happy to take all of you! Thanks a ton for following cute mermaid drawings Instagram. You’re the best! 
I made you a lil’ something.
Yoga
August 21, 2014
God Yoga is boring. How does anyone legitimately like it? I tried a few moves today thinking “oh, I should have an active recovery day and do some stretching.” I got sleepy in child’s pose and that quickly morphed into falling asleep with butt-in-air pose.
Feminine lines
August 20, 2014
I may have mentioned that I am not a great painter. I LOVE line work though. I was always on my game in a figure drawing class. Contour lines to me are the easiest way to describe a form. I loved doing life drawing, and the more corpulent the model that happier I was to draw them. In my own life I prefer to be fit. I like being healthy and able to run up a mountain if I felt the desire to do so. However something about drawing hips, butts and describing the form in soft shapes makes me happy as an artist.
I like the way this drawing turned out. That’s not something I usually say. I think the simplicity is what makes me happy about it.
Anyway,
Chub on.
Do you even beet soup!?
August 19, 2014
Here is a revelation. I am a CrossFitter. I love it. I mean really, I am strong and fit and could probably outrun a zombie with relative ease for about 5k. After that I don’t really know. I hate running so I haven’t tested my endurance. I pick up weights and throw them down, sometimes with grunts, sometimes with screechy girl sounds accompanied by dances. I love it. If you haven’t tried it, it’s legit the only way that I was able to get in shape. I tried loads of stuff trying to tame my out of control butt-circumference and flabby arms. I can say with all honesty- the myriad of prancercise, Pilates and Jillian Michaels were not enough. CrossFit was though. I was not just in shape but FIT in about 6 months time. I lost 32lbs and learned that I actually can be athletic. The combination of positive community influence and really intense interval training were what made the difference for ME.
This is one of my coaches, Brian. He’s a superb teacher, friend and clean eating guru. It is not unusual to find him pounding a veritable bucket of his homemade beet soup after a workout. He’s a unique and intense dude that is never shy about sharing his knowledge of fitness or nutrition. He practices what he preaches and the sheer hilarity of his offering (entirely unappetizing) fuchsia soup to post worker-outers warranted an illustration.