various figures

I took a figure painting class this semester, so I only went to, like, one figure drawing co-op. I kind of suck at painting but whatever, man. I have no time to do anything. Here's some stuff.

this is my fave figure from the semester, even tho her head and body are totally disproportionate 

tenuous grasp (an animation)

I made an animation!!!


critical consciousness from Marcie LaCerte on Vimeo.

sketchbook stuff

Middle-aged Muslim women in hijabs on the bus are perfect drawing subjects, because they are still and elegant and the roundness of their faces is emphasized by the encapsulating, undulating cloth that billows around them like a royal cape.

This drawing of a building on the UMN campus took me about an hour and a half, and I listened to Vampire Weekend's MVOTC one and a half times. I'm not terribly pleased with the drawing, save the very bottom and the very top. It was so cold outside that I didn't even realize I was cold, and only once I stepped inside and crawled into a nice, warm bed did I realize my thighs were stiff as stones and my abdomen was shuddering uncontrollably. Worth it, tho.

a bunch of figures (i have no idea what i'm doing anymore)

I spend most of my free time feeling poorly about myself and flitting back and forth between the Word document of my resume and the PDF of my resume. What a strange place to be in life when the primary source of my confidence stems from a piece of paper—a paper with bullet points, no less. Cold, hard, methodical bullet points.

It's 5am and I'm procrastinating. Forgive me.

Maintaining this blog can be difficult. For months at a time I feel as though I am bursting with ideas and thoughts that have no place in the ephemeral Internet realm of tumblr or spoken aloud to wary friends. And for other months I feel more or less devoid of substance. I think right now at this point in time I'm encroaching on the latter territory.

The figure drawing co-op is over for the semester, which is sad because it's the one established routine I have (every Sunday I draw naked people for three to four hours). I ended on a note that my heart feels is strong but my head feels is utterly ridiculous. I'm too impatient to draw properly anymore. But I still like my drawings. Anyway. Enough rambling.

These were done over two sessions, though we had the same model present for both. Yeah, I literally have no idea what I'm doing anymore. I do kind of like the pastel drawings I did, though.

Here are some 1 minute gestures I haven't uploaded to tumblr because I think they're kind of bad! (Also it's upside down, sorry.)

What an exciting time. I'm considering drawing at the MIA every Sunday in place of figure drawing, but who knows if I'll have the time/energy/motivation to do that for the rest of the semester? *shrug emoticon*

the only two successful paintings I made in my portraiture class

alas

And here's a bonus WIP shot that got a bunch of notes because MCAD reblogged it:

random recent work, finished and unfinished

I cannot seem to cultivate any interest in digital painting. Two things I love most about fine art are its tactility and its accidents—sensations entirely absent in digital painting. When using digital tools to create art, I feel there are too many degrees of separation—my hand to my pen to my tablet to my computer to my other hand on the command-Z keys—to feel a deeper sense of connection and thus personal creation. So I get bored.

Nevertheless I admire the results of digital painting (others' paintings) and have been trying to learn how to do it, since it's obviously a valuable skill. But I never finish anything.

These two were done for Reddit. I think they're OK drawings, but I have zero interest in continuing them. And they will never be submitted to Reddit. (Why do I even make art based on Reddit prompts? I hate almost all the art on that website. It's trite and cliche. [But this is not to say I think I'm technically better—maybe, in fact, I feel such disdain because I am worse.])

I've also been doing some gouache paintings in my free (i.e. designated productive procrastination) time, because painting is fun and easy with gouache. So far I have four paintings, one of which is in progress. I only have two scanned in, though.

referenced from a photo my roommate took in Yellowstone over the summer

referenced from a photo I took while being bored and alone on the bus

 I didn't get a chance to go to figure drawing last week, and this week I only attended the two hour Monday night session. I usually go on Sundays for four hours. I regret not going on Sunday—I really only liked one drawing I did this week. Anyway, toned paper is fun.

Grandmas

My first real attempt at character design. We had to design two characters in conflict—we're still working on the animation for it.

So here it is! Two grandmas.

Muriel and Patty

stickers

I am making a zine with some classmates. It's about suburbia, because what else on earth is interesting?

Here are the stickers sheets I printed off. I like the design. I'd like to imagine if I had a skater skirt or long flowy dress with prints like these (particularly the second and third), I would be by far the coolest kid on the block.

original color

color variation

Also here are some my favorite photos we're going to use in the zine:

figures from 9/27

I'm getting worse? (shitty iPhone photos in dim light are shitty...iPhone photos in dim light.)