Sckraps

Breath of Fresh Summer Air

2010-06-04T11:46:00.002-04:00

Things are beginning anew, again.

I'll be returning to a more stable art output June 7th, 2010. The Etsy shop will reopen with new prints, new work, and new prices (streamlined and simple).

www.sckraps.com

This Saturday, June 5th, I'll be in Toledo, Ohio for the Old West End Festival.

Come check out my little card table with nice little prints @ 2130 Scottwood Ave.

I'll be there in the morning, into the afternoon, weather permitting, probably will wander off around 4-5pm to get food and check out some sights and sounds.

GRAB BAG SKETCHES. I'll be doing live random sketches and tossing them in a folder, they'll be 2 bucks a pop. A nice way to get some quick and cheap art while walking around!

Peace,

-Blake

Things Going Slowly Behind the Scenes

2010-02-22T12:57:00.002-05:00

Things slowly going along behind the scenes. I think I'm getting really tired of gray skies and cold weather. Anyone else crossing fingers for spring and warm air? I like having the windows open.

Blog Buttons, and Clouds, and Cactus

2010-02-16T14:11:00.002-05:00

Two Ideas, and nitty gritty snow day today.

One is about clouds, they're doing relaxing things like playing Badminton, reading the paper, doing puzzles, and tanning.

Another involves desert plants like cactus made out of bunnies and other desert animals. Brain got a bit weird there...but I didn't put on the breaks.

And finally, today, I'm working on the blog layout. I want things to have a very hand-drawn look, so, it's drawing time. I drew a fat bird for Twitter, so, pressing on with that theme...fat cute things.

Until next time, when I feel more confident posting to a blog that isn't ugly as sin.

Changes

2010-02-12T13:26:00.002-05:00

Some changes soon in the blog, since I had 1 gmail/google account tied, and switched it to the one that I associate with my Etsy and such, I run the risk of killing my followed blogs and posted images, so once I migrate them in on this username, I'll kick the other guy (which is still me, which is weird) out of the authors list.

Thankfully, I don't have too many things to toggle and switcheroo.

NOTE: I am still following all the current blogs I followed under my other email address, since I was just able to simply import them into google reader.... unfortunately, there's no such import option *that I know of* to get them from reader> blogger. Looks like following and feeds aren't mutual across the board.

New Ink, Sketches, and Finished Stuff

2010-02-09T16:27:00.002-05:00

Ebenezer Archer Kling and Scott Campbell (ScottC) are two artists that I'm currently borrowing a certain style element from, for coming work. Using a color as their line in their watercolor work.

I usually favor an india ink either applied before painting or after the paint's are dry.

I'm finding that I really like the look of a colored line....so maybe the ink will stay with black n white drawings only...I'd like to make more of a mess too, with my inks. I need to get sloppier.

So I completed a small handful of paintings for an auction for charity at my girlfriend's workplace. Some people who are handy around a camera or knitting needles make things for the auction, and they asked me to toss some things in too. So, since it's an environmental, earthy kinda theme...I painted the following mountain ranges....

There's the Blue Mountains, Belcher Mountains, Mosquito Range, and Superstition Mountains.
I was looking through a list of ranges in North America and these put silly ideas into my head...

I also re-did a rendition of a word/phrase that's been stuck in my head for a while. Hot Dog Stand. I painted another version, this one with color linework...and not on crappy sketchbook paper....

I enjoyed how the new one turned out. And to end this, here's some doodles that have been finding their way on and off my table...and also some FW Acrylic inks I found at Blicks for HALF PRICE!

Some things of note.

2010-02-03T13:27:00.000-05:00

Just some updates and things of note.

1. I keep letting the redesign of this space go by the wayside, but there's more important things that take up my time (work/school) that come before art stuff, and then this layout is at the bottom of the art barrel itself. So, we'll see how that whole new look goes, or doesn't go...

2. I've been relentlessly thinking and making small adjustments to a particular style that I've enjoyed exploring. I think it's good to go, and as far as most of anything that will get posted here or on Etsy, it's going to be simple, bold, and accessible to any age range.

3. A neat little thing is happening at the girlfriend's workplace. Their office has this charity auction each year, or a couple times a year, or something like that...and they have people offer a thing or two to get placed into a handful of gift basket type things. Some people put in their hobby photography and such, or cross stitch things, etc. So I was asked (which is odd because I'm usually volunteered or called upon without question, heh) if I would like to contribute.

The theme is nature-y things and environmental stuff, so I gave it a thought or two, and finally decided on something.

There's a lot of silly or funny names for mountain ranges in the world. Some of them here in the US. So I took a few that made me giggle, and I'm painting little pictures of them. It's fun, and I'm getting a kick out of illustrating them.

I think Friday after a couple of errands/appts I'll make a big push to at least rearrange the stuff in this blog a bit. There's some widgets I'd like to try out.

Ta ta for now,
-Blake

Quick question....

2010-01-21T19:24:00.000-05:00

One...if you follow/read my blog (thank you!) I'm curious....how did you find me?

Two...I'm going to be fiddling with the layout/design. Does this thing look cramped, right or left of center for you? I'm thinking about a couple design elements, but I'd enjoy some feedback....

So I don't scare anyone away :)
Thanks!

Have a great evening,
-Blake

Grapes of Wrath and Mimes - painted

2010-01-18T20:16:00.001-05:00

Good evening, looks like I've got some new followers. Guess I'll have to make an effort to keep people reading. Well, here goes...

I finished the colors on Grapes of Wrath. I'm happy with how it turned out.I stuck to three colors for the grapes. Then, decided to pick a couple more for accents/background elements. I can't stand to spend a whole lot of time mixing paints, so I'm constantly trying to limit my colors.

Since I didn't post a shot of any of the inking process, I'll toss one in for good measure!

The Grapes of Wrath

2010-01-13T14:35:00.000-05:00

The Grapes of Wrath and Giggles.
At least, this thing makes me giggle. I chuckled frequently while doing it. There's some fandom buried in there with the faces....

A preview, will be inking soon. And thus, updating. Hoping to get the Mimes, Grapes, and Hot Dog Stand into the Etsy shop by the end of the weekend. And that whole blog design/twitter design/facebook page thing rolling too. (click for slightly larger view)

Ringing in the New Year

2010-01-06T00:10:00.000-05:00

Well, it's now 2010. I'm excited for what the next ~364 days have in store for me. As part of my super secret resolution, I'm going to outfit this blog with the following:

- cleaner look
- maybe some actual content worth reading? a format of some sort?
- links to places I haunt
- better integration with other social networking tools I need to use more often
- un-launched Facebook Page
- twitter account
- Flickr account

I'm doing it.

2009-12-23T00:47:00.000-05:00

I'm going to draw the obscure, the giggle worthy, the kitsch, and the awkward until I die, or my hands fall off. I'm going to mold my Etsy page into something else. Something unfocused and messy, something that mirrors this storm of ridiculousness that brews constantly in my brain.

I also purchased both Mouse Guard collections. I can't wait to read them, again and again. I also need to read more, just, in general. I need to make use of the library that's two blocks down the road before it closes like other libraries seem to be doing, which is really depressing.

Evening(or morning as it were)
-Blake

A tale of two cities, er, drawing...styles.

2009-12-18T00:49:00.000-05:00

One city in my head is populated with cute, kitsch-y, friendly characters.
Another city is populated with lanky, strange, darker things.

I cannot decide if I should divert attention to the darker one to see what can be done to expand on it.
I feel like my mind swings that way when the pencil hits the paper.

Some of that art just feels more...natural. Some of the cute is like smiling for too long, things start to strain a bit.

Anyone else, artists, had struggles with personal styles?
Chime in if you feel the need.

Thanks,
-Blake

Re-kindling old artistic desires, busy holi-days, and the like.

2009-12-16T00:43:00.001-05:00

Busy day tomorrow, a lot of stuff to cram in, but I think it will all work out.
Dropped in after work to see a twitter link to a live Ustream video of David Petersen answering questions amidst some progress for his Mouse Guard books.

David's work, and my interest in it, stirs and old affliction I had with a certain series of books as a younger kid....

I've always been a fan of the Redwall series, by Brian Jacques, since gradeschool, when a friend of mine started reading them, and after asking about them I read two or three of them myself, and it just stuck. I need to go back and read them all some day.

The idea of woodland creatures taking up arms in a medieval fantasy world is just, appealing, on some level. I think it's the caliber of the writing that successful stories in this time period demand. The sentences and dialogue just have such rich flavor! They leave you wanting more.

My Etsy shop is just kind of stewing, like a bog. I haven't decided if I really want to pursue the style of art that's on there currently, or push more of the outlandish things that float around in my head....like balloon monsters with teeth flying after pigeons. Really, that sounds fun to paint and ink...doesn't it? Feathers and teeth and bright shiny balloons!

So we'll see where that goes, after I get my Holiday artwork done. I need to finish some pieces for people I - want - to draw and paint for, because the things I'm assuming they're still interested in, are interesting to me, as art pieces go.

So, there's the update. And as the final drops of Samuel Adams' Cherry Wheat leave the bottle, I must leave and sleep, gotta wake up early and make eggs for the girl, she's got a bigger day than I tomorrow!

Cheers Blog, keep it textual.

I swear

2009-12-14T15:42:00.000-05:00

That I will update this. On Wed of this week. I've got some things I'd like to show you, oh weblog.
Till then, go draw on the nearest thing to you...scrap paper, napkin, your opposite hand, anything. It'll be fun, trust me.

DUN DUN DUN, the printer's grand entrance!

2009-12-03T08:06:00.000-05:00

Well, I purchased a large format printer the other day. It's the HP b8550. Swiped it for only 120 with rebate/sneaky coupon codes. Based on reviews and blogs and suggestions, it'll serve it's purpose well, I wager.

Thus far it's worked exactly how I expected it to. You'll notice I have some Epson Ultra Premium Presentation Matte paper sitting on top of the pack of the HP paper. That's a gamble I took. I wanted something not glossy for art re-prints. HP's paper is pretty much soft gloss and then gets shinier from there. I did find some paper that was still thin enough and matte (as this printer isn't made to handle the really thick art papers) but it was only available in the huge 13x19 for around 50 bucks. Ew. I don't need anything larger than 8.5 x 11.

So I'll be loading up the Etsy shop with a few ACEO Prints, and will probably offer them on the soft-gloss since there's a lot more glossy ACEOs out there than I thought there would be, so thankfully I won't be going against any grains, at least I don't think.

So here's to sweet deals on sweet technology!
See you around, Blogger

-Blake

Eureka!

2009-11-24T19:24:00.000-05:00

Just started work on a long series. I'm going to create an image for each letter of the alphabet. Each letter will be represented by a job, skill, career, or action based on it's name/title in the 19th century. As such, I think I'm going to start with one of the following:

Apothecary - Prepared medicines and drugs.
Aurifaber - A goldsmith.
Ale Draper - Sold ale.
Archivist - A person who kept records of historical importance.

I'll have to pick and choose, I've got a huge, long list of them, and I'd like to not have them repeat if at all possible, but some of the ones I thought were really interesting, or I liked the name, might go hand in hand with another job or career.

I'll post some progress shots tomorrow perhaps.
Happy Thanksgiving!

-Blake

Ok, calling it a night.

2009-11-23T23:49:00.000-05:00

I apologize in advance if anyone on twitter/facebook sees this 400 thousand times. Just seeing what Twitterfeed is capable of doing...hopefully there's only double posts at the most.

Fly in a suit.

2009-11-19T15:57:00.001-05:00

After painting the tops of the acorns, I realized they looked like a group mugshot for a terrorist lineup. So I bombed that one (couldn't resist typing that :P).

On the other hand, I'm getting a god hold on how powerful these Hydrus watercolors are. Want to lift some color out once it's down and basically dry? No, forget it, that stuff's for your wimpy tubes...
This stuff is a joy to mix on a ceramic plate though, and reconstituting them once they dry? No problem!

So my latest completed little guy, a fly in a suit. He's trying toclean up his appearance. As much as someone who throws up on their food possibly can...

The beards, they grow on you.

2009-11-17T23:39:00.000-05:00

And they also grow on our little friends, the acorns.
Rocking out a 40% coupon tomorrow to get my hands on some Dr. Ph. Martin's. I'm pretty excited. So excited, I haven't stopped reading about them since I sat down.

Oh yeah, the beards...adding the hat, things, acorn tops...tomorrow.

Excuse my mess....

2009-11-16T21:26:00.000-05:00

I'm still trying to decide on layout options that suit my needs. I'm a widget fiend, but I don't want to make anyone's eyes bleed. A conundrum to be sure.

Finally ripped apart some printmaking paper, watercolor paper too, from the clearance rack at my job...we're all not too sure what brand they are. The printmaking one is similar to a Somerset Velvet, but softer. The watercolor is just like an Arches 140lb. but the texture is between a cold-press, and a rough. Interesting stuff. No idea who makes/made it.

I'll need to get used to it's water consumption. It's very thirsty paper. I suppose there's no internal sizing layer to the paper, so I can load up a brush but start to get the beaded "dry brush" look pretty quick...I'll just have to go heavier on the water. There's curl, but not much buckle, which is nice.

Will hopefully noodle out the layout tomorrow morning.
Cheers,

-Blake

And so we bein anew...

2009-11-13T23:41:00.000-05:00

"The doodles and paints that launched a thousand ships," er, launch, is on hold until Monday. Maybe Tuesday, depending on how my schedule looks.

Maybe I should put a small list here so that every time I inevitably load this blog up, I can see, staring me in the face, what I've yet to do....

- add blog background, tidy up some colors.
- solidify an icon for social network sites that doesn't look like a hack photoshop piece.
- publish the facebook page.

- cut cardboard shipping things, and weigh them, and list everything...

then go from there. Ok, let's get back to cutting apart illustration boards...