My creative journey - Back in the hot seat here on Steemit!

A laptop that refuses to connect to the internet on a regular basis, a desktop with a busted monitor, and up until recently, an empty bank account. Definitely not a good combination of factors when trying to be constant with a blog... especially with my head so focused on creating and not so concerned about talking about it. But, now that I got money in the bank, people buying some of my art, a friend giving me an old monitor, and my sites set on either a new laptop or at least an iPad to get this going again, I figured it was time to rev the engine on my writing skills agains. Thanks for your patience during my absence :)

So, like I said, my creating during the last 2 weeks of not writing has not stopped. Not stopped at all. There's been a lot of highs and lows, cruising through so many drawings so quickly, almost obsessively. A benefit of being single with few friends and a solid goal of what I want to do with my life, hehe. Last night was especially nuts. I'm not going to go through all the stuff I did for the last 14 days...the stack has just piled up too high and is too overwhelming, but, I think you'll enjoy this point here where I pick up again. Trust me, there's a ton.

Lately I've taken to a lot of sketching. Almost shunning paint for the moment. I think one of the most important skills for an artist is to be able to simply draw. It seems to be the fundamental thing that is the first step to getting an idea from inside my head all the way to a finished product...whatever that means, hehe. I mean, if I can't accurately represent via sketch what I want to do in ink, paint, whatever...well, it just seems strange to me. Some artists might be able to fully conceptualize and keep in place inside their head what they want to create, but, for now, not me. Also, I just like to sketch :)

Most of my creative days begin with a series of sketches of whatever happens to be of interest. Lately people have been asking me to do drawings of a lot of different stuff...but mostly Asian inspired, so, warriors, samurai, geisha, stuff like that. There's been a definite improvement in how I fit the pieces of a drawing together, talking about the arms, legs, chests, legs, stuff like that. And, I've really begun to think about shadow and light, and how it can really make things stand out or hide them. Even with a basic pen on cheap paper I've been getting some cool stuff. Nothing original here, not yet, just using Pintrest images to learn. That whole, 'imitate, imitate, imitate, until your mind is ready to create.'

A quick sidetone on that bit. Some warning signs that have come up as I do this imitation. Imitation becomes easy after a while...I mean, all the hard work has really been already done. There's no creation on my part except for trying to get the lines to looks similar, albeit with my own personal flair. There have been many times where I was like, 'oh, I'll just start with imitating and then I'll get to my own stuff...' and my own stuff never happens. I know that eventually creation for me will become organic and I'll develop new warmup routines to reflect that, but, I can see how easy it would be to become caught in the easiness of just imitating. To slide into that habit...so, just a warning to other people who are beginning to draw. Don't lose sight of the goal that you want to create your own unique ideas. Hopefully that will keep you out of the traps I see looming in the near future. That point where you can draw, but might not feel that true creativity you desire...stay tuned for my thoughts on that as I evolve, hehe.

My next step moved me to my larger 24x36 newsprint pad. I was at home, my phone was charging, so I decided to try and reach, using my own creativity and some of the templates for figures that have been building up in my head. That kind of stuff happens after a while, the building up of 'stock' images you can pull out, if you draw enough. Lines are lines are lines, and like learning a musical instrument, or dance, you brain memorizes where things are supposed to go. Maybe that's why I shun traditional learning techniques and instead focus on my more visceral understanding of things. I get to 'know' how they work, versus how people think they are supposed to work. That's just my process though...and everyone finds their own, so, don't take what I say on this as anything that's written in stone.

I was pretty proud of these, I mean, they're not masterpieces, but, you can see exactly what they are, and they're not horrible, hehe. I also whipped out a mirror and decided to do a self-portrait. A kind of benchmark to see how I'm feeling. Some of my friend have told me that they can see how I'm doing in life by the eyes in my self-portraits. Something about how I really feel sneaking out. I agree, too.

My week, well, it's been intense. From my birthday on Monday, to an whirlwind of insanity with people threatening to fight me, shoot me, and calling me all sorts of names on Tuesday, to working to establish new healthier routines in my life. I've found out how some friends value me, others who don't, and begun to understand the mentality of people who live around me on a whole different level. Like going from the foreword in a gripping novel to the first page...but, I'm the one writing the story, hehe. Lessons learned, perspectives shifted, yet, in all that, my heads been level. I haven't been scared, anxious, or freaked out. I've gotten stronger and I haven't shied away. Life will never get easier, only change. You're, I mean, I'm the one who needs to get stronger to shoulder the load I've decided to carry...

Anyways, back to the art bits, hehe. Been a while since I've written so there's A LOT to get out...but, need to pace myself.

I finally gave up on having my cell phone charge, and pulled up a photo of someone one of my followers on Instagram asked me to draw. I do that sometimes, ask people what they'd like to see me draw. I've had some crazy responses, and try to get to all of them. I like to involve people in my work, it's fun, and people get to have fun alongside me :) Can you guess who this dude is?

After I took another break, a quick munchie run to the supermarket next door, I pulled out what I was really supposed to be doing all day...these 11x14 poster board drawings to cover the door windows in my new room to augment the blinds...if it doesn't make sense, don't worry, I'll take a pic for my next blog when I have them all up :)

At first I was drawing with this really cool V Super Color Broad Chisel marker by Pilot, have been for the last several days. I like the flow of it, the life of it, but the nib is killing me. The pen is refillable, but, looking at the nib I can't really see why. No real life to it. If it goes from sharp edges to round tip so quickly...so yeah, not going to refill it unless I happen to run across the cartridges and they're cheap. I can't complain about the quality though. That is, until I pulled out a new marker that I bought...

The other day at the art store, thanks to the influx of cash from work and my birthday, I was able to pick up a real art tool. A Molotow 4-8mm chisel tip marker which uses I believe a high flow acrylic ink. Damn is it pretty. But, damn is it expensive. The flow is so nice, the finished black, damn black, and so far the nib is holding it's shape. At $11 a pen, not exactly something for beginners. But, the cool thing is that it's for professionals, so, the quality of the pen itself is high. You can refill it, you can replace the nibs, and I think I was reading it takes like 50 refills before the pump mechanisms begin to break down.

These were the last 3 drawings of the day and I think they are my favorite. The first, the straight black and white one is with the Pilot marker, the other two, with color, those were with my new marker and some dope Prisma Colors a buddy bought me a while back...like, 4 months ago. Man, that was when I was still buying permanent markers at the Dollar Store and going through 3 or 4 a day. Wow...time flies and tools change...

And that was yesterday, hehe. It's crazy what's changed over the last couple weeks, but also cool to see what hasn't. I may have dropped off the edge of Steemit for a minute, but like the Little Engine that Could...I just kept steaming away on other stuff and here I am again, back and raring to go again :)

Thanks for dropping by and checking out what's been going on. Sorry I've been gone. From now on I'm going to do my best to get this blog out. One of the 3 V's I committed myself to...visibility (keep on showing people what I'm up to), being vocal (doing my best to make the world a better place), and being voracious (creating, consuming, meeting people). Let me know what you think. And, if there's something you want to see me draw, let me know and I'll see what I can do. I hope all my family clans here still call me family. That means y'all at @thealliance, @steemusa and @socalsteemit. Still have a lot of love for y'all and hope you still remember me :) Also, @snook @c0ff33a @derekrichardson @byn @hangin @mariannewest @katrina-ariel @bmj @daveks @redheadpei @thekitchenfairy @tattoodjay @robertandrew @deerjay, miss y'all and hope to see you soon somewhere on here :)

WESSEL

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Find me on Instagram at IAMSTONEDWESSEL and watch my new work, videos, and occasional LIVES :)

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