Becoming Deviant

That's right. I've made a big step. I've set up a DeviantArt account. It's kind of a scary step for me, but I think my next step for growth in my art is to get feedback from those that are more talented than me, even though the idea of being criticized really scares me.

I always felt that I had to make it to a certain level in order to justify creating a Deviant account. Sure, I felt that some of my work was "good enough" but I didn't feel like it was good enough for me to justify creating an account.

My latest drawing (I started it before the last one I posted, but I finally feel that it is finished tonight) is my first at the level I feel like I need to be at to justify the account. So please help me celebrate by checking out my account, even though if you have been following this blog you have probably seen everything that's on there so far. However I do plan on putting up some of my older work.

Here's a preview of my latest. Click here to see the full image on my new profile.

Returning to Semi Activity

Life seems to be calming down now that my youngest daughter is almost a year old, and I have noticed that I have the energy and attention span to start perusing interests again. In doing so, I have become re-acquainted with an old stranger that I have found absolutely inspiring. While the logical programmer side of me has been focusing on efficiency and productivity (not always practicing it, but trying to focus on it), I feel like I have lost sight of some of the important things that have made me me.

 Anyway, with that in mind, I hope to accomplish more in the coming days, and I hope to feel inspired to share those accomplishments, large and small. I also want to do some back tracking and share some of the projects I have actually been successful with. Turns out, when I pick a small enough project, I can actually finish it sometimes :D.

 Something that's very exciting to me is one of my first drawings in months, if not years. I always doodle from time to time, but when I want to draw, I have to get myself in a completely different mindset. I'm trying to stop thinking about lines and start focusing on construction. I've been trying to start with shapes and then slowly refine and add more details. Not only do I think that it's resulted in better work, but I have also found the process more enjoyable. Here is my latest drawing, but not one of my best from my recent works. It's a bit eerie, I suppose. But I'm also trying to remind myself that art doesn't always have to have a deeper meaning. Expressing yourself doesn't mean that you have to share something meaningful, or even portray yourself as deep. It really is Ok to just draw what you want to when you want to, and it's still an expression. I kind of learned that by looking at Jeremy Geddes art. Geddes is my current favorite artist, and while I don't want to say that his art has no meaning, his subjects just seem so far out there that the meaning escapes me. Or, if there is meaning, then I believe that he is choosing to draw what he wants to draw as a symbol for his intended message. Either way, when you look at his art, the lighting, the motion, and the contrast all come off as being very dramatic.

Well, my latest drawing is hardly full of any deep meaning. It's just a quick sketch in GIMP inspired by an artist/writer that I have gained an immense appreciation for. I mostly just want to share it because it represents a new drawing style for me that I never thought I would be able to accomplish. I have been calling it ICUCME: