Distractions - Drawgasmic Submission

Well, this was a change of pace... I'm submitting a piece of art to a gallery show, and I decided that I needed to make something, well, more substantial than a lame digital print, so it was time to go digging in the basement and dig out the old painting and drawing supplies.

Naturally, I've waited till the last second, so this had to be started and finished tonight and shipped tomorrow. Yeehaw.

This is a mix of 17 year old gouache paint and good old India ink with a dip pen for the lines. I also slopped around odd things like using the bottom rim of a soda cup to muck the paints up, dashed salt on the texture it, and blotted things with paper towels. I also used some colored pencils, decided they sucked, started using watercolor pencils, and realized they suck too, and ten year old micron pens for touch up, but they also suck. I even tried some oil pastels, but that was another bucket of suck.

It's only 11 x 8.5; took me around three hours and change to whip up.

In the end over 90% of this is gouache and India ink.

Did I mention I haven't touched a dip pen or watercolors in almost ten years? Yeah, a little bit of relearning stuff here.

Interestingly the tools I used to be most comfortable with before I went 99.9% digital no longer feel 'right' to me; colored pencils, microns, rapidographs, and pastels.

Stuff I never felt good with, namely the dip pens and watercolor type paints now feel very natural; I think a big part of it is how my digital work has evolved. I think I both draw and color in photoshop using techniques that are very amenable to watercolors and old style pens.

Excellent little experience in tight deadlines and going back to try old techniques again. Wish me luck getting this fucker shipped on time tomorrow...

eta: forgot to put in the link to the show I'm entering for: Drawgasm