You mean this is my job?

Look what I finished making at work today! It is a bird person. My students were working on their sculptures, and over the past few weeks I was able to complete one myself. Usually I only have time for a half finished demo, and don't get to actually finish. BUT this time, there were enough spare moments of class time to finish this thing up. My favourite part is the backside.
What is it made of you ask? Well it is has a tinfoil frame, and is then coated in plaster bandages and plaster, sanded down, primed and then painted. It is a figure sculpture project that I came up with for my students, and it always seems to have a decent amount of creativity and life to their pieces (though they are not always proportionally accurate...). It was nice actually completing something in class instead of only marking or planning, or teaching. Class days with spare moments seem to be rare, and today's exception was due to a Tournament that had half my students away.

Hello, You.

A silly little watercolour painting I did tonight. I'm thinking about adding some text to it, as I think he needs an explanation. I was in a bit of a mood tonight, I'm not entirely sure why. I came home after my long drive from work and suddenly was a little bit grumpy. I decided the best cure for grumpiness is to paint. I wanted to paint something that was happy. Strange perhaps that for some people painting something "happy" may include flowers or sunsets or something else that is generally accepted as a happy component, but for me today, this meant painting a smiling blue creature who is wearing red boots.
I recently picked up some new watercolour paper, and just to feel it makes me feel good, it feels a little like fabric. There is some nice tooth to it, but is still very smooth. I used to only do watercolour painting on cold pressed block paper, but it is nice to try out different paper and get a feel for it.

Illustration Friday-Linked

Barely getting it in before the next topic is announced, another Illustration Friday image. I accidentally added one line too many to her face, making her look a little unhappier than I wanted, but it is at least fitting with the topic (unlike my last IF piece...).

Illustration Friday-Dip or Drip?

An Illustration Friday Drawing not really what the word of the week is... it morphed into something else. I purchased a new set of watercolour paints a few weeks ago, and hadn't had the proper chance to crack them open until just a couple of days ago. I am really loving using the paints, I've made a few other paintings that I'm not going to post yet until I have a complete set. It's really nice going back to colour after focusing just on ink work for a while.

Courage is Very Important

Dog drawing started months and months ago, but finished last week. Original is for sale on Etsy here.