I Still Exist!!

Just maybe not on my blog. Or on He Grew, She Drew. But I am attempting to make a comeback! School is over, so I really have no excuse for not blogging. Summer break is finally here for me, and I'm so excited about it. I have an endless list of things to do, and this is the first summer in two years that I am not moving, so hopefully I can actually get some things done. So far, I have been! I painted these mushrooms, which you can find for sale on my Etsy (my shop is Ophiblu!) I also still have Shop Local tees up there too, and I will continue to add art as I make it. 

                       

So, if you are still coming around to my blog every once in a while, thank you! Enjoy this watercolor painting I did, and then go outside because it's summer! 

Absence

I have not kept up with my blog lately. I have, however, been keeping up with my Snapchat and Instagram (@ophiblu) but I've neglected this place! I am hoping to return soon though. Tonight my family and I are leaving for New York City, and when I get back I will (hopefully) have lots to share. But in the meantime, this is a little watercolor and pen illustration from a few days ago.

wildflower insides

 

I've recently been in somewhat of an artists block, and not really able to figure out my style. So, what sometimes helps me, when that's happening, is to just paint something I already know, and like to paint. I started painting some lungs, not really sure where it would take me, and next I added flowers. Then came the torso anatomy with plants, a bunny, a bird, until I had a whole garden of illustrations growing. I am really excited about how this series turned out. They've sort of directed me where I want to go for now.
And by the way, happy spring! Hope you're all having a great week.

Dreeem

It is almost March, which makes me very sad inside. That's because in March last year, I met Perfume Genius. If you don't know of him, he's a shy musician, with the most powerful, yet emotional, songs. The night I met him may have been the best night of my life, or one of them. So, whenever I think about it being March, that's what comes to my head. But anyway, this is a painting I recently did of Perfume Genius, (or Mike Hadreas) in watercolor and gouache.  

sam, you have a beautiful body

Trying to get back into watercolor portraits. This is my most recent one; an illustration of one of my favorite TV characters of all time. Sam Weir, from Freaks and Geeks. 

What I've Been Listening To Lately

foxygen, in watercolor and gouache.

With parallel styles to The Velvet Underground , and hints of Violent Femmes, Mac Demarco, and the Kinks, Foxygen is too good to come from this generation. Sam France and Jonathan Rado come together so perfectly, and I can't get enough of them. So many bands make good music, but it all sounds the same. Take Tame Impala for example. I love them, but I can only listen for about half an hour before all of their songs mesh together in my head. Foxygen, on the other hand, has so much variation in each song, you can't really get bored. 

If you're into lofi music like this, I definitely recommend Foxygen. Start with "San Francisco," which is their most well know, and then check out "Middle School Dances," which is my personal favorite. 

making art for money?!

 Last week I was asked to create multiple different pieces of art to help advertise a contest. It was my first commission, and I still can't really believe it happened. Art is something I do for fun, something I've done since I was little, something I grew up on. But now it is also something I got paid to do. These are all of the pieces I did as part of the commissions. I enjoyed doing it, despite the short deadline. And I am open to any other commissions people may have for me.

a quick apology

Hi everyone! I just want to say sorry for my lack of activity on this blog lately, and on He Grew, She Drew. I have a lot to share on here, and will be posting more soon. Right now I am in the middle of my first commission (!!!) and that (along with school) has been my main priority. Above is one of the pieces for the commission.

Well, I better get back to work. Thanks for reading!

Mushroom pattern #1

Hey! So I found this piece that I forgot to post on here! It is mushrooms, done in watercolor and watercolor markers. Currently I am taking a quick break from watercolors and painting in general. I'm just not feeling it. But I am sewing again, and I will be posting about that soon (unless everything I make is a total failure!) and hoping for the best.

Thanks for reading!

Winter Kicking In

Winter in the Woodlands - done with watercolor

It finally has started to really feel like winter, and I did a little winter themed illustration. I am not really sure at the moment where my artistic style is going, but I do know I am very into painting plants, mushrooms and animals. This is just a bunch on one piece of paper. I hope everyone is enjoying this snowy weekend and staying warm! xoxo

-India 

Early one mornin' the sun was shinin'

Last night my parents and I had a quick yet important talk about Bob Dylan, and my growing interest in his music. Ever since I grew out of JB and 1D and ventured into real music, I've dipped my toes into Bob Dylan's music here and there, liking a few classics, but never going deeper. But recently I've gone knee deep, and I'm eager to go deeper. I knew it was inevitable eventually, that I'd be a big Dylan fan. Maybe it's because of the tall stack of Bob Dylan CDs in the closet, that have been listened to so many times by my parents, or the fact that I've gone through a phase of listening to pretty much every artist who'd fall in that same category. 

So, anyway, I didn't want to jump into Dylan without a little guidance from someone who knows what they are talking about, and my parents, especially my mom, are the ultimate masters. They told me a bunch of the songs they favored, and debated over his best albums. I then went to bed, and when I woke up, my mom had compiled a playlist for me of all her favorite songs. 

I spent a majority of the day laying in the sun, drinking tea, doodling, and listening to that mix. These two illustrations in my sketchbook are what came out of it.

Not resolutions, just hopes

Happy New Year Everyone! 

Yesterday, which was January first, my family and I did something on that list! We went for a big New Years hike. Six miles on the AT. It was great, and afterwards I did a little illustration in my journal about it. 

I have lots of hopes for this year, and many things I want to do and accomplish but those are not to be confused with resolutions, which I have none. Resolutions are ridiculous. You should't have to wait for a day of the year to resolve your life. If you want to start doing something, or quit doing something, then go ahead.

I compiled an unorganized list of things I would like from 2016; things that would make it better than 2015. 

Also I wanted to say thank you to everyone who has kept up with my blog, read my rants, looked at my art, and therefore been part of my life for the past year.
xoxo, -India

And P.S. I have an exciting project with my brother that I can't wait to share with you! So come back soon :)

Quote of the month

So here's a new thing I want to start doing on my blog: monthly quotes. Also, this is a page I did in my new sketchbook, which I am so far keeping up with. 

Happy Thanksgiving everyone, and don't forget to let your flowers grow. 

Wallflowers

Happy Summer Solstice! These are a couple of summery-vibe drawings/paintings I've done lately.

To see all of my art in one place, go to my art tumblr. It's just getting started, so there isn't a ton there yet, but there's more to come!

Blood, Cassete Tapes, and Aging

Today is Sunday, June 7th. These are two watercolor paintings I did today, and they are my favorites out all of my most recent work.

 I haven't done a personal diary-style post in a while, mainly just quick posts so that I can say that I've blogged, when really I never put a whole lot of effort into them. 

My birthday is exactly one month away, and I'll be turning 14. I haven't really decided how I feel about that yet. Of course, I'm excited. Making a list of what I want, and giving it to my parents, and the anticipation of the gifts, and the cake and everything is always fun when you're young. But the idea of being 14 is something I haven't figured out. 

13 is a fun age, while also a simultaneously terrible age. Finally being able to call yourself a teenager is great, but then all of the hormones and expected responsibilities tied in make it less great. People have always told me that I'm mature for my age, and I started to figure that out at a young age, especially when I would rather hang out with my mom's friends than my own. I'm still that way, and I've made more older friends in the past year who wouldn't realize that I was only 13 until something about age or grade came up and I told them. They're always surprised, which is cool, but then I always feel kind of young admitting that I'm only 13. So in a way, 14 is good, because when that does happen, it sounds a lot better than 13, at least in my opinion. But 14 is such an in-limbo kind of age. I'll be back at the bottom of the totem pole in school, but more likely to get that "what a teenager" look from adults. But while I've been writing this post, I've sort of realized that age is just a number, decided by humans, so that we are able to identify how much time we have spent on Earth. In the long run, it's not a big deal, unless we make it a big deal, which I am. My mom and I were talking about that earlier today, how everything could be a big deal if we make it, or it could mean nothing at all, if we let it. Sometimes that can be hard to grasp, and getting caught up in little things, such as what it's like to be 14, can be easier. 

Here's a random work of advice: blogging with a cone of mango sorbet in one hand is really difficult, and I wouldn't recommend it. 

I'm going to dedicate this year of being 14 (even though it hasn't even started) to becoming a better artist. 

Obsession of the Week

As I have mentioned a couple of times before, I am still experimenting with different mediums in art, and trying to figure out which I like best. Watercolors are one that I have only played around with a little bit here and there, but recently I have become obsessed. I come home from school, and head straight to the watercolors. I used to like to go to bed early, but now I even find myself staying up until my dad forces me to go to bed, because I can't pull myself away from my painting. Still, I don't really know what I am doing when I use them, but I'm teaching myself and having fun doing it. 

One tough thing for me about watercolors is the supplies. They don't work with just any kind of brush, and they don't work on just any paper, either. The other day my mom and I went in to Michael's, and I was so so excited that the Canson watercolor pads were on sale. I splurged a little bit, and got two big ones. Buying art supplies is more exciting than new clothes lately. 

This is a painting I did the other day on the Canson paper. I'm loving it so far.
I am hoping to use up all of the Canson paper I bought. And then post more art on here, since I haven't been using my blog enough.

Yesterday I scratched the my eye and made a joke that this is how I looked. A little less dramatic though, and a little more of a mess.

So that's my quick art update. If you like to paint, draw, doodle, or make art in general, I would recommend using Canson paper pads if you have not tried them already.

I haven't really been up to much else lately. I only have 19 days of school left! And all of my big tests are over for the year. I would write more, but I kind of want to get back to my painting.
See ya(｡◕‿◕｡)

Girls, Plants, and Food

 

There is not enough time in the day. At least not during the week, when all I want to do is make art but I have to go to school and then do homework and chores and everything. I'm counting down the days (21!) until school is out, and my middle school carrier is officially over. I am looking forward to spending most of my days drawing, sketching, doodling, painting, and hopefully blogging too.
A couple of days ago I found out that my parents own a scanner, and I've been taking advantage of that a lot.
These are some doodles/drawings (I'm not sure what to call them) I've done recently. Some of them I did while watching the 1996 version of Romeo and Juliet for the second time, which is an absolutely amazing movie, and others I did while listening to Patti Smith, Sonic Youth, or Mac Demarco. Those are my most frequently played lately. I haven't been super active on this blog for the past couple of weeks, but I have been updating my Tumblr a lot (check it out here) and I'm planning on starting a new one entirely for my art, once I have enough to post.
In the near future I will post a new 8tracks playlist on here with my favorite songs at the moment.

Until next time...

A Glimpse Into My Sketchbook

Wow, what is blogging? I can hardly remember since I haven't done it at ALL lately. 

Really all I have done lately is make art and hung out in the city. April has been a pretty good month for me so far. I started playing around with the app Sktchy (if you're into art and you aren't on there, you're missing out!) and it's surprising how much it has pushed me art-wise to do things I wouldn't normally do. 

If you're not familiar with it, Sktchy is an app where anyone can post pictures of themselves, and other people can draw/paint/recreate them with art supplies. It's basically a place to go to find art inspiration, and also to discover other artists. Once I week (I'm pretty sure it's once I week, but that may be wrong) the app announces a new theme. This weeks was 'Aha,' so it was supposed to contain a hidden image or illusion or something. If you participate in the theme, Sktchy may pick your art to b featured, so everyone who is on there will see it. Mine have been picked twice. Anyway, it's just a fun, artistic outlet, and it also pushes your art skills.

So here are some of the things I have done for Sktchy, and a few I've just done for fun. 

This one (above) was picked to be featured. The theme at the time was 'Poetic'. 

This is a painting I did inspired by Kim Gordon, who's my recentest obsession. I'm reading her book Girl in A Band and I've been listening to Sonic Youth a lot as well.

                             

Above is one of my favorites that I have done for Sktchy.

pretty much where I have spent most of my time-aside from at school-lately.

Hopefully you've enjoyed this virtual peek into my sketchbooks. All of this work is super recent, and I have started playing with gauche and colored pencils more. 

-india