In the last 4 years I have lived in Vanouver British Columbia twice and both times, I drew A LOT of people. Everyday I would go out to a coffee shop to draw random people and if I was on public transit, I would whip my sketchbook out to capture and interesting face or person.
I have not been sure what to do with these hundreds of drawings until this last year I had the idea of creating a book compiling all the drawings together. Why do this? Because it feels like the work deserves it. I have put hours and hours into these sketches and it feels like a huge part of me that I want to share with the world.
Right now, I don't have any idea what the final book will look like but I am at a stage now where things are starting to look a bit interesting and I thought I would share some of my creative process with the internet and the Steem community!
Last month I started taking all the drawings out one by one and cutting the people out . I then took out some of the drawings I had done in pencil and started inking them and wow did that ever make a difference. The people just started coming alive in a whole new way.
I returned back to my studio yesterday and decided to just go for it and take some risk. The results I find were a lot of fun and I'm excited to go back in there and see what else will happen.
Here are a few shots from the process and some of the mid level results. It's still very much a work in progress. I have over 100 drawings that I'm still sorting through and the whole book will be around 30-40 pages.
This project for me is really about dedication and being true to my own creative journey. I could just easily leave all these drawings in the books they were in and treat them as just practice but they are more than that. They are a memories, stories and more importantly, they were a reason for me to get up in the morning. I was so depressed and lost both times I lives in Vancouver and drawings really pulled me into the world and helped me enjoy my day.
I hope some of these shots help you enjoy your day! Thanks for having a look :)
Here's an odd question for you! What was it (or is it) about Vancouver, B.C., that brought out so much drawing? You lived somewhere else before this period of artistic creativity, and you now have again moved elsewhere. Was it just that you had more TIME and OPPORTUNITY to sketch in Vancouver? Or does that region (or city) inspire you? I've found that different aspects of a person's nature come up in different states and cities, and this can be seen by comparing one's natal chart to the founding or incorporation charts of the cities in question. There is another method, which uses geographical astrology, as seen in Astrocartography. Different talents, opportunities, and outcomes occur in one city, but not another. Look up my name together with the word 'astrology', or my name edaugusts dot com.
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When I owned a bookstore, I kept a "day book" where I logged purchases and sales. It gave me time to doodle. Like you, I made 100's of sketches, but not focused on people, as yours are. Just "doodles", cartoony images, at best! (See: Attached!)
I really admire your work! Don't publish ALL of it on-line! You'll be selling copies of the book, so don't put more than, say, 20% up, in advance. Let people see most of it once they've bought and paid!
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Best of Luck to you!
wow awesome drawings, so much intensity in such small doodles. I appreciate your questions. The main reason I drew so much was because I had no friends, no job, no money and was really depressed. Drawing kept going out of my house everyday and kept me engaged with the real world instead of hiding away in my place just smoking weed. Vancouver didn't inspire really but the depths of my depression allowed me to bring out a lot of interesting things in my work. When you don't have a lot going on and can really dedicate yourself to your art, a lot can come out. The rain in vancouver is brutal. It's grey and dark and the city itself is hard to survive in. It is very expensive.
Thanks for the input on how much I should share online, I'll be aware of that. I'm hoping to sell some copies once it's done :)
I love this idea @openmindopen! Inspiring me to think about doing something similar. Really sort of liberating to think of just cutting out some old sketches from their notebook homes (prisons?) and giving them new life in a new mixed media piece. Really interested to see how this turns out. Thanks for sharing the process!
Much love - Carl
hey thanks carl. yeah it's been a real journey, i've wanted to give up many times and have had to work through a lot of barriers telling me this isn't art and that "good" art doesn't look like this. finally i rest in a place where I feel like art is boundary pushing for me and this feels that way at every step.
yes exactly! Well said! That may be one of the best definitions of art that I have ever heard, actually
amazing! haha i love how sharing my human experience can be helpful to another human. so cool
Yo Carl just letting you know that I spotted this talented artist first. Like 15 years ago... So you are a bit late but you are definitely on point and your curator skills are sharp like a samurai blade. This is at least how I see it :P
Ah, yes, my curation skills are sharp but I have yet to be able to cut through the time stream and curate posters in the past before they even join Steem blockchain. Way to rub it in <3
lol! Don't be so hard on yourself, Jose likes to rub it in everyone's face that he was the first to do something hahaha :P thanks again for the support!
hahah yup you definitely did support me very early on. It's hard to believe that it's been like 15 years already. So crazy how time has flown by. :) Thanks again buddddyyy
Hey carl, This is a friend of mine! I'm assuming you submitted him for curie, thank you :D I can always trust your taste will be on point! 😀
Oh cool! Yeah that was my doing :)
aha yes! thank you so much both of you!
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wow! Thank you so much! This is amazing, I'm amazed haha I really appreciate the support :) seriously!
Hello friend. You can Win 1 SBD pencil Drawing Contest. Check@smartworld and also join our community to help Drawing artists each other.
thanks for the suggestion! i'll keep it in mind for next time.
This is very inspiring. I like seeing all the work here that shows your process and experimentation. Really fun stuff. @openmindopen
thanks bud! more to come :)
Woohoo you got a curie, these are really cool!
ya! I don't understand what happened but i'm happy about it hahha
Curie is one of the biggest curation groups on Steemit, they look for underpaid posts to reward! Carl Gnash has become a good friend of our and he is a curator with great taste!
Amazing! Such a crazy platform. I wonder if more people will come on here after all the facebook stuff going down.