Hi guys! A few weeks ago I painted this meerkat for @allover 's user picture :D He was one of the few participants in my mini contest, so I wanted to put a little extra effort :) Also I find meerkats so adorable, I had a lot of fun drawing this small painting. The size is roughly A6 scale painted on an A5 sized watercolor 200g/m2 paper.
When I paint something detailed, I do a sketch with pencils first. I prefer B pencils and I probably used a B2 pencils this time. I never liked the feel of H pencils, even though they're lighter/softer. When painting I try to get fully immersed into the drawing. I only play music once I get hardest parts of artwork done or if I need a little extra inspiration (or if I'm over thinking things). Mindfullness with painting is incredibly relaxing and unique. Each tool has a different effect and the color variations are endless.
I try to remember to take occassionally deep breaths while painting and to relax in general. This remind me of how I used to play piano the completely opposite, all tense and always forgetting to breathe, no wonder it felt exhausting and stressful. I still stress out ocasionally for art, but it's a lot better than years ago. Mindfulness takes time and practice, and I'm far from perfect, but it's worth it in the long term.
I take my time with watercolors and let the paint dry between steps, this improved the art instantly, since I can achieve much better details on dry paper. I love how fluffy the meerkat looks and I achieved that by interchanging lights and darks. In watercolors I usually work from light to dark, covering all base colors first then details on top.
You can see from the close up, that it's not too many brush strokes, sometimes less is more. If I painted each hair, the animal would likely look like a pon pon. ;)
I'm so glad I invested into a scanner last year, so the final art looks better than the photos, you can see the comparison below. It's important to invest into quality art tools especially if can you can afford it and are making a living from it. Quality over quantity.
If you're looking for more posts about art and mindfulness I recommend checking out @vincentnijman ^_^
What do you do to relax before painting?
Thank you for reading <3
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Thank you!! :D
What a wonderful job, Kristy! It looks so cute and charming! 🤗
Thank you :)
Thanks for the mention.
I always enjoy process posts ( especially on creativity ), as I believe the process is more important than the result. If you enjoy the process as much as you can and try to be as mindful as you can be, it's visible in the final product.
This reminds me of me practicing guitar, half a life-time ago. It always gave me a headache. Recently I've been feeling of picking up this practice again and this is a great reminder of the importance of being mindful and of mindful breathing.
Enjoy your weekend :<)
This is so true! Now I'm trying to do the same with the work even though it's for me. Doing some stuff just for ourselves is also important. ^_^
Thank you for checking out the post
Glad to hear this approach is working out for you too :<)
I try to apply this to all my activities in life, when possible or when I think of it.
Life does not need to be a struggle ( even though I used to think so for a long, long time, especially after having chosen the 'creative' path )
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Ahhhhh what a cute meerkat! Meerkats are adorable I love them XD
Breathing while painting is probably a good idea XD I need to remember to do that, I tend to either stop breathing or breathe really, really slowly especially when working on particularly delicate bits and then when I catch a break I suddenly take a HUUUUUUUUUUGE breath and am like wow I'm dumb XD
Right with you on investing in good art tools if you can afford it. I'm not making any money off my thing (yet? Hopefully soon? XD) but I've spent a ridiculous amount of money on it x_x
Yeahh they sure are adorable, I loved seeing them in person many years ago, they're always so attentive and on the lookout.
Hahahahaha I still do this sometimes and have the same reaction xD My main problem is I breathe shallow and fast, but less so now :D
aww, well it's ok to have hobbies too ^^ not everything is about money as long as all the basic necessities are taken care of :D
Thank you very much ^_^
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Thank you ^^
I'm still grateful for your efforts and yes, who doesn't love meerkats? :)
Glad you like it ^^ You can update to the scanned version (1st one). The one I gave you before was a camera photo :)
Ah cool, I'll do that. Thanks. :)
Looks better :D
A really great work! I think I would like to be skilled in drawing :(
Thank you, just draw what you like a lot and you'll improve faster by specialising. Later you can practice more stuff :)
Also art construction sketching is very useful if you want to learn it.