Daniel Stuart’s Poetry Book - Published

I’m very excited to announce the poetry book is finally published.  Here is a video of a brief look through of the book on my YouTube channel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLoQbDUdZdk

Daniel Stuart’s Poetry Book

I had a chance to illustrate a book of poems written by Daniel Stuart.  There were 27 poems spread over 45 pages.  We met and discuss the format of the illustrations, but beyond that, he allowed me to create each piece in my own style.  From this project, I was able to further develop a graphite method in creating each piece that I enjoy tremendously.  I was able to push past the arbitrary boundaries I set for myself in the past and get beyond my comfort zone.  With each piece, the method gets easier and the pencil feels more like an extension of my imagination.  It was a tremendously enjoyable experience.  I was able to finish 4 full page pieces created specifically for certain poems, 1 full page piece as a unified border that can go with any other poems, and 3 extra small artworks intended to go with partial border for other specific poems.  I hope to improve on this method with a series after this.  

The following images are created for a poem called Flow:

For the poem called Moon Gazers:

For the poem Let's Build A Palace:

For the poem called The Climb:

Here's the Border that can go with any poem:

And a few extra smaller images:

Watch my YouTube channel for process videos of each of these pieces in the coming months.  

Chaotic_Abstraction

Thank you for stopping by and reading my blog.

"The Old Man and His Dog"

This one started out with a few “trees”, and then an old man appears.  And then he’s walking with his dog … and maybe a few other creatures … 

Click the YouTube link to watch the creation of this stippling artwork.  Thank you for visiting

The Old Man and His Dog process video

Shadows

Here is the next piece in the ink pen stippling over ink wash series.  I am liking this direction so far and I hope I can continue and be able to create even more interesting images.

Into The Forest

In continuation with my new ink pen stippling over a layer of ink wash, here is the second image I created. 

You can watch the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaLpHe1wHIA

"New Beginning"

Last October I talked about a new direction in my art.  Here was the first piece that came out of that new direction last fall. It is called, appropriately, New Beginning.  An artist whose work I highly regard bought this piece after standing and staring at it for some time.  I am so happy she liked the piece. 

The Challenge Ahead

It’s the beginning of the fourth month of the new year and my last post was the last month of last year.  Lots of thoughts went through my head in the past 3 months but nothing worth noting.  Just a lot of self reflection and trying to turn self doubt into self confidence.  I want this blog to be about a journey of a single artist trying to make it in the art world, but I think it is much more than that.

This past weekend I showcased in the artist alley at AwesomeCon, a comic and pop culture convention in Washington D.C.  I had a great show and sold 4 originals, 3 of which I did not think would sell. Most of the art that sold, including many prints, were all the ones I created with emotional thoughts in mind.  The whirlwind of birds, clouds and waves, are all the thoughts and emotion that go through me each day.  In creating these works of art, I find my center, my balance.  I hope my images bring the same for the viewer. Each time I talk to a convention goer about the piece, it ended up in a sale of that piece, to include a second framed Limited Edition print.  

I realized that my art has a purpose.  It already has a purpose for me, but I realize the potential purpose it could have for others. The purpose is to share this emotion I feel with each piece with my viewers and fans.  My art is not mostly about storytelling.  It is more about a single thought, a single feeling, a single moment in time that you want to hold on to forever.  I hope to create art where the viewer wants to keep staring and returning to that single moment, like I feel when I create the piece, or in other artists’ artwork I’ve collected.  Is this too ambitious?  This is my Challenge Ahead.  What’s your challenge ahead?