Poster:	arikla
Date:	2009-06-06 21:14
Subject:	Plaid!
Security:	Public
Mood:	artistic

Yay! Done with the plaid piece... overall, I'm ok with it. I like the central figures, maybe not so happy with the stone wall and angles there of... but I am ok with it.



Inspired by "The English Lady and the Knight" by Loreena McKennit. Originally a poem by Sir Walter Scott.

Seemed appropriate to use a Scottish Deerhound and an English Springer Spaniel.

Poster:	arikla
Date:	2009-05-03 12:49
Subject:	Post-con Post
Security:	Public
Mood:	blah

So, finally, I'll give a rundown synopsis of FCN. I'm feeling better. My nose is trying to run off my face, but I can sit up longer :)

In short it was fun but I sold practically nil :P I did get to sit by Tod Wils again this year (ninjahijinx) Who is still a very nice guy and does absolutely phenomenal work. Had a rubberband war with BushyCat :) Danced a couple nights, ate at a the Benehana... was not impressed by Benehana... Ginza Tokyo in Madison is MUCH better. Talked with con chairs of other conventions. Had fun :)

Actually, talked with the con chair of Rainfurrence and found that con does fall on a three day weekend for me... may go. It would be different to fly out to a con, plus I have several friends and relatives that direction I have not seen in a very long time. I really really want to go, but it sort of depends currently on many things... will decide in the next couple weeks.

Since I wasn't drawing a lot of badges at the con, I did get a chance to draw other things :)


And, after I got home my brain was full of ideas... so this came out:


Let it be known black paper does not scan well. The original really looks a lot better :P I'll try to fix that eventually.

Poster:	arikla
Date:	2009-04-17 00:09
Subject:
Security:	Public
Mood:	chipper

Another mental mind worm on paper :)



Inspired by the story of Sorcha, who's six brothers were enchanted into swans. She could only break the curse by weaving a shirt for each of them from nettles, but could not talk while doing so nor tell anyone in any way why she was doing so.

A great novel of this story is "Daughter of the Forest" by Juliet Marillier.

Only my second attempt at really drawing a human face. Not bad, I think :) I used myself as a model, so any weird anatomy is probably my own :P Overall happy, thought wish the shading on the hands were smoother. The paper was more rough then I like.

I tried to smooth it out and found the blue I used to shade suddenly showed up REALLY blue. So had to stop before I really messed it up :P

Also... 7 more days until FCN!

Poster:	arikla
Date:	2009-02-01 22:49
Subject:
Security:	Public
Mood:	accomplished

Finally! It is all done! (And I don't mean the Super Bowl)

- Dance, Spirit

To go with:
- North, Green, Horns/Brass, Earth

- East, Yellow, Wind Instruments, Air

- West, Blue, Percussion, Water

- South, Red, Strings, Fire



I'll be getting some rather nice prints made of these (ie: not from my printer) and matting some for FCN as well as selling them as sets.

Poster:	arikla
Date:	2008-12-04 22:40
Subject:
Security:	Public
Mood:	chipper

And they just keep coming!



Few other colored images coming over the next couple weeks as I get them done. Including a colored version of the previous Mountian Lion Sketch and a colored version similar to the colored Mountain Lion of the Fisherman and his fish :)

Poster:	arikla
Date:	2008-11-18 22:29
Subject:	More Wildlife!
Security:	Public
Mood:	tired

More Wildlife commission pieces. Really, I have to say I have had fun doing these. It has been good to draw "real" animals for a change, and I should probably do so more often.

and

Frankly, I really really like how the Red Tailed Hawk came out and can't wait to see it on a shirt :)

Poster:	arikla
Date:	2008-11-13 19:56
Subject:	Almost done!
Security:	Public
Mood:	accomplished

#4 of 5 in the series:

Plains Thunder

The West, water, percussion and the color blue :) Very blue...very very blue... Maybe too blue. Oh well. I got to use my Copper foil! Whoo hoo!

One more to go... Spirit, dance... I know it will be a Snow Leopard, but the rest of the details so far are hazy. May use a bit of a Tibetian theme. Multi-color background. More metallic foil and knotwork!

Ok, back to other commissions...

Poster:	arikla
Date:	2008-10-04 15:22
Subject:
Security:	Public
Mood:	calm

So the commissions I have been working on are still continuing... and will apparently continue to continue. Since he approved the past images and then mentioned porpoises! Whew!

Also, I have an animated icon to make for JR Wolf. A new challenge I am looking forward to, just needed to figure out how best to do this...

Poster:	arikla
Date:	2008-09-03 21:36
Subject:
Security:	Public
Mood:	creative

These have been rather fun to work on. Commissions for a member of the California Department of Fish and Game:



Also have one more to do for him :)

All in graphite pencil...

...which I haven't used for awhile but has been giving me... ideas... hehe

Poster:	arikla
Date:	2008-07-10 20:43
Subject:	More arts!
Security:	Public
Mood:	artistic

Inspired by the traditional Irish song "Black is the Color". I had a lot of fun working on this piece, few things I am not happy about around the face, but overall pleased... especially with the contrast and pose :)

How Black is the Color

Lyrics behind the cut for those curious:
( Song Lyrics )

Crossposted to: furryartists, skieborne and animalart

Poster:	arikla
Date:	2008-05-29 19:18
Subject:
Security:	Public
Mood:	accomplished

Finished the third piece in "Elements of Music": North, the horns.

My FTP isn't working at the moment, though, in order to update my webpage. So I'll link to it over on DA instead:

Sound the Earthly Horn

Still not happy with how overpowering the foil looks when it scans, as it isn't that glaring in person. Not much I can do about that, though.

Watercolor, Colored pencil and Metal Foil.

Poster:	arikla
Date:	2008-05-09 17:57
Subject:
Security:	Public
Mood:	accomplished

Hey! I finally got that commission done I have been working on :)

Wolf in the Den

I am rather pleased with it. Some of the lighting didn't come out quite the way I like, but the love the Birch log, and some of the details :) And, more importantly, the commissioner likes it!

Poster:	arikla
Date:	2008-01-24 16:47
Subject:
Security:	Public
Mood:	artistic

Number three of four in a series I am working on... almost done with the series!

Eastern Air

I definitely need to work on clothing more, but the folds I am satisfied with. Last piece will be earth... I have a vague notion of what I want to do, but will take a bit to flesh it out. I definitely want to have it done before April, however.

Cross posted to furryartists, were_art, and skieborne.

Poster:	arikla
Date:	2007-12-20 20:59
Subject:	New Art
Security:	Public
Mood:	accomplished

I have been playing with a different type of surface for art and with the watercolor pencils. While I like the pencils, I am not too fond of the surface. It is very rough, and so I can't detail the way i like to over the watercolor. Leaving this image looking incomplete and rough to me. I am otherwise happy with it, though.

Hounds of Annwn

The "Cwn Annwn" or Hounds of Annwn are the hounds of the wild hunt. They bring the souls of the dead to the underworld. In Welsh mythology they are white hounds with red ears. I took a bit of artistic license and made them red-eyed instead.

Poster:	arikla
Date:	2007-12-09 19:54
Subject:
Security:	Public
Mood:	accomplished

I am having a productive winter! I finished another piece... yay!

Strings of Fire

I decided to make a set starting with Came a Stark Naked Drummer representing the west, water, and percussion instruments.

"Strings of Fire" representing the south, fire, and stringed instruments.

Two more to go:
East, air, woodwinds
and
North, earth, brass instruments

Each will have the knotwork and a species representative of that direction. Still working out the specifics of the last two.
The foil on this piece was somewhat fun to play with, though it scans oddly and gets positively EVERYWHERE.

Poster:	arikla
Date:	2007-11-22 17:55
Subject:
Security:	Public
Mood:	accomplished

So what else have I been up to? Well, I have some new art done! Mostly I have been very busy with work and I went to MFF last weekend :)

Lab-adored Watercolor and colored pencil piece as a commission. yes, I know the ear is too high. I didn't catch it until it was too late, and the commissioner was happy with it.

All Souls Night Another Loreena McKennitt inspired piece. Plus, I bought a piece of scratchboard I wanted to play with :)

Draco model My first attempt in a long time at a vinyl model. Last one i did was when Jurassic Park came out (the first one) and I had plastic models of the T-rex, Velociraptor and spitter :) There is a history to this particular one, though. I bought it originally off of e-bay from someone in Thailand (mistake #1). It arrived in a plastic bag, in a box, with a PHOTOGRAPH of the original box *snerk*... and instructions on assembly in Thai. Not very useful. At this point I realized I had a suspicion I had bought a knockoff. Eventually I bought a REAL one also from someone on e-bay, but a more honest someone. This one came with English instructions and Bowen was metal. In this model, Bowen is plastic/vinyl. Because of the difference in Bowen's weight between the actual model and the knockoff... the knockoff had to have the base filled with plaster in order to stand upright. So, while I wasn't happy I didn't get an actual model, it did allow me to assemble one and paint it without that nagging voice in the back of my mind yelling at me for assembling a limited edition model. The REAL model will be kept in its original box :) This also gave me some practice painting 3-D since I have a couple Windstone winged wolves I want to paint eventually.

Poster:	arikla
Date:	2007-02-17 15:55
Subject:
Security:	Public
Mood:	accomplished

Alright! a month and a half into the year, and I finally have artwork to post! Whoot! And I even updated the website so the archives are correct :P

Pseudo-Alaskan Eagle
Playing around with different tribal styles and this came out. Put on my Tribals page so it is free to use for anything not being sold.

Arikla's Pumpkin
Started out as one idea, which looked really ugly, and got transformed into this idea. A similar design is in the works to make a new front-page image.

I am also still working on art for the "Symphony in Fur Minor" Portfolio: musicportfolio2

Poster:	arikla
Date:	2006-12-28 21:15
Subject:
Security:	Public

Yay! More art! After taking WAY too long to work on this. I just had too many ideas, then no ideas, and a 3x5 piece of paper to work on...

For Mr. Adolphson who collects 3x5 cards of artists work. VERY nice fellow, I had done another for him previously. I just feel guilty this one took so long to do :P



The knotwork is in gold pencil, the whole piece is watercolor and colored pencil.

Poster:	arikla
Date:	2006-10-12 19:37
Subject:
Security:	Public
Mood:	pensive
Music:	Caide Sin Don Te Sin? - Altan

So, after much thought, I'll take the jump. I applied to be in the 2007 Symphonies in Fur Minor portfolio. Note, I haven't been accepted yet, but I applied...

With so much of my art based on music or inspired by music, it seems appropriate. Unfortunately, some of the artists who I had in mind are already taken hehe... Loreena McKennitt got snatched up fast, and, suprise suprise, also Carbon Leaf (maybe my art tastes aren't as obscure as I thought!) I have sever others "waiting in the wings" both projects in my mind for awhile, and new ones...

I still want to do a piece based on "One Night In Bangkok" from Chess...and think I may do it as 5 x 7 art that I am behind on :P
Others I want to do:
"God is a DJ" by Pink
"One Last Cold Kiss" by Tempest
"Culloden's Harvest" by Deanta
"Ride On" by Christy Moore
"All Soul's Night" by Loreena McKennitt
"The Highwayman" By Loreena McKennitt
"The War Was in Color" by Carbon Leaf
"Suil a Ruin" Traditional
"Tell Me Ma" Traditional
"Greenwood Side" by Lothlorien

And I know there are more that just aren't coming to mind at the moment.
"One Last Cold Kiss" I would like to do as a ink/colored pencil piece, but I must improve my inkwork first before I attempt it. "All Soul's Night" I want to do as Acrylic, because the image I have in my mind is at night... and that much dark calls for acrylic :) "Culloden's Harvest", "Greenwood Side" and "The War Was in Color" are not gentle songs, and will be hard images to draw.

As to what I will do for the portfolio, if accepted, I haven't decided yet. Any favorite songs?