The day after.

I usually put the gallery at the bottom of my posts, but I wanted you to be able to peruse through it before reading what I want to share with you.

I continue to discover more about myself as an artist and a person during my "time off" from work. I'm learning more about what I can do as an illustrator. I claim that photography was my first creative outlet but really it was drawing when I was a little girl. I drew horrible and my mom was always frustrated with how I would start at the bottom left of the page as opposed to the center. I sort of abandoned it as I got older and definitely threw it out of my artistic tool box when a professor in college told me I was a horrible illustrator. I focused more on my photography and graphic design skills but I never lost that desire to draw.

A while ago I really got into watercolors and traditional tattoo illustrations. I have always been attracted to that form of art and it felt really expressing to me even though it has thick black outlines. It felt like it suited me. And I didn't feel like I had to create art in a way that others wanted it to look. I created art that I feel more than happy to work in.

The two images above are of a pumpkin and chibi style Pusheen the fat cat. I love fall and I love Pusheen and I really wanted to draw them and paint them in a manner of my choosing. It felt wondering and I love the end results of these drawings. I'm going to continue exploring this because I feel like I have more in me that I haven't been able to put on paper, so I look forward to that process.

The photos featured above this entry are mostly from last night's Eastern Market After Dark. I went with my brother and our friend Lauren and all we really did was walk around and do some major people watching. But before that I met up with them at Otta Via, an Italian restaurant, in Corktown. As you can see, the photos I capture are a buffet of still life and lifestyle photography. I was really in the moment when taking these photos and I just wanted to snap a few to remember them, visually.

Photo's aren't the only thing I've been working on. Along with my illustrations I have been designing some freelance work and mockups to include in my portfolio. My most recent design is creating a "You're Invited" piece for the Phantom of the Opera that will be here in January 2017. I have always wanted to see this opera in person, I loved the movie with Gerard Butler, the singing was phenomenal and I just feel like if I see it in person it will change my life. So I made it more as an open invitation for my friends to come with me, because this is something I definitely want to experience with someone. So I designed it and I plan on designing more mock ups like that in the future. 

But for now, I'm going to conclude this post. I always appreciate when people are supportive of my work and come in a take a look. But I also appreciate that people read these posts because I believe it gives y'all the chance to get to know me and my process and how my mind works. So thank you, dear reader. You're awesome.