Lion

Posted Aug 1, 2007, 6:33:22 AM UTC

This was the first of my "new" watercolors. I'd utterly given up painting (for years & years...about 12, because my leatherwork was occupying all my time & stealing all my creative energy), but I really missed doing watercolors & so I bought a really cheap set of paints & some so-so paper & gave it a go while on a long vacation in Miami.

Did this on the beach in about an hour. The whole piece came together in my head & fell right onto the paper...I love it when it happens like that.

You can tell that it's a transition piece, because it looks ver "masklike" (masks are how I make my living).

Comments

ladybattousai
Aug 1, 2007, 1:22:53 AM UTC
I love the leaf-like appearance of his mane and the overall mask-like appearance. Amazing since you hadn't done any watercolor painting in so many years.
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- merimask
  Aug 1, 2007, 10:52:14 AM UTC
  Thank you...it was very masklike. I was afraid of doing art just for myself & not my mask business, so I approached it as if it was a study for a mask I might make.
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  ladybattousai
  Aug 1, 2007, 12:10:53 PM UTC
  Do you feel guilty if you draw something that you can't relate to your business?
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  merimask
  Aug 1, 2007, 2:35:04 PM UTC
  "Do you feel guilty if you draw something that you can't relate to your business?"
  
  lol...oh boy do I ever! I'm very driven & serious about my work, so I have a hard time justifying work that I do "for fun".
  
  I'm better at balancing now, though. It's important to do things you like, in order to re-charge your creativity. That's why I love making/looking at fan art...it's just so much fun.
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  ladybattousai
  Aug 1, 2007, 5:39:20 PM UTC
  I've done my art as a business before, but I have no talent for marketing and took a considerable loss instead... Instead, I love doing contests and find that they keep me creative and reinventing my concepts and techniques.
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  merimask
  Aug 1, 2007, 10:39:28 PM UTC
  Comments, contests & the like are a TON of fun. I get that kind of positive input from forums like this (this is my first...never had a DevArt account but always thought about it), or like my LiveJournal. It's just great to be able to communicate with other artists & get feedback.
  
  Making a career out of your art, though...that's a challenge. Your success is only 50% due to your talent. The other 50% has to be business acumen & self-promotion skills, plus the ability to be stubborn and single-minded.
  
  Your work is so wonderful, and SO few people can do what you do. Really, turning to a career in art just makes sense, once you come up with a business plan for yourself.
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  ladybattousai
  Aug 3, 2007, 12:29:19 PM UTC
  I haven't really seen any mask artwork on dA, so you'd definitely bring something new and different to the mix.
  
  I actually plan to write for a living. As much as I like painting and drawing, I really like telling a story and developing characters even more. I'm so very much "creation" oriented and it doesn't really matter which medium it's in.
  
  It's nice to meet someone else who also seems to be the same way.
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