- VI - Stippling

When I first started thinking about the blog posts I wanted to write, the stippling technique came to mind almost instantly. Sadly, I completely forgot about it until now.
So, here I go.

For those of you who don't know what stippling is:
Stippling is the creation of a pattern simulating varying degrees of solidity or shading by using small dots.
(Thanks Wikipedia)
My definition would have been: Art using dots.

Now, I know what you are thinking  ' art with dots, whaaaaaaaaaaat?! '
I remember the first time I learned about stippling, the artsy fartsy teacher was just so excited about it. She thought it would be fun to learn something new, and so did I.I thought wrong. This was not fun at all, and probably wouldn't be if you're impatient and a perfectionist like I am. I went through several papers, different types of pencils and pens which resulted in a garbage full of trash. Needless to say, I sucked and learning something new was hard.
After writing this though, it really makes me want to try again. Maybe if I stick it out and practice for, lets see... more than a day or two... I can figure it out. Cross your fingers for me.




This beauty is simply stippled perfection.
I do not know who the artist is because I just found the image on Google, but props to them. I could only dream of being patient enough to finish something like this.

But hey, a girl can dream.

I found an awesome video for you guys on the wonderful page of YouTube.
Don't worry though, it is sped up so you can see it beginning to end. It may be a tad slow but I recommend you watch it all.


Now, is your mind blown because it should be :)
ArtofTonyNero, pretty amazing work.

- V -

Ever since I can remember I have been obsessed with tattoos. Now, a lot of people would probably argue that they don't consider tattoos art and well... I would call them crazy. You have to agree to disagree sometimes right? My mom would definitely be one of those people, I remember the first time I told her I wanted a tattoo. I was 8 years old and had seen numerous people with tattoos, and needless to say was in love. After a night of watching the Lion King for the millionth time I told her that I wanted to get ' Hakuna Matata' tattooed on myself when I was older. She ended up just laughing at me, and who could blame her for not taking me seriously.

When I fiiiiiiiiiiiiiinally turned 18, after pleading and arguing and begging her to get one, she caved. SUCCESS! After agreeing she asked me what I wanted to get and I just looked at her and said "What I have always wanted to get, Hakuna Matata," she just rolled her eyes but couldn't say no to this face. I remember going to Wild Ink in Ajax, after doing tons of research and telling the guy covered in tattoos what I wanted. He laughed and told me that he had never done it before and that he would draw something up for me. I, like the creeper I am, watched him sketch out some ideas and with each minute I was falling more and more in love and more and more nervous. I had planned to get this on my foot, which I heard was one of the most painful places to get it but once I have my mind set on something, it is hard to convince me otherwise so there was no turning back.

                                                      

It was definitely painful, to say the least and as you can see very swollen making it look a little weird (sorry if feet creep you out). I love it though, and still love it even though it has become such a popular tattoo. It means a lot to me, and why regret something like this? It is a piece of artwork, and sure it is forever but I don't see how that could be a bad thing. Maybe the fact that I won't be able to wear open foot shoes to work in the future, but I think I will survive. No worries, right?

Overall, tattoos are something I am very interested in and respect the art form tremendously. Anyone who can draw so perfectly on your skin using needles gets a sticker in my book. I fell in love with a tattoo blog called 'F Yeah Tattoos' that people can showcase their tattoos, and the stories behind them. I have cried in some cases, and have been inspired on a regular basis. Just thought I would share a few of the ones I have seen and thought were share worthy. What is amazing about this form of art is that it is so personal, they make everything beautiful ( Obviously depending where you go... ) whether it is an intricate design or words from a song that you love.









Wild Ink Studios - http://www.wildinkstudios.com/
F Yeah Tattoos - http://fyeahtattoos.com/

- IV -

I think any body who admires art can appreciate those artists who have the ability to recreate exactly what is in front of them whether it is a person, a still life they have set up or a beautiful landscape that they wanted to capture. I have always been extremely jealous of these artists, even more so if they can do it all... those people who no matter what you give them they can just rock it. After I gave some thought about what I wanted to blog about next I went searching through Google to find some images that would fit. While I can find a ton of images that I loved and had inspired me, not all of them have the artist's name.

The first drawing I came across that really grabbed my attention was called 'Reflections' and it is a still life sketch made using pencils, blending stumps and tissue by Brian Duey.

 

Brain Duey captures these images perfectly that it almost looks like a photograph. The shading is seriously impeccable, he didn't miss even one little detail. The angles are proper which makes it look so realistic that you could almost grab the glass and take the shot. I guess you are just born with this kind of talent, the way he sketches each spec of light, the reflection of the cigarette in the lighter and shadows on the wall and ground surface all make it work. The forum that he posted on stated that this took him 10 hours to complete, I would definitely say that was time well spent.

When I came across the next artist I just sighed, because his work is actually just perfection . His portraits capture the gleam in the eye, the highlight within the hair, the angle of the jaw and definition of the arm.
      
    Leonardo DiCaprio                                   Catherine Zeta-Jones

I came across the Canadian artist of these portraits, Denis Poirier on the Deviant Art website. You can check out more of his stuff by clicking this below.
 http://depoi.deviantart.com