In this post I am offering up a choice for you. It’s not to eat. I can’t do that but I can
offer several AI versions of chocolate pie with whipped cream and a cherry on top.
Which one do you like? If you ask me, I like all of them because they each have their own personality. Isn’t that a big factor in art? The point of this exercise is to learn to look closely at things, whether it’s a Classic Yellow Mustang or a simple piece of pie.
This is my 2 minute sketch in pencil of my friend’s little corgi dog. As you can see, it’s super quick because all I wanted to do was to get his likeness down fast. If I’m lucky, I can pick up some of his personality. Notice the stance and point of view of the little guy. In the following shots, you will see that the AI engine has kept to the sketch, just applying various styles and filters to it. The point is that to get from the pencil sketch to the AI finished work is this: it’s the same image done digitally instead of manually. There is an additional trick about AI is that you don’t even need to make a pencil sketch first. You can describe what you want through words, and of course this is a prompt: aka specific verbal instructions to tell the engine what to do.
On a personal level, I am experimenting by reworking lots of my old art into AI to expand my knowledge. What I’m finding is it’s a lot of fun. You don’t have to if you don’t want to. Isn’t that nice. Here are some versions of our little corgi friend.
Comments are appreciated and discussions open. likes are nice.
Have you ever lost something and found it a long time later? Well, here’s one cat I remember drawing way back in 2004. I found this little guy in a zip file that somehow got saved from disaster. So I know he’s not very well drawn but this art came at a time in my life when I almost died. I was recovering from major surgery and was trying to remember who I was as I had lost a lot of my memory.
I remember sitting in a little travel trailer and painting these little cats by the hundreds. I painted some on wood and some on paper. Most were just simple watercolors no bigger than 6 square inches. I did some on scratchboard too. Some survived. They helped me clear my head, get my bearings and be optimistic for the future. I love cats and this therapy did work.
Eventually a lot of my memory came back but I still don’t know what day or month it is most of the time. My friends are very patient with me.
Here is the little guy on some products.
This process is really long and tedious. I don’t understand why I am making so much work for myself….except, I started with this idea and I can’t break the mold now. When you have high resolution images, bottom line is that it is what you need to publish your work.
I first do a pen and ink with fine line nib on to bristol paper, which is great for detail. If I am happy with that, then I transfer that drawing to a heavy watercolor paper. I am using my 12″x16″ light table to make the transfer. I am doing this with a thicker nib and heavy emphasis lines are darkened to balance the amount of black on the page.
Then I scan the b&w into a large scanner and upload the b&w to my online store. When I have the new darker black and white on watercolor paper, I paint it. The composition defines whether or not I leave a lot of background white in the image or paint it in.
I have been playing with gouache and my usual clear watercolors, which is either Winsor and Newton or Maimeri Blue. Why do this complex process? I have learned a lot by this process. It is remarkable how if you discipline yourself, you can accomplish a lot. These drawings are giving me a lot of pleasure. I can’t wait to get to a place when I can assemble them into some kind of storyboard book.
I studied this book building and illustrating in 1988 with Uri
Schulevitz but here I am now, so many years later, actually stepping into scary waters with a style that is actually the first one I adopted such a long time ago. I discipline myself to doing 3 things every day, studying Spanish, working on the treadmill and drawing and/or painting. I actually am very satisfied doing these activities.
I hope people will enjoy what I have to say. My story really never changes. It’s only the way of telling it that is new.
You can find my art here.
Fish are one of my favorite subjects lately. They are accommodating and generous. They let me play all I want to with their shapes and patterns. This will be fun to paint in watercolor. This is another page in my WIP coloring book. Soon it will come together. Wish me luck.
If you like it in black and white the way you see it here, there’s another option for your custom laptop setting.
If you want it in color here it is.
Painting Mexico 
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