Just wrapped this one up. I am definitely doing the next one in monochrome, just to take a break from color mixing. 😅

Something different to figure drawing. Battling with fatigue and burn out so tried something different. Ref photo from pexels. Winsor newton markers pencil and fine tip pen

I often see teachers who say "use only the best oils and only cadmium colors cause only they mix great skintones and it has to be lead primed raymar panel for 100 bucks and lead white and get your sable brushes". This is a 2 buck brush and an earth tone color by Schmincke. Just a sketch/material test so it will stay that way. The supercheap oils are not good tho and are expensive because they have so little pigment. But i let all these comments keep me from painting because i thought I have to have all of this and "only lead white looks great" which is expensive and i have 4 cats that i don't want to poison (even tho 4 are too many 🤪). Don't let those ideas hold you back. People do beautiful work with titanium white and like here on a piece of cheap canson oil paper (2,50 EUR a sheet 50 x 70) which i actually like a lot ! :) oh and trashy brushes have a certain streaky look that can be really appealing. Or maybe try a toothtbrush. Feel free to disagree tho ! Now trying to post this on insta will probably get me bannes again. I might still do it.

I finally finished this commission I’ve been working on for 3 months lol. Thankfully, the person who wanted it didn’t rush me and gave me all the time to complete because this started so different than the finished product. I almost gave up a few times. I had to do multiple side studies of shading dark skin and even had to retake the reference photos after learning how to take better photos. What a journey that I’m excited to use what I’ve learned on my next project. How do you handle doing commissions when you’re uncomfortable? Is there a time when you finally hang in the towel? Or do you push through and continue to practice until you get the vision you’ve started with

I’m excited to share some early sketches for a new documentary project on the history of Black farming in America. This project deeply aligns with my values of representation and Black history, and I feel a strong sense of purpose bringing these stories to life. Right now I’m sketching figures like Booker T. Washington, George Washington Carver, and Thomas Monroe Campbell to start shaping the visual language. What I’ve learned is that when you stay true to your purpose, keep working, and share your journey, the right opportunities will find you. What projects have you worked on that made you feel this same kind of alignment?