MyaK

Paint Time!

2011-11-20T17:33:00.000-08:00

A couple of free days before the next stream of constant work provided some time to transfer a drawing to board and start painting. I'm trying a new painting process this time and am super excited about it. - What can be done with intricate shapes?

2nd Secret Path Drawing

2011-10-16T11:33:00.000-07:00

Excited to be moving on to the painting....

New Animal Rights Art Blog

2011-02-07T15:02:00.000-08:00

http://animal-art.blogspot.com/

I started a new blog. It's going to be a library of artists who explore the subject of animal rights. I'm going to try to make it as comprehensive as possible, including as many ideas and beliefs about animals rights as I can find. Please let me know if there's an artist you think I should include!

Nika

2011-01-02T18:00:00.000-08:00

New pet portrait
Watercolor
8"x10"

Pro Photo

2011-01-02T17:49:00.000-08:00

I decided to try getting this painting professionally photographed. I was really happy with the result. I went to McCallisters on Sawmill. They photograph, color correct and provide a disk.

Egg Tempera

2010-11-15T13:53:00.000-08:00

The things I've been making and doing lately are a lot different than before starting the C.O.R.E. program. Most of the things I've been doing are fun exercises that help provide curriculum, but some things might help revitalize my own art. This project being one of them.

I haven't used egg tempera in a really long time. Oh, maybe 8 years. I remember hating it. But, I decided to try it for this project and had a great time with it. The colors it provides can be much more vibrant than watercolor. I'm going to do some more...

Guess I'm abandoning it.

2010-11-11T15:56:00.000-08:00

I am finally going to say "no more" to this.

I found this quote that seemed appropriate, since I've been working on this painting for a lifetime: "An artist never really finishes his work; he merely abandons it." ~ Paul Valéry

Pigs Are Pink

2010-11-09T17:49:00.000-08:00

In one of my classes, we had a day of artmaking with dollar store items. It was fun. A lot of crap was thrown out on a blanket on the floor and we went to town. We titled our pieces. This is titled "Pigs Are Pink".

Art Project!

2010-10-06T07:16:00.000-07:00

So far, grad school has been awesome as well as overwhelming. Yesterday was a nice little breather. We were assigned to making maps of our "Big Ideas". It was hard to get started. I'm used to a certain process which includes a lot of photo reference, drawing and time. Once I got started, though, it was so much fun! My classmates and I were like little kids, whining to not have to pick up our collage scraps and paste.

The Secret Path

2010-09-17T05:10:00.000-07:00

Here is a quick shot of The Secret Path painting. I'm going to do some touching up this weekend, but this it is basically done. I am very excited to have met my goal of finishing before school starts!

Prints!

2010-08-23T15:31:00.000-07:00

I am now selling prints of my dog portraits at The Market at Serendip in Powell, OH. It's a very cute shop, filled with many unique pieces of art. Check out the Serendip blog page at: http://www.marketatserendip.blogspot.com/

Screwy Chicken Painting

2010-03-21T07:40:00.000-07:00

Here is the finished "Screwy Chicken" painting.

Screwy Chicken Sketch

2010-03-06T17:09:00.000-08:00

Have you ever smelled a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store? There are very few things that smell worse. I like to tease my sister because she is a vegetarian and during summer breaks, she works in a grocery store deli where she gets paid to pull these things apart for delicacies like chicken salad.

2nd coat

2010-01-30T12:56:00.000-08:00

this really photographs terribly. there are varying degrees of sheen from varying drying stages of paint, but here's what i have to show for the past couple of weeks. most of it has a 2nd coat of paint.

Right now I'm struggling through the hair. and it is a struggle. Who knew wet dog hair could be sch a challenge?

1st coat done

2010-01-11T18:02:00.001-08:00

Pup Sores

2010-01-06T19:36:00.000-08:00

This long weekend provided some nice time to get this drawing transferred and paint started. The painting is nothing to look at yet; I'm posting it more as a frame of reference to what I want to say.

The model, Bobby, has had enormous sores growing on his body. My mom finally got him checked out and told me tonight that the sores all over this poor dog's body are from a staff infection. A staff infection caused from sitting in the mucky part of this creek a couple of months ago while I took reference photos. We've gone to this creek many times, but that day he was in it for a long length of time.

Poor stinking dog has a staff infection from me taking him to this place for reference for a painting and not bathing him immediately after.

I'm feeling pretty bad for the pup, really wishing I had bathed him right after getting home and wondering what must be in that water that would give a staff infection.

The Secret Path

2009-12-20T14:32:00.000-08:00

I posted this drawing last night, but I was unhappy with the photo quality and decided to take a photo while there was sunlight this afternoon. It's still not a great photo, but it's what I have for now.

The drawing is a study for a painting. I'm not quite done with it, but decided to post it.

There is a secret path that branches from the regular one that my mom, Bob and I like to take. A couple of months ago we were walking through. The weather was unusually warm for the time of year. The sun was beating down and we were almost hot, but it was so late in the year that the trees were barren.

This particular shot is at the creek, which runs through the deepest part of the path. Bob is soaked after having played in the water for close to an hour.

This place is magical. All normal world stress sails away and leaves behind carefree beauty.

This spot allows Bob's natural instincts to shine. He runs through the water, hops, smiles, and has never looked more beautiful. It's just him being the most natural thing he can be. and it makes me feel more human; the most natural thing I can be.

Piece for I Heart / Hate Columbus Show

2009-12-06T07:19:00.000-08:00

morning sketch

2009-11-14T07:44:00.000-08:00

This morning I got started on a 2nd sketch for a still life. Now I'm off to the woods in St. Marys for some reference shots.

Website Up

2009-11-12T16:43:00.000-08:00

www.myafannon.com

My 1st full website design.

I think I'll leave it at that.

new sketch

2009-11-01T10:14:00.001-08:00

I've been really struggling with my next still life. It's been about 3 weeks of reworking junk so far. but today I had an after/jog/aha moment. These come often but very rarely make it to sketches and even more rarely make it to complete paintings. We'll see in a week what happens to this one, but for now I'm very excited. This is the farthest this setup has gotten and it feels promising right now. At any rate, this is the first sketch I've spat out in a long time and since this began as a sketch blog, it felt appropriate to post it.

couple progress shots

2009-10-18T17:35:00.000-07:00

Here's a couple of progress shots of the cards painting.

Libray Setup

2009-09-27T18:04:00.000-07:00

I spent Sat. morning setting up some of my paintings and objects that I've painted at the St. Marys library. It was a very good thing because it forced me to call the still life I've been working on officially done. Just to make sure I would stop working on it, I took it apart and put the objects in the display case. Here's a glaring-not-well-lit photo of the display case.

This Week

2009-09-12T10:22:00.000-07:00

This week I started a new painting. I wanted to have some fun with it. Here are some pictures.

As far as the board goes, I bought a nice light wood and began gessoing. Every night I added a new coat + sanding. Then the last couple of nights I pressed canvas into the wet gesso for some texture.

The drawing is pretty boring, I guess, unless you have a playing card fetish. but I'm hoping the fun will come in with paint and texture.

I am certainly bound to have more fun with the painting than the drawing. The drawing was a refresher in Structural Drawing class. Blah.

The first layer of watercolor was already exciting. It was bleeding really randomly. I'm not sure how I'm going to finish this. Just going to go step by step and have fun.

still life

2009-08-30T09:58:00.000-07:00

So here is a photo of the still life I've been working on.

T Shirt design

2009-07-13T04:46:00.000-07:00

My dad has a stand at the festival in my home town this year. I design a logo for it that will go on
T Shirts.

page with links to good tutorials

2009-05-24T10:34:00.000-07:00

http://www.presidiacreative.com/47-tutorials-for-creating-professional-posters-and-ads/

There are so many amazing things that can be done with Illustrator and Photoshop. It's just learning how to use the tools together to get the end result. I have a lot of fun doing online tutorials and it really helps me to follow other people's processes.

The only thing I like to do when I'm doing a tutorial is change the content a tad bit so it's more interesting and fun for me. The end result of this tutorial said Alkaline Trio to me so I used a little Alkaline Trio content.

The link at the top of the page has some really fun tutorials that are worth checking out!

Oh- and props to Shannon's awesome internet researching skills on this one. She figured out that on Step 20, you cannot apply a lens correction filter unless your document is RGB.

Progress - 1st coat

2009-04-26T07:53:00.000-07:00

I checked and I finished the drawing for this painting Feb 20. Only a little over 2 months later...1st coat done. Just about 3 more to go! I'm just hoping to finish it before we move from this apartment....it's not fun to think of trying to transport the setup.

One funny thing happened while working on it. The space that I have to work in is so tiny that I have to concentrate on every movement to make sure that I don't knock something over. Well, I didn't concentrate hard enough and the painting fell on me, smearing purple paint all over my arm. Hahaha....Ok enough with the hilarious jokes.

To explain a bit where this painting came from, I think it's a self portrait about my obsessions.

Generation Green Wrap

2009-03-18T17:06:00.000-07:00

I spend too much time at work. Especially when there is a vehicle wrap or even a partial vehicle wrap, like this one. It is tiring work and I always come home POed, exhausted, and ready to go do something easier for money.

OK, this one was no exception. But, I at least had a feeling of satisfaction when it was done because save for the brown on the window, it stands out well and will help promote an environmentally friendly store.

I've been working on painting the still life that was posted a couple of posts ago so hopefully I'll have a hand drawn, hand painted post soon.

Still Life Ready for Paint

2009-02-20T18:53:00.000-08:00

The still life I pissed the neighbor's off with last month from dropping too many things is finally ready for some paint.

hugs for Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T16:08:00.000-08:00

Today I worked on a still life But, I wanted to post something sweet for Valentine's Day so I went through some older stuff and decided to post this.

wedding sketch again

2009-02-13T18:03:00.000-08:00

Well, this one is closer to a wedding painting than the last one. Not there yet. Cindy has married a black spirit/shadow. But closer nonetheless.

shower idea

2009-02-12T17:56:00.000-08:00

no I did not make this today. I am not sketching tonight, but here is something I made that I thought the girls might like. This is a fun idea for a bridal shower. Just try to get it straighter than this. Very simple and it will stand out from the other wrapped gifts. Just roll some towels and bind them with ribbon. Put them on a round tray and add flowers. Pretty fun. Again, just get it straighter.

Pen texture for an upcoming Photoshop project

2009-02-11T18:36:00.000-08:00

The Tree Again, Around Dawn

2009-02-10T03:44:00.001-08:00

Stay out of the light. Monsters dwell there.

2009-02-09T18:30:00.000-08:00

2009-02-08T14:27:00.000-08:00

Strange cat thing

2009-02-07T13:09:00.000-08:00

I don't draw cats very often (I'm more of a dog person), but I decided to try one today. I found a few different things I would like to try with this, but as a drawing it seems like each body part is a completely seperate item. There may be more cats coming as I try some different things.

wedding sketch gone wrong

2009-02-05T17:47:00.000-08:00

I never have much luck when I force myself to sit down and draw something without any idea of how I want it to look but for some reason I always think if I just start, the lines will magically make what I want. so, tonight was my first attempt to sketch something for a painting I'm going to do for my brother-in-law's wedding gift. It was to be two figures in wedding attire, my brother-in-law and his wife on their wedding day. Lol.

I'm not too discouraged; however, because this is the strange process I normally use. The crap has to get out and then I have to walk away and then something will come. (or hopefully it will)

Vase

2009-02-04T10:17:00.000-08:00

I won't have time to draw tonight, so I drew something on my lunch break.

Sometimes I enjoy drawing with pens because I can't erase. All the flawed strokes are still there.

baby bird tht lives in my tree

2009-02-03T18:13:00.000-08:00

Playing Around with pencial and photoshop

2009-01-31T15:22:00.000-08:00

fridge doors

2009-01-30T17:24:00.000-08:00

Today has been a blasted day. I am being lame today and using something I did at work. My office is now a refridgerator. (Thanks to Juice Drops, 3M material and the Roland Soljet!)

Monkey

2009-01-29T18:42:00.000-08:00

I took the reference photo at the zoo a couple of years ago for this drawing and have been meaning to make something from it. The sketch a day got me to sit down and start. I wish I had a scanner, the paper looks so dark in this photo, the shading in the forehead is very odd how it photographed, and my lighter midtones are gone.

Simpson's Living Room Painting

2009-01-28T06:23:00.000-08:00

My husband rarely makes artwork requests, but he requested the painting from the Simpson's living room. He wants to put it in our living room. I'm not giving it to him until Valentine's Day, so if anyone has any suggestions, please let me know. The only thing I am thinking left to do is get a string and a nail in order to hang it crooked.

2009-01-25T15:16:00.000-08:00

Still Life Set Up Mess

2009-01-24T15:12:00.000-08:00

Ryan kept calling me ET today as I dragged the entire apartment on a blanket into my still life space (a miniture bathroom). By the time I was ready to start putting things back, I could barely move and the neighbors below were screaming because I kept dropping things really loudly. I thought about how crazy I would look if a normal person walked in, especially if I didn't know they were there becuase I talk to my still lifes as they go up. and that's when the camera came out....

2009-01-23T19:17:00.001-08:00

2009-01-22T19:27:00.000-08:00

This isn't finished, but I'm done with it for the night.

Why Does It Always Rain On Me?

2009-01-21T19:14:00.000-08:00

Snake Lungs

2009-01-19T18:56:00.000-08:00

2009-01-18T11:10:00.000-08:00

Ryan got me a Wacom tablet for Christmas and I haven't really used it yet, so I decided to mess around with it today. I colored in an old drawing in my sketchbook. I was just trying to get a feel for using one of these again. It is so much better than a mouse!

2009-01-17T17:25:00.000-08:00

2009-01-16T16:25:00.000-08:00

Lampshade dust habitually polluting water glass

2009-01-15T15:43:00.000-08:00

Just finished this still life. I realized something by the end of this one. Still lifes can seem very sterile, since they are simply a compilation of a bunch of stuff. But for me, I am able to express and work through deep emotions that are untouchable in other form of art I try to make. There is something about composing objects and staring at them and what they mean when placed together for the months it takes to paint them that can't be matched for me. The best pschcyatrist ever. The objects become meaning and thoughts to me. The time I spent painting them gets grouped into this drawer in my life's bureau and everytime I look at the painting I open the drawer and everything can be seen but everything always looks different.

2009-01-14T15:07:00.000-08:00

Today I got off early from the snow and went around taking some pics. This is my favorite tree to take pictures of. All alone in a field. It always seems so lonely. I always want to go hang out with it so it can have a friend.

2009-01-13T15:18:00.000-08:00