Day two of painting

Today I slowed myself down. There's a pace that'll happen here, I just don't know it yet. My routine has been uprooted and I'll find a new one soon. But it's confusing and all I know to do is paint. It still moves me. It still carries the same weight.

Because I'm in this mindset and because paint supplies are all over, it'd be easy to just step in and out of the process throughout the day. I have to remember this. Much of the battle is the setup and ease of jumping in. I'm learning this about myself.

But I'll sleep early tonight. Tomorrow I'll work on a piece. I'll choose one that I'd rather not work on. Which is a bit strange. These paintings already have baggage. Maybe that's just me wrapping my head around the next steps. Or maybe I'm just picky. As I analyze these, there are those that I'm excited about and now those I'm keeping at bay. Going in, I've been gung ho about every one, so I'm curious paying attention to my unconscious process. Now to figure out how to be honest with myself regarding each one.

Whatever the case, I'm in. Here's the one I worked on today:

A month of painting

If you're here, thank you. I'm about to load up my rarely-used blog with photos from this month... February of 2016. 

My goal is 5-7 cohesive pieces. I've no clue if this attainable within a month, but I'm all in. Why not push myself and see what comes of it? At least I'll have painted daily and learned how to manipulate these oils.

Or I'll just get pissed and figure out a way to ruin every decent thing I'll have started. But that's fine too... 

Here's where I am after day 1... 

Showing differences

Difference based on color. The flowers stand apart from the branch. Certainly basic, but case in point.

Pattern

Great example: the outer shape of the animal is visually lineated by the negative/positive elements of the pattern behind it. (client let me go for it, and I love this)

This tattoo pulls those figs to the foreground based on tone and focus. The darker the tone, the closer to the viewer. The clearer the focus does the same...

Color, color, color. Abstract, yes. But the elements are specifically separated.

The line work is simple, but occasionally it both tapers and disappears. It's bold and strong to delineate form, but open and minimal in parts to imply completion and movement. 

Varying tones differentiate for slight depth... this also varies each form to kill redundancy.

This is a simple example of line differences to create an overall form.

I've been wrapping my head around ways to differentiate elements of a piece. Being scattered, I tend to spread myself thin. So here's a list I'm working on for personal reference. As obvious as some of this is, I just want it down to look at. To quantify this then have it tossing around as a vocabulary:

• Value
• Color - qualities and combinations
• Line - actual, implied, etc.
• Focus
• Texture
• Mass
• Space
• Figure/ground relationships
• Shapes
• Gestalt principles
• Movement
• Pattern
• Proportion

Session work

Added to this yesterday...  Not the best photos, but you get the idea. We'll add depth to the shapes on the right next time. Also, the space behind the Tui will have more flowers that flow into the shapes.

Nuance

I've wanted to paint for the longest time, but I knew it would consume me. Now I can't get images out of my head. 

Every day I focus on detail while I tattoo, so it's a pleasure to mess around with forms, with gestures or whatever I want. There's a balance somewhere. I'm not sure I want to even approach it... at this point, I finally have an outlet. So why not create however I please?

In theory, I've been trying to keep the newness of a medium AND my lack of knowledge  intact. As if ignorance will serve as grace and guide compositions. What I don't know, won't effect the final outcome, right?

But that's limited. That's being impressed with a child revealing a simple observation (which is often wonderful and jarring)  but not recognizing the view of the child: lack of contextual understanding and reasoning.

What if I can make that same simple observation but do so after years of learning the context? I doubt I'll be able to, but I think, at this point, that's my goal. To pick up a language intimately. Learn its nuances, then mess with it as much as possible.

Or not.

Maybe I'm just fooling around and this whole process is cathartic.
But whatever. It feels good when I do it.

Refresh

I started Allen Tattoo as a personal project.

Eight years ago I left my graphic design career and jumped into the world of tattooing.

I had always wanted to illustrate. So why not build a new career based on something I love? To draw; to build on foundations and learn.  With the support of family and friends, I started my apprenticeship at Bluebird Tattoo (Indiana). 

Allen Tattoo was used to journal and chart my learning process. 

Years later, my career has grown. A burgeoning clientele pulled time away from recording the process, so this site has sat idle... but now I'm excited to use this space. I'll be posting randomly:

• Session work comparisons
• Process shots
• Tattoo details
• Inspiring reference
• Whatever the hell I want

Hopefully, you'll enjoy. Now I just have to remember to stay at this...