What is art?

Yesterday, on April 26, 2012, I had to turn in an art piece for my drawing class. After several years with this professor who I continually butt heads with, I decided to work on continuous storyboards because they were fun and I could put them in my portfolio. Below is the piece I turned in for critique, the storyboard for The Princess and The Pea.

When my piece was ready for critique, my teacher claimed it could not be critiqued because it was an illustration and a part of a different industry and thus WAS NOT CONSIDERED ART. I've butt heads with this teacher so much that I've learned not to care what he says. Although, another classmate that liked my art and did, in fact, do comics of her own, argued with the teacher and another classmate that the piece was indeed art. So thus there was a huge discussion why it wasn't art. Honestly, I didn't pay attention because I created something that I love and I consider my art more than a hobby. Although, I am greatly confused on where to go from here (since I graduate in a week and haven't gotten a job offer). I've considered concept art, story boarding, comic art, and even being a part of a gallery. I don't know where I want to go. If I am represented by a gallery I will always draw sketches of my characters in my sketchbook and if I go into a concept art, story-boarding, or comic art, I will still make paintings. Why? Because I love it all and to me it is all art, just different forms of art. (We also critiqued a guy who said that his art is what he liked and what he created and he didn't have deep meanings behind it. He just did it because he could and he loved it. My professor told him it was okay and people actually wouldn't question him if he said that. In my opinion that is false. In today's day and age, artists have to have meaning behind there art. I honestly never had meaning behind my art. I get an idea and I go through the process of making the piece and always get flack for it later on. It's just how the art world is. You need to know the art world to appease the art school, but keep yourself at the same time.) Every person has a different view of art. In my opinion, a person who doesn't study in art will lean towards more naturalistic art. An art critic will lean towards "modern" art or art that makes a breakthrough. An artist always leans to several kinds of art as a source of inspiration. An art collector leans towards art that they "like" (or in my opinion art that is greatly put on a pedestal by art critics). To some I am an artist. To some I am not. Some say that I must have art in a gallery to be an artist, others say I'm an artist when I call myself an artist, and still others say I'm an artist when I sell my art. Honestly? Everyone is going to have a different opinion. No one really knows what art is. They just know what they like. I know what I like. Yes, I could have gone to an art school that specialized in animation, but I took a chance at oils an dfell in love with it. I look back on my schooling and do not regret anything. Yes, now I'm at a loss because I don't know where to go on in life. I don't know where to go from here. All I know is that I love art. I love looking at it, creating it, and talking about it. Yes, I don't know the high art mind with the big words and criticizing view, but my art is me. It is how I express myself and it is what I do. I don't know how else to explain myself. What do you think art is?

Twisted Fairytales

A year ago, I made these paintings in oil that are alternate story lines and endings of fairy tales and fables. I didn't like the end products, but I still loved the idea. So this is the whole process that I'm going through from the sketch illustrations until the finished paintings. Although I'm still debating on the media in paintings, but I'm planning on trying to illustrate in watercolor and gouache, then I'll paint in oil. I'll decide later which media I would like to paint in later.

Little Red Riding Hood - Little Wolf Hood

Rapunzel let down your hair - Rapunzel String Up Your Hair

Little Mermaid - Little Siren

Goldilocks - These Bears are Just Right

The Princess and the Pea - She choked on a pea so she must be a princess.

Character Designs - Grimm's Brother and Sister

I was drawing character designs to draw a storyboard of Grimm's Brother and Sister.

Character Design - Death's Daughter

One time my friend asked me to draw Death (Grim Reaper), but to design it so it was unique. I really couldn't think of anything. Then the other day I was doodling and cam up with this blonde, black eyed girl. I deemed her Death's daughter. She's young with her hair in pigtails and her toys wrapped around her scythe like charms.

Sketchbook Sketches

A sketch of my friend Ashley.

Character Designs - Bloodline

New character designs of Stryde, Seldom, and Johnny from Bloodline comic.

Online Portfolios

I have online portfolios now on behance.net and carbonmade.com. I'm also freelancing and have Etsy.

Processes of Fall 2011 Paintings

Sketch Comic Page - Camille and Kristen

A drawing of Camille and Kristen I was sketching. Then I thought of it being a comic page so I put in word bubbles. Of course I didn't want to actually fill in the work bubbles with actual conversation. I had fun because it's sketched out in an orange ballpoint pen then corrected in a nice black ballpoint pen.
I figured here Camille wasn't enjoying the shopping trip whereas Kristen just found the exact thing she couldn't do without. So in the end it was prosperous.

Mixed Media Storyboard

A collaged storyboard I did featuring Camille. It's part of the storyline where Camille finds a poor, beaten werewolf mother that's close to death. She gives Camille her infant boy to save and Camille decides to adopt the boy for her own after saving him.

Drawings, Doodles, and Sketches from my Recent Sketchbook

A watercolor sketch of my two dogs, Loki and Freya. They actually laid together in a heart form like that.

A red pencil drawing of a little girl that reminds me of my little cousin. It was drawn when my professor wasn't in class before my college's spring break.
A fun doodle I did. I wanted to try something a little different.
Logo designs for my new Etsy shop Gurly Labs. It isn't fully set up yet, but I was having fun designing the banner.
Sexy doodles!

Collages featuring Rhodes

Some collages featuring Rhodes from Bloodline.

Nikki and What?

A collage with Nikki before I sketched out the Chrysler.

Character Designs - Banshee Story

I recently started a new story this semester. I was inspired from reading many strong female lead books like The Mercy Thompson series, skin walkers, and Stray, werecats. This story is about banshees.
The main character is Emer, a banshee warrior. She's not very strong, but she's fast and her voice is haunting and enchanting. She goes to college and is in her fifth year majoring in journalism. She had to repeat classes because she was always called back home for a job.
Her roommate, Jessica, is her best friend and the only person that knows about her family secret. She helps on jobs from time to time.
Her only brother and sibling, Conall, is five years older than her and they're pretty close. He's also a banshee, but he's more of a warrior. His voice is enchanting, but not as much as his sister's.
Conall and Emer have nicknames to fit in more. Conall is called Conner in public and Emer is called Emma.

Character Design - The Chrysler

Very weak character design of the creature called the Chrysler. It's name is still unknown to me and the images for this came to me instead of a story being developed. The basic idea is there are handlers to these Chryslers and they all have battles. This one is a runt that no one wants. A handler named Nikki doesn't want to handle anymore, but this accident happens and the runt saves her. Then she finds out he's going to be put down so she decides to be his handler.



These were the sketches from last semester of Nikki.

Character Design - Raven

This is the original sketch for Raven.

Alice in Wonderland Sketches

Character Sketch it Out - Camille Moretti

Camille is the main character from Touched by Fate, that book I never finished. Now I'm debating on whether or not to finish it or continue with this new story I was doing. Anyways, it's hard for me to forget about Camille because she's been in my head since middle school, was written down in high school, and drawn in college. She's been with me most of my life. The hardest thing about her is how the symbols/power tattoos should look on her body. So these are some quick sketches of her I did in my sketchbook. I'm still deciding on the symbols.