I took this shot yesterday. The subject is a little ballerina figurine I got from the dollar store. The background is black muslin cloth (very good for photography backdrops!)
This pic is straight out of the camera with no editing. The artistic blur was created using intentional camera movement.
When I reviewed this image, it reminded me of something out of a magical girl anime. Sailor Moon, to be exact.
How are you creative?
Oh my god. Did y’all make this question just for me?
Creativity is what I live on. It’s invigorating, intoxicating, energizing. It’s a galaxy exploding and stars falling all around us. It’s an awesome kind of madness.
I express my creativity in three main ways: creative writing, art, and photography.
With photography, I shoot with a Canon DSLR and a 100mm macro lens. I almost never edit my photos, because I enjoy harnessing the raw creative power of the camera. Here are some of my shots:
I use Procreate for art. I love experimenting with different styles and colours. Here is some of my recent work:
Creative writing is my first love. I write poetry, novels, short stories and flash fiction. I ‘ve had my haiku poetry published in many journals etc, and I’m working on a YA dark fantasy series taking place in a rich and complex universe.
Here are some of my recent very short pieces:
Bewitched berries on blue trees. Moons melting into their nights. Birds like sentinels, guarding the trees. Ever since I glimpsed the Other Place, I’ve wanted to return there. At night it watches me with tin-man eyes. And I know it wants me too.
Vespertine shadows clung to the tulips, even when the sun was high. At first they thought it was the witch. She was buried there, after all. Only when the lake grew opaque did they understand. The magic was never in the witch. It was in the water.
An illicit flash of colour in her otherwise grey day. She blinks. It’s gone, as soon as it came. Then again, there it is. What was causing it? She scans the park for the cause of this happiness. Finds it peeking out of a discarded Christmas stocking. She names him Albert. He looks like an Albert.
If you’ve made it this far, thank you for reading my ramblings and checking out my art.
Now, I am off to do more madness.
I painted this in Procreate some time ago, but I think I forgot to post it. It’s a digital charcoal painting, and I did rather like how it turned out. I’m growing fond of charcoal.
He was stunned and shunned, but he didn’t succumb. Many of them do, you see. The extra eye, most can take. The iridescent skin, some even like. But the horns? It’s the horns that do them in. They don’t feel human anymore, not with those ugly things protruding from their foreheads.
Most give in to the instinct bit by bit. They disappear for a few days at a time, come back muddied and covered in bird feathers. Next thing you know, they’ve holed up in the forest full-time.
He didn’t do that. He knew he was still human. He waited for the vaccine.
Now he runs a charity helping the Enwildened return to their human roots. He’s written a few books, been on a few podcasts. Moved to a mansion by the seaside only two weeks ago.
If you ever meet him, don’t expect a quick chat. He’ll tell anyone who listens: good things come to those who wait.
Written for the Three Things Challenge
Is your life today what you pictured a year ago?
Yes, it is!
I know, I know…that’s a boring answer. But my biggest goal for the year was to finish my YA dark fantasy series on Wattpad, Witch Doctors Inc. And, despite the devious shenanigans of my mortal enemy, I actually did.
When I first posted the story on Wattpad, I didn’t know if anyone would even want to read my scribblings about the reincarnation of a wronged witch and her sassy talking cat. To my relief, it gained engaged readers. Eventually it was shortlisted for the Wattys two years in a row (Wattpad HQ’s annual competition) and nominated by the judges for the Fan’s Choice Award.
Then, something unfortunate happened.
This success summoned my life-long nemesis…procrastination.
This little comic sketch I doodled in Procreate pretty much sums up our year-long war:
Though I didn’t win every battle, and at times I thought I’d have to raise my white flag, I won the war.
The novel duology is complete. I brought the plot full circle. Take that, procrastination.
With the war over, I’ve had more time to explore other forms of art, like painting and photography. I painted the funky fish at the top of this post a couple of days ago.
For now, my enemy rests.
The battlefield of my life is what I pictured it would be when I took up arms a year ago.
Still, he’s not completely vanquished.
As some of you will well know, procrastination is immortal. My enemy will constantly be nipping at my shores. My forces stand ready.
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If you’d like to check out Witch Doctors Inc, it’s a free read on Wattpad. You can read it here.
What is something others do that sparks your admiration?
They create things! Paintings, books, poems, photos, TV shows, podcasts… I admire the creativity that goes into these things, the drive, the passion. I also admire the courage these creators have in putting their work out there, and sharing a piece of their soul fabric.
Their creations are a well of inspiration for me.
Here are some of the creations that I have found inspiring lately:
The artwork at the top of this post is my own digital painting, titled “Ode to the Artist”. I wrote this prose to go with it:
They speak in shapes and colours. Their mother tongue is the evergreen sea, the polkadot prairie, and the acrylic touch of wind. They crave the geometry of flowers. They cry spirals and love like fluorescence. In their minds, the universe expands.
The painting and prose pay homage to all the creatives who paint my life with joy.
I’m going to finish this post with one of my favourite quotes:
Blessed are the gypsies, the makers of music, the artists, writers, dreamers of dreams, wanderers and vagabonds, children and misfits: For they teach us to see the world through beautiful eyes
(Unknown)
Any thoughts? Leave them in the comments below, and I’ll try to respond as soon as I can. (Unless you’re my enemy cat from down the road. Then you only get your customary nod of acknowledgement).
For more creative inspiration, as well as original short stories, poetry, photography and art, feel free to hit that subscribe button below 🙂
What could you do less of?
I could do less of failing. I just don’t enjoy it very much. Thing is, it keeps happening. And every time it does, I write myself off as hopeless. If I don’t succeed the first few times, I assume that I just don’t have the talent for whatever I’m trying to do and move on to something else.
They say that practice makes perfect, but I figured you had to be just a little good at it from the start, at least.
But a funny thing happened lately. I’d written myself off regarding intentional camera movement photography (when you use a slow shutter speed and move the camera while you take the shot, resulting in a more abstract image). Then a series of storms blew my way, and I was forced to retreat indoors to do my photography. ICM can be done in low light conditions, so I figured I’d experiment with that again. Couldn’t hurt, right?
As I practiced, I got better. I started to produce images that I liked more frequently. It turned out I could be completely useless at something and then…get better?
Then, this week, that same funny thing happened again. I was blown away by some of the pointillistic art (think lots and lots of dots) I found on Pinterest:
Like ICM, I’d had little success with pointillism before. But it looks like, as with ICM, I’m actually at the beginning of a steep learning curve, rather than stuck in an endless pit of failure.
I painted the artwork at the top of this post over the weekend, and while it’s not perfect by any means, I’m actually very happy with it.
So maybe it’s not that I need to fail less, but that I need to let myself fail more. Be less afraid of failing, and accept it as a natural part of the learning curve.
Though, truth be told, if life could throw a few more successes my way… I wouldn’t say no.
Any thoughts? Feel free to share in the comments. (I don’t bite unless you’re cheesecake).
For more about my creative journey, as well as original art, photography, poetry and short stories, feel free to hit that subscribe button below.
Do you ever see wild animals?
I don’t see wild animals anywhere near as much as I’d like to. Living in the city, the wildest it usually gets is that grumpy cat from down the road who glares at me every morning on the way to the bus stop. (He’s a jerk, but we have a bond now).
As a photographer, though, I seek out wild animals to photograph. I don’t have the best lens for it yet, but I love capturing wildlife shots.
The pretty goose in the shot above is from an afternoon I spent photographing wild geese at a park on the other side of town. There was a flock of them by the pond, and they let me get pretty close. I thought, wow. These geese are very friendly.
I was wrong.
You see, I didn’t know it at the time, but there was an invisible circle. Cross the line, and you get what’s coming to you.
I crossed the line.
This goose lowered its neck, pointed it forward like an arrow, and ran straight at me, honking furiously.
I was like, bruh. I thought we were friends.
In the photo I took, he looks so serene. He really is a beautiful creature. I’m sorry we got off on the wrong foot.
Beautiful goose, I apologize for crossing your boundary. I’ve posted your photo on my blog so all the humans can see how pretty you are. So you forgive me, right? No more honking?
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This is the second painting in my paper boat series. It’s a digital gouache painting using complementary colours. Using the Harmony wheel in Procreate has helped me find colours that sync with each other. I’ve also been building palettes from photos.
