The final collection of my best drawings from last year.
A combination of fantasy Illustration, story, emotional, stirring and soulful pieces, along with plain and simple creative fun, drawing/illustrative practice.
Continuing on from my previous posts; My Best Artwork Of 2017, and; My Best Pencil & Ink Drawings. This is my final set of my best drawings from 2017, ending My Best Of for last year.
Above image; 'Gatherer of Snakes, Follower of Fakes - Venomous Poison' ⚡️🐍
This was one of the ink illustrations I created for the Inktober challenge, October 2017. I was following the official prompt list for the challenge, and for this particular day, the prompt name was 'Snake'. This one took me about 7 hours to complete. I first sketched in the rough outline of the woman in pencil, and later I used a combination of ink and brushes, along with Japanese brush pens for finer details.
Above image; 'Head Practice - 100heads' 💎
This was the start of an exercise of sketching 100 heads for practice, and as an art warm-up for when I wake up in the mornings.
Above image; 'Facing or Running?'
Are you going after your goals and taking action? One of my pencil drawings for the '100 Heads'.
Above image; 'Giant Trees, Long Clouds and The Chameleons.' 🌳☁️
This was another one of my original ink illustrations created for the Inktober challenge with the prompt name 'Long'.
'The trees were gigantic back then, not only huge in diameter, but massively tall and extremely long in trunk and branch, reaching up into the heavens, and roots spread deep into the planet. Many beings inhabited the branches, they lived and thrived there, coming down during the day to grow, farm and collect, retreating to the tree's warm shelter at night.'
'The clouds were long and thin, but almost transparent, as the world did not require much rain. A misty water like vapour enclosed the planet, allowing vital nutrients to fall onto the Earth's lush green landscape. All beings were nourished from the water, sun and the fruits.
But the Chameleons still had to use their lightening quick long tongues to capture the insects that ate the crops and threatened the giant trees.'
Above image; 'A Sombre Moment' 😔☁️ How do you truly feel today, right here, right now? 💭
An Ink drawing of mine with this text to go with it;
I think it's fair to say that most people when asked how they are, usually give an automatic response which does not honestly reflect how the individual feels at the given time. But often the other non-verbal forms of communication reveal something that doesn't match the words.
So why do people not truly express how they feel in the moment? Why is it that people can insist on presenting only an unchanging, 'happy' and smiling persona to the world, when it is natural for us to feel a full range of emotions within any amount of time, at any given time, and when it is also healthy to sit with each emotion, to experience, contemplate on and express in our lives, rather than repress, bottle up and ignore?
Above image; 'The Shy Pug' 🌾
This was one of my simpler Inktober illustrations which I think managed to catch a glimpse of the character/emotion/expression of the pug. I created this drawing along with this text which followed;
The little pug sat hidden in the grass looking out, but he was too shy to venture out into the wild and freely move about. He waited for the perfect moment which never came. A gust of wind swept the ground, then grey clouds and sudden drops of rain...
And then he decided to just go as the fear to forever remain was stronger, but not the same as getting soaked in the pouring rain. ☁️💧
Above image; Anger - The taboo topic and emotion you dare not discuss, or express 🔥❄️
This is my pencil drawing of character John Snow from 'The Battle Of The Bastards' episode from The Game Of Thrones. The following is a quote by philosopher Aristotle, and some text that I wrote to go along with the drawing, on the topic of anger...
'Anybody can become angry - that is easy, but to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way - that is not within everybody's power and is not easy.' - Aristotle
Many people talk about anger as a negative emotion, an emotion that is wrong, and which should also be ignored, repressed, and never expressed. Of course the build up and eruption of the impulsive, destructive and infantile side of anger can cause many regrettable circumstances and situations to arise. But what are the consequences of ignoring a normal, natural emotion in the first place, which is meant to be felt by us, and which manifests for a reason?
***By acknowledging, accepting, and being with the emotion when it initially arises, surely we can then begin to understand why it came, and learn to use it in a non-destructive way, and transmute it into a force for direct and deliberate, useful, productive or justifiable action.
Michael Tsarion describes the difference between the 'Red Flame', and the 'Blue Flame' of anger here.
"Anger is not negative. It's only negative when you channel it to something negative. Anger is healthy, when you use it as leverage to serve yourself in a positive cause. With it, you will reach your goals faster than if you didn't have it." - Xavier Streeter
Above image; 'The Crooked House Of Potions' 🔮🍵
This was another one of my ink illustrations for the Inktober challenge. This one was part of a mini-series within the challenge, by me which started to illustrate the story of my own 'warrior'.
'On the road was a crooked bridge, and on that crooked bridge was a crooked house, and in that house was an old crooked woman who claimed to make magic potions to help aid the warrior on his path.'
'But was he to trust this old crooked woman?'
Above image; 'Sit back, relax' - Sometimes you have to just sit back, relax, take it all in, slow things down and properly rest yourself before charging ahead again...🍃
For a couple of months I began attending some life drawing classes on the Gold Coast. This was one of my life drawing sketches, focusing on drawing 'force', finding the gesture and emotion of the model.
Above image; 'Practice The Pause' look around... what do you see? 📖🍃
This was another one of my pencil drawings on paper.
Above image; 'Winter' - The Couple ❄️💚
This was one of my December pencil drawings.
Above image; 'Mysterious'
This was another of my ink drawings for the Inktober challenge in 2017.
I'm a world travelling artist from the U.K, previously living in Australia, now in Scotland, but soon to begin another big trip to South & Central America. I will be posting about the places I have been with my own photography along with video content, and I will also be posting my art, and art process as I travel, pause and get creative!
Thank you for checking out my 'Best Pencil & Ink Drawings of 2017 - PART 2' post!