rayciepaints-blog - Tumblr blog

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I got a wacom tablet to help me edit my illustrations, but I’d never used it as an actually drawing tool. I tried it and I really like it. My first attempt is remedial, in fact it sucks, but I’m excited to learn how to make great art with it.

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I have a current commission to illustrate the chapter headings of a YA fiction. This guy will grace the page of chapter one.

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Acrylic on art board. He’s a pretty little thing and I had fun painting him. 

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Little Gecko done in Marker and colored pencil

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Illustration practice in marker and colored pencil.

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✨ Mental Health Starter Pack for Times of Change ✨

Change can be scary. It can be difficult, overwhelming, and affect our mental, physical, and emotional health in all sorts of ways. Whatever you’re feeling right now, you definitely don’t have to feel it alone. Below is a list of resources and self-care tips to help make life a little bit easier. And if you don’t need them right now, pass ‘em along to a friend who might.

Got more tips? Reblog and add your favorites to the bottom, or make your own post and tag it #postitforward so we all know where to look.

Resources

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: Available 24/7 at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

Crisis Text Line: Free, 24/7 support for anyone in crisis. Text START to 741741.

IMALIVE: Chat confidentially with a volunteer trained in crisis intervention.

7 Cups of Tea: Speak anonymously with a trained active listener.

NAMI: Dedicated to improving the lives of anyone living with mental illness. Free to chat at 1-800-950-6264.

Trans Lifeline: Dedicated to the well being of transgender people. USA: 1-877-565-8860. Canada: 1-877-330-6366.

The Trevor Project (@thetrevorproject): Confidential suicide hotline for LGBTQ young people. Available 24/7 at 1-866-488-7386.

The GLBT National Help Center: Provides LGBTQ people with free and confidential peer support at 1-888-843-4564. Youth Talkline: 1-800-246-7743.

It Gets Better Project (@itgetsbetterproject): Communicating to LGBTQ youth around the world that it gets better.

To Write Love On Her Arms (@twloha): Dedicated to helping people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury, and suicide.

American Psychological Association: A resource for finding mental health care in your area.

NEDA: Help and support for people struggling with eating disorders. You can call 1-800-931-2237 or chat with them online.

Self-Care Tips

Don’t be afraid to ask for help if you need it.

Remember to be kind to others and yourself.

Drink plenty of water and don’t forget to eat.

Get enough sleep.

Have a movie or TV marathon.

Read a good book. Start a new series.

Read the #positivity and #postitforward tags on Tumblr.

Draw something or color in a picture.

Take a bath or long shower.

Write your thoughts down in a journal.

Turn your feelings into art. Make crafts.

Bake or cook something you like.

Go for a walk. Have a dance.

Watch a funny video.

Light your favorite candle(s).

Listen to your favorite music.

Take deep breaths. Try meditation.

Talk to a friend, a loved one, or someone you trust.

Make a list of things that bring you happiness. (This really works!)

Do some of those things! See those people!

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Dart frogs in Marker and colored pencil.

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I did some bird studies ( I love far little Robins) and came up with a pose and a face that I liked. Then I dyed some silk velvet scraps to the colors I wanted and embroidered his feather texture. His beak is paper mache and his legs are painted pipe cleaners.  This painting is called Springtime in the Owyhees, which are the hills around my home.

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The leaf placement was well thought out, I made a paper pattern for each one and had dyed it the color I wanted it.

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I love the possibility of a new painting. The challenge to see if you can make of it what you want to just makes me giddy. I love to add texture to my paintings as well, yarn does the trick most everytime.

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While you’re waiting for your 8yr old niece to show her pig at the county fair, it’s best to have your sketch book handy. It was good to get in some live model practice and he was such a lovely specimen.

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I sketched up some little hummingbirds and picked the ones I liked, then painted them onto some thin silk organza. I cut them out and glued them to the canvas. This picture only shows three, but there ended up being five in all.

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With the painting all finished I added the three dimensional quality by using bits of scrap silk that I hand dyed to go with my vision. I make many things with cloth and I save all of my scraps for this purpose. I like texture on my paintings.

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I’ll begin here. I finished this painting back in June. It took me a year to complete because of distractions. I found myself aching to get to it and finally admitted to myself that I am indeed an Artist and so I need to nourish this vital part of myself. These ate the first stages of a painting I would eventually name The Humming bird bush.