Thursday, March 11, 2010

nudity and kingfishers


I've always liked pin-ups, especially the classic Elvgren style pulp illustrations. (http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1411/1068105289_259f41cc5e.jpg)
Occasionally I give them a try. They're not as refined as Elvgren, of course, but I like trying it out now and then. Micron 01 and 05 + Winsor&Newton watercolor.



The belted kingfisher, native to Seattle Washington, the Pacific Northwest, and most of Northern North America. Winters in the West Indies and North Colombia. Habitat: streams, rivers, ponds, marshes. Size: approx 11 3/4 inches (30 cm).
As regular followers of my artwork might note, I have been trying my hand at more and more birds. Trying to get at least a marginal understanding of anatomy and color and so on. One of the reasons for this undertaking is because I have a tattoo idea I've been wanting to concoct for several years. The only problem is that I feel the need to draw out the original sketches for my tattoos myself. And I'm really picky. Which is good, supposedly, but also means that of the five tattoo ideas I'm bent on, I only have one on my body... so it takes awhile.
This kingfisher will be a tattoo relatively soon. I want it within the next year. It will be a memorial tattoo, of sorts, for my grandmother Ellen. She was one of my favorite people in the entire world. There were kingfishers at her house and there were kingfishers when we sprinkled her ashes. I can't help but think of her when I see them and they have occasionally brought tears to my eyes, even though she has been gone for quite a long time. I miss her still and I will never forget her or stop loving her. I had the idea a few years ago and have been working on it for about two; and I hope to see it through and actually get it put on me. Memorial tattoos can be bad, corny, or just plan weird (i.e. the face or hand print of the dead person), but I love the simplicity and incognito nature of a bird.

Love, Nate

music: Grow Up and Blow Away - Metric
book: Grave Peril - Jim Butcher

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