Random Art Challenge Video Series Launch

2023 is a year for putting more creativity and positivity into the world. I recently launched the Random Art Challenge video series. I pull random prompts from a series of jars and then proceed to create a piece of art based on the prompts. The concept is very similar to the writing competitions I used to compete in and the process is extremely valuable in stretching those artistic muscles that can grow stiff of not used from time to time. If you’re looking for inspiration or simply curious to see what crazy prompts I pick, each video shares insight into the creative process and strives to educate through tips and tricks in a variety of media. So, if you’re thinking of trying a hobby but don’t know how to get started, chances are I’ve tried it and you can see how to get started. Subscribe and never miss an episode of Nicole’s Creative Life. I promise you’ll learn something and the videos are even safe for kids to watch. Download the FREE Anime Cat coloring page of the latest challenge result and join in the fun!

2023 First Quarter ROUND UP - Design All Around

Whew! This year is off to a busy start but exciting things are brewing. My mission is to add more positivity and inspire creativity in others. The world can always benefit from those. Here’s a few things I’ve been working on.

• Released Cole Street Coffee Bag and T-shirt Designs - A new coffee shop has opened in Bushnell, IL and needed some original bag designs.

• Launched the “Random Art Challenge” Video series on my YouTube Channel Nicole’s Creative Life - I draw prompts from a jar and create new original artwork based on that.

• Worked on a plethora of infographics and vinyl wall graphics to be installed at the Jump Trading Simulation and Education Center in Peoria, IL.

New Character Fan Art - GCN's Get In The Trunk Delta Green Play Through

I’m a big fan of the Glass Cannon Network, a group of friends in the NYC area who started a podcast of their Pathfinder Giant Slayer game and 7 years later they now have a myriad of shows, their own network, live performances, and collaborations with other role players. I find their storytelling and improvisational skills massively impressive and informative. During the pandemic they started experimenting with other games, one of which was Delta Green. Kind of a Cthulhu game set in modern times (think X-Files meets Fringe meets True Detective). The characters are memorable and at times very fragile, it’s only a matter of when and how they lose their sanity and their lives holding back the unnatural alien entities that threaten our world. Unlike traditional gritty supernatural thrillers, you will laugh until you cry. I thought I’d try my hand at some character art, they usually commission stuff for their shows, so I thought, why not. So, FYI, these are not official or anything, just my artistic interpretation of the characters. The response has been amazing. I can’t wait to see the actual art they have made for the show. It felt so good to pick up a pencil again.

Ice Cream, Sanding, Drawing, and all the things

What a summer it’s been. As the pandemic continues, I find solace in my hobbies and being able to host people outside my house for ice cream socials. I tried a few different flavors this year, okay, I may have gotten carried away. Salted Caramel, Chocolate Buckeye, Thin Mint, Strawberry Rhubarb Sorbet, Black Raspberry Cobbler Frozen Yogurt, Balsamic Strawberry, Butter Pecan, and Lemon Sherbet. But as sweet and delicious as those flavors are, it was even sweeter offering a place where my friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers could mix and mingle and enjoy each other’s company. Whatever resources you have handy, use them to build fellowship and community, our world needs it.

Also this summer was accented by the sounds of sanding, sanding, and more sanding. I will have a whole video and step-by-step process of my Halloween costume progress coming in the next few weeks. Spoiler alert, I’m going as Daft Punk. It’s been a learning experience with 3D printing, gluing, Bondo, sanding, priming, sanding, painting, messing up, sanding, repriming, repainting. Patience, patience, patience. Honestly I could have probably made another set of Princess of Power armor in the time I’ve spent on this ha ha.

Never pass up the opportunity to get away from a screen and stretch your drawing muscles. Now, I couldn’t get completely away from a screen because I don’t have a printer at the moment, but it felt good to get my hands on some graphite. Check out the tutorial here! When was the last time you picked up a pencil to draw just for the heck of it?

Carrying on the Bob Ross Legacy: Painting Tutorial

The other night in my studio, I finally set up a camera before I started painting and let it run. A week later, I shut it off. I ain’t no Bob Ross, that’s for sure, but I’m happy with the results. If I inspire one person to take a break and pick up a paint brush, then I have done my job. So, if you are looking for a relaxing watch, kick back and learn how to transform a junk canvas into art with some simple supplies and a dash of imagination. Also I discovered that Lofi Girl music is now available for free use in videos so I gobbled that up. It’s like digital smooth jazz.

Painting Process: Vantage

Time has little meaning or disappears completely when you’re working in the studio. I looked back at photos and realized this oil painting has been on my easel, untouched, for nearly a year. Yeah. That’s how I work on things. There was just a single session left to finish it, but I let it sit there, until today. And it didn’t feel like a year. So I finally patched the last holes and called it a day. It started as a canvas I revamped from a painting I had started probably a decade prior. This artwork takes me back to a Friday at the Art Institute, when a friend of mine and I played hooky from work and drove to Chicago to take in the culture and see Death Cab for Cutie in concert. It was amazing, exhausting, and unseasonably warm, so oddly enough the Institute smelled of linseed oil. My guess is they had something wrong with the climate control system. (YIKES!) That aside, I like catching people having an intimate moment with art. Painting it becomes my moment. The angles were tricky but you know I like a challenge. What artist do you gravitate toward in a museum? I’d love to hear.

Session 1: Marker, just straight up drawing the composition onto the canvas.

Session 2: Blocking out mid ground. Finding the mid range colors that I can add shadows and highlights to.

Session 3: Adding tone. Enriching the colors to get them closer to realism.

Session 4: Details, details, details. Tightening loose screws.

Session 5: Adding those last flecks of life and adjustments to make it pop.

Make Art: Side Quest Side Sesh Fan Art

One of the things that got me through the pandemic, entertains me during the workday, and amuses me while working on projects are podcasts. I’m a big fan of the Glass Cannon Network which produces actual play role playing game podcasts. Their humor can tend a bit blue at times and they swear like sailors when the dice are not on their side, but their storytelling and improv skills are so hilarious and interesting that it’s hard not to get sucked in. At the height of the pandemic, since they couldn’t meet in person they started a hilarious side quest with some memorable characters. I thought I’d take a crack at drawing the characters.

It’s side projects like this that remind me of how much I want to create a comic book or graphic novel. Which I know will take years at the rate that I go, but I still keep thinking about it.

Make Art: Suit Up

Doing the house picture, brought back memories of past projects. A few years ago on my birthday, I found myself in DC at the National Air and Space Museum, face to face with the suit John Glenn wore during the first orbital flight of a U.S. astronaut. I snapped a picture because I thought it was so cool. It’s hard not to be taken with the sight of a uniform, whatever that is. All the buttons, snaps, straps, and character. Clothes tell stories. I did this in colored pencil and tried watercolor paper, which was very thick and could take the pressure, but it was almost too textured. A good lesson learned. What’s a uniform that catches your eye?

Project Complete: Colored Pencil Commission

I don’t take on commissions very often and it had been a while, but this one came up and it proved a good challenge nonetheless. I got a new set of colored pencils last summer and over the past few weeks, I wore off the sharp at last. Perspective is not my strong suit, so it took extra concentration to ensure my angles didn’t go all wonky. Layers and layers and layers. That is the key. Also you don’t need a zillion colors, a simple set will do. I use Prismacolor brand pencils and XL Bristol Paper. You really get to know an object, place, or face when you sit and and study it for hours. Every shadow, tuft of grass, flower pot, and glint on glass.