For my Mom's birthday next month, I want to give her a painting as a present. Still working on it, of course, but I am painting a picture of my brother. He passed away in 2018 from a heart attack. I miss him so much.
I am basing this painting off of a picture I took of him some time ago. I still got to tweak the underpainting. For instance, make his head and face bigger, before I actually start it.
But even just doing so little so far has been very therapeutic for me. I've been itching to paint for a long time now and I want to stop making excuses and start doing what makes me happy. Which is just using my hands, getting dirty, and just creating what my heart desires.
Not only do I want to paint just to get my creative juices flowing, I need to create to keep me sane.
So, let's get to work! I only got 3 weeks!! Ahh!

a collection of the gifts from the night

Once a week, a group of some people I meet in high school, get together at a local bubble tea cafe and have a drink and draw. Since it started 8 years ago, some people have come and gone, and the name of our group has changed, we still meet every week to have, what we call, Sketch Jam.

the guys loved the group gift given to us. lol

I don't think we did it the first year, but early on we did start doing Secret Santa every year, but with a twist! Instead of buying a gift, we have to make one! It doesn't have to be a drawing, it can be a song, a baked good, or a sculpture, just as long as you hand made your gift.

Another thing we added to our Secret Santa is each participating person has to make a like and dislike list for their Santa. This year, we had to have 7 or more likes or dislikes listed. Here is what my person has typed below:

1. Maid/Bunny/Demon Girls
2. Elsa (frozen)
3. Edelgard (fe3h)
4. Mitsuri (demon slayer)
5. SFW BUT SUGGESTIVE
6. Anime Aesthetic
7. Inky brushy textures

1. boys
2. the color green
3. emo music
4. jojo’s bizarre adventure
5. smug anime girl archetype
6. darling in the franxx

Am I crazy? I feel like I am. I've been trying out this whole social media thing...again.
I'm re-starting this blog and Instagram, then I'll move onto other sites/apps. Ugh, this whole social media thing can be frustrating!
But, I just need to tell myself that I will figure out what works best for me as far as how or when I should post.
For example, in March 2019 I was posting a lot on Instagram. Which was great because I got a lot of likes and followers, but it would interrupt my workflow. See, while I was working on a drawing, I would sketch, stop, take several pictures, edit, post, and then get back to work. This would repeat as I worked. Ugg, this is not a good way for me to work I found. I just need to have a better strategy for how and when I'm going to post on Instagram or other sites/apps.
Another thing that would help is if I'd schedule when I would post, rather then at random. Maybe once a week would be a good start? We will see, I need to look at some YouTube or Skilshare videos to get some tips on what to do. 

Yeah, I am trying out blogger again. Don't get me wrong, I love Tumblr, but it is not for personal or long posts. Its a micro blog. SO, I am gonna it out here! I plan to post my art along with posts on my everyday life. Hopefully, you will stick around and we can become friends! Enjoy! - E!leen Martinez