Be Mused Art » Mercat

Crazy Patch Update – Pearl Detail

Melia — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 02:49:27 +0000

Detail of Mercat Patch

I have been working on my mercat crazy quilt in between making steam punk jewelry. I used some of the Light Effects thread in white and pale pink on the tail and to outline the flower on the cat’s head. I used a green cotton over the seaweed and put in some little pearl beads over some of the pearl images. I am thinking of using the white light effects over some of the smaller pearls on the head piece. I am also starting to frame the patch with some light purple embroidery.

And when I am not working on my crazy quilting, I am doing things like :

steam punk busy bee pendant

What I am doing for the summer

Melia — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 17:00:01 +0000

Yeah, I am really bad about keeping my blog updated over the summer. K is home, lots of stuff going on, not a whole lot of time to paint, so not much to share usually. But I have been getting some drawings done, I have discovered that I am a sketchbook snob, and I am going to be teaching starting in September.

How did I discover that I am a sketchbook snob? Well, first they had this great deal a few months ago on sketchbooks at my local craft supply. They were marked down 40%, then there was this coupon for an additional 25% off your entire purchase including sale items. And I thought “I got through sketchbooks pretty fast, why don’t I stock up on these that are on sale and use my coupon and I won’t have to rush right out and get a sketchbook in a couple of weeks.” Then suddenly my sketching slowed. I hated the paper falling out since this one wasn’t my usual spiral bound book. It wasn’t as easy to carry around since the pages would fall out as soon as I tried to turn a page. I hated it.
Then I was at a Dr. Sketchy event and won a moleskin sketchbook. I liked how it was bound, but the slick paper drove me bonkers. The drawings were turning out fine and the pages were not falling out, but it felt like nails on a chalkboard to run my pencil over that slick surface. It was just weird.
Then while out and about I didn’t have a sketchbook and my darling husband wanted to just sit and hang out at a coffee shop. So he took me to an art supply store and bought me a new one. It was spiral bound, had a nice medium tooth to it, slightly heavier paper, but still sketch paper, not drawing paper. And I sat down and spent over 2 hours sitting in a coffee shop just working on a dragon head. THEN I started working on a fairy cat. And then a unicorn and a mercat, then a mermaid. These are not my usual sketches either, but very detailed time consuming drawings. And I did them for the pure pleasure of drawing. Of feeling my pencil move across the paper. There were also studies of eyes and other things that not one would consider a finished drawing. But it all made me so very happy to be doing. So now, I will never again buy a sketchbook just because it is a good deal. I might spend a few pennies more, but I want the joy of working on the paper I want to work on. And to be honest it isn’t like the paper I had such joy in working with was all that expensive. It was a whopping $6 for a 9×12 pad.
And as or the teaching – an art journal workshop at my local art supply store. If you are in the area, the classes will be held at the Hobby Lobby in Garland from 4-5:30 on Mondays starting Sept. 13. All you need to bring is an art journal (140# watercolor pad recommended) and a sharpie. All other supplies will be provided for only $15.

Purrfect Pearl A Mercat

Melia — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 18:01:22 +0000

And Purrfect Pearl is finished. I hope you all enjoyed watching her develop.

Purrfect Pearl – A sketch

Melia — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 20:59:00 +0000

I know I promised you all completed art everyday. But after a few, I realized that it just wasn’t possible for me. Not if I wanted to ever paint anything larger than a 5×7″. So I will try and post daily, but you just might be seeing more works in progress than completed paintings.
Purrfect Pearl is a result from a contest I am running on my facebook fanpage right now. Each week for 10 weeks I am giving away a matted 5×7 print. On Friday I will post the contest and Monday choose the winner. For week 1 I asked for titles for a mercat painting. Whichever one inspired me was the winner.
Purrfect Pearl features a cute little mercat holding an oyster with a pearl inside. Behind her is a pile of rejected open oysters. This sketch alone, represents about 3 hours worth of work. That doesn’t even count the straight up thinking time before I pulled out the sketchbook. Things as simple as “what size do I want to paint this?” to “How should I position the mercat?”.
The during process involved a lot of thinking too. What style of fin will she have, how will she be dressed, how should I repeat design elements (notice all the places the basic form for the shell crops up? Or the circle?), how do I design the border to bring the focus on the mercat.
Next is to use my light table to transfer the design to watercolor paper. Which to be honest, is my least favorite step.

Purrfect Pearl – A line Drawing

Melia — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 18:00:28 +0000

This is a detail of the inking for Purrfect Pearl. At this point, I have drawn this image 3 times. First the original pencil sketch, then used a pencil and light table to transfer it to watercolor paper, then inked that and erased the pencil lines.

A New Pirate MerCat and her Treasure

Melia — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 17:26:48 +0000

And here we have my latest mercat painting. I really like how velvety the night sky turned out in this one. And of course that tail is shiny.

Illustration Friday – Ripple Project

Melia — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 02:12:43 +0000

This week Illustration Friday is supporting the Ripple Project. This is my first submission. I might have to make more, just because being able to make a bit of art to help out with the crisis that is affecting out Gulf Coast, helps me not feel so helpless.
Being a Texan and realizing how this will prevent my daughter from experiencing some of the fun I had on the Texas and Mississippi coasts growing up saddens me. If this takes as long to clean up as the Alaska spill did, I am not likely to get to take my daughter crabbing or build giant sand castles with her in the places I did those things as a kid. Maybe if we all pitch in a small bit at a time we can help this clean up happen in time for us to enjoy our oceans again and to see the sea turtles, coastal birds, and fish prosper again.

Water Garden – A Mercat

Melia — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 01:43:35 +0000

This is what I worked on between panels (and during panels) at A-Kon this weekend. I am so very happy with the results. I did a lot more detail than is usual for me and lots of layers of colors to get them to be so very vibrant. It was soothing to work on and the results, I think, are soothing to look at. And of course, I might be a bit crazy, because I put it on eBay with a starting bid of only 99 cents.

Of course A-Kon was a blast. I really want more Copic markers after going to workshops all three days. And I did buy some cool art. And my feet hurt from walking up and down stairs for 3 days. If you love animation, web comics, costuming or whimsical art, I so recommend attending this convention in the future.

A New Pirate Mercat Sketch

Melia — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 06:13:23 +0000

Still adjusting to this whole Linux thing. I think I like it, but some of my existing hardware doesn’t. Poor James is having to walk me through scanning every time, cause it doesn’t always recognize the scanner. And considering I want to scan things at 1am, it isn’t making for a happy husband.
Anyway, he did wake up and set things up to scan this whimsical little mercat. You will notice that the scan has more detail than I have been doing lately. This is because I found a larger sketchbook to work with, so more room for details. Tomorrow, I will have to start painting. Right now, I need to get to bed since I have an appointment in just 7 and a half hours, and much to do before that in the morning.

Been a busy couple of days

Melia — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 04:06:12 +0000

These are just a couple of the paintings I have finished in the last couple of days. Beach play is an 8×10″ watercolor painting and is the largest of the things I have finished. All the others, just like the cookie thief here, are artist trading card size painting.
I have been listing some on etsy, but most are heading out to science fiction and fantasy conventions for the art shows all over the country. After the State of the Union speech this evening, I do have an urge to do my patriotic duty and do some more exporting. I have always been happy send send art overseas, and have done so often in the last 10 years. But I just might need to look into one of the science fiction conventions that is outside the Union just to do my patriotic duty.
I will say a sure fire way to spur the economy on is to buy some art directly from an artist. At least with me, as soon as the money comes in, it is spent again. I am either buying art supplies, looking for new art shows or getting something the kids need for school. Maybe a new bike for my daughter’s birthday so we can start biking to school and saving the environment while we support the economy.