Be Mused Art » Mercat

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.

Working on the Weekend – Alien and Mercat

Melia — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 06:24:49 +0000

I was busy over the weekend. I felt like I was mostly running around and putting out fires. Probably because Saturday featured going to visit my grandfather and trying to get his computer up and running and then drilling my college age son about having all necessary school supplies and keeping organized. And Sunday was all the household stuff I hate doing. And still I managed to complete 2 paintings during all of that.
Both paintings I worked on over the weekend are watercolors. The first is a cute little alien titled

Welcoming Committee

and the second is a little mercat with a seahorse and fish. Both are just 5 inches.

Little Mercat Painting – Done!

Melia — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 20:32:16 +0000

I finished it! I am not real thrilled with the digital scan of this painting since the cat is really more of a purple and the color variations are more obvious in the original painting than this shows. The tail is a dark purple and blue with a slight shimmer. The yellow borders of the frame also have a gold shimmer. I love the original, I just wish I could have captured it properly in a scan, since that is the only way I have of showing it to you all.

Mercat and Submarine – Finished

Melia — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 15:36:48 +0000

I am so pleased with how the submarine turned out in this painting. I have never done machinery with paint before, so this was something completely new to me. But here we have the cutest little mercat with a steampunk style submarine. He is such a large mercat, that I suspect he thought the nifty little sub was a cat toy and batted it around a bit, causing it to crash.

And of course the original is currently available at ebsq.

My next project – Steampunk Mercat

Melia — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 04:19:29 +0000

Okay this is the rough sketch of the mercat with the crashed steampunk style submarine. I really enjoyed designing the sub. Next time I will need to design the full thing, but it will just be fun.
As you can see, when it got inked I made a few minor changes, which usually happens. I really think that once I put pen to paper the art begins to evolve and become itself, with me just being a tool to uncover what it wants to be. of course next is the color. The metal sub should create an interesting challenge.

Pirate Mercat – Finished

Melia — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 18:06:00 +0000

He is done!
I really like the depth in this one. The background was especially fun. Notice the bubbles? I created bubbles in 2 different ways. While the background was still wet, I used a brush to drop on rubbing alcohol and then after it dried I used white watercolor paint to draw in some more bubbles. the tattered sail was also a particular challenge. I did a light wash in yellow ocher to age it a bit, then shaded it with a light gray and after all that dried I added the red stripes.
Of course he is available as a bookmark! It is only $2.00 and free shipping.

And the original is only available on ebsq at this time.