So I have a bit of catching up to do. I drawn but have not updated by blog with the #Inktober posts. Life gets in the way. Here we go. Day 25: I was feeling like absolute crap and my hand had a heartthrob in it. Is that possible? Drew anyway. I practiced various parts of the anatomy and inked in one picture. Ended up with this one. Some sort of pin up Madonna look. I like her afro. Day 26: Squeak was the prompt and of course mice are on the mind. Looks like the lil guy has a cheerio or some bits he wants to gather from around the floor. Mice aren't that scary when they're not in your house. He's kinda cute.  Day 27:  I wonder if we are all secretly marionette dolls, pulled in opposite directions and have no true control of life. If so, the whole world is truly a stage. Hey, I like how I made her little mouth. I wanted to keep the design real simple but almost creepy. I like the goth-Burtonesque look.  Want to support my Art ? Visit here.  ...

The land of Oz is not all that its cracked up to be, and neither is what people think of the fictional wicked witch and Dorothy. The first book of the series ' Wicked ' is followed by the introduction of Liir, an adolescent boy found hiding in the shadows in a bleak condition with questions about his roots and secrets. "Son of a Witch  follows the boy Liir on his dark odyssey across an ingeniously re-imagined and nearly unrecognizable Land of Oz—a journey that will take him deep into the bowels of the Emerald City, lately abandoned by the Wizard, and into the jaws of dragons." This copy is mass market sized and soft cover with a few wrinkles here and about. I purchased in a second hand store which I love. Second book in series. My copy is used, and I love it. Book Specs: Author: Gregory Maguire Publisher: Harper Collins, 2005 Pages: 444 -brr

So for this #bookspine365 I decided to do something a bit different. I wanted to update on the rearrangement of shelves and adding on of shelves/bookcase(s). Currently, I have a wayyyy too many books to keep track of. Hundreds of print. Books stacked on books. Books behind books on the shelf. I hide no shame. The addition of my small art space which I needed close by had to be included on a shelf. This was cool to me, as I needed to reorganize the genres and dust off the spines a bit.  I couldn't even get a full picture of top to bottom, with the additional books. There are books that still remain within the house, unshelved. For right now, going through each book and dusting and ensuring the spines don't crack little by little I can make sure my babies will remain. There is a "proper" way to open a book, especially if you haven't opened it in awhile. I make sure to open them every now and again to freshen the pages. One of my favorites is the Taschen Van Gogh art...

Yesterday while I did not post, I did continue to draw. So, just gonna catch up with the posting on the blog stuffs. I continued with anatomy and STRUGGLED (see? I used all caps) with hips and legs. Why are kneecaps hard to draw? What is that about? Anyways, not feeling well added to the mix but I continued. Most of my drawings were in pencil, but I managed to escape with one in pen, and it was a sugar skull. That was Day 23 of of Inktober. I was pleased just to get anything out of me, quite frankly. Not gonna lie. I felt like throwing in the towel after all my pieces ended up looking like blobs on paper. I decided it was just not feeling well. Time to rest. Rest was good. Woke up feeling the same fatigue but continued. I like the Halloween/zombiefied/Burtonesque theme I have going on for October, so I decided with a zombie. I don't know how he ended up with a Pompadour but he did. Cool beans. Day 24 of Inktober. Adding a bit of color makes him happy. Look at that smile....

Today I drew a few things, and lemme tell you, I had a bad day. Everything I drew ended up looking lumpy. Like crap. Total crap I tell ya! I couldn't draw a circle to save my life and my lines were little worms that I swore were crawling off the page. The fatigue was real. I took a nap and tried again later. Better, but still sucky. It's ok. Momma said there will be days like this. After encouragement from my hubby that all my Art doesn't look like Jabba the Hut, I managed to get a few things drawn. I decided on a creepy doll and went ham on markers and a gel pen. Let the imperfection show. Enjoy. Want to support my Art ? Please visit here.

Trouble the Water  250 Year of African-American Poetry  by various poets is a great shelfie. I have read and re-read the poetry in this book a few times. Softcover and mass market sized, the book is now a beat up copy which I own. I have no problem with this. I have a few annotations inside, the pages are still quite crisp even from all the reading. The selections are from over 100 poets, beginning with oral poetry and slave creations, followed by voices before freedom. Reconstruction and the early 20th century continues ending with the new age. Contributor notes add short autobiographies of the poets. Book Specs: Trouble the Water 250 Years of African American Poetry Edited and with an Introductin by Jerry W. Ward Jr., et al., 1997 Publisher: Penguin Group Pages: 566

I always loved the villains, especially Disney villains. Completely misunderstood. Not petty at all. Well, some of them are. Here we have Yzma, the advisor to the emperor. I think she got her potions mixed up somehow in the labs. Perhaps absentminded Kronk had something to do with it? I have got to get a better camera or something cause the pic looks way better in person. The lighting is way off. I tried. I shaded lightly with colored pencils. I used a drafting pencil and sharpie, with a Japanese brush pen and rollerball ink. I was pretty happy how this turned out, although I saw the mistakes way after I inked it (of course.) But this is what #Inktober is all about! Make mistakes, wash, rinse, repeat. I have to get used to making mistakes. The idea of perfection is slowly chasing away. When I make those mistakes, I use them to my advantage as "happy little accidents" creating new lines and curves. Thank you all for your genuine kindness. If you would like to support m...

Today I went into the realm of #FanArtFriday with a quick sketch of Drago from Animal Crossing. Quick background story: I love New Leaf! I watch a lot of Sugar's Twitch streams and she was looking for her lost amiibo card. I joked that he ran away. I like to think that these villagers aren't so cute and cuddly and secretly want to abandon their mayor's towns and lead a thug life. Anyway, fan art consumed me. I think Drago went on a crime spree. Oh my. I used a Graphgear 500 0.9mm drafting pencil to begin, followed by a Skillcraft Vista Gel Ink. Craz color pencils. Enjoy. Like my art and want to support? Click here . -brr

"The Dovekeepers" by Alice Hoffman I never expected to purchase this book, and the cover design caught my eye. I read the back and was immediately intrigued. "Nearly two thousand years ago, nine hundred Jews held out for months against armies of Romans on Masada a mountain in the Judean desert. According to the ancient historian Josephus, two women and five children survived." That tale alone is enough to dive deeper into history, discover lives deeper than fiction and learn about their tales. Who are the dovekeepers? What are their mysteries, secrets, lineage? -brr Book Specs: Title: The Dovekeepers Author: Alice Hoffman Publisher: Scribner, A division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. Fiction. Copyright 2011. Map Included, Copyright 2011 pages: 505 including acknowledgements. Scribner Reading Group Guide/Note from author Included

The Giver by Lois Lowry This softcover edition I own sits on the shelf, among the others as a used book. It's quite beautiful to look at. I hope one day my son reads it. To my understanding its required reading in many schools, with the dystopian style and conflict brought upon humans. I quite liked the length. It still looks brand new, practically no wear and tear and the spine and cover are quite glossy. There are a few annotations and underlines, barely noticeable. -brr Book Specs: The Giver Author: Lois Lowry Pages: 179 Publisher Random House  Fiction. Copyright 1993.

Curiouser and Curiouser. Today I revisited Alice in Wonderland and added the Burtonesque type of style with the classic "drink me" scene. Alice in Wonderland and Wizard of Oz are two of my most favorite books EVER. I love the surrealism, fantasy, the beauty. The original artwork panels are to die for! Enjoy. I used Pentel Drafting Pencil 0.9mm Graph Gear 500 series for a rough draft. I followed up with XTank Pro 0.7mm Rollerball pen. I also used a Sharpie oil based fine point pen. For water colors, Reeves was used on Lowe Cornell watercolor paper. If you like my Artwork, please feel free to support here . Always appreciated but never required. All donations go towards supplies. Thank you so much for your kindness and support! Click the hashtag below for #Inktober for drawing posts!

Today's prompt is filthy. First person came to mind: John fucking Zoidberg. But...in stripclub. Getting paid. Cause he can.  I used Japanese brush ink, 0.7mm rollerball pens, lots of gel inks, and colored pencils.  Strathmore Sketch  9 x 12 inch preforated pad was used, has a fine tooth surface.  Enjoy. Want to support my Art ? Visit here. Thank you! Always appreciated never required. Goes towards art supplies so I can always improve.  -brr

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton Frequently known as the coming of age book where required reading and losing your locker combination went hand in hand, almost everyone I knew shed a tear or two from this tale. Enter the "Socs" the rich uppity kids who formed a gang and beat up on "Greasers" whom I always thought were normal and just had a few hard times. Enter dark memes for you whippersnappers, but Ponyboy was the best character ever. He was cool without trying to be, smooth all the time. Then one night...something goes a bit too far. You'll find out. Anyway, you have to have this on your bookshelf. Forever. This softcover copy I purchased second hand. It has bonus material inside, which includes a Q&A with the author. And yes. The book is always better. The movie was pretty good too though. Author: S.E. Hinton (fiction) Publisher: Penguin Group Pages: 180 Copyright: 1995 -brr

Honestly, I don't even know what the prompt is for today's #Inktober. I just drew whatever I wanted to. Today happened to be a version of self. Afro included. Is anyone as excited as me for Black Panther to arrive on the big screen? omgggg Well, I know I am. And it's gonna be lit.  -brr

Coraline by Neil Gaiman Currently, this book sits by my nightstand. I purchased this from a second hand book store and it was wrinkled at its corner, turned up at the edges and I couldn't resist. With illustrations by Dave McKean, the 27 page softcover 10th anniversary edition was worth its price. I have to admit, I'm biased. I am a Gaiman fan. Everything he writes just sits with me well. Resonates with me. If you saw the movie, then you're quite familiar with the Narnia type sense of a little girl entering a door  to find an entirely different house-however this one is strangely different yet similar to her own. To make matters worse, the family within the door want her to remain there and change her...never letting her go. Coraline will have to do whatever it takes to get back to her ordinary life. Author: Neil Gaiman Read Now Illustrations: Dave McKean Category: Supernatural-Fiction Publisher: Harper Collins Pages: 27 Copyright: 2002. Revised edition, ...

Inktober, Day 16 -brr want to support my art? Donate here . Never required, but always appreciated. Thanks for the love!

A Chocolate Affair by Sheila Copeland Fiction. Sepia Books, 2001, softcover. This book dives into the lives of four successful women of color whom intertwine tales between relationships, dreams, drama, and tears. Their price of fame for the the cost of the significant others in their lives has a cost and so do the choices in their love life. The love developed along the way keep the bond within the book a true testament to friendship. #BookSpine365 -brr

Day 15: #Inktober So...I love Rick and Morty. This show is hella deep to be a cartoon. Rick has some issues, and Morty needs therapy after all these adventures-but I digress. There's this episode of where a Freddy Kreuger look alike blasts his way through inception like dreams and in the end, saves the day. His name: Scary Terry. Bitch. Well...he calls everything a bitch. He has a problem with cussing. Fave episode ever. Used roller ink, Japanese brush, gel pens, colored pencils for this one. Damn this is a dark picture. Perhaps I will upload a brighter one. Anyway, enjoy. -brr Thanks for the love. Want to support my Art ? Click here . All donations go towards supplies so I can continue my art! Thank you so much.

Week 2 of Inktober, Still hanging in there.  Day 8 Day 9  Day 10 Day 11  Day12 Day 13 Day 14  This week I worked with pen, Japanese brush ink, colored pencils, roller inks, office pens, and #Tayasui sketches, as well as #ProcreateApp on the iPad. I tried to focus on a "creepy" theme as its Halloween around the corner and every mistake I made, I just rolled with it.  All pics I created were drawn in the comfort of my bed using a portable drafting table. Rather difficult...but I wanted to get the job done. On the days where the #chronicpain levels were too high, I simply used the iPad app and didn't use all the pens and paper. Compression gloves, breaks, and an angle when drawing are a must! Never stop believing in your dreams and keep it up.  -brr A YouTube video of me drawing day 10, the jumping spider via speed lapse is available. Check it out.    Want to support m...

Week one of Inktober and lemme just say...it's been a hell of while since I posted on my blog. Whoa. Just whoa. Anyways...pardon the dust. The cobwebs. The...yeah. I've tried to stay continuous with posting on blogger and it was just beyond difficult with my physical conditions. I will try to make myself more available.  So what is Inktober? It's a drawing initiative with a set of prompts originally started by illustrator Jake Parker. World wide, people use the #inktober hashtag along with #inktober2017 on various social platforms to point and click their way through, connecting with other artists and viewing their work. It's super cool. I didn't have much in the way of colored inks or pens, but did have traditional Japanese brush inks, ballpoints, rollerballs, office pens, gel pens, markers, highlighters, and a few oil based markers. Whatever I had at my arms reach, I just decided to get to work and just proceed to draw.  I watched a...