08.24.14 Even More Sock Monkeys!

Hey there!
This week was pretty crazy, which is a perfect way to end a crazy month!  I've been packing for a move and so I've been finding little art gems to share with you. First of all, I found a few more of my Sock Monkey Tarot cards that I love!  When some people read cards they like to say that no card is all good or all bad, but when you start researching their meanings and making illustrations of them, I don't know, some cards are pretty tough! These are the cards with the darker meanings, in the Major Arcana:

#12 The Hanged Monkey

 The Hanged Monkey card represents a time in life in which you are required to make a sacrifice of some kind--hopefully, for the greater good.  This is the card whose image was so clear in my mind that it spurred me to begin this project.  FYI.

#13 Death

 The meaning of the Death card is actually about change, not death.  But new beginnings are usually begun from something else's end, so there is a deep sense of loss with this card that is likened to death, hence its name.  

#16 The Tower

The Tower is one of the worst cards to pull!  It's meaning is exactly what it looks like--all your foundations crumbling, things around you falling away.  Though it usually is tempered with the idea of something new coming on the horizon, this card is not happy at all.  It is about being in the midst of destruction.  (notice that the blocks spell out Beckaroo!)  It's so fun, challenging and rewarding to work on a project with such clearly defined narratives and such a huge breadth of subject. Which is why I keep working on it, in my spare time.

  I think building up  a body of work is a lot like making a mountain.  It takes FOREVER, first of all, and most of it is made of up all the same old crap around you, nothing special--however! within the mountain, like gemstones and fossils, there are things that, over time, prove to be more valuable and worth preserving than the crap surrounding it. Haha Anytime I can use a geology metaphor I'm happy! (:  Here are a few little gems I found--this is the very first sock monkey themed project I did:
 Once upon a time I went to coffee shops and house parties and drew the people around me but I replaced them with sock monkeys.  These are just a few and all at The SpyHouse, in  Minneapolis...in like 2005!
  I wanted them to have a photographic feel, so I kept them smaller and tried to compose them as I would a photo.  But they are graphite on paper:

SpyHouse Monkeys, 2

Jordan Monkey

SpyHouse Monkeys, 3

Graphic Designer Monkey

I love these!  I totally forgot about them and when they fell out of a portfolio in my closet I was pleasantly surprised. Sock Monkeys improve everything, I swear!  :)
  Well, back to working, packing and avoiding craziness--with only mild success....Thanks for the visit! More to come...
Now, I'm off!
Love, Beckarooo!

08.19.14 Sock Monkeys!

Hey There,
This week is all about sock monkey art!  I have always loved sock monkeys--and I have found that you can replace any character with a sock monkey and it will always make the story better!  I used to do a lot of sock monkey themed work and my favorite illustration project, which is still on-going, is a deck of sock monkey themed tarot cards.  I'm only sharing a handful because I made about 20 of these, mostly of the Major Arcana.  Tarot cards are a really project because each card has a traditional design but you can add your own twist to it, based on your theme.  Along with having fun with symbols, this was mostly a color exercise for me. FYI, I used all sewing supplies to replace the traditional symbols:  Wands=Needles, Swords=Scissors, Pentacles=Buttons, Cups=Mugs of Coffee.  ...mugs full of coffee are essential sewing tools, you know.  
  These are all hand-painted, these were the last things I did before I switched to digital painting.  These are all acrylic and ink on board--here is a small sampling:

#11 Justice

"#8 Strength"

 

#19 The Sun

#18 The Moon

#5 The Heirophant

#15 The Devil

  I have many more of these so I may post some more, one at a time--they were really fun to make and I still love how they look.  Of course, I want to re-do them now, so I'm working on the sketches for the rest of the deck.  Forthcoming project!  Moving right along.... 

  ....Another thing I loved doing with sock monkeys was comics of Greek Tragedies--they are so much funnier with sock monkeys!  I will show you my favorite part from my sock monkey "Hero and Leander":

Leander's Death

That one was in crayon and it's been deteriorating over time, so here is a cleaner and easier to read version:

Leander's Death, Inks  

And, of course once Hero sees that Leander has drowned, she flings herself from her tower--there is no other way to consider!!!!

Hero's Death

So tragic! But not really because they are sock monkeys. This is another project that is on the back burner, so to speak.  I still have other plans for it but right now I'm working on Joseph so it will just have to wait. That's what a back burner is for, after all!
  Thanks for checking out my sock monkey retrospective!  It's been such a long time since I looked at these, it's like saying hi to old friends! I hope you enjoyed it, too. (:
  More to come!
Love, Beckaroooo!!!

06.27.14 Princesses, Girafficorns and Ballerinas!

Hello there!
Welcome back to my studio.  I've been SOOOO busy the last couple of weeks!  I've mainly been focused on making a coloring book and posters for Columbia Children's Theater but I've also been developing my Joseph story into a graphic novel and while I've been doing that I've also been working on developing another one of my stories, "Princess Helen and the Dragon," into a book. I love how that one is coming along so here are the colors for a few sample pages:

pages 18 and 19

Pages 20 and 21

Pages 22 and 23

Watch out for those Girafficorns, they come out of nowhere!  Don't worry, this one starts out a little crabby but it's friendly in the end.  In my last post I shared the layouts for these pages and those have the words, so scroll down to check that out.  Princess Helen is super fun to work with, she's always down for an adventure and I love this story.  Also, her cat is purple.  Need I say more? ....since I'm super busy I have to keep this post short but I wanted to share this image:

Dancer, adjusting her shoe, 2014

 I still like drawing dancers!  And I think I'm getting pretty good at it! Actually, one of my pieces got in to a show called "The Art of Dance" which is being put on by Las Lagunas Gallery in Laguna Beach, CA. It beat out hundreds of other pieces, nationwide so I'm pretty proud.  :-D  Here is the winning piece:

Ballerina Graffiti 3 of 3, 2014,  Photo Credit:  Jyoti Omi Chowdhury

So, if you are in the LA area next weekend,  go check out this show!  It's going to be a lovely collection and the print I'm presenting is so lovely! In the meantime, I must be getting back to all my other work.  I still have a ton of stuff to do!!!  ...which is awesome becuase I love drawing pictures.
Thanks for the visit!  Check back, soon, for more fun stuff from me!
Love, Beckarooo!

05.20.14 Froggies and Princesses!

Hey there, friends!
  Welcome back to my studio.  Things are getting busy again around here.  I'm about to start working on another coloring book and poster set for Columbia Children's Theater and I'm excited because it's one of my very favorite projects.  But, after finishing up those colors for my Joseph pages, I didn't feel ready to go back to paper and pencil just yet, so I decided to go looking through my files of incomplete images and I stumbled across this image from Grimm's "The Frog Prince" or "The Princess and the Frog", Here:

Sketch, Pencils, Inks!

I never really cared much for that story until I read Joseph Campbell's interpretation of it.  Here is a link to the text online, so you can see where this imagery is coming from and what it means. It's worth the read!!!
Joseph's Campbell's "Frog Prince"

So....the next step is to color in the black lines--just like a coloring book!  Here's what that looks like:

And The Final Image:

"The Frog Prince" 2014

"The Frog Prince, detail"  2014

  I really love this image! It makes me want to walk right into it (and since it's MY world, I CAN.) :-D  The story is so sweet.  It's funny how before i didn't really think about this story much and now I think it's the best love story of all.  And so, I decided I should also make an image of the frog, who is the most quality prince of all the fairy tale princes, in my opinion because he never gives up on the princess, even in her dark times and he gives her what she needs, not just a bunch of presents and compliments. And, in return, she breaks his curse.  How sweet! He's such a quality guy--He deserves a portrait, don't you think? So....
 Here are the colors  (because they turned out so nicely):

And the final image:

"Froggy Prince"  2014

I love Grimm's fairy tales the most...probably because I grew up reading them the most.  This is why fairy tale images will always pop up in my work from time to time--especially when I'm just playing around and making work for myself.
  Well, that was fun....now I will sign off.  Now that I've gotten my desire to color things out of my system, it's time to get to work on some coloring book images!  YAY!  I love being an artist and I love theater and, even more, I love children's theatre!! Because I'm just a big little kid, really. :-)))
  Thanks for the visit, come back next week for more art from Me, Beckaroooo!!
Love, Beckaroooo!!!

04.16.14 Happy Birthday, Beckaroo!

Well, hello there!

Today is my birthday so I'm posting now before I go off and.....go to work :-P  But there will be fun afterward. :-D

I've actually had some time off for a change since I finished hanging my show.  I was working with one very long wall and I love how all the pieces ended up working together to draw the viewer across the room.   They all worked as part of one large piece, but they also stood alone as strong, single images, which was exactly what I wanted. AND the opening was really fun!  It was great seeing all my friends together and the best thing was seeing people I didn't know react to my work and that was so positive that I'm thinking of continuing the series in some way....but I'm not sure, I've got to think on that one....Anyway, here are some pics from the show!

Art by Beckarooo!! :)

This isn't even the whole wall!

Add caption

This is me trying to have a serious artist face but let's face it, I mostly draw floating bunnies in rainbow coats....
It's hard not smile!

It will be up until May 7th, if you are in Minneapolis check it out!!  Here is info about it on the web:

http://www.alteredesthetics.org/becky-laff-solo-exhibition

I'm going to go and take a whole bunch of pics to make a panorama view.  I need more documentation!!! I'm going post the whole series to tumblr only a few minutes after I post this--here's the link:
http://beckylaff.tumblr.com

For my birthday I finally got a tablet and I love it!  I got a sketch program and a stylus because I can draw right into it, how fun! I've been practicing by drawing sock monkeys taking selfies.  Here are the first two:

The traditional, totally classic sock monkey, a la Beckaroo

I <3 Sock Monkey!

 I'm going to make little portraits of all the sock monkeys I've got right now....I think about 20 or so. They are so cute! I used to make them all the time but I've been too busy lately.  And speaking of that, it's my birthday so I'm going to take a break now.  Time for a birthday nap!
Thanks for the visit, internet friends!

Love, Beckaroo!

03.19.14 Baby Bhangra, Pandas and Tigers!

Hi there!
  I'm so excited because I have awesome news....but I'm not allowed to say anything for another couple of weeks....curse you, art world for moving so slowly!!!  But I will be posting about it once I can, I promise!!
 :-D  SO....in the meantime....I've been still collecting images for my show....now I have plenty of images to work with so I'm starting to focus more on how well they flow together.  I've been focusing on the images I got from drawing the Zenon Dance Company's rehearsals and classes....I haven't done that in a few months and going back through this work I want to do even more!!!  BUT, till then, here are some of the newest additions to my series....

"Zenon ONE" 2014

 There I go with my super creative titles, right? ...Someday I'll figure that out...it's just that HATE pretension and so many titles of art are exactly that. I'd rather be simple than pretentious .... anyway, the title isn't the point, the drawing is.  

"Zenon Warrior" 2014

"Zenon Perfectly Balanced" 2014

  These two were fun.  Balancing on one foot like that isn't just tricky to do , it's also tricky to draw.  I'm so happy with how solidly grounded both these figures are. Also I tried a little design theory experimentation.  Vertical composition vs. horizontal and how does that effect the perception of stability in the image?  Basic 2-D Design Theory tells me that you, the viewer, should find both images to be stable but the majority of you will be drawn to the lower one because the vertical composition is a little more boldly balanced and so your eye will be drawn to it.  The top one should be giving you a nice comfortable and serene sense of solidity, so even though your eye isn't immediately drawn to it, it will linger on that image longer.....tell me, which one do you like better and why? (Design is fun!)

  Now that I'm done with that little tangent, here are some new additions, as well....These are drawings of the twins that I nanny for.  They love dancing Bhangra, we have to have a dance party at least once a day!  And they are such good dancers, too!  So I was having fun drawing them, lookie-lookie:

Maya Panda sketches,  2014

Naari Tiger sketches, 2014

  So, after having done a bunch  of sketching, I then go through and sort out which ones will work well in  sequence.  Some days that's easy and some days it just doesn't happen, so I drink some tea or cocoa instead.  I was intending to use these for my show, anyway, but when their mom saw them, it ended up turning into a commission and I've been working on triptych portrait in the style of this series I'm working on.  It's nice working for a family who really loves what I'm doing! Lucky!
Here are the 2 images for the twinsies:

"Maya and Panda," 2014

"Naari and Tiger," 2014

Then there will be this centerpiece:

"Tiger and Panda," (in progress) 2014

   I want to play around with the two patterns but I'm not sure yet how that will work.... here are the other two as a diptych.  (The would be on opposite sides of each other with the centerpiece added, FYI)  I love the heart shape they are making....I heart hearts!

"Tiger and Panda Dancing Bhangra," diptych 2014

  I wish someone had captured my baby moves like that. I love how 2 year-olds dance--they have their own unique way of moving and it's totally free and super adorable.  I love it!!!
  Well, I'm really happy with how productive I've been the past couple of weeks....but I still have much more to do and other projects to work on, as well, especially Joseph! :-))))
  Thanks for the visit, internet friends, but I have to get back to business...the business of drawing pictures.  It's very serious business!! :-P
Be well,
Love, Beckaroooooo!!!

03.04.14 Animated Figure Drawing!

Hello There, internet friends!
  Well, I'm continuing to amass work for my show in April... I have almost all the animation nearly completed for this show and that's good!  But, of course, going along in the process, I had a new idea for how I want to present them but for now I have to keep along with what I've started....so think of these as a mock-up for what I ultimately want to do.  here's the most completed one "Perpetual Pirouette, 2014" :

The figures in the background are all the drawings that make up this movement.  You can see here, without the animation on top:

Pirouette Figures, 2014

There is one more thing I want to do to it to finish.  These next two are a little more rough but also very lovely....

That is titled (for now) "Spiral Arms, 2014"

And here is one that has been making me want to pull all the hair out of my head!!!  But it is almost done, just a little more smoothing out....and it's really what this project is all about...let me show you what I mean.  First I sketched and laid out this image:

"Twirling, 2013"

 Then, from those figures and the title, I choreographed and drew out this movement:

"Twirling Figures, 2014"

And from these figures I am in the process of completing this animation, which is called "Twirling, 2014":

So, as hair-pullingly frustrated as I am at this point, I'm also very happy with how it's going and I sense that when I look a back this, months after it's over, I'm going to be very pleased with it....but right now I need a break.....So I'm on to writing stuff now--mostly to give my wrist a break because it hurts!!  OUCH!
  I could maintain the illusion that art is some big mysterious thing that shoots out of my eyes like beautiful rainbows but I'm going to be real, it hurts sometimes! I've got scars and giant callouses to prove it.
 But, I love it and I won't stop doing it!!!!
So, now that I'm done complaining, here is a new movement sequence because I just work through the pain:

"Zenon ONE, 2014"

This is one of the movements I got from drawing the Zenon Dance Company's classes.  They were amazing and super fun to draw.  I have a ton more from these sessions to put together and when I'm totally done with this series, which should be in the next couple of months, I'm going to set up a tumblr page of all the work, so you can see it all together even if you can't make it to the opening and have a drink with me!  It's going to be fun and a beautiful collection.  I'm so excited to see it finished and all on in one space. :-))))

thanks for stopping by and checking out my work!  but, as usual, I'm running late, so I have to go!!!
Be well and stay warm, friends!
Love, Beckarooooo!!!

02.03.14 Animation!

Hi there,
Welcome back to my studio! I've been continuing to work on the animations for my show so I have more of that stuff to share this week. If you scroll down, you can see the rough animation for this pirouette I've been working on...here are the cleaned-up lines for this movement:

The next thing I'm going to do is add tone to it so it will look more like this: 

"Neon Tutu" 2014

That will probably take a little while...Animation is frustrating  because for the amount of drawings you have to make, it only ends up being one figure in the end.  And it takes SO many drawings to create a very brief amount of time...It messes with my head a little bit....so, I decided to arrange all the figures in such a way to show you, who do not do animation, just how many drawings actually go into creating the illusion of one movement...check it out:

"Perpetual Pirouette Figures," 2014

I like how that looks, it makes me think of Chinese scrolls or something when it's shrunk down really small. So I decided to do the same thing with the figures from the spiraling arms animation--look at this:

"Spiral Arms, figures" 2014

FUN! Just as a reminder, here is how it looks when all those figures are animated:

I love that one.  SO, even though it can be frustrating, animation is also SO satisfying....it helps that I draw super fast, too, that's kind of a necessity.  And this show is going to be so pretty....I can't wait to see it in real life--and neither can you!!

Well, back to work, so much more to do... there is so much more to come.
Love, Beckarooo!!

More Animation!

Hello, there!
 I've been having so much fun with animation, I feel like I'm in kindergarten. And that makes up for being stuck inside because it's so ridiculously cold outside.  I'm moving somewhere warm--it's official.  Probably California and then, eventually Hawaii, because I want to live atop a chain of massive underwater volcanoes and also be a Hawaiian surfer chick--two birds with one stone!  I love volcanoes because they are full of liquid hot magma and that's really warm. Also, Hawaiian lava is really smooth.  It's the pretty kind...Anyway, on to the fun art stuff that has been distracting me from the frigid, evil cold that haunts my waking life....Here are a couple of drawings I've posted before:

Spiral Arms, 2014

I loved both of these and they are actually part of one, continuous movement.  I needed to see it move, for real, so I whipped this up this week.  A bit rough, still, but I'm very happy with it!

I love it so much!  Animation is more fun than anything else!  It's like magic. :-)  I could geek out on here forever about how much I love it but I will spare you and move on....I realized that I posted the wrong video format last week and some people with macs couldn't see them.  Sorry!  so here they are, again, in case you missed it:

                                         

  I had a lot of fun with these sequences of movement and, of course, with the animation.  Ever since I was a little kid, when I see dance or opera or theatre I always think about drawing it and so it's been really fun and freeing to actually do this. And seriously, nothing is more exciting to me than seeing my drawings move in real life because I always see them move in my head...I'm excited to make more but I am focusing on these three for my show, so keep posted and you will get to see how I turn rough animation into fancy, smooth, clean animation.  They both have their charm. (:

Ugh, I just remembered it's -14 degrees outside.  This cold is so intense, I swear I can feel it creeping through my walls and into my bones.....  But now, sadly, I must don my polar gear and face the elements--it's alright though, I have a really cute outfit underneath the polar gear.  .....and I'm not afraid of you, Polar Vortex, 2.0! In fact, thank you, for making the summertime even more delicious.
  Thanks for the visit and if you are somewhere in the world that is warm, soak it up for all of use who can't right now!!! (I would totally do the same for you!)
Love, Bekaroooo!!!!

01.20.14 Drawings Dancing!

Hello!  Welcome back to my little studio....
 I have been busy building up work for a show in April, so I haven't been to good about posting....but I've been working on some fun (but very time-consuming) things!  so let's jump right in....

I know last time I posted I was set on not animating my motion sequences but (as usual) I changed my mind.  It's good to be change-able!  Ultimately, I really wanted to see how they moved.  I haven't done any animation since my MCAD days and that was like a million years ago!  So this is still rough but I'm really happy with how well it turned out for how rusty I am. :-D

So, once I've finished smoothing out that movement, I'm going to render it so that it looks like these:

"Neon Tutu Twirl" 2013

"Neon Tutu" 2013

Hmmmm.....that shouldn't take too long.....As you can see, the drawings for the pirouette that I animated came from the top image, so you can get an idea of how the figures move and also how the animation will look like, eventually.  It will be fun to play with lighting!  Now, on to the next one!  here is a familiar image, a movement sequence of a dancer, leaping:

"Leap" 2013

 And here is a rough animation, based on those drawings:

Back when dinosaurs roamed the Earth and I was just learning about animation, it was WAY more difficult do this stuff.  Now it is SO easy!  I'm going to make lots of little animations now.  And I have lots of material to work with, too....speaking of, here's another movement sequence, which I'll also be animating for my show.

"Spiral Arms" 2014

I can't wait to see those arms spiralling all around! :-)))  This is going to be a lovely little show, I think.
 ...but for now, I'm feeling pretty sleepy, so I will sign off and take a nap. Thanks for the visit and check back again, soon!
Love, Beckaroooo!!!