18. Orville Peck.

If you're not listening to and following Orville Peck, what are you even doing? He's the queer country crooner who is taking the West (and the world) by storm. I whipped this up and have prints of it available in my Etsy and you can get one!

Also, head on over to Matt Benyo's Etsy to purchase some incredible Orville Peck stickers! If you buy the one of Orville with the koala, Matt is donating all of the proceeds to Wires Wildlife Rescue in Australia to help the animals! We already donated, but Matt wanted to do more. It's so cool that he's using his talents to help the wombats, koalas, platypus, kangaroos, and all of the creatures in-between.

Check my piece out below and the last two pictures are Matt's stickers!

Cards!

So, I've been making a few cards lately and I'm pretty stoked about it. The first one was to a dear friend of mine, Gabi, that has been really supportive and there for me a lot. She loves giraffes and Beyonce so I tried to combine the two, but really it just looks like a fancy card. The second card was for my darling Matt Benyo because his birthday was Saturday! One of his favorite movies is Clue so I chose a scene he's quite fond of and made this card. Click to enlarge to check out the details. I apologize for the lopsidedness. These are from photos that I took!

Batman!

I made a mixed media birthday card for a friend. It's of Batman. It was the first time I sat down to do anything since the board I made for my Joy friends and it was hard. It was really hard, actually. I have felt creatively stifled, but I used my hands and painted some bristol board, cut it up, and made this card. It didn't come out the way I wanted it to, but I don't hate it either. Here's to some upcoming work, though.

30th Birthday Round Up!

Man, what a whirlwind. My life has been absolutely awesome. The past two weeks, I've been celebrating my birthday. I went to Nashville for delicious food, stopped by Chicago so Matt could meet Lita, got the best birthday surprise of my life (a video that Matt Benyo put together of all of my awesome friends wishing me a happy birthday/including a memory/just saying super nice things about me), my mom cooked me dinner and dessert, got a tattoo on my birthday (thanks to Matt) to commemorate the start of this new decade, and I finally met/pet/fed A SLOTH. Pinch me, man. I ALSO whipped up a little Red Velvet mini cake from paper (in case you missed it). So, here's some photos of my best moments. Click to enlarge and thank you to everyone that helped make this the best birthday I've ever had.

Taco Tuesday!

Today is Taco Tuesday so what better than a lil mini taco for the occasion? Matt Benyo and I celebrated accordingly by eating at Taco Bell after work. This was actually super hard to make because anytime I went to stand it up, it would fall over and eventually I just took the photo with the taco contents spilled out because I had to put them all back in by layer and it took forever. The cheese was a real pain, but I really loved this lil guy. Matt did me the honor of editing the photos so they looked awesome. Click to enlarge and I hope you had a great Taco Tuesday! I'm going to finish mine with a slice of Key Lime Pie that my mom made for Easter (Thanks, Mom! I love it)! Also, mom, since I know you're going to read this, can we have tacos for my birthday? I love your tacos and banana pudding.

Hoppy Easter!

So, Matt Benyo and I teamed up to bring you the best easter mini we could think of: AN EASTER BASKET! Using our stash of awesome papers, we got hard to work last night and by the wee hours of the morning, had created this. Matt Benyo did all of the basket (including the beautiful weaving), the grass, and the editing that gives the photos that spring feel. I made the eggs, the chocolate bunny, and took the photos. It was the perfect collaboration and I loved every minute of it. I'm a little bummed out I didn't get an easter basket this year, but this is the next best thing. Click to enlarge the photos and Happy Easter to all!

Lil Pizza!

I was a maniac today and made the fries look like garbage next to this thing. PEPPERONI PIZZA IN A LITTLE BOX. Now, trying to glue those pepperonis on with a glue stick was absolutely terrible, but after way too long, they stuck. I wanted to add pineapple to the pizza, but I was working with a limited color palette because of the construction paper. When I was little, my sister was obsessed with Kitchen Littles. Does anyone remember those toys? She had the fridge. I remember thinking it was awesome, too. The things that amuse us as kids, man, but who's laughing now because I literally spent hours making a tiny pizza and a box out of paper. The children and parents were impressed. In addition, one of the children made me a tiny version of McDonald's chicken nuggets with two napkins. I was all about that AND she let me keep it. I'm starting a buffet. Click to enlarge!

French Fries!

Today at work was long, but one of the kids made me some french fries and that made me want to make a super miniature version of my own set. So, using construction paper, tape, and a glue stick, I somehow made a tiny pack of fries. I like miniature things. I think this would be a really cool avenue to explore. I will see what becomes of it. The best part was that another kid made a juice box and one other kid made a cupcake. Inspiring the masses! Click to enlarge!

Rise Like A Phoenix.

A friend of mine has been having some challenges thrown at her that have tested her as a person, but I am happy to say that she is overcoming. She was recently in a car accident that she is lucky to have survived. I know her mom and grandma kept her safe and because of them, she is with us still. As soon as I heard it happened, I went to work. I had to give it my all because I wanted to make sure she was reminded that she is loved and supported by her family and friends. A lot of great people came to aid her, but I needed to remind her that even during tough times, she should always remember to rise from the ashes like a phoenix. This is Fawkes from Harry Potter. What you can't exactly tell is that card is 3D. I made Fawkes using watercolor and microns, cut him out, and glued cardboard under him so he is elevated above the flames I cut out. It looked better (the painting at least) in my head, but I'm shaking off the dust. I was able to give this to her today and she loved it as I love her. Friends are important. Click to enlarge!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

THIS IS IT! LAST DAY OF DRAWLLOWEEN! I get so emotional. It's bittersweet. Obviously, I am burned out and could use the break, but at the same time, I hate to see it go. October is such a magical month and I love seeing what all the artists of the world take the time to create.

I had to go out with a real bang today, guys. In honor of watching Halloween and Hocus Pocus back and forth today, I put all three of the Sanderson Sisters together. I like them together more than I do apart, but that could be because I am biased and feel that this trifecta works wonders together.

ADDITIONALLY, Matt Benyo helped me MAKE A GIF! I think one of the scariest moments in Halloween is when Jamie Lee Curtis is running back to the Doyle residence after discovering everyone at the Wallace residence and Michael Myers is just walking toward her. So, I wanted to recreate that moment. I used construction paper and photoshop to make the images.

I hope everyone has enjoyed keeping up with me this month. I plan to post some more really soon so stay tuned, follow my blog, and remember, I'm an email away! Happy Halloween! Click to enlarge!

Thriller Night!

Today's Drawlloween is Grave and I decided to do Michael Jackson's Thriller because all of those zombies come out of graves. I know it's a bit of a stretch, but it still KIND OF works. I'm making it work. Remember how Thriller is the best music video ever created? Anyway, I had fun with this and wanted to keep it bright. That's my thing right now. Click to enlarge!

The Jackal.

This is the infamous Jackal from the movie Thir13en Ghosts! I actually really enjoy this movie even though it's not that great. The Jackal is the creepiest one. Today's theme for the third Drawlloween list is: Ghosts-A-Go-Go. So, ghost a go go away! I can't take credit for that, Matt Benyo came up with it. I drew this and then added colors and paper textures in Photoshop. No comments about it. I'm trying to do this new thing where I don't say how I feel about it one way or another. Click to enlarge!

Join The Coven.

I'm drained, guys. I don't even have ideas anymore. I'm going off of the third list circulating today which is "World of Witchcraft" and started doodling. I tried to draw like eight different witches from memory; just messing around, but after trying to do all of them, I realized I really liked this girl. So, I took her into Photoshop, used some paper, made some cut outs, and here we are. I CAN'T GIVE UP YET, THOUGH. We're almost at the end of the month. Let's finish strong like Matt Benyo continues to do (I don't know how he's still going. He's clearly a beast robot). Click to enlarge!

"You DARED to argue with ME?"

Who remembers The Witches? That glorious movie from 1990 starring Angelica Houston as The Grand High Witch? Well, I remember it. My mom had us watching it from a very young age. I recently made Matt Benyo watch it and it's actually pretty scary for a kid to watch. Here's a fun fact. Did you know that when the witches are having their meeting in the ballroom at the hotel and take off their wigs, a lot of the extras are MEN?! They wear dresses and makeup, but they're definitely guys. I only just noticed this. Anyway, I drew this sucker. This is the completely unedited image of the witch and then the other is the finished product. Lots of time and lots of layers went into this puppy. That seems to be the way I'm doing a lot of things this year. Click to enlarge!

"Go ahead, make my millennium."

I lived through the Black Plague AND I HAD A PRETTY GOOD TIME DURING THAT! It's everyone's favorite rude, crude ghost/demon! It's really not Halloween time without him. I danced with him once and smacked his butt, but that's a different story for a different time. Michael Keaton killed this role and I have Beetlejuice pants because he is the best. I made this guy really colorful. Click to enlarge and enjoy beetlejuice, beetlejuice, BEETLEJUICE!

The Legend of Zelda.

My sister got married earlier this month. She's the first one in my family to do so. It was a big deal. I had the pleasure of being her Maid of Honor. The wedding was small and intimate and we had a great time. I asked her what she wanted for her wedding present and she told me she wanted me to make her something. She loves Link from The Legend of Zelda and wanted something from Wind Waker. She found these mosaics online and wanted me to recreate one for her with some adjustments. This thing took me FOR-EH-VER; I'm talking 10 hours. It measures out to about 3.5 x 9 inches and I bought a nice floating frame to put it in. I used different papers to make it. I also painted paper and would go over that with paint on a dry brush to give it a sort of stained-glass look. I'm happy with how it turned out (considering I haven't done a cut out in some time). I wish I had taken a picture of her face because when I gave it to her, she lit up. Here's a close up of the image and here's a picture of my sister holding the framed piece up. Click to enlarge!

Come Little Children...

The trio would not be complete without Sarah Sanderson to run amuck. I tried drawing her earlier in the month and it was a DISASTER, but this one actually turned out and I was completely shocked. So, here is the final witch from Hocus Pocus! Click to enlarge!

Pure Imagination.

Day 22 for Drawlloween is CANDY. I said, "What do I do for candy, man?" And Matt Benyo exclaimed, "CANDY MAN? Do Willy Wonka!" Let me tell you, this is, by far, the greatest thing I have ever created. I said that a few times last year, but this really takes the cake. I've worked on this for 9 hours at least. There's over 250 photoshop layers in this. I really put my all into it. I drew him first and then figured out which candy I would use. That's an impressive list, actually. I did: Kit Kats, Rolos, Twizzlers, Sno Caps, Airheads Sour Belts, Runts, Fruit by the Foot, and a few others. I had to include the famous everlasting gobstopper right in the middle of his bowtie. If anyone wants to buy a print, let me know. I am so proud of this and would love for everyone to own it. Click to enlarge to really look into this because the details are where it's at.

GREAT SCOTT (again)!

I couldn't NOT do something for Back to the Future today! I tried for the past 2 weeks to draw Marty from the movie, as well as Doc Brown, but it just wasn't happening. Matt Benyo suggested I repost or update the Doc Brown I previously created. I wanted to make sure he looked just like he did in part 2. So, this baby has about 150 photoshop layers in it. Lots of work in the details. It's really hard to believe that after today, that movie will no longer take place in the future. I still can't wrap my head around it. Click to enlarge and remember, when this baby hits 88 MPH, you're going to see some serious stuff!

The Fashion Show.

I had every intention of doing Beetlejuice today, but then I tried to draw Lady Gaga as The Countess and it actually turned out alright so, here we are. I think American Horror Story: Hotel is off to an excellent start. I think Lady Gaga is stealing the show. She is eerie and fits in with this show and its theme. As always though, she has to remain bright and colorful when I make her. Here she is at the Fashion Show that was held in Hotel Cortez last episode. Click to enlarge!