My Latest Work! Noel Gallagher & Sara MacDonald

Sadly, I have not had much time for art since Thanksgiving.  This is the first piece I've finished since November 30th!  Every weekend has been super busy with family stuff, and me working on my new art studio.  So I am so pleased to have finally finished something!

Here is a 9x12 graphite drawing of Noel Gallagher and his beautiful wife Sara MacDonald.

I love this picture of Noel & Sara!

Coming soon....before and after pictures of my brand new home art studio!

Practice Makes....Improvement

As an artist, sometimes I love to take a drawing that

 I did a long time ago and redo it.  

Here are some examples.

 

2015

2019

Story of an Artist

I've been thinking lately about my journey as an artist and where it all started.

Genetics

“Being artistic or creative is associated with the personality trait of being open to experiences,” Garrison says. “Some research suggests that there are neurobiological foundations for creative individuals. Based on all available information, it is very likely that the capacity for creativity is shaped by genetic influences –– it’s a complicated way of saying that creativity and artistic interests can almost certainly be inherited.”   Source

So there you have it.  I get my artistic talent from my mom.  She did some drawing and painting, and she inspired me to want to draw as well. I really started drawing in high school. Here's a picture of me in my high school art class.  I did double-period art for junior and senior years because I loved it so much.  And my art teacher, Mr. Mikas, was such a super cool guy!  He really tried to get us to think creatively and see the world from an artist's eyes.

Me during art class in HS - Junior Year

My first drawings in high school were of the Beatles.  I did some graphite, pencil, and marker drawings.  Not the worst, but I definitely needed to hone my craft!

John & Yoko
This is one of my drawings from high school.

Fast forward 20 years.  I kind of forgot about drawing for some time.  I was too busy finishing college, student teaching, teaching (those first years are extra brutal!), getting married, and having kids.  So drawing was the furthest thing from my mind.  Then as my kids got a little older, I started getting back into drawing a little bit during my summer breaks.

Drawing of Edward & Bella circa 2009

A few years later, around 2015, I had a family situation (that's a LONG story) that created an opportunity to basically do a drawing almost every single day.  Art was my therapy and helped me get through some really tough times.  This is when I began to gain more confidence as an artist.  

Slowly my skills as an artist began to improve, although I didn't see it at the time.  When I look back at art over that period of time as a whole body of work, I see the progress.   I look back at my Deviant Art gallery, and I see it.  My gallery is from most recent to oldest.  So if I go to the bottom of the gallery and scroll up, I can really see the changes.

2015

2016

2016

2016

2018

2019

2019

2020

2021

These are just a sample or two from each year since 2015.  

To see all of my art to date, please check out my Deviant Art page! 

VintageFangirlArt NEW Website!!!

 I've been working really hard on getting my website up and running.  Everything you need to know about VintageFangirlArt is there.  So if you are interested in my original art, commissions, as well as my Etsy and RedBubble shop, check it out!

Digital Art

 I've been experimenting with digital art using Photoshop Elements recently.

Here are some of my newest digital creations.

Click on the picture for purchase options on my Redbubble shop.

Expanding My Horizons

I get a lot of flack from my family, that I put too much time and effort into drawings and paintings that are of my current obsessions.  Yes, the majority of my art consists of drawings and paintings related to Twilight, Robert Pattinson, The Who, The Beatles and my most recent obsession...Oasis.
I'm not apologizing though.  I love what I love and I very much enjoy creating art depicting these things.  However, for Christmas, I created a painting of my son and his girlfriend Nikki.  There were a few failed runs, but I am very happy with the final product.
Tada.....

Nikki & Jake in ink and watercolors.

See...I can draw and paint other things besides Oasis. LOL

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!!!!

Ink and Watercolor Paintings

Lately, I have been experimenting with ink and watercolor.  I lay the drawing down in ink and then go over it in watercolors.  I was afraid the ink would be too much, but I think the watercolors balance it out quite nicely.  Once I got going, I was really cranking them out yesterday.  These will be going up in my Etsy shop soon! :)

Noel Gallagher - Oasis

Liam Gallagher - Oasis

Robert Pattinson

Noel Gallagher - Oasis

Claire and Jamie Fraser - Outlander

My Liam Gallagher Painting Posted by Official Oasis Twitter!!!

We've spotted some great art by Oasis fans recently. Here are a few favourites. If we haven't shared yours make sure to post it below it in the comments! Images: @VintgeFangrlArt @gazwalton73 @AidanCregan @spazepunk pic.twitter.com/cJhw5mIZhK

— Oasis (@oasis) December 19, 2019

The Beatles

The Beatles

Watercolor on upcycled sheet music

Framed dimension - 12x16

This piece was created as a gift to a fellow Beatles Fan..  

The watercolor image of the Beatles is painted over the sheet music to "Blackbird".

Blackbird singing in the dead of night

Take these broken wings and learn to fly

All your life

You were only waiting for this moment to arise

Blackbird singing in the dead of night

Take these sunken eyes and learn to see

All your life

You were only waiting for this moment to be free

Blackbird fly, blackbird fly

Into the light of a dark black night

Blackbird fly, blackbird fly

Into the light of a dark black night

Blackbird singing in the dead of night

Take these broken wings and learn to fly

All your life

You were only waiting for this moment to arise

You were only waiting for this moment to arise

You were only waiting for this moment to arise

My Etsy Shop

My Etsy Shop is open for business!!!!

If you are interested in purchasing my art, please stop by my Etsy Shop and see what is currently available.

ArtByUAB Etsy Shop

I can also do custom orders, so if you don't see what you are looking for, just send me a message letting me know what you have in mind.

Magical Fangirl Moment

via GIPHY

The most amazing thing happened to me last Friday, February 1st.  Anyone who knows me, knows how deep my Twilight obsession runs.  So of course, much of my art is Twilight fan art.  Well, my book page art got noticed by the official Twilight Saga social media outlets and they Tweeted, Instagrammed and Facebooked my art, causing me to fangirl squee and jumpy clap like Alice.  It was a magical fangirl moment!

Check out their posts below!

Edward and Bella in watercolor. 😍 #FanArtFriday #Twilight

A post shared by Twilight Saga (@twilight) on Feb 1, 2019 at 10:14am PST

Edward and Bella in watercolor. 😍 #FanArtFriday #Twilight
(📸: From Instagram: @artbyuab) pic.twitter.com/rdMYZIhbfK

— THE TWILIGHT SAGA (@Twilight) February 1, 2019

My Kids 2.0

via GIPHY

Nothing is perfect, but I can tell you that practice does make improvements.

This is a recent redo of a drawing of my kids.  The original drawing is below it.

The original was done in 2015 and after 4 years of practicing, I definitely feel like I've made some improvements in my work.  My kids begged me to redo it because they said that I made them look weird in the original drawing. LOL

Maybe in 5 years I'll do this one again, and see how I do.  

 New drawing - 2019

Original drawing - 2015

Original Photo of my kids

Here's some close ups comparing the old drawing to the new drawing.

The more of the story kids, is just keep practicing!

via GIPHY

The Who Fanart

 My love for the Who back began around 1980-ish. Some friends and I went to see
Paul McCartney & Wings "Rockshow" at the Colony Theater at 59th & Kedzie here in Chicago. It was a double feature with "The Kids are Alright", and even though I was there to see Paul, I was hooked on the Who from that moment on! 
I've been lucky enough to see The Who twice, once in 1981 and again in 1989.
My youngest son recently discovered the Who and it has reawakened my love for them as well.
So of course, I have incorporated it into my art.

"The Kids are Alright"

Pencil and water based markers on mixed media paper.

I used a wet paintbrush to achieve the watercolor effect

"My Generation"
Pencil drawing on 18x24 paper

"The Ox"
John Entwistle pencil drawing

Edward Cullen Book Page Art

Edward Cullen

Book Page Art

Watercolors on upcycled Twilight book page.

Dazzled Bella & Edward

"Dazzled"

A Bella & Edward book art painting.

Watercolors on upcycled Twilight book pages.

New Moon Bella & Edward

New Moon Bella & Edward

Book Page Art

This is one of my latest pieces of book page art.

It consists of 6 New Moon book pages mounted on mixed media paper.

The pages are covered with a layer of gesso to create a better surface for painting and then painted with watercolors.

Vampire Eyes

Edward's eyes painted in watercolors on upcycled Twilight book pages.
by UtterlyAbsurdBella

Terrifying Monster

Lost Twilight Scenes Series #5 - Terrifying Monster

by UtterlyAbsurdBella

This scene takes place in Twilight when Edward first shows Bella his room. In the movie, when Bella says "I'm really not scared of you", Edward says "You really shouldn't have said that", and proceeds to throw her on his back and leap out the window into the trees. (cue "hang on tight spider monkey - GAG) Climbing in the trees of the Olympic rainforest may have been cinematically, more appealing from a movie perspective. However, I really and truly love how it happens in the book. So the drawing is how I imagine it would look.

Excerpt from Twlight, Chapter 16, page 345


“I hate to burst your bubble, but you're really not as scary as you think you are. I don't find you scary at all, actually," I lied casually.

He stopped, raising his eyebrows in blatant disbelief. Then he flashed a wide, wicked smile.
"You really shouldn't have said that," he chuckled.

He growled, a low sound in the back of his throat; his lips curled back over his perfect teeth. His body shifted suddenly, half-crouched, tensed like a lion about to pounce.
I backed away from him, glaring.

"You wouldn't."

I didn't see him leap at me - it was much too fast. I only found myself suddenly airborne, and then we crashed onto the sofa, knocking it into the wall. All the while, his arms formed an iron cage of protection around me - I was barely jostled. But I still was gasping as I tried to right myself.
He wasn't having that. He curled me into a ball against his chest, holding me more securely than iron chains. I glared at him in alarm, but he seemed well in control, his jaw relaxed as he grinned, his eyes bright only with humor.

"You were saying?" he growled playfully.

"That you are a very, very terrifying monster," I said, my sarcasm marred a bit my breathless voice.

"Much better," he approved.”


-Stephenie Meyer - Twilight

I also did a watercolor painting version of the same drawing.