#black artists on tumblr

A New Chapter.  Microsoft Paint.

It’s been a handful of months since I last posted!  Life has been full of a wide variety of changes that have kept me from drawing (or at least posting drawings).

One significant change is that I’ve gotten married. :) 

I’m still reeling at the wonder of being the wife to someone so kind and wonderful, and I’m still getting used to describing myself as someone’s wife.  In the meantime, here’s a drawing to celebrate this transition.

My Champion.  Microsoft Paint and Pixlr App.

For Valentine’s Day, I drew a portrait of my fiancé.  He is the most selfless, kindest, sweetest, and funniest person I know; he is easily my best friend.  I cherish every memory we’ve made thus far, and I look forward to our future to come.  

I see a ton of flaws in this piece, but he seems to like it a lot.  He’s about a head taller than me, but happened to be leaning on my shoulder in the photo that this is referenced from.

Between school, work, and wedding plans, I’ve found less time to make art, but I will be sure to make some soon.  In the meanwhile, please be safe, God bless, and be sure to guard your mental health.  <3

Rose Garden.  Microsoft Paint.

(Those are actually peonies.)

A project that was fun and involved a lot of learning!  There were several different colors across her face, but I realized that simpler shading suited the face best.

Hope you all are doing well!

Daytime Moon.  Microsoft Paint.

A drawing that I wrestled with on account of some conflicting color schemes.  It was a fun way to cool down from the mild confusion of online classes.  I seem to be preferring blues as of late. 

Still Dreaming.  Microsoft Paint

A semi-quick drawing to get into the swing of things.  It’s an homage to this ancient drawing.

Like many others, I have been meditating on recent events, and I have been thinking about what it means to be black in America.  As a black American, my heart aches to see the emergence of the justice that my ancestors, brothers, and sisters have been so direly deprived of.  As a Christian, I also want to understand what Christ-like forgiveness and love looks like without being flippant, passive, nor quick to disregard evil.  It is so easy to succumb to feeling like one is doing too little, or to be fueled by (warranted) rage and sadness.  I currently lack the words to communicate these thoughts clearly, but I hope that you consider helping in the cause:  blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/.

God bless.  Our lives - black lives - matter.

Big, Beautiful Brain.  Microsoft Paint.

Not the cleanest nor neatest comic, but it was fun to work on!  

One thing that I have been learning (over time, with the help of many patient friends) is that it is possible to reframe nasty thoughts I hold about myself (or have even been told).  

For a simple example: My forehead.  Objectively, it ispretty darn big - it offered ample real estate for pimples when puberty hit.  It’s so big that when I was about 12, a (rather mean) salonist asked if I wanted bangs.  When I said no, she nodded her head, pulled down a length of my hair, and cut a set of bangs anyway; she flatly told me that I needed them.  The aunt who was with me eagerly agreed.  In retrospect, that’s kind of hilarious, but it’s a little traumatic to a middle-school-aged kid with an awful self esteem.  As silly as it seems, it’s something about myself that still bugs me from time to time.

There are a lot of deeper, more serious things that I am beginning to unlearn - that I am not weak, that I am not stupid, that I am not talentless.  Slowly, but surely, I am realizing that God made me intentionally as I am, and He is still helping me grow, and that’s fine - big, beautiful brain, and all.

Gaze.  Microsoft Paint.

A doodle with a lot of trial and error.  It was a ton of fun to work on, though!

What’s she listening to?  If I had to guess, it would probably be thisorthis.  (I really, really like this musician - quite literally 99.458% of my time spent drawing was spent listening to his stuff.)