. . : :www.PandaErica.com: : . .: Tea Time on a Turtle

So I'm excited to announce the end of the fall semester 2011. Yay. That much closer to thesis; that much closer to spring; that much closer to job hunting; that much closer to graduation. A lot will be happening in the months to come. I'll be working on thesis all break and also getting a head start on applying for jobs and the such. Definitely have a full break ahead of me. Trying my best to stay productive. I hope everyone has a great break.

Oh but more about this piece. I wasn't really digging the direction that the former tea party project was going, and I know this idea is a much simpler concept, I feel more accomplished and satisfied than I did while working/trying to finish the last piece. I picked something up when I went to CTN-x this past month, and that was: If something isn't working right, don't be afraid to start over. Sometimes you just save a lot of time just mustering up the courage to abandoning the first attempt and starting anew instead of belaboring over a mistake you made and trying to correct it to move on. I was told from the higher ups, people who's art and work ethics I admire, Michale Defeo, Florian Satzinger, Ryan Woodward, that if something isn't working right, and it's no longer the direction you had originally envisioned, or if you're just not happy with how things are going, I shouldn't be afraid to scrap an idea and start fresh.

And so I did. And this is the result. It's still an illustration about tea time, just less humans, more japanese animal folklore. :] It's a relatively simple composition, in your face. I really wanted to just focus on the characters and Was really digging just the process of creating art for the fun of it. I had a lot of fun with this little 9"x12" watercolor piece and completed it within 2 night's worth of work from ideation to final painting completion. I took a lot of inspiration from Japanese traditional tea ceremonies and the art of Alina Chau. I found and watched some pretty awesome youtube videos of her doing some watercolor demos. I wish to emulate her grace and fluidity in painting breath taking little water colors. Her technique is really quite impeccable. And here is my attempt at emulating her work ethic. :] I hope I accomplished something here; I'm rather happy with how it came out. Let me know what you think.