Tomes Technique

Painterly visions in digital form.

Tag: Artistic Process

  • Nostalgia

    Nostalgia

    Per the usual, I’m missing a different time period. Each generation has its own unique gifts, but none seem to connect with me fully. I have a fleeting recollection of a time where it all seemed so much simpler.

    Debutante

    It seems I’m not the only one missing an era. A request comes in for John Lennon performing “Twist and Shout” on the Ed Sullivan Show. Last week’s Yoko needs her counterbalance. I’m here to oblige the sentimental.

    Hippy hippy shake

    While researching for the tarot project I’m nearly finished with, I stumbled upon some old stories of the Great Depression that seem written today. Regret and longing for a better living experience, we discovered hard work didn’t always equal hard cash. Being that my son has named his Labubu “The Great Depression”, I simply must have a doodle for the era.

    Cruisin’ down the street in my ‘64

    The sound of a breezy trumpet and a bumping retro piano is crackling through my mind. I need to make an instrumental. Until then, I’ll doodle this homesick feeling.

    Endless Tide

    I’m missing a real badass. Dewy eyed? No ma’am. This queen is pensive, yet stoic. A trip down memory lane leads to lamenting for ladies across the world. Wearing my dissent shirt, I’m asked if it’s Judge Judy. There’s a poignant poetry here, I’m just not sure it’s sweet.

    Notorious RBG

    Valentine’s Day has popped up. Like most annual celebrations, I’m indifferent, but it beats the alternative of not bagging another year for the life meter. Romance is playing in the forest. It’s more memorable than sweets or dying plant cuttings.

    Gotta catch them all

    In retrospect, the grass isn’t any greener, but the thoughts provoked blooms. The simplest truth is that it’s all a corny look back; a glamorized idea. It’s a reminder that it’s all relative. It was always better to grow from the languishing than to remain exactly the same.

  • Ego

    Ego

    I’ve always been intrigued by the devil. Not in the new age Christian idea of an eternal evil, but the idea to ask “why?” The push to break chains, it’s only natural, is it not? Kali is the destroyer of illusion, the breaker of ego. This feels more devil to me than Satan’s prince of darkness. Was Lucifer not the light bringer, the morning star?

    Kali-Devil

    Choosing women who held dominion/power in patriarchal systems, I want to mix up the cultural influences. How can I overlook Catherine the Great? Usurping her husband to not only expand upon, but stabilize and codify her power in a time when it was still being debated if women needed an education. Peter the Great was the blueprint, but Catherine outgrew the system. Self-image is everything, ladies.

    Catherine the Great- Emperor

    A revelation arrives. Radical honesty. I’m asked to see myself clearly and then decide whether I will answer the call or retreat back into sleep. Respect. Judgment is not about punishment. RuPaul is not a gavel, but a summons; blasting off like a trumpet. If Death is the ending of a chapter, Judgment is the realization of what that chapter meant.

    RuPaul- The Lovers

    How to follow up Ru? With a force of nature as hot as she is! Volcanic eruption represents sudden upheaval, destruction, and transformation. Lightning symbolizes divine insight. Proud Pele is giving major Tower energy.

    Pele- the Tower

    I find myself in the interest of inclusion, there has to be a feminist masculine. Gaius Musonius Rufus comes into view. His style reminds me of another great who met sexism where it lived, Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Using the vain language of the day to speak to his contemporaries, his lectures called out educational bias without holding back. Paraphrasing: If it makes for a better son, why not a better daughter? I rather like the idea of Musonius doing “women’s work”. Some soul food for you, dearie.

    Musinius Rufus- Temperance

    Ahhh, now we have the World card. The conduit that the planes flow through; wholeness that requires participation, a blur of artist and viewer. Yoko Ono may seem like a controversial choice, but as the mirror suggests, it says more about us than her. No arrogance here, simply the infusion of life and art into one.

    Yoko Ono- the World

    Character is defined by our hardest moments. Sure. Confidence can lead the way, but only action seals the deal. It’s my selfish desire to know the why and how that guides me. My unconscious mind is waiting to be woken.

  • Madness

    Madness

    Seeing a new therapist. It’s been enlightening in its own gentle ways. I’m always grateful for a perspective change. I’ve never had a male therapist before and already I’m getting somewhere with the usual suspects in my melancholy mind. In the early morning, I catch a view that stops my madness completely and lets me just enjoy the dappled silence.

    Canopy’s Reach

    Still manically working on the tarot series. It’s been a while since I’ve had a big project and I’m excited for the experience. It’s time for the Princess of class, Audrey Hepburn to take her throne as the Moon.

    Audrey Hepburn- The Moon

    When it came time to do The Sun card, something snuck up on me; Inclusion isn’t ageist. Thinking back to the joys of watching her movies, Shirley Temple has made a mark not only on generations, but for generations. While the Depression raged, she was Spring amongst the endless struggle of poverty and despair. She was a beacon of childhood happiness, what could be and what innocence should be.

    Shirley Temple- The Sun

    World news is trying to bog down my sunlight. Listening to the Davos meeting is worse than lectures. My head hurts listening to Muskfish. My heart hurts listening to his ex-bestie. What does the Chairman of the aboard of Peace do? Graciously removing* force from the 2026 Bingo card (*for now).

    If you’re not at the table (The Harvest)

    Derangement is a word used often by people who don’t hear themselves. I’m consumed by the dementia. I don’t recognize the people in the room, but know I’m irritated by who they pretend to be.

    The Looking Glass

    Maybe this new therapist can help with the claustrophobic anxiety. This nonsense can only get more absurd from here, but I’m always looking for stable ground. In the least, an island of rationality.

  • Global Intentions

    I’ve always wanted to travel. Rather, to be someone who’s travelled. I want to see the real life of a place, as it’s meant to be enjoyed. Not with a bristle and bustle to and fro, but a gentle meander through the forest of time. One of those train rides through the countryside, but with timeless stops along the way. Maybe what I’m thinking is a Back to the Future 3 train. All my bags are packed.

    The Souvenir

    My uncle is planning a holiday to Africa to see the elephants and giraffes. He went skydiving for his 70th birthday. He’s doing all the things (while also retiring from teaching maths, checking eagle’s nests, measuring horseshoe crabs, protecting turtle nesting, and county water testing).

    Three’s Company

    It’s lighting a fire inside me. I have a long bucket list. Mostly just want to get out of this place. What’s it like to love where you live?

    The bartender doesn’t ask questions

    Your hand is close but not touching

    There’s a geography between us

    Measured in inches and intention.

    Holding Earth (Bucket List)

    I never thought I’d end up back where I started. It’s been a decade and half away, a decade and half back. Neither feels like home anymore. It’s something raising children in the county where you came from, but I remember how much I wanted to leave and can’t imagine it’s not the same now.


    Me, ya see!

    Cabin fever is taking hold once again. Claustrophobia is starting to creep up on me. I feel like all I can do is put my ear up to the glass and listen. Life is passing me by while I spectate. I think it’s a very American problem. Is it generational?

    Your lips move but I can’t hear what you’re saying

    Or maybe it’s the state of the daily news cycle. Not all look at the map with glee for what once was and remains to be, but what may be gained from it. Those with business minds and daily grinds of greased wheels.

    Make America Bigger Again (MABA)

    Where would I go first? I don’t know that it matters as much as what I do when I’m there and who I’m with. Plunder through the menus with anticipation, stroll under age-old canopies, and steep in the luxury of bygone life; these are the things that make travel worthwhile and it’s always the journey.

  • Dollface

    Dollface

    Exploring childhood memories, I’d like to reimagine the stories I think I know. A new twist on an old tale or perhaps a different perspective completely. I have to start with a stunner in those shades. Beauty Queen has a new daydream.

    Rear View ​Lover

    We’re all machines, complex codes of energy, waiting for our next protocol. Some days, I feel like I only have one battery of a duo going. I’ve had this vision in my mind since teenhood. Where’s my other battery gone off to? Belle needs more than this provincial life.

    Mechanical Machination Mockation (mmm)

    It’s finally happening. This dreamboat kitten’s staying up all nite and catching Santa in the act. Though, seriously, this is what cats are trying to do when they roll themselves up in your lights. I’m just glad it’s almost over, folks.

    Made it through the holiday with only a food baby to moan about. One hot dish was the green bean casserole. It’s all about the homemade soup and gosh darn is it easy to make. Vintage Dolly had us making 6 different batches of cookies. Well, we both made a batch extra and only five people to eat them all. Cookie Monster was all too happy to be the hero and save us.

    Elvis & Pricilla

    Prezzie from the bestie is a dandy; a new set of pens for doodling. Now I’m feeling all fancy poppet with my pen for every room of the house. They feel good for sketching.

    Model can’t help being a mannequin, can I help being a spectator? Belle will never leave the providence. I suppose all she really wanted was a good read and there was a snazzy nook full in that airy abode. Were books just books in the castle or also innocent employees swept up into the curse of tween? Was the witch the wicked one? Now that story sounds familiar. Belle was only a damsel in distress (and thereby a stereotype of Stockholm) because of the witch’s curse on eleven year old Adam.

  • Strike a Pose

    Strike a Pose

    I suppose hormones are saying it’s time for suggestive actions. Not a complaint, just pointing out the cycle of living repeating. I’m tempted to play with angles and perspectives, per the usual. Though this time, I can’t decide on which feels right.

    Technique Studies

    There’s so much said in a simple pose. A slightly titled chin, a clasp of certain fingers, those little tells of someone you use to know. Saweetie got me on my tip toes.

    Muaddi Pose

    My only intention is to catch attention without demanding it. There’s a fine line in art that I don’t cross between often. A humble ask, naive in its phrasing. Just don’t go too far.

    Head, Shoulders, Knees, & Toes

    Drunk on sketches, I decide to suss some things out. Show me the way. Give me a good reason for these rosacea pink cheeks.

    Between Us

    I use to enjoy wall sitting. I don’t think I could stand 5 minutes of it today. I’ll let my poor avatar stop doing squats and let her rest. She’s had a tough day at work. Smh.

    Hard Day’s Nite

    I can’t help thinking about fashion while I’m doodling. It’s the first thing I can recall doodling as a child; Clothing and architectural design. I’d love to doodle and make my own clothes. My sewing skills are in the closet until Halloween comes along.

    Redshift Sentinel

    I make these little doodles as a way to turn my thoughts into something that might resonate with another frequency. I’m just an antenna searching for a wavelength.

    Beep Boop, I am a Robot

    Aha! The pose that I was looking for has been revealed to me. A glimmer of something real. That hesitation to look away, that’s what I’m searching for.

    Scarlet Fever

    Like viewing a coiled snake, I don’t want to look away. That’s the attitude I hope to convey.