These are 2 drawings of lion cubs. The first lion cub was drawn with markers, oil pastels, and paint pens. The line work in the first drawing started out fairly loose, but tightened up as I tried to correct proportion, value, and position mistakes. I left the second lion cub drawing abstract and cartoonish, and also used markers, oil pastels, and paint pens. The drawings are 9″ x 12″.

Related posts:

1. Lion Drawings and Paintings These two artworks depicting lions blur the line between drawings…
2. Lion Drawings These two Lion Drawings were created at two different times,…
3. Drawings of Lions These four drawings of lions were created with charcoal in…

There is a beautiful painting of a face under there. It’s vibrant, vital, and has a lot of interesting colors and shapes to share. But the spark, albeit the tiniest glimmer in the eyes, has been covered up. Muddied and spray painted with opaqueness, it’s frustrating to look at what could be a joyful being, swallowed by apathy. Sinking into the cold coppery abyss without any care for saving oneself. It’s difficult to see the face clearly. You may want to, but just can’t. And the painting can barely see you. Sort of sums up sadness and depression to me.

This abstract painting of a sad or depressed face was painted with acrylics and spray paint on a masonite board. The painting is approximately 12″x16″.

P.S. So as not to alarm concerned viewers, I’m not depressed, but might have been when I painted this image. People, being the social creatures we are, are naturally inclined to assume art reflects personality or state of mind. And while that may be partly true, I give more credit to people’s ability to overcome obstacles after giving amnesty to fears.

Special thanks to the unspoken viewers who’ve given me the attention I needed to heal. Push for joy.

~Michael

This is an abstract portrait painting of an Art Goddess. The artwork is 9″x12″ and was created with pens, watercolor, paint pens, and markers. Multiple layers of medium were energetically and organically built up to create an abstract female face, with broad strokes of watercolor and detailed pen lines used to push and pull the space. The essence of creativity is playfully depicted as an Art Goddess, with the face as an almost universally recognizable lead in to the visual art.

As I’ve grown into art, I realized that I have developed a deliberate way of expressing myself visually. Perhaps the same way that some have a deeper understanding of other tools for expression and communication, like math, language, or music. I feel a deep appreciation for those other creative processes, even though I don’t understand the intricacies of them, I know there are areas of overlap and mutual insight. So I added a few subtle reminders of other tools that enrich and nurture visual art.

I also wondered, if more people were taught to convey emotions or concepts via color and shape more consistently, what new ways of thinking about the world would we discover? What unknown creativity awaits behind the Goddess’ eyes? And what flashes behind yours?

Some days before I draw, I close my eyes and breathe until I’m close to a kundalini state of mind, and I start to see amazing faces of all kinds. Barely captured in the artwork, the faces are so real, so unlike anything in this world, it feels like more than just imagination. Like my eyes have to close to this world in order to open in another.

There is a gamut of emotions they express, extreme details, and some that seem to embody the very essence of words like “beauty”, “evil”, “fun”, and some… I don’t think there are words to express what they are. I’m not consciously controlling the faces, they move, come, and go on their own, but I’ve never seen them before with my eyes open, and I don’t know where they come from.

I drew a picture that echoes the experience.

~Michael
MDE-Art.com