CrashOctopus Blog

Incredulous Owl by Meg Lyman

Gouache on ACEO

$30 – e-mail to purchase

So apparently owls are now a thing. Not sure how long it will last, but they’ve been all over the stores – as earrings, on shirts, as stuffed animals, on towels, in artwork – you name it. I think it’s partially because the owl shape lends itself to stylization and is still instantly recognizable. Here are a few examples:

There is a brewery in Japan, Hitachino Nest, that has an adorable owl as its mascot. I posted about their Hitachino Stout several years ago, and just recently tried their Sweet Stout, which is a milk stout. Delicious, as milk stouts usually are.

Isn’t it cute?

Because of all this owl hype, I thought now would be a good time to finally do the tribute to the Hitachino owl I’ve been wanting to do. I used the opportunity to try a new color scheme, using flat colors and dry brushing. It was a fun experiement!

D. Jobby Mabob by Meg Lyman

8×8″ oil on panel

$100 – e-mail to purchase

Hey everyone! First of all, I’ll be at Anime Weekend Atlanta in a couple weeks. If you’re going, stop by the table! I’ll have my 2012 calendars for sale. Don’t worry – I’ll post here after I’m done with cons for the year.

Also, I just got back from a fabulous art class. I spent a week with a bunch of other crazy artist nerds painting fantasy scenes at Larry Elmore’s class. It’s my third class with him and I learn so much every time. Plus, he’s a fantastic guy. I’ll post the art we did once I get the finishing touches done. Which may be months.

Finally, I’ll be at Con on the Cob next month in Ohio. Woohoo!

p.s. the critter in this still life is a plush by Lexi.

Cupid II by Meg Lyman

11×14″ gouache on Pastelbord

$130 – e-mail to inquire

I don’t think I’ll ever tire of the cephalopods-as-cupid theme. Also, I can’t say enough about how much I like using gouache on Pastelbord. It does chew up brushes, though.

This was my first attempt to apply what James Gurney calls the Windmill Principle. It’s a subtle application, but I like the result.

TRON Squid by Meg Lyman

8×10″ gouache on board

$75 – e-mail to inquire

Streamlined squid shapes go so well with light cycles.

Smurfalopod by Meg Lyman

8×10″ gouache and ink on Canson paper

$55 – e-mail to inquire

I’m not sure where this came from. Don’t ask. All I know is that his little smurfalopod butt is naked because I can’t figure out how to paint pants on an octopus.

Haunted Lantern by Meg Lyman

Around 4×9″gouache and ink.

$60 – e-mail to inquire

I don’t know. Another long cephalopod experiment. This time with gold gouache. Until recently, I didn’t know they made gold gouache. It is awesome. But it does not scan well.

Wonders by Meg Lyman

Metallic ink on ACEO

$25 – e-mail to inquire about purchase

I feel like this toucan today. There is inspiration in the air. It’s probably because it was a beautiful, full-blown spring weekend, the sun was out, the daffodils were peeking up through the pine needles, and I spent yesterday afternoon out in that beauty, arms deep in my car’s engine compartment. Ahh, spring. Too bad it’s going to get cold and nasty again this week.

I haven’t done much art the last few months, and let’s face it, the end of February is a bit late to be planning the year. The weather is partially to blame. But I also think I needed a break to decide the direction I want to go with my art, which is why it has taken so long to figure out what I want to do with this year.

I doubt now that art is ever going to be my main source of income, and I’m OK with that. A lot of my inspiration isn’t terribly marketable, and I just don’t want to paint things for other people for the rest of my life. Luckily, all my commission work has involved cephalopods so far, which makes it enjoyable, but 1) it doesn’t pay very well and 2) it’s hard to knuckle down and do it when you have a dozen more inspiring ideas clamoring for space in your head. Because of this realization, I decided to do fewer conventions this year. After two years on the circuit, I know which ones are money makers and which are the most fun with friends. I’ll stick to those, and probably mail in art to the rest. Note that most of those I’m attending are in Atlanta, or nearby, which cuts down on expenses.

2010 Convention Schedule

• FWA (Atlanta) – Artist’s Alley, volunteer at the art show
• OutlantaCon (Atlanta) – Dealer’s Table
• Mobicon (Mobile) – Mail in art
• Imagicon (Birmingham) – Mail in art
• RCFM (Huntsville) – Maybe attend with a Dealer’s Table; depends if friends go
• Anthrocon (Pittsburgh) – all in (Dealer’s Table, Art Show)
• Dragon*Con (Atlanta) – all in
• AWA (Atlanta) – all in
• Con on the Cob (Akron) – all in

Other than conventions, I of course want to keep improving my art. I also want to focus my inspiration more in order to refine my style and start giving my art more meaning. Just because I have a vision of a tractor tire nautilus shell doesn’t mean that anyone will buy it. It needs to tell a story or make a point… otherwise, it’s just my subconscious barfing on the canvas. As fun as that is for me, very few other people dig it enough to pay for it.

I’m using mind-mapping to help me focus. Specifically, I’m using the tool “VYM” for Linux. If you are having problems with art block or with inspiration, check out mind mapping. It can be done with a pen and paper, and can really help you filter through your ideas and pick the ones that will take you somewhere. Without it, I probably wouldn’t have posted this plan until July.

Last WIP…

…annnnnnnnd: DONE! Just in time for Dragon*Con. I have 20 pieces in the show (4 of them are limited edition prints). I still have 3 to finish, so off I go! I’ll share them with you when it’s over, and remind me to give my shining critique of watercolor canvas with gouache.

Previous WIP Steps

Painted Shark by Meg Lyman

5×7″ oil on board

$85 – e-mail to purchase

Stylized Cuttlefish II by Meg Lyman

5×7″ gouache on paper

$45 – e-mail to buy

Been painting little doodles and working on the website. I need to post a WIP of one of these little gouache doodles, but they’re so fast that I usually forget to stop and take photos.

Happy Mother’s Day!