Sketching with Paper

Countertop Cityscape

Everyday objects can inspire. Bottles and objects on my bathroom countertop reminded me of downtown Oakland buildings, so I decided to combine the two.

I love skyscrapers and cityscapes; I like the architecture, the colors, lights and distant city sounds. I like the angles, contours, steel and glass. I also like abstract art — for me, it's emotion in tangible form. Combining these passions in Paper by FiftyThree on my iPad lead to this drawing.

Countertop Cityscape was a lot of fun to make. Keeping it messy let me focus on bold shapes, color and concept. For this kind of drawing, I think that the oStylus DOT is essential. I hope you like it!

I will continue posting shots as I continue experimenting with iPad art.

Vector Art: Bradtastic Classic Abstract

by Brad Chin — please don’t steal art, we work hard on this stuff! :-)

As promised, here’s some classic art.

This dates back to around high school I think. I find it interesting, looking back at these old pieces, I wouldn’t use the same techniques today; there’s a lot that I would change, add and take away, but I still like the piece. (I probably wouldn’t post it otherwise!) But looking at it, I wonder, what do I like about this?

I see so many things that I’d do differently, and yet, there’s something other than nostalgia that speaks to me. It’s up to you to judge whether or not you think it’s good or bad, if it means anything… if it’s pretty, cluttered, whatever.

I like the colors. I like the flow, the feel. I like the background. I added the Bradtastic and saysBrad.com recently, and that might be my least favorite, though I dig it also.

Sometimes, I want some levity.

Recently, I’ve been posting pretty serious stuff. I’ve been working hard, and I’ve been very concerned with the state of our Union — America is in trouble, and there are many people seemingly apathetic, or perhaps willing, to let it crumble.

I live with a lot of pain. I’ve done everything that I can to cut back on the medicine, but that means that on average, the pain is worse. Some of my friends are suffering, too, in different ways, and I feel for them with empathy I wouldn’t have had when I created this piece, pixiestickhallucination. I hadn’t used any narcotic or any drug of any kind when I made this — no alcohol, nicotine… okay, caffeine, if that counts. Maybe ibuprofen (Advil).

I’ve had a hard few days; there was a fire in the building with toxic smoke — I still feel sick from it, nauseated and migraines come and go. I’m sore from rushing attempting to, hurredly, escape what I thought might’ve been a world-changing fire — not knowing I was moving toward the burning. Well. That’s life.

I suppose this piece reminds me of something else.

Maybe dreams. Life has changed so much. I don’t listen to music, watch TV and work simultaneously. I can’t, really. I’m listening to That’s All She Wrote (feat. Eminem)

Inspiration

Created 2011 Brad Chin. Rights Reserved… don’t steal art!

Inspiration… where does it come from?

I have been asking myself that quite a bit over the past few days. Last week, I quite literally dreamt up an idea for a fictional story, something that I may turn into a novel or a screenplay, or a series — I don’t know. What I do know is that I’ve never felt anything like that before, and I feel like I must share this story.

It doesn’t feel optional. I feel like if I even make an attempt to hold it back, it’ll tear through my brain, gush out my face and rip apart the remaining seams that hold my sanity together. No one wants that to happen. That would be amusing for some, but probably quite the mess for crime scene cleanup. 

The necessary tools.

Fortunately, I feel like I’m finally properly equipped. I feel like I have the tools to create the world; the brush, the paint, the canvas and the spirit. Reality has this mean reputation for shattering dreams; it takes some willpower to overcome boot camp, hell week — the rigorous tests that separate greatness from mediocrity — and the stigma against “creating art” for a living (instead of getting a “real” job). 

Recently, I sent an inquiry to the fine folks over at Literature & Latte. Long story short, I’m now using Scrivener to organize my writing projects, and I’m thrilled — because Scrivener is incredible. Bradtastic Approved. In my (excellent) opinion, Apple makes the finest computing equipment for creatives and has engineered a wonderful backbone for some of the most amazing software designed by the friendliest, most sincere, dedicated, and down-to-earth programmers in the world. If you have Mac OS X, check out Scrivener — also available in the Mac App Store.

Another crucial asset is ThinkBook by bitolithic. It’s just incredible; well-built, incredibly usable, powerful, intuitive… if you like to plan anything, you can benefit from ThinkBook. 

I’m still doing what I’m doing, trying to recover and heal, deal with my pain and reduce it as much as possible. I was thinking about how to go about sharing my recent eureka moment, and I created the image above in Sketchbook. I wasn’t going for anything in particular; I just let my muse guide me, and the colors, shapes and strokes above is the result.

What, or whom, inspires you?