It’s been another weird year, most of which saw me throw a small, sulky hissy-fit, giving up on all drawing, partially because hours and hours (weeks, actually) of designing, re-working and drawing two sets of cards for Upper Deck on behalf of Marvel saw all the designs shipped off to California, for both sets of cards being decided to not even be sold. Which means, because of a contract and legal reasons, I am unable to show ANY of the designs anywhere. This is the biggest frustration of them all really, all that excitement but nothing to prove the hard work. This wouldn’t have been enough to stop me drawing though, that came later, as less and less enthusiasm for my art became a bit of a problem for me to deal with. Mainly mentally, which is something I’ve always struggled with, but this time, after dealing with Ocean’s scoliosis, then heart problems, and Vikki’s breast cancer, which has been especially hard to deal with for the past 2 years (she’s still receiving aftercare treatment) add to that having my own disability issues etc etc I guess my brain just shut down and I couldn’t see the point in working hard for little or no rewards anymore, even getting new followers seems impossible, hey-ho.
But I’m drawing again! Woo-hoo!
Back in August, as the end of the school summer hols, I started feeling a bit better about things, so I fired up the laptop and my drawing screen (XP-Pen 16) and started drawing some old classics, starting with Spongebob Squarepants, for no particuar reason, but rather than the slog of recording me drawing it all, editing it into a video etc, I just enjoyed drawing each character individually, drawing a new background, then saving them all as transparent PNGs, I culd make a video at a later date, showing each character individually, so more ‘post-work’ than ‘me creating the work’, just to take some of the thinking out of it, so I could enjoy the process a bit more. I’ve drawn quite a few since then, posting them mainly on Facebook, but adding a few to Instagram and Tik-Tok when I’ve had the time or the energy.
I’ll be adding them all to my recents gallery soon, but this week has been taken up with the dentist, spending several days bed-bound, and trying to finish colouring books to hand out to all the trick-or-treaters for Halloween night.
They’ve been well received so far, so it’s all been worth it, Happy Halloween everyone!
Welll, things have gone from busy and secret, to not so busy artwise, but busy with real life! I’ve had to put art on hold for a few weeks whilst other things have needed to be attended to. Well I drew Matt Smith being The Doctor, just for a laugh…
I’ve added a few more Star Wars pieces to the Pickle Draws Star Wars gallery tonight, but for now, keeping an eye on my wife and family have to take centre stage, but within the next few weeks, new things WILL pop up, I promise!
Well I did pre- warn you that I’d be away from my blog for a little while because of secret stuff and that secret stuff has been sent off and I’m awaiting approval and so far, the feedback has been really positive, so expect some news on that soon! I’ll give you a hint though, it involves two big names, Upper Deck and Marvel!
In other news, Vikki, my darling wife, is still in the early stages of her chemotherapy, but doing really well, I’m super proud of how she’s coping, she’s one tough, brave cookie.
I’ve done a couple of shopping lists (see previous blogs), but not much feedback to report on those.
I’m currently in the finishing stages of a British-biscuit- based project, so there will be something to report on those soon as well, plus those of you who have followed me for a while may be excited to know that Vikki and I will be returning to more photography- based work in the near future that’s currently in the planning stages, but promises to be exciting times ahead, including a return to some 360° photography and videos, plus a vlog with some exciting ideas, bringing the whole family into the project and linking several platforms together in the process!
So it’s definitely a ‘watch this space’ moment! It’s good to be back, especially with exciting times ahead! See you again very soon!
My Star Wars doodles have got their own Gallery in my ‘Projects‘ section!
Because I’ve drawn quite a few now, I’ve decided to put all of the Star Wars – based digital paintings into their own gallery. So that’s nice. I may do a re-design to fit more descriptions in, but for now, it’s nice to see th little blighters all settled in their new home. Click on the pic above or click here to go and visit them in a fresh new tab! Tell them I sent you.
Calm before the storm?
It’s eerily quiet, but busy at the same time, so not much to report art-wise (apart from the above), I’ve drawn a couple of party invites, I can’t post them here, but I can post a couple of items I used to illustrate them…
I had a lot of fun drawing these!
Like most of my current digital work, it’s a combo of drawing and painting in Sketchbook Pro on an XP-Pen 16 2nd Gen and Adobe Photoshop for tweaking. Everyone in receipt were very happy, so that’s a win.
So what’s coming?
Well, it’s November, so that usually means everyone talking about Christmas. I’m thinking about it, and doing some doodles, but it feels a little early to be going all out Christmas mad.
WIP of a Santa doodle I’m working on. I guess it’s November!
We’ll see. Keep warm everyone, and keep loving each other.
Well, I said I’d be busy, so art might take a back seat for a while and I was kind of right. I have be very busy, but I’ve also managed to be productive too! As some of you may know, my daughter, Ocean, has been rightfully taking up the larger portion of our time, she has had her operation, (Posterior fusion and correction for Scoliosis), and it was a resounding success. It’s been tough. Incredibly, vomit-inducingly tough at times, but she is recovering well and her wound is healing nicely. A remarkable pece of major surgery by Mr.Lucas, her surgeon and the rest of the team, we are SO grateful. We’re also so proud of how Ocean’s coped and how much work she’s putting in to build herself to as normal as possible, (within allowed limits, it’s 18 mths before the spine fuses completely), she’s been a star and funny with it too. (You can follow her blog and progress here )
Doodling for charity.
So time has been swallowed up by trying being good parents and nurses, but there has been a lot of time between waiting for her 9hr op, waiting for a cab, sitting with her while she rested, and staying in the RMHC Evelina on my own allowed me to doodle and sketch and post-op, we’ve taken it in turns to keep her company, so again, some drawing time to be had there too. During Ocean’s stay in hospital, I drew a few doodles for the lovely staff at the RMHC, for their art table, for kids to colour in. They went down well, so I was asked to draw a few halloween drawings, which I did. Once returning home, I utilised down-time, or late nights to draw some cleaner, digital halloween-based drawings, (check them out in the slideshow below)
Add funny faces to the ghosts!
Colour – in sheet 1
Colour – in sheet 2
‘How to draw a simple ghost’ sheet
‘Add some funny faces to the pumpkins’ sheet
‘Happy Halloween’ colour – in sheet
When you find yourself enjoying your own activity sheet…
The ‘Add some funny faces to the pumpkins’ sheet was calling out to me, so i gave a few a go, then got a bit carried away, drawing 4 (or 5 in one case) different expressions for each of the 6 pumpkins. I created an outline of each, a plain colour of each AND a shaded/highlighted of each too! (That’s 75 in total, but 25 finished shaded pumpkins).
I don’t know at this stage whether these, or the activity sheets warrant their own page, but we’ll see where it takes me. But here are the pumpkins, as a slideshow…
big eyes
slightly moody, but cheeky too.
cute
goofy but happy
feeling rough
huge eyes
grrrr
GRRR
meiow
winker
nervous pumpkin
cyclops pumpkin
wonky eyes
traditional carved
happy pumpkin
toothy
argh!
big teeth keith
toofy-goofy-big-tongue
button-eyed-joe
eye-popping
life with bite pt 1
Life with Bite 2
Life with Bite 3 – Cute
Life with bite pt4. Cool.
I don’t know if they will ever amount to anything, I thought perhaps stickers, but again, I don’t know.
Also.. Mandalorians. Well, Star Wars in general really.
Quick and Dirty. That’s not how I like to be described, nor my art, usually, but sometimes, it’s nice to knock something out that has a satisfying result, but with less faff and fumbling. Ive been using my daughter’s Disney to catch up on some of the Star Wars franchise that has evaded me. I’ve seen a huge majority of it, but I’m filling the gaps. Early october, I watched all of ‘The Mandalorian’. (I’ve moved on to other series, like Ahsoka, Fett, Kenobi, Clone wars etc, since then, but some of the visuals of The Mandalorian captivated me enough to draw them). I’d personally like a poster of ‘Paz Vizsla’, perhaps I might sort that in the future. But you might have another favourite, see which you like in the slideshow bellow…
Grogu / Din Djarin
Grogu
Paz Vizsla
The Armorer
As I said, quick and dirty. Well, as you can tell, I’d hit my stride and put a bit more effort with The Armorer and Paz Vizsla, so they are bit less q&d, but you get the gist. I’m not sure if I’ll do any more like this, but who knows?
A friend in need…
Is a friend indeed. As you know, I don’t make any money from most of my art, yet. But (see above) sometimes it’s nice to do something to help out a bit. I’ve been sharing the link to Ocean’s GoFundMe page and asking if others can share it too, (please feel free to share too, we’re still hoping to hit the target to donate any excess to both the Evelina Children’s Hospital and RMHC). Some have shared already and some generous and lovely people have donated, which is lovely and is going towards Ocean’s recovery and essentials. Anything she doesn’t need will be donated to the charities mentioned above.
Understandably, not everyone can donate, some people are struggling enough right now, sacrificing all sorts to keep afloat. But an old pal of over 20 years has had some REALLY shite luck recently, losing both of his very beloved cats, then a whole heap of bad luck after this, which I won’t go into, but bad-bad. I really wanted to help him, he really wanted to help us, so after a long chat, he shared Ocean’s charity page and in return, I drew a cartoon-style double portrait of his cats..
The Cat Cherubs
I drew them in the style of ‘The Two Cherubs’ by Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (Raphael), to depict them as angels, watching over their Dad. I also tried to capture certain details and colours unique to both kitties. I was pleased with the result, Jim was pleased with the result, happy days!
So what’s next?
That’s a good question, but one I partly can’t answer, because I have things lined up that I can’t talk about until they are approved/go on sale or can’t show because they are personal and require permission from the commissioner before I can show them here or on social media.
However, I should imagine there might be a few doodles in between the serious stuff, but lots of other stuff to blog about too, so I won’t be going quiet any time soon.
Have a great halloween, or light festival, whatever your preference is, either way, have fun and don’t get too scared!
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I’m slowing down in some areas, but concentrating on our daughter’s upcoming operation. so, I’ve put the ‘Flash Sheet 001’ project on semi-hold. I’ll be doodling in a handy sketchpad when possible, so hopefully some new ideas might pop up, so it won’t go too quiet.* see next blog post for details.
My wife has set up a ‘GoFundMe’ page for Ocean, please click here to visit to donate (or share, or donate andshare if you’re the crazy and reckless sort! Up to date, 4 or 5 days after going live, some really kind friends from across the country, and a couple from overseas too (wow!), have kindly donated and the amount raised so far is £355 ! (we are SO grateful! God bless you all x) There’s also loads more information about her operation and a little about why we’ve resorted to asking for outside financial help. We’ve only done a few sums to cover the next 18 months and it’s surprising how things add up. For example, clothes, apart from needing quite a few items because of size changes, some clothes we are aiming for are adaptive, like pyjamas, that can be put on/taken off easily with velcro fastenings or longer t-shirts. I could list more but I’m a bit tired, however, I’ll list (or Ocean will list in her blog, exactly where the money is being spent).
We’ve been trying to find other ways to fund things and some people have mentioned we might be able to apply for some grants to help with food etc which will be helpful if we qualify. I’ve cut back on a few vices for quite some time, so that’ll help too. Also, Ronald Mcdonald House Charity will be able to provide us with accomodation for our stay in London. Every little bit is helping ease some of the obvious worry. (any further advice gratefully received!)
Kind words
We’ve also had some really kind words, offers for help and assistance, messages of support and some helpful advice, which we’re VERY grateful for. It’s been lovely to read people’s kind words, they are really helping.
The Positives!
I mentioned earlier we were reluctant to start a GoFundMe, we’ve had a tough 30 years together and apart from closest family, and on very rare occasions close-friend’s help, we’ve tried to go it alone, stay under the radar, but now I guess we’re finding it hard to push our cause ‘too far’. I suppose what I mean is, how much publicity is good publicity? So, to explain, a kind friend mentioned perhaps the local paper might be interested in the story. Awesome! That will hopefully make the cause seen by more people, which is a good thing. Isn’t it?
Fear, trolls and judgy vultures.
Previous experience with my art and my disabilities, has shown that Trolls exist and judgy vultures exist in real life as well as faceless on the internet, the more publicity, the more the risks. Especially if you are a quiet family that used to be crazy and outgoing and a part of several communities, but again, through the fault of modern social interactions, judgment and fear, coupled with the trauma of Covid has become a different family, slowly working on their mental health, aiming to get through this latest challenge (Ocean’s op) before trying to re-trust the world around us. I probably sound mental, but I’ve discovered a LOT about mine (and my family’s) historical mental health recently and it’s a lot to unpack, I can’t manage it quickly. I’ll do more early next year. So, we feel broken, a few of us physically, (we’re not hypochondriacs, just unlucky but we soldier through, ready for the next battle!) so a little piece for the newspaper is a bit scary, but possible. Still scary. However, a very kind friend suggested tonight that he was thinking of Chris Moyles’ show on Radio X and that he sometimes features similar to Ocean’s story on his radio show. It’s a fantastic idea, I’ve listened to C.M. for decades on and off and my brother is a BIG fan, but the idea PETRIFIES me. I definitely think that Ocean deserves the extra love and well wishing it would bring, I know she’d be overjoyed, she’s a very loving girl but loves getting some love back. But…. I’m scared that it’ll bring out the trolls. Or escalate to local tv news. Ocean deserves it, but I couldn’t do it currently. Nor Vikki. As far as the trolls, I’m thick skinned about nasty comments, I get them all the time, but I am a bit fragile at the moment. I’d really like some advice on this.
More positives!
Ocean is a star, but I’ve already told you that. She is about to undergo serious spinal surgery, but she wants to engage and inspire others by starting a blog, partly about her everyday goings-on, but also to blog her progress through her surgery and beyond. I’m so proud of her! Please take a couple of minutes to have a look at her very new blog: Oceans of Emotions She asked if I could draw a few illustrations for her, I did just that, so you’ll see a few of my doodles in amongst her work. I must go now, I’m a bit tired, so sleep beckons. Thanks for reading and again if you’ve donated thank you, if you haven’t, it’s your choice, but the link is above xxx Take care of each other, much love x
Would you like to help donate towards Ocean’s Big Journey?
Help to make Ocean’s hospital stay, healing and recuperation as comfortable as possible
Well hasn’t 2023 been a really testing year? Our family has seen some really tough times, as many are currently. But apart from some recent dire financial problems, and some serious self-adjustment-exploration/discovery, it’s also topped off by some harder times still to come. Hospital visits and a serious operation for my daughter, amongst several other things are making mundane worries hard to cope with. I don’t like airing all my personal life on the Internet, but I prefer to disclose a little, so you get a picture of why things are the way things are!
It’s also been a low and longer-than-usual dark patch, so my usual passion towards art has been thin on the ground (plus trouble with my wrist/thumb/shoulder, (still awaiting results) but my brain hasn’t stopped coming up with ideas on how to take my artwork upwards.
Keeping the smiles!
Amongst the stuff I mentioned, there has been some better news. I’ve been doing a lot of practical practising, anatomy, proportion, perspective, new techniques etc. It is SO important to keep practising this stuff, however boring, it’s the foundation of everything, and you can never stop learning new things. I’ve also been taking a break from social media, freeing up time and lowering stress levels! This is a double-edged sword though, I’ve had more time to draw, but no-one is getting to see any of it! But if you’re in a low patch, you often think no-one cares anyway, which isn’t usually the case.
Also, I’ve had to be super strong for the sake of my children, especially my youngest daughter, who has the op I mentioned earlier coming very soon. She’s incredibly brave, I’m SO proud of her anyway, but I can’t express how proud. So if she can keep filling my life with smiles, then the least I can do, is to be the best Dad I can be. She’s really supportive of my art, so loves seeing and contributing to what I’m working on, so that helps drive me forward too.
New Ideas and New Commissions!
I do have a couple of commissions in the pipeline, but the sort that won’t have W-I-Ps, but I’ll post the finished work, (if the clients allow, of course, the customer is always right!)
Whilst these are in the planning stages, or during down time, I’ve spent some time working on some more design ideas, originally as sticker ideas, but the sky is the limit really, t-shirts, badges, cups, underpants even.
As you can see in the pic below, it started with me doodling a mad-looking rabbit, then a tortoise. I then had an idea that I could doodle many ideas exploding out from a central scroll or centrepiece, featuring both outline drawings, plain coloured versions and fully shaded versions, as a sort of ‘flash’ sheet. If you didn’t already know, a flash sheet is most commonly seen in the waiting rooms of nearly every tattooist in the world, full of countless beautiful designs, of all sizes, but ready to go, a bit like clip-art before clip-art was a thing.
Once my Flash Sheet is full, I can pick ideas, and work on them, up the size, resolution and quality, then save them and post them, the best of the best can then be turned into badges, stickers, t-shirts, even beach towels, perhaps. It’s still in the idea stages but I’m happy so far. I even have ideas for themed flash sheets as time goes on!
I’m working digitally, using software called Sketchbook on a graphics tablet on a laptop, it’s a very time-saving medium, and corrections and adjustments are simpler. It’s great for the environment too, I’ve been getting through a lot of sketchbooks and pencils, this is costly, causes storage issues and isn’t very kind to trees, (I don’t always buy recycled paper!) I’ve not given up the sketchbook, but when you can rough sketch on your phone, paint on your laptop and post to socials almost anywhere, it does mean you can travel a bit lighter. Back to the point. As I said, I’m happy with the project so far, here’s a few pics outlining where I am to date:
This is the very first layout, with the first four ideas. Each design showing 3 stages ‘exploding’ from the centre. At ths stage, I thought of adding little ideas to fill in gaps, which could feature as smaller designs or collections, perhaps insects, symbols etc. No space wasted and tons of designs for the future!
Several days later, I’d filled the workspace nicely, but as I filled in the last few gaps, I began to wonder if the outline and plain designs were just a little wasted. They weren’t ‘exploding out from the centre, so I figured, if I removed them, I could fit more designs into the work area.
Flash Sheet 001. This is the finished ideas sheet, crammed full of designs. I have no idea exactly how many, but I’m counting as I re-draw each one! (if you look closely, you’ll see loose scribblings here and there, these didn’t quite make it, but may in the future)
Here’s an example of the next stage of this project. Originally just ‘fill-in designs’, these fruit designs, once re-drawn, make nice designs in their own right. The eagle-eyed of you may have noticed that the original grapes had faces, but the fruit didn’t. To rectify this discrepancy, I drew two versions….
So now, there’s fruit, with and without cartoon faces!
And outline versions.
Some designs won’t warrant 3 pages of different versions, for example…
Here’s ‘Cactus Prickly’ 2 sheets, one with outline and plain, the other with plain and shaded. All bases covered on two sheets for the future.
I’ll be adding a whole new section to this website for this project, so keep an eye out for that and I’ll post all the designs on my social media pages, plus timelapse videos of some of the designs on YouTube and TikTok! Here’s one of the designs I’ve added to YouTube:
Timelapse video of The Cactus design (no sound)
So here’s to the future. Whatever rollercoaster it may be, I can only do my best.
I don’t know what is round the corner, but I know it won’t be easy and probably won’t get easier. But there’s people out there far worse off than me, and my thoughts are always with them. So I’ll keep making people smile with my daft doodles, I know some do, and if I make others happy, I’m happy too.
Keep on keeping on x
(Also, please pop over to my social media and do what you need to do to follow me and keep up to date with what’s new, plus this project’s progress, links below x)
It’s been looming for a while, but sadly, time is at a very close end for my favourite 0.5mm light blue mechanical pencil leads.
R.I.P. my beauty.
I’ve used them for years, originally buying 10 packs of 10, but alas, I can’t find anywhere in the UK that still stock them. So, I’m desperately trying to test alternatives for erasabilty, if that’s a word, but the right grade too, bot too hard, like a 2H for example. Some reviews and research have had me scratching my head, and it’s looking like a change from 0.5 to 0.7mm might have to happen. This might benefit me, as sometimes I can be heavy-handed, so leads snapp frequently, 0.7 would help this, but it would mean shelving my favourite Parker 0.5mm mechanical pencil, which my wonderful, late father used as his technical drawing best, then gave it to me as a young man. I’ll still use it, so not all doom and gloom.
In Other News…
Dean’s Brain Cells
Dean’s Brain Cells is a simple, but deep piece, an A4 ratio picture of many many cartoon faces, pulling different faces and expressions. Each one represents a thought or emotion that bombards my brain every hour of every day.
The picture above is the 3rd in a trial of 3 versions. One is simple ink in considered depths, the 2nd is crosshatched in various shades of grey and the 3rd is a coloured version (see above) To see all three versions, just click on the pic above to head to my Facebook page and go to photos, look for an album called 2023.
I’ve also started doodling doctors, but I doubt much will come of it. We’ll see. Anyway, have a wonderful weekend, much love x
Dean Perry aka pickledpizza 