15 Illustrations: Finding Nemo with Friends

Posted on December 10, 2016 by lksukany

I am working with Inktense pencils, Micron ink pens, and Canson Illustration 11×14″ 150lb art pad to create 15 illustrations (that is how many pieces of paper are in the art pad) of my current family life and inspirations.

This work is narrative in content and uses color in a monochromatic way accentuating one part of each drawing. These fun and quirky illustrations are a reflection of the current joy and activities I have been experiencing.

“Finding Nemo with Friends” features some of our friends from Arkansas (and Romania). Our friend Nana and her three kids were so amazing to help me navigate the land of having a kid. We were invited over – an open invitation – for whenever we wanted. Nana’s husband put together a “Finding Nemo” fishtank and E loved watching the fish. I used Inktense pencil Iris Blue for the color and used it on the water in the fish tank, the sky in the Romania painting, and placed a wave pattern on the rug.

Some of my favorite things about this drawing are Nana’s daughter reading to E,

Nana’s son playing cars,

Nana’s dog (and Ein’s friend Jack) watching W play with his cars,

Nana’s oldest daughter reading a good book,

the fireplace,

the painting of Romania that Nana commissioned for Livada orphan sponsorship,

the awesome “Finding Nemo” fish tank,

the fun wallpaper pattern,

and the waves in the carpet, which I put to not only use the color in an interesting way, but to show that our short time together (before we moved to Springfield) was in some ways metaphorically like the “Finding Nemo” dentist fish tank scene.

Inspirations for this drawing:

15 Illustrations: The Damsels in Distress Cakewalk

Posted on November 27, 2016 by lksukany

“The Damsels in Distress Cakewalk” is a piece based on an event that happened a couple of months ago. Our friend Mr. C invited us – The Damsels in Distress – to be one of the opening bands for Chris Staples who was stopping through Springfield on his “Golden Age” album release tour on a Monday evening Labor Day.

We were sitting in the kitchen and talking about what our set list would be when M asked me, “what would get you out on a Monday night to see a band play?” I immediately said that I would go somewhere if there was free food and if there was a chance for me to win a prize. And then I said, “like a cakewalk.” Then we both looked at each other and nodded vigorously. We would do a cakewalk! So, I made up some flyers.

We taped numbers on the floor and had a volunteer roll dice after each song. Whoever was standing on the number that was rolled won a cake from HyVee or coffee from the Coffee Ethic or the Mudhouse. It was a fun time. I drew this picture of what it looked like when I imagined it, and used Inktense pencils Iris Blue and Mauve blended together.

Some of my favorite parts of this drawing are the people walking in a circle,

this guy’s stubble and this girl’s crown,

this girl’s braids, this guy’s party blower, and this girl’s Lularoe bicycle dress,

The Damsels in Distress playing the guitar and accordion,

our baby and friend who carried her during our show (thanks Gallery Gal!),

the fun party decorations,

and all of the delicious looking cakes!

15 Illustrations: Key of G

Posted on October 27, 2016 by lksukany

“Key of G” is a musical family portrait in the playroom. G was the first note our baby played on her Casio keyboard. I liked this drawing so much that I made it into E’s first birthday party invitations and thank you notes. It’s super fun with all of the patterns, shapes, and there is that party pink color again. I used Inktense Carmine Pink and Fuchsia blended. I never thought I would be a little girl pink promoter, but goodness there are so many cool things in pink!

Some of my favorite details of this drawing are the thread in a jar, the piano, the piano bench cushion pattern, M’s fun socks (completely made up), the rug pattern inspired by The Land of Nod,

the play kitchen with the triangles on the wall (which the pink triangle decals are from the Land of Nod and placed by Gallery Gal), our fun family musical portrait,

me playing accordion, E playing the maracas, Ein playing the jingle bells,

the fun pendant (that I designed and embroidered), table cloth triangle pattern, and flowers in the kitchen, M playing the concertina (Grandpa and Grandma Sugar gave us the concertina – thanks!),

and the musical alphabet banner I made.

The inspiration for this drawing (wall done by Gallery Gal in Springfield, MO):

The embroidery pendant I made:

15 Illustrations: Easter Picnic at St. Andrews

Posted on October 18, 2016 by lksukany

“Easter Picnic at St. Andrews” was something we did back in March that really stuck in my mind. It was a gorgeous day, sunny and warm. St. Andrews Church has an amazing family program and hosted this really fun and laid back picnic and Easter egg hunt the Saturday before Easter. We went to this event and actually brought a picnic lunch – though we realized once there that the “picnic” was more like pick up some food after the egg hunt. We found a table and enjoyed our picnic fully.

I used Inktense pencil Spring Green for the color. This drawing was a bit of a challenge to chose what color and where to put it. I’m not fully convinced I made the right decision on either front, but it’s done now.

Some of my favorite details are the stone and pebble pathway leading to the church, the Easter egg basket and bench,

my make believe patterned skirt, our fun picnic food and flowers, M and E’s portraits,

our family portrait,

and the church windows and architecture.

The inspiration for this drawing:

Mural at Hoover

Posted on October 3, 2016 by lksukany

I created a jazz ensemble mural for Hoover Music Company in Springfield, MO in 2006. When we moved back to Springfield in June, I noticed the mural was looking a little faded. I stopped in and left a note letting them know I was back in town and would be happy to touch up the mural for them. They responded the next day and hired me on.

I worked on it for a couple of hours each day to let the paint dry. I packed an old suitcase with acrylic paint (Winsor & Newton Galleria: Burnt Umber, Yellow Ochre, Mars Black, Cadmium Yellow Medium Hue, and Pale Umber. Golden: Cadmium Red Medium Hue and Burnt Sienna. Liquitex Basics: Raw Sienna. Liquitex: Raw Umber. Grumbacher Academy: Titanium White and Burnt Sienna), Golden Heavy Gel medium, brushes, soap, latex gloves, paper towels, palette knife, apron, hat, slippers, plastic cups, double sided tape, baking pans, palette paper, painters tape, sunscreen, Dr. Bronner’s Soap, wash cloths, and one shot sealer. I also brought a tarp, step ladder, and jug of water.

Day 1: I washed the mural with Dr. Bronner’s soap and water and rinsed with water. I went over all of the figures outlines with a dark gray – almost black. I painted the woman’s dress a bright red straight from the tube, but ran out of paint at the bottom.

Day 2: I covered the red dress again to make the color a bit brighter and richer. I repainted the microphone and stand and the saxophone. I repainted the upright bass using a flat burnt sienna for the bass body.

Day 3: I repainted the guitar and put a second coat of flat burnt sienna on the upright bass.

Day 4: I reworked the dark gray – almost black outline.

Day 5: I created a medium gray and doubled the outline next to the dark gray – almost black outline. I created some shadows and curves to the red dress. I added some shading and highlights to the upright bass.

One of the best things about being a freelance artist is that I never know where I’ll be or what sort of project I will be working on next.

Paper Opera

Art, music, and stories.

Category Archives: Art