The Damsels in Distress at Tea Bar and Bites

Posted on June 17, 2017 by lksukany

We had the L.K. Sukany “Family Life Illustrations” art reception at Tea Bar and Bites art reception Thursday night. It was really fun and a lot of our friends and family came out – and some people from the Springfield community too!

There were some write ups on the event to promote it, which felt really fancy – especially on the KSMU Community Calendar.

The Damsels in Distress got together once again and played an all acoustic (no microphones even) show. We played acoustic guitar, mandolin, tambourine, maracas, glockenspiel, accordion, concertina, harmonic, and vocals.

The set list was: I do, The Statement, Arkansas, Girls Take Pills, Home, Gailey’s Mr. and Mrs. Campfire Song, D&D, I Like You, Candy Store, I Don’t Drive, Old Person Muses 40 Years Hence, Zero Field, Old Spanish Trail, Let Me Fall in Love, Sister, Home Sweet Home, Little Owl, Rare Red Rainbow, Fighting Hearts, French Song, Steven, and Neutron Rising.

Most songs can be heard on thedamselsindistress.bandcamp.com

The Family Life Illustrations can be viewed on the Paper Opera blog at paperopera.com/category/art/15-illustrations or at lksukany.wix.com/art/drawing

Thanks to everyone who came out to support our art and music!

15 Illustrations: Easter Picnic at St. Andrews

Posted on October 18, 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.

“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:

15 Illustrations: Book Babies at Terry Library

Posted on September 29, 2016 by lksukany

“Book Babies at Terry Library” was a direct inspiration from a children’s reading program at the Terry Library in Little Rock, Arkansas called “Book Babies” and was such a fun time for E and I. Book babies is a 30 minute program that meets once a week and involves stories, action rhymes, songs, and a playtime/social time at the end.

I used Inktense pencil Carmine Pink for my monochromatic color, which felt very fun and playful within this composition. I have been going to my favorite art shop – National Art Shop – in Springfield, MO to pick up extra Inktense pencil colors.

Here are the close ups of all of the moms and their kiddos.

Here is E and I!

Some details I liked were the rug pattern and the background books – all of which we have read!

While we were still living in Arkansas, the Central Arkansas Library System (CALS) promoted a very fun and challenging program called 1,000 Books Before Kindergarden which we did in six months. For me it was a lot of research in the children’s books publishing world. For E it was just a lot of fun with mama.

The inspiration for this drawing:

Paintings for Livada: Shinkai House

Posted on September 11, 2016 by lksukany

When I was on the missions trip with Grace Church serving the Livada Orphan Care ministry in Romania, the beauty of the country inspired me. I had the idea that when I got home to Arkansas I could paint these Romanian scenes and donate the paintings to Livada to raise money for orphan sponsorship.

Our group went to the Shinkai house and it was amazing! The family who fosters some of the orphans was so welcoming and showed us around – on the outside of the house, there were cats, dogs, rabbits, pigs, and chickens. On the inside there was a wall full of drawings and paintings that the kids had made.

As we were leaving, a man on a horse cart passed us by and we jumped on his cart for a picture.

Image to Paint

Charcoal Sketch on Canvas

Painting Sketch (1st Coat)

Painting Sketch (2nd Coat)

Painting Sketch (3rd Coat)

Final Painting

Paintings for Livada: Romanian Woman with Cane

Posted on September 10, 2016 by lksukany

We drove everywhere from the group house to the places and people we would serve for the day. As we were driving, I kept holding my camera against the car window and snapping pictures along the road side.