Thank you to everyone who supported the launch and debut of the Little Red Wolf line this past week...all you fans will be getting much more info and I know many are anticipating the internet reveal which I am preparing as I write this post for the new 2012 year! Both my hand illustrated pillows sold to wonderful homes :)

Earlier this week while working in a frenzy on my new artistically altered clothing line one of my students shared this amazing video (below) by Miguel Endara with me. As an artist the documentation, content and stipple technique is worth the watch alone, but as an educator - the artist's answering of questions and sharing of information is as much gold as the video - so I have included them here as well all the questions and answers after the video are his.
Over all this stuff is inspirational, revealing of the time and energy that could be invested into creating a single portrait and...its a pretty good inadvertent ad campaign for micron pens as well...lol!

So while I'm on my self-love retreat this week and getting ready to debut my Little Red Wolf Artistically Altered clothing line to the world wide web for the new year... enjoy this post!

OH AND BTW!!! I have been receiving wonderful suggestions for my soul-gutted doll's name. I will be making a decision by the end of this week and giving the person whose name for the doll that I choose, a signed picture of the doll!! So someone will receive a holiday gift and YOU STILL have time to submit name ideas (just click on post a comment on the name that doll.

Hero from Miguel Endara on Vimeo.

The making of "Hero," a drawing of my dad composed entirely out of 3.2 million ink dots.

Music by Bonobo - Noctuary
Created, Filmed, Produced and Edited by Miguel Endara
www.miguelendara.com

Update:
I am so overwhelmed! I can't begin to thank you enough for the wonderful comments you all have given me in the past 4 days. I truly did not anticipate such a tremendous volume of traffic, but I am pleased to see that there is a new and rapidly growing interest in the art technique known as stippling. There are many other stippling artists out there who deserve just as much recognition as I do, if not more, so please please continue to investigate this unique form of pen and ink art.

FAQ:
How did you count all the dots?
The number of dots is an approximation, not an exact number. But it's a very very close approximation. I filmed myself in just about every section of my drawing and got an average of 4.25 dots per second. That translated into 3,213,000 dots if you multiplied that by 210 hours, which is what I logged in for the entire drawing. Because I know it can't be exactly accurate, and because I think I might be off just a few thousand dots or so, I rounded it off to an even 3.2 million.

How long did this take?
I logged in exactly 210 hours of just stippling, but it took nearly one full year to complete from start to finish.

How many pens did you use?
Just one! I had many pens as backup, but I never had to use any of them. Go Sakura!

So, is this a Sakura Pigma Micron advertisement?
Absolutely not. They were not a part of the production of this video in any way.

What camera and software did you use?
All shots were done using the Canon EOS Rebel T1i (18-55 mm standard lens), and edited/rendered in After Effects CS4.

What equipment did you use for those panning shots and time-lapses?
I built all of my camera sliders and tracks using pvc pipes and rubber wheels that can be found in any local home improvement store. If you'd like to see how I built them, send me a message and I can send over some pictures of what they look like.

Is this piece for sale?
The original for "Hero" is currently not for sale, but the limited edition prints will be very soon. You can find out more information on this link: http://miguelendara.com/prints

Do you have more artwork?
Yes. But not too many. Because stippling is an extremely time-expensive process, I do not have a large collection of art pieces. More can be seen on my site at www.miguelendara.com.

Thank you all for the continued support!

sketchbook scan by marisol diaz

So since I've become part of the Bliss Women's Co-operative I'be been exploring ways to make my artwork more accessible. The latest technique I've tried are decals and I rather enjoyed the process which was simple and direct enough. I'll be making some for my Etsy shop soon as I revamp all my inventory. Here are some the results:

two large decal plates with my illustrations All the plates I applied decals of my work onto....

So I have had to say farewell for now to my beloved Puerto Rico and I am back on home turf getting ready to participate in the new Womens Co-op venue in Sugar Loaf New York BLISS! Regardless of coming home with a wicked flu, I'll have some new pieces in the Bliss shop along with some other phenomenal women artisans. SO COME ON OVER to Sugar Loaf New York the cutest of all arts & crafts communities on FRIDAY from 5-7pm to celebrate the GRAND OPENING of BLISS!

1371 Kings Highway Romers Alley #4b Sugar Loaf, NY 10981

So here is another sneak peek of a new piece in process for the Bliss gallery/boutique that I was working on in PUERTO RICO!

Mi Tigre in process- Ink on distressed paper - by marisol diaz

I have a new space I'll be putting some work up in Sugar Loaf, New York soon - I'll be writing all about it here and letting you know the wheres and whens, but for now I thought I'd share the results of some new illustrations with you. Stay tuned since there are more this pieces Ill be posting this week..hope you like them...

new work in progress by m.diaz My Consumtion 2 kremer ink illustration WORK IN PROGRESS by m.diaz fox detail by m.diaz fox girl 2 detail by m.diaz

You Cut Me Once...Unfinished Illo by m.diaz Traget Locked...Unfinished Illustration ... m.diaz

These are done with black ink, white ink on Rives BFK paper that I distressed and they are meant to evoke the mood I've been in lately.

I'm off to San Diego this Wed. for this years Annual National Assoc. of Indep. Schools People of Color Conference. It is the first year in five years that I am NOT presenting and I am elated at the prospect of being at peace while there! It is going to be my 8th year attending and I suspect it may be my last for while. So stay tuned as I visit yet another awesome city and bring you some blog posts about it!

-Ciao Amarettogirl

I've been daydreaming alot lately in my sketchbook.

However, as I start to fall pretty deep into the rabbit hole and lose sense of the impending end to the summer- I have to keep poking my head out into reality for air - and I thought what better time to share some details of pages with you. These sketches are all unfinished and these photos are pretty shabby and taken with my cell phone...when they're finished I'll post better, clearer and protected images.

This is a sketch of the winner of the television show 'So You Think You Can Dance' doing a dance number while I paused the recording.

an idea of who is more animal by m. diaz - do not use any images off of this site a sketchbk feeling by m.diaz

Considering my beast sketch by m.diaz

Reminder:

Images may not be used off of this site with out explicit request, However independent bloggers may use no more than 2 images and must please give credit and link back to this site. Thank You.

thinking of Yemaya sketch by m. diaz

Hope you enjoyed this little wacky mind-meld with me and that you come back to see and read more about living an off beat ART full life.

Ciao -Amarettogirl

flyer click to see

There are now only two days left before my opening. I have to go buy frames today (I still need around 7 more) and as many artists know, financially frames begin to add up, costing a pretty penny.

I'm also beginning to work on the artist statement for the show. In the past my threads of work are often developed by a concept, quote or self-definitory aspect of my belief system.

However this time my work was really inspired by an image. I have a small collection of antique books and while perusing one of them, I came across this image that really moved me. It's entitled Gladiator Fighting a Lion and its a sketch of a marble sculpture found in BAVARIA with no artist attributed to the drawing. The title means little to me - its the image itself that really moves me.

I thought I'd share that image with you today.

I'm not too affected by the gladiator aspect of this image as I am the continuos futile struggle with the natuarlistic/animalistic part of who we are. And I'm curious - What does this image make you think of?-

Ciao Amarettogirl

P.S. I've been chatting with a special indie business owner about a possible giveaway that is good for Gals AND Guys! Coming soon so stay TUNED!.

As promised I'm showing an update on the art work I've been making for the gallery show coming up on April 10th. The opening will be Saturday the 10th from 7-9pm.

For those of you who don't know what I'm working on, these pieces are exploring aspects of self and manifestations of the animalistic parts of our nature.

My newest piece detail shot in progress photo and art by marisol diaz New Painting by marisol diaz Pan detail new work by marisol diaz Black Leopard IN PROGRESS by marisol diaz foxhead phase 1 new art by marisol diaz Foxhead phase2 painting by marisol diazFoxhead detail painting and photo by marisol diaz

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Yesterday I took a break from painting, did some spring cleaning and had some friends come over for an Anti- Bahamas gathering. I received an AWESOME pen pal letter and gift in the mail that I will be sure to blog about this week.

The GIVEAWAY is only 4 days away!! So be sure you're up to date with all your commenting ;9

I'm also working on updating my website so that some of my art can be purchased as prints directly from here:)) Hopefully, there will soon be a SHOP NOW! button.

But right now the SUN is screaming my name so I'm off to absorb some of her healing rays!

Today's question - If you had to choose, what Animal do you associate yourself with??

-Ciao Amarettogirl

cold girl