Martice Smith Fine Art + Design Blog : new work

Welcome to the Mixing it Up loves Cottonwood Arts blog hop!

Sept. 19th - Sept. 21st

This is a closed blog hop, just for the members of the Mixing it Up Every Day Facebook group so that we can get to know each other better. (photo: Cottonwood Arts Facebook page)

If you are not in the Mixing It Up Facebook group, please feel free to leave a comment anyway, then, if you'd like, we invite you to join our Facebook group, Mixing It Up Everyday. We would love to get to know you better, too!

Listen up, Mixing It Up members! In order to have a chance to win the prize package from Cottonwood Arts you must:

Be a blog hostess
Leave a comment on everyone's blog

Blog hop dates: Sept. 19th - Sept. 21st

Alrighty...now let's get to the FUN part!!!

A quote by Martha Graham inspired my illustration. It's very profound and one I've come to memorize and recite whenever I feel that no-good-inner-critic telling me her two cents. (Pretty sure you know what I'm talkin' 'bout, right?)

"There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening, that is translated through you into action and if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and will be lost."

work in progress by artist Martice Smith II

Most of my illustrations start off traditionally, with a simple pencil drawing, like this. At this point, I'm still working on her features and blocking in shapes to create a dynamic composition.

When I say I'm a mixed media artist, I'm talkin' all kinds of stuff!!

Here's some of what I used for this piece:
pencil, ink pen, spray paint, acrylics, hand cut collage, stencils, photography, and finished as a digital illustration (Adobe Photoshop).

Freedom; detail of illustration by artist Martice Smith II

Here she is!

Digital Illustration by mixed media artist Martice Smith II

I LOVE drawing hair! Afros and long strands that take on a life of their own are my specialty! These are hand cut and collaged.

3D Hair detail; by mixed media artist Martice Smith II

graffiti detail; by mixed media artist Martice Smith II

I always embed inspirational words or phrases in my art. For example, the words "U R worthy" are in the lower, right hand corner.

Eye & graffiti detail; by mixed media artist Martice Smith II

I have my order book open to receive your special commission!

Please contact me at: http://bit.ly/talk2Martice

We were also asked to answer this question:
Are you a journal hoarder? How many do you have and why different ones?

Hmmm. I don't think I hoard them...I can say that because I don't mind letting others take a peek inside them! Well, I do have a stack of 'em laying around...not sure how many I have at this point! A good guess would be 11.

I like to keep different sizes on hand - never know what kind of surface I might wanna work on, so, I keep a variety of sketchbooks with different paper finishes; cold press, hot press, Yupo, Rives BFK...my faves.

I carry a 9"x12" sketchbook for my larger sketches and I also include ideas for my upcoming and future art shows,

One for my "free-falls" (where I study and play off other artists' techniques and determine if I want to incorporate them into my own work),

And a small, 4"x7" for when I'm traveling or walking around the city, or exploring nature. It's home for my random doodles, poems/quotes/jokes and paper scraps I find along the way.

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Challenge:
MMMC #4: Color Challenge

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Well, that's all for now, my friends! I really hope you enjoyed what you've seen.

Before you go: Don't forget to grab my new button, in the sidebar!