Dog Days of Summer

24" x 12" Acrylic on canvas
Inspired by a photo a friend took (Tim Smith) with some alterations. Thought it was a beautiful shot and I wanted to recreate it in my own style.

Hello palette knife

Inspired by local nature I was inspired to actually use my palette knife (something that I barely touched before). Loved the texture, and the contrast. The leaf colour was actually referenced from the bush I saw. I keep leaf reference now in an impressionists painting book I have just for this exact purpose. Had lots of fun creating these.

Logo design - Clarington Photography club

While having and enjoying a busy summer, I was approached to do a logo design for the Clarington Photography club. I quickly accepted this. Over the span of a week I came up with ideas, sketches, and did a few logos for client approval. Happy to say they picked my favourite. Clarington always has wonderful festivals and love their scenery, flowers... so I incorporated flower petals in rgb (as they are dealing with print photos) into the logo (which is a camera lense). I am proud and happy to see the logo being used and published. It was a fun project to work on.

where have I gone...

I know right it's been a couple of months. These months admittedly have been a blur. August, sept, oct and what how is it fall?? I have been rebuilding my computer for the last couple of weeks and thinking about catching up on things. I am a big summer person, I find any excuse to be outside enjoying the weather. We live in canada, so really we have 3-4 months of beautiful weather and we all go crazy over it!! Instead of inside on the computer and discouraged from a painting gone wrong, I was outside enjoying the weather with my sketchbook in tow.  Here's a couple of pieces from the sketchbook, quick doodles. And wow has fall left me so inspired, I can't wait to get the canvas and paints out!!!

colours, trees

It's been awhile since I last posted, I hated my last painting, it was going so well until I painted the branches and the leaves, urggg. Maybe it's my lack of sleep being a new parent again, or I didn't collect proper reference, or step back and look at it and see if it was working. Anyways I am not pleased with it.

I decided I needed to collect reference, leaves, flowers, plants.... I love their colours and yet butchered painting it correctly. Then I went through my paints and made paint swatches of their colours. See pic attached.

Also, attached is a work in progress of a new birch tree piece I am doing.

watercolours - wet trike, lost mitts, red kite

I have been so inspired lately by things around me when I go for walks, here's three watercolour paintings I did today. Trying to keep things and the paintings simple, thinking of a series called "footprints", no matter what we do one item of ours can tell a story, thinking of natural objects with one our our man made items left behind that tells a story of some kind or provotes some type of story.

Here is wet trike, lost mitts, red kite

hulkbuster wip

A certain someone is obsessed with the hulkbuster from watching Lego marvel superheroes avengers reassembled (that I worked on at Arc!). So the kitchen table keeps getting taken over by our costume making. First time paper maching since highschool.

watercolour day

I'm so inspired by living in Port credit, I have so many ideas that I want to try and explore. Today I pulled out the water colours and went crazy. It's frustrating getting the right colours, and starting to learn that less is more with watercolours.

no coffee?!?!?!?!

it's been a busy couple of weeks with a new baby. Lot's of people ask what I've been up to. Last weekend I went to Port Credit's artfest and was completely inspired. Currently gessoing some canvas hoping to paint out all of the ideas running through my head!! Also, watching tutorials on painting water, my mind has been blown with an amazing new technique I want to try!

So many ideas so little time, and sometimes energy. I have been keeping my promise over the last two weeks of sketching everyday. I bring my little sketchbook with me everywhere, as my long walks with the new baby seem to make me really creative.

Unfortunately this morning I discovered we were out of coffee. I got by with a 2km walk to Starbucks and art therapy. Some mornings are rough, especially when you have run out of coffee.
This drawing is based on real events, there was iron man this morning and someone wanting to eagerly ride bikes to get a bracelet, my hair length may have been dramatized.

Originally drew with an HB pencil, but it's too light to see, so did a quick pass with ink.

website update

Managed to get around to updating my website yesterday. Check out new 3d modeling/texturing stills and artwork. Hoping to make a new demo reel later this year.

I have worked on some great projects over the last few years such as Lego Marvel Superheroes, Lego Marvel Superheroes reassembled, Barbie and her sisters in a pony tail, Barbie and her sisters in a puppy rescue, Barbie Life in a Dream House, and Thomas the tank engine (movies and tv epsiodes)

http://a-shotton.wix.com/artist

hoo hoo - owl baby in watercolour

Well our baby finally arrived. The last four weeks has been a bit of a blur. Managed to get in a quick watercolour paint of my bundle of joy in his owl hat :)
I have been getting really inspired lately while going for walks around the area, hopefully I'll be painting up a storm again soon!

Hoo Hoo - baby owl
watercolour and ink

night sketch - blue jays - saturday night reflection

Just playing around with some sketches. It's great to loosen up the hands and doing sketches that aren't perfect and having fun. I went to a schoolism workshop in march 2015, I absolutely loved it, and one of the presenters had a really good point, don't just fill up one sketchbook a year, fill up several. Keep drawing, keep at it, sketch everything and anything, gives you experience and you develop more as an artist. Nothing needs to be perfect.

I wish, looking back at my highschool years, I was told this, instead I listened to an artist who was my best friend at the time tell me I wasn't very good (I thought he was extremely talented and so did he). This made me nervous to sketch and come up with ideas. I wanted to be perfect at it. I wouldn't show work until I thought it was done, people would look at my work and I would feel panic sink in, were they judging me. It made me nervous and hurt me from developing my own style, or progressing in the art field for so long. Never let anyone tell you you aren't good. I use Leonardo daVinci as a reminder of that, I absolutely love seeing the sketches and thought process he has in his sketch books, he was constantly learning. If you read about him you'll discover that he had many flaws, many areas that he got wrong or was continuing to work out. So many artists show only finished pieces that we think of them as better then us, or unachievable. We never see what is behind the scenes. From doodles, notes, to the blank page (or riped up page) and the artist walking away, and eventually to that eureka moment where you zone out and become so engrossed in your work that you look back at and said how did I create this?

To all of us out there, don't judge others, inspire others, encourage growth, encourage failure, since many failures can lead to something great, lead to something that we never thought was possible.

Mike Wazowski - pregnancy humour

yup, we have a sense of humour in this household, how my boyfriend currently sees me. I'm 40.5 weeks and pregnant and apparently look like Mike from Monsters Inc. Quick sketch in photoshop.

watercolour week, swan, chipmunk, owl jump

Pulled out my watercolours yesterday and today after being inspired by the swans and chipmunks in the Port Credit area, coming out to enjoy the warm weather. The owl about to jump is from a children's story I am came up with, trying to flush out the story more and think further about the artwork.

rose bubbles

trying to get myself to do a digital painting once a week. I really want to improve in this area. Always struggled to paint digitally what I can paint on canvas, getting texture or the right brush stroke is tricky, mind you the undo key and not having to wait for paint to dry is always nice.

I read a book to my son last night that inspired this painting.

Gwen Stefani - make me like you

I have been playing around with some prismacolour pencils, haven't quite got the hang of them as a new medium, but enjoyed the meditative quality of colouring. Love Gwens new songs

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Sunset at Rhododendron Gardens

Sunset at Rhododendron Gardens, Port Credit
20"x16" acrylic painting

My favourite story to read while in hospital was The places we'll go by Dr. Seuss, I would dream up all the places we would go once we left hospital. Watching the sunset over the lake was one of my fav places, it's so calming and peaceful. We are so lucky to have this park nearby.

Here is breakdown of my progress over the weekend as well as the final piece. I should never say final, I feel like no piece is complete. But as for now I'm happy with it.

I'm available for do commissioned pieces, would love to paint someone elses favourite place to go.

quick fashion sketches

Finally after a productive week, had the chance to draw. Realized how much I need to brush up on my life drawing skills today. Doing loads of fashion pose sketches for a photographer. Loved every minute of these quick sketches.

attempting watercolours

I first attempted watercolours in art class in highschool (so a very very very long time ago), and I sucked. Everything looked yucky and brownish and a watery mess.
So today is my first attempt after all those years. I really like the look you can get from watercolours, and trying to use them with mixed media to get the effect that you are going for.

So here are my attempts.

Hearts for testing colours and blending. The geese I saw these two in Port credit yesterday enjoying a drink together, my watercolour attempt and charcoal pencil over top to bring out the feathers.

painting parties with kids

When three kids say they want to paint you take every advantage of the 20 minutes of painting. My friend broke her leg, so the painting party was for get better pics :) Painting with kids = messy

scaredy owl

having some fun sketching out this little guy. I feel for him, I have stories forming in my head about him and his struggles.

froggy

quick sketch in sketchbook pro, of a happy little guy

my ladybug

more sketches, was so excited to get new sketch books for christmas, time to sketch my brains out :)
This is my little ladybug, something I quickly did this morning