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.