Ann Alien

"Introspection", 2025
florescent #acrylic on canvas board

A conte drawing of a scene from Blade Runner where J.F. and Pris meet for the first time

An oil pastel of a scene from Blade Runner where Decker returns to his apartment.

A few scenes from Blade Runner in #oilpastel and #conte

A watercolor painting of two hands over a watercolor block. One hand is holding a clutch pencil and the other is holding the pad steady. A white eraser and black stick eraser are also visible.

#DailyArt No. 49

I'm still feeling drained so today's #watercolor subject matter is what I see looking at the blank page.

A watercolor palette, next to a brush on a paint stained towel, above a map of the colors on the palette.

I'm still not feeling very creative so I made a swatch of the new colors I've added to the palette recently.

#DailyArt No. 48

Yesterday was an unplanned rest day, so today I challenged myself with subject matter I find intimidating: people. The #watercolor turned out much better than I expected it to.

And just a few more

Despite having almost zero motivation I also managed to finish the sketch book I started last year. Here are a few highlights from that project.

A watercolor painting of three large areas of color. A dominating blue-black rectangle covers most of the frame and next to that are a smaller purple rectangle and a yellow-orange one. They are arranged in descending size from largest on the right to smallest on the bottom left

#DailyArt No. 47

Today was rough. I almost didn't paint anything at all. This is based loosely on the work of Mark Rothko and Phi. It's mid and I'm okay with that because I got it done even when I wanted to bail.

#DailyArt No. 46

Not bad for a first attempt at a #watercolor of space.

Unless I wake up with a new idea, tomorrow's watercolor will be recreating the color piece from '22 in watercolor. I drew up some sketches this evening to plan ahead a little.

These are from 2022, or the we all went a little cabin crazy years. They're based on a Mobius inspired spacecraft I daydreamed up in 2015 but gave away the originals (to an ex) and didn't take pictures of.

Today I raided the box o' ye olde art to steal ideas for future paintings from previous me. It was fun finding stuff I'd forgotten about or thinking about the version of me that made the piece. Plus I found some stuff to steal. Bitch had some fun ideas before life got all end-of-the-worldy.

A watercolor painting of a hand pulling a rainbow flag out of an ocean of blood.

#DailyArt No. 45

"The Blood of Patriots", 2025, #watercolor on cotton paper

A watercolor painting of train tracks stretching off into the distant flanked by heavy trees on one side and an open field on the other. In the forground are two signs, one that says "X" and one that says "QZ".

#DailyArt No. 44

Today's #watercolor is of #traintracks. I had a busy day so this one was done much quicker than I usually work.

Thanks! I tried the ink because I wasn't confident I could capture the detail on the roof tops, but it ended up looking like out of place crosshatch shading. 🤷🏼‍♀️ It probably would have turned out sharper without the ink and some detail in the foreground

I thought I would try to do another painting of different subject matter to make myself feel better, but the painting of Billy consumed my last remaining spell slots for the day, so I got as far as completing the pencil sketch. It's a bit hard to see in the image.

#DailyArt No. 43

My eldest cat (11m), William "Billy" Pilgrim, or Bilbo Baggycats to his friends, turned out to be deceptively difficult to capture in #watercolor; so much so that I abandoned the piece before finishing it. Fur (and hair) have always been a weakness, regardless of the medium.

Just seeing how much I've already done has been a huge motivator.

A watercolor painting hand reaching upward and being dragged down by tentacles.

#DailyArt No. 42

Today's #watercolor is another frequent image floating around in my head.

I have been enjoying working large with a #brushpen lately. One of the goals with the pen has become avoid making anything discernable or coherent, which this one nailed.

A watercolor painting of a calm, rhythmic scene interrupted by a piercing anxious band of color.

#DailyArt No. 41

"Panic", 2025, #watercolor on cotton paper.

A dark field of rocks and standing stones underneath a roiling sky. In the distance is a doorway cut into a stone face.

I really wish the details of this #brushpen #sketch weren't lost, but the piece is 11x14 and very dense. Not quite a fail, but definitely something to keep in mind in the future

A watercolor and ink sketch of a small stave church

#DailyArt No. 40

An #inkandwash #watercolor sketch of a stave church.

One thing I really lack that a class provides is peer review so I can focus in more on what to practice and pay more attention to while working. But overall there are so many areas yet to improve just continuing to paint is probably the best thing I can do to improve.

Some of my favorites since I've started have been some of the best art I've ever made.

I was going to do this at day 30, but life had other ideas so instead a day 40 review of my art progress.

In 40 days I have done 87 total paintings. 62 on cellulose paper, 25 on a mix of 140lb and 300lb cotton paper.

Also, some #oilpastel sketches. One from imagination and one from observation.

#DailyArt No. 39

"Self Portrait", 2025, #watercolor on cotton paper

Also did some #ballpoint and #sharpie sketches of a seagull and a ball python.

A watercolor painting of a hallway ending in a bright void. The light is harsh and casts a hard bluish shadow.

#DailyArt No. 38

Another attempt at a hopeful doorway? I'm not sure I just did the #watercolor, otherwise it's a recurring image in my head.