Cerro del Chiquihuite

There's a beautiful hill near my house, it is visible from everywhere in my delegation. It is filled with little concrete houses that paint the hill in a gray color. I have always dreamt about them being painted in beautiful bright colors. So I made a little drawing of how it would look like if the houses were painted in bright colors. I made the whole illustration with Touch markers and for the outline I used a Pilot Bravo marker pen. I have been drawing and painting a lot for the last days, I was thinking about making a timelapse of a painting; they are really fun to watch, so hope it turns out well!

Hope you liked it! See you tomorrow for another post :D love,
Monica

Green Mountains, Blue Sky

Hi there! Well, I have been working a lot in my latest painting. (I think is the biggest oil on canvas I have ever made, it is 40x50) I normally don't make big paintings, but I'm liking this one. I had to make the sky three times, because I didn't like how the clouds were turning out. The picture above  is from like a week ago. The ones below are from today, I will update with some more when I finish the painting! I think I'll put it for sale, and hopefully someone will want to adopt it and take it home. I want to try and sell what I do, I still have to figure out how to do it best. I really hope you like how the landscape is turning out, I am so exited about the closer parts because it will have some little flowers, which will be blue, lilac, pale pink,  and yellow! 

I think it turned out a bit more realistic that I wanted, I want to make another painting and try a more impressionist style, (which is my favorite) Hope you all have a nice week! Love, Monica.

Drawing for my aunt

Well, my aunt's birthday is next month, and she asked me to make her a portrait. She gave me this picture of when she was working at ther first job. (She told me she would sue me if she didn't look pretty in the drawing) So I better get this one right!
I tried to make it a bit realistic, but it ended up being a bit cartoony; I have tried to avoid doing my drawings that way to make them more realistic, but no matter how hard I try they always end up looking like this. (Maybe it is just my drawing style, so instead of fighting it, I'm going to start to embrace it... Maybe also I'll learn how to do it better now that I have drawing classes at school!

So yes, I just wanted to share this little process with you, I will later pass it to charcoal, I think it will look better with some shadings. I was also thinking about making a kind of walkthrough for portraits, I am not a master in this, but maybe there's something I can teach you or you can teach me about it.

Hope you like it! See you soon, Mónica.

Work

Well, it's been quite a while. I will be honest, for all this time I was just too sad to post anything. As you can see my blog has no longer the same domain, it  is because Google changed something in their platform and I wasn't able to repay my domain, so in the end I lost it; now someone bought it and he or she wants to charge me 500 USD for it. I have lost lots of readers and views and that made me feel really sad, because I have put a lot of work, effort and heart to my blog.

But life goes on, and I know some of my first readers must be there, so I'll go on, because of you. I want to share what I do and what excites me. I'll make more videos to tell you about everything! Many things have been going on. For now I'll let you some pictures of some things that I made during this time. I missed you so much. Hope you like them!

I have been working on watercolor and digital media! I opened a little online shop in tictail (For now I only ship to Mexico, but I hope soon to ship to other places in the world :D) I have sold three originals and that just makes me so happy!! I also made some stickers and prints.

I am excited because I feel like I have been working a lot lately on what I love to do. BTW, I am going to study animation and digital arts plus many fine arts courses. I am so exited!

Thanks for reading! Love, Monica.

Send my love

Hi there! Well, today I wanted to share with you a part of my final project for my animation class. I did this little illustration inspired on Adele´s song, "Send my love to your new lover" And this is like the first thing I actually make that is completely digital, but of course it was based on hand drawn sketches, here are some as well, I had to select two from four ideas I had for the illustration. I really liked how they turned out! Hope you like them too.

Hope you are having a great week! xo, Monica.

Confused

Hi there!

Well, today I am a bit, you know. Not so happy not so focused. I guess we all have those kind of days. The thing here is that soon I'll have to choose which career I am going to study, and it is a difficult decision for me. 

I always wanted and thought about studying plastic arts (which is like a BFA) and I even looked up some foreign schools and programs, but my father told me that I could not leave Mexico for studying. So I searched for a school where I could study arts here in Mexico, until I finally found the National School of Arts which is in the same city were I live. Until then I thought I had it figured out, I would try to pass the test and present my portfolio. (then hopefully get accepted and study painting) But my mom is not quite fond of the idea. She thinks that school may not be the best option since it is Public (and in Mexico our general public education is not the best). So she decided to save me a spot in Tecnológico de Monterrey which is my actual school.  

I don't think it is a bad school, I just think that it isn't for me. It is really based on STEM system, which is all different from me. It doesn't mean I am bad at them, I simply don't connect with those subjects as I connect with humanistic ones. Well, the point is that in "Tec"the only career that is relatively similar to what I want is Animation. And, though it is kind of artistic, it seems really different from painting (at least for me) and to be sincere I don't feel as comfortable as in traditional painting (I simply don't have the same experience, therefore I am not that good) So right now I am just thinking and considering all the things that this decision would imply in my life. 

I think I really need to talk to my mother, she is really keen on getting me in animation, but I guess that if I speak with her, maybe we will reach what's best for me and I can also explain her my reasons and feelings. 

At last, I just think we should do what we love and share it with the world because we are here for such a little time. But well, Hope everything turns out right.
Thanks for reading! Lots of love,
Monica

PS: Those are some of my latest paintings, the first is just an exercise of watercolours and the last one is my painting class' work in progress. (I am dying to finish it and show it to you)

Project designs

Hi there!

Well, today I want to share with you some of the things I have been doing for a project in my school in which we are supposed to create an online store! So, my team trusted me the design of the products we are going (or at least we hope) to sell. I was really exited because I had my own Etsy shop some years ago and I really loved the whole idea. So, I made some little drawings for patches we are going to do and attach to shirts and caps. I wanted to share some of my favorite with you to ask you what you think about them! I will post a little update when we have the actual product, I am just so exited! Hope it turns out all right. Fingers crossed.

(We are called Sonder due to the super cool word it is. I will tell you more about it later) 

Hope you like them and also you are having a great week! 

Lots of love, Monica.

Homework

Hi there! It is now my second week at school, so I wanted to show you some little things regarding that. As it is my Senior year, I was able to choose classes that covered something I like, in my case I chose Digital Art and Animation principles. (I am not yet quite keen on animation, but it is all I could choose.) Either way, they left me a homework. I had to make two little illustrations that explained Who I am right now, and who I want to be in 8 years. So here are my little doodles. I had great fun making them.

That first one, is about who I am today. There are little things that make up all that I like, and stand for. My aspirations and valuable things.
The second one, is about what I want to be when I grow up a bit more. I decided to put a desktop, as a place I would like to build myself filled with many things I want to achieve and preserve in my life.

Hope you like them!
Lots of love, Monica.

PD. I am also making a daily "10 min. illustration blog" You can check the link on the new ad on the right.

About Birds

Hey there,
Well, now I want to tell you a bit about my drawings/illustrations/ideas. Since I haven't done it in a while. Behind every drawing I do I like to make small stories, or things that can explain the "why" of everything in the illustration.

Since I was like 4 years old, I've had a peculiar fascination for hummingbirds. They just seem so tiny, and pretty. I feel like they are small messengers or secret spies.

Their colours are one of the most beautiful things I have seen, they normally come near my house and stand over the power lines around my house. I just say a small "hi" to them, and they just stand there staring at me for a few seconds and go.
I have always thought about how good spies birds would be. (a bit weird, I know, but if you think about it. Being a bird sounds awesome!)

I remember thinking about flying, like all of us have at some point. And I used to ask myself why we couldn't be like birds. I saw them, so tiny and pretty, but yet, capable of going and coming wherever they wanted to. Now I see we have planes and helicopters, but is not quite the same.

But well, if I was a bird, I am sure I would be a secret agent.
Hope you are having a lovely Sunday!
Love, Monica.

Work Project - Miss Penguin

 
Hello there! Well, I am now finally on vacations... for Christmas! Which is just around the corner. Today I want to share with you a small part of the beginning of a new project. It is just an experimental phase, I have always wanted to make or illustrate books for children. I used to have some of them, and I can't recall the amount of hours I spent looking at the beautiful drawings, and reading the stories again and again. 

So now that I will have some time (yay!) I will work on these little characters. Which is a new adventure for me. So here we go, these are some of the doodles I did today, to start up a bit. I will keep posting updates of the work and playing a bit around with these new characters!

It has been a long time, thanks for reading and keeping on coming around! I have missed you.
Lots of Love, Mónica

Drawings

Hello there! I am here again, sorry for these days, I was in a sort of project of my school, a United Nations Model, so I had to be there for some hours, I ended up exhausted. I had to be controlling a group of hyperactive kids, but everything turned all right in the end.

Yesterday when I arrived, I needed to relax so I decided to start drawing. It is something that has always been a therapy for me, I enjoy it in every sense. But I realised that it has been some time since I didn't draw for myself, and I am loosing some practice. So I need to keep on and do as much as I can, because I just want to improve my technique and drawings. The first picture after these one is a part of the drawing I made yesterday, it didn't turn out perfect, (any drawing is) but, I remember it used to be really easy for me, and now somethings are a bit more difficult. I think it is because of my lack of time, mostly the long periods of school in which I could not draw much more than some doodles on my notebooks.

These are some of the drawings I made a while ago, The first one was about 4 months ago, and the other ones are from my arts class 1st semester. It is in the end one of my biggest loves. I really want to study arts, I want to be a painter, one of the greatest, so I now I need to work and practice a lot more. What are the thing or things that work like this for you, that relax you or that you really enjoy?

So this is it for now, I really missed you these days, hope you are having an awesome Wednesday! (DIY coming soon!!!)
Love, Monica.

About the School

Hey there!

It's me again, now, today I want to tell you about the only thing that was basically enabling me from posting as I wanted to, school. I have to admit I really like school, but what I truly love is learning. I believe that we have to learn and look for as many information as we can every day. I like learning new random data or things. Words, facts... I always want to understand how things work. And what is needed for them to work properly. For example cars, or bicycles, computers, a pen, our eyes.

I normally take lots of notes, I add lots of drawings on them, to represent information graphically, (I will give you some advice on note-taking later:) But of course, most of the time I draw while the teacher is giving an explanation. For some weird reason, (I don't know if this may happen to some of you too) I find it easier to listen and understand if I am not looking to the person that is talking. So every time they explain, I try to draw or doodle. Some people get angry or confused, because they think I'm not paying any attention, but actually I am giving a good effort on it. 

This semester (second one) we had an arts class which was obligatory to all students in my group. And I have to admit it was really interesting to see how some of them reacted towards art. Some were really good, others acted as if it was a complete waste of time and money, I felt really comfortable, and liked the class. 

Although I am not quite keen on learning things that are too theoretical, I don't like it when people try to impose a meaning to abstract things. I believe they have a different meaning to each one of us since we perceive them differently.

There is a weird fact about me... I really love math. It is one of my favourite subjects at school, I am not really fast, (my boyfriend is) but accurate. I love the fact that math can make you suffer, but that only makes it more challenging to me. I love the feeling you get when you finally find the answer to a problem after three hours of trying. I also love spanish. I think I haven't told you about this, but I would like to study about poetry as well. I have been working hard at school, and got a good final average, 91, I want to improve it a bit more. High school is not easy.. I think things start to get a bit more complex since this moment. But I will always do my best in everything I do. What about you, what subjects do you love? or hate? I somehow don't like history, I'm not good with too many dates! 

Hope you had a beautiful weekend. 

Love, Monica

About the New Things #1

Hello, as I told you before I just die to tell you all the things that have been new in my life, while I was away from blogging. Number one isn't there, because I wanted it to be the introduction of my boyfriend, who I saw yesterday. Funny story is I took my camera, and was really excited about it, but once I arrived to his house, we realized that I carried the camera all the way there, without its battery. So plans had to change a bit. I promise you'll now him soon :)

So, I'll begin with Number 2.

It had been really hot lately, and I felt I wanted some sort of change in the way I looked, so my mom suggested a haircut. At first I was thinking about letting it grow, but when they asked me if they could cut it really short, my first reaction was: "why not?, The climate is not helping you achieve your long hair goal, and maybe you'll get crazy Monica, it's better to cut it now, and grow it long for christmas". So I said yes, they promised me a really cool haircut, and I never really expected it to look as good in me as in the model, since it is something I learned the hard way in previous occasions, as many of you may had as well. But at the end, I felt my head wasn't so heavy, and could feel the wind on my neck, which was quite a relief. I am really practical, so I stick to the though: "It is hair, it will grow." And just be happy with what I have all the time. I know sometimes, you can feel insecure or a bit threatened about what others may say or think, but, if you want your hair some way, just go ahead, enjoy and embrace your decision. There is no thing that can make you look more beautiful than a smile.

Number 3, 

I entered an arts class in my school, and I had the fortune of getting an awesome arts' teacher there. She encouraged me to do things I had never done before. These are some pictures of my first work the first class we had. She just told us, to go ahead and draw as many things that could come to our head. We couldn't think about how to draw them, we should simply connect our minds to the paper, and draw our ideas. So this is what I got. My brain is kind of weird, and full of imposible things that I think should be possible...

gAnd this is the big painting I did, it is 120x60 cm. I used to carry it all folded becuase it was just a simple experiment, I really didn't expect it to end up that good, I am looking forward to remake it, maybe in a smaller size, but with more colors, and other things. It is called the "Invisible Bridge". You'll see why.

I really like to use bright colors, and specially love representing the way water reflects objects. I will be telling you about these new things every day, hope you like the ones for today. Love, Monica.

Walls.

Hi there! Well, between some of the things I did while I was not posting, this mural is an important one. I have always loved to paint over walls, I believe that mostly all of us as children painted something at least on one wall, many parents tell their children not to do that, but, hopefully for me, they say there's no problem with it at all.

I like to write and draw on walls, because, somehow thoughts and ideas that you draw on them, stay there for a long time, and they're always at sight. Many of the drawings are just doodles, but most of them have a meaning, my life is a bit messy, as you can see. (lots of ideas all over the place.)

I haven't finished it jet, I hope to fill the wall on the upcoming vacations! (Of course I'll share with you the pictures once it is finished:)

And what about you? Do you like having or making murals? or do you prefer paintings? I have a kind of mixture between them. I guess balance is always good. I really hope you liked my mural. Have an awesome day, lots of love, Monica.