Hi @Maki -
I can’t believe this. I thought you’d pick one or two of the photos I sent as a reference, but it looks like you’ve included all of them. This just blows my mind and is wonderful.
I can’t wait until I can study this more closely on my big computer monitor as compared to the cell phone that I’m looking at now.
Love you,
Terri
Where did you learn to draw like that? I always marvel at the hatching in such drawings!
Hi Maki @Maki -
It’s an important election day here in the United States. Now I am back home after voting and running the rest of my weekly errands (including a quick stop to see my sister Anne). Sorry for my minimal initial response, but I just needed time to savior this on my large monitor. The cell phone didn’t do it justice.
Your talent has always amazed and inspired me, and I am totally touched when looking at this drawing.
I saved a copy of the drawing on my computer and also have printed it on some high-quality paper. I don’t know what size your drawing is, but I printed it as big as possible on my wide-format photo printer. On my 13" x 19" paper, the actual image size that I’m looking at is 12.5" high x 17.4" wide. I will be framing it so I can look at it all the time.
For others looking at this, let me tell them a little of the background. Maki knew that I take several photos, so she asked me to send her some of them for using as a reference in her artwork. She gave me no criteria of what she was looking for or how many she wanted.
I do tend to like birds, other animals (including cats of course) and flowers. I ended up sending her 30 images. What has absolutely blown me away is that she included a whopping 16 of my photos in this drawing, and the execution of each and every one is nothing short of phenomenal.
Maki, one of the things that makes me smile is the Brown Thrasher that is standing on the Beaver’s head. Several years ago I was in the Galapagos Islands and got a photo of a bird standing on a Marine Iguana. That’s a very happy memory that this drawing brings to mind.
Three of the four flower photos came from the public gardens in nearby St Cloud, MN. In the lower right-hand corner of this drawing is one of them, a plant commonly known as a popcorn cassia. I have thought of drawing this before myself but have never gotten around to doing it - partly because it is really complex, and I wasn’t sure I had the skill to do it. Maki, you nailed it!!!
The little kitty in the upper right corner is Louie. Another image that is incredibly realistic. Those eyes melt my heart.
Crap, everything in this drawing brings back a memory. The snow monkey was at the Minnesota Zoo. I can still remember it sitting there screaming. The young fox was hiding at the Kandiyohi County Historical Society location. I was about to start a meeting with the local photo club, when one of the club members secretly pulled me away to show me the young family of fox that were living under a historic old cabin. I went back the next day, and this was my favorite photo of the batch.
Okay, okay, I’m sure you don’t need to hear all the stories of when and where each photo was taken. But I do want you to know it is very meaningful for me.
Maki, I’m pretty sure you sent this one to Matt for the Members Minute and I’m excited to hear what he has to say.
Thank you so so much Maki.
Terri Robichon
Hi Terri, thank you so much for your kind words. Glad to know that you love this piece.
Well, I consider your artistic voice is the most critical attribute that distinguishes yourself among many, many technically excellent artists. I felt it keenly while I was working on CG animation. I looked at tons of CG artworks for my own study but I have to admit that I did not find a single CG artwork that really moved me. Technically, those artworks were excellent, but they all looked the same no matter who the artists were and somehow struck me as being totally vacant. Looking back, I think I felt that there was no artistic voice of those CG artists identified in their artworks.
And your artistic voice appears in what you choose as your drawing subjects and how you deal with them in your works. When I asked you to offer me some reference photos, I had no particular plan for my drawings using them. But when I received the photos and looked at them carefully, I understood that what I must capture and express in my drawing using these photos was the photographer’s love of wildlife. And then I found some humorous faces of these animals, which made me think of a staged, all-star drama style of drawing.
So, the way I interpreted your photos and the choice of approach to expressing my interpretation, they are the core of my artistic voice. Different artists would interpret the same photos differently and would choose different ways to get their point across.
This is why I usually do not try to replicate the reference photos: the photographers’ artistic voice is included in there, but mine isn’t.
But when you use reference photos provided from somebody you know, it sometimes makes the situation a bit difficult. The photographer may prefer a perfect replica of their photos and may be offended by the way the artist alters the photos in the drawing. This time, though, Terri confirmed that I had full artistic license, so I did what I wanted to do. Thank you so much for your kindness, Terri! I’m relieved to know that you like the way I have used your photos in this drawing.
And yes, it’s been submitted to the Member’s Minute. Hope Matt will like this piece too.
And the drawing size is A4, 297mm x 210, that is.
By the way, I don’t think it is right of me to sell the original to some random customer. I think you are the one who should keep the original so I am going to give it to you. And I guess the curator I’ve been working with who’s located in LA might be able to take care of it.
I’ve been participating in a pop-up store event in the shop called “Be Nice Have Fun” in LA since this August. And now, the event organizer is planning to have some mini solo exhibitions at the same venue next year.
Currently they are going to have the shows from January to March, one or two weeks for each participating artists. I am going to show “Terri’s Groove” at the exhibition, so it is going to the US anyway. If you can come to the shop for yourself, I will just indicate the drawing as “reserved”, and then you can probably get the work there. Other works that I am planning to show there are listed in the link below:
The framing idea for “Terri’s Groove” is this:
But I think customers who purchase the artworks cannot necessarily come to the shop on the final day of the show, so the curator there would be ready for packing and sending the sold items as part of their services. I don’t know if they will do the job for a gift item, not a sold one, but I will check later.
Anyways, they are now reviewing my portfolio to see if my drawings are appropriate for the shop concept and their loyal customers’ taste. They may say no to my show there, so let’s just see.
If there will be no show there, I will send the original to you in the same way as I sent you “Happiness Comes from Cats”.
I’ll let you know once I get the review results.
Thank you!
Maki
Hi Jennilein, thank you for your question. My influence is Shohei Otomo, a Japanese illustrator.
You can check the way he achieves that amazingly smooth hatching in the following video:
Absolutely fantastic talented artist, artwork, and all the things! I totally admire your creativity. 
I love every single subject in your drawing.
Sonia
Hello there Terri @robichon,
I love the amazing drawings and story of your amazing pictures rendered by amazing Maki. Beautiful work! 
Sonia no r
Here’s a small 5x7 ish sketchbook sketch of my three legged, most beautiful, spoiled, hates my forceful squeezing kisses, and slobbering smooches 
Smokey
Such a cute cat! The look says Smokey doesn’t like photos taken, right? 
(i know the look from my cats when they are pissed at me, or did you kiss/cuddle Smokey before?
)
I love the structure of the fur. What medium? Charcoal?
Hello @Jennilein,
My cat doesn’t show me love the way I do love him lol.
It is drawn on sketch paper with graphite. I used staedler mars lumogragh for the darker little areas
Sonia
Cats never do. Mine only love me when I’m eating sth or feeding them. That’s cats!
It looks a lot like charcoal well done on the smooth fur!
Hi Maki -
How generous of you to plan on gifting the drawing to me in the future. That is very special and much appreciated. I would be happy to at least cover the shipping costs, just let me know what works best for you.
Just so you know, Los Angeles, California is a very long way from rural Minnesota (where I live). It would require a three-hour drive to the airport in Minneapolis, then getting on a plane, so that’s not going to happen. (I’m smiling as I tell you this, because how would you know.)
I did look at the link for the mini show, and it is a delightful collection of drawings that you have assembled. I’m sure they are going to love it.
I totally understand what you said about a person’s artistic voice. It wouldn’t make sense for you to draw in a fashion that is anything other than your own. So of course you needed to have artistic license. In the same way, when I used these wonderful pens to complete my drawing of Missy in a closet, under all those shirts, it didn’t even occur to me that I needed to draw it the way you would have. Individuality is important - being true to ones self.
Now I’ll just keep an eye out for the Members Minute.
Terri
Another sketch on sketchbook about 40 minutes worth 6x8 with graphite, using mars lumographic for darkest areas, done during my lunch break . Some tomatoes from pixabay or pexels
Might leave them sketchy or might finish them later on. I’m trying to stick with my allotted lunch time plus a few minutes more
I will be keeping an eye on the members minute also!!
Sonia
I am wondering, is this considered a watercolor work or a “fake” gouache (in the sense that watercolors are not used properly). I am taking a class in watercolors and the teacher is telling me that what I do is not correct since the colors don’t “flow” enough… I can’t do it better, I am a bit of a control freak… so I am on the verge to leave this class. What is your opinion please 
I love your painting. I know nothing about technicalities of gouache or watercolor applications, but I can see you enjoyed producing your Einstein portrait your way.
Sonia
Hi Diana @diana2014
I think this looks quite nice, but let me reply to your specific comment.
There is no such thing as “fake gouache”. Watercolors and gouache are both technically watercolor paints. Gouache is just more opaque, but can be used with more water to make it more transparent. And if regular watercolors are applied with less water, they too can be more opaque.
I have a problem with someone telling you something artistic is “not correct” because art is all about exploring options and expressing yourself.
What the teacher probably meant is that if you want to follow the style of painting that she is teaching you would need to use more water.
Maybe this is not the right class to be taking if the “style” is not what you like.
I have done a lot with watercolor painting, a few of which Matt has critiqued in the Members Minute. My style is VERY CONTROLLED, so this is indeed one effect that can be achieved with watercolors. See Members Minutes 418 from 3-16-2023 (of a grain elevator) and 354 from 12-16-2021 (of some old ice skates).
Matt did a “Live Lesson” not too long ago called “Watercolor Snow Dog”. Check it out, you may like it.
Hope this helps. By the way, is that your drawing in the current Members Minute?
Terri Robichon
Hi Dan @Dannomiss89
Your little journal is quite a treasure. I love how you extended the drawing to the page above.
Thanks for all the sharing you have been doing.
Terri Robichon
