Persian Progress

I've been pretty sick for the past two days (a case of virulent laryngitis that, like all youngsters, quickly entered a terrorizing adolescence) but was still able to get in the studio and do some work.
To start off, I took this messy, unkempt drawer where my paints have been living:

And used my superb craftmanship and woodworking skill (haha) to create a store-style display where everything is easily accesible:


Painting is an exalted practice, one which kings and potentates have honored and funded for centuries. Keenly aware of this honorable lineage, I make sure to assume the most august and reverential of postures while practicing the art.



(I'm not really sad; I'm just concentrating!) The brush is a 0/3, or something like that.

Side note: I have a fairly idiosyncratic way of holding a brush or pencil, which has drawn criticism from teachers, but it's what lets me make such fine, controlled lines.

The drawing instrument rests on the third finger of the left hand, with the pads of the pointer and middle finger where the ferrule of a brush would be. The main guidance and pressure comes from the pointer as it pivots on its middle knuckle, heightening or decreasing the tension of the finger's pad on the instrument. The body of the hand, including the base segment of the little finger, is firm + flat on the art surface which creates a very stable base for clear, steady lines.


Two progress shots of the Megature:



And some close-ups:

^An aeromouse

^A cloud

^Aeromouse with a boar. Overall, I want to the painting to be beautiful, majestic and silly, like a Bjork song.