Thought Process

When someone asks me to draw something up for them, there is usually a process I go through. First, I get the basic details such as what they want, colors, and size. If it is a tattoo drawing, I like to know where it will go on the body so I can visualize it.

I have been watching tattoo shows such as L.A. Ink and Inked on Netflix, and just been basically obssessing about the tattoo culture. I have been paying attention to every detail I can, becoming a human sponge.  Last year, when I first moved back here, after seeing an ad posted online for a tattoo apprenticeship at a local tattoo shop, I jumped on it. I gathered all my drawings, all my sketchbooks and went down there and spoke to the lady in charge (of course a female tattoo artist) and she told me straight up about what it was all about-she didnt sugar coat it. (enter quick story)

She told me that an apprenticeship is tough work, it isnt paid, you have to be there everyday and it takes months before you can even pick up a machine. And trust me, this didnt scare me away, but I realized that it just wanst the right time for me. I needed to get a job, learn a trade I can work soon and fall back onto if I needed to. I told that manager thanks for the info, but that it just wasnt the right time. Enter going to Cosmetology school. I have been attending since January and will be graduating in December. So now, I am back on the tattoo track.

okay, okay- back on where I was going with this- and I think I remember where I was going with this. Oh yea- so when I am drawing up a tattoo, I get into the whole thing. It is not just a drawing, I love to hear the stories behind what it means to that person. I place myself in "their" shoes, when I draw, I imagine it as if the drawing is for me, as if I was getting that tattoo inked on my skin. Thats why I love watching tattoo reality shows, because the artists on there feel the same way I do about the art they are putting on someone. I feel more and more like I am meant to become a tattoo artist. With each piece I draw, I am one step closer to my goals.

So, for this next piece, is a memorial tattoo drawing. A friend of mine lost both her parents when she was young and as a tribute to them, she wants to get inked and she needed help coming up with something. I suggested two angels holding each other and the dates in scrolls under them.  This is my next piece I am working on.

Here are a few reference pictures I am using and going to take what I like and create my own version of what I think would be an amazing piece for her.

I hope you enjoyed this post on my thought process and how I help to create drawings. Sorry that I rambled on in a lil tangent. I am off to bed, I am not going to stay up until 3am again tonight.

Quote of the day:

Sweet Surrender Art. Beauty. Fashion.

Cities of Night Fashion Show

My friend, Nick who just graduated wants to put on a fashion show at the school where the theme is "Cities of Night" and fashion,makeup and hair will be focused on the trends of New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo and London. We had a casting call for models last night and only a few of us showed up. So, we all put our heads together and just dived into planning this bad boy. Since Nick has graduated from the school, My friend, Jinaki "Naki Saki" are going to help head it up while he is working at a salon, since we both still attend the school.

We set the date for our fashion show which will be September 25th, Sunday from 6pm to 8pm. There will be a $5 admission fee, which half of that will be going to charity.  We are hoping to have 20 models, (4 models per City) but of course the more the merrier.

I am planning on doing makeup and background props and now I volunteered to help with the flyers and programs which I love to do! I get to indulge in my graphic designer geekyness side!!! lol

So, I just got done putting together this flyer above just to start it out, I am sure I will have to tweak it and make a black and white version so that we can get print out flyers in just black and white.

I have always loved planning fashion shows, in fact when I attended the fashion design program at the Virginia Beach Technical Education Center many years ago (10 years ago ), I had directed the shows both years I attended. So, this is right down my alley and I am excited to work on this, which will of course help towards building my portfolio and website (which will be coming soon)

Well, it is about to be 2am in the morning, so let me get off of here and get my butt to bed! Happy dreams!


Sweet Surrender Art. Beauty. Fashion.

Capricorn Tattoo

My good friend, Jak-Jak asked that I draw this up for her. She wants a Capricorn symbol and when I tried to ask details of what she would like, she said "I trust you" and "Do what you want to".  I love when people tell me that because it gives me the freedom to put my own artistic flair on it. I put myself in their shoes and imagine how I would want the tattoo design. She wants this as a side piece or possibly on her hip.

I have been making my tattoo designs big so that it can be framed on a wall or something. So, here it is, the finished rendering of this tattoo.

Here is a fun picture I wanted to share from a fashion show where me and Jak Jak dressed up as "chula gangsta's" lol Enjoy!

I hope you liked it and that it inspired you!

Quote of the day:

Many of us are quick to assume that if we are breathing and functional that we are actually "alive". Being alive is actually being the person who you really are at heart. You might be living your life, but that life may not constitute you being alive if you aren't living as the person who you really know you are. So many of us feel pressure to run our lives as those who claim they love us want us to live it.

The people who really love you will allow you to live life as yourself, and will encourage you to follow your heart, as long as they know that it won't kill you. Following your heart is making a choice to be alive. Following your heart requires you to listen to no one but god and yourself in order to make your decisions. Following your heart will leave you fulfilled and will also lead to happiness. What are you following? Your heart's path? Or the path that everyone else wants you to follow?

Sweet Surrender Art. Beauty. Fashion.

Geisha Girl

Yesterday at Paul Mitchell, there was a contest going on between students on who has the best makeup and hair for "Cosmetology Through Time" and we could pick whatever era we wanted to create a unique and timeless look. I paired up with my friend Carole, and we grabbed whatever supplies were out and went to work. We grabbed red, green and yellow toulle, red plastic beads, 2 packages of synthetic hair (or we call it weave) and a ton of bobby pins.

We wanted to go for something fun and different from what enyone else would do, so we decided to do a "Geisha Girl" theme. While Carole went to work to try and tame my bright "Vampire Red" hair, I started on my face makeup! We made a great team and it all came together.

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There were other time era's too, including rocker, 80's, grecian and eqyptian. We used whatever we could to rock our look out. We took two draping capes and made a makeshift kimono out of it and wrapped toulle around my waist and Carole made a paper fan so I could fan  myself.  We had a mini show and the whole school voted on the best theme. When I walked across the stage, I walked really fast with tiny lil steps the way geisha's did wearing those tiny shoes. Everyone voted for the Geisha look and we won the contest for the day! It was excited! We got a gift card to a bakery nearby, but I dont really eat there so I gave it to Carole!

Here is a glimpse of the other models:

Egyptian Inspired makeup

Greek Inspired

80's Inspired

Rocker Inspired

Avante Garde Inspired

I was able to squeeze in a makeup application while waiting for the fashion show to begin :) 

My Nick graduated as well yesterday!!!! I am so proud of him!

Have you ever seen a geisha do the robot? Oh I get down! lol

So that was my day yesterday at school. The next big project at school, is that we are putting on a HUGE fashion show next month. More details to come! I am helping to direct this with Nick and I have to get to work on the flyer and programs! I will blog more about it as I pull it together. 

Here is a glimpse at the next tattoo drawing I am working on for my friend Jak-Jak :) Not finished yet, but I am getting there!

Capricorn symbol with Lily and Rose with Scroll detail line work

I will blog the finished drawing soon!

I hope this inspired you to be creative and surrender to your inner artist!

Quote of the Day:

Living life with regrets is in a sense, not really living life. Picture yourself trying to drive somewhere. Do you think that you would be able to make it safely from point a to point b by staring into the rearview mirror the whole drive? Of course not! We must use this as an example to the way we live our lives.

Sure we have all made mistakes, and sometimes we wish that things could have gone differently, but it is impossible to keep reliving these moments and expect to move forward in life. In order to move forward in life take the experiences from your past and use them as stepping blocks in order to reach your new goals and dreams. In other words, don't let your past hold you back, learn from your past and use it to help you further your future. Be who you are now, and not who you used to be.

Sweet Surrender Art. Beauty. Fashion.

Goo Goo Dolls

Last night, Jermie and I went to the Goo Goo Dolls concer with Parachute and Michelle Branch as the opening acts at the Portsmouth NTelos Pavilion.  We have not been to that venue before and it was held outside. We got there are the sun was going down and thankfully, it was not as humid as it usually is and we had a breeze going through the air which was a nice lil treat!

Parachute was the first band and I have only heard one of their songs, but atfer watching them and listening to them, I am in love with their songs! They have a similar sound to the Goo Goo Dolls. I bought their album and got it signed by all of the members and a few pics.

 Michelle Branch followed next and I love her songs too. I sang along with her main songs that I knew. She is about to release another album after 8 years and we got her autograph too on my shirt and my ticket.

Then of course, the Goo Goo Dolls came on. It was such a great show, the lighting I loved and their stage presense was just inspiring. Some of their songs took me back to the past and brought tears to my eyes because I remember their songs and music in some of the toughest parts of my life. I was able to record a few songs as a video, including "Iris", but the memory card was full and the end of Iris was cut short, but I am happy to have just been there!

Next time they come in concert, we are gonna have to get VIP and back stage passes, because it was just amazing. 

That was it for my night last night! Thanks for stopping by!

Quote of the day: Lyrics of "Iris" enjoy!

and here is my all time favorite video of this song at one of their concerts:



Sweet Surrender Art. Beauty. Fashion.

Pin Up Birthday Theme

i am usually not into celebrating my birthday, but over the years, I have built a fonder appreciation for life due to the events I have been through the past few years, so I feel the need to celebrate not just my birthday, but my life and all the people in it.

I wanna have a birthday party with the theme of Pinup for the girls, guys can be greasers of rockers if they wanna. But I just really wanna dress up in pinup style. Lately when I do my makeup, I always do the classic pinup. In a way, I also want to celebrate my grandmother and my greatgrandmother whom have lived during the 50's and I have always had an obssession with it.

I wish that I could actually have a theme party and everything and go all out, but instead, will have it at a bar that a few of my friends work at down at the oceanfront. It will be fun and interesting, so we will see.

Here are a few pics I found of Pin Up Models that I liked:

Hope it inspires you!

I would post quote of the day, but I am fallin alseep at the keyboard. So, next time, I promise!

Sweet Surrender Art. Beauty. Fashion.

Birds, Infinity and Music

This morning, I met up with my "Galaxy" theme model, Shiloh to give her a lil gift basket I put together along with a cd of her photos from our shoot. When we had met up months ago to discuss my photoshoot ideas, she had told me of her idea she wanted for a tattoo. She wanted to incorporate birds, music notes and the Infinity symbol, so this is what I came up with.

And of course my camera died and I cannot find the charger, so Shiloh took a pic for me and tagged me. So, here it is.

Feminine and cute, she loved it!

I wish I knew how to tattoo, but it will take some time, not to mention some training and equipment. My birthday is coming up around the corner, and I am planning on getting equipment and start an apprenticeship or mentoring with another tattoo artist.

For now, I am trying to draw everyday and enhance my skills and get better with each drawing. One day and one drawing at a time. :)

Quote of the day:

Sweet Surrender Art. Beauty. Fashion.

Custom Sneaks

My sister came from Denver to spend some time with me, and while shopping at TJ Maxx, we found some black and white converse sneakers and we got the grande idea to paint our own designs for these shoes just for US. By no means am I gonna try to break into the custom sneaker biz, I will leave that to my friend Elom, (check out his blog here ).

My sister and I

But we wanted something to represent us and our sisterhood :) Nique is an artist as well, she loves to paint with bright colors and is really into abstract art. She wanted a design with a sun and an Ohm symbol, so here is what I came up with, check it out:

me working on some of the details

She wanted me to do whatever I wanted on her other shoe, so of course, I did my signature stars, moon and universe with my Sweet Surrender name

For the colors, I used my airbrush gun, then went back through with my paintbrush to add some contour and depth, then went back through with my marker to get some of the fine lines.

Nique painted something for my brother and I painted something for her to take back to Denver.

She painted Sublime because my brother sang one of their songs on a video I posted

Here is what I painted, just something abstract with teaks, blues a lil bit of pinkand some swirlies.

That was part of my weekend! I hope you enjoyed it and draw inspiration from it.

Quote of the day:

Sweet Surrender Art. Beauty. Fashion.

Face Charts

When designing what I am going to do for a makeup look, I like to use face charts so I can see what it will look like before I makeover a face. This is also a good way to record which different makeup looks I have done. M.A.C. and other cosmetic companies make their own face sheets as well. At Paul Mitchell Academy, we have them too.

For the Photo Stylist Contest, I have to make a face sheet for each of my makeup looks, so here are my three sheets I made for the Galaxy theme, the peacock theme and the mermaid theme.

I added my own artistic flair to it of course and my lettering. I love the colors I used for the hair and the shading I can do with my PrismaColor Markers.

I hope this inspires you today to make some creative makeup face charts, :)

Quote of the Day:

Forgetting our dreams is kind of like planning a big trip, packing all of our bags, setting up itineraries and all, finally getting on the road and realizing that we didn't map out the trip and that we have no possible way of finding how to get to our vacation destination. Never forget your dreams, because your dreams are what guide you through life.

Life is filled with many stresses and it sometimes may be easier to put our dreams aside and make as stable an environment as possible for ourselves and our loved ones, instead of keeping the faith and pursuing what is in our hearts. When we forget our dreams, we say to ourselves that we aren't important. We say to ourselves that we choose not to live life to the fullest extent and we say to ourselves that we have no hope or faith for our future. Pursuing our dreams is what defines the real, true quality of our lives, because they allow the person at our deepest core to surface and live.

Sweet Surrender Art. Beauty. Fashion.