Happy Easter

Happy Easter

Posted by Erin Mansfield

Hoping everyone had a happy Easter!  We had a great day, but now I really have to get to bed.  Anyway, I hand drew the Lily and edited in gimp.

Winter Tree

Winter Tree

Posted by Erin Mansfield

I decided to create a tree.  I once considered myself an expert at drawing trees, from perhaps my 5th grade year and through middle school.  After messing around with this image for quite some time, I feel that the years have robbed me of this expertise or perhaps my ego was just bigger then.  That said, I still feel it is a nice tree.  I drew the image with pen, scanned it, and then edited it in gimp.  I didn't enjoy a plain white background and a black background made the outline and twigs disappear.  So, I used gimp to render in some clouds for the background.  Eventually, I hope to add snow to it and add it to the snow angel pic I created earlier.

A Painful Power

A Painful Power

Posted by Erin Mansfield

Few would thank their faults for their success
Their pain is seen as a miserable pest
It decides to visit whenever it likes
Only popping in for a moment
Or attempting to stay for a lifetime
It can vary from a slightly annoying guest
To something that puts one to the test
At which point there is little left to do
One will medicate the pain away
In any way one finds they can
Sometimes relief is the sweetest candy
Sometimes there is merely numbness
Yet where relief can not be found
And the pain can not then fade
A certain, powerful focus can arise
While one moves onward anyway
When the task is too important to ignore
I do not know why we carry such weight
Why our lives aren't perfectly sweet
Yet there is that calm within the storm
Something within that's so much more
If we can remember ourselves within the pain
We have less to lose and more to gain

Lonely Road

Lonely Road

Posted by Erin Mansfield

It's lonely on the road
When you can't go back
And don't know the way forward
Fellow travelers offer advise
Yet nothing seems quite right
The turn is somewhere up ahead
But the road keeps going
So many miles without an exit
Too few rest stops along the way
You worry you'll run out of fuel
Will have to hike for miles
Before the end of the day?

InspirARTion Flower

InspirARTion Flower

Posted by Erin Mansfield

I created this flower with the InspirARTion Windows 8 app.  It is very simple to use and I was easily able to draw without a touchscreen.  It's a fun program.  Their website allows the same type of drawing tools.

Thoughts of Love

Thoughts of Love

Posted by Erin Mansfield

I walk slowly across the room
Barely noticing the chill in the air
Each step means something more
The sound of my own breath fills my ears
It is a moment of intense promise
The simplest detail is enveloped in significance
The sweetest joy, as eyes meet eyes
And hands meet hands

Precious are the thoughts of love
Amazing how often one forgets
The simple pleasures life permits
When nights are long and cold
And a days work is never done
Smile in the thoughts of what was
And what is yet to come
Enjoy each moment
As best you can
And live and love everyday

Starting to Add Color

Starting to Add Color

Posted by Erin Mansfield

Worked on the Snow Angel pic today.  Took forever, since I'm just learning how to add color to anime.  I used two tutorials to get some ideas.  First I used the videos Coloring Anime Drawings on Gimp, parts 1 - 3.  I also used Anime CGing Tutorial, Color Choice.  It's just a start, but I like the results so far.