Ardis

Allow me to introduce you to my husband's original character, Julian C. Jones, a golden retriever archeologist who finds himself tangled in a messy, out-of-this-world investigation! I'm currently on my way to paint the rest of the characters for our Call of Cthulhu - Masks of Nyarlathotep RPG campaign!

I didn’t think I’d rescue this painting, honestly.

This magpie started as a messy “trust the process” situation and turned into a lesson in structure, light, and knowing when to stop polishing. It’s not perfect - rendering choices and color logic all fought me a little - but I’m keeping the lesson visible.

A small thief with a stolen jewel.

Recently I was taking part in #LoishPatreonChallenge, again, this time stepping out of my comfort zone and tried to paint some shiny crystals. And the challenge may look easy but for me it wasn't. I had a pretty hard time figuring out the logic behind the light refraction so the crystal would look believable. And as you can see, I went too soon into rendering, not thinking too much about the structure underneath and... end up ditching half of my work to trash. Lesson learned 😅

What you can see is the third version. I was ambitious at first and tried to draw more complex crystal. Failed miserably. 😂

One of my favourite characters from the Twin Peaks - strong, independent and uncompromising. We get to know only glimpses of her through the Dale Cooper's tapes but seeing her in person in "The Return" was something unforgettable. I love how Laura Dern portraited Diane Evans 💜

Finished my Pride and Prejudice movie study at last.

I started this piece wanting to capture the softness of the original frame rather than copy it exactly. The light, the expression, the quiet mood - that was the real challenge for me.

Studies like this remind me that I’m not trying to become a human printer. I want to learn how to observe, simplify, and translate what I see into something that still feels like mine.

I think this digital painting is by far the most complex piece I've made since university.

While finishing it, I started seeing echoes of Thetis — the sea nymph, mother of Achilles.

Probably not a coincidence. I finished reading The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller yesterday… and once again cried like a baby.

The mood of this piece reflects where my head has been all week — anxious, but somehow hopeful.

I kept the palette limited: mostly blues and desaturated yellows to create that stormy sky and sea. Though I couldn't resist adding a few small pops of color. Below you can find a few glimpses of early stages, as well as the timelapse. Enjoy!

Drapery studies update:

I hate fabric. Fabric hates me. And somehow… these turned out vibrant as hell.

This little exercise did more than I expected — cleaner folds, better light, and way more confidence with color.

Not every study is pretty, but every study teaches. Even the “why does this look like a wet sack” one.

Will you believe me if I say I had a week so rough and busy I forgot to post that froggy gentleman? 😅

So here he is, Alexander Kingsley from "Assistant to the Villain" by Hannah Nicole Meacher.

I love how the whole piece turned out - I always imagined Rennedawn as magical, fairytale land full of bright colors and I think I captured it quite well. 

I'm already looking forward to capturing more characters and scenes from this beautiful universe.

My second attempt on January's #loishpatreonchallenge

This time I went for simplicity. Raw sketches, almost no rendering, vibrant and pastel colors.

I like how it turned out. I thought it's way better than the previous one, but now I think it's just totally different, more abstract. I did that artwork in the end of January. Two months later I have a feeling I'm on totally different level. I'm impressed on how quickly I can develop my skills when drawing and painting almost every day, but in short sessions.

Oh, that one was tricky. I started it as a challenge study. I said to myself “Keep it simple, A.”. And in the middle of the process I have a thought “Something’s not right. They looked like they were cropped out of cardboard". And they did. Because once again, I couldn’t keep myself from overrendering.

What would I do differently if I could redraw this? Well, first, I would check the composition. Even for a study piece, even before drawing the first figure. Why? Because right now I can see the problem is mostly here - lacking focal point, correct figures but not working as one illustration.

But guess what? I like my rendering here. I really enjoyed sculpting with bright colors and I’m so, so proud of the way I made those.

Another attempt on portrait drawing.

I made it... one month ago, I guess? And I can already see my skills improved drastically. Not in that "woow, that's two different artists!" way. But I grew more familiar with the tools I use, I stopped struggling with brushes, learnt processes that fit my style more.

And if I'm seeing progress right now, I wonder how far will I get till the end of '26?

Some of the studies I did on January, both digitally and with pencil.

... and after ten years of stagnation, one day I got back to drawing again.

Hello, I'm Ardis. And this is my first art I've done two months ago.

I'm glad tumblr doesn't affect the quality of art, so I think this will be my go-to platform for art sharing. Next to IG and Tiktok. Maybe I should consider Pinterest, too?