HyperNovaFirefly

the Art Blog of Supernovafirefly

[hypernovafirefly]

"Heartstring"

Watercolor on cold press paper

I can't even begin to tell you how much I don't ever want to paint threads again. I bought a tiny brush specifically for this painting and I could feel my brain cells dying every time I painted one. HOWEVER--I forgive this piece for killing my brain because it looks DOPE.

Never again though. Never again.

[hypernovafirefly]

Another nameless one. I thought about just calling it "Thorns" but that seems a tad too on the nose.

[hypernovafirefly]

"Wick"

Watercolor on cold press paper

This one didn't come out quite like I wanted it to, but I still love it. Maybe I'll do it again someday.

[hypernovafirefly]

More cocoons. This one was a lot of fun to work on. I can't remember if I titled it though.

Anyone have any thoughts on a title?

[hypernovafirefly]

Finally some new content! It’s been a slow, slightly agonizing process coming back to creating art--this one took me way way longer than a painting of this size and detail level would have taken me a year ago. I have to retrain my brain and my hands to do what I want them to do, and it’s kinda slow going.

BUT! I finished it, so I call it a major win.

Someone suggested the title: “Gestation of Identity” and I think I like that for this one. I really enjoyed painting cocoons again, and I have several other paintings planned that use them, but I’m still taking it slow.

[hypernovafirefly]

I don’t know how many more of these I’ll end up doing, but I’m still having fun with them, so have another!

[hypernovafirefly]

The descent into the sunken city....

I’ve only played through this game twice...I wanna play again. It feels so healing--even the scary parts.

[hypernovafirefly]

Ok, it has been hinted to me a couple times since I shared this that the mountain in the background was a little....phallic. I was going to just let it slide after the first person pointed it out--people who wanna see dicks are gonna see dicks, right?--but after having it pointed out a second time, I figured it was probably best to just take 10 minutes and fix the damn mountain :p

So, here is the new and improved Journey fanart with a Definitely Not a Dick Mountain in the background. (Although, let’s be real, there’s some pretty heavy reproduction imagery in the very last part of the game, so maybe the Dick Mountain was on brand?)

Hope you all enjoy the renovated version :) I’m gonna leave the old one up tho. Might be something funny to look back on later :)

[hypernovafirefly]

Another Journey fanart :)

It’s always so much more enjoyable to play around with digital art when I have something that really inspires me, and this game is nothing if not inspiring! I have a feeling I’ll be going back to it again and again, and hopefully making some more artwork!

[hypernovafirefly]

So, very late to the game, but I finally had the opportunity to play Journey!! Needless to say I am very very hooked and will be replaying this as often as I can for a while! 

Is anyone still playing this in 2021?

[hypernovafirefly]

Just some thoughts about the future....a ramble really.

I’ve been doing a bit of thinking over the last few days since I officially sent in my application to grad school. The last few months have been so full and stressful, it’s made me take a bit of a step back to assess.

There’s a lot of thoughts bouncing around in my head right now, so this is just a big, unstructured brainstorm at this point.

This might get long, so I’m gonna put the rest under a read more :)

For those who don’t know me IRL, and I can’t remember if I’ve been super clear about this online: I just applied to an MFA program so I can get the degree that allows me to teach at a college level. This has been my only concrete goal for a while, but after the last 5 months of working to get my application prepared, I’m starting to have thoughts.

Like, is this what I really want to do? Do I love the idea of teaching or do I just love the idea of being paid to have art as my career in some capacity? 

I’ve been following plenty of artists that make their living through YouTube, Patreon, and selling prints & merch of their art. I see what their lives look like as full-time artists working for themselves, and the more I see, the more attractive that particular path is looking. I mean, it’s a lot of work--being your own boss sounds a bit on the stressful side--but it seems so fulfilling at the same time. 

I’m very happy with the direction my art has taken in the last couple of years, but I really miss learning new things! I miss being around other artists and creative people with different life experiences. I really miss having a studio space where it was mostly just me there.

SO, here are my things to think about in the coming months:

If I don’t get into the MFA program this year, do I immediately start researching other schools and prepare for another round of applications for the year after? That was my plan up until about a week ago. 

If I decide that I want to either wait on the MFA thing or ditch it entirely, what do I do then? I still want to grow as an artist. Some things I could think about would probably be: artist residencies, taking some more community college classes in media that I don’t have experience with, taking online classes, try to get my art out in my own community.

If I do want to make it my new goal to be a full-time working artist, what are the steps I need to take for that? How long should I wait before I try and make that happen? What do I still need to learn/do before making my living through art can be a reality?

I moved to where I’m at now specifically to be near to the college I’m applying to--do I want to stay here or try striking out totally on my own somewhere else? And if so, where? 

Being a naturally anxious person, I overthink pretty much everything, so thinking about my future has a lot of “well, if I did this, I also have to think about THIS, so I don’t want to get stuck into THIS, but I may not be able to find a place that allows me to do both of these things at the same time. This is mostly in regards to finding a new living situation down the road. I really REALLY want to live on my own (with a cat, of course). I want to have full control over my space and my life. But then I think--okay, what about doing full-time art. I need somewhere to make art, I need somewhere to film videos, I need somewhere to store finished paintings and projects, so I need “X” amount of space. “X” amount of space in a single-person living situation costs “Y”, so that means I have to be making THIS much every month, so I need to be doing this many hours of art making and I’d need to have this many patrons and regular buyers. 

Anyway, it’s a lot. I need to do some hard thinking about what I really want for myself in the near future. Problem is, this is all really dependent on information I won’t get for a few months. I guess I gotta come up with some Plan A, Plan B, and Plan C goodness here. 

Ok, the rant’s over. I’m done. Hopefully soon I’ll have some more art for you all. I think I need a bit of a rest first tho :)

[hypernovafirefly]

“Differences in Gravity”

Sometimes it just doesn’t matter how big your wings are. We all have different things weighing us down. Lightness comes from somewhere else.

So, this is cause for celebration!! This painting represents the 20th and final piece of my grad school application portfolio! As of today, my application is officially submitted and I can finally rest!!

[hypernovafirefly]

“Guilt”

It feels like worms, or thick roots, strangling your insides. Let it out and let it change. You have the chance to grow past it.

Ok, so that bark literally killed me (I spent SEVEN HOURS yesterday just doing the bark) but it looks sooooooo good!! I’m so proud of this one :D

[hypernovafirefly]

I’ve got another video up on my YouTube channel! 

[hypernovafirefly]

Another Wednesday video :)

I’m SO FREAKIN’ CLOSE to finishing my portfolio!!!!!

[hypernovafirefly]

Some progress shots of recent works :)

Still busy bee-ing it away until my portfolio is done--only a few weeks left to go!!

[hypernovafirefly]

Another Wednesday, another video :)