This is a drawing of a burro with children. The 9″x12″ artwork was drawn and painted in 2011 with a variety of mediums, including colored pencils, watercolors, gouache, oil pastels, and acrylic. The children and burro were initially sketched with colored pencils, followed by meandering wisps of white oil pastel and acrylics in the background. As layers of watercolors and gouache were applied, the oil and water repelled each other to reveal an energetic flow of light throughout the painting.

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This is a 9″x12″ abstract artwork entitled “Brain”. The abstract art was completed in 2011 with a variety of mixed media, including paint pens, oil pastels, pens, watercolors, gouache, and acrylics. Multiple layers of paint were applied to the canvas paper in order to create patterns of color, shape, and value. The abstract painting was [...]

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This is an abstract drawing of a flower. The 11″x14″ abstract flower drawing was created in 2011 with paint pens. Outlines of whimsical shapes and patterns were sketched with the paint pens using a variety of colors. Emphasis was placed on alternating similar and dissimilar colors to create unique patterns of value changes throughout the flower artwork.

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These are two self-portraits of/by artist Michael D. Edens. The 9″x12″ artworks were drawn and painted in 2011 with a variety of mediums. The first self-portrait, entitled “Self-Portrait”, was drawn with pens, oil pastels, paint pens, watercolors, and gouache. The second self-portrait, entitled “Uneasy Self-Portrait”, was drawn with colored pencils, oil pastels, and watercolors.

Unique layering and coloring techniques were used in each self-portrait in order to create interesting visual styles. For example, watercolors are painted over naturally repelling oil pastels to create an uneasy imbalance of organically flowing swirls and pooling colors amidst irrepressible lines.

Related Artwork
This is a previous 9″x12″ self-portrait created as part of the Rainbow Color Portraits – Series 1.

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This is a portrait of a man with glasses. The 9″x12″ portrait artwork was drawn in 2011 with a variety of mediums, including colored pencils, pens, oil pastels, paint pens, watercolors, gouache, and acrylics. The man was sketched with colored pencils, and layers of other dry and wet mediums were applied in layers. The intense and expressive lines meander throughout the artwork, creating a wholly connected portrait from foreground to background, top to bottom, and side to side. The use of unique shapes, gradients, and vivid and muted color combinations help to convey a sense of whimsical creativity and imagination surrounding and emanating from the man.

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This is a portrait drawing of an old man. The 9″x12″ artwork was drawn in 2011 with colored pencils, pens, markers, oil pastels, paint pens, and acrylics. The old man’s portrait was initially drawn with dark colored pencils and oil pastels. Carefully placed lines and blocks of color were added to enhance the uneasy framework and shaky style, symbolic of old age and declining health.

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This is a portrait drawing of a young man with a hat. The 9″x12″ portrait artwork was drawn in 2011 with colored pencils, oil pastels, pens, and acrylics. The young man was sketched with colored pencils and smudged with oil pastels in order to convey a youthful healthy glow. Additional mediums were used to create subtle surrounding details and textures that support the pensive yet innocent smile. This particular young man was about to embark on his service-oriented journey as an American soldier in World War II.

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This is an abstract portrait drawing of Albert Einstein. The 9″ x 12″ colorful portrait drawing was created in 2011 with a variety of mediums, including pens, oil pastels, watercolors, acrylics, and markers. Expressive lines and vibrant colors help to create a dynamic portrait of the theoretical physicist, Albert Einstein.

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This is a drawing of a woman with her hands in her hair. The 9″x12″ woman drawing was created in 2011 with a variety of mediums, including colored pencils, oil pastels, paint pens, and acrylics. The woman was sketched with blue and pink colored pencil and oil pastel, followed by three vertical lines of silver, pink, and yellow color with paint pens. The white paper, in particular the background, was then streaked with white acrylic paint to add a subtle texture to the artwork.

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This is a drawing of a fat person kneeling with their head in their hands entitled “Overcome”. The 9″x12″ abstract artwork was created in 2011 with colored pencils, oil pastels, and watercolors. The person was initially sketched with colored pencils, followed by oil pastel and watercolor highlights. The white background creates a stark contrast against the subject reinforcing a feeling of isolation.

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