Let's start at the very beginning, A very good place to start

 It all started when it came time to think of Christmas gifts.  Being a true New Yorker means I am dirt poor. I say this not to say that I still don't have plenty, but instead to say that there was no money for gifts.  I still wanted to show people that they are in my thoughts so I decided to make them small little art things.  I asked one friend what she wanted, and probably more as a joke she said a booger.  Well I like to turn the joke around, so I set out to make a booger.  I like plump, squish, organic things, so I made him in a similar fashion to the way I used to draw The Momoe.  I was and still am learning how to use water color to enhance the drawings that I make, so I looked to some of my favorite artists for inspiration: Buff Monster, Chris Ryniak, Andrew Bell, and Leontine Greenberg to name a few.  Also during this time I challenged myself to learn to use a brush to do my line work.  I am a huge fan of pens and the control they offer, but many of my idols use the brush, so I also needed to use the brush, or at least know how.  I started with Speedball Super Black India ink and a #0 Series 7 Sable brush (Unanimously the best inking brush known to man).  Most of these pieces are about 6-8 inches and in the early stages here were done on Fluid Easy-Block Cold Pressed water color pads.  You can see how the first one turned out.  I thought to try a back ground on the second, which I didn't really like.  There has been a lot of experimenting with the highlights and accent lines within the shape to get the idea across without it being to much.  I think I have finally arrived at a place with the newest pieces that I am happy with.  

  The third image here was trying and seeing if I liked the eyes to have pupils.  It ended up looking like a fetus or a piece of chewing gum.  Kinda creepy.  I don't know what I was thinking with the splatter stuff on the bottom.  Not a failure, because I learned a lot, but definitely not the route I wanted to take things.  

Images 4 and 5 here show me moving into a more abstract amalgamation of form with some extra little shapes poking out of the booger.  From the beginning and even now I really enjoy using yellows and oranges, partially because they are some of my favorite colours, partially because they are forgiving.  While I was in this early stage, I was painting with the paper really wet and blendy.  The colors transition smoothly from one to the other, a good technique, but something I have moved away from somewhat.  You can see on 5 that I used some other colors to create shadows and see what that would do.  These two were also heavily focused on the eyes and head with very little body.  My brush work started to clean up a little bit as well.

I'll end here with number 6 here which was kind of a break through, and pushed the direction and still does.  I move away from the shape at times, but come back to it in some form frequently.  I have always liked the way plump things look.  Almost like they have filled to the brim and are about to burst.  I like the idea of poking them and my finger sinking.  I used a lot of yellow pigment on this one as well giving it a glowing feel.  I also wanted to see what the figure would look like without adding pure white highlights to the body.  I have always liked the two light spots on the eyes, but I was trying out other highlights in addition.  It took me another 20 or pieces to realize I like the two light spots just fine.

Keep your eyes open for the next post where the style of the plumpies starts to change a little bit.  It also includes the two that I made on Christmas.

Thanks for looking and as always thoughts and critiques are welcome.