MattDeakinFineArt

I haven't been around DeviantArt so much lately due to a hectic life etc, but I checked in yesterday only to find that one of my drawings had been awarded a DD (Daily Deviation) for this drawing.



To say I was gob smacked is an understatement. In fact I had to check, check and check again to make sure that I hadn't misread it completely. I have to say that in all my time here at DeviantArt, one thing I thought I'd never get was a DD. When I first joined DA I thought to myself that I'd love a DD someday but never, ever actually expected to ever get one. Getting this DD is actually one of my proudest achievements as an artist so far, mainly because of how hard it is to get a DD based on the high quality of work from so many other artists and the sheer number of artists here at DA which makes the odds of getting a DD very slim indeed.

Anyway, I want to thank everyone that's ever viewed my artwork, provided feedback and critiques and for generally being very supportive. I also want to thank those that inspire me (too many to mention) and make me want to produce better and better drawings. Without their inspirations and support I would have given up a long time ago. My drawing style has evolved a lot in the last 3 - 4 years. I used to think that my drawings from years ago were pretty good.............until I joined DA and saw just what some people were producing with a simple pencil. Initially I thought that I would never be able to do that myself, but with a little hard work and determination I learned to draw differently and now produce good quality drawings that I'm very proud of.

I'm sorry for not responding to a lot of the comments that I get on my drawings but rest assured that I appreciate each and every one, although I have noticed since getting this DD that a minority of people are 'hating' on my drawing but I guess that's to be expected. In fact I have no problem with anyone that dislikes any of my artwork as they are completely entitled to their opinion. What does bother me though is when people simply 'hate' for hating sake. They don't give any feedback as to what they dislike which just a bit lame on their part really.

I've also noticed a couple of people suggesting that this drawing isn't actually a drawing but rather some kind of photoshopped image that I've made to look like a drawing. These kind of opinions are also to be expected but I actually take these comments as a bit of compliment. If I can produce drawings that are as close and accurate as I can humanly produce with a pencil so that someone thinks it's not a drawing, or is a photograph or is a photoshopped image then I've done my job well as far as I'm concerned. After all, my style is Photorealism. I do generally upload WIP's in order to show my drawing process and to further show that what I do is a painstaking and often very long process for me to get my drawings as photorealistic as possible, but also I hope that they show the doubters that all my work is hand produced using just pencils, an eraser and a grid to get proportions as close to perfect as possible.

Anyway, thanks again to everyone.

Cheers,

Dez

Once again I've been shortlisted for the public voting stage of an online art competiton. The theme for this competiton is 'Still Life' and it's my Lightbulb drawing named 'End of an Era' that has been selected into the final eight.



As always, I'd really appreciate your support and would love you to rate/vote for my drawing at www.asingularcreation.com/show…

However, I would urge that you vote honestly and fairly and to give all of the other finalists a vote as well. The voting system is a system whereby you rate an image out of 5 stars (5 being the highest and 1 being the lowest). Once the public voting has finished it ultimately comes down to a judges decision to pick the winner and runners up.

Also, I didn't mention it before because I forgot, but I recently reached 10,000 page views.

Anyway, as always thanks for reading.

Actually, I've had it up and running for a couple of weeks now but just never really promoted it here at DA.

It took absolutely no real effort or skills to produce this website because I used a WYSIWYG drag and drop website creator online at www.weebly.com

At this time I don't have my own domain name because I want to see if the website attracts attention and can potentially help me in my quest to sell my artwork through myself rather than relying on sites such as DA, before I feel I can justify purchasing my own domain name. Not that there's anything wrong with selling art through DA but I want to be in full control of my own artwork from a selling point of view.

For now and until I buy my own domain name, my website can be found at mattdeakinfineart.weebly.com/

Please take a look and I'm very interested in your opinions on the look and functionality of the site in general, so feedback is welcomed as always.

Also, I kind of settled on 'Matt Deakin Fine Art' as the site name, although at the moment it says 'Matt Deakin pencil Art' on the actual website because i just can't decide what's better. I was wondering what you guys think of the name. I definitely want my own name in it but should I use 'Fine Art' in the title, 'Pencil Art' or is there anything else that you kind people can think of that may be better. Once again, opinions, suggestions and all feedback (as long as it's constructive) is welcomed.

Thanks for reading.

Last week I got a message from 'Derwent' (who make pencils) saying that I'd won a drawing competition that they held under the title of 'Dreams'. I must admit that I'd forgotten I'd even entered the competition so it was a complete surprise to get this message. The prize for winning were 2 sets of Derwent pencils; 1 set was a sketching set and the other was a watercolour pencil set. Nothing fancy but a prize nonetheless. I felt like a little kid at Christmas when they arrived in the post. I even photographed them. Yeah, fucking sad, aren't I?

The other competition that I won was held by a site called 'A Singular Creation' asingularcreation.com who hold a competion every month with a different theme each time. All types of art are accepted whether it be photography, drawing, painting, sculpture or whatever.

The theme for the competition that I won was 'Water' and my prize was $50 USD, or £30.77 GBP, in my language. Not a huge cash prize but a prize that I was very chuffed to win regardless.

The drawing that won both of these competitions for me was:



People seem to like this drawing but as time goes by I'm less and less fond of it.

Anyway, all in all it's been a great couple of weeks and it's given me a great confidence boost with regards to my own potential.

NEWSFLASH:

Just found out I came 3rd in a contest here at DA that was jointly hosted by 3 groups. There were several prizes attached to coming 3rd, which included a 3 month sub, some Llamas, a comission and several features. The last 2 weeks just gor better.

The drawing that was selected for 3rd place was this:

I've just had another drawing shortlisted in another contest. The theme for this contest is water and so I entered my pouring water drawing. There's no way I expected to get shortlisted again so I'm totally chuffed.

As before, I'd appreciate your votes but I would urge you all to give a vote to ALL of the shortlisted entries as they all deserve a vote/rating.

As mentioned, my pic is the pencil drawing of the water pouring into the glass.

www.asingularcreation.com/show…;

There are 5 stars under each pic and you just need to click on one of the stars. If you think a pic is good, give it a higher star rating, if you think a pic isn't so great, give it a lower star rating but please vote for ALL of the shortlisted pics.

Thank you, guys.