I am Justin Tadlock.

I am also a writer. A front-end developer. A gardener. A small-town Alabama kid just trying to figure out whatever it is that that folks are supposed to figure out on this journey. Welcome to my little home on the web.

Daisy

I continue to enjoy soft pastels and their ease of laying down color. It is sort of like being a kid again with the messiness of the medium but an adult-like version that allows the creation of something akin to decent art. I followed through with another tutorial, this time … Continue reading →

Colors of Kindness

After trying oil pastels, a medium I had not attempted since my formative years, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to dive into something that I really had not used in ages: color crayons. Yes, those wax crayons that we all learn to use in our youth. I had an old … Continue reading →

Sunflower

In keeping with the spirit of experimenting with various mediums in my journey as an artist, I tried oil pastels tonight. I received these as part of a beginner’s artist set during my school years. I remember trying them once or twice, but I had no idea how they worked. … Continue reading →

Lake Blossoms

After the eight-day run it took to finish the sun and moon drawing for my sister, I needed a break from big projects. That is one of the reasons I am happy to have recently discovered the joy of working with soft pastels. I can work through a 9“x12“ sized … Continue reading →

Sun and Moon

My sister asked if I would draw a sun and moon picture. I had no idea what she was talking about, so I asked for some examples. Eventually, I pulled up some source material to work from. The style was a bit outside my wheelhouse, but I felt like it … Continue reading →

Colorful Walk

I have some larger art projects in mind that I’ve been itching to get to, but I’m also trying to avoid burnout after wrapping up a colored-pencil drawing earlier in the week. I still wanted to do something this weekend as long as it didn’t eat up too much time. … Continue reading →

Pastel Night

As I was doing my weekly grocery and household shopping, I wandered over to the arts and crafts isle in Walmart. It is part of my routine. I look around, mostly “window shop,” and sometimes pick up a thing or two. Today, a $5+ set of 12 soft pastels caught … Continue reading →

Diary Girl

This was the drawing that nearly done me in. Day 1 started off horribly. It was almost as if I had forgotten how to sketch anything at all. Nothing seemed to work out, and I was ready to throw in the towel and start something new the next day. But, … Continue reading →

2022 Bullet Journal

I spent most of today outlining several yearly spreads for my new bullet journal. Yes, I am once again giving this type of planner/journal a shot. I previously started one in 2019, but I gave it up after a while. This year, things are going to be different — I … Continue reading →

Recreation of a School-Age Drawing

On Sunday, I started wondering what my next drawing project would be. I originally planned to try my hand at another manga template. However, as I read over my previous post, Now This Is Art, I remembered that I had a ton of old drawings from when I was in … Continue reading →