I remember being a little girl and sneaking into my older brother's room to cause some sort of mayhem, as is mandatory for a younger sibling to do. As I looked around to see what trouble I could cause, I came across sketches and drawings on his desk and hung up on his walls. Things like stars and dinosaurs and the like. I remember thinking they were the coolest things I'd ever seen.

I remember trying to draw hearts when I was a little older. My hearts were the funkiest shaped little things. They looked all wrong and I couldn't figure out why. I remember my brother sitting down with me and showing me how to get the top curves to round a little more and look a bit fuller. By the end of our practice session, I had improved drastically. I still have to put conscious effort into making my hearts look like hearts, and I still think of my brother teaching me every time I draw one.

I remember being a teenager when my brother started his apprenticeship as a tattoo artist. One of the first things he did was share his prismacolored pencil techniques with me, which influenced all of the art I made that year.

I watched for years as he sketched and created constantly, admiring his ability to pick up a pen to doodle no matter what was going on around him. I felt awe at seeing him create things straight from his brain through what I'm sure was years of intentional practice. And I watched as he grew and practiced and experimented and continued to love his craft all the while.

After a year and a half, I've finally finished this watercolor painting of my brother. I wanted to share with you guys one of my biggest inspirations and a huge influence behind my art. Love you, bro.

Scroll down to view process images.