fighting reality

making room for all the things

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about

I love kindness, community, laughter, and art in all its forms. Full time parent. Determined napper. She/her/hers 🇵🇭

  • At The Bottom

    Sitting at a table with a notebook open and ready to listen. Mugs that held coffee sit empty, leaving behind shapes that turn into wonder. At their bottoms of I’d find patterns in the fine grinds that were left behind. I don’t remember when it started, but I started taking photos of these forms. If I get busy, I’ll set the mug aside, careful to make sure it doesn’t get thrown in the dishwasher.

    These are recent images I was working on over the past few days. I have a few more images at my SmugMug account that are more straight forward.

    Beyond | Digital Photograph
    10/1/2025
    (c) Marivic Pinedo
    Breaking Through, Chagallarian | Digital Photograph and Illustration
    09/30/2025
    (c) Marivic Pinedo
    Out There | Digital Photograph and Illustration
    2025
    (c) Marivic Pinedo

  • Brain Juice

    Brain Juice | 9/13/2025 | (c) Marivic Pinedo

  • America Unraveling

    I’m hesitant to post this work that I’ve been working on. But I think it’s a manifestation of an anxiety dream I had recently. I won’t go into details, but the themes in it were fear, scarcity, survival, and people’s actions not matching their words.

    America Unraveling | Digital Illustration | 9/11/2025 | (c) Marivic Pinedo

  • Toby

    Fit check for Wobbly Life Era.

  • Contemplative

    Flew down to the LA area last May for a wedding. Obviously, rehearsals are not terribly interesting to a kid, so we explored the church grounds and kiddo found a tree to rest on. I’m really enjoying Procreate and I’m still trying to get the hang of layers, and finding textures I want to use for certain things. If anything, I’m excited to feel excited about art again. Below is work on top of the photo, and what happens when I remove the photo from underneath. I like both. I just need to keep working on it and remember that playing is totally fine.

  • Just keep sketching

    The summer was on the slower side when it came to activities. Not much adventuring, and probably too much time spent at home. But during that time I did take to coloring, sketching, and playing with the illustration program Procreate. I enjoyed using layers to trace photos I’ve taken and just play around with them.

    So the first is a photo of myself that I traced and tried to color. I’m rubbish at coloring, but I gave it a go. The second image is a line drawing I did that was just black and white, and I just filled it in with random colors. The third is interesting. They make these “coloring” books where they take away the black outline, but the color and shapes are all there. So all you have to do is add the black. I liked this a lot. It was easy and there was a level of just letting your hand go loose and find the shapes. The fourth one is a tracing of a photo I took of my coffee mug that had spilled when I accidentally bumped my desk. I liked how it splashed. I thought I’d try stylizing it. I have a white version, too. The last one is a drawing I’ve shown before that is originally just black and white, and again I just added color.

    If anything, it’s been fun dabbling in something I’m not typically drawn to. I like blacks, whites, grays. It’s the film photographer in me. The whole Zone System locked in my brain (though, I wouldn’t be able to teach you about it because I’m not very good at that either). But it was a fun and relaxing way to get through some rough spots during the summer break.

  • Creative Sparks

    I am not a great artist, but I do like to pick things up and just try things. This summer, I’m home with the kiddo, and finding ways to fill the time. Another great excuse for all this is that I’ve been sick at home, so I am crafting-in-quarantine. So far…

    Playing with play dough. Working with play dough is good for fine motor skill and graded force exercises. Our store-bought Play-Doh is pretty dried out, so I looked up a recipe to use. I’ve tried a couple of other recipes, but I think this one might by my favorite.

    I started with a ball and it turned into this. I was pretty excited about it. But again, just dinking around with the medium.

    Poking around with felt. We play a video game at home called Wobbly Life. You play a character that looks like this. And throughout the game’s different areas of play you can access a wardrobe of clothes if you want to change the Wobbly’s outfit. Our Wobbly’s name is Toby, and my kid wanted to make a wardrobe for them. So here are a couple of styles I put together. I’m not a seamstress (If I were I’d have pants that were the right length), but I can at least use a needle and thread to make felt couture.

    Stay tuned for more crafting adventure!

  • It’s okay to feel these things

    Day 2,357.

    Today was supposed to be the day. The child would be well enough for school. Fever free for more than 24 hrs. Symptoms better. But the 4am coughing fit followed by gagging… yah. No go.

    I woke up late for an appointment I had downtown in an hour. My head was pounding. I’d had night sweats, the 4am wakeup, irritability and rage cleaning before bedtime, and being short with my partner. Apologies were made.

    I threw on clothes, took my meds. Made coffee. 45 min to get there. 3 miles in, Maps was yelling at me to take alternate routes. I ignored all of it. Then I hit the backup. At this point nausea set in. I turned around. I pulled over. Thumbs fumbling in my phone, struggling to remember if my doctor is saved under their name or the clinic, I made the attempt to cancel. I couldn’t do it.

    Breathe. 

    I closed my eyes until I felt more centered, started the engine, and careful drove home.

    This is not the sun. This is me getting a moment to myself to be okay with feeling frustrated, tired, and hoping to release all of the guilt I feel about all the things. I am human. I am doing my best. I am a good mom. I am a good partner. I’m just having a hard day. That is okay. It’s okay to feel these things.

    It’s okay to feel these things.

    It’s okay to feel this way.

    It’s okay. 

  • Collaboration with studio cornix

    A quick merge of images by myself and Shelly Smith aka Studio Cornix

    Shelly is an illustrator who collects water and soil samples from all over the world, and draws elaborate versions of the microorganisms that she finds in them. She also extracts pigments from what she algae and other fun plants that she uses in her work. And has even made cocktails with them.

  • dry run

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