PICKEREL FROG DRAWING

 

As usual this time of year, I am craving color, color, color!  I was looking at some of my old photos, and ran across the American Toad, of which I have plenty during the season.  It reminded me that I have taken photos of many frogs through the years, and I searched back 15 years to find this Pickerel Frog.  It is more colorful than some of the others, and loads of fun to draw!

FLOWER STUDY #1

Not being a great gardener, but a lover of flowers, I do a lot of my photography at nurseries, and for this particular Hellebores, at the hardware store!  They always have such beautiful plants, and I don't have to worry about killing them and feeling bad...

WOODPECKER CLOSE UP SKETCH

 

This is an odd one, I will admit.  I was experimenting for a painting, and wanted to see the detail of a woodpecker eye.  This is the ink sketch.  This particular woodpecker has the most amazing color of eye...this really is the exact shade of red-orange!  The blue that I added in the pupil is fanciful reflection.  The woodpeckers' head is whitish with a red topnot, yellow spots, and lots of grey and black stripes.  

CAYENNE CHILI PEPPER SKETCH

 

This skinny little red pepper is hot, and spicy, and beautiful.  I love looking at the plants themselves, and hope to plant a bunch of them around the side of the house.  Not only will it run off all the stray dogs, the plants are lovely and bushy.  I am fond of the jalapeno plants, as well, especially when they are in full fruit, and range in color from green to yellow to bright red!  Do NOT arrange your still life of peppers, and then touch your face or eyes....ouch!!!

PEQUIN CHILI PEPPER SKETCH

 

I had fun doing a quick sketch of these lovely yellow peppers.  I liked the looseness of the sketching inks, and the blue of the shadows.  This pepper is spicy and a touch sweet. More my speed!

CASCABEL CHILI PEPPER SKETCH

Pepper sketch number 2, with a fairly hot and spicy pepper, the Cascabel.  Anything red is almost too spicy for me, unless you grill and smoke it out.  However, the pleasure of the color is enough for me to risk touching the beautiful, small peppers!

POBLANO PEPPER SKETCH

I was in a spicy kind of mood this week, and did 4 chili pepper ink drawings.  This is the first one, and has a particular significance...We visited Las Vegas last month, and I was treated to dinner at Chef Bayless' restaurant, El Mundo.  I had his famous Filet Mignon Poblano Chili pepper. Wow, and yummy! You seldom get a chance like that, and I savoured every mouthful.  Poblanos are fairly mild, and really large. I plan on doing some experimenting on the home cooking front, to see what I can come up with!

NEVER GET ATTACHED TO YOUR WORK

This is the only picture that I have of this particular piece of work that I did last year. I drew the fawn in pencil, and did some collage work, with oriental papers and dried leaves. I was really proud of this piece, and gave it as a gift to someone I am especially fond of.  When I visited this month, I discovered that the piece was dropped, and basically destroyed. No "I am so upset about it!", no "I really liked the piece", just an in the trash throwaway moment for the person it was given to.  I was a TINY bit upset. For a few weeks. Then I tried to be logical and not emotional about the situation.  I released my art into the world.  Noone knows what will happen to their art when they sell or give it away.  Most of the time we are lucky enough not to find out! Certainly, we must understand that we are more emotionally attached to that work of art than the buyer.  We need to learn that all important lesson of letting go.  Moving on to the next thing. Looking forward.  It is the journey, after all.

LAURA'S WILDLIFE

 

 

Laura is another of my wonderfully talented nieces...at 17, she is already a pro at drawing and painting wildlife.  She has a couple of shows under her belt already, and has a wonderful way with a pencil.  She is meticulous with her details, and really researches, and practices her sketches to get them exact.  She has a delightful imagination as well, and has published several of her fantasy drawings on DeviantArt. My nieces keep me on my toes, and inspired to try new things and keep it fresh. Laura is well on her way to  having a career in art!

 

 

HORNET DRAWN IN INK

This Bald-faced Hornet is a common sight here in TN in the summer. I have never had a problem with them, unlike the Red Wasps that invade my garage and dive-bomb my head when I walk out the door!  I am amazed at the beautiful pattern of black and yellow that the hornet has, and photograph them constantly in an effort to learn more about them.  They are not a true hornet, by the way, but a yellow jacket.  I do NOT understand the classifications of bugs at all!   Anyway, this sketch was done with some ballpoint pen, and color inks.  I used a 30% cool grey Copic pen for the shadows.

BUNNY RABBIT DRAWN IN BALLPOINT PEN

This pen sketch of a bunny rabbit is verging on good, but he was munching on grass, and his one cheek was puffed out...cute in real life, but odd looking on paper!  My daughter had dwarf bunnies at one time.  They are so cute, but so high maintenance!  They ate the carpet, the drywall near the cage, the electrical wires, anything they shouldn't, but refused the nibble sticks they were supposed to be teething on!  Cats are so much easier...

FISHING LURE DRAWN IN BALLPOINT PEN

Hubby and I were discussing a fishing trip this week, and I got to digging into the tackle box. What a lot of interesting shapes and colors there are in fishing lures!  I did a simple pen sketch of this rattle lure, in anticipation of doing some color sketches later.

LILY DRAWN IN COLOR INK

This orange lily is one of my favorites that bloom in the summer.  I am missing flowers, color and sunshine right now, as February and March are rather rainy, grey and too early for any flowers but the Jonquil.  I sketched this lily with color inks, and had fun with letting a bit of the inks bleed into each other.  It is about 4 inches by 4. It would be fun to triple matt this one, and frame it with a narrow black moulding.  Sure wish I could afford to do my own framing!  I looked into it, and the matt cutter (a nice one) starts at $3,000.  The frame chop is about the same.  Maybe I will look into lab fees at a university?

THE SLUMP

A Slump -

A Block -

A creative wasteland.

Are all artists emotionally on overdrive?

They feel,

They feel,

They wish they were numb.

Or on a creative high that

Won't be interrupted by daily life.

The mundane.

The bill paying.

The catbox cleanup.

 

 

Oh, to be alone!

Or with fascinating personalities

That spur on the ideas.

Oh, an artist must paint what he feels.

It's all black!

Red lightening bolts.

Beige Blah Bananas.

 

 

Or it's brilliant light,

Too giddy to understand.

Detailed scribbles of delight.

Contour distortions that...

Make you laugh,

Make you feel,

Make you see a new way.

 

 

Up -

-

-

-

Down-

No straight lines.

No dull days.

Manic-Depression.

Up-

-

-

Down-

A slump.

By Rose

STRAWBERRY DRAWN IN INKS

I am anticipating strawberry season this week.  We have a wonderful strawberry farm nearby where you can pick your own berries for about 2 weeks.  I have already promised my hubby some freezer jam this year, and hope the crop is full and luscious, and yummy!  I drew this berry with ballpoint and color inks.  It is tiny, only about an inch.  I am planning on framing it with a 2 inch frame to give it some umph!

I THINK I NEED A LASER POINTER THINGY

 

I think I need a laser pointer thingy...one of those things they sell in hardware stores to line up your pictures properly when arranging your walls.  Yes, definitely!  I had a great idea for putting my artwork up on the walls, but execution is iffy.  I do like the butterflies, intersperced with the sketches, though...don't you?

ARTIST CHALLENGE: COLOR MY WORLD

 

The Artist Challenge is a fun one this month.  Color My World is the theme, and I chose one of my watercolors that I did of the Wyoming prairie.  Most people consider the prairie states to be brown, and dry.  If you look long enough, however, you can see color everywhere!  Purple shadows, blue mountains, red hills, and the sage brush!  Amazing!  I loved this challenge.  As usual, web master Rusty was wonderful.  Thanks!  Here is the link if you want to see more:

http://www.theartistchallenge2.com/2013-02-25/77-color-my-world/78rosealtom/comment-page-1/#comment-24264

DECEPTIVELY SIMPLE

 

I was working on the elm leaf design here, when it occured to me that this deceptively simple design could really become something exciting and bold if turned into a really LARGE painting! I like the composition (except for that farthest leaf...needs work) and with the right color pallette, it could be really wonderful.  Not all of my paintings should be detailed, intricate projects that say less than a simple one...Seriously considering this!

SUN ART CHALLENGE

 

 

I have never participated in the annual Sun Art Artists Challenge.  It is an exciting event, especially for those fans of CBS's Sunday Morning Show.  So many of the challengers have gotten their sunny faces featured on the weekly show, that I am a bit intimidated.  However, this is my year to try new things, take a few risks, and enjoy the challenge of venturing into new territory.  This is a basic sketch of a sun face, the first of many before I decide on a design for a painting, to be submitted in April.  The face reminds me of the Green Man face seen in so many gardens..an homage to the living creature that is nature.  I am treating the Sun Art in a similar manner...the sun as a personified living entity that keeps our earth warm, growing, and full of life!

AN ACCIDENTALLY ORANGE ROSE

 

Once again, I was sketching in the evening (my quietest time of the day) and wasn't using enough light.  The ink pens LOOKED pink...they weren't!  So I have a very orange rose...a new hybrid that I am calling the Accidental Orange.  And it is my intention to get a small UV lamp to put at my desk, so that I can have more control over my colors!!!

PENNY RUG EMBELLISHMENT

 

January has me at my wits end trying to fill the cold days with something productive.  I usually start my spring cleaning (my dust bunnies are particularly large this year!) and do some handwork.  I love making penny rugs, an old fashioned way of using up old wool blankets and scarves.  This year I made a table runner, and added wool felted cottonwood leaves, blanket stitching and running stitching to give it movement.  Fun, easy, and I can still watch my favorite t.v. shows while sewing!

SARAH'S MYSTERY WOMAN

My niece, Sarah, is an up and coming artist.  I was delighted to purchase this piece from a show in Cape Girardeau, MO, where Sarah donated her work for a charitable event.  I am delighted with her works, which remind me of a cross between Aubrey Beardsley and E. Gorey.  This woman has mystery, intrigue, and delicacy.  Sarah always hides a key somewhere in her works, and lovely patterns in an almost old-fashioned way.  Keep an eye out...her work is so unique it grows on you! 

WHAT TO DO WITH A BAD WATERCOLOR...MAKE A BOWL!

I have done a lot of watercolor 'practice' paintings over the years, and tried in vain to find some redeeming values in them to frame.  Eventually, however, I faced facts.  They were no good! Awful, in reality!  So what do you do with them?  Well, for this project, I tore them up and repurposed them into a bowl!  I took a plastic mixing bowl, flipped it over and wrapped it in foil and Saran, and then started tearing up bits of paintings to decoupage over it all.  I added a few dried leaves to add interest, (I used gel medium for my 'glue') let it dry for a few days, and then flipped it back over, taking out the plastic bowl and the foil and Saran.  I am very pleased with it, and love the flowing colors from the paintings!

FRAMING THE IRIS

 

This is a painting that I did last year at this time, and I have been unable to put it up, sell it, or take pleasure in it because I am having a terrible time framing it!  As a starving artist (metaphorical, of course, if any of you have seen my plump portrait!) I can't afford to have all of my work framed professionally.  I try to find ready made frames, hit estate sales, and even the occasional yard sale or two.  This is a normal enough size, 8"x8"...but nothing seems to work well.  Add to that the fact that I painted it at an angle, to be hung on an angle, and I am having an impossible time finding something to complement it.  I painted the top of the flower too close to the edge, so some frames cut it too close.  The edges are stapled, so I can't leave it unframed.  I have thought about 'floating' it in a slightly larger frame, but don't quite know how to do it.  If anyone has a suggestion, I would be MOST grateful!  Sometimes, art and logic don't seem to come together....

CRAFTING A VALENTINE FOR MY TRUE LOVE

My hubby does some truly outrageous things for Valentine's Day.  One of the sweetest was to search out heart shaped rocks whenever we go somewhere special, presenting them with a flourish of flowers, poetry or song.  This year I wanted to present to him one of our favorite heart stones, taken from one of the beaches in California, framed in a Valentine.  I found a lovely filagree metal frame with a 3"x3" opening.  Using foam core board and decorative paper as a background, I hot glued the stone on, wrote a quote from our favorite date movie "Princess Bride" and framed it out.  Valentine's Day will be a bit funky for us this year, as we are volunteering at a fund raiser for adult literacy in the evening, but as usual, hubby planned ahead...Friday we are going to a dinner theatre, an Agatha Christie mystery!  My favorite author, so I am really excited!  I hope that you have made personal plans for your loved ones, be they partners, children, or best friends...and make some wonderful memories.  Happy Valentine's, all!

ARTIST CHALLENGE #76

I entered the Artist Challenge Gallery's "Show me what you've got" show this month with a detail from my painting of gariel young, hatching from their leathery eggs.  It reminded me that I can still do work that is significant (I chose this subject to honor an endangered species) and special to me.  I have been aggravated at myself in recent months for not getting more painting done, and more creating for my soul.  I vow to do more in upcoming weeks!  You can go to the following link to see all of the wonderful entries for this challenge...

 

www.artchallengegallery.com

FUNGUS ART

 

I found this piece of art at an antique store the other day.  While I am sure that it couldn't have been 1889 that this was done, but instead 1989....it is so interesting!  Shelf mushrooms have been used as canvases for thousands of years.  I looked up the process to doing this type of art, and it is a very immediate piece of work.  You pick the fungi, and etch into it with a sharp stick, quill, or other instrument.  Work quickly, before it gets too stiff!  When it dries, the scratches in the surface will darken and look just like ink!

BUTTONS, BUTTONS, SKETCHING BUTTONS

 

What fun this sketch was...my spring cleaning led me into my sewing kit, and I had to draw the buttons!  The baseball button was from my son's pajamas when he was little...25 years ago!  I decided to do this drawing like a pseudo etching.  I have always loved etchings, but have no background in it at all. Someday....

COLORFUL INK SKETCH: TOYS

 

My spring cleaning obsession came to a screeching halt this morning when I ran across some old toys that I have kept around for my grandson's visits (and he has long outgrown).  They were so lovely and colorful that I had to set them up and do some drawing.  I am pleased with them...the cow was really hard!  I finally chose to not draw every detail and shadow, and keep it simple.  Hope you like it...

SCRIMSHAW VALENTINE EFFORT

 

A few years ago, I tried my hand at scrimshaw for hubby's Valentine.  I used a fake ivory square that came in a kit with the tools...while I discovered that I am lousy at scrimshaw, I was happy that I had taken a risk and tried something new.  Hubby liked it, or so he said!