SKELETON KEY SKETCH

Well, here is something silly for the Halloween season!  My niece collects antique keys, and I was thinking of her the other day when I drew this.  She has such a good sense of humor, I think she would like this!  I have been innundated with family drama lately, and have had little time to think of art, but things are looking up!  I am working on the preliminary sketches for a Meditational Landscape...a painting where the motivation in painting it is too create something one can escape into, dream a little, and be at peace.  I have just the place in mind!  The hay is being harvested in Shiloh Military Park, and the turkeys are running about in the newly mowed fields hunting for a bit of food.  A lovely and peaceful place, especially in the late afternoon light!  Can't wait to get started!

RED BELLIED WOODPECKER WITH ACORN SKETCH IN INK

Yeah!  I really like how this sketch came out! It works as a completed portrait, and the negative space works great.  I like the eye, and really enjoyed putting in the 'fluffy' feathers at the edges to give it a rugged look.  The eyes were a real challenge, as I wanted to add the extra layers of feathers below the eye to give it a 'had a hard night' kind of look.  All of the little extras really gave it a look of character that I wanted.  Now to work harder on that acorn...

I JUST DON'T GET ZENTANGLE!

I really am trying to get the zentangle...I guess I just am not letting my doodle spirit loose to play! I started off with a basic face, widening the areas to doodle in them, but I think I am just to rigid...and my meditational skills really didn't get a chance with this as I over thought the whole process, and tried to get it to work aesthetically.  Nope!  Ugly, and a bit scary...perfect for the Halloween season though, don't you think?

PEREGRINE FALCON SKETCH IN INK

I have always been especially fond of the raptors.  We saw a nesting pair on Biloxi Bay in Mississippi when we were living there, and spent several hours watching them, photographing them.  This is a small portrait, and I am afraid that the eye isn't quite right...the light was at an odd angle and that messes up what you see...and what you THINK you see!  Sometimes it is better to go with artist intuition than to draw exactly!  I have to work on my intuition and creative choices.  I could have done so many different things here to make it work!

CONTEMPLATION: CONTOUR LINE DRAWING

Life occasionally gets in the way of art...this year it is really testing me.  Due to a family crisis, of which noone cares for me to expand upon (I hope), I was gone unexpectedly for a few weeks.  I am back with renewed feelings of creativity and resolve!  I chose to do an expressive drawing today, as I contemplate my own plans for growth and purpose in life...a temporary and frighteningly brief time on earth!  What impact do I want to make NOW...immediately and without waiting for something to get in the way?  I think that simple, elegant line is the most expressive thing I can do, and this drawing works on my personal level.  Hope you like it!

LOOSE KITTEN SKETCH

I was quick sketching yesterday, doing a kitten portrait to loosen up a bit before a more detailed drawing.  I came back to it today, and thought it might be interesting to add just a touch of watercolor to make the eyes pop.  I really like the effect.  I used yellow, orange and green watercolors.  Meow!

WATERCOLOR STUDY BUTTERFLY: PEARLY HEATH

 

I was playing with my watercolor pencils today.  They did fairly well, though I didn't use sturdy enough paper, and it warped a bit.  I added pen for the details, and felt it came out OK, but not great...I need to practice a LOT MORE!

PHOEBE BIRD SKETCH

We have had several Phoebes at our feeder this year.  They are an unassuming little bird with a lot of personality.  Their brown feathers have the look and texture of rich velvet.  This one sat quietly for me while I drew his profile...I find this kind of sketching to be the most peaceful. 

EYES OF A WISE WOMAN

I was reading an article about Jane Goodall today, and was fascinated by the wiseness, the knowledge in her eyes.  I did a quick study in pen to see if I could capture even a small amount of that peace and stillness...

FREAK ART ACCIDENT

 

I had the brilliant idea of going out into the woods with my sketchbook and drawing the forest floor.  I started in drawing the sticks, some of the fallen leaves, and some pine needles...when I notices the tiniest red spiders on my page.  Then itching...lots of itching...I ran indoors and showered, but too late!  I had sat in a 'chigger' infested area, and was eaten alive!  A week later (and an antihystimine-induced coma later) I am on the road to recovery, having discovered an allergy to the bites...dozens of them!  Nature is not so much my friend this week, and I never finished the sketch.  I am drawing from photos and from the window...

ANOTHER CRAFTY DAY: LEAF POUNDING

 Yup! I am still feeling crafty...or artsy-fartsy, as my little brother used to say.  Today I did some leaf pounding, with a bit of an artistic bent.  I used a board. Put an art paper down (I used 140 lb paper). I picked a 'juicy' evergreen frond from my back yard.  By juicy, I mean that it has a lot of chlorofil in it. Fall leaves aren't usually very good for this because it is the end of the season, and the plant isn't producing much fluid.  Leaves are really best in the spring for this (Flowers, too!).

 I covered the evergreen with a sheet of waxed paper...

 I covered the whole thing with an old washcloth, doubled, and beat the crap out of it!  You have to really hit it hard to transfer the color from the plant to the paper, so choose a day you need to get your frustrations out.

 This is what my paper looked like after the pounding.  I am going to try this again in the spring...

 I used the evergreen, a wild grape leaf, and a dogwood leaf.

 Then I dug out my fine tip Sharpee, and started sketching in some of the finer details.


















 I think that they came out fairly well.

I plan on matting and framing these three for a Christmas gift.  They are 5X5, and a nice little set for a surprise.

ILLUSTRATION STYLE DRAWING: FALL LEAVES

I am working with watercolor pencils today, and ink outlines in sepia pen.  I have been reading about some of the beautiful illuminations that the monks of long ago used to draw. Inspired! It made me think about doing initials and quote samplers for a Christmas gift, and that led to playing with shapes that might work for the letter 'A'.  These three leaves might work...look for additions to this illustration in the next week!

FEELING KIND OF CRAFTY...ORIGAMI TURKEY

 I am feeling crafty this week, and thought I would try a new origami pattern...a turkey!  The hickory trees here in Tennessee start to turn crimson in mid August, and the tulip poplars are already turning golden, even though we are having 90 degree weather!  I will take any sign Mother Nature will throw at me, however, to look forward to the fall. If I can perfect this origami turkey, and find some better dual sided paper, it is going to be a part of my Thanksgiving decorations!  I am not too happy with the tail...

I CAUGHT A FISH! REALISTIC DRAWING

 

I am working my way back into realistic nature drawing again, and decided to go with a fish rather than a bird...felt I was getting into a bit of a rut this year.  I am actually anxious to get back to some painting, but it has been 6 months since I last dragged out the palette, and I am feeling a bit nervous.  Fish are interesting, with lots of different textures to draw, so it was a fun sketch.  What shall I draw tomorrow....?

BUMBLEBEE CONTOUR LINE MADNESS

 

I chose a more intricate pattern to do today for my contour line drawing.  I am thinking it would be good as a quilting pattern, right?  Well, maybe not...even I got a bit confused when I was working on the bee wings.  

CHILD WITH FLOWER: CONTOUR LINE

 

I am back!  I had a glitch in the computer, and a glitch in my back that had me unable to move for a bit.  I was feeling a bit intimidated by the blank page when I started back to my drawing, so I chose contour line to loosen up again.  It is always my favorite starter.  I used a Sharpee fine tip, and a photo of my daughter to do this drawing, and it is actually one of my favorites!  Hope you like it...

OOPS!

Photo by Rose...oddities collection.

 

I was posting my latest contour line drawing when a NOTICE came up on Blogger stating that I was unsecure...unsafe...and must immediately install this program to secure and save my blog.  OOOPS!  It was a lie, and I have spent the past week trying to undo BING as my 'new' server.  Never again will I press a button willy-nilly without first consulting the tech geek (hubby) first!  Please stand by while I completely rid my system of malware.  I will be up and running again in another 24 hours!

LITTLE GIRL CONTOUR LINE DRAWING

 

While recovering from some dental work, I thumbed through an old magazine and came across an advertisement (I think for dog food) with this little girl in it.  I decided to do a contour line, just to keep up the drawing, and came up with this...I really like it!  It captures the moment, the feel, but doesn't copy photographically.  I am finding more joy in contour line lately than in any other style of figurative art.  Yes....I think I am inspired!

STRINGY ASPARAGUS SKETCH

I am happier with my sketch today.  I really like all of the vertical movement in the asparagus. I am perking up a bit.  Thank goodness for a hubby who understands the creative blocks and depression that comes with it!  He has been trying to inspire me out of my doldrums and back to work...Hope I can do the same for him when he gets struck by the artistic malady!

WISHY-WASHY STRAWBERRY SKETCH

I am still having a bit of a creative block this week, so my strawberries are a bit tepid and lazy.  I used a pen brush for the tinting, thinking that was all the texture that I needed.  It wasn't!  I added a fine tip pen for details, but I can honestly say that I only really like the leaves on the entire picture.  Ahh!!!

OWL FACE

Well, after three days of 'zen'ing out, I am feeling less stressed, and better able to cope.  Now maybe I can get back to creating what I love, which is expression through nature!  This ink sketch is a bizarre little baby owl with a rather prominent nostril area on his beak.  I loved how 'human' it made him look, and decided to emphasize it rather more than it already was.  He is now expressing how I am feeling today...surprise at having survived the week!

ZENTANGLE ROSE

Zentangle rose, and I think it is a good attempt at a drawing, but not a good attempt at Zentangles, which are supposed to have a variety of different patterns and movement throughout.  I may not have what it takes to be a Zentangler!

ZENTANGLE KNOTS

Zentangle sketch number 2 is not free enough in the patterns, but I did find some peace in the continual strands of rope.  It reminded me of when I used to brush and braid my daughters' hair.  It was a labor of love, and time that we both really enjoyed.  I may learn to like this doodling yet!

ZENTANGLE MESS

Well, I promised a sketch.  I didn't promise it would be pretty! A friend introduced me to Zentangles as a way to combat stress, nerves, or just artists' block.  It is a series of doodling with mindless patterns, so as to set your mind free, or occupy it with repetition for a Zen effect.  My first attempt here is not so good.  I think I am doing it wrong!

I WILL PERSERVERE...

 

Sorry, audience...I have been struggling with some seriously depressing depression this month.  I promise that you will see some art coming back online within a few days!  I am even depressed about not creating art!  Statistics tell us (whoever they are) that most artists struggle with depression, so I am sure I am not alone in this.  I will push through it and get something accomplished in the next day.  I saw a glimmer of hope yesterday, when I was inspired by an unusually shaped canvas and an especially funky brush!  Love you all!

FAMILY PICTURES

 

Sorry that I disappeared for a few weeks without an explanation!  Sometimes life, and family gets priority, and I forgot to post my  whereabouts...anyway, I was excited to head to Iowa to our family reunion.  Not being great at getting a likeness, I decided to do a few 'from the back' portraits.  Babies are always the most fun! I also think that these backwards portraits tend to be the most timeless, and not personal enough to be exclusive, so more sale-able.  What do you think? 

FISHING LURES DRAWN IN PENCIL

 It is too hot to fish right now, but the lures are works of art in their own right!

 Some of the hand tied flies are amazing works of art!

I have been inspired lately by several young artist who are making objects leap off the page using a No. 2 pencil.  Talent at such a young age...wow!

DRAWING OF ONE EYE OF A MAN

I wasn't kidding about my continuing problem with drawing the left side only...I was working out the size of the ear and the position in relation to the eye. Maybe I should go into the One-Eye-Portrait business.  Could be lucrative...

DRAWING OF ONE CAT EYE

I don't know if it is just that I am left handed, or what...I usually do the left side of the face or animal that I am  drawing. It is the first sketch that I do, before I continue into a more detailed and finished piece, or a painting.  I guess I am exploring the dimensions of the face, checking on the subject, and whether I want to continue with the project.  Maybe I am seriously needing therapy...

CONTOUR LINE: GIRL WITH GUITAR

My family is a musical one.  I learned to play the guitar at about the same age as this girl.  My nieces all play as well.  Music is the interpretation of the world around you, and I think we want to express that at a tender age.  I loved doing this contour line drawing as an interpretation of that love of music.