Portrait Exchange Update

I finally managed to sit down and rework this portrait a little bit. I lost it for a while in the move. I worked on the left (viewer right) eye and on the width and overall size of the mouth. I think it looks much better now, and I feel like I can sign it and send it off to Colorado to live with its' owner. I'll let it dry a while now, and try to catch a warmish day to varnish it before I send it off. Here they are - before and after...

My Very Own Not Safe but Good Lion

Every year (at least in theory) I go through all my digital photos from the past 12 months and put them on a cd for the archives, delete them from my hard drive to make room for more. I guess I should do this more often, but so far it has worked for me. In any case, I have been doing that this week, and I came across a photo I took back in September when my kids went on a field trip to the Knoxville Zoo.

Every time we go to the zoo, we have two places that we absolutely MUST take a photo - at the tortoise sculpture near then entrance to the reptile area, and at the lion sculpture by the food vendor. We took our usual photos at the lion, when suddenly - my youngest climbed back on and gave the lion the biggest hug he possibly could. Precious picture.

Well, having found it, I couldn't help but draw it. When I got finished, it brought to mind a certain book by CS Lewis that has recently been released as a movie. I haven't see the movie, yet, but I have loved the book all my life, and this is my homage to it.

9x12, 140lb cold press wc paper, sepia PITT pen and wc

EDM #24 - Draw a piece of fruit

I was sitting down last night to draw something, and it occurred to me that we had some oranges in the kitchen that I could use to complete EDM challenge #24! Yippee! Well, I was happy until I saw the outcome! I was not seeing well last night, I think. All those dimples on the orange flesh overwhelmed me and I resorted to my old ways of subterfuge and deception to make it look like an orange. Ah, well - at least it tasted good.

Koh-i-noor stack pack watercolors, and (my beloved) rapidograph pens in the moleskine.

EDM Challenge #42 - Something I am thankful for.

BOYS!! sketch of DH and DS curled up together on the couch - one of them watching TV, the other snoozing. Other DS was on the floor, so I missed him. BUT - I'm the fortunate only girl in the house, and I've gotta say that I love it!

Indigo acrylic ink, rapidograph, in the moleskine.

EDM Challenge #17 - Musical Instrument

Yamaha S08 synthesizer. What can I say? I'm in love... acrylic inks in rapidograph pens - moleskine notebook.

EDM Challenges #4 and #25 - a mug and a glass

The first page of my new moleskine. Went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast and thought I'd capture the coffee and OJ - I ate the eggs and grits too fast to sketch them!

EDM Challenge #2 - Draw a desk lamp

In my 5x7 wc sketchbook - acrylic ink in rapidograph pens. Some musings on my favorite desk lamp.

EDM #44 - Draw an animal AND WDE 12.23.05

Thought I'd kill two birds with one stone this weekend (pun intended) and knock out an EDM challenge - #44 was to draw an animal...and complete an image for the WetCanvas Weekly Drawing Event - so I chose a reference of pelicans to do both! This is in my 9x12 sketchbook - drawn with my .50 rapidograph pen loaded with indigo acrylic ink.

EDM #33 Draw an Eye

Making a little more progress on the Everyday Matters checklist - this is from week #33 - draw an eye. I decided to draw two. Pen and ink and acrylic inks. These are a bit too close together, but other than that, I think they look fairly realistic - I drew them from memory - just playing around in the wc sketchbook I keep by my bed.

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

Have a holly, jolly Christmas - it's the best time of the year! This is the Christmas card we sent out this year - if you haven't received one, check your mailbox - I was a little late with them! Or - maybe I didn't send you one - I'm not very organized right now, with the move and all! So - consider this your mailbox, know that I'm thinking of you. I hope the season brings family and friends and favor in the eyes of the Lord. God bless you all.

Peacock in graphite

Bought a new water soluble graphite pencil to try out, and one of those brushes that hold water in a reservoir. This was one of the reference pics from the weekly drawing event over in WetCanvas, posted by Slaterza. I really like how this graphite handles - I may have to go out and get a few different hardnesses, now! Just what I need - more art supplies!

EDMWC #15 Trees

Still catching up on the Everyday Matters challenges - this tree grows in my neighbors' back yard, and I watch it go through all of its' seasons - this is my interpretation of it during the spring, when all the green starts shooting open. 

Finished portrait

I've finished my portrait challenge. whew. And, while I can't say it's perfect, I learned alot, I achieved a fair likeness of my subject, and overall she looks human. :-) I don't think I'll be picking up a whole lot of commissions based on it, but that's okay by me!

BCF 17

This is a blind contour drawing of my dog, Chico, curled up on the sofa taking a nap. For those who don't know, blind contour drawing is drawing while looking at your subject, but not at your paper - there are some far more experienced and capable than I at it - you can find them at www.inkfinger.us. Meanwhile - I'll keep practicing!! 

Gone dotty...

I did this one for the WDE challenge for LAST weekend, but it took forever to get it done...what was I thinking with all those dots?? I had done a little sketch of my foot a week ago, or so, and had fun with the stippling, so thought I'd continue - doing a dog with a black face may have been a stretch!! Anyhow - it's as done as it is going to be, and I'm happy with it - although I'm NOT happy with this scan - I think I'll have to go re-do it, later! 

EDMWC #5 - Draw Your Bed

I'm still playing catch-up with the weekly challenges on Everyday Matters. The Thanksgiving week thing kind of threw a wrench in my plans to do one a day, but we'll start afresh here on Monday!! Here is challenge #5 - draw your bed. I decided to do this one next because, after being away for almost a week, I was SO happy to see my bed last night, and I woke up feeling rested for the first time in a while.

It isn't that there was anything wrong with any of the beds I slept in on our journey, but there's just something about sleeping in your own bed - it is more comfortable, more roomy, more...I don't know - just known, I suppose. Anyhow - I decided to draw the headboard of my side of the bed, with my comfy pillows piled up against it. It's a simple cast metal headboard with vines...kind of earthy, I guess! That funky spotted pillow out front is my faux leopard skin velour cushy pillow.

This was done quickly in my little 5x7 sketchbook with an archival ink pen typically used in scrapbooks - I think I may add a little color wash to this one with my acrylic inks - but it will have to wait until later!

EDM Weekly Challenge #23 - My left foot

Here's my next installment, day two of the catch-up process. Drew this while lying in bed watching the Matrix...whichever the second one is - I can't remember the name... Just a simple drawing - micron pen - stippling and some line shading, but I'm fairly pleased with the simplicity of line.

Update - 12/27/2005 - I decided to add some color to this one and see what happened...here's what happened.

EDM Weekly Challenge #1 - Backtracking...

So, I am going through the Everyday Matters group list of weekly challenges - thought I'd try to do one a day on a very small scale and see if I could "catch up" :-) I actually started with the current week (see below) but this is week #1 - draw a shoe. This is one of my favorites - my pink tennis shoes that I can just slip on - summer, winter - doesn't matter I LOVE them! 

EDMWC #41 - Landmark of your City

This is a 5 minute sketch in ink and acrylic ink of Knoxville's Sunsphere - the only landmark I could think of in this town! The color is, as usual for me, way too much - but that's how I like it...the actual sunsphere is more golden in tone. And I got th eperspective way off in the globe, but I learned how not to do it, so I'm calling it a success! 

I'm Losing It!

Well, after layer 947, I've lost most of my really dark darks, and really light lights. I did a grayscale version so I could check it - and I was right! Time to start adding in some darks - particulary on the left side of her face (viewer right) and around her right eye (viewer left). I've toned the hair down some, which you obviously can't tell in this image :-).

Time for a break! 

And even more portrait work

I've added some more glazing...she's less purple now, and doesn't look so much like an alien! I even gave here a little lip gloss :-) 

Update on Portrait work

I'm pressing on with the glazing technique. I worked on her hair, which is still too yellow - but I'll get it worked out eventually. And, I've started layering on the flesh-colored glazes on top of the purple underpainting - thankfully, acrylics dry quickly (and with the blow-dryer, even faster) so I hope to be finished with this in another day or two. This is very different from my usual style of slapping paint on a canvas - but is very educational!! 

Portrait Day I

Today, I was all wrapped up in portrait land. There is a class in the Acrylics forum at WetCanvas on portraits, and this is my "homework" for it - an underpainting in diox. purple. I used purple as a complement to the orangey skin tones that I will glaze on top - makes them seem more vibrant and alive. Actually, I like this one so much as is, I'm considering finishing out the hair and calling it done...what do you think?

Portrait Day II

This is the one for the portrait exchange - I posted my graphite study a while back. This one still needs some work - her left (our right) eye is not quite right, and the shadow under it is too dark. But - I'm tired, and I'm going to bed! 

Portrait challenge

Wet Canvas is having a portrait exchange, and each participant was teamed with another to exchange photos of themselves, and paint/draw/whatever a portrait from it. Then, after you are finished and have posted it, you send them off to your partner. So - here's my effort - in graphite...just a study - I'm planning to do the portrait in acrylics.

Tree Creatures

Okay - this one is kind of weird, I guess. Here's the explanation. I was tooling around my favorite art site on the web, Wet Canvas, and I came across this watercolor classroom called "Tree Creature". Okay - I don't do watercolor, but I do some inks, and they behave similarly, so I was intrigued. Basically the classroom is all about hidden images in an imaginary tree, so I thought I'd give it a whirl. I started out by drawing the outline of an imaginary tree. I had no idea what "theme" I would be going with, but I thought I'd let the tree dictate the direction.

When I got done with the outline, I noticed a hump on the right hand side that looked just like a pregnant belly...the rest just kind of happened from there. I've got some of it colored in, just for my self to see where I was going with the bark of the tree - there's our cat, Pugsley, our dog, Oscar, a piece of taffy, a book, and of course, the pregnant lady with the outie.

So, the next step is to transfer this drawing over to some watercolor paper and start in with the inks...I'll keep you posted!

A better image

I took a picture in daylight, and it turned out much better than the first!