Filed under: Drawing, Fleeting thoughts... | Tags: art, artist, drawing, Pencil, realism, sketch, still life
Each week, I wonder what the heck I’m going to write about on Friday. Luckily, each week SOMETHING happens that I can ramble on about. Yes, it’s mundane…but I’m no Kim Kardashian. For me, that kind of craziness lives in the checkout line at Walgreens.
It has finally snowed…and this snow may last more than a day:
Don’t ask my why that deck chair is over in the corner. Some weird arrangement by my son, likely. At least it hasn’t been toppled over.
A friend recently commented that an email I sent could almost be a poem, if one were to adjust the punctuation. This inspired me to create my own, domestic haiku:
Silence is broken.
My son yells that I am trash.
“Good morning”, I say.
I know. What sheer brilliance. You would likely say that I shouldn’t quit my day job, but it’s too late for that.
My son has two creations this week. The first:
The ubiquitous pasta necklace. Seriously, though…don’t you think that this could be sold at Anthropologie for $50? Don’t get me wrong…I love that store. Perhaps it’s the artistic way in which I’ve slung it on the wood surface? Perhaps not.
His other creation:
YES. NON-VEGAN CONTRABAND. I let him eat once of the squares after dinner. Poor kid. It’s always tough to have crazy parents.
One of my son’s friends (she’s 6) spent her entire free time at school making him a book. ISN’T THAT AWESOME? I love it. Here it is:
[PLEASE NOTE…to those who subscribe to this blog…I just did some ODD combination of keys that POSTED this incomplete rambling. Sorry about that.]
I know. I hope that this paper is archival. Next:
and:
and:
and:
I have boots just like those. Next:
and:
So, pick your favorite monster. Brilliant! Next:
This is the little girl and my son together with ice cream at the end of the book. Really. Is this not the best present ever??? I’m sure that the mom was disappointed that she didn’t get to keep it! Well…I’M, I mean, WE’RE thrilled.
And now for something completely different:
That’s my latest drawing. I’m amazed at how unproductive I’ve been this week. Or, for some reason, these drawings are taking me longer and longer to do. Detail:
I’m working on trying to really capture the dripping, etc. of the pear. I think that it’s getting better. I have to work from a photograph for those parts, as the pear starts to decompose rather quickly. This is why our basement smells like rotting pear. Sorry, honey! My husband had to take back one of his tools yesterday from my “art” area. I’m sure that this still life worried him further.
So, does anyone out there have any comment about this series of drawings? My mentor feels that I should show them to someone to get feedback. I’m not sure who, though. Hmmm. Any volunteers? Is anyone out there at all? It’s okay. I work alone for most of the week, so I’m used to talking to myself. It’s when the tofu starts answering back, THEN I’ll start to worry…
Filed under: Drawing, Fleeting thoughts... | Tags: art, artbook, artist, drawing, Pencil, realism, still life
Okay, so it was 8 DEGREES one morning this week. ech. I’ve resigned myself to wrapping in a blanket while I draw. You’ll know that I’m desperate when I start to wear gloves. I’ll have to throw out the realism at that point and pursue abstract expressionism with my mittened hands.
I really attempted to focus this week on my drawings. I did. I also went to an exhibit at the Monroe Center for the Arts in Lexington, MA. They had an exhibit (today’s the last day!) called, “Beyond the Book – An exhibition of book as art”. I LOVED it. I wish that there were MORE books to look at. The nice thing was that the books were not in a case, even though you couldn’t touch them, so you could see them quite well. Julia Talcott did a really interesting reduction print book. You can see it here in her own website. She prints the whole book on a flat piece of paper, then she cuts and folds the paper to make the little book.
Here is a ridiculous example of one of my early forays into bookmaking. My mother recently found this in the attic, and gave it to me. (I have no idea how she had it, one of those things that was supposedly lost forever). Anyway, here it is:
Yes, I kid you not. This was a middle school creation with my friend. We had these hideous creatures that we’d draw everywhere. So, we decided to make a book with them. Inside:
SCARY! Okay, this is a FAR cry from what was on exhibit in Lexington. It’s truly ridiculous that I should even include this, but too bad.
Anyway, I got all fired up about bookmaking, so I made this book for a friend:
Now, I don’t believe that this person ever reads my blog posts. If she does, she doesn’t let on. This is supposed to be a birthday present, so I’m taking a risk here showing it. BUT, I truly don’t think that she ever looks here, so I hope that I am not ruining the surprise. Actually, I ended up making a little tie to hold the book together, but I forgot to take a picture after I added that. The inside:
Isn’t it adorable? The cover is around 5.5″ tall, and 4.25″ wide. I am now feeling kind of addicted to the idea of making these. You can put ANYTHING inside! It does make me a little sad about my doodling skills. Those need work.
I may venture forth into further unfamiliar territory by trying out silverpoint drawing:
Now, I have actually done this before, but it’s been ages. Also, this Silverpoint/Drawing Ground from Golden is totally unfamiliar to me. Hmm. We’ll see how it goes. Silverpoint is basically drawing with a silver nib onto paper coated with a chalky ground. It makes super fine lines (which you can’t erase). The lines actually tarnish and change color over time, so it’s kind of an interesting medium. We’ll see if I do anything with it, as I am a slave to my eraser, and can’t imagine doing without it.
I reworked a bunch of my previous drawings, and have a couple of new ones…this is one of them:
Sorry, I think that it’s blurry. I took it outside, but there’s hardly any sunlight lately. I FEEL LIKE I’M LIVING IN A CAVE. Okay, that’s a major exaggeration, but there is such a thing as S.A.D., so perhaps I’m not alone in that thought. I think that spending hours drawing in a dimly lit basement doesn’t help either. I may have to stick my head under my Ott light to help improve my mood.
Does anyone out there have any good vegan recipes that their kids like? We’re eating more vegan lately, but my son gives everything a skeptical look. I read a recipe recently of black bean brownies. Now, I’d be giving THAT a skeptical look. I really don’t want to eat a black bean brownie…no thank you. Give me the real thing, with swirly cream cheese on top…mmmm…
slightly wonky 