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: Collage, Drawing, travel | Tags: art, artist, beach, cape cod, Collage, sketch, sketching
We just came back from a week at the Cape. I love Cape Cod. As long as the sun isn’t beating down on my head, I’m happy as a clam to sit and watch the waves. Here’s my view from the beach:
Dreamy, right? Okay…it isn’t the Bahamas…but it’s great anyway. Do they have fried clams and soft serve ice cream in the Bahamas? Probably. I ate a grotesque quanitity of both.
I didn’t do too much, other than chase after my son…slather him with sunscreen…and try to control the amount of sand in his clothes, my car, and our rental house. Here’s a slightly wonky sketch of the house:
Kind of an interesting, contemporary cape-ish house. We spent a significant amount of time in there on Monday, when it rained like a monsoon. But, we did manage quite a few trips to the beach. Here’s a view of an ocean view beach…well, mostly a view of the lifeguard stand…with no lifeguard in it:
I didn’t add too much shading, as I thought that I would watercolor these sketches. That never happened. Another sketch of a beach day:
There were actually some people sitting in the chairs in the foreground. I edited them out. Unlucky for me…they decided to move their chairs back from the water a few feet while I was still drawing them. Hmm…this “en plein air” stuff is a challenge.
I did another collage before I left on my trip:
I also drew on it a little. I know…I’m still doing collage in spite of the fact that it leaves everyone scratching their heads. It really is fun. Seriously…try it. Grab some random paper and a gluestick and go crazy. I’m still not taking any classes at the moment. It’s nice to have a break. It also allows me to try all sorts of random stuff. I’m hopefully meeting with a couple of friends this week to discuss what we’re all working on. Should be fun!
Filed under: Drawing | Tags: artist, arts, drawing, sketch, sketchbook, Visual Arts
So today, I’ve taken the rare opportunity to scribble in my sketchbook as my son naps. His napping is rare, kind of like the Yeti. Come to think of it…my son is much like a diminutive, yet angry, Yeti when he HASN’T had his nap…but I digress…
I recently purchased the book, The Creative License by Danny Gregory. At first, I thought that it would be a ho hum book on being “creative” or “artsy”. Well…I suppose it is that on a fundamental level, but it’s actually a very good book (so far). His premise, which is not unusual, is that we can all be creative…and should be. As a vehicle for creativity, he focuses on drawing. For most people who don’t draw, the idea of drawing sounds as much fun as sitting at the RMV. But it doesn’t have to be! He starts of with various exercises to get your brain working differently. I know, this isn’t original either, but I like his enthusiasm for just doing SOMETHING, and not making the whole thing too precious. For me, doing this blog is similar to this. If I had to wait until I was thrilled with something that I did in order to have a blog and post it, you would not be reading this now. BUT, I had to just roll with it, and accept the good, bad and ugly. This applies to sketching as well…but sketching has added benefits of quieting your left brain, and engaging your right brain. Sketching also produces this zen-like calm. You have quiet focus on your subject matter, whether it be your breakfast bagel, or your medicine cabinet.
So, I’ve picked up my pen and sketchbook again, after too long a hiatus. Okay, so these are NOT great sketches. But, they’re where I am right now. The first sketch was one of those, “draw without looking at your paper”, exercises. So, needless to say, as I was trying to capture the “negative space” surrounding my desk chair, the sketch turned out a bit wonky:
I know. Far from perfect…but there is something about it that I like, nonetheless. I looked over at my snoozing son, and thought that I should get him into my sketchbook as well:
This only SORT OF looks like him. The nose is too wide. Anyway…the I decided to do one of the exercises in the book that I mentioned before: draw the contents of your medicine cabinet. This seemed intimidating, but I thought that it was a fun idea:
Again, not great, but okay. I know that with time, I should get better at this! I also know that I have too many contact lens cases, and that I should give the inside of the cabinet a once-over, to get rid of the junk we aren’t using. A spritz of windex would also help.
So, for those of you just dabbling with the idea of getting more creativity in your life, I would suggest looking over The Creative License. I don’t want to hear, “but, I CAAAN’T”. Just do it.
Filed under: Drawing, printmaking | Tags: abstract, art, Art book, book, drawing, goat, handmade, Pencil, portrait, printmaking, sketch, sketching, Visual Arts
So, I managed to get a bunch of stuff done before the weekend. I probably won’t get much time to work on stuff until next Tues. Yes, this stuff is “all over the map”. Think of it as a pu-pu platter of attempts.
I keep thinking that I need to make a more coherent set of things. Then, I get distracted and want to try something new. Thus, the randomness of it all.
I’m not going to post every day. While I’m still working on my 365 projects, I’m not going to barrage you with posts. It’s too exhausting for everyone…well, mostly me.
So, if any of you have some thoughts on this stuff, I’d love to hear it. Even if you tell me NOT to EVER do that again…at least I’ll have some feedback. Right now, I am kind of working in a bubble. I am trying to investigate ways to possibly get some feedback from people. So, until I figure that out, this is my forum for comments!
I’ll stop rambling now, as my hands are too cold to type, and just show you my stuff. I kind of like this one:
a detail of the above print:
another similar one…I like the colors, but the design is so-so:
detail:
this one was not good, and i couldn’t save it:
and a detail:
at last…something recognizable! no, it’s not me…:
detail:
And now for something completely different…a pencil drawing:
detail:
I liked this drawing, so I made a print of it:
detail:
And I made another little book! This one is about winter:
detail:
even CLOSER:
Whew! Okay, that’s it for this week. Seriously. Speaking of winter, my hands are so cold that I can barely type. We’re supposed to get snow this weekend too…brrrrr! Have a good weekend!
slightly wonky 