nearly a week

Ok, so I haven't posted since Sunday. I will be at a course all weekend starting tomorrow so I don't promise to draw everyday & if I do, I may be drawing my hand over & over!!

Monday I was at a loss as to what to draw. It was later in the evening & I truly wasn't in the mood. I looked at myself in the mirror & decided AGAINST a self portrait. I do need to practice faces so I have this resin face of David on my dresser. I hated this dwg until I added shading with pencil. Now, it's not awful! I drew it left handed probably cuz I wasn't in the mood to draw at all.



I know I also need to draw fabric so I laid out out one of my scarves & just drew a portion of it. I really like this one although it looks like an abstract image without any subject. It almost looks like crumpled paper.




Last night again I was home - I'll likely draw everything in my house within the year (more than once!!). I have this little seal (as well as a dolphin & whale tail) in aluminum (?). I just thought I'd try it. I think a line drawing at a later date will work best for this subject. He looks blurry.



Today I was out sketching with my sister. We went to the Stampede grounds where the Cirque du Soleil tents are set up. I was rushing through initially & I truly do not love what I came up with in the coloured images. I did add pencil to them when I got home cuz they were too child-like. Either way, here they all are - 3 images. The last one (no colour) is best since I did not rush.

       

The front tent looks a bit lopsided cuz it was actually connected to another tent which I did not have room for.

hike & rubble

I was hiking yesterday & since I have done this hike now 3 times, I just took one shot at the top of Sentinel Pass - the only part of the hike that was new to me. The view is spectacular. Why lug my camera for one shot, you may ask. Well, you never know what else you may see when in the mountains.

At the trail head is Marine Lake. Here are a couple fun shots. Love the star effect the sun made (no filter!!).
And my hand later as I was playing with the polarized filter - which I don't totally see a difference when I used it.

As I was cycling today I saw this mound of rubble. Actually, there was some construction going on & they piled all the barricades in one spot when work was complete. It could be art! I went back tonight to take a few shots & as I was there with my camera & tripod, a fellow came up to me to ask if it was a new macro lens I was using. It is not but he thought he'd title the shots he took of me 'new macro' cuz only an enthusiast photographer would take photos of what other people feel is junk.



I have to go back tomorrow to get a shot of the big picture. The ones I took earlier ended up blurry. Oops.

Edgar + modern

I have this print I bought from Ikea years ago & I have always wanted to copy it. It is Edgar Degas' La Toilette. His is done with pencil so I started with that. I am happy with this even though some of the proportions are a bit off. I'll give it another go some other time.



It is interesting how the scanner changes things. The dark parts of her back aren't so rigid looking - like her spine does not look line a LINE down her back.

So, to do something totally different, I sketched a building today. When my sister & one girl friend of ours go to sketch, we often sketch buildings. This was done with H lead so that's why it is so light. I should outline it with ink but to be honest, I don't feel like it. Tell me if you can even see the drawing & if I have to, I'll darken it.
The perspective is pretty good but I took way too long to do this. I need to learn to be a bit more relaxed & not to try to be so perfect - cuz as we know, nothing is perfect!



Ok, so I can see it's difficult to actually make out. I will darken it later & post it this week.

wish I was here...

I don't think a day goes by when I wouldn't rather be visiting Paris. Sitting at a cafe drinking wine & watching the people go by. *sigh*



I did this in water colour & don't mind it aside from the main window. I'll try this again another time. I'm glad I played with paint today for a change.

faces

I have this rock that I picked up on a hike back in 2003 or 4. I saw it on the path & saw this face in it right away. I took a photo of it & left it in it's place. I was so impressed with it that I continually spoke of it as we reached the summit. On the way down I spotted it again so one of my companions said to just take it home - we were not in the national park. I said 'no' cuz I didn't want the extra weight! So he took it for me & gave it to me at the bottom. I have had it sitting on my coffee table ever since. I love it when I hand it to someone for the first time & ask them what they see in it. I try to do my best to put it at the angle where you can actually see the 'face' & fly away hair-do. Cracks me up.
I have drawn this rock often & normally don't add the reflection on the granite coffee table.



Last night I was out for an impromptu glass of vino with a friend & then a bite with another friend. By the time I got home, I had not draw anything & had no idea what to draw. I saw the glass head I have that holds my tiley hat on it & thought it would be fun to try - cuz it's see through glass. I found it quite tough & I think it's because I used pen & ink instead of pencil. The hat turned out well but the face looks like man with big lips! I'll have to give it another go with pencil or colour pencil. I did it left handed for no real reason.

right handed!

I am in week two! Hurray!

I find it interesting how I see things now that I'm to draw everyday. If I haven't drawn yet & it's getting later on in the day, I look around trying to find something interesting to draw or something that has great shadows, or...I don't know how to explain it, I just look around in a different way.
So far, all I've been doing is drawing. I do want to paint as well; I just haven't sorted out a subject. I have a year so I'm sure it'll come to pass eventually!

I have two pin cushion which a girl friend bought me in Peru many years ago. I find them really cute! I leaned one against my colour pencil package (so they would be more visible) which I drew lightly in the background.



Here's a little close up of the centre face. I was playing with my 100mm macro lens & actually used a tripod.



Yesterday I was at a restaurant waiting for my friend to meet me. I brought my sketch book with me since I hadn't completed my drawing of the day by the time I left the house. Thinking I could draw perhaps the interior of this new place but I ended up sitting in front of an orchid. Instead of the little faces, I drew the leaves.



Here are a few photos I took a couple weeks ago that I really love the colour of. I was sketching that day but I also brought my camera.

     

Perhaps this could be the subject for a future painting!

hobo??

I was out with my sister today sketching - inside cuz it's damned cold out there!! We went to a coffee shop so we could practice drawing people. I only did one drawing there. As I finished the gal on the right & the window coverings, I was apprehensive about starting on the man she was with. In the end, the proportions were pretty good but the fellow looks like a hobo! Makes me giggle when I look at it even now. :)

week one complete!

Today is the start of week two so I thought it best to post the last couple days now. I continued with left handed drawing just cuz I find it fun.

The first drawing I did on Friday was done quickly in a restaurant while I waited for my companion to arrive. The perspective is way off and I didn't really finish it. I did show my companion what I was doing & he was impressed that I could draw anything recognizable with my left hand - I seem to be getting that comment often (even with left hand dominate people!).

The second drawing (on the right) was done at home & copied from a photograph that I did not take, I just liked it.

Yesterday I had a day of dealing with yet another aspect of my computer - my router died. Due to spending time at my desk, I thought it appropriate to draw one of my desk buddies. He's an Ikea critter which one of my sisters bought me a couple years ago. I should name him....



I was saying to my other sister that I liked him better when I hadn't added the shadow. Looking at him now, he's ok.

I'm going to try posting on Flickr to import photos next time. That way, I believe, the other uploads I do there are also accessible.

title dwg

I made this image today to be my title header but it's way too big when I import it. I'll play around with it to down size it. I really like how it turned out! Day 5 complete & loving it! :)
...yes, still left handed...

I just managed to get it to work!

365 (1-4)

I have decided to do a 365 day gig. I will do something creative for 365 days in a row. I have seen this posted on many photo sites & I think it will be great for me to practice art. So this means drawing & painting. Photography is a bit on the easy side and drawing is where I want to practice. I will post what I see is worthy to watch my progression. Photography will still be part of what I post just not part of the 365.

This is what I've done so far. For day one, I was sketching with my sister & a friend & used just pencil & colour pencil. Upside down church was NOT easy (no vertical lines!).

The next few days I decided to draw with my left hand. I find it helps me see the shapes rather than the actual object I am drawing. Not bad for non-dominate hand!

The one I did today I don't love but I think my copy of the Picasso print on the wall is pretty good!

maybe I'll do right handed tomorrow...

originally September 6, 2010

I have found over the years that I have gotten away from my creative side on a more personal level. My work allows creativity but not in a 'fine art' type of way. I have started sketching on a more regular basis and wanted to follow my own progress in this way and which ever other ways come to me. I used to write poetry too, so anything is up for grabs! I do take loads of photos but I hope this not to always be about photography.

So to catch up with what I have been doing since I started this site:

In August, I took a rendering course in San Fran for work. When I was there, the instructor was mentioning the value of a 'thumbnail sketch'. We were all told to draw on our actual thumbs and here's my piece. :)

Since I am trying to keep the creative juices flowing, I took an abstract painting course a couple weeks ago w a friend. I did not finish the painting but here is the progress of that class. I found I was just experimenting with colour & paint (since it has literally been years since I used acrylics).

The last shot is as it sits now. Tough to tell how it really is. It's not complete so this will do for now.