crane

In preparation for my Wednesday class we had to make something in origami & bring it with us. I opted for the crane I made when I was a kid. My mom used to make them with my older sister & I (perhaps my younger siblings too but I don't remember that for sure).
You'd think for how often we made these things I wouldn't have to look up the pattern online (thank god for the internet!). Even still, as I'm making it, something wasn't clicking. Suddenly, I realized I had folded something wrong & CLUNK, got it.
As soon as I got it flapping, it made me giggle.

Here is a photo of it taken sitting on my kitchen counter (taken only with my iPhone 3GS).

I believe this is our subject on Wednesday for our class using charcoal. I'll see for sure once I get there!

sanDisk

I just realized the card reader I own is not called scanDisk. Weird; I always thought it was... Obviously, I have always had the name wrong. I have my CF card sitting here too & it's also sanDisk.

Last night after a very lazy day of being on the sofa, I had one more drawing to go then off to bed. I looked around & saw my card reader near my Mac & I decided that it was easy enough to draw.

Nothing fancy, just a quick drawing. I want a USB CF card reader. They're so much smaller & better for travel.


I also realize now that the symbol on the button is drawn wrong. I was guessing what it was since the card reader was across the room from where I was sitting & it was pretty dark in the room so I couldn't actually see it (yes, I didn't get up either).

mostly heads to no head

As I mentioned in my last post, Saturday I attended a figure class. Well, it's not really a class as it's an open studio to do figure drawing. When I signed up for my Wednesday class, I had no idea that this Saturday figure studio was also included (it's on for 6 weeks of my 12 week class). It's wonderful. I have not taken an actual figure class with instruction so I'm doing the best I can. Practice certainly helps!! My sister is taking a course too so she & I will meet there each Saturday for the next 5 weeks. She has taken figure drawing courses so she's more advanced when it comes to the nude figure.

This was done after some quick gesture drawings (quick sketches to warm you up). I did not write down how long this was - maybe 5 - 10 minutes.

I started focusing on one body part after awhile & generally picked his head.

I had only taken newsprint with me so the background of these is pretty accurate (plus I did scan them in instead of photographing them).

This one was one of my favourite ones and was done near the end of the studio time. It was to be a 20 minute drawing but I finished it faster since it was all lines & more abstract. This one is photographed since it's larger. He is decapitated only because I ran out of room on my sheet.

charcoal is dark

I didn't draw Friday and to be honest, I don't have much of an idea as to why. I was out most of the day then met up with a friend for a bite before going to see Les Miserables at the Pumphouse Theatre. I recall being really tired that day & couldn't bring myself to draw once I got home - which was after 11p. I made up for it yesterday since Saturday I was at a figure drawing class (for the amount I drew on Saturday, I'm sure I could have just used one of those drawings but I decided to do a specific drawing for my missed day instead).

I drew my foot. I don't draw feet often & this one turned out quite dark - I used charcoal pencil to draw this. I'm not sure I like charcoal. I know we're using it in my Wednesday night class this week so maybe I'll learn to like it once I have a bit of instruction.

My foot is much narrower than this appears.

qu'est que c'est?

I have this interesting wooden massager thing - what would you call it? Not sure. It is about 14" long (I just measured - it's 15") and the centre parts that protrude from the rest of it, would run up and down your spine as you lay on it or someone rolls it on your back. It's like a rolling pin with jut outs for you to roll on. It would be used to relax the tight ropes which run down your spine (or mine at least). I bought this years ago when I was taking a Shiatsu class (back in Thunder Bay). The instructor had this thing & I tried it, thought it worked well, and had one made (copied). It was initially made with 2 pieces of wood laminated together but it spit apart pretty quick so they made this one from one solid piece. It works well but is tough (being it hurts more) if you roll on a really hard surface (like hardwood floor).

Again, I've had this for years & years. My previous boyfriend suggested leaving it out since it almost looks like a piece of art. It now sits below my TV on the floor.

I used photoshop a bit for this image but it's still quite grey. *sigh* A bit of distortion from the lens I used too. It just occurred to me that I should shoot drawings like this in B&W...

not to be completed

This is from my Wednesday drawing class. I am still frustrated with the image I get from my camera but I'm tired of fooling around with that today.

This was a still life my instructor set up for me (knowing I'd done 2-point perspective in the past) which I did not complete in the 2 hours I had. I was the only person drawing this still life; everyone else was drawing a fictitious house perspective - which would have been easy. I was still bored with this. I totally appreciate the effort he put in to setting this up but ultimately, this was boxes plus a couple of chairs & suitcases which I didn't get to.

I will not finish this drawing. I can't really anyway since I've left the still life behind.

wink

I was asked the other day what my favourite part of me was - of course it was by a photographer. I did think for a moment & said my eyes. I already knew the answer but I wanted to consider if it had changed for me. I like my hands too but I do like my eyes. It's funny. When I was young, I used to draw my hands a lot & eventually I did start drawing my eyes. If you look at old sketch books from way back, you'd see that this was the case quite a bit. I have one drawing where I have my hand catching a tear from my eye. So then I used both! In that drawing, my eye doesn't really look sad enough to be weeping though.

I have been thinking about drawing my eye again. I often only draw one - no need to think about doing another to the proper scale I suppose.

I tried to draw my nose & gave up. Yes, I need to do a week of facial parts. Someday maybe...

yum!

On Saturday I went to a friend's house for a jewelry party. She had made some gluten-free brownies which were absolutely delish! (We have a friend who has celiac disease.) If you don't want to know what's in them, don't look. If you don't want your husband/boyfriend to know what's in them, just have them try them & they'll eat them. Notice I am only referring to boyz. They are so fussy when it comes to trying new (yummy) things.

I made them tonight. There is a reason I don't bake even though I love to. I want to eat it all myself!! As most of you know, it's not a huge deal since I don't have to worry about gaining weight. Still not good for me though!

For my class I had to draw an object with what we learned with one point perspective, for homework. This was the perfect item to draw. It's a square pan (rounded corners) and finding the vanishing point wasn't too difficult. I set the brownie pan (on the cooling rack) on my coffee table so I could draw in comfort. I used my drawing board again. Handy little thing!

You can see my 'vanishing' lines at the top. I'm sure I'm supposed to erase them but I'm leaving them anyway.

Kali

My sister & I went to the Glenbow Museum to sketch. It was way to cold to sketch outside (it is February after all). I was quite frustrated with the fact that I could not find parking downtown to save my life & ended up parking out of the core & walking - wasn't exactly dressed for it. I normally have excellent parking karma so apparently I wasn't meant to be downtown yesterday!

In any case, this is Kali. "Kali is the terrifying aspect of Parvati, who is the companion of Shiva." I took a photo of the write up on her but I am not going to type it here. Go see her at the Glenbow. I drew her since she has 4 arms & was standing on someone & I thought it looked cool. I drew her from the back cuz I was frustrated with my parking issue & wanted an easier drawing.



Not much else to add here. My sister & I stopped at the Brian Eno exhibit (so we could actually hear it for a change) then took off for coffee/tea at Starbucks. Then of course, walked to my car!

chaise

Last night I pulled out this drawing board I purchased on Thursday. It's basically a large MDF thin board with a handle to carry it around with & has 2 large clips on it as well as an elastic. This allows more of a surface to draw on - like a portable table essentially.

As I have mentioned, I often draw in these incredible small sketchbooks which can be frustrating for many reasons - yet I still use them. The main one for me is that I run out of room. The other is that when I'm near the bottom of the sheet, I have nothing to rest my hand on since I'm often sketching on my lap or standing up somewhere. Another issue that comes up is using loose sheets of sketch paper & I don't really have a surface to draw on other than a sketch book - which isn't very firm. All and all, for $10, I thought this would be a good purchase & I was right! It will also be great in the summer when we sketch outside ...can't wait for that.

I started this drawing last night - I completed the entire layout & line drawing. I could have left it at that but this morning I decided to shade it in since I left my dining chair in the same place before I went to bed. I'm glad I shaded it.


So this is a 2 day drawing & I'm still going sketching this afternoon with my sister which means I'll have more than one drawing for today - does this give me a days grace for the future?

images

As I have mentioned, I have some trouble getting the photos of my art accurate. Typically they are grey rather than white. How to fix this? I don't really know. A friend of mine (who is a photographer) says basically that they're underexposed. Fair enough. I'm using a flash & unless I point the damned flash right at the image, they're greyed out. Sucks.
Today, I decided to try to use my ring flash instead of my 580 as a slave.

There is no question it's better. It's brighter & the white looks whiter but it's still greyish. I'll keep playing around with it but for now, this is 'less bad' as another friend would say. (:

Here is another image of a drawing I did last year sometime - or was it 2009? I didn't date it. It was done with soft pastels & I hadn't put a fixative on it so I have (sadly) smudged it slightly.

This is a drawing of my niece & their former pet Fred. I was copying a photograph & always liked how this drawing turned out. She had Fred on her shoulder & was reaching over to him. She was wearing a dark colour so both Fred & her hand appeared to be more or less floating (or at least that's how I drew it). I'm using my macro lens & it's a 100mm & I can only get back so far from the art to take the shot. If I move off to the side, it obviously distorts the art. Hence the reason it's cut off. Yes, I realize I can move everything to another room but I didn't bother. (:

prison?

I heard yesterday that ACAD in Calgary was designed by a prison designer. I wonder. ACAD certainly isn't overly warm & inviting. It doesn't cause inspiration to be creative if you wander through the halls. It's true. Go there. Perhaps it's so you start with a BLANK slate? It certainly is blank there....
On Wednesday, my class learned one-point perspective. I have done perspective more often than I care to & to be honest, it feels like work (nearly the title of this post). So, due to the fact that I needed a challenge, my instructor offered the 2 of us who had done perspective before, a different assignment: draw from life. Fun!!
I started this Wednesday & finished it today. From what I understand, this was to be a line drawing not necessarily rendered. Due to this, there is no shading to give depth perception.



This image is quite grey. I tried to get it whiter but obviously, no luck!

Chain of events: Wednesday I did the basic perspective (the layout); yesterday I added detail like brick & cinder blocks; today I added the rest of the lines & people. People are always fun. These two look like they're from the 60's but who cares? It gives context!

the fun part

I did myself a favour & turned the TV off again by 8p. Ahhhh...

I had a few ideas of things to draw & for some reason ended up with this:

I took many photographs of some gerbera daisies I purchased in the fall. I also painted them.

I decided to use soft pastels & basically it's like using coloured chalk so it's quite messy. I started having everything sharp then ended up smudging the petals with a tissue & I quite liked the effect - made it softer. I added more colour on top to give some definition.

Here's the photo for reference:

The actual drawing does show the centre but I didn't love how it turned out so I photographed it out. I find it challenging to photograph my drawings which are too big to scan since I want to end up with accurate colour/tone. That's the fun part. I did use my 580 flash as a slave but I still don't love the image. Looks dark yet the others look way too light. See? The fun part.

I replaced the previous photo with a new one. Better but not yet perfect; f 2.8 certainly helps.

dead basil w a side of angel

It's amazing what can happen when we turn off the TV! I have suddenly become a TV watcher more than I ever really have before. I'm hooked on two programs at their regular times & in syndication - House & Big Bang Theory. Nothing else though. I can't even really tell you what else is on ultimately. I surf around when there's nothing on instead of just turning the silly thing off. Today I watched two episodes of House (one on live TV - hate that but it was actually ON) and one from PVR. That was enough for tonight.

I started this drawing yesterday. I basically drew the layout & went to bed. I was quite happy with the shape of the glass (circles and all). I did measure it out properly so that's likely why it actually looks proper.

This is some basil I bought a few weeks ago which is clearly dead. The reason it's in a glass is because when I bought it, I noticed that it had a 'root ball' on it & thought I could plant it. I had it in the fridge before I notice a note saying "DO NOT REFRIGERATE BASIL" ...oops, so out it came. Then it promptly died. Grrr... I watered it but no luck. I kept it to use the dried leaves & to draw it. So here it is:

Seeing it now, I should have scanned it so it looks straight. It must have moved in the scanner. I'm not doing it again since I have already turned the PC - which is connected to the scanner - off.
I noticed as I was drawing in the shadow that it looks like an angel with one wing chopped off. Funny.

drinking vessels

The past few days I have been drawing late - why change what I seemed to have made a habit? Due to this, I have been doing ink drawings. They seem to be quicker in some ways (I shade them less) and if I do a contour drawing, it certainly is faster due to they way they're done.

This first one is more or less a contour drawing (I did lift my pen though):

This is a water bottle I purchased at MEC. It's a Thermos brand & it's insulated - which is fantastic for any time of year!

Last night I had a girlfriend over for din & to watch a movie. We had some red wine (left over from the other day) and since she could not reach the other glasses, I said just to grab these ones. These are more of a bordeaux glass - we were drinking a zinfandel. It ultimately doesn't matter to me as long as it's a larger glass.
I drew it twice. First with my right hand then with my left. The shape of the one done with my left hand is a bit more accurate. The glass is more of a bowl shape.

right hand

left hand

Still using the really small sketch book. I've heard it's better to go BIG.

start with white

Most people who like wine like red - or even only red. I find it interesting that most who only drink red don't even try white wine. On the other hand, some people only drink white. Why why why? Both are excellent if you really start trying some decent wine (sorry, no 4 buck Chuck in this neck of the woods).

Last night I had some left over white wine from Ganton & Larsen Prospect Winery called Ogopogo's Lair & it's a Pinot Grigio. The Winery is in the Okanagan Valley in BC. I first discovered this on a weekend trip to Gibsons, BC from Vancouver last year. We had it at the historic Gibsons Landing pub. Gibsons is where the Beachcomers was filmed back in the day (goodness, when was that?!).

In any case, if you are drinking both red & white, you start with white. It's lighter & has less tannins in it. Yesterday, I had a small glass of the above fore mentioned white & then a small glass of red (which has no history to me). I used two glasses (one white wine glass & one red wine glass) so I drew them both together.

The red wine glass turned out better since I keep using this incredibly small sketch book & I had to squish the white wine glass into the spine of the book.
If interested in purchasing this white wine, it is available at the Costco liquor store in NW Calgary. You don't need a membership to buy at the liquor store.

boxes

The first class was learning 'siting' in order to draw basic shapes - this technique can be used for anything ultimately. Basically this entails using a measuring devise - often times another pencil/pen but can be an actual ruler - to determine length & angles of a subject in front of you. You put your arm straight out & close one eye so you can actually see everything two dimensionally instead of in 3D. You draw what you actually SEE not what you think you see (the brain takes over in many cases).
This is an exercise I mention when I say I was actually measuring something I've drawn. I don't use it all the time but I should use it more often.

I will admit that I did tire of looking at the collection of boxes. I am not unhappy with what I finished with but charcoal is messy! Smudges all over the place.

Ultimately not the best photograph of it in the end. The paper is white & in this, it looks quite grey. I may try taking another shot later but this will work for now.

day one five zero

I cannot believe I'm already 150 days into this creative journey. Time certain flies by in life & I am truly enjoying this project I have given myself. Life brings to you what you focus on - whether you like it or not. The drawings I do everyday (& sometimes photography) really allow me to relax & notice what's in my surroundings which I "see" everyday.

I know that most times I am rushing through a drawing just to ensure I draw that day. I often think that this isn't the best way to do this project but perhaps, it's what I'm meant to do. Learn to draw quickly. I do take more time on some creations; it really depends on what else is going on in my life. It is never a chore; it's just a commitment I've made with myself that I feel is important for my own growth somehow. It's great.

The one thing I see the most every single day of my life is me. I may not see my face in a mirror but I will see my hands, feet, shoulder, fingers, arms, hair, legs, etc. So I decided to draw myself again on this day 150. I was out again & home after 9p so it is still a quick sketch. I'm okay with that. My goal is to eventually have a self portrait that actually looks like me at the end of this journey.

My eyes are HUGE & my nose is too short. It's okay, I'm learning as go.

I am taking a drawing class starting tonight. I am looking forward to some instruction since I haven't had some for years!! The posts for Wednesdays will now be whatever I do in class. I'll have 2.5 hours so hopefully there'll be some good stuff come out of it. What am I saying? Of course there will!

'jams

I have easily had these pyjamas for over 10 years. They were a gift to me from the Warner Bros. store when there was one in Minneapolis, MN back when I lived in Thunder Bay, ON. If you can't tell, I was (and likely still am to a certain degree) a Looney Tunes fan. I have the chess set, these 'jams, a pillow on my chair in my living room, countless VHS (yes, VHS) tapes, DVDs & I'm sure more stuff I can't think of right now, to show my love for these cartoons. I only used to collect quality stuff - so no chachka or plastic crap.

These 'jams are really just an over sized T-shirt which is obviously for sleeping in - as you can see from the subject on the shirt. I ran out of room. I thought I had enough with the sketch book I was using but clearly, poor Tweety was cut off on the right. Taz turn out quite well & Daffy has an elongated beak. These are so old & worn that I couldn't really tell what Bugs' face looked like (there's a hole there) yet I still wear them every now and again.



Funny the other 'jams I have are almost equally worn out. Maybe I should invest in some new ones.

aluminum

This is a Hoselton Aluminum Sculpture. I have many of them. Quite some time ago I drew the seal I have with soft pastels (I drew it too small in the end so it looks blurry).

I looked on the Hoselton website but I cannot find this particular cat on there. I bought this some time ago & I think I was in Montreal when I picked it up (not 100% sure tho).

It's not shiny aluminum but brushed which suits it.

It sits on my floor below my TV & beside my ceramic Siamese cat I have (as if they're real kitties just sitting around).

green & black's

Last night a friend of mine popped by my place & brought me my favourite chocolate bar - Green & Black's Organics butterscotch milk chocolate. He brought 2 in fact - how sweet!
I told the story of how I first came to eat this chocolate bar years ago. I was in Vancouver for some training (2006 or so) & a friend who lives there picked me up so we could have a visit since we really didn't see one another unless I was in Vancouver. We went to the area where the Whole Foods in west Van was, grabbed a bottle of vino from the liquor store then to Whole Foods to grab some sort of chocolate & off to a beach we went. We hung out there drinking the wine literally from a paper bag (it was a screw top thankfully) & eventually tried the chocolate bar. It was delicious! Like a Skor bar only better! Trust me or try one!

My friend from last night suggested drawing whatever was left of the bar at the end of the evening. I honestly didn't think there would be any! There was one small piece left so I drew it in the wrapper. I've since eaten that piece this afternoon. Yum!

The other bar is safely in the freezer.

so go to bed already

I was out all day today & out as well tonight at an art opening. Great day & evening all around but I'm home late without a drawing done; typical!

I will say that I'm quite tired so this was a quick one & I went left-handed again (which is very obvious!).

This is my alarm clock. I don't care for digital alarm clocks cuz they startle me when they go off & a heart attack every morning is not what I'm going for. This is an Ikea clock & I'm sure most people either have one or know someone who does. I have had it for a long time (likely when I lived in Edmonton but not sure). I still own a digital alarm clock but it's just to see the time if I happen to wake up in the middle of the night - which is rare.

my slave

Ok, I don't really have a slave - although there are times when I truly want one!

Last night I was playing around with this wireless flash feature on my Canon 7d camera. A friend of mine was saying it was a pretty cool feature of my camera (and his - he shoots with the same camera) & that I should play around with it. Nice to know someone who uses the same camera so I know of features I that are not obvious!

I tried it initially with the on-camera flash & the wireless 'slave' going off together - & yes, very cool feature!! Then I tried having the slave fire only (wirelessly). Again, very cool! I'll have to play around with it more when I have more of a subject in front of me - rather than just my TV & kitchen. All the photos were blurry but would have made some interesting abstract art - still not posting them!

Here's my 'slave':

I was blinded from all the flashes going off. Funny!
Oh ya, left handed drawing. Felt like I needed a change.

in drag

Back on December 31, 2010 I drew half of my Franklin Mint Looney Tunes chess set. I have considered doing just once piece & thought of doing Yosemite Sam tonight but then I thought Elmer Fudd in drag was much more fun.

Here he is in all his glory (but in black & white):

I was out with a friend for lunch today & was chatting about the fact that I rarely use my macro ring flash (or my 580 speedlite for that matter). So, I figured I should take a quick shot of Elmer so there's a reference. I used the macro ring flash since my place is so dark at this time of day & yes, I could have just used my 'on camera' flash but really, why not use toys that I have which are collecting dust?

Depth of field is a bit off but I'm ok with it.

diffuser

This is a essential oil diffuser. I've owned it for long time & it sits on my fridge - for no reason since I'm not it using anymore. I used to collect all things cobalt blue (before I moved to Calgary) and this is one of those things - I also used to use it.

The bottom part - the blue part - is glazed & the top is raw ceramic. The top allows the oil to diffuse into the air. It does work quite well but I don't really have any oils to use in it anymore.

It's not a very large item so I set it on my sofa to draw it. The blue part turned out quite well I think but the top part is a bit elongated. No one would ever know unless they saw the real thing.
It is drawn on an angle because I placed it between the two cushions on my sofa so it would not roll around.

rose

I have had this silk rose for over 10 years. I don't remember exactly when I bought it but I do remember that it was in Thunder Bay & mom bought one too. She kept hers in her car - laying behind the seats in the rear of the car so you can see it through the rear window (obviously it isn't there anymore & I have no idea if she still has the one she bought).
I have always kept mine in a vase (of sorts). It sits in a blue wine bottle (which I don't know if I actually drank wine from or if I just acquired the bottle). The wine bottle is 16.5 inches tall & the rose is 26" tall. It works well sitting behind my sink in the kitchen.
I moved it earlier last night before the I left for my seminar but hadn't drawn anything until I returned home at 10:30p. I considered drawing something simpler but it really didn't take too long since I only drew the actual flower head & not the entire flower.
Funny, I really noticed it wasn't there when I was using the sink last night. Amazing what we get used to in our surroundings.

I considered using colour but by the time I got to drawing it, I was too tired.