Part 3…..Progress

Did I say “Progress”? Well, it’s slow progress that’s for sure. The Face isn’t exactly right, will have to play around in the chin area. The shoulders are too narrow! Darn it!! Those are hard…. now I have to expand them. And there’s some funky shadowing on the left arm. Sorry, have to do my own analysis here, and not show you the original (yet). Cuz who knows you might just mess me up!!! Tell me I’m good or tell me I’m bad, either way, I’ll then be stuck!! HaHaHa.

This is a strange process. Drawing my 10 year old self. Remembering my good friend (Karan also in picture) who moved away that summer! Hearing my 3 monster older brothers in my head telling me what I can and can’t do!! Reminiscing about my young mother trying to make everyone happy and everything work. Ah, life as a child in a family of seven! Priceless!

Had to stop at the knees! Cuz, I have this gut instinct that they will require much more patience than I’m willing to muster at the moment.

A lady in my drawing class said to me…..”Real Artists don’t draw from pictures”……I just laughed, cuz heck I’m no real artist. Plus those real artists have put so much more time into their craft than I have. Funny, the things people say. I’m just having fun. I’m learning as I go, not asking for labels, just playing with graphite.

What is your habit: Do you show people things as your working on them? If you do, does it mess you up? Or are you good at ignoring un-solicited advice?

Part 2……Procrastination

Had the morning to myself so……you’d think I’d get more done. Well, I did go grab my other pencils ( 2H, 2B, B, H, and F). Which helped immensely!! Don’t know why I even bothered attempting this sketch without the other leads. Probably just lazy.

Armed with my monitor, my moleskine, and my Graphite pencils… I finally sat down to draw. It went like this: draw, erase, draw, erase…..go do something (laundry)….. draw, erase, draw, erase, erase, erase…..then surf the internet…..draw, draw, erase…..then get up for more coffee…..erase, draw, erase……text family. You get the picture. I can find so much else to do, except STAY ON TASK!! What am I so afraid of? Or is it boredom? I don’t think boredom is the culprit here, I think it’s focus. Why am I doing this? It…is…Hard…! Who cares? I guess I have to care enough to see this thru.

Talk about b.o.r.i.n.g……..this (see book above) is boring. But see, I get paid for this, so I have no problem staying on task. May have to read and re-read the same paragraph, but I get through it. People count on me for this sort of stuff.

*Disclaimer: Not all of the above book is boring….but most of it is! LOL!!

Now, this is looking more like the picture. Those other pencils really help to add some depth. Making it appear not so flat.

I bet you’d like to see the original picture, huh? Ahhhh……. not yet, I don’t want to be judged!! Plus, how else can I keep you guys interested in this process?

Part 1….Friends

Scanned a bunch of old pictures into my computer a few years ago. Love this digital age! No more concern for the negatives, and if an old photo has a crease….well, just photoshop it! Plus, the digital image is the negative now. Two for the price of one- yeah baby!

Had a few hours to play today, so I took full advantage of it. I have found that if I am to take up drawing I have to be willing to erase. Not be frustrated by the fact that I have to erase AGAIN! I think sketchers must have a good relationship with their white flexible friend. Or else….. it’s a Crash & Burn, a Toss in the Trash,…a Forget it and I’m Done! You get my drift.

This is about as far as I’ve taken any sort of “drawing from picture” attempts. It’s here that I really don’t know what I’m doing. See, I haven’t even switched pencils from my 6H one to a lighter lead. I kinda think I’ll just go a little lighter on the stroke work. Nada…I think I really need to grab those other pencils if I’m going to take this past stage 1. If not….it’ll be Exit Stage 1 to the right. Halted at this familiar check point.

The dilemma for me is this: Do I just make these girls look like regular girls (which I can do) OR Do I do what I intended to do, which is to make them look like the people they are in the picture? Ugh! This is hard! Cuz everything connects. For example….I’ll think I have the right shape to the face, then I’ll realize that it’s too narrow, therefore the eyes aren’t spaced right. And then it’s a whole new person. Good thing I have an extra eraser or two.

We’ll see how much staying power I have…..stay tuned!

Don’t faint….

I used watercolor pencils instead of markers here! Please don’t faint….I know you expect me to be a marker-girl, but every now and then I’ve got to get up and stretch my boundaries. So, since I love the tie-dye look, why not tie-dye the letters here? I’ve only been able to figure out the tie-dye look with watercolors, cuz I really don’t think it’s possible to tie-dye with markers, need the effect of water saturation to get that lovely color gradation.

Been thinking a lot about Karma lately…..why? Because my refrigerator reminds me of Karma and it’s about to go ka-put. To make a long story short, many years ago we almost got a $1000 refrigerator for free because Sears forgot to charge us for it. After using it for a few months, we still hadn’t seen the bill. So we picked up the phone and called them. Yep…sure did! Why? Because if we hadn’t straightened this out every time we would use that refrigerator we’d feel like a thief. What comes around goes around. We knew we’d be paying for it one way or another.

* scan doesn’t show true colors here.

Do you believe in Karma? I do to some extent- I don’t think bad things will happen if I step on an ant or eradicate an entire ant hill….Really!! But I believe if we use or hurt people intentionally that these things come back….in one form or another. Possibly as frustration or a string of bad luck. But if you treat people right, with respect and kindness then things may just go your way unexpectedly. You will have more peace and love. Less Drama. I definitely think there are rules to our unseen world. Science is finding this to be true with atoms & electro-magnetic energy…Why not then with morals and behavior?

Agree? Disagree? Your thoughts……

Gloria…..not your ordinary bird

Gloria- the Gifted Gardener……Everything she plants Blooms!! Everything!!! She’s the neighborhood “green thumb”. Almost daily you’ll see her out in her yard putzing and pruning from early Spring to late Fall. If you ask her how she gets her plants so full and healthy, she’ll say “Oh, I just water them”. She’s got this incredible talent and doesn’t even know it. One thing you won’t see her doing is writing a book about it, because it would only have three words…..”Just Add Water”.

This bird is based on a couple relatives (you know who you are) and it’s pretty frustrating to ask them about their plants because you’ll never get any specifics, hence they’ve kept their secrets to themselves! Ugh!!! This does not help me at all! I need all the information I can get in the plant department, clueless is what I am. Oh well, no “yard of the month” sign in my front yard.

I used lots of stencils here; from the birdhouse to the flowers, to the watering can and trowel. Just plain fun to draw with stencils if you ask me! If there’s a tool for the job and it works, I say use it!

Since, I’m confessing to my reliance on these stencils, I thought I’d show you the type that I use. Sorry, I don’t know the manufacturer but you can get them at your local craft stores (JoAnns, Hobby Lobby, Michaels). They're pretty cheap and versatile. Great for kids, too. May just help get over an artist’s block too.

The original drawing was pretty stark with all that white, so I played around in Photoshop and gave it some clouds and grass……Now, it’s a little easier on the eyes I think.

Doodles upon Doodles….

I bet your wondering what these are? They are…. my Doodle dictionary pages printed out as a jpg from Walgreens. There’s 14 prints in all. The only problem is the moleskine is a 5x8 and the prints are 4x6, so there’s a bit of a cut-off factor. For the most part, I can see all the different designs when I pull these out for inspiration. So, they work.

I thought the prints looked pretty cool all together. This includes Set 1, Set 2, Set 3 and this present set.

A little doodle fan for ya!

The Stripe Strips piece was inspired by this image at Flickr.

What a relaxing way to clear the head…..doodling aimlessly….actually it requires a little more forethought than that or else I’d be just coloring checkerboards, that’s why I made my own directory. Browsing the flickr groups helps me get ideas. What works for you?

Happy Fathers Day!

Some people come into your life……And your never the same!!!

Fathers teach their daughters that they are lovable and they teach their sons to be men!

My daughter took this picture a few years ago. I am always amazed at the eye she has for composition. Since this is one of my favorite pictures I thought I’d try drawing it. What a learning curve this was, whew!

Every year……gotta have my Beach time!! This is when I get to have some really good talks with my Dad! I’m pretty happy with the drawing here…..I know it’s not exactly what the picture shows, but it works…enough! I used watercolor pencils for everything but the outlines. Unfortunately at the time I didn’t have a good blue watercolor pencil, so I used markers on the sky. The thing about markers vs. watercolor pencils is there is not as much color flexibility to the markers. The highlighting and shading are much more difficult unless you have a huge color-variety stash and knowledge of such things.

I am NOT HAPPY, with this part of the drawing! I used the Faber-Castell pitt brush pen and had no idea it would show these streaks! Next time, I’ll have to use a marker that’s more opaque. Like the Copic Markers! Or a similar off-brand.

And Another big Happy Father’s Day to my main man! He’s my rock! Love this man!!

Digital Elements used for this Layout found at Scrapgirls.

A Bird in his right mind….

Clarence- the Creative Cashier ….He’s definitely in his Right-brain, and he has been all his life. Funny, that with a name like Clarence you’d think he’d be a big time Lawyer, just like his Dad. But Clarence works as a cashier at the Art Store, where he’s a big help to his customers. He knows every type of art media and is very forthcoming with advice. He’s quite the asset! He’s very bright and has lots of ideas, his only problem is he can’t stay on task. He becomes too distracted. As a free spirit, this job is perfect for him. Once he can harness some self-discipline he’ll really make something of himself. …..I’m just saying

Are you tired of my birdies yet???? I’ve finally found a real-life art class, so hopefully I can put a little more variety into the next bird. I must admit, they are fun to draw and to hear about their little lives. I’m enjoying the slow-journaling I learned from Tammy (@ Daisy Yellow) when I write on my paper. Otherwise, my handwriting would be quite sloppy!

In case you’ve missed it, I’d like to introduce my little bird family.

• Billie Jean, Cleopatra, Andre, Suzie, Martha & Renee
• Olga
• Sheila
• Easter Birdie
• Patty
• Terri
• Diane
• Susie
• Regina
• Penny
• Amy
• Leo

I just realized I’ve drawn 18 of these guys! Eighteen!!…. and I’m not bored with them yet, highly unusual! But like I said, they have taken on a life of their own and are asking to be created or something like that! LOL!!

To be no one but yourself in a world which is doing it’s best to make you just like everybody else, means to fight the greatest battle there is or ever will be. - e.e. cummings

I’ve always loved this quote, because I find it so true. Really, how boring would the world be if we all thought the same, looked the same, did the same things? I try to limit my TV viewing, because after a couple of hours watching the boob-tube I feel like I have to be more like “her” or “her”. Visiting other countries or cities is such a good experience, it enhances our perspective on ways to live. All cultures have their norms, but freedom of expression is pretty cross-cultural, don’t you think?

Freedom of Expression……this is what ART is all about. We really don’t have to sketch the house with the straight lines, do we?…..we can put our own spin on it and do a less straight line version like this. We get to decide what colors we want to use as we draw or paint. We can choose to be more playful and draw a whimsical character or try our hand at something more life-like. Ahhh, the choices, the possibilities!! Endless!

Notes and a Doodle

Here are a few notes I took while listening to Dennis Prager’s Happy Hour this weekend. My DH turned me on to him about 6 yrs ago, and I’ve been hooked ever since. You can find him Here and Here. Dennis talks about real life issues and he comes from a good moral perspective. See for yourself sometime.

Since I’m in between birdie drawings, and just needed to play with color……Out came the markers and the rulers and the stencils! This probably took me about 3 days to finish. I like that I can work on it, put it away and come back to it right where I left off. As you can see, still in my comfort zone of the more bolder and primary side of the color spectrum.

In my last post, I talked about Right vs. Left Brain thinking. I think I’m still very Left brained. As I was doing this part of the page, I was dissatisfied that I didn’t do these little rainbows in a more “unified” way….Such as, green series next to blue series, then red……you get the picture. But winging it is what I intended to do and since I haven’t found a good marker eraser yet (LOL), this is the result.

I find that rulers, parallel lines, circles tend to fill my doodle pages. I’m not one for shading and highlighting…...yet……this may change!

Right Brain vs. Left Brain

Leo- the Laboring Artist…..He’s been drawing and painting since he was a child. He’s become quite good, as it so happens the work that really sells is what bores him to make. It’s a juggling act, does he paint the things that pay the bills or does he paint what makes him happy? He’s not complaining, he makes time for the things that matter and he’s got a plan.

Some articles suggest that before we enter school, our left brain and right brain functions are more even. That school plays to the more left brain ways of learning. I think in school that is the way it has to be if you’ve got a class of 30 or so students. I don’t think we lose our “right brain” activity, I think we stop trusting it. It’s always there in the background. There are exercises you can do to get your “right brain” more involved, which may help in getting over a block.

1981- Roger Sperry (Nobel Prize winner) suggested that the two halves of the brain actually house two different realms of consciousness. It’s been suggested that people, in general, are primarily either right brain thinkers or left brain thinkers.

• Left Brain: Doctors, Scientists, Lawyers, Mathematicians
• Right Brain: Artists, Dancers, Musicians, Architects

The main theme to emerge... is that there appear to be two modes of thinking, verbal and nonverbal, represented rather separately in left and right hemispheres respectively and that our education system, as well as science in general, tends to neglect the nonverbal form of intellect. What it comes down to is that modern society discriminates against the right hemisphere.

-Roger Sperry (1973)

LEFT BRAIN FUNCTIONS	RIGHT BRAIN FUNCTIONS
uses logic	uses feeling
detail oriented	“big picture” oriented
facts rule	imagination rules
words and language	symbols and images
present and past	present and future
math and science	philosophy & religion
can comprehend	can “get it” (i.e. meaning)
knowing	believes
acknowledges	appreciates
order/pattern perception	spatial perception
knows object name	know object function
reality based	fantasy based
forms strategies	presents possibilities
practical	impetuous
safe	risk taking

So if I'm Left-Handed, Does This Mean My Right Brain is Dominant?
No, hand dominance is not directly related to brain dominance. And, remember, just like you don't do everything with only the one hand, so your brain doesn't do everything with one side, although there is generally a preference. However, a significant number of artists have been and are left-handed, more than would be suggested by the one-in-ten occurrence of left-handedness in the population. While those who are left handed do exhibit a greater propensity for right-brain dominance, being right handed does not preclude your right brain from dominating. (From this article)

Our right brain is visual, intuitive, playful, subjective, emotional, timeless, spontaneous. It deals with humor, imagery, physical activity, art, music, and dance. It is passive whereas the left side is aggressive. I think the more “right brain” activity I can bring into my life, the better. As long as I can keep my female emotional side in check! LOL!!

Another sign of hope for us beginner's is that we can learn to tune into our Right Brain (see book Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain). When kids are about 10-11 yrs old, they enter the “stage of realism” where the child wants to draw something that looks real. Some kids are able to make the transition into the right brain thinking and tap into that part which helps them “see” what they are trying to draw. While many other kids get frustrated and give up. Later, when these kids are adults and want to draw again, their art will resume right where it left off, at the “stage of realism” level. This book helps make the conversion into Right brain thinking.

This book also talks about:

• Upside Down Drawing
• Negative Space Drawing
• Crossing Over: Experiencing the shift from Left to Right

I may just have to dig around in my basement for my copy!

What about you? Are you more right brain dominant or left? What tricks have you learned to compensate for your right or left brain dominance?

Related Links:

• Left Brain, Right Brain
• More Links for Right Brain Left Brain
• An Artist's View
• Right Brain Characteristics

Hippie, Hipster….Beatnik

Amy- the Ageless Hippie……She was at Woodstock in 1969, can’t remember much but thought she had a good time. She loves the clothes from this era. The bright bold colors, the wonderful tie-dye uniqueness. She’s pleased to announce that with some effort she can still fit into those same clothes.

Poor Amy, she didn’t get the memo about fashion; that if she wore it the first time around she shouldn’t wear it the second time! Ahhhh, but who can blame her for liking all these fun designs, colors and whimsical accessories? It’s her own business if she’s comfortable or not. She’s not indecent, is she? But personally, I couldn’t imagine holding onto any items of clothing for that long, unless it’s a Wedding dress or Mink stole. I’m a bit sentimental that way. The smell alone would do me in!

This was so fun to draw! Went to my Flickr favorites once again and used this image and this one for the VW van. My Dad had two VW vans growing up, I had no idea it was such a symbol of this counter-culture. But then again, they were in a rather boring paint scheme.

Brought out my handy-dandy watercolor pencils for the tie-dyed purse. Haven’t a clue how to do it with markers.

Here are a few quotes to close with:

Know, first, who you are; and then adorn yourself accordingly. -Epictetus

Be in the habit of experimenting with your clothing so that you don’t get stuck for life with a self-image developed over the course of High School. -Marilyn Vos Savant

I base most of my fashion sense on what doesn’t itch. -Gilda Radner

Have a good weekend!

Birds of a feather…..

Penny- the Power Shopper…..she shops till she drops 2-3 times a year, because she gets so overwhelmed at all the choices in the stores. If she finds something she likes and it fits well she’ll buy 2 or 3 of the same item. Because she knows once she leaves she won’t be back for months and her favorite item will have moved on.

The thing I like about the watercolor moleskine pads is the amount of eraser abuse they can take. These bird drawings are when I use my eraser the most. Once I get the basic bird-bod, I’ll draw the legs next. I have a hard time with the shoes. Hard to put little bird toe-claws into people shoes, but I do my best. I wanted to draw Penny holding a coke as she shopped, but she ran out of hands! Can’t you just hear her saying, “Get me out of here already, my feet are killing me in these shoes!” I used to shop in styling-type shoes, but no more. It’s all about comfort for me these days! I’m so American!