The Making of a Mime….part 4

Added more to the Mime.  All those folds….you’d think it would be pretty easy, but apparently sometimes the shadows come off of the fold in opposing directions!  I guess it depends on the loose-ness of the crease.  Also, how tightly the creases are stacked together.



Challenge  Ex-tror-din-aire!!  And I didn’t care….just wanted the embroidery of the top to be noticeable and somewhat believable. 



The stitching along the edge of the robe….simple!!  It was time for simple!



Just wanted to show you a close-up of the tassels!  Probably best to do them before the fact….not after.  Not much detail applied.



I can’t avoid this next step any longer…..the Heads!  The Faces!  Can’t wing it here either, you guys are hard to fool!

Messing up a Mime….part 3

I shaded in a little bit more.  Then went back to the mime-folds. I took this picture outdoors since I prefer natural light when I can get it. 



I’m learning to see the “backlight” on objects.  Where the light has reflected back on a fold for instance and amongst the shadows you can see just a wee bit of light along a line.  Nothing's better than the gummy eraser for taking away a very narrow stripe of graphite.



The flaws are getting more obvious as I progress.  The contour drawing (outline) was a bit off in the arm.  I’ve made it too short.  May use my creative license and ignore it.

Messing with a Mime….part 2

I always think things will be easier UNTIL…..I sit down and do it.  That white and those folds in my Mime’s costume were making me miserable!  So….I switched off and started on the second figure.



Just tuning out drawing this, listening to a recent download here.  I’m someone who can listen to the same song over and over…..ad nauseum!!  Works for me, but not for anyone else….so….wireless headphones are a must in my house.



Just a close-up of the sketch so far.  Man…I like sketching!  Man….it’s so un-charismatic!  No flash, flair or favor with this.  But that’s ok.

A Mime in the Making

As I mentioned before in a previous post……I’ve been needing wanting to sketch.  But haven’t come across anything of interest…..until….I….went….to….vegas!



We were walking through the mall at the Venetian hotel (i think).  And we spotted this mime all dressed in white from head-to-toe.  He wore white make-up, had white gloves on and stood perfectly still until we came along and messed with him.  No, No…. actually he handled our harassment with class and all we got out of him was a grin or two.



I thought since he had on white and I needed sketch practice, he would be a good figure to draw.  It’s always fun to learn form and dimension with something that interests me and is a step up from what I’ve done before but not too…over…my….head. Otherwise I’d get discouraged and walk away.  Then I’d never learn how to draw!!  Haha

Vegas Style and Marker Critique

What an adventure!!  I don’t think I slowed down once during the entire trip!  I usually run at about half-vegas-speed.  But how else could we see everything?



Above are a few of the more colorful sights I witnessed in Vegas!!   The ceiling of the Bellagio is adorned with colorful glass flowers…..(they resemble anemones' to me) 

 

Lots and lots of sculptures around town.



An architectural feast!



Pictures above are of Red Rock Canyon, a steamboat on the Colorado River (at Hoover Dam) and the most beautiful, healthy Palm trees I’ve ever seen.



Doodled a bit during the 3 hour leg of my flight.



Turned out colorful, but I’m not happy with the marker streaky-ness seen in the blue blobs on the right.



As cute as these markers are in the package, they are probably much better for just plain ‘ole writing.  I’d give them a “B-” in the art-marker department.  Bummer!!

Sin City

I think….I’m liking this empty nest!!  Heading out west tomorrow, never been to Vegas before in my life.  It’s never really appealed to me.  But since me and a few friends from work are all having major birthdays this year, the talk turned into action.

Prepped a page in my small moleskine to doodle in on the plane.  Purchased that little set of markers in a CD carrying case a few months ago.  Hope I like them because this will be their maiden voyage too.

See you on the other side, and if you have any tips on how to win BIG in Vegas, I’m all ears

I believe in Angels….

I spent an hour today searching for the “perfect” journal entry to go with my new drawing.  I love going back thru my old journals.  It’s amazing how the same themes seem to keep re-occurring.  What surprised me the most was how shy I was just 5 short years ago.  I wasn’t shy in a “too scared to speak” way, more like private.  I just didn’t bother saying much about myself to others (you know acquaintances, co-workers).  Yea, I was probably a big bore too!  It can get tiresome if someone else has to do all the talking (tiresome for the speaker). LOL!

After that hour, I still hadn’t come up with any journaling blog-worthy enough for the drawing.



I really want to sketch right now…cuz I’m due….but I haven’t found anything that’s inspired me in that way.  So, instead I pulled out my stencils and watercolor pencils and played.



I’m such a sucker for color!!  Gotta have my whole spectrum!



Since the black/white doodling has worked with other watercolor drawings, I went back to that technique.



If you’ve been following my blog then you’ll probably remember the above journaling.  It’s from The War of Art and it reads:

I believe in Angels.  They work for God- it’s their job to help us.  Wake us up.  Bump us along.  They shout “Evolve! Evolve!”….Angels are like muses.  They know stuff we don’t.  They want to help us.  They’re on the other side of a pane of glass shouting to get our attention.  But we can’t hear them.  We’re too distracted by our own nonsense.  Ahh, but when we begin.  When we make a start, when we commit and face our fears- a crack appears in the membrane.

However, I ran out of room up there and couldn’t journal the entire paragraph. Shoot!

Louis the Leo

Coloring Book page to start with.  I always start these birds in coloring book style, but I really have to struggle if I want to doodle this way.  Much more fun to doodle as I go, if you ask me!



I had a lot of food-for-fodder when I looked at my photo stash from my Downtown Chicago visit last year.  Amazing how each skyscrapper has it’s own personality.



Watercolor pencils for the yellow shirt, the desk and the window sill.



I photoshoped the #1 Sales onto the coffee mug.  Photoshoped the clouds peeking out from behind the buildings.  And photoshoped the frosted glass to make the buildings appear behind glass.  Totally messed this up when I drew this because I should’ve made a frame.  But this is a big display type window, much more pleasant to look out of…haha



Louis-the-Lion…..He does everything with flair and charisma, that’s how he got to be the number one salesman in his company.  He has a big heart and is very organized.  He’s always been good with names which helps when he asks his associates how Johnny’s baseball team is doing, or if Sarah got the leading part in the upcoming play.  When he walks in the door at home after being away on a trip nothing makes him feel more like a king than the attention and pampering he receives from his family.  They just missed him.

Jen….the Gemini

I think I may start a new series….Zodiac Birds, haha.  Since my daughter is a Gemini and I’ve got many Gemini friends and relatives I thought I’d start off with this giddy type.



Markers can be so limiting!  Even though I prefer them….but the jeans needed some white-wash to them so out came the watercolor pencils.



Since Gemini’s are the sign of the twin, that lady in red up there is suppose to be Jen’s reflection in the mirror when she’s in split-personality mode.  Haha



This was a fun one to draw.  Haven’t drawn a cute little dog in a while and I love her purse.  Apparently, boots are going to be really big this year, so I thought I’d make her all vogue.  The hat was a risk, but I’ve seen a few of those out at some retail shops.  Love the iphone case!!  I don’t have a personalized case but then again, my parents have stopped buying me things a….long….time…ago!



I thought I could find a wooden paneled background for the wall in photoshop.  My version must not have one….so I had some fun with some other tools in there.  Now, I like this wall!

Jen-the-Gemini…..this one is On-The-Go….All-The-Time.  She has friends that she shops with, friends that she studies with, friends that she exercises with, friends that she walks her dog with and friends that she figures out the meaning of life with.  She can’t sit still.  Unfortunately, she sometimes forgets who she made plans with and when. But because she’s so fun to have around her friends forgive her this little flaw.  Talk about adapting, no one can adapt better, cuz she..is..smart!  She’s just a bunch of different people all rolled up into one energetic package.

Who Says?

I got the inspired to draw a peacock from this post.



Then I thought it would be cool to write in the different feathers.



They say it takes intelligence to hold two opposing views in your head at the same time…well, I don’t know if that’s true but it is something I do a lot.



After I drew this little guy, I thought he resembled the little gecko from those geiko commercials.



I thought this view was pretty cool.



I think I like the way these art journal pages look with the watercolor as the base.



And this is what all that ramblin’ reading says.  A fun collection of little quips people say.