Fred….the Farmer

I was asked about a year ago to draw a bird on a John Deere tractor.  I hesitated and I was stumped each time it was mentioned. 



You see….I don’t know anything about Farmers and I don’t see a whole lot of tractors where I live. 



Then…..it came to me…..the bird personality.  I really didn’t have to know how much land the farmer had, what he grew and when he planted his crops.  I didn’t have to know where he bought his fertilizer and what season he harvested…..I could describe a farmer without all the specifics!!  Whew!! I was off the hook! 

The easy part is the drawing….the hard part is the describing.



Fred-the-Farmer….He likes to do everything himself because he learned a long time ago, that if you want something done right you have to do it yourself.  He usually knows the best way to do the job, too.  Good thing he doesn’t need much sleep.

My hats are off to this hard-working breed!!  I’m a big fan of your corn, wheat, oranges, grapes and the like!

Libby….the Libra

It was time for another bird, so I thought I’d add to the birds I’ve drawn in the Zodiac Series.  Louis and Jen.



Since I was drawing a Libra, and they are all about truth, justice, fairness and balance.  The obvious choice would have been to draw a judge.  But….have you noticed how boring all the judges look?  Unless I drew an American Idol judge, but I’m not sure if they are all that fair….haha…just kidding!



Libby the Libra…..she didn’t foresee that a lot of her Law School training would come in so handy while raising her kids.  She has to stop what she’s doing, hear both sides to their story and then help those little guys negotiate the best solution to their problems.  Every now and then, it’s best to separate them.  Amazing how clear they can think after a brief time-out.

Siblings, I think it’s our first taste in how to get along in the real world.  It may seem like it’s just a battle over a toy or the remote control, but so much else is being learned under the surface!  God Bless our families!!  Happy Thanksgiving you guys!

My Favorite Blog Posts

Looking thru my external hard drive the other day, I realized I’ve done quite a bit of drawing these past couple of years.  If a fortune teller told me I’d like sketching some day, I would think she had me mistaken.  Here’s a collage of my favorite blog posts and art pieces that I’ve done over the last 2 years.  Some pieces were chosen because “at the time” it was a break through for me.

For those of you new to my blog, you may not have seen all of these images so I thought I’d share.

1. Senior Sketch- portrait sketch done of my daughter’s senior picture.  If only I could replicate wavy hair.

2. Gnome with No Gname- he has since been named.

3. Who Says- Fun with color and script in a peacock sort of way.

4. Teen Lingo- My AbSoLuTe favorite post of all

5. Dancing in Pointe Shoes- I was surprised that I could sketch these
shoes……really!

6. Zelda Zany- just a fun zentangled bird to go with Zack, Zander and Zamora

7. Foot Fetish- one of my first contour drawings

8. Mural Drawing- done for the Sketchbook Project

9. Hippie Chick- I adore this birds outfit and really dig her purse.

10. Dance Line- lots of practice with contour drawing

11. Prep Pages- just a fun art journal page

12. Body-Mind-Spirit- done in 2009 for NaNoJouMo , where we were given a word prompt then we could draw anything we wanted from the prompt.

13. Artist’s Bird- here I talk about right brain vs. left brain thinking

14. Angel- recent Art Journal page

15. Rajasthani Dancer- a super fun figure to draw

16. Kokopelli Dancers- used stencils for these guys and slow-journaled between the figures

17. WaterDoodle Series- really fun to do if you like to zentangle and be exact with your work.

18. Jen the Gemini- trying to make my teen birds a little more appealing

19. Vogue- a word prompt for NaNoJouMo, one of my first drawn faces.

20. Celtic Knot- pretty cool video in the post teaches you how to make this…..(not my youtube).

21. Diver Girl- body sketch….need I say more.

22. College Bird- love her backpack

23. Purity- another NaNoJouMo word prompt

24. Matryoshka series- 5 dolls in all, loved creating these stacking dolls.

25. Sketch Parade- body sketch….need I say more.

Flower Power

I started this drawing last summer when someone suggested that I submit a jpg for a fabric contest.  I drew this out with the intent to copy my Floral Paisley drawing (see below).  Then I went on vacation and promptly forgot about it.



With the deadline to the contest way behind me, I thought I’d just have some fun with my watercolor pencils and markers for these flowers.  Plus, it’s just a great way to play!



As you can see I have some all-time favorite stencils that I’ve used many times for these flowers.



I added some words behind the flowers to add interest.



The words read “Just Do What Makes You Happy”….simple as that.



This is my Floral Paisley that I referred to in the opening paragraph.  Markers are pretty cool for this because the colors are so darn vibrant.  The watercolor pencils just don’t have this much punch.



Above is the second Floral drawing I’ve drawn with my stencils….just doesn’t appeal to me like that first one….Maybe it’s just too busy or just my personal opinion.

Art Journal….we are shaped

I was putzing around pinterest the other day and I spotted this picture.  It was in a post for 4th grade art ideas.  Yep, that’s where I am, 4th grade, 6th grade and pre-school art!  Haha. 



I adapted things a bit and used watercolor pencils instead of markers.  I wanted to journal on this page.  I was a little bummed that I made the lines so narrow.  Writing in these narrow spaces would’ve driven me crazy and it would’ve required actually writing something of interest….not of the innane that seems to fill my journals.



Limited my color palette to the oranges/reds/yellows.



Possibly I should’ve stated that “I am shaped”, instead of we are shaped….oh well!





Camaraderie, Purpose and Structure are what Dennis Prager talked about in his Happiness Hour on Friday. Thought I’d include them in this page.



Did you know that camaraderie is spelled 2 different ways? Comradery and camaraderie…..and YIKES!!...I just realized I spelled it wrong here.

My Mellow Mime….part 7

Wow! This has been a long series,  I’m at picture post 27 for my mimes. I think the only sketch to top that was the Remembering 9/11 sketch.



If you’ve followed along, you’ll remember that I made the female head too small.  So, erasing had to be done.  I thought I could get away with erasing the lower side of the head.  Then expand down and out from there.



I was able to enlarge the head a bit.  But then I couldn’t get that mouth right.  I was disappointed that I liked it in the previous version.  So, instead of drawing from the picture for the smile, I drew from the earlier sketch.  Hey, whatever works, right?



The other thing I have trouble duplicating is…..any head tilt or turn.  Again, I’ve drawn the face looking straight on.  Maybe someday, I’ll figure head angles out….but today was not the day.  I also needed to bring some of that hair puffiness down.



Looking at this now….right here…..I think I should’ve shaded much more around the eyes and mouth.  But I think some of the issue in the picture above may have to do with the camera not picking up all the minor shading details.

What fun!!….I just love sketching and I have no idea why (why must I always have a reason to like something?)  It’ll be nice to do something in color next.  I appreciate you guys stopping by and commenting when you can.  It really helps!!

Mime Work….part 6

I’m starting to think I’ll never get this finished!!  Well, it didn’t help that I hadn’t touched it for 3 days.  I must’ve thought it would draw itself….wouldn’t that be interesting?



Concentrated on the mime today.  The turban was fun to sketch.  It’s not exact at all, but I liked replicating the roll.



My proudest moment so far is here….in the eyes.  I was able to show a bit of pupil in all that dark area.  Sharp pencils and 3B lead get the credit.

My mime….part 5

Lions and Tigers and Bears…oh My!!  Heads and Faces and Proportion…oh My!!



This drawing stuff sure keeps me on my toes…..just when I think I’ve got a somewhat accurate portrayal, with the shading and the features. 



I step back and go….”EEEK!”.  There’s always another unforeseen element I forgot to consider.  At this point I really don’t know if I made the head too small for the body or the shoulders too big for the head.  I don’t know if I can contour up that left side and erase away some of that bulk.  I guess if I’ve had a good night’s sleep and a strong cup of coffee….maybe…just maybe.

Judy….the Gym-Rat

I’m thinking this is an appropriate post for the day after Halloween when so many Judy’s will be hitting the gym. 



I was in need of color (or I’m just procrastinating).  Because I’m on the hard part of the sketch I started last week.



She looks a little Zombie-like, right now.  Would’ve been a good costume last night!  Haha



What gym-rat shows up without their tunes?  Makes it so much more fun!



Judy-the-Gym-Rat……she hates to run!! Hates it!  Once she realized all she had to do was add jumping rope to her work out and that would help keep her in shape.    She was so relieved….. Now, she could get out of signing up for any more marathons.

My description is a bit skewed….don’t we wish that only 5 minutes of jumping rope would keep us as healthy as those big-time runners?  You gotta give her points for trying