Balancing Botanicals

I seem to need to balance my sketching with color!  It was color time.



I wonder if I’ll feel that way if I actually start sketching in colored pencils….hmmm…



The image that inspired this drawing is from flickr……one of my favorite resources



It was hard…but I only allowed myself to use these Faber-Castell Pitt pens…no Sharpies nor Bic’s allowed.



Picked up this button while at a sports event about 8 years ago…..I need this gentle reminder….so easy for me to just keep my head down…and to the grindstone.  Just the way I’m made.



I like the negative space apparent to show the word here…Ideally I didn’t want to outline that word, but could not see another way around it for this drawing.



I’m happy with how this turned out.  I like the vibrancy of all that color balanced with the black and white on the other side. 

I am a huge fan of BALANCE. 

1. I need to balance my Duties-----with Freedom
2. My Work-----with Play
3. My Creativity-----with Analysis/ Science
4. My Color-----with Negative Space
5. My Research/ Study-----with Vegging Out.
6. My Losing it-----with Finding it….passion!

What surprised me after I started drawing this piece was what was showing up in my google reader.  Yep, many other blogs started talking about “balance”.  I think that’s the good ‘ole monkey effect of synchronization that I witnessed.  Love it!!  

And here are a few of the posts I’m referring to:

1. Creative Carmelina- Finding Balance
2. Daisy Yellow- What is your focus?
3. Shutter Sisters- Equal Day...Equal Night
4. Zen Habits- Change Muscle
5. Christine Kane- Let your body teach you about balance  (from 2009 but a good post)
6. Jeff Goins- How to improve your writing in one counter-intuitive way (2 mos ago)

Have you found your balance?  Do you sense when you’re getting out of balance?  I sure do!

Danaus plexippus…aka….Butterfly

Since I’ve always been fond of butterflies and I really, really wanted to draw one and not “screw it up”. 



I pulled out my watercolor pencil set.  Ahhh, these pencils are just fun!    I didn’t think I could pull off a realistic type of fly.  So I decided to color outside of the box.



Originally I had wanted to make the latin name pop out in white.

Image from here

Aren’t these guys just the prettiest creatures?  As a kid,  I witnessed a huge monarch butterfly swarm on a Saturday morning right outside my bedroom window.  So, I did the logical thing and ran after them.  I was able to catch two.  I released them into my room and had 2 pet butterflies for a day.  I think my Dad found out and convinced me to release the butterflies before they died.  Possibly if I had butterfly food at home I could’ve kept them!  Haha



I saw a very creative journal page on flickr that inspired the background for this page.   Because plain ‘ole white just wasn’t doing it for me.



I really enjoy drawing this way….you know where you take a real image and then whimsy-size it! 

You’ve got to meet Robin….

Robin- the Pediatric RN……She definitely has a calling for her profession. She shines in a crisis, you’ll see her very best come thru then. She has a way of putting everyone around her at ease during any storm. She absolutely adores the little people she sees everyday. She remembers the names of each of their favorite stuffed animals, their favorite foods and she shares many inside-jokes with the older kids. Why then has she quit 3 times since Christmas? Cuz each time she loses “one of her own”, she can’t take it! It’s her husband that has stopped her from actually saying “I Quit” each time. He knows she’s stronger than she thinks she is and sees how happy she becomes when her kids get better.

I will tell you right now, I am no Robin. I couldn’t do what she does. These people are the real unsung Hero’s if you ask me. They’ve seen it all. And they still get up each day and put on a smile as they enter the War Zone. God Love Them. Being really ill and then pulling out of it and finally feeling like yourself again, is no small task. Where would we be without the kindness of strangers?

Whew! On a lighter note…….I want to show you the difference between the scan colors and the real thing. Hopefully you can make some sense from the picture below. Scans are wonderful for scanning old pictures but sometimes with these drawings, it just isn’t up to the task.

The skin & hair on Robin-the-RN just doesn’t scan well. It appears splotchy and too pink, as you can see from the image on the left. Aw well….such is life!

Once I get my basic drawing done….I’ll trace over the pencil lines with my favorite Faber-Castell Pitt black pen. Then I get to sit back and be a kid again, as I color away!

Craving Color

I’ve missed my markers! What can I tell you? It’s two steps forward and then one step back here. My steps forward were actually using Graphite Pencils, my step back was running back to my marker stash first chance I got. Gotta have my color. My pretties! Pictured above are my Faber-Castell Brush tip markers! Love their vibrancy, their energy!

There’s not much that makes me happier than outlining with the standard black Indian Ink Faber-Castell PITT pens! I can trust them to do the job.

I don’t use the Sharpie Poster Paints as much as I’d like. I tend to forget I have them. As you can see they are of the broader variety. A bit chunky to carry around in my little marker-case.

Talk about versatile! These Sakura Microns fit the bill. They have all sizes of nibs and a decent selection of colors. I only wish they sold them individually where I live because I tend to use one over and over. When the ink runs out I have to buy the whole set for just one replacement marker. I’ve only been in a few Art Stores that have their inventory set up to purchase these singly.

Sharpie Ultra Fine Points…..they do everything and everyone has some. They are cheap and reliable. What more could I want?

Bic Mark-its are another inexpensive & dependable marker. Staples will sell these individually but it’s not the ultra fine nib which I always prefer! Maybe someday they will.

Here’s my little doodle’d Art Journal page for the day. A Mental Health Exercise!

Please tell me of other markers that you prefer. I’ve only got one COPIC marker, does anyone use these regularly? Are they worth the money?

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!

Kokopelli Dancers

Used a couple stencils here and had some fun coloring them in. These are the Kokopelli Dancers, don’t you just want to hear their music? To start dancing along with them? I’ve done a little research about these guys, and found various stories. Some about fertility, others about agriculture and a belief that he’s thought to represent the season change from winter to spring. So, we can take our pick on what we want to believe. The following definition was found HERE.

Who Was Kokopelli?

Known as a fertility god, prankster, healer and story teller, Kokopelli has been a source of wonder throughout the country for centuries. Kokopelli embodies the true American Southwest, and dates back over 3,000 years ago, when the first petroglyphs were carved. Although his true origins are unknown, this traveling, flute-playing Casanova is a sacred figure to many Southwestern Native Americans. Carvings of this hunch-backed flute-playing figure have been found painted and carved into rock walls and boulders throughout the Southwest.

To journal or not to journal? That is the question. I tend to struggle with this question when I’m drawing for the fun of it. Should I journal something in all that white space, or let it be? Well, the journaling won out on this one. I like it when a piece says something to me then, I get to write out my thoughts, otherwise it’s a no-go.

Journaling:

Kokopelli Dancers- I think of these guys as Life! As Spirit! They come dancing in and dare me to get up and dance, to express myself! I used to be like the Black & White one with a bit of Attitude (the RED). But lately I’m embracing the more colorful sides of my personality. I’m realizing just how opinionated I am. After all, I think people are much more interesting when they can express themselves freely. Not in a whiney or mean way. Just being real, this sure gets the dialogue started. Don’t you think?