Hamsa Hand

Here is a very quick whimsey drawing of a Hamsa. 



Broke away from my “color inside the lines” tendency on the bottom here and started to color first then outline.  Makes for a more intricate design albeit not so symmetrical.



Didn’t know about Hamsa’s until recently.  Had to look it up and here is what I found.



The hamsa is a popular apotropaic (intended to ward off evil) talisman for magical protection against the evil eye, and is one of the most popular amulets for good luck and prosperity…..Interesting….who knew?

Manicure….4

So…it all started with this picture. (It seems I can’t find the link to this source picture., sorry).  I think I have a thing for hands!  Heck, who wouldn’t, cuz ya know….”the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world”.

But seriously….this was not the best picture to work from in printed form.  Had to do much improvisation, oh boy!



Art class pic from last week.  Didn’t work on it much last week.



Very disappointed in my nail art selection…I thought I could make those American flag nails pop….but with the stripes et al, it just wasn’t going to happen with my skill level and with this color background.



I’ve outlined with my fine tipped marker…which means “in my head”…I’m done and ready to move on….even though I can see the apparent flaws. With my critical nature I must take into consideration how much I enjoyed this and how much I learned.  If I were my teacher I’d give it an 85.  Not bad, not bad. (but I may just have to go in and fix that third fingers knuckle placement.)

P.S.  You may be interested to know that my art studio is now offering live figure nude drawing classes….Yikes!  Haha….not to worry won’t post any of those pictures here

Manicure….2

What this type of drawing requires is for me to keep my lines moving in the direction of the grain…..meaning, across the finger.  Much easier to just go length-wise but can’t do much sculpting and contouring that way.



Gave some color and shadows to the four fingers.



Then I went to art class!  After taking the month of March off, I forgot how much I learn here.  It was hinted that I should use some orange!  Before, every time I went  to use orange, I didn’t know if it’s a highlight or a lowlight. 



This picture doesn’t show it much….but Orange works!  It’s making things much more fun and way more interesting!  Who’d have thought?

Hand Jeans….seven

So….I brought the drawing outside thinking I could spot where I need to focus.



Then, I was told…. “just work on it upside-down”.  Amazing how this view helps.  We don’t assume so much when working this way.



Time to work on the nails.  Not as hard as I thought it was going to be…..just kept things in the same skin tone.



There are wrinkles in the wrist…which I have not duplicated well here.  The thing so challenging about hands is…not only do we have to show the veins but the tendons too.



Since I’m mostly done….I outlined with my very fine marker.



I’m so ready to get this off my plate.  Yes…it was a challenge….Yes…I enjoyed it…but after looking at this for thirty days….I stopped seeing it’s uniqueness.  I also became very aware of what I couldn’t change…couldn’t replicate well.

Hand Jeans….six

Six posts about the same drawing….I guess I have a lot to learn.



It was time to do more with that hand.



There is definitely something very wrong with that third knuckle.  It’s huge!  It looks a bit battered and bruised.  Ouch!



I see things so much better after…. I…walk… away.  This is so close to completion it’s not funny….but if I hurry thru the next few steps, I won’t be happy with the final product.  Best to just chip away….chip away.

Hand Jeans….four

This little spot was bugging me, nobody knew why it was white here.  It was a good time to see how the colored pencils would work over the existing watercolors.  I even tried out my marker for the black outline on the floral pattern.  This entire floral print has a black outline to it.  FUN…I cannot wait to finish this because I will get to do my favorite thing at the end!  Mindless outlining! 



This is where I was at the beginning of class the other night.  I have to admit I was glad I was there…I needed to know my watercolor limit….I had about reached it here.  It was time to bring in the colored pencils for the rest.



This is a good shot to show you just how big this is.  It’s pretty big!



Not done….not even close. Must continue on with:

• the arm
• the hand
• the jeans
• the belt loops
• most of the top

At least I have a plan….always good to have a plan!! Haha

Hand Jeans….three

Continued with the hand a bit more.  Used colored pencils to get that thumb bend.  Reinforced some of the shadows in the 2 right fingers with watercolor.



It was time to work the top.  If I can get this top right, I will love it….but that’s a big IF.



Had to mix a brown to best match the picture.  Just lightly applied the first coat of brown watercolor paint.



Then I had to outline the rest of the floral image.  This required focus….so I had to be patient and clear headed.  Couldn’t doodle it in my “zoned-out” way.



Now, I have lots of color opportunities to turn to when things aren’t working as expected in a part of this drawing/painting.

Hand Jeans….two

I’m learning the plusses of each medium.  Watercolor helps create lots of contour if I can let it puddle in certain ways.  The way the pigment settles cannot be duplicated as easily with the colored pencils. 



Worked a bit on the belt buckle. A welcome break from all the creases with all the those blues in the pants.  I was getting overwhelmed.



Mulled it over…..Do I color pencil the hand or watercolor the hand…..I compromised and did both.  Here’s the watercolor base.



I only got to the 2 left fingers with colored pencils.  The big plus to colored pencils is the detail it helps me to mimic.  Of course….I can get bogged down in the details.  When that happens I force myself to work on a different portion….preferably in a different color. 

Hand Jeans….one

After all the wrapping and unwrapping and the going…going….going.   I needed to re-group with colored pencils.  I’m a bit bummed that I’m stuck on water interpretation so I’ve had to put my Fly color-sketch on hold until someone smarter than me can help.



I’ve been wanting to sketch BIG.  Like on a Big….Piece….Of …..Paper.  The dimensions here are 22x30, a definite challenge.



I like doing a watercolor base to my color-sketches.  It saves time.



Back to the hand!  What is it about hands?  I either love ‘em or hate ‘em.  There is no in between.  Possibly there is so much going on with them, that I either get it or I don’t.  We’ll see.

Optical Illusion Hand

I came across this picture on pinterest awhile ago.  I thought it looked pretty cool. So, I outlined my left arm/forearm.





This idea was from a 5th grade art class.  Since I always liked fifth grade art, I gave her a whirl.





I hadn’t worked with markers since my Left vs. Right post and I was missing them!





I would probably give myself a “C” for this drawing.  I did not capture the optical illusion like all the other 10 year olds.  I kept having to go back and erase my lines.  I don’t know why I had so much trouble with this.





Markers for the body….watercolor pencils for the background.  I’d like to do more with this…but I’m drawing a blank!  Haha