A year in Review….2012 Top Ten

Wow!  Another year has flown by…in my head it feels like it’s only September.

It’s time for me to be accountable.  Accountable to myself.  Because if I’m not happy with my choices, I’ll bet ya two dollars no one else will be.  Or care for that matter.

I believe we become what we think about….what we work on….what we spend our time doing.  What else is there to living?  Our choices are either productive or passive.  We are either moving forward or standing still.  Might as well learn a thing or two along the way.

Blog Business:

1- Interviewed 6 very Talented…Artistic ladies

• Sheila
• Janet
• Julie
• Lori
• Rachel
• Hanna

We learn so much from others!  Especially our contemporaries. So many ways to do art, to express yourself, to hone your skill. 

2- Completed 4 Graphite Sketches

• Runner
• OU Swimmer
• Wave Swimmer
• Graphite Girls

I love graphite, but get bored starring at black, white and "50 shades of gray" all day.

3- Enjoyed doodling 8 pieces

• Doodle Down
• Random Doodle
• WaterDoodle 4
• Doggie Doodle
• Alphabet Doodle
• Display Doodle
• Phone case Doodle
• Paisley Doodle

Being rather high-energy, having a portable project calms me down.

4- Added 5 birds to my Bird Series

• Sassy
• Pet Doctor
• Coach
• Ursula
• Kate

I guess you can tell by now…that I like to categorize people.  Probably not totally fair to them but it keeps me entertained.  However, it’s the ones I can’t figure out that bug me!

5- 16 Whimsy artsy drawings

• Freaky Friday
• Wacky Wednesday
• Theatrical Thursday
• Cartoon Creation
• Colorful Contours
• Balancing Botanicals
• Faces of Eve
• Twilight Zone
• Striped Hand
• Skull Candy
• Hair
• I Dance Because
• Right vs. Left
• Vitruvian Man
• Rainbow
• Danaus

Sometimes, I wake up….and I know what I will draw that day.  I guess I only woke up inspired 16 times this year!  Haha

6- 12 Color-Sketches

• Colored Legs
• Crabs
• Beach Girls
• Inward Dive
• Backstroke
• Fly
• Towel
• Portrait Pose
• Candid
• Figure 1
• Figure 2
• Figure 3

I almost gave up colored pencils….This is the whole reason I decided to take a drawing class.

7- 3 Watercolor Sketches

• Watercolor Figure 1
• Toddler Dress 1
• Toddler Dress 2

Lots of plusses to watercolor…..best used for color-flow sketches.  I find it very unpredictable.  But adore it’s vibrancy.

8- Sold 9 items on Etsy. 



I should really explore this avenue more.

9- Opened Draw.Doodle.Decorate facebook page



Still unsure on how best to approach this site.  It either entertains me or annoys me.  Guess that’s the nature of this beast.

10- Miscellaneous

• Quilt Show Inspiration outing
• Ongoing drawing classes

Well, there you have it, what I’ve been up to this year.  I’ve found that if you want to learn something new, you will find a way to work it in.

Gorgeous Graphite Girls

Went in and enhanced my shading since the background was darker.



Graphite highlights gave me a lot to think about.  Not too happy with my approach.



What a fun sketch of one of my favorite friends and her daughter.  Not perfect…but where’s the fun in that?

Graphite Girls

I love it when a friend asks me to draw something for them!  And when I asked “do you want it in color?”…..she said… “Oh, No! Black and white please”.



It’s been 6 months since I’ve drawn anything in graphite.  I guess I’m liking the colored pencils.  My art teacher said that I may find that my colored pencil time may help my graphite work….but not necessarily the reverse.



I knew what I needed to do to make the pupils right….but I got a little cocky and didn’t wait to use my circle template….my punishment was erasing and erasing! Ugh!



The original picture has a very dark background and both of these cute ladies have dark hair!  I get to interpret their head shape any way I want to!  Haha!



The advantage to the dark hair is the ability to veg out while getting that graphite down.  To balance out that dark hair….I’ll need to strengthen the shading in the face.

WIP….Desktops

I am such a digital pack-rat! 



Being of the more visual sort, I get a real kick out of seeing art in it’s “Work-In-Progress” mode. 



Possibly because it hasn’t defined itself totally yet.  The piece can be taken in so many directions.



I especially love it when a drawing surprises me!



What is there not to like about the colors in the pics here?  Anytime I get to use the whole color spectrum, I’m happy!



Graphite pencils….Ya gotta start somewhere!  I must admit, I miss the erasability of graphite.



Desktops!  I’m not the neatest person, that’s for sure.  I also tend to spread out!  If I don’t see it, I forget I have it! Haha



Art journaling in a whimsical way.



Photo-realism…my latest passion!



More graphite work.



More messy desktops.

So, now you can see what I see as I try to bring something into creation.  I love it when I have lots of ideas….all lined up in a row…in my head.  But that’s not always the case.  Art evolves with the person.   Something I may have wanted to do one day doesn’t always carry the same weight the next day.  What I find important is the doing!  The trying to learn new things, to challenge myself with a new picture or new technique.  For instance today…I have no interest in painting.  But that may change. 

I think it’s best to not force yourself to like something you don’t.  This is also the beauty of not being in a super-structured environment.  I have the freedom to choose what to spend my time learning.  With that being said….I can see the flip side of that super-structured environment too!  We can gather information/inspiration from other sources in unexpected ways.  So really either way…it’s a win-win, if I keep the right attitude.

A penny for your thoughts too!  I’d love to hear your take.

Two Years of Sketching

When my nest started to empty, it free’d up a lot of my time.  Wasn’t quite sure what to do with myself and I’ve always admired those who could sketch….so I gave it a shot with Friends (sketch #1).





Sketchbook Project, Self Portrait (sketch #2)





Bench Monday (sketch #3)





Looking Down (sketch #4), learned that watercolor paper is not the best type of paper for graphite sketches.





Tutu (sketch #5), brought in very fine markers to outline with at completion.





My daughter’s Senior Picture (sketch #6). 





Air Swimmer (sketch #7), almost my favorite sketch.





Prodigy (sketch #8), first attempt at drawing clothes.





Smiles (sketch #9), my favorite people smiling at me.





En pointe (sketch #10), almost gave up on those shoes.





Diver (sketch #11), one of my favorite sketches.





Yanina Wickmayer (sketch #12), another attempt at a face.





Paddleboard (sketch #13), lightened up my sketching because I thought “Diver” was too dark…..I did not like the way this turned out.





September 11 (sketch #14), talk about paying attention to detail!  I was exhausted! Haha





Mime (sketch #15), just an interesting sketch all the way around.  Liked it!





Dancer Pose (sketch #16),  a beautiful woman in a fake pose.  Check out that back foot…there’s no way she’s holding up her own body weight….someone likes photoshop.





Runner (sketch #17), interesting angle.





Ohio Swimmer (sketch #18), one of my favorites…but I have a lot to learn about sketching water.





Wave Swimmer (sketch #19), adorable child….learned a thing or two about drawing children.





Vitruvian Man (sketch #20), half sketch, half whimsey!





Colored Legs (sketch #21), first attempt at colored pencils.





Crabs (sketch #22), another favorite…probably due to the subject matter.





Diver-N-Color (sketch #23), learning to color not just what I see but what I want to see.





Beach Girls (sketch #24), love the colors in this!


What a wonderful past-time this is.  I seem to have an 18 month attention span when learning new things.  With drawing I’ve got a long way to go, not even close to being bored!


Thanks for all the encouragement you’ve given me along the way.  I still think “pictures of pictures” are the best way to learn to draw.