Trying to keep up during the work week is tough! I figure even if I can’t do a long detailed drawing, I can do a super quick one. Also trying to stick with the prompts, day three was collecting, and I am for sure collecting faces! Day 4 was hungry, so what better than a hungry bear! Quick, quick, quick!
#Inktober makes October way better. I have been down in the dumps lately which has made drawing a struggle. Inktober is a good push for me to get back into the swing of looking forward to a drawing. Here is day one! Not too terribly happy with the drawing, but I did it and that is what matters. I don’t usually do ink wash but though I would give that a try…I will consider ink washes for the next few sketches as well. #inktober2016 has some prompts as well…so I decided to use todays prompt to choose the subject matter. Today’s prompt was FAST.
This has been a sad month. We lost our very spectacular dog Big on September 2nd. He did in fact have a long (12 years), adventurous and a really spoiled life. However, the pain of the loss still weighs heavy, I imagine that will last for awhile. He was a committed companion, always on watch for his family. When you have a dog you get used to all the things that go along with having a dog…saving leftovers, night walks, morning walks, morning cuddles, sharing the sofa during tv shows, making plans for travel that include finding spots that will take dogs and of course one of the most wonderful things… knowing you are coming home to someone who always has time for you. He will be missed in a Big way. I will be forever grateful to my parents who were with him at the very end, they are the kindest people I know. I only wish that I had been with him as well.
We will probably adopt another dog in the future, but Big will always have an especially special place in my heart. I don’t know why but somehow I felt even more connected to him than our other dogs…and I loved our other dogs very much!
Sadly our friend (and vet) also lost their long time companion, Springer Spaniel Samantha. She also had a long and wonderful life. I know her family will miss her as well. I did this portrait for them as a memoriam.
Dogs are really fabulous, I just wished that they would live longer.
I have been drawing, just not posting. Fourth of July holiday was our week vacation time. Lots of camping and sailing…and I always have good intentions to do some sketching, but it is still difficult for me to settle down. We seem to spend a lot of time moving our gear in and out of the boat and then off to another island!
Luckily we spent two days at Little Hens so I spent a little time doing some landscape drawing (which I really never do). Once I got back home and unpacked it was back to #sktchy and faces. I am also working on some fish studies for larger paintings. The Right Whale seemed a good choice.
One and a half days left on vaca and then back to work.
Taking a break for packing up my art supplies and I must be dreaming of my vacation coming up in the #outerbanks of NC. I took the resource photo for this painting soooo many years ago…I have been looking at it for a long time. Going through my supplies I found this blue paper and the old photo, and well, there you have it. I like the way the casein worked against the blue color of the paper, a little dry brush technique in areas created a nice effect. I will try some more of these. I think that the background needs more consideration, but a fun experiment (and break from packing!)
Looking forward to several days in a row of painting and drawing at the beach.
I am finally getting back to a little #sketchbookskool mini assignment. Quick drawings of dogs. I have a bunch of reference photos sent by friends that I am using to do some “quick” drawings. The Boston Terrier was under 15 minutes–the other one was closer to 30 minutes. I love starting these with no guidelines, just the pen. Forces you to really look and to commit! Super fun to draw dogs! Especially your friends dogs!
It’s been a marathon weekend of #sketchbookskool catch up! I got through my last 3 weeks in two days. However, I am still shy of the last weeks homework assignment. The last week is to sketch a “tiny adventure”. Unfortunately, I have run out of time for even the tiniest of adventures, so this assignment will have to wait a few days.
This particular session has really been my favorite one so far, lots of good ideas to carry forward in sketchbooks and finished work. I was kind of suspicious of Penny Dullaghan’s lessons at first…somehow I just didn’t think that they were for me exactly. But, I was WRONG!!! She gave 3 different lessons on how to achieve some interesting line work…creating ways where you have no choice to let the technique dictate the result (to some degree). I only tried one, but I love it. I plan on trying the others as well. I changed it up a bit…but the end result worked out really nicely.
So, this piece was created by slathering some water mixable oil paint onto a plain piece of paper and then placing my “sketchbook” paper on top, and then drawing right on top with an old dental instrument (she used a screw driver). When you pull it up, you have “transferred” the oil paint to the paper, but it reveals your line drawing (and some smudges that work nicely too). I then went back over it with some watercolor and colored pencil. I think this will be a fun way to revive some of my older sketches and turn them into something different.
I was sitting at my dining room table, daydreaming, and out of the corner of my eye a flash of white went by. I stood up and looked down and the cutest little thing was looking up at me! All white with a little bit of sable round his or her head…looked like a miniature mink! And, then gone, quick under the porch! No more than about 5 feet away, so I was able to get a good look–I don’t think this little thing was more than 6″ long. Never have I seen such a creature in my backyard. After some googling I have decided this little cutie is a weasel. I have since learned from many friends that they are nasty little creatures. But, I still sticking with cute!
Fun to have a little visit in the morning inspire a drawing.
I just realized that yesterdays painting was really a departure! I added color to the main image! Today I have returned to just graphite over my background. It’s whale watching season here in Hawaii. It’s wonderful to watch them breaching from the shore. I am hopeful that we will do a boat ride and get a little closer to them.
Botanical gardens are next.
Hawaiian Dove. These are the sweetest birds, and they make the sweetest sounds. No matter which island you are on in Hawaii these sounds greet you in the morning (and if you are in Kauai as I am, they compete somewhat with the Roosters).
Not really happy with the results, but I am trying not to be too hard on myself as I am still on east coast mainland time. It’s 6:40 pm in Kauai, but at home it would be 11:40pm!
Hibiscus for tomorrow!
Art Projects 