opaque watercolor and colored pencil
This was my for fun sketch today. A warm up for a longer drawing. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this…it’s in my “no fear” sketch book. I really like the white paint marker, but it needs some ventilation! It can’t be healthy. I need to find a white marker that isn’t so toxic smelling.
All these shells came from the outer banks of North Carolina.
Micron blue pen and opaque watercolor
So, I ditched the shells on the counter idea. I did a quick sketch with a pineapple on the counter–which I liked, but all the proportions were off. The shells just didn’t look right on the counter, so off they went. In the end, I decided to block in the color first, so I put on a wash of a medium blue for the stove, a yellow for the counter and light green for the wall. This made me feel better. I started in with the stove and worked out from that. The pineapple was next to the toaster, but by the time I got over there, I couldn’t squeeze it in!
I have to admit this was somewhat painful for me. I did a lot of complaining while I was drawing. I looked at the clock a lot! I put in 3 hours, I was happy when I finished with this. It’s good to tackle difficult things, I appreciate the assignment. I loved, loved, loved Tommy Kane’s class. The ideas I will take away are:
Great way to end this semester. I have to say I am so sad that it’s over though. Looking forward to the next semester starting in January.
shell study: graphite
This week in #sketchbookskool is all about slowing down. It’s a really good way to end the class, Tommy Kane has been really enjoyable to learn from. I am not too keen on this homework assignment, but I get it. He wants us to take 3 to 6 hours to do a drawing, and the subject matter is “your kitchen”! Yikes. Again, I get it, he wants you to overcome that fear and challenge yourself to capture all those overwhelming details. I am working on figuring out how I can enjoy this, I think I am going to put some shells on the counter so that I have something I love to draw in the drawing. At the same time, I am going to work on a long detailed drawing of shells trying to incorporate the style of Georgia O’Keefe and Van Gogh. This should keep me pretty occupied.
Sketch above was a warm up for this assignment. A much more lengthy and detailed sketch…about 30 or 40 minutes, longer than I usually take. I did enjoy slowing down and really paying attention to all the variations in the shadow and in the shell.
Opaque watercolor and graphite
Loved this week’s #sketchbookskool lesson. This is one that I know I will go back and read through many times. A week was not enough time for me, but I will enjoy going back and doing these exercises again. The first part of the homework was to draw from taxidermy or from figures. I was lucky enough to find some nice little Panda figurines in the hardware store to use as reference. I am looking forward to going to either a natural history museum or to our Portland LL Bean for drawing from taxidermy. Next time I draw these I will make sure that my view point shows the other two feet–he looks a little flat without the other feet! Panda’s are hard to draw! But, they are super cute and I found myself really happy to be looking at these and drawing them. Bonus!
Next part of the homework was to draw live animals. Much harder. Thankfully I have a dog and a very handsome one at that. And, he is pretty slow and loves to sleep. Even with a slow and sleepy dog, they aren’t reliable and they move! I will keep working at it, it was a lot of fun. Really helped with observation skills.
Graphite on paper. Big dog sleeping.
Opaque watercolor, colored pencil and white paint marker
Discovery of the week: it’s good to just draw for yourself! That is how the onion came about. I needed to try out my new white paint marker, so I had to have a subject. My friend Paul brought us these beautiful onions, along with many other wonderful heirloom vegetables from his garden. So, I grabbed one, did a color background and started drawing. I just finished some shells with a background and used graphite…which I like fine, but it didn’t seem as bold as I wanted. For this I decided to limit myself to a dark green and dark blue prismacolor pencil and then white paint marker. I am really pleased with the way the materials work. I put this in my “No Fear” sketchbook, so of course it turned out great. I didn’t really care what happened….somehow I need to trick myself into this for everything!
Next #sketchbookskool assignment is to draw from figurines or taxidermy. I don’t have access to the taxidermy, so I found these great little pandas to work from. I found them at the hardware store of all places!
Warm up assignment
I was a little behind on my #sketchbookskool homework, so I think that I rushed through a little to catch up. I don’t think that I should do that, I need to remember, its an online course! It’s not going anywhere! So, because I rushed I didn’t feel super great about the projects. I also didn’t really like the technique that we used. The assignment was to draw in pencil, ink in the outline and then color in with watercolor. It’s just not my thing…but, I can see that it can be a good approach for certain things.
This week the subject matter is more interesting to me, drawing animals! Looking forward to this, but I need to find some figurines to draw from for the assignment. The first step in this weeks class was to draw your art supplies. I see other artists do this a fair amount, it’s something I never really considered as a subject. However, once I sat down and really focused in on it I did find it fun. On to the animals!
Ink outlines and watercolor washes
Big in front of Lella’s chicken coop in SW Harbor
I am trying to work outside my comfort zone. One of those places is sketching or drawing animals. It really started with thinking about what makes me happy, and of course, my dog Big came to mind pretty quickly. I needed some subject matter for #sketchbookskool, and thought, well, he is always right here with me and I have tons of photos of him. Nothing to lose by trying. I am super happy to discover that I enjoy drawing Big! I will keep doing sketches of him and maybe turn some into little paintings. Its kind of amazing the joy that it brings me to capture him on the page… very different than a lot of subjects. Somehow I feel more connected to the process and the completed sketch. I will keep trying.
The sketch below was done really quickly. I have a photo of this one to use for reference. I am thinking that it would make a nice watercolor try (this our next assignment for klass). I think it has potential, even though I am not really happy with the sketch. I like the composition, the shadow and he was really loving the wind!
Big at the beach
Red Pear: colored pencil
As I write this I am on week three of #sketchbookskool, but I am showing week two as my homework for work three is not yet complete. This class is really great for me because I feel obligated to do my homework! And, even when the assignment seems like something I might not enjoy, I am pleasantly surprised and it turns out just fine. Working in only colored pencil is not something that I appreciate that much. I feel like I need to add something else…but I stuck with it and build the colors up. This pear started out green! The complement of the red to get a nice rich base. I tried to work with red and green for the pear and blue and orange for the shadows…and variations in between. The subject matter was suppose to be simple but interesting. It took me a long time to choose because I hadn’t found anything inspiring…but all the sudden I saw these awesome pears at the grocery.
ink sketch of little pumpkin on the porch
This week we are working on capturing personal histories and some watercolor practice.
Looking up at the tree tops during our mid-walk rest
Here is my #sketchbookskool homework so far. Really enjoying the thought process behind documenting part of each day. I think it will be nice to look back and remember some of these moments. They are quick!
Big dog taking a break
I think that I would like to do more drawings of Big. He goes pretty much everywhere I do, and he is a handsome subject.
little clam found on the beach
Sunday bulb planting
The second homework assignment for #sketchbookskool is to document your week. I know that when Wednesday rolls around my life will get pretty busy, so I figured I better jump right in to the documentation. I was able to get three pages done today. The first two pages are pretty crappy…but it is what it is. You have to start somewhere. What I like most about it is the slowing down. You have to slow down for a moment when you draw something. So, I cut my breakfast pear and enjoyed the shapes. Then I ate it. I drank my coffee and then did a sketch of the empty cup. Enjoying the cup and remembering that it used to belong to my grandmother. I took my book with me on my walk, and the Big dog and I stopped mid-way to rest and I did a sketch of the tree. The ink is not waterproof!
I decided to plant my bulbs today. And then I thought, well, I will draw those first! So, I plopped them down on the picnic table and the sun was bright on them casting long beautiful shadows. I won’t see these bulbs again, they are going in the ground. I decided to look up the history of the Hyacinth and the Tulip so I could add some words to the page. I am hopeful that the mole that ate my other bulbs in the spring will not come back next spring and eat these!
I am looking forward to tomorrow morning and my next journal page.
Art Projects 