Day 10

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Inktense and colored pencil

Inktense and colored pencil

This #AJChallenge day was fun because of the research involved. I learned about a few medicinal plants that I was unaware of. My goal was to find something that fit the category that I would have a photo resource for. I found it! Rose Hips. According to webMD: Rose hips are used for stomach disorders including stomach spasms, stomach acid deficiency, preventing stomach irritation and ulcers, and as a “stomach tonic” for intestinal diseases. They are also used for diarrhea, constipation, gallstones, gallbladder ailments, lower urinary tract and kidney disorders, fluid retention (dropsy or edema), gout, back and leg pain (sciatica), diabetes, high cholesterol, weight loss, high blood pressure, chest ailments, fever, increasing immune function during exhaustion, increasing blood flow in the limbs, increasing urine flow and quenching thirst. Wow! Pretty cool.

This rose hip was found on Ram Island in the Penobscot Bay–from a wild seaside rose–not a rugosa, but a smaller native rose.     Tomorrow the challenge is to draw your lunch or dinner. I am not sure about how interesting that will be…I will have to really think about what I choose to eat now!

Happy New Year!

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thank you postcard: intense and colored pencil

thank you postcard: intense and colored pencil

I don’t know that I have ever made any kind of list of new year’s resolutions. But, I am kind of inspired to make set some goals. Here is what I have so far (not in any particular order).

1. Create a body of work that will hang well together. Six pieces total.

2. Draw every day (even if it’s just 5 minutes)

3. Find friends to draw with

4. Draw from life as much as possible

5. Challenge yourself to draw subjects you find difficult

6. Read more about other artists

7. Walk 2 miles at least twice a week

8. Write about your art in a critical way, do your own critiques–maybe on a monthly basis.

9. Give a piece of art away to a friend–maybe 4 times a year (or more)

Finishing up

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Casein & colored pencil: 5" x 7"

Casein & colored pencil: 5″ x 7″

Some work does get abandoned….but not always forgotten. I have been looking at this in an unfinished state since August! I carry it around, and keep thinking I will get back to it. I did a pencil sketch that I actually like better…but, I wasn’t ready to relegate this to a permanently unfinished piece. So, without too much extra time involved I completed it today. I love the richness of the background against the white. This white iris was blooming in front of my very red japanese maple. Nice memory.

Christmas Eve

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Inktense and colored pencil. 4x6

Inktense and colored pencil. 4×6

Everyone in my house is taking a nap (except me). It’s one of those kind of days I suppose. It should be snowing, but it’s not quite cold enough, so we have a little mist hanging around at the mountain. I was able to find just enough time to finish this little drawing that I started last weekend. Hoping to get a lot of time in for more projects between now and Sunday night. Tomorrow will probably be filled with lots of cooking for others.

If I can carve out some time tomorrow from cooking I will try to organize my little art corner and do some planning for the new year. Can’t wait until sketchbook skool!

Merry Christmas to all!

Stuck on shells

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Inktense and colored pencil

Inktense and colored pencil

Seems like shells are the subject matter of the moment. The great thing about them is that I have so many to choose from! Before my #sketchbookskool class  I was drawing a lot more from photos. I have discovered I really like drawing from life. Many of the shells I have are tiny, so I can just put them in my purse and pull them out to draw at any time.

For my next few drawings I am going to work on putting color down first and then working over in ink pen. Love, love, love working in ink. And, I am surprised at how much I like working without any guidelines.

Quick sketch: ink pen

Quick sketch: ink pen

Working the background

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water-soluble crayon and colored pencil

water-soluble crayon and colored pencil

Doing these little detail drawings is a lot of fun. I am working on incorporating some movement and activity in the background. This background was inspired by the pattern on the topside of a scallop shell that I picked up a long with this broken shell. The broken shell reminded me of Georgia O’Keefe shell paintings, so I thought I would try to do one with that as inspiration.

I like the texture and movement in the background, I am going to work on these combinations for a few more pieces. I need to work on doing a better job of creating a motion feeling…but it’s starting.

This was drawn in my moleskin sketchbook.

Drawing for fun

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opaque watercolor and colored pencil

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.

Drawing for nothing

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Opaque watercolor, colored pencil and white paint marker

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!

pandas1

Week Two

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Red Pear: colored pencil

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

ink sketch of little pumpkin on the porch

This week we are working on capturing personal histories and some watercolor practice.

No place like home

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Water-soluble crayon & colored pencil

Water-soluble crayon & colored pencil

This is our last day on Oahu, Hawaii. I am ready to head home. It’s been so nice seeing a different place, although I admit that Oahu is not really for me. I love the other islands and look forward to coming back to Maui in February. I am just not a city girl, and it really doesn’t matter that the beach is here and that the temperatures are warm. I like the slower pace of the other islands. I feel good that we came and better yet that we had a nice relaxing few days on the North Shore of Oahu. I did get some good photos for painting resources.

In progress: water-soluble crayon & graphite

In progress: water-soluble crayon & graphite