Day 16

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I think I might be too far behind to catch up at this point–4 days behind! Yikes. No matter, I am going to push on. I read an article that the bats in New England are in trouble. They are so good for catching bugs, sad to see them not doing well. I felt like I was drawing upside down! It’s a little wonky, but it was fun to draw a little baby bat. Casein & graphite on paper.

Along with the #30paintingsin30days! challenge I started a new #sketchbookskool Expressions Klass. The first one is all about lettering…looking forward to that project as well. Maybe I can use it for my next painting!

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The Ninth Day

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Here we are day 9. I am going to throw caution to the wind and use a painting that I just finished to stand in for day 9. I started it weeks ago, but finished today. This was done in oil paint bar with a palette knife on paper–sunset over Maui pastures. I did another piece that I am happier with, but by the time I completed it the daylight was gone…so no way to take a good photo (and my scanner is in a different location. I will post that one tomorrow. I had a great day painting! #30paintingsin30days!

Day Seven

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I missed a couple of days. I had these hopes that I could do more than one a day, it’s just not working out. And, there is too much going on at my day job to take a long enough lunch to do any painting and drawing. I started this one at 4:30am and finished it up after work. It’s done, but not what I wanted. Sometimes it just has to be okay that you worked on some art…not that it really turned out.

I might miss tomorrow, but the weekend is almost here, so at least I will do two paintings this weekend. More if I can manage it!

Spirograph Fun!

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Pineapple Conure. 5" x 5"

Pineapple Conure. 5″ x 5″

Well, it’s day 3 of the painting challenge. So far I am doing good. Still time in the day for maybe one more painting (this way I can post that tomorrow, because tomorrow it’s back to the day job!). I bought a spirograph set just after Christmas and I have been eager to try it. They are mesmerizing and truly as the advertising states…endless hours of fun. They do however take some time to perfect.

I decided to pair up my painting and the fun with the spirograph. I think I might do some more of these. This is casein, ballpoint pen and graphite. The casein ground went down first, then the spirograph designs in green ballpoint pen and then a casein wash followed by casein to block in the bird. Graphite over top. I had forgotten how nice graphite works over the casein…it has just the right amount of “give”. #30paintingsin30days!

 

Style Departure

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The goal for this painting was just to try out the oil bar paint on paper, but with a gesso ground. When I use just the paper, of course some oil seeps through over time. While the feel is different on the gesso ground I think it is a better choice for longevity of the work. For the drawing and subject I just wanted to do something simple…so I chose the pelican in a very graphic depiction. And, I had a lot of fun doing it!

It’s a total style departure. Fun to do something totally different.

Studies

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small study: oil bar, 5" x 6"

small study: oil bar, 5″ x 6″

It’s so interesting to me that sometimes the studies that I do to warm up for a “finished” painting turn out better than the final. Maybe it is the carefree attitude. I suppose I could try to trick myself into doing larger “studies”! No doubt the more I do, the better I will get at being less worried when faced with canvas or large substrates. It’s all a process.

The last few days have been spent working with the oil bars and some ink and water color projects. Ink is a lot of fun. I like going back and forth between these two mediums…they are so different. I think switching over to a different medium helps my easily distracted brain!

Trigger Fish: Ink & Watercolor, 5" x 7"

Trigger Fish: Ink & Watercolor, 5″ x 7″

A Sporadic Inktober

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Watercolor and Ink

Watercolor and Ink

I am doing a miserable job of keeping up with #inktober. But, I am inspired to do as many ink drawings as I can. This year I am not feeling so bound by rules…so while ink is the main ingredient, I feel fine adding color with other mediums.

While I was in Frisco, NC I stopped in to the Indian Town Gallery and they were gearing up for their Tiny Art Fundraiser. I decided it would be fun to donate a piece of art for this. Everyone that participates gets a 5×5 canvas to paint on, at the show all works are $20 donated to a good cause. I am only sorry that I can’t be there for the show! Tiny Art Show

Sardine Surprise: Tiny Art Donation

Sardine Surprise: Tiny Art Donation

Feeling a little unsettled about subject matter right now. Not so much for sketching and experimenting, that comes pretty easy. But, I still feel a little overwhelmed by my goal of completing a body of work. I am not very disciplined…or maybe I am just easily distracted. Maybe I should make a list of what I want to paint, settle on a size for all, and just dig in to that. If I could get 2 oil bar paintings and two watercolor/ink pieces done I would be happy with that. That is two less than I hoped for.

Puffy Fish: ArtSnack materials

Puffy Fish: ArtSnack materials

Sneaking a sketch in

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Quick study: watercolor and fountain pen

Quick study: watercolor and fountain pen

This weekend was super busy. We are planning on a sailing trip over the fourth of July holiday, so lots to do to get ready for. I plan on doing a lot of drawing during this trip…so I am trying not to feel sad that I didn’t get to draw or paint this weekend. Oh, wait, that isn’t entirely true, I just finished this quick sketch which made me late cooking dinner! This was drawn from a photo I took on a Maine island last fourth of July.

Looking forward to a sail in just a few days!

Time and discipline

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Acrylic: 18"x24" in progress

Acrylic: 18″x24″ in progress

So, I think I might be over ambitious. I had such good intentions two weeks ago to get a bunch of stuff finished…I am not sure why I feel the need to hurry anyway. I am going to try very hard though not to start anything new until I finish the Jack-in-the-pulpit painting. I am still working on my beetle bug and of course sketching as much as I can. I feel like I have abandoned my shell painting–I am just not that happy with it. Of course I can go back to it at any time.

I feel like I need to give my self permission to move on when a project is feeling good. But, on the other hand sometimes when I push through and just get it done it all works out! And, time or the lack of is probably my most frustrating problem. Time in is what I want. I am just going to have to be happier with the time I get to work on my art projects, enjoy it while it happens.

I am missing the bug drawing. Now that the days are longer, I need to plan to get into the art shed after my day job–discipline.

Warm-up sketch: watercolor pencil

Warm-up sketch: watercolor pencil