I spent an entire day and evening working on stretching my drawing skills ... attempting a grid, enlarging a scene and getting building angles correct!
Well, after all that you'd think that my 5'1" frame is now closer to six feet !!! NAH, still can't reach the top of the cupboard .... BUT, I've learned so MUCH in those hours!
* Another reason I love sketching flowers -- they're so forgiving!
* That exactness is admirable .. and using a ruler, my new foe, has its merits and when done well, really really helps a lot!
* That math, fractions, proportions are as important now in sketching as when I tell my students they need to know those skills in order to mix the proper amount of fertilizer!! (oh how this lesson bit me, the teacher!! my students are going to love this! LOL)
* Just how much more PRACTICE I need on buildings and perspectives....guestimates just don't work in fine work!
* What often looks so 'easily' done ... those architectural scenes, the house on the hill, the barn, the cluster of hill towns and all those angled rooflines -- is FAR MORE DIFFICULT (at least for me right now) than I could have imagined
* That struggling through such lessons fortifies ones determination to really LEARN a skill, and also gives a student of art, like me, clear direction toward learning even more new skills.
* And just how wonderful a good eraser can be.
Friday, February 02, 2007
Thursday, February 01, 2007
Lamp
We're expecting a fairly significant snowstorm this morning --- here in North Carolian piedmont, 1"-3" and ice is pretty severe! -- and so I collected our oil lamps in the event we lose power -- a fairly common event in times of storms.
While insuring that their bowls were filled with enough oil, I quickly sketched one for my daily practice.
While insuring that their bowls were filled with enough oil, I quickly sketched one for my daily practice.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
EDM 104 salt and pepper
I thought I'd try to sketch Rebecca's many salt and pepper shakers. My first attempt at her tiny crystal ones was too hilarious to even post .. I'm keeping those for when I'm depressed --they should have me rolling in laughter! LOL
But this white cow has kept me sketching company now for a long time, and it was about time I attempted to sketch him . Yes, he really is a salt (right) and pepper (left) shaker. And only my second attempt at sketching an animal! Well, sort of an animal! LOL
But this white cow has kept me sketching company now for a long time, and it was about time I attempted to sketch him . Yes, he really is a salt (right) and pepper (left) shaker. And only my second attempt at sketching an animal! Well, sort of an animal! LOL
Conference 2
One of the Board members was seated in front of me during this two hour meeting. I thought it was a great time to practice my 'people' sketching. Still have a LOT of work to do in this regard.
Conference 1
My day yesterday was filled almost entirely with meeting after meeting. I tried to be unobserved as I practiced my sketching. I really MUST remember to take a blank sheet of paper and pencil. Ballpoint just doesn't work very well for me.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Blogging, Comments, Busyness
I was driving to work this morning and thinking again about the conversations on the EDM group about busyness and internet addiction, blogging and time consumption, and I wanted to add a few thoughts.
My life is certainly a bit more intense and busier than I'd like BUT .... when I consider the questions under discussion: 'Why do you blog' "why do you comment on other people's blogs?" -- I want to answer that I do this for many reasons -- but mostly -- to encourage others ... and that's why I appreciate comments left on my blog.
As a true beginner in this watercolor/sketch journey (not quite 18 months now since I truly picked up a pencil to FINALLY take the time to learn to sketch) -- it were those very comments, encouraging remarks, that kept me trying to learn this skill --- over and over.
This morning, when I was reviewing the bananas below, the difference between the two was obvious -- even to me. And I know, sure as I am writing this, that there were many, many, many times when I looked at what I had sketched, at my slow progress, and wanted to throw my pencil and efforts out the window. But those words YOU left on my blog, taking time from YOUR own work, to encourage me, offer a glimmer of progress, a bit of improvement, a technique I should try .. well, for me ... THOSE very words kept me going when little else could have.
And so, if there is anything I have learned in this long life ... it's to pass it forward -- to pass it along ... and doing so is the only way I know to repay the countless generous folks for the encouragement they offered to me.
And so I will take the time to comment, blog, post ... so that someone else, who like me, is struggling, despairing, frustrated, or needing a friend .. well, then, by commenting and encouraging them, I feel I've helped repay those who took their time with me. It's my way of saying THANK YOU ...
And as if to confirm this, or in some cases when the Universe thinks one needs a good laugh, a woman left a message on my work phone this morning, asking me to help ENCOURAGE her son to take some of my classes so he too could continue on his horticultural journey ...
And while I believe in serendipity - this phone call coming after these thoughts were running in my mind seemed like such a confirmation .. and so, I just thought I'd pass them along -- to encourage you too.
My life is certainly a bit more intense and busier than I'd like BUT .... when I consider the questions under discussion: 'Why do you blog' "why do you comment on other people's blogs?" -- I want to answer that I do this for many reasons -- but mostly -- to encourage others ... and that's why I appreciate comments left on my blog.
As a true beginner in this watercolor/sketch journey (not quite 18 months now since I truly picked up a pencil to FINALLY take the time to learn to sketch) -- it were those very comments, encouraging remarks, that kept me trying to learn this skill --- over and over.
This morning, when I was reviewing the bananas below, the difference between the two was obvious -- even to me. And I know, sure as I am writing this, that there were many, many, many times when I looked at what I had sketched, at my slow progress, and wanted to throw my pencil and efforts out the window. But those words YOU left on my blog, taking time from YOUR own work, to encourage me, offer a glimmer of progress, a bit of improvement, a technique I should try .. well, for me ... THOSE very words kept me going when little else could have.
And so, if there is anything I have learned in this long life ... it's to pass it forward -- to pass it along ... and doing so is the only way I know to repay the countless generous folks for the encouragement they offered to me.
And so I will take the time to comment, blog, post ... so that someone else, who like me, is struggling, despairing, frustrated, or needing a friend .. well, then, by commenting and encouraging them, I feel I've helped repay those who took their time with me. It's my way of saying THANK YOU ...
And as if to confirm this, or in some cases when the Universe thinks one needs a good laugh, a woman left a message on my work phone this morning, asking me to help ENCOURAGE her son to take some of my classes so he too could continue on his horticultural journey ...
And while I believe in serendipity - this phone call coming after these thoughts were running in my mind seemed like such a confirmation .. and so, I just thought I'd pass them along -- to encourage you too.
Bananas - Revisited
Sketched 1/27/07As I searched for a 'sketch' subject this weekend, I spotted some bananas my husband picked up for the grandchildren's visit. I hadn't sketched fruit in a while and thought I'd give the bananas another go.
I then remembered that I had sketched bananas before, so I searched my blog to find that I had done so almost a year ago.
These were sketched in February 2006.
I then compared these to the ones I sketched and watercolored this weekend ... and surprised myself with the differences in the values, light, lines.
Monday, January 29, 2007
Sage Candle
Another busy day yesterday. Spent a good portion of it working on values again and cleaning some of the hudreds of family photos off my computer and putting them on DVDs. My computer at home has slowed down to a crawl, so I thought I'd try to remove items from its memory in hopes of the speed and efficiency increasing.
We also had the grands last night for a visit and dinner ... and hence, a quick pen and watercolor done in poor light waiting for the computer to write yet one more DVD!
I am so missing sufficient time to devote to my art study! This SHOULD be the last insane work week for a while! (Says she with fingers crossed!)
We also had the grands last night for a visit and dinner ... and hence, a quick pen and watercolor done in poor light waiting for the computer to write yet one more DVD!
I am so missing sufficient time to devote to my art study! This SHOULD be the last insane work week for a while! (Says she with fingers crossed!)
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Flat Iron
Rebecca's B&B is filled with all sorts of wonderful knicks knacks. Just before I left for home, I had a few minutes to sketch and was wandering around her rooms looking for an inspired 'sketch object.'
She bend down to the fireplace, and handed me this heavy flat iron.
"Sketch this," she told me, "It's the iron I really used when I was a teen." She went on to explain how she'd heat the iron by the fire (where it resides now), swipe the bottom with a cloth to remove the dust, and then proceed to iron her husband's starched white shirts.
Rebecca has always wanted to keep a journal and started one a while back for her husband before his alzheimers worsened to the point of having to place him in a nursing home. She's watched me for over a year sit at her kitchen table and sketch her beloved odds and ends, and always remarks that she's like to learn how to draw and keep a journal for herself, but she simply doesn't have enough time.
She doesn't have a computer or Internet connections, and yet she knows I blog and have written about her. I think it tickles her to think someone out 'there' is also enjoying some of the flowers she grows or her momentos.
I'm thinking, even though some of my sketches are rather poor, that she might like a collection of these for her children and grands, journal-fashion, as momentos of the flowers and things she loves, and a representation of kind and generous woman she is.
I'll give this some thought.
She bend down to the fireplace, and handed me this heavy flat iron.
"Sketch this," she told me, "It's the iron I really used when I was a teen." She went on to explain how she'd heat the iron by the fire (where it resides now), swipe the bottom with a cloth to remove the dust, and then proceed to iron her husband's starched white shirts.
Rebecca has always wanted to keep a journal and started one a while back for her husband before his alzheimers worsened to the point of having to place him in a nursing home. She's watched me for over a year sit at her kitchen table and sketch her beloved odds and ends, and always remarks that she's like to learn how to draw and keep a journal for herself, but she simply doesn't have enough time.
She doesn't have a computer or Internet connections, and yet she knows I blog and have written about her. I think it tickles her to think someone out 'there' is also enjoying some of the flowers she grows or her momentos.
I'm thinking, even though some of my sketches are rather poor, that she might like a collection of these for her children and grands, journal-fashion, as momentos of the flowers and things she loves, and a representation of kind and generous woman she is.
I'll give this some thought.
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Basil
I know -- I know -- it's horribly kerwonity -- but it was a quick sketch done on a busy night ...!!!
This is the 6-cell of basil plants Rebecca brought home back in NOVEMBER when we did the container gardening class ..... mine have all died! SIGH Hers have benefitted from the best little grow-light around ... right on her kitchen window ...
We enjoy bits of this herb with our breakfast eggs...
This is the 6-cell of basil plants Rebecca brought home back in NOVEMBER when we did the container gardening class ..... mine have all died! SIGH Hers have benefitted from the best little grow-light around ... right on her kitchen window ...
We enjoy bits of this herb with our breakfast eggs...
Friday, January 26, 2007
Tulip Value Application
I've been paying more attention to values lately and trying to understand how important contrasts are in a painting. I've struggled (and still am) with dark values, for some reason! I remember for one of the EDM challenges, I did a sketch of a glass of water, moaning all the while the difficult time I had with the dark valued background. LOL
While I have so loved the various hues in the rose practice over the last day, the botanist in me was struggling mightily to find a way to create a flower painting using actual colors of the flower and yet include a good range of values -- including DARKS!
This simple tulip took me several hours to do -- using the techniques and methods I've been learning and adding many glazes to enrich the colors.
I mixed my paints (the dabs at the top of the page) in order to 'test' them for value range before adding them to the tulip. It took quite a while to get a deep enough red that I was happy with.
After styding the tulip this morning, there is still a predominance of mid-values -- I think I could have used this time instead of DARKS, more LIGHTS!! LOL
But it's closer to what I was seeing, and the rest I got last night was good, indeed!
While I have so loved the various hues in the rose practice over the last day, the botanist in me was struggling mightily to find a way to create a flower painting using actual colors of the flower and yet include a good range of values -- including DARKS!
This simple tulip took me several hours to do -- using the techniques and methods I've been learning and adding many glazes to enrich the colors.
I mixed my paints (the dabs at the top of the page) in order to 'test' them for value range before adding them to the tulip. It took quite a while to get a deep enough red that I was happy with.
After styding the tulip this morning, there is still a predominance of mid-values -- I think I could have used this time instead of DARKS, more LIGHTS!! LOL
But it's closer to what I was seeing, and the rest I got last night was good, indeed!
Thursday, January 25, 2007
TIME: The ENEMY
After a week traveling across the state, a return to a 14 hour day, a return to an hour of aerobics after a two-week sitting stint, phone calls, students, distractions at the B&B, dinner after 8:30 PM, my watercolor practice was so pitiful and interrupted, that I finally succombed to my constant enemy -- TIME. By 9:30 I was bleary-eyed, frustrated and irritable -- and called it quits for the night.
I left the kitchen table (site of the only high-wattage lighting), got into PJs, slid under a warm, electric blanket, and sans contact lenses, sketched my enemy.
I'm going to have to find a way to practice newly acquired 'watercolor aha moments' so I don't lose momentum (or memory!! LOL) in a way that also permits all the intense obligations of this away from home worklife. I didn't find it yesterday.
I'm hoping for a glimmer of an idea today.
I left the kitchen table (site of the only high-wattage lighting), got into PJs, slid under a warm, electric blanket, and sans contact lenses, sketched my enemy.
I'm going to have to find a way to practice newly acquired 'watercolor aha moments' so I don't lose momentum (or memory!! LOL) in a way that also permits all the intense obligations of this away from home worklife. I didn't find it yesterday.
I'm hoping for a glimmer of an idea today.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
EDM 103 Exercise Equipment
Although I often use weights for some of my aerobic exercises and certainly the machines I use several times a week contain varying weights, I rely more on my walking shoes for my daily exercise -- I hope to get a chance to sketch those this week.
Rose - Application from Theory
Continuing with my practice ... I've tried to take some of my recent attempts at looseness and blending to a more detailed rose (sketch practice). Though I find the blue a bit harsh, and will be working to find a similiar value in a different hue, I sort of like this application of theory.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Tree Practice
Using a general 'non-specific tree type' outline, this is continued practice of watercolor methods. I'm afraid I added too much dark paint in too similiar areas, but the practice was really very helpful. I find thinking in negative shapes to be a most difficult method used in watercolor. I have to work my mind around what I am SEEING to imagine what I'm NOT seeing.
I'll be practicing MORE of these to be sure!
I'll be practicing MORE of these to be sure!
Roses - My Favorite
After dozens (oh yes, dozens!) of roses, I think this is my favorite. I just love the bit of light on the petals and the way the colors blend ....
Roses - Again
A generous, kind friend is helping me with my watercolor techniques and methods, and I'm devoting much of my time to learning these well.
I've been interested for a long time, too, to learn how to 'loosen up' my watercolors, and this practice is moving me in that direction as well. Having fresh eyes and experience reviewing my methods and attempts will help me to eliminate bad habits before they've become too ingrained. You cannot imagine my gratitude for this gift. I hope to show my appreciation for this effort and time by devoting much, much time to practice and learning -- well.
Here are some simple roses, done with a limited pallete. They use a graded wash -- probably something I should have been practicing when I started watercolor 15 months ago -- but somehow didn't find or take the time to do OR learn well enough.
Funny thing ... I have been truly drooling over these kinds of paintings for lo, 15 months!! and they look so so simple ... and in my misconception of that simplicity, thought I could just randomly splash some paint on paper and then add a bit more and achieve that wonderful variation/blend that says "loose" to me. HA! What did I think I knew?? LOL
What I am learning now, is that often the most simple of watercolor paintings are often from the most experienced and learned hands, AFTER many months and years of that darn "P" word -- PRACTICE! Oh yes -- another "P" word -- PATIENCE!
And my admiration for these wise, talented, dedicated souls who pull this off painting after painting, time after time -- is even more amplified.
All from a simple rose and the generosity of a friend.
I've been interested for a long time, too, to learn how to 'loosen up' my watercolors, and this practice is moving me in that direction as well. Having fresh eyes and experience reviewing my methods and attempts will help me to eliminate bad habits before they've become too ingrained. You cannot imagine my gratitude for this gift. I hope to show my appreciation for this effort and time by devoting much, much time to practice and learning -- well.
Here are some simple roses, done with a limited pallete. They use a graded wash -- probably something I should have been practicing when I started watercolor 15 months ago -- but somehow didn't find or take the time to do OR learn well enough.
Funny thing ... I have been truly drooling over these kinds of paintings for lo, 15 months!! and they look so so simple ... and in my misconception of that simplicity, thought I could just randomly splash some paint on paper and then add a bit more and achieve that wonderful variation/blend that says "loose" to me. HA! What did I think I knew?? LOL
What I am learning now, is that often the most simple of watercolor paintings are often from the most experienced and learned hands, AFTER many months and years of that darn "P" word -- PRACTICE! Oh yes -- another "P" word -- PATIENCE!
And my admiration for these wise, talented, dedicated souls who pull this off painting after painting, time after time -- is even more amplified.
All from a simple rose and the generosity of a friend.
Monday, January 22, 2007
EDM 102 Power Plug
We carried this European Adaptor Plug to Sicily with us to help convert our 110 cord plug into a 220 socket -- it worked so well!
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Rose
Though lacking in depth, I really liked the color blend so I thought I'd post it nonetheless. I'm still practicing my roses! and find that sketching various ones keeps me on my toes.
I'm going to give this rose a makeover later today to see if I can get it closer to reality.
I'm going to give this rose a makeover later today to see if I can get it closer to reality.
Table Fern
I'm finally finished with my two conferences and half of the class I teach on Saturdays -- YAHOO!! Now to relax and catch up with artwork (and of course, chores!!) LOL
With little time between conference sessions, and interactive activities for the sessions, sketching time was at a premium.
I managed to sketch this table fern just before the sessions began.
With little time between conference sessions, and interactive activities for the sessions, sketching time was at a premium.
I managed to sketch this table fern just before the sessions began.
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