One for the Sketchbook

My Boy Reading the Star Wars Encyclopedia

Hi everyone,

I don't have a heck of a lot to share with you this week. I decided to take a week off of painting and do some much needed yard work and gardening, and the weather was nice, too, so I took advantage of that to get my quota of Vitamin D. But, I did do this little sketch of Jacob last night that I thought I'd share. It's been a while since I posted any sketches since I've been painting pretty much full time. 

It's been really nice to take a break, actually. I feel creatively re-charged, and I feel like painting now instead of sitting in front of the easel every morning with that feeling of dread, wondering when the creative juices that make painting fun, if not easy, are going to start flowing. It's been a while since it hasn't just felt like work. Anyways, back to the easel on Monday. I have a commission of a particularly complicated but beautiful tree I need to finish. I'll post pictures when it's done.

Cheers!

Feeding the Pigeons at St. Stephen's Green

I finally finished another travel journal page. They might be coming a little slower these days. I'm super busy with a lot of other things, but I'm determined:) This was just a sweet scene that I captured when I found the park. It was such a beautiful place, a veritable oasis in the middle of a bustling city. There weren't that many people, and the ones that were there were really just enjoying the day. I wish I could go back and sit by the water.

Watching Go Diego Go

Just a little something from this morning:) My daughter stays home from pre-school on Mondays, and she loves Dora and Diego...an opportunity to get her to sit still. and I love this pose...especially the feet:)

I decided to overcome my fear of drawing in ink, and grabbed a ballpoint for this one. ( A blotchy ballpoint at that!)  Consequently, neither image looks anything like her. She was quite unhappy with her face in the first one (she loves to pose, but she's quite the critic) so i tried another...it doesn't look much like her either...she wrinkled her nose at it, and didn't say a word. Attitude! LOL!!  It does look a lot like me, though...I guess a few little glitches shows up the family resemblance.

I almost have another travel sketch ready, and I'm posting a bunch of ACEO's that I've been really busy with the last few days, too. They'll be active on ebay tonight...

Cheers, all!

Sick Day

Sick Day--for Sketchbook Project

My poor little munchkin is home sick today. She's so miserable, with a headache and fever. I hate it when their sick because I hate to see them suffering. But it gives me an opportunity to draw a stationary child which doesn't happen very often. Here, she's watching Night at the Museum 2, and barely cracking a smile at the funny parts...awwww....

The Computer Whiz

The Computer Whiz-for Sketchbook Project

My little angel, drawn from life the other day. She's playing a TreehouseTV game. It has always amazed me that they can pick up the laptop mousepad and all of it's functions so quickly! They're little sponges:)

Fishing for leeches

Fishing for Leeches -- Sketchbook Project

This is from a photo of my kids at the lake this summer. My husband has a band, and he was hired to play for a wedding near Tatlayoko Lake, at a ranch way out in the middle of the wilderness...Bracewell's Lodge. We were given this rustic cabin on a leech abundant lake to stay in...no electricity or running water, with mice running over us in the middle of the night...but it was still a blast. The kids had so much fun, and instead of being grossed out by leeches, they were fascinated by them...so much so that they were obsessed with catching them, which is what they were doing in this picture. 

Cup of Tea?

Cup of Tea?  for the sketchbook project

I found an old family photo album the other day while digging around in a box for an art book. This is a picture of ME, age six, and my dog, Max. He was so funny...every time my parents would aim the camera, he would race to be in the picture, and pose perfectly.

These Boots are Made for Walking

These Boots...for sketchbook project

My little girls' boots. I want some! I'll be sad when she grows out of them. They are so cute, and just my style...lol! I sat these in front of me on the coffee table last night and drew them while I watched t.v. Needless to say, I don't remember what I was watching, or what happened.

The Boy--My Little Couch Potato

My Little Couch Potato -- for the Sketchbook Project

Here's Jacob...I know...my kids again, but there's a reason I picked Boys and Girls for my Sketchbook Project title...I have one of each, so I figured there would be lots of inspiration to "draw" from:) 

My son is not the typical 7 year old. He loves math, won't sign out anything but science and craft books from the library, and he loves reality T.V. No cartoons for him, except the movie kind. Ever since he was about 3, his favorite shows have been the extreme sports channel, America's Funniest Home Videos, and the National Geographic Channel. Today he was watching Austin Stevens Adventures in the Great Bear Rain Forest...where we live. We see grizzlies all the time. Before the flood, there were days where we were almost late for the bus in the morning, because we had to wait for the bear to leave before we could.

My Little Artist

                                                     My Little Artist -- Sketchbook Project

My little darling Rhiannon, from life this morning after breakfast. As soon as she sees me sketching she jumps up to get her crafty stuff. She has to be creative if I am...I love it:) Except she cut a piece of construction paper into at least a million tiny little pieces today, which I had to clean off the floor...oh well, it's worth watching her enthusiasm, and also, it's a way to get her to sit in one place for a while, if not totally still.

Dora's Dinosaur Rescue

Dora's Dinosaur Rescue for Sketchbook Project

I decided to try to have a little fun with a still life today. I'm trying to read "The Artist's Way" right now, because, aside from the sketchbook thing, I'm feeling a little creatively blocked. I don't really know which direction to take my art, now that the show season is over, and I've done this big, serious, exhausting commission. I feel like I tend to take myself and my art a little too seriously anyways. I probably just need to marinate for a while, but I still feel driven to paint, I just don't know what or how...At any rate, the Artist's Way talks about nourishing your Inner Child...so I brought out the toys:) And since the theme for this sketchbook is Girls and Boys, I grabbed some girl toys and some boy toys. This tense standoff is what ensued, lol!

Spent!

New sketch for Sketchbook Project and Illustration Friday "Spent"

Another sketch of my beautiful daughter, sleeping. I got the saying off of http://elegantwordart.blogspot.com.

Thank You!

I don't have a lot to say tonight. I'm pretty "spent", myself...:) Woke up too early, fighting the flu...yuck...but I'll try to get something done for tomorrow. I have a lot of pages in this sketchbook to go before January!

What Are Little Boys Made Of?

So...my last post was the first part of the poem...What Are Little Girls Made Of, so it only made sense to do the second half next. I had fun planning this one. I couldn't find anything to paint from life that seemed creative enough, so I gathered photographic references of critters, and a pic of my beautiful boy...I like the result. Black ballpoint with colored pencil accents. I can't decide whether to put more color in, or leave it as is. What do you all think?
PS: this looks way better big, so make sure to click:)

What Are Little Girls Made Of?

What Are Little Girls Made Of?

This poem was going through my head last night while I was thinking about what to sketch for my Sketchbook Project Moley...it's not so easy to find things around the house to represent girls and boys. I need to exercise my imagination a bit more.

Anyways, this is the result, all drawn from life in colored ballpoint. 

A Couple of Hardbodies

A Couple of Hardbodies -- Sketchbook Project

Please click on this one -- it looks way better big!

I know that all I've been showing you all lately is sketches, but I am painting, really. I sketch at night, and paint during the day, trying to get this commission done so I can finally go home!

I stayed up until 3am last night working on this one...I am addicted to sketching now! Now I'm tired, and not looking forward to painting at all...oh well.

Anyways, I was wracking my brain, trying to come up with an idea for my "boys and girls" theme, while browsing my europe photos, and I found this one, of David. The reference photo is of the bronze replica at Piazza Michelangelo. I thought, why not do a sculpture of a man and one of a woman, hence...this sketch. I've never seen Victory, but would have loved to have made it to the Louvre. I got the reference photo from Google...Enjoy!

These Old Shoes

These Old Shoes--Sketchbook Project

Some more shoes....they're fun to draw. Blank ballpoint with some blue details. They took about three hours. Funny, I have patience to work on a sketchbook picture that long, but a big painting on canvas? Not so much, lol! I suppose there's always a feeling that the canvases are serious, too dear. No room for error. Do we get too attached? Afraid to make mistakes? I don't find much joy in painting lately, but this sketchbook project is helping me find joy in art again. 

View from the Gazebo

View from the Gazebo-Coast Mountain Lodge

I'm feeling a bit homesick today, missing my friends and family. My best friend is getting married today, too, and I'm missing it, because I'm still stuck here. Congratulations, Jen! I love you!

This is a sketch I did while I was still in Bella Coola, before the flood. I bet it doesn't look like this anymore...sigh.  It's the view from the gazebo at work. It was a beautiful sunny day, and I went for a jog to have a coffee there. I decided to sit and sketch it on a piece of printer paper. I cut it and glued it into my moley, to cover up a godawful sketch I did of my daughter this morning. 

It was going beautifully, in pencil, the likeness was great, and I spent about an hour on it, and then I decided it needed some color and the lines needed to be darker. I tried to ink and color it, and DISASTER! It was ruined, completely...sorry Rhiannon...it was cute):

This Girl's Shoes

Sketchbook Project- This Girl's Shoes

A new sketch for the Sketchbook Project.  This one was fun! I was inspired by Andrea Joseph and her wonderful shoes in ballpoint. I started out in black ballpoint, and then thought "they're so colorful, I can't leave that out", so I did the color accents in colored pencil.

These shoes make me smile, and they also make me about 6 feet tall. My husband hates when I wear them because he's only 5'9. He'll look up at me, make a face and sigh....:)

This Girl's Lunch

Another sketch for the Sketchbook Project

Darn! I wish their was a better way to get a good scan of a pencil sketch. There's so much subtlety that's lost in this one. I was really quite proud of it, but you can't see a lot of the fine detail in the scan. I guess I'm just going to have to sketch in pen! 

Jacob for the Boys and Girls Sketcbook Project

Jacob Drawing

This is a sketch that I drew from life of my son, Jacob, while he was drawing. It looks much better the original size.  I had intended to go into a lot more detail, and there is a bit more in the original that the scan didn't pick up. But, I decided to stop. I liked the simplicity and the flow of the lines, and the look of concentration on his face. Oops, I forgot to show the tip of his tongue sticking out.  That's what he usually does when he's concentrating:)