6th drawing of same face

female face #6

5" x 8.5"

charcoal on sketch paper

Practice makes better...this is the 6th attempt at this particular face. I am getting closer to the reference. In this one, the eyes are almost where they need to be- a little too far apart. But the face below the eyes is too long, once again.

I read something last night that I'll try on my next go-round. It's about drawing the nose. This little nugget of info comes from the Drawing Magazine, Summer 2011 Portrait issue, in an article where Susan Lyon gives advice on drawing the face: "When you're measuring the length of a nose, don't only measure to the bottom of the nose- that will lead to the nose being too long. Measure against the entire length of the head and other landmarks as well." That's exactly what I was doing- just measuring to the bottom of the nose. Must be a common mistake. I look forward to trying again and applying her advice.

If you want to check your own drawings- scan them along with the reference, then layer them in photo shop, placing the reference above your drawing on separate layers. Then reduce the opacity on the reference layer and then you can compare them. It's a great way to see where you got it correct and where a drawing may be off.

The whole point in learning to accurately copy a picture is that once I master it, I can then begin to break the rules. But first I must learn the rules! Copying is, in my opinion, the best way to learn how to draw. There is no 'magic' to drawing, it's a learned skill, just like riding a bike or cooking.

product comparison

Product comparison:

Triple Thick

Mod Podge Dimensional Magic

3D Crystal Laquer by Sakura

Ranger's Glossy Accents

I have four different 'shiny glaze' products for adding dimension and shine to mixed media, polymer clay, paper...what have you. The stuff is great for filling bottle caps, sealing paper to scrabble tiles, making polymer clay shine...all kinds of neat ideas. I decided to see if they appear different. I've used them all, just not at the same time. So I put a blob (technical term) of each on a white piece of paper and let them all dry overnight. And the verdict is....(drum roll).......they all appear to be exactly the same.

I kinda thought that would happen, but I wanted to see for myself.

The education of an artist is the result of his or her experiences of drawing...

pewter creamer,

pencil and gouache

How does one learn to draw? By drawing...sounds so simple.

It's not the paper or the pencil or the teacher or the latest workshop that creates a drawing. It's the person who is drawing. Yet how many times have I run out to buy *that* particular pencil and *that* type of paper in hopes of creating my masterpiece? And lets not talk about books on drawing...they multiply like rabbits before my very eyes.

It's kind of like saying Tiger Woods is such a good golfer because of the clubs he uses. If I were to use his brand of clubs, then surely, I would be as good a golfer as Tiger...right? Not so much. Yet faithfully, I clip my Michael's coupon and buy yet another type/brand/shade of pencil to help me draw better. Thank goodness it's only pencils and not golf clubs that I keep buying! (And the act of drawing for me, is just like a game of golf in that I am always trying to improve my own performance.)

The education of an artist is the result of his or her experiences of drawing. Drawing is self taught. Yes, we are taught theory on light, value, perspective and such, but in the end, it's actual drawing that teaches us to draw. Much like riding a bike. We can tell our kids all about riding a bike. How to get on the seat, peddle the peddles, balance, push off and go forward...but it's the actual riding of a bike that teaches us to ride the bike. Learning to ride a bike is self taught too. Children learn to walk and talk by experience, not by taking a workshop entitled "Walking & Talking - you too can do it!"

Learning anything is an experiential process.

Why do I so often forget this fundamental idea?

I want to have amazing drawing skills like this. Which brings me to another saying I say a lot to myself... "In order to become a good artist, I have to be willing to be a bad artist." Now, if you will excuse me, I am off to do some drawing!

experimenting with brush and ink

I've hit the creative wall, or maybe I should say the anti-creative wall. When I sit down to work, it all seems stale. I need to branch out, try some new techniques, use new tools. So I am trying to work out a new possible series of collages that involve ink silhouettes. I am painting birds and flowers with brush and ink. Not so easy. I am now trying to figure out by trial and error which is the best brush to use for ink painting. And paper. Most bleed. I'll try Bristol board next, I think that will be a good choice.

If anyone reading this has any tips or ideas, I am all ears! And you can see my desk- it is always a mess, just like this. The table is 5' long and 2.5' deep and I have a work are of about 15" x 12". How does this happen??

back to basics

I still remember that thrill in 2001 when I first discovered, and then fell in love with, rubber stamping...a neighbor was having a Stampin' Up party and she invited me. I had no idea about rubber stamps or stamping or what to expect, but hey, I am always up for a get together with my neighbors- so I figured what the heck, and went...little did I understand what was happening!


...I was instantly hooked. I felt like had found my 'place' in the craft world when I discovered rubber stamping. At that same time, I also found my very first Somerset Magazine- it was the Volume II Gallery magazine...I was standing in line at AC Moore and the magazine rack caught my eye...I wandered over and my eyes roamed around and fell upon the beautiful earth colors of the Gallery Cover...I picked it up and I felt like I was coming home. The art was so beautiful! I connected with it in a very deep way.


Now some of you might be rolling your eyes and thinking, "Come on already...we are talking about rubber stamps and a craft magazine", but there are others out there who will understand what I am saying. I felt like I had found kindred souls - others who were just like me. The connection was immediate and strong and has remained so ever since.


Over the course of 8 years since that Gallery issue and my first Stampin' Up party, my art evolved...from stamping I went into altered art. That evolved into collage. That awoke in me my old passion for water color painting and color pencil. When my last child moved out, I took over her room and converted it into my studio. A place I had wanted my entire life. It was a heady experience. I was now a 'real' artist! Never mind that I had a career as a package designer for the pharmaceutical industry- THIS was art to me...


Fast forward to now...I wanted to make a card for a wedding shower. I looked through my collection of hand made cards but none were for a wedding shower...so I went about making a card, the first in over 3 years. I had forgotten how much I love rubber stamping, how much I loved making greeting cards!

I have fallen in love with rubber stamping all over again!

I am once again perusing stamp stores for that perfect stamp...only today it's on the Internet, as most of the brick and mortar stores are gone. And a very serendipitous thing happened - I attended the wedding shower yesterday and as fate would have it, I sat at a table with a woman who is a Stampin' Up demonstrator! She is having a Christmas demo get together at her house and of course I'll be attending...

In some ways I feel like I have come full circle. Back to the beginning...back to basics. Back to rubber stamping!

contour drawings at the beach

While sitting on the beach at the waters edge on my vacation, I drew what or who was in front of me - doing contour drawings pages of them - very fast and with out thought- just capture the contour. No more than 3 minutes on each sketch.

I was pleased at the exercise- it forced me to not OVER THINK a drawing- which I so often do. And the people move- so I had to draw very quickly to capture the pose before they moved or walked away.

I am interested in adding more people into my watercolor paintings. I must of taken 100 pictures of people on the beach (that I do not know!)for reference photos. If you look, you will see one of my foot- it was in front of me, so I drew it. :)

the eagle has landed (almost)

eagle, 8" x 10", charcoal

I drew this drawing some time ago. I wanted the feathers to look like feathers- that was my goal. The eagle was from a photo. The branch I made up...that's the fun part- making stuff up!

Soon's Farm watercolor painting

Last week my husband and I went to a local farm, Soons Orchards. They have wonderful produce- even in the winter time. While there I took a few pictures of some of the produce in the big bins- here is a resulting watercolor from one of the pictures. I've included the steps from beginning to finished painting.

Soons Onions, 4" x 6", watercolor

(click to see larger image)

almost finished! just need to paint the large bags of onions.

lay down of initial washes and frisket

This is my sketch I transferred onto the watercolor paper.

Alassio, Italy ~ watercolor

I finished this watercolor over the weekend. It is from a photo my girlfriend sent to me on her cell phone while she was traveling in Italy last year.

I want to go to Italy!!

I thought it would be interesting to post the painting in stages- starting with the finished painting and working backwards to the sketch.

finished watercolor "Alassio", 8" x 10"

stage 3

stage 2

stage 1

sketch that I transferred onto watercolor paper

still playing with photoshop

Here is a very cool brush effect. Brushes are handy photoshop tools. Almost anything can be made into a brush. Once something is made into a brush, it's there for you to use over and over again. There are thousands of free brushes all over the Internet for free download. The actual brush is the filmstrip. I then added my art of four different cupcakes I created.

After I added the images, I then desaturated the image to create the black and white negative effect. Warning- this is addictive!

playing with photoshop

original watercolor

pastel filter applied

poster edges filter applied

cutout filter applied

How cool is this?

Another cupcake

Cupcake II, 2.5" x 3.5"

acrylic on watercolor paper

Wednesday night I was flipping back and forth from Top Chef and the Food Network. (Love both!). On the Food network was a cook-off and the winner of the cake round was a 'classic chocolate cake'. T.G.I. Friday's adopted her winning recipe into cupcakes and is now offering them as a dessert choice in their restaurants.

Always up for a good cupcake, my husband and I had dinner at our local TGIF to try the cupcakes. They were pretty good- a tiny bit dry. Two came on the plate, so we took one home. Later that night I zapped it in the microwave for maybe 9 seconds- what a difference!! YUMMY!
Who doesn't love cupcakes?

Cupcakes

I love cupcakes! They remind me of childhood, parties and love. They are just fun!

My sister and I are making a basket full of cupcake goodies as a donation for a fundraiser for a private school in Virginia called the PHILLIPS School. The basket will have all things cupcake - baking pans, cookbook on cupcakes, decorating tools, all the fun things of cupcake land...yumm...

I think it is a great idea as a donation! My sister always has these great ideas- she is the idea person of my family. She just has a knack for generating great ideas!

The picture above will be used to make cupcake greeting cards. They will have envelopes and will be tied up with a frilly bow. I painted this with acrylics. I am also making one (or two if I have time), small cupcake mixed media pieces that will go on the basket. I’ll post it (those) when finished. I am making them in the style of Lisa Kaus. I love her funky chunky artwork! I thought it would be fun to make the cupcake art in her style.

Fibonacci numbers

I am fascinated by the Fibonacci numbers. They are not random and they are represented in all kinds of seemingly non-related ways, such as pine cones, suspension bridges and spider webs, to name a few. I made this collage to represent the first few numbers in the never ending sequence of these amazing numbers.

Many plants show the Fibonacci numbers in the arrangement of the leaves around the stem. Some pine cones and fir cones also show the numbers, as do daisies and sunflowers. Sunflowers can contain the number 89, or even 144. Many other plants, such as succulents, also show the numbers. Some coniferous trees show these numbers in the bumps on their trunks. And palm trees show the numbers in the rings on their trunks.

Math meets science meets art meets agriculture meets architecture. They are all related by Fibonacci numbers! How cool is that?