I walk a tightrope...

I walk a tight rope (click to enlarge)

I have a few blogs that I read on a regular basis, one being Ornamental. Yesterday Nina made a statement that really spoke to me. The more I thought I about what she wrote, the more I wanted to illustrate it. Nina was expressing anger about a nasty comment left on her blog by a malcontent reader, but this statement defines, to me, a life well lived.

(Currently I am obsessed with my Wacom tablet, so I chose to draw something)

digital improvements

digital I

digital II

I drew and posted 'digital I' awhile back and then forgot about it. Last night I came across it and after looking at it with fresh eyes, I realized it was rather anemic and blah. So I added a layer and then brought in a watercolor background. I think this is a vast improvement!

Lesson learned- sometimes it helps to walk away from artwork- put it aside for a time- and then go back to look at it with fresh eyes. Had I done that back when I first created this I think I would of seen the anemic blahness of it. Ah well...

wacom tables doodles

I am loving my new Wacom drawing tablet! To learn the feel of the stylus I am doing a lot of digital doodling. (my English teacher would do so proud at my onomatopoeia).

A mouse is cool because when you get to the end of your table, you just pick up the mouse and move back where you started and you are on your merry way. A stylus and tablet is like drawing/painting on a piece of paper. The size of the tablet corresponds with the size of the screen. THAT takes some getting used to. So doodling is the best way for me to 'get it'.

booty call - this doodle reminded me a of big rear end- so I kept going...

I think everyone doodles apples at some point.

wacom drawing # 2 - poppies

poppies, 5 x 7, pastel on paper (digital)

I am getting the 'feel' if the tablet a little better. It's very different than a mouse. With a mouse when you reach the end of a page, you just life up the mouse and put it down and continue. Not so with a tablet- the area of the tablet corresponds with the area on the screen- so you have to draw to that area- just like on a piece of paper- so it's easier to do in that it's much like drawing/painting, but it's harder as I have been using a mouse for years and it's hard to learn a new way.