General woodless pencils

A back view of chair I drawn so many times. Nice to have a different view of it and the inevitable cat.

I like the woodless pencils because I can use the side of the sharpened tip as a flat shader. I got that texture on the back by stroking on a masonite board.

It's not nearly as smooth as it seems.

2B and HB on 50# sketch paper.

into a blues phase

Not music or mood, but the cool side of the palette.

Pencil sketch of cat, rolling on acrylic layers, then Sharpie poster paint pen to pick out the line. There were several weeks from sketch to further development. I'm liking that method a lot.

In the journal

Nourish yourself

Happy Thanksgiving! May you have good food along with some creative-art nourishment.

This started with a newspaper image as a base. Over time I added w/c, the Nourish card from a Massachusetts restaurant, acrylic, stamping, charcoal, and a coat of acrylic medium for shine.

The owl calls for wisdom in making nourishing choices. Underneath is a map and a sailing ship for going forward to new adventures.

My art journaling goal is to play until the page stops calling me back.

Conte pastel sticks

I made an acrylic background, then didn't know what to put on it.

I finally came up with a stack of Conte pastel boulders.

In the journal

the neon edge

This started as just a quick sketch of the cat. But over time I kept adding, just to play with color.

I've reached the "it glows" stage, so I'm done.

Staedtler Nexus pen, w/c, acrylic, in the journal.

acrylic layering

I made a background with layers and scrapings, then randomly drew the mannikin in.

Just to practice acrylic layers.

Copic marker drawing, in the journal.

playing with profiles

Imagining how features go together, I branched off into dishfaced and beaky ones. I'm fascinated by how many ways features can go together.

Forehead and chin slope are so significant in adding interest to a character.

Pencil on random paper, then glued it into the journal.

Gimp leather

I drew the shoe, then after I painted on the backside of the page, the ripples appeared.

I decided to post the sketch anyway, and tried using a filler background color to reduce the look of the wrinkling. Instead I got a kind of shiny leather effect! Have no clue how, but I like it.

I really need to learn more about Gimp!

Graphite in the journal.

Cretacolor chunky charcoal

This is from a set labeled charcoal, but to me they're colored chalks. I like the dull colors, golds, browns, sage greens. Very dusty, but fun to play with.

This is the part that would fit on the scanner, from the 12x18 original.

On sketch paper.

DVD stop action

I was watching a documentary collection and stopped the action to draw this man. Just to draw.

He was in "The Laughing Club of India." Orange added later, because I'm currently hooked on orange, and it seems like such an Indian-appropriate color.

Pitt brush pen and w/c in the journal.

This is my 1000th post! I wasn't counting, but Blogger was.

faces I have to draw

The eyebrows and cheeks on this man sent me right to the drawing paper. He might not recognize himself, but I enjoyed sculpting his face in two dimensions.

Wolff carbon pencil in the journal, w/c added.

ouch

Just looking at this man's neck and back made mine hurt. I'm sure his do.

A reminder to keep taking calcium and doing yoga!

Pen and w/c in the journal.

Notice what you notice

In mindfulness practice, this title phrase means to really focus on what you might have otherwise dismissed. Then you can take action, or realize the significance of the noticed thing (without action needed), or you can integrate the heightened awareness into your broader knowledge.

That was the thinking that arose after I spilled sap green paint on the page.

Then I added with some collage, w/c crayons, Sharpie paint marker, and gel medium. In the journal.

Click image to see the huge view.

Wolff carbon pencil

Blacker than graphite, and not shiny, but not as dusty as charcoal. This was a 4B.

They don't come in as many grades as graphite, but not necessary. In the journal.

long conversation

This woman stood still and chatted so long, I could capture her and put in the shirt colors, too!

Pants painted later :-)

Fountain pen and w/c in the Reflexion sketchbook.

listening to Malcolm Gladwell

I've not posted a left hand for awhile, but I'm still doing them. I do them fast--one like this in about 6 minutes--and they *are* getting better.

My artistic goal is to be able to quickly sketch full scenes with multiple people--to catch a moment in time and have it be recognizable.

I'm about halfway into my 10,000 hours of practice (see Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers ) since I started drawing in 2004. I've learned so much!

The best thing is how much I enjoy drawing every day. Success of a different sort.

4B pencil on Strathmore drawing paper

doing the side stroke

With a 4B Derwent watersoluble pencil, making marks. It's not quite waxy, not quite like regular graphite. More drag than I usually like.

The feel of the medium's stroke--it's the literal feeling of the drawing, which contributes to satisfaction in the process.

On Strathmore drawing paper.

blue square

Playing with acrylics.

In the previous lined journal.

eraser carving

I used stamps on this one. A fish one that I carved from an eraser, and a sun face--down in the bottom right.

Layering acrylics and w/c crayons, in the journal.

pre-painted pages

Roz Stendahl, Minnesota artist, has beautiful sketch journals in which she pre-paints pages throughout a volume. Then when she gets to that page, she has to make it work with the drawing she's doing.

Challenging and fun. I have always pre-painted, but put too much on the page so that it becomes a full painted background.

This time I restrained myself to 3 strokes of orange. Then, yesterday, I happened to be waiting in the car, and drew this tree in the parking lot. Green added later.

Fountain pen with Noodler's ink, in the (new volume, unlined) journal.

for Halloween leftovers

Daubing and filling pages with color in the previous lined journal. I wasn't going to bother posting it, but then I saw the green face.

Eyes, the long nose, and hints of ears--a freakish foxish animal is emerging. Right out of the pumpkin patch and autumn leaves.

In the previous lined journal.