Another Upside Down Drawing

Wrinkled Woman, Ink in Moleskin, 6.27.09

I found this image on flickr, and she had so many interesting wrinkles I thought she would be great for this exercise. Not really, she came out pretty scary looking.

Portrait of a man

Portrait of a Man, Micron Pen, 6.24.09

So somewhere on www.dannygregory.com I found a video where Danny drew portraits upside down. Here it is, have a look... vimeo.com/5256883 I found a random portrait on flickr for my subject. Drawing upside down allows you to try to forget the familiar facial features that you are used to looking at, and instead draw the shapes and lines that you see. I really enjoyed creating this.

View from Window

View from Window, Ink on notepad, 6.23.09

I drew this from my window at work. I started with a sharpie because that was what I had sitting next to me, but I did not like how thick the lines were and how you could not obtain any details. I was pleasantly surprised to find out I had a micron pen with me, so I was able to finish it out with that. I would love to add some color.

Trip to Ptown - 6.18 - 6.21

Ptown, Ink (6.21.09)

My husband and I traveled to Cape Cod this past weekend. We took the train to Boston where my cousin picked us up and then traveled on to Provincetown. There is a lot of art everywhere there, it was great and inspirational. I drew this page on the long travel day home. It was drawn on the train which was very shaky...

EDM#133-Draw a Peach

Peach, EDM#133, 6.09, Ink & Watercolor Pencils

Just a drawing done for an EDM challenge. Was waiting around for my husband to get home so we could go out. I did not have a peach on hand, so I drew from a photo online. I love peaches...mmmmmmm.

Bark Park

Bark Park, 5.09, Ink & Watercolors

This was an illustration done while on a walk to a local bark park. I was sitting on a bench across the pond from the area where the dogs can roam free. It is always fun to watch them play. This was a quick sketch because it was getting cold out.

99 Things.

Here are the rules: Bold the things you’ve done and post on your blog!

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band - Does RockBand count?
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo -- Does RockBand count?
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing - on a wall
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie - Home movies
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business -- freelance graphic designer
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book -- I illustrated one for a professor.
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life - from drifting out to sea
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Virtual Sketch Date

Virtual Sketch Date - April (4.22.09, acrylic and ball point pen)

I had prepared this page in my sketchbook by painting the background with acrylics - that was a few weeks ago. I had not time to go back to it, but when I saw the virtual sketch image I decided to overlay it. I had fun with it, and another page in my journal is filled!

Journal Page - In Progress

Journal Page (Acrylic underpainting, pen and ink 4.10.09)

This is the last page in my journal - even though only the first page is filled. So I have many pages in between to do! I just wanted to try out some under painting. I used acrylics, bright at first, and then put an opaque white over top. I used pen and ink for the illustration. I am not done, and plan to fill this page.

Try at Acrylics -

Birds (3.25.09, Acrylics)

I started this over the weekend and finally found some time to work on it last night. I really have never worked in acrylics, did only oil painting in college. I was not really happy with the outcome, mostly because I was not really sure how to use the medium. I will keep working at it. I did this for the virtual sketch date group.

EDM#2

EDM#2, Vol.1 p.1 (Draw a Lamp, Watercolor Pencils & Ink, 3.19.09)

I did it! This is the first page of my empty journal. Thanks everyone!! This was the Every Day Matters Challenge #2 - Draw a Lamp. I do not have any interesting lamps, so I went online and found this really cool lamp. It reminded me of the Spoon song Carryout Kids, so the city was added and some of the lyrics. I set the city alight. Now I can not wait to add more in my journal!

My Name Is In The Journal

I took the first step...my name is in the journal!

Portrait

Portrait (Watercolor Pencil, 3.17.09)

Last night I dug through my art supplies and came across some very, very old watercolor pencils. I have been following the posts on EDMC about watercolor pencils and had wanted to give them a try. These were dull, and I had no pencil sharpener, so I brought them all into work today and got put them through the electric sharpener. They are ready to go now. When I say old, I mean like at least 15 years old. I was missing colors, but still had a good variety. It was fun to experiment with them. I even found my waterbrush pen. Only problem was the paper, I found an old journal too, but the paper was terrible to work with. This is just a random portrait out of a photography book I had lying next to me.

Below, I took this portrait into Illustrator on the computer and added some text. I am working towards having the guts to do this by hand.

EDM#130

At My Desk (Ink, EDM #130, 3.17.09)

I don't really have any good drawing supplies with me, and I really wanted color. Either way, here is EDM #130.

Different Strokes for Different Folks - Sushi Painting

Sushi (Watercolor, 3.2.09)

I did this painting of Sushi for Karin Jurick's Different Strokes for Different Folks Weekly Project. I found it very hard to illustrate, but the challenge was fun. I worked on layering the colors instead of using a lot of color all at once as suggested on the EDM postings. I have enjoyed all of the advice and encouragement that has been going around!

EDMC #37 - Draw Keys

Keys, (Watercolor & Ink, 3.9.09, EDMC#37)

I got home very late last night to find my new micron pens arrived at the house. Since I ate my dinner on my drive home and had keys in hand I decided to take on the EDMC # 37 - draw keys. I did not have much time, but did enjoy a quick sketch.

EDM #1

Shoes (watercolor & ink, 3.3.09, EDM#1)

Sneaker (watercolor, 3.2.09, EDM#1)

These are my first illustrations for the Every Day Matters weekly challenges. I was not happy with the first watercolor (Sneaker) because of the paper I used for it. I did it directly into a sketchbook I had and the paper did not work as well as my watercolor paper did. So last night I continued the challenge with a new pair of shoes. My husband wanted to know why I kept painting shoes!

Dreaming

Dreaming (watercolor, 3.1.09)

I decided to use my free day to go out and get some watercolors, paper and brushes. This was my first painting in a while. I used reference photos from magazines I had laying around.