Sketchbook Project Update

I had pretty much given up any hope that I was going to finish

my Sketchbook Project by the 15th.

I lost all steam after my trip to Kansas in September.

What was I thinking that I could do this?

This is dumb, who is going to see and care about this?

I did some stuff here and there, but left a lot of partially done pages.

These two drawings have been in pencil for months.

I originally did them because I was practicing drawing Legos

for a little boy I babysit for.

I was going to make him a painting, which has been sitting

half done for just as long. I sort of hate it.

Sophie, an 8 year old I babysit (little boy's sister) for

is my best supporter.

A few days ago she saw me working in the sketchbook 

and goes "Oh yeah! How many pages do you have left?"

I sheepishly looked at her and went 

"Ummm...a lot. And I haven't finished a lot of pages too.

There is no way I am going to get this done in time."

She demanded to see my Sketchbook, to which I obliged.

She marveled at my most recent drawing

My mom gave me this bizarre bird pen for Christmas,

so I brought it to work--and all the kids love it.

Sophie was amazed at how good it was and says,

"Dawn, you must be one of the BEST drawers in all of Virginia!

You have to finish this in time. You only have 9 days. Tonight

I want you to draw this pepsi bottle, and start finishing those pages."

Yep, all of this coming from an 8 year old.

She boosts my ego even though I know I am not even 

close to being one of the best drawers in Virginia!

So, I listened to Sophie.

When I saw her the next day, I showed her the sketch, which she loved.

Her next project for me to tackle was finishing ALL of my unfinished pages

(hasn't happened yet), along with drawing a Sharpie

and scissors that were on my desk.

I couldn't help but to listen and oblige.

Not finished yet, I still have to color it in.

Of course she gives me all circular objects!

Drawing circles in perspective (aka: ellipses) is HARD.

I then worked on old pages, because she asked so sweetly.

How can you let a kid down?

These spreads were unfinished since September.

We went on a Party Bus, and yes it did catch on fire

(not while we were in it),

and yes it did get caught up in a high speed police chase

(also not while we were in it).

I also got an entire beer poured all over me

by someone who was drunk and walking around a moving bus.

NOT COOL.

This page was inspired by a pair of hairbands

sitting on my bathroom counter that I 

found to be in an interesting pattern.

Funny the things that strike you.

This spread was fun.

I had previously Gesso'ed these pages,

and watercolor on top of gesso gives out an interesting texture.

The gesso is very non-porous. and I really like the effect.

That website is real! It has a step-by-step demo

on how to draw a marble and color it in with colored pencils.

Mine looks horrible in comparison, but I do like it.

I'm not sure if I didn't press hard enough,

or if it was the paper.

Lastly, I am trying to draw my cat, Jack,

from when he was a wee babe.

As you can see, its not very good!
Sure it looks like a cat...but thats about it.

Any seasoned drawers out there want to give me some pointers?

Also, while this is in my Sketchbook, I also am

drawing this for the Sketchbook Challenge

Each month for the year, this blog puts out a theme,

and you can make as many sketches that fit that theme.

They even have a flickr group!

It seems lots of people are participating in this challenge.

I really want to try and expand my drawing skills this year,

and I know myself well enough that I am going to need

a little motivation.

I so hope this is it. It looks like fun!

No day but today

Hello fellow bloggers.

I've been a bad blogger of late, but I blame it on the holidays!

I've been working on my Sketchbook,

but there is no way it will get finished by the Jan 15th deadline.

Oh well.

I will finish it though. I need to take updated pictures

so I can show you guys.

I had a friend in town for NYE and she asked for a painting.

My only requirement was purples and reds,

and song lyrics from Rent.

I thought about it for a few days.

I knew I wanted to experiment more with my watercolors and ink.

From there, I wasn't sure.

So, I went through my supplies, and my little star templates stood out.

I sat down with my Sketchbook, the stars and a pencil.

A few sketches later, I decided on this layout you see above.

Next was the fun part, outlining it in ink (Micron), and detailing.

Once that part was done, I got to play with my watercolors.

I've read a lot about color theory, but when it comes down to it

I just like to mix my favorite colors and see what happens.

From here I just added layers of color until I liked what I saw.

Not very technical, but I love the outcome :)

Holidays are O-V-E-R!

WHEW.

I don't have my own family (as in marriage/kids),

but the gift buying/wrapping/driving 9 hours/spending time with family

is tiring and emotionally draining.

This year, I had the 4 paintings for my Aunts that needed to be done

by Christmas as well.

OH MY.

The pressure I put on myself was too much.

I kept thinking and worrying about what my aunts would want,

what they would like.

What would look good hanging in their house,

even though I haven't even been in all their houses,

or feel like I know them as well as I "should" to be able to paint them something.

Brooklyn Bridge

This one, for my Aunt who lives in NYC took me the longest,

was the hardest, and was the most rewarding in the end.

She is SUCH a New Yorker through and through

and I wanted that conveyed through the painting for her.

My original plan was to do a NYC skyline, 

with the Brooklyn Bridge in front of it.

The lights aglow at night, with them shining into the water.

I did sketches, and realized how much I can NOT draw.

But after many sketches, I got a vague hint of how I wanted to draw it.

Translating onto canvas worked out well enough.

Then I tried painting my "vision," and I hated it.

It just wasn't me at all. I was trying to make

this painting look more realistic vs abstract,

and I just am not good enough to make it look well-done.

Next, I worked on my Aunt's painting who lives in Arizona.

Somehow, I forgot to take a picture of this!!! GRRRRRR.

Lets just use our imaginations, shall we? :)

I had a thought that I would have a flower as the central focus,

but with fun, happy colors. 

Colors that remind me of Arizona, and my Aunt,

who is bubbly and happy and positive.

Since my "vision" was more abstract,

I decided to just throw down those colors that reminded me of her and AZ.

Crimson. Teal. Orange. Yellow. Red.

LOVE

I poured paint on a canvas, smooshed it around

and already loved it more than the other painting I had been laboring on.

*I wish I had the picture. I am going to hopefully get one from my Nonni*

EPIPHANY!!!

I immediately loved this painting because it involved my favorite colors,

more abstract technique and I thought,

"Hmmm...maybe I need to stop worrying about what they will think,

but what makes me happy."

This is hard for me--but it was irrefutable proof that it made my artwork better.

The painting above is the result of that.

1,000 times better than what it was.

A little further onward, lend thy guiding hand to these dark steps

a little further on--John Milton

For my Aunt who lost her husband to cancer in May.

She's going through such a hard time, that I hope this quote can ease her pain a little.

For my Aunt that I feel like I know the least.

Hers was hard, and this was the first one completed--

before my ephiphany; therefore I like it the least.

My cousin told me she likes pinks and browns,

so that is all that I had to go on.

I am happy the holidays are over.

I am hoping 2011 will resolve in more focus on artwork

and what I want to do with it,

and less on spiraling into depressions and avoiding art when I should be embracing it.

Failing at Creativity

Sigh. 

You wouldn't think someone could fail at creativity,

but I am pretty sure I do.

These paintings are for my aunts, for Christmas.

My Nonni asked me to do them in OCTOBER.

They should have been mailed like 3 days ago.

Failure.

I bought the canvases about a month ago because I felt so guilty

for not having started.

A few weeks ago my Nonni told me I should probably unwrap them.

A week later, I did.

I did these paintings in the various forms as they are in 

one inspired saturday.

Every single day this week, what did I do?

Oh, laid in bed. Because THAT is the productive

way to spend my evenings.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?

Also, not to mention my Sketchbook, for the Sketchbook Project.
I still have about 40% left to acomplish before Jan 15.
yeah right.
My peak with that was when I traveled to Kansas
to visit a friend. I've half-drawn some stuff here and there,
but blech. I was so excited for this, and now I want
to throw it in the trash.

No more Haul-idays

Chronicle books announced their winner today,

and sadly it wasn't me.

Its ok, because I wasn't really expecting to win.

I've been a bad blogger, I'm sorry.

I am working on paintings for my aunts

which seem like they will NOT be done by christmas.

I finally actually started working on them last week,

and I'm in progress on all 4, but they probably need to be

at my Nonni's in two days. That is so not going to happen.

I also need to make a journal for my little cousin.

I'm not sure how I should do it, and whenever I make my own journals,

the stitching is always way too loose--no matter how much I pull

the strings taught :(

Plus, its so cold out!!!

All I want to do (and it usually wins) is curl up under my covers.

Want to win $500 worth of books?

 I thought so!

Chronicle Books is giving away a stash of books worth up to $500

to one lucky reader. Not only that, but it is YOUR book selection!

NOT ONLY THAT, but if you comment here (and like what you see)

you can win a copy of my list of books too!!!

How awesome is that? 

If you comment and you want to put this in your blog

(and unless you don't like books *gasp*, you should)

I will comment on yours! I like to increase chances of winning things :)

So here goes...my much debated list:

Handmade Nation: The rise of DIY Art, Craft and Design

Reprodepot Pattern Book: FLORA: 225 vintage-inspired  textile designs

The Paper Marbling Kit: Materials, Techniques and Projects

Graffiti Art Coloring Book  (Umm..AWESOME!)

Music Listography:Your Life in (play) Lists

Lennon Legend: An Illustrated Life of John Lennon

The Exquisite Book: 100 Artists Play a Collaborative Game (one of the artists is Dave Eggers...and I L-O-V-E his writing. Please read What is the What)

Sketchbooks: The Hidden Art of Designers, Illustrators, and Creatives

Angaza Afrika: African Art Now  (isn't the cover just lovely?)

Street Sketchbook: Inside the Journals of International Street and Grafitti Artists

Rex Ray: Art + Design

Patterns: New Surface Designs

1,000 Journals Project

Artist's Color Manual: The Complete Guide to Working with Color

Stencil 101 Decor

Paper Cutting: Contemporary Artists, Timeless Craft

WHEW! That took awhile.

In my next post I will talk about all the art I am not making.

Coloring Birdies, and Painting Pottery

In case you haven't noticed, I love Eden's blog.

Last week, she did one of her awesome birdie drawings,

and decided to stop at the line drawing, 

letting us color in the little guys ourselves!!

YAY!

I needed an activity where all I needed to do was

sift through my box of markers and color.

This picture doesn't show it, but the birdies "skin" is colored using sparkly gel pens.

Thanks Eden for this fun little activity. I loved it!

Sunset shot whilst driving home. I don't recommend doing this, but I couldn't resist

This weekend I went to Annapolis with some friends

to paint some pottery. I've never done that before, and it was F-U-N

My friends knew I desperately needed a fun day, 

and they are sweet enough to make it an arty day.

blank moon canvas and colors

working on the sun

friend #1

friend #2

rare shot of me working!

finito!!

Zentagles a form of "cheating?"

I love the idea of Zentangles.

A structured form of doodling!

Perfect for people like me who's mind goes blank when trying to doodle.

I have never been a doodler, but when I ran across the

Zentangle website, I was awed. 

These were intricate pieces of artwork, and were structured!

The thing is, I feel guilty.

I would love to be able to let my mind go and make beautiful

doodles, like Eden or Lori or Dawn.

To me these are super-creative forces.

I have to think, plan for any sort of design.

With both of these Mandalas, much of it was Zentangle inspired,

or inspired by other doodlers around Flickr.

I like the end result, but it feels like cheating
What do you think?

On another note, I received War of Art by Debra!

Woohoo!

I have made partially through the first chapter.

I have to read it in slow, small doses...Resistance at its finest!

Check out the lovely gifts Debra sent me!!

I have always coveted her handpainted papers, but to see them in person..

pure joy and happiness. 

And check out the awesome stitching!

The blue bookmark is this really cool plasticy material.

I hope that I can really take in the book.

Still slow going around here

NaNoJoMo, Colored Pencils and assorted thoughts

I was hoping I was getting my mojo back,

but it is coming ever so slowly in fits and starts.

At least I am still interested and inspired

even if I don't sit down at my art desk very often.

That being said, I have been intrigued by

Dawn Sokol's NaNoJoMo prompt for art journaling this month.

Every day (the idea taken from NaNoWrMo) she posts

a word prompt on her blog, and you just have to put

something down on the page. It doesn't have

to be a full spread, even a mark will do!

Of course, I'm a "gotta finish" this page

before I move onto the next kind of gal.

So, I've done Day One so far. Woops

Inception was the word.

I immediately thought of the movie, and knew I wanted

to try and draw the little spinny thingy that Leonardo DiCaprio

uses to ground him, lets him know he's not dreaming.

That movie was fantastic and surreal.

I really connected with having a solid object 

that keeps you grounded.

This may sound sort of crazy, but Jack does that for me.

At night if I have trouble sleeping, I can cuddle with Jack

and it calms me.

I have also been fascinated by the work people can do with colored pencils.

Arlene Steinberg

This is all done with colored pencils!

Fascinating is it?

I am amazed the perserverance that goes into colored pencil work.

It takes hours and hours of patiently layering light layers

of colors to get this look. I pretty much know I don't

have that kind of patience, yet  I want to try.

I bought a book called Painting Light with Colored Pencil

and played in my moleskine last night.

I am still brewing ideas for these paintings I have to make

for my aunts. 

I'm scared that they won't turn out good enough.