Art House Co op

My second book has been digitized at the Art House Co op site. You can click here http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif to see it. This one was required to be over 50% written.

Animal ATC Trade

When I first started the animal trade, I worked and finished 5 cards right away. Then before I could get them mailed, one was missing. I never did find it but I have my suspicions that my Mini Schnauzer Dizzy ate it.

Dizzy likes to eat paper. In fact she sits and waits for the envelopes from the mail. If I am cutting paper for the cards, she is sitting there waiting for the scraps to fall. She chews the paper and even eats it. So I figured odds are that my goat (er...dog) ate the card.

Well fast forward to the card I did last night. It was from a photo I took of a dove sitting on a wire in my back yard. I felt like I finally got it just right and put it on a table with the envelope waiting until I scanned it.

I went to the computer to check email. When I went back to the living room, I happened to see the envelope on the floor. Panic attack..."oh no where is my card?" I jumped up and there was paper sitting in front of Dizzy. It was my card. All mangled. A little of the watercolor paint missing. The lower half of the card bent and crumpled. I grabbed it and put it in my Moleskine sketch book with a heavy tape dispenser on top for weight hoping I could save the card.

Well the card is in one piece. No holes from teeth. Still a little crinkly but still nice enough so I mailed it today. The only thing it did was make the wing look more 3-D. I hope the recipient doesn't mind that she got a special card that my Dizzy helped me prepare. A one-of-a-kind (hopefully).

Animal Trade

Two more of my cards have arrived at their new homes. Both are done in Mixed media.

Retriever Puppy

Here is the second ATC for the Animal Trade on Wetcanvas. This was sent to Alabama to geminisinger. It is watercolor, pen and ink, and Conte pencil. The reference was one from the Flicker photo account of Just Chaos and used with permission.

A Chicken Has Arrived at It's New Coop

One of my ATCs have arrived at it's new location. It is a chicken I painted from a little ceramic one I have. In fact I have a pair. I have 5 other cards in the mail. I tried to mail some of the ones that had to travel the farthest. And of course another problem with posting at Wetcanvas.

I am a WC Guide and several things in the forum don't seem to work for the guides. I can't post in the New User forum which is where I am a guide. I can't start new projects in the project area. And now I can't upload my card images to the Final Images area. It's a pain. Now I won't have my cards all in one area for everyone to see and comment.

This little chicken/rooster is done with watercolor, pen & ink, and a little white Conte pencil. It is 3.5 x 2.5 inches.

ATC Animal Trade

I signed up for the new project on Wetcanvas with the theme of Animals. I have worked on and finished 3 today. If all the spots are filled, there will be 19 for me to do. I don't really have a plan on what I want to do. I did print off some photos but whether I use them, will depend on what mood strikes me. I have done one bird, one giraffe, and one ceramic rooster. I am unable to show them as they haven't been sent to the new owners yet. I will post them after they receive them.

My friendly Scrub Jay had not been around for a couple weeks but did finally make an appearance. It was a "touch and go" visit. He came with a friend, said his "ain't" call a few times, then flew away. Just letting me know he was already. So I figure he is having a family.

I worried about his when he first disappeared. I was afraid that he might have gotten too tame and someone hurt him. But after his visit, I feel better. I now know he is ok. And if he doesn't come back, that's fine. At least he came back to let me know he was till around, just busy. And I have a wonderful, sweet memory.

Long Time No Post

I think this is the longest time I have not posted. At least for a long time. I just haven't done any art that I can post. I did one for a wedding gift but I did it from a photo that wasn't mine so I won't post. It was of a tennis star. The couple is going to the tennis open back east on their honeymoon. Now that's a tennis fan.

I joined a new project at Wetcanvas. Theme "Animals". Right up my alley. My favorite subject.

I have been productive. I got some yard work done that had been waiting for several years. Getting rid of junk that was just stacked around. Still have some stuff to toss but I don't have a pickup so can't haul it away. I am in the process of cutting some of it up and putting in the weekly bin. I have to do it a little at a time as I still have weekly trash from the house too.

Yesterday I rearranged the living room furniture so that I could do some art in there. Plus I went to Walmart and Target to find a blender that they advertise on tv. The Magic Bullet. I got one and have been making fruit smoothies. They are delicious and points free. And it gets more fruit in me. Haven't tried a vegetable one yet but plan to eventually.

"Fluffy" not Fat

I just finished this one for the Wetcanvas WDE (Weekly Drawing Event). Photos this week were provided by Just Chaos. She lives on a farm in KY, and it is one of her critters. This is done on 150lb Strathmore Watercolor paper in one of those Visual Journals. Watercolor with a little White Conte Pencil for highlights. About 9x12 inch paper.

High Wire Act

I previously posted some photos of some pairs of dove that like to sit in my dead apricot tree and the wires in my back yard. When my dogs are inside, they sometimes walk around in my backyard. Here is a watercolor painting of one of them. The total size of the painted area is about 5x7 inches.

Painting of Taz

Here is the watercolor painting I did of Taz. I couldn't resist his beautiful face. The watercolor paper it is on is probably 11x14 inches and Arches.

Taz

I was at the groomer this week and one of the groomers had a new puppy. A chihuahua named Taz. He is a powerhouse of energy. He had a new toy. A golf ball, and I got to watch as he tried to catch it as it bounced. He bounced every time the ball did. Sooooooo cute. He isn't much for posing tho. He doesn't stay still long enough.

Here is Taz.

Back in the Day

I joined Wetcanvas forum in 2006, the same month I started this blog, and when I got more serious about my art. Before that I did some drawings of friends, their relatives, their pets, and friends of theirs. But they were more like line drawings.

After I joined Wetcanvas, I learned so much and found out how much improvement can be made by drawing every day and from life. It has been a wonderful experience.

I thought you might like to see some pre-2006 sketches from me. And these aren't the earliest of my drawing experience. I even have some of those tucked away out of sight. I doubt I have ever thrown many of them away.

In fact when I oil painted in the 80s, I couldn't draw. I had to trace a picture of what I wanted to paint onto the canvas. Even as a child, I would sit in front of the living room window and look out at the rain and try to draw> It seems like the drawing urge always came when it rained. But frustration with what I produced, had me putting my pad and pencil away until another urge hit me.

About 1994 I went to work in an office full time. I stayed there for 10 years. It was too hard to oil paint after that. It was too time consuming, we lived in a smaller house and there was no place to hang the paintings for them to dry (not water soluble back then), I had no where to leave everything out, and the clean up was just too time consuming.

So I turned to a pencil and paper which was always available in an office. I would draw on my breaks and lunch time. It started with me doing my animals and relatives. Soon I had others offer photos for my practice. I never charged. I didn't think they were worth money. I used them as practice.

One lady had 3 kids and I sketched their school photos every year. That helped me judge whether I was getting better or not. Then some of the ladies started asking for photo copies of some of my wild jungle animals to frame for their houses. I was pleased to provide them and I still gave them freely.

Then I wanted to do better and found information about using a grid. I ordered one and from that day my people started looking more like the people with less stress and effort on my part. I was stuck using a grid until I took a "From Life" lesson on Wetcanvas by Katherine Tyrrell. From that day forward, I have never used a grid again. Not that I have anything against them. I just didn't want to be confined by them. That class gave me the confidence to sketch from life, go out in public to sketch, and improve my drawing skills.

Eventually people started asking when I would start using color. I had no interest in it for quite some time. Then I wandered into the world of colored pencils. That opened up another love for me.

Now I find myself in the middle of watercolor painting. I had been wanting to paint again for about a year. I bought water soluble oil paints, acrylic, gouache, and watercolor. The smaller sets that weren't too expensive. Plus all the stuff like brushes, etc to each medium. And they all sat in a drawer for months and years.

Now I am doing watercolors. I am enjoying watercolors. I am really enjoying the fact that I can fill the space a lot faster than with cp. I am learning a lot day by day by not reading about it or taking classes but by doing it. Seems to be the best way for me. I don't like to follow the "proper" rules. I can't save my whites. It's probably because I started as an oil painter. So I have to find a different way to get my whites. I'm not unhappy about the way I paint watercolors. I kind of like doing things my way. It has always worked for me in life and at my age, I'm not likely to change now.

It's just like with graphite. I don't do perspective. At least the "proper" way. I just don't get it and refuse to make my love of art become a chore for me by doing it someone Else's way. It doesn't bother me if the perspective on my buildings are not just perfect. Lots of buildings sag and don't keep the perfect perspective. Phone lines don't stay snug tight. The water line is not straight. So there are few things I measure. Even with faces, I use my eye to get the pieces where they belong. I don't really measure except using my eye. It works for me.

Here are two sketches from an old sketchbook I found when cleaning out some cabinets. The one of the birds was done while sitting at my mom's kitchen table looking out at her bird feeder. You can't really say the birds are drawing from life as Hummingbirds don't pose. You just have to catch a glimpse of their outline and go from there.

On the people, you can see where I was trying to use lines to follow something I had read. Sure didn't help my sketches.

Kati & Her Dad

I liked the reference for this one because the dad has a quirky look on his face. Kati's teeth didn't turn out as good because in the photo she had braces on. I figured she wouldn't want them in the photo as she now has a wonderful smile without them.

Bill worked with my husband and besides being coworkers, they were friends. Both truck drivers working for the same company. Both Christians.

At my Bill's funeral, Bill S was one of the speakers. He is a "country boy" with a nice outlook on life. In a time when road rage is the norm on the highway, Bill S in a traffic situation will just raise his arm and say "God Bless You".

Kati is his daughter and soon to be married. I found this photo on her Facebook and liked the quirky look on her dad's face.

This is the latest painting in my people sketchbook. I don't really like the way it turned out. I can see many flaws, and I think it turned out looking more like a caricature. I was striving for realistic. But it was another way to practice people and watercolor and every painting is a lesson learned.

Lady on a Beach

I did this one today while waiting for a pest control tech. This is from a reference on Wetcanvas by onefineprint. Another for my People Sketchbook. This one is on the same page as my couple walking on a beach. Watercolor.

Gabby

Here is the latest person in my "People" sketchbook. This is my nephew and niece's niece. This started out as watercolor, then became a mix or mess. It has watercolor pencil, colored pencil, white Conte pencil, and pen. I don't like how I did her eyebrows. Kind of messed them up. Hers are really erratic but the pen made these look too choppy. I should have had more patience with them. But another lesson learned and another "people" accomplished.

Happy Blog Anniversary

Today is the anniversary of my blog. I would have forgotten except someone posted a Happy blogaversary, and I am so grateful for the reminder.

I started my blog on 6-19-2006. I was trying to make a comment on Katherine T's blog and couldn't until I had my own blog. So voila, here it is. And I have been happily posting ever since.

Katherine had posted that a good percentage of new blogs don't make it past the first year. So stubborn as I am, I determined that I would make it. My blog has acted as sort of a therapy for me thru some trying times. Plus I have met and made some wonderful friends from all over the world. I am happy to say the adventure has been well worth the effort.

Hopefully I will continue for a long time to come sharing my artwork, my adventures thru life, my trials and tribulations with my artwork, my joy at being alive, my gratitude for the many friends, and the gift of my faith.

Hoppy & Morgan

This is my latest "people" painting. This is a friend's Uncle Hoppy and his wonderful boxer Morgan. I see them once a year at a barbecue. They go everywhere together and are devoted to each other. Both are wonderful.

Watercolor from two different photos I took at the barbecue about 2 years apart. This is in my "People" sketchbook but I will probably tear it out and mat and frame for Hoppy.

Worried

I did another painting for my People Sketchbook. I took the book with me to my hair appointment and did the graphite sketch in the 20 minutes I had to wait. Then after grocery shopping and, the trip across tow, the putting away, and eating, i finished the painting part.

This was from one of the photos on the Wetcanvas WDE for 6-10-11. Photo was provided by Eyepaint or EP as we know her on the Scavenger Hunts. She titled the photo "Worried". When I posted mine on the WDE, I listed it as "Worried" My Way.

More People Study

More studies in People in my "People" sketchbook. This was from a photo I took while on a plein air outing.

Minor League Finish

I finished the painting of the young baseball team. It's ok. Not exactly what I wanted but not supposed to be a frameable piece. I need more work on some of the faces next time. Some look like they have foundation makeup on. Oh well. I did what I wanted to do.

#1 I wanted to do multiple people
#2 I wanted to do a difficult sketch
#3 I wanted to practice watercolor

So I accomplished what I set out to do. Now on to the next