Merry Christmas!

Wishing everyone a very merry Christmas day!

My favorite gift was a visit from my sister and niece this past week. This is the only sketch I've done recently. I've been focusing more on "crafts" and less on "art" the past month, but I have lots of ideas I want to try soon.

Drawing Class finished for the term

I just finished a term of drawing at The Drawing Studio. We work from photos and models. The first one is of my sister and her daughter. I used the same photo I used when I accidentally made them into zombies. Sorry for the flash. They say you need to get the eyes right. I think the mouth is really important as well since I did not get it quite right here.



The second one is from a photo of a statue. We don't usually end up with a presentation picture since we are practicing and working towards our 1000 drawings, but I wanted to post something! I enjoy working in a large format (these are 23 inches by 34 inches), but the charcoal dust and black hands are really a pain. Two showers, two days of dishes are the minimum needed to get my hands sort of clean.



It is pretty fun and I'm getting quicker and more comfortable at putting marks on the paper. I'll probably not take the class again until fall. I'd like to work on some color projects next.

October Zombies

As I promised, I am showing some of my "zombie" paintings. These were not done intentionally - just accidents that happened when I lost control of the paints. This is very easy to do with watercolors. One day it will be 105 degrees F with low humidity, and a week later, it will be 70 degrees F and raining. Paper and paint dry at completely different rates depending on the weather and, of course, how much water I slop on. Also, I actually forget how to paint if I haven't done it for a week or so. That's why it's often a good idea to warm up first!

So, Happy Halloween everyone!

My beautiful sister Rachael and her daughter Emma. Not what I intended, but you both look kind of cool, actually.

Jon Stewart in July. No offense - we love you Jon!

I can't remember who this was. I was trying out a Chinese Water Pen and using my Koi pan water colors. The paper was too wet, but I kind of like the moodiness of it now.