Thursday, March 11, 2010

Where did the beginning of March go?

Sorry for the lack of posting lately. It isn't that I haven't been drawing-I have! But, a lot has been copying the works of other online artists whose work I enjoy. I can't post those. Plagiarism and all.

Another thing slowing me down is the writing part of blogging. It makes me procrastinate. I wrestle with words; we have a tumultuous relationship. Sometimes they come easily, sometimes they don't. I do better when I'm reading a lot, but that hasn't been the case lately. Too busy sketching!

Yesterday I drew a very loose pencil sketch of my husband tilling the soil in our garden. It had energy and I was excited by the results. I sketched it in my exacompta sketchbook which takes light washes fairly well. Then I started adding a little watercolor. Starting with my husband, things were going fine. But then I came across a portion of the page which must have had something on it because it didn't want to accept paint. I wish I had left just my husband, the tiller, and the dirt painted because I couldn't fix the sky and the fence after that fiasco. I went over my pencil sketch with a micron pen in sepia because the loose pencil lines got lost in all the mess. The paper will fall apart if I do any more, so it must stay this way.

This little girl is Sarah, my uncle's Mexican chihuahua. She's taller the most chihuahuas you see in the US, and doesn't have that roundness at the top of her skull. And unlike most chihuahuas, she rarely barks. That's my kind of dog! This is done in my moleskine sketchbook in pencil, with a little bit of colored pencil added. I don't like the way it scanned. In my sketchbook, it doesn't appear to have the dark dark outlines. I think it's because I did a little with black colored pencil, which scans better than the graphite pencil. This was done from a photo, fairly quickly. I tried not to get too fussy with it.

These two sketches are also in my moleskine sketchbook. (You probably remember the watercolor dude-thing, whatever he is, he got taped in here a while back.) I drew the girl from imagination with my Lamy Safari fountain pen and noodler's eternal black. After it dried, I added tone with a uniball micro which is water soluble, and then brushed with water.

The cat is Eddie, the one that adopted us last summer. We couldn't let him in our house because of our other cat, so we found him a good home with one of our neighbors. He is now a very happy, and spoiled cat who refuses to take one step out their door! I think his previous owners may have abandoned him and he's afraid it will happen again. He's done in 3B pencil.

This month marks the end of my first year of blogging and being a member of EDM. To celebrate, I'm preparing a give-away. I have three books and the winner will get to choose the one they want. I should have that post up in the next day or two. Hope you'll check back soon!

Oh, one more thing! For those of you who haven't already heard, Dan and I have started a new blog to showcase a project that we've started together. We are mailing a sketchbook back and forth from Florida to Texas. Our purpose is to challenge ourselves to improve, and stretch ourselves as artists. There is something about doing these exchanges, which pushes you to do your very best. It will be nerve-wracking at times, but that is the very thing that makes me try harder. We hope you'll stop by to visit, here.

27 comments:

  1. You have been busy! Each sketch looks better than the one before it. I am glad Eddie is happy. I can't stomach the cruelty of just dumping a pet you don't want so someone like me has to do something about it. Ah, well . . .

    I am really looking forward to 2'nfro!

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  2. You sure have been busy! Nice post!

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  3. That chihuahua is absolutely terrific! Love the composition, colors, line... actually everithing! The other page from your moleskine sketchbook is also very beautiful! And I like the idea of your new blog! Awesome!

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  4. Couldn't agree more with you when it comes to weirdness in the weather these days. In Germany it's still cold and snowing all the time, and just today in Louisiana it's super warm. Yesterday I was still wondering which sweater I should be wearing....
    Anyway, I am glad you haven't stopped drawing eventhough you've not been posting a lot. But that little project you're collaborating with Dan seems fun. I am sure you guys would be able to produce something magnificent there.
    Oh yeah, thanks for all the comments. Your sketches are as beautiful as alway =)

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  5. This is really a nice little group of drawings. Super job drawing your husband (I wish he could come and till my garden!), the dog and cat are really fun (I love the looseness of the cat), and the "imagination" girl is very pretty. It's hard to draw people from your imagination (at least it is for me). Well done! nancy

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  6. You just keep pumping out great work!! And you write very well. I can tell you sketch A LOT- it shows in your product. I'm so excited that you and Dan are doing this collaborative project together- I'm a follower and a fan. Congrats on one year of blogging!!!!

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  7. I agree with what everyone above said. Good job on your husband--it's hard to draw someone you know. I like the way your lines on the dog indicate the hair growth.

    I'm also a follower and fan of the joint project.

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  8. Great stuff! Can't see any problem with the first one. I like the splattering effect on the bottom. But I love the chihuahua!! (I had to look up to see how to spell it.) So well done! I am amazed at the face you can draw from imagination, and the cat is just great!

    oh, and I'm a fan of the joint project too! lol.

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  9. Great sketches! I'm so glad you were able to find Eddie a home. People make me so angry that abandon animals. We've had our share around here. Our kitty was a feral born whose mama showed up on our porch hungry. We found her a home and took in the kitten. He's very spoiled, too. :)

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  10. You have posted some great sketches here - I especiaally liked the one you did with your Lami Safari. I may have to have another try with this pen. I bought one some time ago, chose an extra fine nib, then found it to draw a much thicker line than I expected.
    I checked out your joint blog and look forward to the next installment!

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  11. You have some lovely sketches here Raena. I like the looseness of the one of your H, and the dog looks great lots of character. Your post is also well written.

    I've had that happen to me in sketchbooks - I think it's an area of bad sizing that causes the problem - I tend not to worry about it.

    Good luck with your new project!

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  12. Great pictures Raena, love the chihuahua and the husband sketch/watercolour. Looking forward to your new blog with Dan(also love the cat!)

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  13. Lovely sketches! I can't see any problems with the sketch of your husband! Please remember to add a message to the message board when you or Dan post something from your project. And congrats on the anniversary of your online presence.

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  14. Very nice post, as usual, a good text, and good drawings. A pleasure to look at them and to read. I like the point of view in the chihuahua.
    Congatulations for your new project with Dan.

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  15. Excellent sketches, and I don't see any problem at all with the fence and sky in the first one. Thanks for listing the tools you used for the various sketches--always interesting. I like you idea of copying the work of artists you enjoy. I think I will try that too (just for practice of course).

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  16. Congrats on your new project with Dan. Can't wait to see what you two create. Love your sketches. You have a really nice talent for drawing (and painting).

    Also, thanks for all the nice comments you have left on my blogs.

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  17. Lovely sketches Raena! Looking forward to the project your are doing with Dan. And the two watercolors in the post prior to this one: simply yummy!

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  18. How interesting- I always have the same problem with words when I'm not reading enough. Reassuring to know I'm not the only one! I think you write wonderfully, by the way.
    Sarah the chihuahua is the cutest! Great shading. And I agree- the watercolours of your last post are delicious indeed :)

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  19. Congrats on your year of blogging! It is always a treat to stop in here and see your wonderful work. Lovely sketches!

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  20. I like the sketch of your husband. You did a great job on the sketching. So what if the sky didn't come out so well, the center of interest just shows up better that way.

    It will be fun to see how this partnership journal works out.

    Lucky kitty to have a great new home. Nice picture of it also.

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  21. I have given you the Kreativ Bloger Award. Check my blog Ramona's Art Projects for details.

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  22. Great work! I love all your drawings, husband, chihuahua, cat and lovely girl! Love the linework on the cat and dog drawings, in particular.

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  23. I think the painting of you DH is wonderful!! i love the cat and the little chihuahua is just sooo cute!!

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  24. Raena, delightful sketches! I'm with you on the writing part. I'd much rather create art. I struggle with sentence structure, grammar, and when I try to create a wordy post, it takes me DAYS to figure it out, and then I'm tired of my own post. I'd much rather have just post a few short lines and then get back to art and life. But your posts explain what you've been doing and how you created your art. Even though they are hard for you, we do like reading your words!

    Oh, and as for copying other people's work, I do that all the time, and I contact the artist to make sure it's ok if I put my copy of their work on my blog. So far, every artist has expressed delight at this because they know (a) I am using their book strictly for learning exercises, as many of them have intended; (b) I am not selling any of these copied exercises, whether passing it off as my own or not; and (c) the artist receives publicity when you link back to them, and that's always a good thing!

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  25. I'm sad 'cause i don't know read so well english, so i only can aprciate the images, that I love !! :D:D

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  26. Raena, the drawing of your husband is superb. You really caught the slightly hunched posture. I also think the worked looked of that page really works. MAybe it's a new avenue to explore...i.e. work the hell out of a page. keep it up!

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  27. These are great! LOVE that chihuahua!

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