Tuesday, October 12, 2010

The Weather is Making Me Smile


I know, it's been eons since I've posted anything! But, if you knew how perfect our weather has been and how seldom we are treated to days like this, you would understand completely my need to be outside for every possible waking moment! I've been swamped with projects (just finished residing our garage) and loving every minute of it. I had a birthday back on Sept 22 and went absolutely nuts ordering things online. Most of it has arrived, but would you believe I am still waiting on one of them? I mean, really, THREE WEEKS? If it doesn't come today, I think I'll scream!

So this first image above is just a sketch I did on some recycled printer paper while testing out one of my presents, a trail stool from REI . I was afraid to order this stool, thinking it would be another one of those things that just collect dust in my studio, but I'm so happy I did. I've already used it quite a few times and I love it! The view is of my neighbors house from my back patio, with the corner of our back deck showing. Not really a great view composition-wise, so it probably won't be developed any further than this. Other presents included two more books, Mary Whyte's Watercolor for the Serious Beginner, and Charles Reid's The Natural Way to Paint, six tubes of wc, a scrubber brush, a box of drawing pens, and an antique set of 100 pastels. which my grandmother passed down to me, and were her grandmothers, pre- WW2. Haven't played with them yet!

This is more of a doodle type page, I think. The woman is from imagination, the man from a photo at utrechtart.com of Jody Dole, the photographer. The rest is just notes I was taking from reading the articles on the site.


These were studies done from photos of a clothed model that I got off Matt Archambault's site.
That is a wonderful site, though he has upped his prices to $19/month. (I am no longer a member, but do highly recommend!)

I debated whether to show this one. Nothing really great about it. The figures are once again from posemaniacs.com. The cartoon skeleton, well, I was just being silly. The girl at the bottom, my only touch of color on this post, was sketched from the news, mostly from memory as she was gone just as I started to sketch. The quote is a comment that Winna made on someone else's blog. That person was also suffering from a block, so this hit me perfectly and I had to write it down. (Thank you, Winna!)

I hope to have more color for you next time.

37 comments:

  1. Another wonderful collection of sketches!

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  2. Happy belated birthday, Raena! Our kids in Houston are loving the weather also, especially the golfer and the soccer player!

    I understand the frustration of waiting for mail orders. I won some gouache paints on eBay that I thought should have arrived already . . . I hadn't noticed that they are shipping out of Canada.

    Fantastic sketches! and I love your blog banner.

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  3. A great group of drawings! I'm glad that you shared them all. See you in a few weeks?

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  4. Belated birthday wishes to you Raena..

    Love your spread.. actually I am visiting after a long time I guess, after your made your bulky sketchbook.. I love all your sketches! Amazing ballpoint spread on your previous blog entry!

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  5. I love your collection of sketches. I am glad you showed the last one. The weather was great in New York too and I know the feeling o!f having to get out and sketch.

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  6. Hi Raena, FUN drawings; I do enjoy looking at them. I was going to say I particularly like the house one...then I looked at the figures and thought they were fun too. Wonderful. Oh, I have Mary Whyte's wc book; I think it's a great addition to my library and I've read and used it!

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  7. I know how you feel about the weather and taking advantage of it (and the part of being busy). Those are great sketches, love the people with all that moments... And the single part of colour with the last page is really neat. A very Happy belated birthday, I hope your last thing will arrive sooner than later : )

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  8. Great sketches, Raena. I think I'll check out REI's trail stools.

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  9. I like the clothed figures and I always like to see where other people live..I'm just naturally nosy!
    I order things then forget about it so then I get a nice surprise.

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  10. Happy Belated Birthday Raena! Really enjoyed your sketches

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  11. Your figure sketches are amazing Raena. I think that the woman in the top picture is a dead ringer for you - minus specs! See what all those self portraits are doing to your mind?
    Hope your stuff arrives soon, I am much like Cathy above, order and forget. Then when parcel arrives I think "What the heck is that"!

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  12. Great drawings Raena. It sounds like you've been incredibly busy, not to mention having fun birthday shopping - I ympathise with you over the late one but it sounds like you've got plenty to keep you occupied!

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  13. Belated B'day wishes, Raena!

    You have been doing a lot of sketches and they have turned out well. Enjoy the presents and the weather too!

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  14. Glad you are having good weather and I would also take advantage. I like your sketches especially the view of your neighbours house from your new stool.

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  15. OH I JUST LOVED THIS ENTIRE POST....ATE IT UP , IN FACT!
    YOUR SKETCHES AND GLIMPSES INTO YOUR ARTFUL IMAGINATION IS SO INSPIRATIONAL...AND YES, EVEN THAT LAST PAGE!

    GREAT JOB....I'M SO IN THE MOOD TO SKETCH RIGHT NOW...BUT I'M SUPPOSED TO BE FINISHING THE WATERCOLOUR I JUST POSTED! YIKES!

    INSPIRATION OVERLOAD!

    CIAO BELLA

    CREATIVE CARMELINA

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  16. You've done a lovely job on your sketches--they are all good but my favorites are the clothed figures. Great idea to take advantage of the good weather while it is here. That reminds me, I need to get outside today!

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  17. Ahhh, the balance we try to maintain. Your work makes me want to try harder. The Posemaniac pieces are right on! Happy Birthday!!!

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  18. Happy belated birthday! Sounds like you had a good one. I love all of your sketches. Your drawing skills are really amazing. Wonderful stuff!

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  19. wonderful work! now I will have to track down what a trail stool is ...

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  20. Lovely to see a post from you - great stuff!!

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  21. Okay, so I just had to come back here and let you know that you and your journal pages inspired me to pick up my journal last night and sketch out what is now today's post on my blog!

    come by and have a peek.....there was just something about seeing your lines! and strokes!

    thanks again!

    ciao bella

    CREATIVE CARMELINA

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  22. The sketches are gorgeous Raena, and I really like looking at them. As I was looking really closely, I realized something, your style reminds me of those comic style... Marvel or DC it doesn't really matter but it's close. ^^ And I was like WOW!
    Cat's still missing, and I was on the road in Mississippi for 3 days house hunting, no time for drawing...and I hate it! I've got 2 assignments coming up and I still haven't provided the clients the quotation. I am starting to feel that my day job is taking too much of my time away =)
    Anyway, I am not too sure why I am ranting here, it just feels like you're the kind that would listen somehow.

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  23. "Tada!" says the skeleton. I like it. I think your sketches are great. I love the architectural study, I think the sketches from imagination are great (shows what practice drawing faces does), and I think the "oh these are just some more Posemaniac poses" are wonderful too! Who needs color with sketches like these?

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  24. Great bunch of sketches, love the one from your imagination, looks very sculptural. I suffer far too much from artistic blocks, wish the weather had been good here, unfortunately i don't have that excuse for long gaps between blogging lol.

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  25. I thought that the through the window sketch looked like one of those perspective-drawings I had to do for landscape design - only much better than mine ever were! I always love the way you draw faces, of course, and the anatomical drawings are fantastic. As ever I find myself thinking 'I'd like to be able to do that!'.. and of course I absolutely identify with the need to enjoy the outdoors while the enjoying is good!

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  26. Yay! I was so excited to see a new post. I just love your random sketches and your figure drawings (and skeletons) are so good!

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  27. Some really nice sketches there - although I cant see all of them for some reason..? I especially like the clothed model. And I am a bit jealous of the weather... Here in Sweden we have to turn to other sources to get a smile lately - 2 degrees Celsius and rain rather makes you cry. Tomorrow the first snow will be falling in Stockholm they say...

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  28. hello, i have enjoyed my visit to your blog. you make wonderful sketches!

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  29. Seeing your black and white drawings makes me realize why I enjoy watching your drawings so much : your very precise linework mixed with your cool style = unique and very enjoyable work!

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  30. It’s always a pleasure
    to see such a Wonderful Work
    good creations

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  31. Fantastic drawings, Raena! You always surprise me :)

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  32. Very nice sketches, I like the model in jeans a lot. It's also nice to know that others also have days / weeks of doing no art!
    BTW I found u on kelly's blog hop and I was inspired to visit all 400 by Rita A

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  33. These are really great sketches. I have yet to go to posemaniacs, but I may have to do just that. Have been trying to get a life drawing group together in my part of the county and it is proving less than successful.

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