Oy vey!

Let's pretend for a moment that I know the teensiest bit of Yiddish and didn't just have to look that up to make sure I was using it correctly! So why am I saying that? I have the dreaded feeling that a momentum change is coming. I feel it out there, a hovering gray cloud. Things are starting to not come so easily and I'm struggling with color again. I don't know why this keeps happening. I go skipping along merrily, only to be blindsided by the feeling that I've never painted before so how could I know what I'm doing!



I'm still doing portraits. This is my sister again, and I'm quite happy with the results. (drawn about a week ago...before the feeling started) A few things need tweaking, but I look at it and definitely see her. I went to pencil after struggling with the paints a few times. This is 2B mechanical pencil, and an 8B pencil. I'd like to try it in charcoal on canvas like Dan did in one of his recent drawings. Then one day, when I'm feeling confident, do it in the water-soluble oils I have just sitting in my drawer, aging as I type this.


And this is my entry in the moleskine collaboration I have going with Dan. One of our plans is to push each other out of our comfort zone. So, with this one I prepainted the background to give us something we had to work with/around (against?). I drew it in a medium bic ballpoint pen, no pencil lines first. (The exception is in the teeth, where it isn't good to outline in black!) I've used this technique with the background a few times now. It is supposed to help unify the whole page. Only, it didn't work out so well this time. Is it just me, or does her back arm almost look like it belongs to someone else? Oh well...let that be part of Dan's challenge: to make her arm look attached! Something else that I did was zoom in. I don't see him do that often. The drawing is loosely based this morguefile photo. Like I said, I went in straight with the pen, so when I went astray with the face, I just went with it.

Moleskine Exchange, First Entry

This was not easy for me! I had already felt the block coming, then to receive Dan's moleskine...it was enough to send me reeling into the abyss. But, I've done a lot of thinking about that block and this is what I decided- Focusing too much on learning watercolor, I was doing quick sketches in order to add some color and play with the paint. It doesn't sound like a bad thing, does it? But, by doing quick sketches and immediately going to the painting, I was never allowing myself to get into the sketch zone. (Saying that reminds me of the "Suck zone" from the movie Twister!) It didn't take long to loose my rhythm, and the pencil began to feel awkward in my hand. I learn a lot by watching Wil, and I noticed that even though he paints, he still does a lot of sketching. I never realized that I could be doing art everyday, and still not be doing enough drawing to maintain skill. I need to paint to get better at painting, but still need to sketch to not get worse at sketching! And a good sketch is important to a good painting!

So this is what I initially showed Dan as my first entry. I was excited that he noticed how I played with the light to which he had hinted with the sunglasses on his figure. Because the lady I drew had her back to that light, I pushed her sunglasses up on her head, then added the shadows. He noticed that I had kept it in pencil and asked what my thoughts were on that. Well, my thoughts were that I hoped he wouldn't notice!! Or that he would choose to ink that himself because my pen and I hadn't been getting along very well! I knew it needed to be inked though, so I did go back and do it. Luckily I didn't make a mess and I do think it looks better now.



Deciding what to add to Dan's drawing was very difficult for me. Did I want it to be more of a montage of sketches? Should I start telling a story? Of course, crazy ideas popped into my head, playing with scale, putting bizarre people in the background. The possibilities were endless and overloaded my brain! So, I just decided to keep it simple. Dan's figure was turned and I felt she needed to be looking at something. Perhaps it is not the most creative solution, but considering my recent state of mind, it needed to be simple. Maybe next time I'll pull out the wild card!

And the day just kept getting better!

I said yesterday that it was a great day, but that was before I received this gift in the mail from Wil Wong. Now, I know I am horrible with my adjectives in that I used the same ones over and over again, but I really mean it, really, it was a fabulous day! I had sent Wil my invitation to the Art Exchange but he said he was unable to participate. He kindly offered to send me something anyway, which I won't lie, I made sure he knew I was interested! It is a page from his sketchbook. He described it as an average page from his sketchbook. Wow! Average? I've a ways to go, folks! I love how he has layered everything and it all looks like it belongs together on the page. I'm going to try bringing this into my sketchbook pages. I don't know about you, but I've learned something here. My sketchbook pages are usually a bunch of unrelated drawings spread out evenly over the page. They have no unity.

Wil, I am definitely not disappointed! This couldn't be more perfect for me. Thank you!

The Final

This is the piece I did for the art exchange. It is simpler than the first attempt, but after days of languishing, being indecisive, I felt like I really needed to get something done. Part of my problem is that I try to do things that are beyond my current skill set, and then I get frustrated! So, I opted for simple and I like the results.

Okay, I have a question for my readers, who I know are, for the most part, artists themselves. I know we all suffer from sudden art supply buying frenzies; but, when you buy those supplies, does all of your work come screeching to a halt, while you wait for the supplies to come in? I will be drawing like mad, every minute I can spare, things going great; but once I order supplies, I fall into limbo while I wait. And wait. And....why can't it all be here already!!??

First Attempt for Art Exchange

Here is my first attempt at the art exchange. Don't ask me what I was thinking when I chose this particular image to work from (morguefile.com, btw). The sketch wasn't terrible, but the colors that I chose were dark and gloomy. It wasn't at all what I had imagined! Having made this disaster, I was a bit frozen for a few days. I doodled with my ball point pen and played with the watercolors...doing thumbnails, etc. Just doodling my way past the block. (The sketches below are small ones, the smallest a little over an inch squared. They were all on the same scan, so you get an idea of the size of the other two.)

This was a scary moment for me. My confidence was shot! I didn't think I could do it and wished that I had not agreed to the exchange. Then, one morning I woke up, said I HAVE to get this done, and I did it. It surprised me how easy it was. I'll post that picture once I know the recipient has received my picture.