Blue Bird

Learning, learning, learning.

I learned all over again that I MUCH PREFER oils to acrylics.  I learned that straight lines are really hard to paint.  I learned that sometimes you need to tweak the composition and not EXACTLY follow the photo.

After learning all that, I think I love it!

More From My Sketchbook

 

I've had some time to doodle lately...which is both good and bad.  The first drawing was delightful...it was a quiet evening, just hanging out, enjoying a nice fire, and doodling!  The SECOND though...whew!!  I was stuck in the orthodontists office for 2 stinking hours!  Of course, I wasn't the one suffering with my mouth stretched open...that was Murphy.  But I had nothing to do, and the magazines make me want to poke my eyes out.


So I drew!  Looking out the ortho's window is a lovely view of Pikes Peak.  I even threw in the window frame and the curtains for good measure!

Painting Cabinet Doors

Interesting frame, don't you think??

My father is a kitchen designer for Welbourne Cabinets (I think I spelled that right?!) out of Tennessee.  Every once in awhile he has a customer who orders a distressed cabinet style...and then when the cabinets come in they're a bit "too" distressed.  So my dad orders a new cabinet door to replace the offending one.  But the company doesn't want the first door back.  So there has been a moderately steady supply of cabinet doors through my parent's house.

This one just struck my fancy.  What can you do with a cabinet door...no holes drilled yet for the hardware...but a lovely knot hole right in the center of the door!?  And what about that lovely 6" crack?  Well you've got to paint it of course!!  If you look closely, there's a real life knot hole in the tree.  Just the perfect place for a pixie to live.

The cabinet door itself is as smooth as can be...a lovely surface to paint on!  The back of the door looks a little odd, because it's prepped (but not drilled) for hinges.  I just ignore that!  Just paint away, and you've got a piece already framed and ready to hang!

A Page From My Sketchbook

Unless you're really good, and really fast, I don't see how you can draw a dog from life...that is, when they're awake.  So, since I'm neither really good nor fast, I sketch our dogs when they're ASLEEP.  Lovely, still models!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Christmas is about more than our winter decorations, and fun family gatherings.  It's the celebration of the birth of the Savior of all mankind.  The coming of Jesus changed everything.

"For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."  (Colossians 1:13,14)

Beautiful.

God becoming man is something I don't think I'll ever fully understand while I'm still alive on this earth.  But even though I can't quite wrap my brain around it, I am THANKFUL.  Speechless sometimes, and thankful.

Experimenting

...with color!

This drawing pretty much consumed my day.  Which is no big deal, considering that there's a good 12" of snow, with more falling.  We're not going anywhere!

I drew the inked lines first, and then decided to play around with color.  I have this lovely set of fine point markers that I used to fill in between the black lines.  I can't decide if I like it or not.  It's definitely vibrant!

This bird feeder was made for us by our friend, Jim.  The top tier holds water, and the bottom two hold seed.  Only the small birds can fit, which is the point.  The grosbeaks and the stellar jays are bird seed HOGS, so this keeps them away.  To be perfectly honest, though...I can't really handle the thought of the grosbeaks and stellar jays going HUNGRY...besides the fact that they're absolutely STUNNING to look at!....so we have a standard feeder that they can fit into!

...and a little redemption?!

I know, I know.  I wasn't going to do anything to the snowflakes.  I was sick of the snowflakes.  I thought there was  no hope for the snowflakes.

I guess I was wrong, because this is MUCH better!  Still in-accurate in the science world, but much easier to look at!

Failure!

This is a failure on so many levels!

I started out to draw snowflakes, but then realized that I don't know the snowflake law.  I think they can only have a certain number of points.  So I'm pretty sure my snowflakes are all wrong. 

Then, I didn't use a straight-edge of any sort, so my lines are certainly less than accurate. 

Then, I didn't realize how much the blue would over-power the purple. 

Then I discovered half-way into the blue that the pen was less than desirable.  The little tip had pushed up into the body of the  pen too much, and it required me to hold the pen absolutely upright to get any ink out of it.  Which gave me significant hand cramps.  Which led to me LONGING to just FINISH THIS ALREADY!  So the blue lines are less than straight, and less than uniform, and generally sloppy.

It has occurred to me that I could possibly save this drawing by going in and darkening up the purple lines.  But I'm really, really, really sick of snowflakes right now.  And that has nothing to do with the weather!

So there you have it!  Happy winter, anyways!

Water Lilies

Over a year ago I was blessed with a trip to North Carolina with my sis and my mom.  We visited family there, and they took us to their botanical gardens which is where I got the reference pic for these pieces.  Water lilies don't exactly thrive in the mountains of Colorado!

I did the colored pencil sketch this past February, and was only mildly pleased.  This past week I resurrected the reference picture and attempted to paint it.  It's pretty doggone rough, but I'm hoping I've learned SOMETHING.  Like the fact that water is REALLY HARD to paint.  Really.  Hard.

Last night I "doodled" the ink drawing.  It was by far the most fun to do, although I ended up with a hand cramp by the time I was done!

Warm and Cozy

Those of you who know me know that I sort of have orangutan arms.  Getting sleeves long enough (and keeping them long enough after multiple washes!) requires some effort.  So, of course, my definition of warm and cozy includes having my cuffs come down past my wrists!

I started this in the middle of a 2-hour meeting and finished it at home in front of a wonderful fire in the wood-burning stove.  I have a friend who chews me out for drawing in my moleskine, saying that I can never mat and frame this!  But I suppose the truth is that I draw these for the value it gives to my spirit, not for selling. 

Leopold

I'm pretty sure this guy's name is Leopold.  He just looks like a Leopold to me.  He lives at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.  I drew this last night while watching a presidential debate.  Clearly I needed a healthy distraction!  I guess this is what a giraffe might look like if giraffes got tattoos!

Stormy Highway

I painted this 2 years ago.  Don't you just love a stormy sky?  The blues completely alter, turning into something almost midnight looking, and then the bright spots really, really stand out.  Yellow is stunning against a dark blue or purple!  I'm not sure how I did it, but I love how the stripes on the highway stand out.  I think this road might belong in Kansas.

Christmas Gifts

How do you decide which print to give to someone for Christmas?  I have a whole stash, and as I thumbed through it trying to pick one it dawned on me...sometimes I don't really KNOW my friends.  Isn't that pathetic?!  There are those beautiful times when I'm really paying attention, and THEN I KNOW.  But in the waxing and waning of life, it's easy to NOT pay attention.  So, when gift time rolls around, I find myself bereft of ideas!

I hope they like it!

Paper Murphy

I found this on my desk the other day.  I think Murphy was bored!! Self-portrait, perhaps?

Christmas Lights

I painted this yesterday.  My hubby asked me, "Why did you paint a light bulb?"  (you can imagine the tone of voice here).

My answer?

1.  Because I wanted to see if I could.
2.  Because it's my response to "christmas run amock".
3.  Because I was playing around with a new kind of paint.
4.  All of the above.

You choose!