I have arrived!…..well…..then again, maybe not….

Posted on June 28, 2011 by Leeann

So, week before last, I decided to draw ZZ while I had a few minutes waiting on Louie to get home.  I figured it needed to be a quick sketch and I was able to do the following sketch in 10 minutes!  I was soooooo excited! 

And I thought:

“Wow, have I arrived? Has my practice finally paid off and I have arrived at the pinnacle of my artistic ability that I can draw a likeness of my dog in 10 minutes with NO grid and no measuring aids?  This is what I have worked toward: to be able to draw a likeness in a short time period just by looking at it and drawing what I see!  I AM AWESOME!”

……well…….

Then I decided to draw a cat out of the book “Artistic Fitness” by Ed Tatum.  Well, just like in real life, cats are more difficult than dogs (at least in my opinion)!  This cat was HARD!  It took me probably an hour to draw.  In the beginning, I had so much difficulty with the general outline that I finally used a light box to point out all my mistakes and finally get it close!  Anyway, here it is….  Guess I will continue practicing!

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Sketches from the past week

Posted on June 16, 2011 by Leeann

As some of  you know, I have done something artistic (pencils, pastels, or watercolors) EVERY day since Dec 25.  That’s almost 6 months!!!!  Last week, I had to spend a little time in a couple of doctor’s offices so I took my sketchbook and did my daily sketching.  It made the waiting time much more enjoyable and I improve a little more and more each day!  Anyway, here are my sketches….

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Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust

Posted on June 10, 2011 by Leeann

Here’s one of my recent pastels on black velvet pastel paper.  I used soft pastel sticks (Rembrandt and a cheaper brand that I don’t remember) and Faber-Castell Pitt pastel pencils.  For many of the stars and clusters, I used sandpaper and sanded some of the pigment from the soft pastel sticks then gently poured it in a concentrated area on the paper.  Most of the blending was done with my fingers but I did use a blending stump a little.

(Note: I tried to upload a video that shows the creation of this but it was too big!  LOL!)

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Desert Sunset on Velvet Pastel Paper

Posted on June 8, 2011 by Leeann

When I took drawing lessons in Houston, TX, my teacher had some velvet paper that we used for pastels.  I have looked for YEARS for that paper and have tried many different pastel papers, each claiming to be the ideal paper for pastels, but none living up to the velvet paper….  I pretty much quit pastels because I didn’t have time and I didn’t like any of the paper I tried….

Recently, my best friend Jan decided it was her mission to find me this paper.  And she did!!!!  She went through a special order, back order, cancelling the order, going to the store where they said they carried it, another special order, and FINALLY it arrived!!!!  In ALL colors that they carry!!!  She’s awesome!  So, here is my first pastel on velvet paper after about 13 or 14 years of not doing any pastels. 

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A few watercolor experiments

Posted on June 7, 2011 by Leeann

These are all from last weekend when I experimented a little with the watercolors. 

I used watercolors, alcohol, salt, the plastic bag from a bag of oranges, and some plastic wrap.  If you look at it sideways, it almost looks like a warped smiley face!!!!  So I named it:  “Warped Smiley”

This next one was watercolored then I put acrylic and gel string over it.  Louie called it: “Blue Madness”

The next was an abstract color wheel with the plastic orange bag pressed over it.  I’ll call it “Color Wheel”

The last one was an experiment with a textured “mud” that works with watercolors.  I can’t remember the official name of it.  Anyway, I just did an underlay of a few basic colors then played with the “mud”….  I call it “Earth, Wind, and Fire”

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“A Mighty Fortress is our God”

Posted on May 26, 2011 by Leeann

“A Mighty Fortress is our God”

This drawing was inspired by the resulting devastation from the April 27 tornados. We had a work day on May 21st and this trailer was just across the road from the house where we were. This scene just reached out and grabbed me. In the middle of the devastation, there were power poles snapped in two, mangled tin, random shingles, hugs trees uprooted and twisted apart, then several houses and this house trailer, all standing with little damage. The message spray painted on the side of the trailer was so simple yet so powerful:
“A Mighty Fortress is our God”
The scene just captivated me and boggled my scientific mind. How could 2 foot diameter trees be uprooted and torn apart when this house trailer was left nearly untouched? The answer is so simple yet so unfathomable and unexplainable:
“A Mighty Fortress is our God”.

“The Lord is my Rock, and my Fortess, and my Deliverer, my God, my Strength, in whom I will trust.”
Psalm 18:2

I hope you like the drawing and I hope that this message reaches out to you like it did me!

20110525-090748.jpg

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Quick sketches – Bunny Rabbits

Posted on May 24, 2011 by Leeann

Just a few quick sketches from a “new” book I bought:  “The Sierra Club Guide to Sketching in Nature”.  These were totally free-hand and took me approximately 20 minutes to complete.  Yeah!

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“Mustang on Final Approach”

Posted on May 17, 2011 by Leeann

After the tornadoes/storms came through on April 27, we kept our initial plans and drove to Florida to try to see the shuttle launch (which didn’t launch while we were there).  We took the Mustang and I continued my daily drawings, using my view from the passenger seat in the Mustang as my inspiration.

After my husband told me that my horizon was “wrong” because it looked like the Mustang was coming in for a landing, I gave it the title “Mustang on Final Approach”.  Hope you like it!

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Catching up from April 27, 2011 – The Night the lights went out

Posted on May 17, 2011 by Leeann

I’ve been busy and am just now catching up on some of my posts….

So, I have been drawing EVERY day since December 25, 2010.  When the storms came through on April 27 and the lights went out, I still wanted to draw….so I drew by candlelight.  You can see it was just a quick sketch but at least it was something.  A little practice each day pays off and I wasn’t going to let the lack of electricity hinder my practice!

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Zentangles are fun!

Posted on April 26, 2011 by Leeann

I love Zentangles!  They are so much fun and very relaxing!  It’s like doodling but it ends up looking so cool!  This is my Zentangle from tonight, it was done on an Artist Trading Card. 

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