Day 104: video research

I was feeling frustrated, dejected and defeated by my art project tonight. I couldn't think of anything to draw. All I wanted to do was sit and read "Fellowship of the Ring," which I was enjoying a hell of a lot more now as an adult then I did 15+ years ago when I read them growing up. I was feeling tired and groggy after a warm, relaxing bath. And I just thought screw drawing. I want to watch OTHER people draw.

So that's what I did.

I spent a LOT of time watching youtube drawing tutorials, focusing on my current living local artist Claudia Nice. She does pencil, pen & ink, and watercolor drawings and paintings which are just so realistic and lifelike. I also found a fabulous video by a guy named Will Terrell. His video was humorous and had quite insightful tips from improving your drawing. Things I learned from all these videos I poured over:
#1 Use a blending stump in pencil work (What the hell was a blending stump used for? Well, I saw what I could use that for today)
#2 Draw with bold strokes TOWARD yourself. Here I've always flicked the pen AWAY from myself. Go figure that my lines were always broken or overlapped.
#3 Sketch very VERY lightly. As in, can just barely see it on the page My pencil "sketches" were basic drawings that ALWAYS have shown through the page and the later drawing.
#4 Don't be afraid to shade dark. Otherwise you don't get curve or depth.
#5 Ink lines are more interesting if they have variation. Both artists talked about this. Either in breaking up the line or with different line thicknesses. 
#6 This one I knew already but forget it. Use a papertowel or something over your paper so you don't smear your shit to hell.
#7 Turn the page you dummy! Don't just draw with it all facing one way or you can miss crucial pieces of information and the capacity to use your hand the best way. Plus you could smear.
#8 Drawing well takes countless hours of practice, both in the methods and in truly observing your subject

And here is the Will Terrell video if you want to get a kick out of a dude's tutorial video. He did a nice job.

Day 103: a dream catcher

This post is more of a rant then a comment about my art. I grew sick of this drawing in less than 2 minutes. I'm reading "Code Talkers," which is a fiction story about the Navajo code talkers of WWII. I have been feeling like America continues to screw over the Native Americans and First People in general. It's not just us but other majority cultures continue to try and stomp out minority cultures. (I'm talking to you Australia!)

I wanted to draw a dream catcher from a craft book of mine so I started there on the right and then I thought, why am I drawing this? I don't actually know what a First People dream catcher looks like. I only know what I've seen at hippy craft fairs and in this made by white people, for white people craft book. So I stopped drawing and I decided to slash the page with a messy circle and instead of a web, just a hex of mean, angry slashy lines.

This is the second time I have had to type this post and the first time was so much more eloquent and three paragraphs long but my iPad crashed and I was so angry. Still, this was time well spent pondering and problem-solving and questioning society.

Materials: anger, ink
Time: 1 hour

Day 102: thumbprint figures

These were quick and fun to do: Franken Thumb, Kitty Thumb (or Going To Be Sick Thumb) and Diva Thumb.

Materials: ink pad, ink

Time: 5 minutes

Day 101: Blythe dolls

I acquired two Neo Blythe dolls via ebay. They are factory dolls, so they didn't cost as much as the true Neo Blythe do. But they are sturdy and heavy. I couldn't resist the brunette because she looked like me and the orange/pink doll was too lovely to pass up. Now the decision begins on clothing...what to do?

Day 100: butternut squash linguine

The cheese on top didn't have a chance to melt but I assure you it was delicious :)

Day 99: kombu soup

I'm going through things to get rid of some clutter and that includes old magazines. The cooking ones tend to pile up and I never try cooking anything from them. This kombu broth soup was a success but I will need to make it again with the correct amount of ingredients. I forgot the vermouth and had no shallots.

Day 98: Lollipop

I'm starting to feel signs of a cold attacking. Here is a lollipop like the king they give to kids at banks or doctor's offices.

Materials: ink, colored pencil

Time: 5 minutes

Day 97: An avocado?

Not my best, but here is an avocado. I like the scribbles for the texture but the shape is too lumpy. It was old/past-it's-prime/rotten.

Materials: ink

Time: 5 minutes

Day 96: Vanessa and late night style

I have a very stylish friend name Vanessa who I've know since high school. In other words, a long time :) We usually try to meet once a month to do dinner at one of our houses and this time I hosted. I was feeling in a funk and so I shyly asked V if she would mind giving me some style advice and helping me with some questions I had regarding my wardrobe. In about 30 minutes we were flying through my clothes, shoes and chunky accessories draped everywhere. We had a wonderful time and by the end of it I had really boosted my confidence from your attention to detail and great eye. A couple of fashion tricks she taught me are below:

A chambre shirt works wonders but try cuffing the sleeves.

If I'm sick of long tops, try tops that hit me at my natural waist and adjust the bottoms up too.

Vintage fur can be given an edge with chunky Docs and cuffed jeans.

Mix textures on top.

Another vintage coat given an edge

Mixing textures: leather and gossamer

Day 95: Venus

I've always been fascinated with the carnivorous plants. The rows of Venus Fly Traps in the Portland Nursery always attract oglers trying to spot slowly digesting flies. I really don't know how they live. Also this reminds me of one of my favorite musicals: Little Shop of Horrors!

Materials: ball point pen, colored pencil

Time: 15 minutes

Day 94: just a hand

Ode to the same hand...twice. (from "Wreck This Journal"). 

Materials: left hand, ink

Time: 5 minutes

Day 93: clean work space

Part of doing creative things is having a creative work space to use. Our sunroom has my drafting table in it and it was piled high with crap and very dirty from projects. I gave it a deep clean and put everything away where I can easily pull it out for a project. I have a tall stool I use to sit at it too. This is a nice space now and I want to feel invited to sit down and spread out but also not put so much on it that it collects dust and I don't use it. Go me!

Materials: perseverance, cleaning spray, organizational skills

Time: 1 hour

Day 92: steno pad

I have fond memories of office supplies. My mom used these steno pads as her weekly "what to tape" guides. She would go through the newspaper TV guide and write down the things she would need to tape that week. 

As an adult now I'm very picky about my office supplies. I'm getting pickier about art supplies too. I envy people who don't mind sketching on thin or lined paper because sometimes bleed thru can lead to charming results. But honestly I just get annoyed by it. Other stuff includes Paint that isn't vibrant. Brushes that lose bristles or don't hold water well. I'm slowly taking stock of all the supplies and deciding on things that are junk and which will make for better art and frankly, the better the medium the easier it is to use for the artist. I can use junk supplies for projects where it doesn't matter or when I know the brush will be ruined.

To be honest, some of my favorite books for this project are the 712 or 642 things to draw books which are crappily bound AND has thin pages. It's self-contained and easy to store and I like those things. But they don't necessarily have me drawing things from life, which I need to practice.

Here's my Steno Notes pad...thinking about my mom. :)

Materials: ink

Time: 10 minutes

Day 92: pin cushion

Something simple :)

Materials: ink

Time: 5 minutes

Day 91: Astro Boy

My man is a super hero :) Two dozen roses and a clean house--What a sweetie! School was pretty humorous/ridiculous/hurtful for kids so it was nice to come home and be with my lovey. Happy Hallmark holiday that I for one happen to enjoy.

Materials: pencil, ink, colored pencil

Time: 1 hour

Day 90: for your valentine

Kevin gave me pink roses for Valentine's Day. He also cleaned the kitchen and vacuumed. Life is good. Here is a dinosaur with flowers and a balloon. Let him (or her) be your sweetheart.

Materials: blue and red pen

Time: 30 minutes

Day 89: Dino magic

Some fun dinosaur cartoon characters. Should have used a pencil first. I like worried dinosaur best :)

Materials: red pen

Time: 20 minutes

Day 88: New take on a toasted cheese

If you add several tablespoon fulls of refried beans to a normal grilled cheese sandwich...it's awesome! AWESOME I SAY!

It just came to me. This perfect marriage of tastes, flavors and textures! Delicious and very creative :)

Day 87: Snowpocalypse Day 4

For Christmas Kevin and I received these customizable monkeys. This made me begin researching 3d paintable art. There is a lot of variety out there.

I found two discount vinyl do it yourself toys at my favorite art store. These are the 7" primed sets from Munnyworld by Kidrobot. 

This is Munny. (Above)

And this is Raffi.

It's amazing to look at the customizable vinyl toy market. This led me to the Neo Blythe doll crazy. This is all amazing how crazy folks can go for these. I got sucked in to researching for HOURS as the snow melted around me. It was definitely a snow day :)

I found a neat idea from the Salvation Army for 50 cents. Customizing this 1979 doll. Recognize her? She is well loved and I don't think a collector would be interested in her, uncustomized. 

What I like about her:

#1 vinyl head with great head to body ratio (similar to Blythe doll)

#2 hands can grip custom items

#3 fun vinyl accessories (see shoe)

#4 threaded hair

#5 standing holes on feet bottoms

#6 bendable joints at shoulder and hips

This research took all day and was the creative thing. 

Day 86: Snowpocalypse Day 3

Here is the finished snow lantern. I really like the look of the granite. It's on a 5x7 watercolor card.

Close up

Materials: watercolor, ink size 0.03

Time: 1 hour

Day 85: Snowpocalypse Day 2

Snow Day Number 2. The snow is beautiful in the yard. We've had to pour hot water on the pond to keep an air hole for the koi. The birds have been looking for water too, so we opened up a section on the top of the waterfall they can drink out of. We've put out trays for the critters of bird seed and they are going to town on all of it.

While stuck inside, I found this excellent video from Brain Pickings called John Cleese on the 5 Factors to Make Your Life More Creative. He has some great points. My favorite is #4 Confidence: Nothing will stop you being creative so effectively as the fear of making a mistake. I have issues with that. Sometimes I think of something to draw and undermine that desire to draw it by following up with "too complicated," "too much time," "How can it be done?" or "Where would you even start?" The comment that bothers me the most of that is "How can it be done?" since the first thing to just try is doing it. Then try something different when you do it twice. Again and again refining your technique.

Here is my snow viewing lantern, stage 1.
 

Materials: watercolor

Time: 20 minutes

Day 84: Snowpocalypse Day 1

Snow Day! I had arranged for a substitute teacher today ANYWAY since I had a Reading Conference to attend. But then it snowed and kept snowing. :) There is tons of snow on the ground now and it's a fun time to sit and reflect on life.

Materials: ink, pencil

Time: 30 minutes

Day 83: Marble

I loved playing marble games when I was a kid. My Uncle Bob also made me a wooden marble slide that I played with constantly. When the marbles would shoot off, Sugar would run and chase them. :)

Here is my take on the "cat's eye" marble.

Time: 20 minutes

Materials: ink, pencil, colored pencil

Day 82: KitKat

I am starting to read "The Kite Runner" with my seniors. So I had thought to draw the kites with the string with glass shards glued to it but the shape of the dangling kitty on the end of the string just surfaced instead. I think if this cat could talk he would say, "oh mittens!"

Time: 45 minutes

Materials: pencil, ink, colored pencil

Day 81: skirt steak

Decided to make something without a recipe.

Skirt steak marinated in Apple cider with a splash of Siracha

Ingredients: flank steak, carrots, apple cider, Siracha. Cook for 3 hours after braising meat.

Dessert: Apple bake

Ingredients: apples, pecans, brown sugar baked at 350 for 20 minutes.

I nommed on this and I forgot to take pictures on the finished dishes. They were excellent.

Day 80: Mr. Mole

"The Wind in the Willows" is one of those books I remember fondly from my childhood. 

Here's Mr. Mole :)

Materials: ink

Time: 15 minutes

Day 79: macaroons

Isn't macaroon spelled wrong in this prompt? In Vancouver Canada I ate my first one. They are addictive! My favorite ones were lavender and Earl Grey.

Materials: ink, colored pencil

Time: 10 minutes

Day 78: Shigezo outfit

Each year the people I study Japanese Tea Ceremony with meet up for an annual New Years dinner at local Portland izukaya, Shigezo. Michelle does an excellent job sending hand-made invitations and creating gifts for the attendees which embodies the year's artistic theme from Japan. This year's is calm or stillness so the gift represented the theme.

Here is what I wore. Taken at a Starbucks to make sure I wouldn't forget later (which I did):

Vest: Ann Taylor

Necklace: wrapped wire globes

Dress: black and white dress

Black boots and leggings