I can’t believe it’s been almost three months since I posted here! I’ve been busy with all sorts of different projects, but I just never seem to get around to putting any of them here. Even now, I have something else I should be working on, so this will just be a quick post of a couple of things I’ve done lately…
“Black Eyed Susan”, oil on canvas, 12″ x 16″
And, for those of you who come here to see my doodles…
“Cubist”, pen and ink, 5″ x 7″
I’m in between projects right now and not sure which direction I want to take. I’ve been wanting to get back to my oil paints but beyond that, nothing is really grabbing my attention. So while I wait for inspiration to strike, I’m amusing myself with some Zentangle inspired doodling and maybe a craft project or two.
“Curvaceous”, pen and ink on paper, 5″ x 7″
My latest portrait — Emma II, colored pencil on Bristol vellum, 11″ x 14″.
Awhile back, Yael Michaeli contacted me asking permission to use one of my designs for a paper cutting. Her final piece was amazing, and I’ve been fascinated with paper cutting ever since. I took one of my ATC sized zen doodle designs, enlarged it to 8″ x 10″ and cut the design out of black card stock.
I’ve made a couple of art related New Year’s resolutions. For starters, I plan to spend a lot more time at it than I am currently and do more experimenting. To that end, I decided to try a graphite drawing from a photo I took during one of my walks. I love to photograph landscapes, but I haven’t really tried to draw or paint them yet. So here’s landscape experiment #1…
Beaver Marsh, 8″ x 10″, graphite on paper
“Merry and Bright”, pen & ink and colored pencil
I took a colored pencil workshop with Cecile Baird a few weeks ago, and all I can say is that is was awesome! Cecile is a warm, friendly, and so generous in sharing her techniques and experiences with us. I’d forgotten how much I enjoy working with colored pencils!
This is the project we did in the seminar, with some modification. The original drawing we were working from had a light background with trees in the distance…nice, but I wanted more of the drama that, to me, defines Cecile’s artwork. Instead of the trees, I opted for a black background, which I think took just as long as the rest of the drawing! Well worth it though, I think.
Although I could fiddle with this for a few more weeks, I’m calling it done. I learned a ton and I’m happy with the way it looks so I’m calling it a success…might even spring for a nice frame to put it in. Time to move on to the next project!
Today was the final day of the workshop my friend did on painting Bourguereau’s “The Difficult Lesson”, and I’m relieved to report that my peasant girl finally has a face and that it’s not hideous. Having worked diligently on the painting and investing so much time in it since the last time we met in the workshop a couple of weeks ago, I was more than a little bit worried that I would ruin the whole thing once I started painting her face. I still have a lot more work to do, but I’m happy with what I have going so far. Yay!
I haven’t done much drawing or painting in weeks, but summer’s over now and it’s time to get back at it. This is the first stages of my version of William-Adolphe Bourguereau’s The Difficult Lesson, which I started during a workshop given by a friend of mine. This is the most fun I’ve had with oils so I’m anxious to share this WIP even though she still looks a bit like a zombie!
