Sketches from my trip

I just returned from seeing the grandkids in Ohio and drew a few of their toys. It was fun to see the reaction of the four year old as he recognized the items.

Of course, one needs to draw on the airplane. It's not wise to sleep near me.

Be Still Oh Inner Critic

There are times when we must overlook the inner critic. I continue to go to figure drawing sessions and am learning to still the critic. This piece was done with a charcoal pencil on paper that had "tooth". I can pick at details, BUT I guess that I like it because there is hope.

I've made another quilt for Quilts of Honor. You may recognize the pattern from a previous posting. This piece is 58"x58" and will be given to a deserving veteran.

And--just to remind you that Spring is really here. This picture of apple blossoms was taken at a friends house.

Quilt in the style of Mackintosh

Sometimes you get excited about a project. It happened to me with this quilt challenge from my Pins and Needles Art Group. We are to make a 12x12" quilt that reflects our favorite artist. Oops! just reread the instructions and it was supposed to be our favorite quilt artist. Oh well, I'll just have to enjoy what I've done. I chose Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868-1928). Can't say that I have just one favorite artist, but I do like his work. He was an architect, designer and artist. He produced over 120 different designs in textiles. He also created in wood, metal, glass and plaster. He did quite a number of floral watercolors. There is even a Society that honors his work from the Arts and Craft movement. Mackintosh was influenced by Japanese art.

In my stash of fabrics I found some pink and light blue that I had dyed. I used a colored pencil to punch up the light blue a bit. The black is a fusible bias tape that I securely sewed after ironing it on. There is just something about this piece that delights me.

Collaborative project and music

Last week I was lucky enough to attend two terrific music events. First was a concert by the Sacramento Symphonic Winds. Simply Sousa was the featured music and the auditorium was packed! Love to hear this rousing music. I did manage to do a few sketches of unsuspecting attendees. I'm finding that using two sizes of pens helps to make my pieces more interesting.

Oh, the other super music event was hearing Jackie Evancho. Oh my, she sings like an angel at age 11. You might check her on youtube.

A collaborative project is now happening. Judi, an artistic friend, and I are going to do a book that has pages which are 8"x8". She does watercolor, oil pastels and oil paints. At the moment, it looks as though I will be doing the lettering, but who knows how I will decorate each page. This is our first set of pages.

Watercolor Lesson & a Challenge

Amazingly, I've hung in there to complete lesson four from the book, Guide to Painting Realistic Water Colors by Dawn McLeod Heim. As I move forward there are more colors and a bit more "looseness" on where to place the colors. A sometimes scary prospect for me. However, my husband could finally recognize the subject matter. Yes, one chick has his back to you.

My other project is a challenge for the Pins and Needles Art Quilters. They are a creative group that is helping to push me. There was an internet group that has published a book called Twelve by Twelve. Following the idea of doing a quilt 12"x12", we went with the following challenge. Three piles of suggestions were created. We each drew a Noun, a Color and a Theme. My three words were Bench, Turquoise and Ocean.

The following close up shows the bench which I created from a rubbing, a tiny clay snail which I added, the blanket from a knit scrap, and the sand which I added with glue. Oh yes, her hair is from cheese cloth which I had dyed.

Now, I have only a couple of days to prepare for my watercolor class. There is more freedom and I'm a tiny bit insecure working without detailed guidance.

Odds and ends

I made the quilt that is pictured below, to be auctioned at a fundraiser for a soccer club. Yes, someone won the quilt, but the winning bid barely covered my costs. It may be a while before I consider making another one. Oh well, that happens.

Since is was intrigued by the design, I used it on an 8" x 8" dot piece. I continue to learn about using the dots as the best certainly background colors work better an others. The learning continues.

Yes, I continue to go to the figure drawing sessions. Someone suggested contrast so I added the yellow. OK, sometimes I get carried away.

The more I do art, the more I seem to "need" to immerse myself in the process. This feeling may be the same for you!

Watercolor Lesson & Figure Drawing

Continuing with my lessons in Painting Realistic Water Colors by Dawn McLeod Heim, I finished project #4 which is the rose and wine glass. It was suggested that you prepare 15 different colors (I did 14). This was quite a stretch for me. Also, she does not tell you where each color is to be placed, but you are supposed to be advanced and can refer to the color photograph. Basically I'm moved out of my comfort zone. However, I did finish this piece and have started on the next lesson.

Today I went to my figure drawing session.This was a 25 minute drawing done with pastel pencil. As I sit down to draw, I wonder how "with it" I'll be each day. I was comfortable in my space and found that I was holding the pencil in a more relaxed way and I was observing negative spaces. Certainly room from improvement, but I only have 9,950 more drawings until I can accurately capture the image!!