I am very interested in butterflies now that I’m in an area that has a wide assortment. I’ve been wanting to sketch one but, I have been a little intimidated by all of the detail. This one is unfinished. I still have the daisy on which it sits to finish along with the rest of the background. I told my 8 year old daughter she could have it since she’d been eyeballing it all night.
If I were not a married woman with two kids, I would be on the road chasing the beasts of the sky. I’m not sure if I would be a tornado chaser or a lightening photographer, but, I would definitely be in the thick of it. This photo is from a storm we’re having tonight on the East Coast. I knew around 2pm that we were going to have something worthy of busting out the lawn chair and popcorn. A few hours later we have pockets of severe lightning and rain…and now this lovely lightning maker has rotation leaving us with tornado warnings and a few sighted tornadoes. I love it!
(Photos taken in front of my house)
There is nothing like a jolt of thunder to get your blood pumping. It never gets old, you know. No matter how many thunderstorms you may witness in a lifetime, you are broken down to a jaw slacking sense of awe every time the sky unleashes her fury in flash flood conditions and the surprise blinding flash of lightening so close you don’t really know where it came from or where it hit. It’s a fabulous thing how the thunder never disappoints. Around here it echos through the valley in a way that makes it seem even louder. Call me crazy, but there is nothing better than a summer thunderstorm.
As one of the assignments, it’s unfortunate that I had to attempt to draw myself. It official, I will never have a job working as a sketch artist for the police. I find it incredibly difficult to draw people. I’ve always been in awe of people who could not only draw a likeness of someone, but to be able to capture the personality as well. So far, the only thing that I really captured in my sketch was my snotty little smirk, everything else is questionable.
Sketch #5 I have been instructed to do a quick drawing of an interior scene with the lines going to the end of the paper. I did get a smudge on the bottom, so I cropped that out, but this is the gist of a corner of my living room. Looks very cartoony, lol.
Sketch #4 I have been instructed to draw a small object. I don’t think I’m supposed to use shading yet, but I was bored, so I figured, why not.
This is Sketch #3 and I must say that I definitely bit off more than I could chew with my subject choice. With no use of tools like a ruler or protractor, I had no business trying to knock out a fence. By the time I had finished the fence, the sun had already moved and the lighting had changed. Then there is all of the leaf detail. I simply had to drop the pensil and walk away from this one or I would have spent hours on end. Next time I will focus something smaller so I can work more on shading and less so on details.
Sketch #2 I have come to realize that books are much harder than I ever dreamed. It’s all in the angles and I’m sorry to say that I still haven’t got it right.
When searching out to find an artist whom I would most like to piant like, I immediately thought of whose painting I would love to be in. Thomas Kinkade came to mind with his glowing light. Still, his ideas were traditional making a surrealist like Dali more my style. After searching, it is Vladimir Kush that captures the mind, light, and my eye. If I must choose a style, I would hope to learn his.
This is the first of my sketches for the art class. It’s certainly not perfect, but it’s not meant to be. Just a quick little hour or two sketch. I had more than one light source making the shading difficult, but that’s what it’s all about. Practice makes perfect.
I’ve always had some understanding on how to sketch or draw, but it wasn’t until about two years ago that I decided to try my hand at painting. My dad advised me to start out with acrylics because they have less rules, less smell, and are easier to control. When I bought my first canvas board, I seriously stared at it for a good hour, maybe two just thinking about what was in my head. I was overwhelmed with ideas and so unsure with where to start that I was locked in a standoff with the whiteness for fear of ruining the painting before I even started. So, I knocked back a couple glasses of wine so I could relax and not care about the potential loss of a $2.00 board (a.k.a total failure). Somehow, I ended up doing a background and letting my brush just take over. I had no idea what I was painting at first, but as I put the brush to the canvas ideas started to take shape. It was an obsession from that point on. Though I must make it clear that I only paint when the mood strikes. Once a painting is started I will work on it for hours at a time for several days, but when the mood is gone I have to leave it alone. I have discovered that your mood is transfered into your work. The mood has to be there or it’s not worth your time.
So, after a couple of years using acrylics, I have an increasing interest in oil. I long for the texture, the depth, the blending properties, and the challenge. Unlike my parents, I don’t plan on making a living with my art. It is a true hobby and a real escape. I have reached a point where I want to take a class to improve my skills but, I currently live too far out to take one at a college, so I am left with on-line options. I first searched out what was free and was pleased to find a variety of tallented teachers offering their knowlege to their college students via videos on youtube. Few of the professors didn’t mind the general public taking their video courses. I have found one that starts from the beginning and reviews the basics. It is through his course that I decided to make this blog. It’s meant to be a tool, a reference point, a place for ideas, discussion, it enables you to monitor your progress, and recieve creative criticism.
The only proplem I have with blogs is the possibility of someone stealing your work. Not that I think I’m that great, but ideas are ideas. There is nothing worse than one taking credit for another’s work. It’s one thing to copy a painter for practice or technique, it’s another to write their ideas off as your own. I have seen it time and again on sites like Deviantart, Etsy, facebook, ect. I’m a bit passionate on the subject, however I have come to the conclusion that it’s inevitable. I’m getting off topic and that’s a whole other ball of wax for another time.
So, this is it. The lesson calls for a sketch everyday, so I will post my daily sketches. I am also to find a perticular style I like, which artists stand out to me, and discuss why. I very much welcome other fellow artists no matter skill level to offer their input.
