Retro Carousel

And now, another blast from the past.  Back when the Pony Express delivered my college acceptance letter...  um...  When my parents helped me load up the model T...  er . . . .  We didn't use computers back when I spent my waking hours in the graphic design room...  Seriously.  Designing and production was done sans keyboard, touchpad or monitor.  Shocking!  I know!  A young friend recently told me she didn't realize there was graphic design before computers.  Yeah, I'm old.

I also worked on campus creating graphics.  My boss bought a Macintosh computer during my senior year.  The original Mac.  I learned the incredibly brilliant MacPaint and MacDraw.  It was amazing!  Stop laughing.  It was.  Prior to that, my lone computer experience was a few weeks of BASIC programming on a clunky computer in high school.

Though the office had a Mac, not a single computer was available in the art rooms.  T-square, airbrush, frisket film, color paper, rapidograph pen, non repro blue pencil, registration marks, x-acto knife, burnished lettering....  No computer.  We were also required to purchase a set of design markers.  Double-ended bright colors that did not come cheap, especially for a college student.  I still have mine, but hadn't used them in years and years - stashed in the basement with the tackle box.

48 Prismacolor markers saw the light of day this week.  Testing time for the 27 year old fine points and chisel tips.  First three?  Fantastic.  Nice clean colors.  Then Warm Gray 20% scratched across the paper leaving no color whatsoever.  Next two were good.  Then Cold Gray 40% - dry dry dry.  My old set was shrinking.  However, the next one was fine, and the next and the next.  One after the other, both sides flowing nicely.  Only two were kaput.  A pleasant surprise.  Time to add vibrant color to the sketchbook!

I Challenge Thee

2013 and I'm on a roll again.  Wahoo!

Typing "drawing" in the Pinterest search box a few months ago would result in a "30 Day Drawing Challenge" - a list of objects and people to draw.  I didn't pin it - just didn't fit my journey, but I was eventually inspired by it.  I created my own drawing challenge in late November and officially started January 3.  It includes a variety of skill building exercises or new techniques to try.

Day 1: A pen & ink value scale - draw increasingly smaller patterns to create light to dark values.
Day 2: Finish documenting my watercolor pan set.  I'd drawn the page a month ago in a watercolor journal, but had neglected finishing.  Now it's done and the bright colors are inspiring.

Taken with my phone due to low camera battery & lack of patience.

Yesterday - Day 3: Drawing with my left (non-dominant) hand. When you start out knowing you have less control, it's actually quite freeing.  The perfectionist takes a break.  The inner critic shuts down.  The process is shaky and feels odd, but not as bad as I had imagined.   The imperfect lines have a certain charm to them I think.  I don't find myself saying - well, good grief - coulda' done better.  Aaah.

I've moved on to a bigger sketchbook -less bright, thinner, rougher pages - good for pencil sketches.  The different paper may not photograph as well.  We'll see when I actually use the camera.




PS - All you people who received some type of sketchbook and art supplies for Christmas.  (Yes, YOU!)  You could do these challenges.  Hmm.  Actually, anyone with any kind of paper could.  Really - give it a try.  Right now.  Get out those pads you tucked away (or a piece of paper out of your printer) and give it a whirl!

Year Ends ~ Journey Begins

It's been over three months since D(raw) Day.  I wasn't really sure where the trek would be at this point.  Looking back, I imagined I'd be sketching more.  Somewhat bruised from beating myself up - not enough "real" art, but we'll work on that in 2013.  However, the little bit of practice and the excess of play have brought about a few milestones:  drawing nearly every day, sketching in public, arting on a wall, vacation sketching, gifts of art for family and illustrating the annual Christmas letter.

I continue to doubt, but my biggest fans (you know who you are) have encouraged me and insisted I'm not selfish (still doubting).  I'm told I have a responsibility to nurture a God-given gift (trying not to doubt the gift) and am inspiring others to be creative in whatever way suits them (that's my favorite).  I say these things not to fish for compliments - really - I want my art to lift up others, not me.  If it's my gift, I want to re-gift it!  It's a long winding road to recover some talent, confidence & skill.  This blog is just to keep me honest and hopefully inspire a bit.   So, we will deem the beginning months a success.  The tackle box is still open, the artist has stretched a bit and the art supplies aren't so dusty.  New plans are marinating to keep the sketchbooks open and will be shared soon.

As I've been thinking and typing, it's been snowing - all morning.  A magnificent winter day to end the year.  The world outside is a blur of white fluffy flakes.  The earth is a rolling white canvas.  Inspiring.

Germy Pens

I caught a particularly nasty cold this past week, or as my son calls it, "The Plague."  It's been a few years since I had one of those colds that completely knocks you down.  My luck ran out & I discovered it's hard to focus on being creative when you're fighting "The Plague."  Days 1 and 2 - no art, just germs.  Day 3 - a little zentangling - not a lot of thought, just patterns on the page.  Fortunately no one else uses my pens.  One less thing to sanitize.  Day 4 - today - finally feeling almost human and able to sketch a bit.  It's amazing how feeling awful makes you appreciate feeling almost human.

Sketching Two Thousand and Twelve

I adore Christmas letters! ... Stop groaning.  We have two albums of Christmas letters, notes & photos - a record of family and friends stories/greetings/faces - going back to the 80's.  I have composed a yearly Christmas letter since the arrival of our second child... 19 years ago, yeah that makes me feel a tad old.  I attempt creativity and/or humor - always through the written word.  Some years are more successful than others.  Well, this year, thanks to recent drawing & doodling, the 2012 letter went in a new direction.

An idea started brewing in November.  After Thanksgiving, Christmas-related doodles appeared in the sketchbook.  The original intention was just a little ornamentation.

Then, as thoughts of the past year filled the brain, illustration ideas barged in right along with them.  I started sketching these in my new bigger, wire bound sketchbook.  Of course I had to redraw them in proper chronological order, ink over the pencil, erase the pencil and add a little color.  For mass production, they were scanned, "perfected" in Photoshop & Illustrator for a few hours (while my husband kept asking when was I ever going to be done), and finally printed and tucked in the envelopes.

A random sampling...

        

But wait - there's more!  I couldn't ignore the doodles originally intended for the letter.  So, a day was spent inking friendly snowmen, chunky trees and tiny Christmas greetings on the envelopes.  The last of these were sent yesterday.  Another new adventure accomplished thanks to the sketchbook trek!

On to more Christmas projects, which I can't share just yet because it will ruin a few surprises.

The joyful day is less than a week away, so Merry Christmas dear imaginary readers!  My gift to you is this suggestion:  Have a little fun and create your own Christmas doodles on anything handy - envelopes, post-its or maybe bits of wrapping paper that usually wind up in the recycle bin.

Merry Christmas to all!

Cross My Heart

In case one or two imaginary readers stop by...

Yes, I am drawing (and/or doodling).  I really am.  I promise it's true. 

No time for photos or thoughtful blogging this past week.  I will post soon.  In the meantime, check out a favorite illustrator & sketchbook keeper, Mattias Adolfsson.  And now, back to Christmas projects & preparation.  

That is all.

Growing Trees

Thanks to the advice of a wise reader, this artist is going with the flow for the rest of 2012.  Permission has been given to just play - to do whatever I want in the sketchbook as long as I do something in the sketchbook.  We'll get back to some rules and a plan of action in the new year.

One of my current paper playgrounds did not come from the art supply store.  While merrily pinning drawing ideas, I discovered altered books - pages of old books transformed into sculptures, paintings and sketches.  So, this past week I picked up a free, about-to-be-discarded 1952 almanac from the library.  The somewhat delicate pages take ink nicely.  Bare winter trees have caught the artist's eye lately and creating a tree on something that was a tree so very long ago seemed fitting.  First, a couple of trees appeared in the almanac, then scrolling leafy trees in my hardbound sketchbook and another in my pocket size Moleskine... a bit obsessed.  I'm fairly convinced that anyone can draw or doodle a tree - just keep adding smaller & smaller branches or swirls and a few leaves - tada!  It's actually quite therapeutic.  The dark wintry tree grew during an evening of discussing Christmas ideas with my husband.  Grab a marker or pen and give it a whirl.  No fancy drawing surface needed.  Any random piece of paper will do!

Side note - old book pages make lovely antique-ish paper snowflakes.

Art Interrupted

Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Christmas decorating - all things that kept the pens & pencils tucked away for a few days.  I opened the sketchbook just once for blind contours of the cat sleeping on my lap.  It will take some fierce determination to keep up the art attempts through the holidays.

Best excuse for slacking off?  Family time.  In-laws, kids & Mom - lovely!  My mom is an impressive seamstress and quilt maker.  That is her art (that and chocolate chip cookies) and she shared her art with me yesterday.  Mom helped me cut, piece and sew a Christmas-themed multi-piece pillow cover.  It was simple for her - not for me.  I am not, in any manner of the word, a seamstress.  I never had the patience to let her teach me before.  As I was cutting the material, listening to her words of wisdom, I sighed "I'd rather be drawing."  We had several great laughs at my errors, but it turned out fine.  I may just try another one solo to maintain the minimal skills gained from our tutoring session.

Since there is a lack of current art to share, here is a piece from last year - created for family reunion shirts.  It was the first reunion without my gardening, fishing, beekeeper Dad who always signed cards with his unique happy face.  We wanted to honor his memory.  My daughter planted the idea of me designing something and, with some family urging, a little art was completed.

Bonus Art

Last night I stood on the bathroom counter and painted my own scrolly-viney design along the top of the wall.  I've always imagined doing this . . . someday.  Well, someday came on November 19, 2012.  The bravery it took to attempt this (you can hide paper, but not a wall) is owed entirely to the artist revival trek.  I believe the idea grew from the scrolling/doodling page posted last week - a page that would  otherwise be nonexistent.  The result is not elaborate or exceptionally wonderful, but when my honest husband said "That's actually kinda' cool," I knew it was good enough to be stuck on our wall for at least a few years.

One other thing - my new reading (sketching) glasses came in today.  Wahoo!  I will now have perfect vision to perfect my vision.  Sorry - couldn't resist putting it that way.

There Will Be (cadmium red) Blood TONIGHT!

fun with new pens

There is a battle going on nightly in my house.  It is waged with pen, pencil & paper.  It is waged between the Pinterest-pinning, doodle-loving, letter-making whimsicalist (yes I totally just created a word) and the Leonardo-admiring, charcoal-wielding, traditional-technique-practicing realist.  The whimsicalist doodles on the realist with her new color pens.  Meanwhile, the annoyed realist can't find the good pencil sharpener and the drawing exercises never turn out perfectly anyway.  Sigh.

When imagining this journey, I saw myself sitting down daily to work through drawing exercises and sketching life around me.  Enter the world of art journals.  There is a whole genre of art out there I wasn't really aware of.  People who create fun pages of words and doodles and patterns and textures and color  - with some or no realistic drawing incorporated.  It feels more crafty to me, but it is tempting.  I try to mix it up - do a little of both.  Whimsy is winning lately.  I want to believe it's my inner illustrator at work.  I've created motivational sketchbook (art journal) pages trying to convince myself it's okay to veer off a bit.  So far I'm not falling for it.  Sometimes I think, "Hey, that turned out kinda' cool."  However, usually I think, "Okay, that was fun, but tomorrow I need to do some 'real' art."

Hence the dilemma.  Is this helpful, useful, or does it matter?  Does any kind of practice advance my skills?  Or is it just lazy and another form of procrastin(art)ing?  Someday there may be answers.  The journey continues and I'm wondering how many diverging roads there will be in these yellow ochre woods.  Onward ho... or ... to the battlefield!  There will be blood tonight! (best movie ever!)

Art practice for the realist.  Blind contour giraffes - a lesson from the Drawing Lab book.  I must admit - I used to hate this technique, but it's growing on me.

I Can See Clearly Now

I can see!  I can see!  Well, that's a bit of excessive enthusiasm.  Let me explain.

I have needed glasses since 2nd grade.  Not need-them-or-walk-into-walls glasses, just almost-can't-pass-the-drivers-license-test glasses.  I stopped wearing them regularly later in high school - young, dumb & worried about boys.  Ten years ago I finally started wearing contacts.  It was fabulous!  No glasses to push on my nose or lose or break or clean.  My eyes are naturally imbalanced, so my doc put me in monovision contacts.  Right eye corrected for far and left for near - works well once your brain gets used to it.  Really close stuff has a faint double image, but bright light and not-too-small print helps.  I asked about reducing the mismatch last year & he put me in multifocal contacts, which have a better range of good vision, but still corrected to monovision.  That was an improvement.  However, still not ideal.

Fast forward to September and the dive back into art.  The blurred image was much more apparent as I started daily drawing.  I had to remove my contacts for fine lines & detail, which isn't all that convenient, especially away from home.  The frustration even invaded my dreams!   I explained the new awareness of the problem at my yearly appointment a few days ago.  I feel oddly selfish & vain when I explain the artist journey to others & that I must justify what I'm doing.  So far, though, most people tend to be interested and impressed - many commenting that they can't draw and I like to correct that thought.  Anyway, after multiple solutions discussed, it was decided I should try out reading glasses with a different power in each lens.  This way, I could see clearly at near while looking over the top of them to view whatever I might be drawing in the distance.  Yay!  Not all that thrilled about the presbyopic teacher look, but entirely pleased to have a solution at hand.

Daily arting continues with only one lapse since last posting.  As mentioned in the last post, next time - the battle of the art styles.

Gnarly - or - How My Family Inspires Art

I bought new art supplies again Saturday - markers & papers & a Moleskine sketchbook to see if it's really so wonderful.  The art this past week has been mainly random doodling, patterns and lettering.  There's a struggle going on between a realism sketchbook and art journaling.  More on that battle soon.

For now - a bit of the additional vacation art I promised.

South Rim of the Grand Canyon.  Looking out from the Watchtower, you will see a bare dead tree.  My sister-in-law declared it "gnarly," which, of course, instantly transported me to the 80's.  The squirming branches begged to be sketched.  So I did, and even briefly had an audience of two foreign tourists.  Later I found a photo of said tree on the back of a GC book we brought home.  I'm so glad I took the sketchbook everywhere.  Now I have my own version of what is apparently a well-documented plant.

The next day we left the canyon and stopped in Williams, Arizona, an old Route 66 town with plenty of interesting restaurants and shops.  After a meal of juicy burgers & tea, we walked across the street to a little quilt store.  (A request of my seamstress mother.)  There was a small quilt-covered bed just inside the door and a sign that instantly had my illustration bells going off.  Back on the road - I pulled out the sketchbook and recorded the words & image stuck in my head.  Again, yay for the traveling sketchbook!

This one's for Mom.
(Ignore the thumb, I'm already tired of this hardbound won't-lay-flat sketchbook!)