Documented Life...Self Portrait

Here is my self portrait for The Documented Life Project. I like how it turned out, though it doesn't look just like me, and looked less like me before a little surgery to the drawing. But hey, it's more practice!

Here is the picture I worked with, and my sketch. Now when I step back I can see that my eyes in the photo are rounder and my face fuller...and the mouth is way off. Little things can change the whole expression on a face.

After I painted it I covered the mouth and thought I liked the top half of the picture. So I ripped off the bottom part, and collaged the part I like with some underpaper (the paper that catches my drips and all when I'm working) and tape and bits of the border.

I'll have another go at this someday. I'm pinched for time these days, so this works for me for now. Another day, another drawing! Today I'll be working on a drawing of Lou Mitchell's Restaurant in Chicago.

Bible Journaling

Hebrews 12:1. This verse applies to much more than actual running, but right now, I'm training to try and run a 5k sometime this fall. I've never been a runner, and we will see if I can. I'm following the Couch to 5K program. If you are interested in doing this someday, their app makes it much easier to keep track of how long you run/walk. Right now, I'm just in the second week, so it's not too hard so far!

Frida Kahlo...another face to draw...

Last night I tried the famous face of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. Frida had polio as a child and also suffered pain from a terrible injury in a bus crash at the age of 18, and also much emotional pain in her life. Many of her self portraits deal with this pain. You can read more about her by googling her or by following this link.

She has a very strong facial structure that I didn't catch here, but I like her eyes and eyebrows and her hair. Maybe I will try her a little down the road towards my goal of 100 faces. Frida is my 13th face.

Faces from the shop

 This is a young man I met at my shop. He was very upbeat and fun....and he was looking at a country music CD when he told me the story on the page. Then he wanted to know about the singer on the CD. Right at that moment the singer walked in, and they had their picture made together and talked about music for a while. It's a small world!

 This is another customer at the shop. She is from Germany, and you can read the story on the page in the picture below. I'm not happy with this drawing, but it's another one of the 100 done. I cannot figure out shading on faces yet...especially on women. If you leave it crosshatching it looks like whiskers, but I'm not fond of the blended look that I get with a paper stump either. I'll have to hit youtube and see what I can learn.

This is a beautiful redhead I saw on pinterest. I erased quite a bit and it got kind of smudgy, but I like her anyway. Her right eye is rather small.

Face...again

Well here is another face. I love this girl, but I didn't am not up to drawing her yet. I tried to draw her back in 2007, and this is a little better, I think, but still...I need a LOT of practice. Also..I can tell you I think teeth showing makes things harder! Anyway, I committed to showing them all to see what kind of progress I make as I draw 100 faces, so here she is!

Documented Life, Christmas Traditions

 This prompt was to document one of my Christmas traditions. I love putting up the nativity, because it's what Christmas is all about. I have an old glass star that belonged to my great grandmother on my dad's side. They were from Germany, and the star is a German glass ornament. I hang it right over the stable that my brother-in-law made for our nativity set.

Here are a few photos from a couple of years ago:

Face 5/100

Here is face #5. I kind of like how she turned out, but I some how lost some of her head tilt while I was painting her. Her tilted head was so sassy in the reference photo, and I wish I'd managed to keep that, but maybe next time. What attracted me to this girl was her gorgeous hair, and I definitely had fun making her curls.

 

 I used a banking envelope with a security pattern on the inside, and then put on the polka dots using some punchanella and fingerpainting. Kind of messy, but it's all good! I sketched her, but then of course I had to use some gesso to make base for all the skin tones.

I've been painting on my dining room table...which is where I usually do. Late night painting and watching CNN. I chose purples because the documented life project had a prompt for using colors you usually don't use. I rarely use purple or lavender. There is also the second prompt from another week of polka-dots!

Beginning a face...

Here is a start to another face. This will be face number 5. She is from a photo from the internet, but as usual she doesn't actually look just like that person. I like her look though...she has spunk I think!

Face 4/100

This is my first try at a face from my imagination. One of Santa's elves! I pasted gift wrap in my Moleskine, then painted gesso over it, and drew in the face. I'm trying to do some of these faster to fit them in because I have a lot of projects going right now. They might not be perfect, but they are done, and it's one more day of practice!

Be the Change...

 This page was for Thanksgiving week. With the self portrait, I fulfilled the prompt to make a page about gratitude.

On the inside, I decided to do the next week's prompt to trace a hand. I've been watching the news about Ferguson, MO, and I decided to document this. I traced my hand on to a map that included Missouri and Illinois. This week's news filled me with sadness in so many ways, and the only thing I  know to do, is to do my own little part to be kind, and to love others. I can see pain on all around this issue, and so many things that need change.

Documented Life/Moleskine Planner

 This is a page that I put in July when I was at the lake. There is a big Native American influence still in the Sister Lakes area. In this area it's the Pokagon Band of the Potawatomi Indians. The background of tow of the pages is a beautiful envelope from Shawn Parks-Penn.

I combined the challenges of using a white pen, and adding a tiny photo. This one of Hawkeye and me was taken on the boat on Magician Lake.

Face 3/100

 I started this page using a beautiful envelope sent to me by artist Shawn Parks-Penn. It's so rich! I love it. I veered away from drawing another self portrait, because I found a photograph of a lovely Navajo woman. The link is to the article where I found the photo, and is about several Native American women who are working to preserve their heritage. This drawing ends up not looking just like her, but it gave me a place to start.

 

 I started with the measurements I've learned from websites and books about dividing up the head for features, and then I used acrylic paints to block in some shadows and highlights. This worked pretty well. Before I was sketching in features right away, but of course lost them when I painted and had to do them all over again after painting.

Next I added her features. I added some whites back into her eyes with a white Sharpie water based pen, and also used it to highlight her lips and the feather and beads. A little bit of final shading was added to her neck and jaw using a water soluble graphite pencil. I think I managed to keep her serious expression.

I paint this on a summer page on a week I went to the lake. The Native Americans in that area are Potawatomi Tribe, not Navajo, but it still seemed the best place to place her in my planner. I'll post a bit more when I finish up that week's pages.

Face 2/100

Here is my second face. If you'd like to join the fun of drawing faces check out the facebook group: studio7ARTacademy. This one is another one drawn from a photo of me in my new hat taken last year.

I've been looking online, finding youtube videos that show how to divide up the head so that the features fall in approximately the right spots. That helps. I am nervous and freeze up when trying to draw the nose, especially.  Laura Frankstone draws wonderful faces. She had a post once in which she reminded us that the nose has shape and architecture. I'm working towards capturing that. Maybe by face 100, I'll get a hold of that idea and be braver!

This is drawn on a piece of map that I'd taped into my Moleskine pocket planner. I put some thinned out gesso over it to knock it back a bit before I drew and painted the face.

Face 1/100

So, they say to stretch beyond your comfort zone. Tracy Scott started a group of us drawing faces. That is totally beyond my comfort zone. I figure I will draw myself for a while and see how that goes. This is from a photo of me dressed to go on a motorcycle ride. I cheated a bit, by choosing a photo where I don't have to draw the eyes.  I've looked up how to draw faces before, so I tried to use the little I remember about it, but I think I'll refresh my memory by looking it up on Youtube.

The drawing under this was all ink. I was not going to color it, but I found that when I tried to add shading to my face with ink, it looks very much like a beard!! Also, the gelli print I was drawing on had a big green splotch in the middle of my face. That's when I broke out the paints.

This is my first one. The gelli prints make a wonderful way to add interest and color, and also avoid having to start with a blank page!  It will be interesting to see how the faces change as I go along.

Journaling gets some love at the Oscars

Another recent attempt at people. I like this one better. I am working from photos for these. Sometimes they are from my own photo and sometimes it's from one I found on the web. The main thing I'm looking for is a pose that I'd like to try.

I saw this video on Danny Gregory's blog....it's the sketchbook of a traveler to Madagascar...come to life. It's amazing and is nominated for an Oscar in the category of "Best Animated Short Film." Directed by Bastien Dubois. It's worth the time to view it!

Alone Time

I've friends who say they never like to be alone. I love being with my friends, but I'm one of those who needs that alone time. Good thing too, because not many people would want to hang around while I draw. It's mostly a pleasant pastime, but it takes a while and it occasionally involves cursing.

I'm still trying to draw people. Some days it seems to click and some it doesn't. I just keep plugging along and figure one of these days, I will have drawn enough people that it will come easier. Practice really does pay off! Some of the things I'm realizing:

• that I tend to leave the back of peoples heads not deep enough to house a brain
• and that feet and hands are almost always bigger than you think. 

I may still work on this page some more, but that will have to wait for another day. I'm off to go outside and enjoy this weather!

A little belated drawing action for Valentine's Day!

I've been trying draw more people and here's one from a page of my art journal. I avoid drawing people, but this year, I'm trying to do some of the things that scare me. I'm starting to have a little more success making the humans look....well, human. :D  Maybe one of these days, I'll actually attempt to draw people in poses where their faces show too!

I love it when I come across videos and such with some drawing action. This one has some wonderful artwork/animation. And it has a sweet song too!

Adam and Eve

How could I do the theme "Boys and Girls" with out getting the first boy and girl in there? As anyone who comes here often knows, I avoid drawing the human figure...I have trouble with proportions and all, but I decided to give it a go. So here you have Adam and Eve, as best as I could make them for today. If I had it to do over, I'd give him a little muscle...maybe they have not started working the land yet?

Check out the Etsy shop of Ted Schrey

The strangest things happen on the world wide web. Many moons ago, in college, I dated a very nice young man. Now we are friends again through the amazing web that is facebook. After many years in the corporate world, Ted is living on the Big Island of Hawaii and is making beautiful stained glass pieces. He has a new Etsy shop that he (unlike me!) is keeping stocked with wonderful artwork.


I love the use of copper in the stands and frames.



I think he has something at every price point too...so you can own a small Ted Schrey piece or very large complex pieces.

Here are a few hanging in a gallery in Hawaii.

I've never seen one of these pieces in person, but Ted is pretty particular, so I'm sure the craftsmanship is beautiful. The coral and watery glass in this one...perfect.

Ted is also a painter, writer, and furniture builder. Hopefully we will see some paintings on his site soon. If we are lucky he might even start a blog one day.

If you need something special, he does custom work as well. Click here to check out his latest work...

...undoubtedly inspired by the beauty he encounters every day.

Election Night

Now you all know, I'm not skilled at drawing people, but I was so enthused with the outcome of the election....poor Pres.-elect Obama got drawn. The writing and sticker is from election day, the drawing from a few days later. This is from a photo I saw on a message board...of him relaxing in his office.