Picking Up Pencil and Brush

Somehow, despite the chaos of the past few days,  I've managed to get my act together enough to enjoy some art time! (OK, let's be real -- much of this was done before the great ER visit!)

Out came the watercolors and some photos of some of my favorite scenes. I love this fabulous pink house in Martha's Vineyard, especially the wonderful chair on the porch.

I can do better. But I have to say that adding a mat to it really "tidies things up" and makes even my failures look a little better! (This is a great tip if you look at your painting and think, "What was I thinking?)

Ever since I took my "pet painting" class, I've been trying to perfect the intricacies of animals. Pickles, the cat of Randy and Elaine (Randy is Rick's brother) and Daisy both make great subjects!

And here's the one I'm most pleased with.



I also did this yin yang version. Here's the photo.

I need to redo the watercolor on that -- it just isn't quite right, but I'm on the right track.

(By the way, I'm getting ready to add notecards of the yin yang cat and several other images to the Gypsy Caravan link at the top of this page soon!)

Pickles' "sister" Daisy was a challenge too and I didn't like the way I did her first. So, I did it again. But now I think I like the first one better.

                                

Which do you think is best? Left or right version? (I kind of like the first layer of color, below! Unfinished but interesting.

Then there was my first version of a scene from Giverny. I started out with a sketch.

And then went on to add color.

I need to add here that I was so inspired by Vivian Swift's Giverny painting that I had to try one of my own. And I really wasn't happy with it (though it did look better with the mat!) So, again and again if need be. (That's another great lesson I've learned from Vivian -- do it till it's right.)

We may be doing a little experiment with this one, so stay tuned!

I've also been doing some sketching. My main focus is two-fold. Working on cats and working on drawing from life. I was pretty happy with this one!

And this works, too. Simple. Not great. But it looks like what it is!

So, stay tuned! More to come!

Sharing this week with Share Your Cup and Pink Saturday!

Art Check-In

I mentioned in an earlier post that I decided to concentrate on drawing and painting this summer and since I feel compelled to share the good, the bad and the ugly with you, here goes! One of my favorites was finally getting Lizzie right! (Watercolor)

And of course I had to do the Gypsy, too! This was a re-do of an earlier version, different paper and size. (Watercolor)

I did this quick postcard sketch and filled in with watercolor pencil while we were at Minisa in July for Rick's family reunion. The one next to it is a slightly larger pencil sketch done from the postcard that I did later. Both were what I call real quick and dirty!



My friend Kate had this exercise for us one day when we were 'arting.' The one on the left was done blind in one minute -- couldn't look at the subject. The second one you could look at and draw but only for a minute. The third one had a ten minute limit and you had to add tone. The one on the far right was done with unlimited time. You can definitely see the progression as you move from quick to more careful work.

         

All that drawing makes me hungry! Treats, anyone? (Watercolor)

While I was in Martha's Vineyard, I took my sketchbook. Below is a series of rough sketches I did in pencil while there.

              

More of the same!

 Then I went over the pencil in ink.

               

A little more!

Finally, some color. Beside each painting is a look at the photo from the same site. (Watercolor pencil)

             

As you can see, some looked rather different! The one below, in particular, lost a lot of the background.

              

It was really fun to watch this evolution. And I was relatively pleased with the results for being pretty fast.



I leave you with a rough pencil sketch of the cottage, as seen from the lake. (I sort of bailed on the tree to the right!) (Pencil)

And now, I'm off to nap. (Pencil)

This is the only pose in which I can do Lizzie live. And she seems to have a very good idea!

This post is linked to Thoughts of Home on Thursday and Share Your Cup where you'll find plenty of inspiring links to enjoy! Check them out!

A Few More Drawings

Here are a few more watercolors from my summer journal.Yes, I have spent a little time with a book right here on the beach enjoying the summer!

You've seen this view before. I keep trying to get it right!

The one below was hard for me.

It is from this photo and I never did get it quite right. 

Well, I never thought I'd be Norman Rockwell! More to come!

Art Catch Up

I am way behind on my art challenge drawings, but I had time to do a few on vacation -- and a few NOT part of the challenge. Like this one, from a photo taken at the Tuileries.

The subject for this was "Over There" -- taken from one of my photos from the American Cemetery at Omaha Beach.

"Cool" was done straight from life, sitting on my beach at the lake -- sigh!

"Small Pleasures" is a piece I started LONG ago -- a peek at a window with its delicate lace curtains. You will never know how I struggled with this -- it just looked blah.

Then I read Vivian Swift's "Le Road Trip" and noticed she had made her lace curtains by making the background VERY dark and then the white tracery of the lace actually showed up. I tried it here using a white marker for the lace and while my work will never look like Vivian's -- it is a start. (You'll learn a ton about painting at her terrific blog with a weekly painting lesson!)

"Flowers" is neither from life nor drawing nor photo. It is from my brain as I was playing this week. I may cut this into pieces for bookmarks.

 

Try this version of "Flowers" instead -- sunflowers from a photo taken at one of last summer's farm markets!

For "Hunger Pangs" I went back to the France photos. I had been so motivated by the beautiful macarons Carol draws in her Paris Breakfasts blog. I had to try.

Somehow Carol's look like macarons. Mine look like pink blobs. But I still had hunger pangs! Here is the original.

"Wishful Thinking" again finds me in France -- this time in Giverny at the famed bridge. I don't know HOW I was able to get this photo without people in it!

Here's how it translated to my drawing.

 

Here are a few others -- the problem children, I call them.

 

The one above was my neighbor's little well (actually it is a faux well that hides some sort of outdoor thing). As you can see, I was having trouble with the perspective as I hit it from an odd angle that I just couldn't make right.

 

This one is from the Medici Fountain in Paris -- a tight shot of the sculpture. Oddly, the woman on the left looks like a man, and the man on the right looks like a woman, specifically like my mother. I think it looks more like a woman holding a child instead of her man. Try again (although I like it in its own way, just so long as I don't think about what it really is!).

 

And this one is from some photo I nabbed and for the life of me can't remember where! It's not so bad. I'm thinking the path leading to the beach at Myrtle Beach.

I call the one above "Road Trip."
It was done from this photo as we drove through Normandy several years ago.

Well, I'm caught up! What's next? Wait and see!