"Do You See What I See?" - 5 new articles
I Love You Today Daddy
The other day my eldest daughter sent me a text message with a recording of her expressing her love for me that day along with a photo of herself at that moment. It was the brightest point in my day. I was so taken that I made the recording into her ring tone as well. Now when I get a text message from her at work I jump at hearing the voice sound suddenly from my pocket and those around me chuckle.
I have 7 children and they are all such a blessing to me. They give my life complete meaning.
I decided to do my next drawing based off of that quick photo she took of herself. It is ebony pencil on Strathmore 500 paper.  Time gets away
Well, so much for staying accountable to producing regular art. I have been working on this chickadee for some time. I started it a year ago and got sidetracked with remodeling a home for my mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law. I had finished the bird and the buds quite some time ago and have spent the last couple of weeks doing the branch and background. I very nearly ruined the background. The Mi Tientes paper has a textured side and a smooth side. Without thinking I used the textured side. The part that drew me to the photo to begin with was the contrast between the backgound being out of focus and the roughness of the branch. It was difficult to make the background smooth with all that texture on the paper. I am happy with the end result.
I suppose my biggest tip is to keep working at it and don't give up during any "ugly" stages. Life is frequently that way.
The inspiration for the piece came from a photograph by Michael Dossett and his website is http://www.mdossettphoto.com/ His photography is very well done and I appreciate his work a great deal. I would appreciate any comments or criticisms about the piece so that I may improve. This is colored pencil on Mi Tientes paper.  Another key step to redirecting mys...
Another key step to redirecting myself was to become a member of Everyday Matters. It is a Yahoo Group that immediately ties you to a host of people just like yourself. People rekindling their sketching habit and finding life in the details therein. The very afternoon of my putting my blog up and notifying the group, I had people from far away places stop and leave a comment. It is a huge encouragement to have that. I am immediately interested in producing art due to that kind of support. So today is my latest daily sketch. The idea is to let go and just sketch from life. To get into the trenches and get your hands dirty creating something. It is intended to be loose and freeing as opposed to polished fine art. This is a scene I see every day. It is the Peoria Illinois skyline. I drive to Peoria from podunk Washburn, a small out of the way village, about 40 miles from here. I start my journey in corn and soybean fields and end in a city.  Morning is the best time of the day for...
 The Start of My Journey of BloggingFor the past few months I have been venturing into the lives of people around the world. Getting a peek at who they are and what they are doing by lurking on their blogs. What an interesting world. Particularly I read artists blogs which is what this blog will focus on.  |
