Under the winter cold

 The first seed catalog came in the mail. Although this has been the coldest

winter here I can remember, we haven't had any snow yet (knock wood).

 I'm trying to loosen up and see color and pattern rather than

insist on realistic images. Lighter and simpler.

 These were fun to draw and tint.Especially now that

the world is so black, white and grey.

I signed up for an online class with Daniel Donaldson beginning

in March. Hoping it will help lighten up my drawing and mark making.

Stay warm!

Deer hounds

In 1969 my dad found and rescued a puppy of undetermined breed.

He grew and grew,

and grew some more. We found out we had

a Scottish Deer Hound. My brother named

him Thunderbolt. He was huge but very

gentle, letting our cat ride on his back.

It was fun to paint these deer hounds.

 

It's so cold and bare here. No snow yet. We're in hibernation mode.

Wearing lots of layers and doing inside stuff. 

Underground spring bulbs are dreaming.

Hope you are warm!

Happy 2015...Year of the sheep

The photo above is from a couple of years ago. Our ram, the gentleman Graham, died so we have no
more little lambs for another year or so. But their spirit is one to inspire me to play more and worry less.

These two were born from different ewes but acted like twins, following and chasing

each other. Cousins. They're still here on the little ranchito.

Now they're ewes, still hanging out together. This place is a nice place for a lamb to be born. 

I do miss March and the tiny lambs leaping for joy.

Maybe in 2015, year of the Sheep, we'll travel to the mountains and

bring home another ram. Yes, this may be the year to do that.

Happy, healthy and prosperous 2015 to you!

Commission paintings and a helpful idea for Cretacolor oil crayons

 I was happy to begin the first stages of these sweet dogs on commission.

 

 

 

Drawing, especially on toned paper, has bumped up my skill level a bit.

Drawing daily is a big joy. These two paintings need more work but I'm

happy with what's happening in the first stages.

In Oct and Nov I was working with watercolor washes over ink 

drawings. The hatching was not working and I've moved away from it.

 

Early this month I began using Cretacolor water soluble oil pastels with

a waterbrush and love the smooth, less transparent oil pastels on toned paper.

 

I went back to some old drawings and added cretacolor highlights.

Even with the hatching it builds form more naturally.

 

 Working with it feels somewhere between oils and watercolor.

The only downside is this jumble of choices that slowed me down in

color choices...so...

I cut a small end off each oil crayon, leaving the paper on, then

glued each into this shallow case. This way I can dip into them like pan watercolors.

My new favorite tool.

More dogs and two new tools I love

 I've continued practicing watercolor washes over ink drawings.

 Less concerned with realism-trying to get personality.

 Backing up a bit on ink-working more layers of watercolor.

And trying out new creatures as subjects.

 Leaving more white unpainted for highlights.

 Adding Chinese white gouache when paint slides and darkens what I want to stay white.

I know this is my skill level showing. But the eyes above were flat before a bit of white.

This ink seems to slide off the pen nib, a joy to use. No skritchy feel.

 I highly recommend Jetpens for hard to find stationary items. This

 Platinum Carbon Ink is truly waterproof. Pricey but worth it. They offer

free shipping if your order is $25 or more.

Another great tool, 2mm lead sharpener. It holds the graphite shavings until you empty it.
I researched these tools and the good reviews helped with my decision to buy. I like how

 spare my supplies are after the great clear out/donation this fall.

 Cool design.

Opie 'riding' the big yellow table. Yes, he sits there while I work. He barks at

critics and loves all that I make. The best kind of a studio buddy!

Big joy and back to basics

Big joy! 

Daily drawing has become a solid habit. I love sitting at my big yellow table with paper and pen.

Backed off watercolors for this week. My water brush order came in. All the different brushes had
good qualities EXCEPT the Niji brand. These leak and rather than an even flow of water tend to
'blob' water into a standing pool on the paper. I'm surprised as they had rather good reviews.

The few drawings I've painted I'm also adding prismacolor pencil and pastel pencil.

I've been noticing how eyes which aren't quite 'right' give either a (above) wonky personality 'clue' or

.

something a bit more sinister. Don't think I'd pet this guy.

Hey look, it's not a dog!

Found I was going in circles with water color so checked this out from the library. Will work my way thru the basics again. ('Beginning again' is a good motto for me these days.) Actually, this book has
lots more to it. Rather complete lessons on ink and graphite drawing. I ordered a copy for reference.

Autumn is coming in fast now. Critters are on the move. Lots of big spiders in the house. Nature's
tucking life in for a good long sleep. Leaves are dancing and birds are hunkering down in the wind.
Lovely season. Take care.

Koi Water Brushes, found art supplies, etc.

 I found my old technical ink pen while clearing out my
studio. Also (finally) found my good set of pan watercolor
paints.  By happy coincidence I'd ordered a Koi Waterbrush.

So daily painting/drawing has a solid place in my schedule.

I took a class in w/c 30 years ago and wasn't impressed with
my results. I think the water brush picks up a small amount
of paint and so keeps any overworking to a minimum. Or
maybe I've grown old enough to know when to stop!

Here is Friend Fox with fall leaves.

 I like the way you can layer pastel over w/c, in this way
showing the sweet, old eyes of a dog with soft, cloudy, age-wise eyes.

You can use pastels, water soluble pencils and most other
drawing tools with pen and (permenant) ink. I use a sepia
color and it blends well with paint.

 I like that it only takes a bit of color with line to suggest
personality.

These are mostly on Strathmore series 400 "all media paper"
(thick and doesn't warp) which was on sale at my local store.

I really like this paper.

I'm trying to loosen up my tight style of painting...show personality in a fun way. Use line as expression.

This is on tinted drawing paper. Kind of like starting
out with a tinted canvas-easier to punch up lights.

So this is how I'm beginning fall/winter. At least 30 minutes
each day drawing/painting. It's one time of day I can count
on to enjoy. I hope you're enjoying the change of season.