The date is 2017 to commemorate getting the home last year, but this was a commission for this year.
After 2012
That Time of Year
Painting the love in peoples life – preserving memories for their tree.
I was looking at the magnified detail that can not be seen with the naked eye and it hit me that it is impressionistic.
I push paint around and create the impression of their pet. Often with a 000 sized brush and a cat’s whisker (the cats participate via donations throughout the year.)
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Inktober is Over
This year I did not finish out the month strong – 2 things happened. I began volunteering for Providence Wildlife Rehab and I started getting more Christmas orders than was in my plan, so any creative activities need to go that direction. And I can not show those.
However, I did do some warmup exercises that I thought you might like. The subject was one of our Educational Ambassadors, a Screech Owl named Red.
So goodby, Inktober! You have given me some wonderful projects for the upcoming year. Now if life will just give me the time.
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Inktober Week 3
Day 16 – Angular – I was just starting to draw a Great Egret I photographed at Eagle Creak this month. As I was playing with the lines (in nature they so often replicate, lending a beautiful symmetry to the animal or bird), ta da – Angular happened by accident. I think it has the most likes of any on my Instagram.
Day 15 – Weak – I could not get the image to work, so I started doing my quick 10 second drills to loosen up my hand. I was flipping through Google images and when I was done, these made me laugh so hard that I shared them.
This was a hard work week, so I went off script in order to keep inking. Other than these first two, I did not follow the prompts and just had fun and used the time to loosen up.
Hispid Corbis Rat / Red-Breasted Nuthatch study (saw my first one on our feeder this past week! Had to commemorate a “lifer”. The rat was from Google images.)
Below is my first ever fan art. Then the ravens took 2 days with the first being for the initial sketch.
I love James and Margaret, who have made a backyard habitat in CA their home. The “caretakers” of that space give this loving pair of ravens food puzzles on their deck and interact with them in very fun ways. I have been wanting to sketch these guys for some time and took this opportunity. I think they would look very great in paint! Next project!
Corvids are extremely smart birds and I have learned so much from James and his only love, Margaret. It is amazing to watch their story unfold. You can follow them and their fellow inhabitants of that backyard on Instagram or Facebook.
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Inktober Week 2 – Compiled
For the word, Precious, I had to do my newest nephew, Isaac. However, I am not confident with portraits, so I worked him up in graphite pencil first. Then inked it. I plan to keep working on more portraiture, because it is such a challenge with great reward when you get it right.
Flowing is in process. Cruel was next. I did a fast sketch just for fun and have no intention of reworking it. I did not like this prompt until I thought of how cruel it is when birding to discover a wonderful one was behind you the whole time. In this case, a Sandhill Crane. I shared a throwback to last year to show I really can draw these birds. Cartoon style is still a struggle for me.
I skipped Whale and went straight to Guarded. This was a very technical drawing, so I sketched it first, then inked it.
We ended on clock, which did not inspire me, so I skipped it. I am batting a low average this Inktober. 5 last week and 4 this week. We will see if we can’t beef that up next week.
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Inktober Week 2 – Stars Legend
In Week 2 I began to feel glimmers of my inner artist really showing up for the party. Above was my interpretation of Star, which was a breakthrough concept piece for me, since I was illustrating a Native American legend.
If you break a cottonwood tree small branch at the circular growth line, and it is not too green or not too dry, you will find a star.
Image from: My Wishing Rock blog
The Arapahoe and Cheyenne tribes believe this is where stars are born and the wind sends them up into the sky. I love this and that is where my concept piece was born.
Another legend says this is where stars hide during the day. The Lakota use the cottonwood in their Sundance ceremony as the tree of life because of this. — reference: Mom off Track blog
The idea of the three trees is taken from three of the cottonwoods I grew up with along the drive to our barn (and I used a reference photo to capture some of the branch placement.) I have a strong affinity for these trees because the sound of their leaves in the wind winds through every childhood memory of outdoor play like a ribbon through my hair. The sound transports me every time, and now I have another reason to love these trees.
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Inktober 2018
It is that time of the year again where artists around the world commit to one ink drawing a day.
Here is a preview – my newest nephew, Isaac, in graphite pencil. I later worked it into an inked piece. I really want to grow my portraiture skills over the next year.
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2017 Ornaments
This football helmeted tiger was for a high schooler whose team is the Tigers.
A first Christmas for a new little cousin and another for some cousins who just got married.
I first started painting these ornaments in the early 1980s. At that time my sister was very young and I copied a favorite artist (Karl Odenweller) for a gift for her. This past year, one of her own kids dropped it, so I recreated it for her, only with a slightly larger image. Second sister had the same thing happen. Hers was a Hallmark bunny that I placed in her little burrow. And no, I do not copy and sell these.
I do not know how I did those original images the size of a dime when I was younger and with no magnifier!
And speaking of magnification, I finally found a magnifying system that works for me now that I am wearing glasses. Getting older presents new challenges.
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Inktober Week 4
The above image was my favorite for this week. I was trying new things – this was my niece having a hard time of it when she found her daddy’s jeans hanging on the line. It is one of my favorite moments. Faces and emotions are not easy to capture. I vow to work this next year to do better with them.
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Inktober Week 3
I am pushing myself to try different styles – quick drawings, purposeful drawings, tiny lines, emotion on faces, events.
Following the prompts of Inktober has been great at stretching my creativity and I hope expanding my range (depth and breadth.)
Flexing My Wings 