A Drawing A Day 12.17.07

I'm not going to lie. Some days are worse than others. Some days I really don't feel like drawing and you can tell. ON these days I don't think I want to write too much, either.

Cupcake from Hannaford's. 45 minutes. Didn't even finish the icing. This cupcake isn't that attractive. Frosting is very crisco-y. Even still, I was tempted to eat it. I didn't. When I went in the kitchen, the Christmas cookies Arianna and I made were more appealing.

Cupcake. 15 minutes. Didn't even waste a half an hour on this one. Tried another experiment of using one of dad's old psych textbook pages. Chose this one because it talks about human error and since the first drawing of the day was full of human error, I thought it would be appropriate. (Side note: I have enjoyed using these books in my art. See this entry for another example.) Same cupcake from Hannaford's. Hate to waste food, but this one is going in the trash. Just like the drawing should.

I said before though, I am not only posting good drawings in these posts, so I guess today proved it with some really not-so-good ones.

I also have to figure out this scanning thing. It seems off. On one hand, things are looking better than they actually do, sort of, and on another, they really aren't accurate.

A Drawing A Day 12.14.07

Hey there cupcake! As I said in the last post, I really wanted to draw cupcakes. I wanted to eat them so therefore, according to my new plan, I wanted to draw them. Last night Kevin and I walked to downtown Waltham in the snow, had a lovely dinner, and stoped to buy carrots and cupcakes on the way back. The cupcakes were pretty sad looking, and not worth carrying the one mile trip back up the hill in the snow. So, long story short, this morning I made them. I made my models. From scratch. Not sure why I made them from scratch, but I did. Took longer than I hoped. And of course I tested. The batter. The frosting. The cooked cakes. I didn't eat either of the two I am drawing though. And the remaining 18 (it only made 21) are boxed up for the birthday of lovely Rachel tonight.

When they were done and frosted, I drew. I clearly had a better time with the wrapper than the cupcake, which brings me to wonder, was it worth all the effort of baking?

So the first one is my classic 6x6 inch drawing. There was a shadow, but it took away too much from the cupcake. I erased it, but it was there pretty well, so it's still there. Though I am liking how the folds of the wrapper turned out, I do feel like the right is a little awkwardly shaded, and in the next drawing I do, I will aim to even that out. Additionally, I need to work on the frosting. Clearly its underdone, but I just got frustrated with it, and since my 30 minute timer had gone off, I allowed myself not to be consumed by the drawing/frustration. One thing I should have not done is put sprinkles on top. I mean, its been a while since I have been really drawing. I think that frosting itself with out all these glassy confettis all over it is enough of a challenge.

For the second one, sized at 5x5 inches, I did something different, in which I like the concept, but it didn't turn out exactly as I planned. I drew the cupcake on a pink and green paper to represent frosting and wrapper. I kind of like it, but next time I think i am going to have it approximate the line of the cupcake-wrapper break a little more accurately, or at least try at all! This cupcake had no sprinkles (well it did, but I brushed them off and refrosted, which in turn left for rougher frosting, as it was beginning to dry.) Again, I like the wrapper more than the frosting -- while the frosting in the above drawing was underdone, this frosting seems to be overdone.

A Drawing A Day 12.13.07

Ok, first off, I know this seems more like a drawing a month. I know, I know. I need to put a little more pressure on. Second, I'm having a hard time figuring out subject matter. That part is killing me.

So I had this great idea to draw what I felt like eating instead of actually eating it (I have a major sweet tooth I am trying not to over indulge.) Here are the couple of problems with that: 1. I like to draw from life. To draw from life means I have to have it in the house. To have it in the house means, well, um, not helping the indulgence thing...I mean, today I really wanted to draw cupcakes (lately I have been inspired -- and hungry -- by the creative drawings of Cakespy). To draw cupcakes though meant I would either have to go buy cupcakes or make cupcakes, but either way, there would be a lot of cupcakes in the house...probably not the best idea. 2. I love ice cream most of all. Even though these drawings are quick, I don't think the ice cream would hold shape long enough for me to draw. I haven't figured it out yet, but I do think I will come back to that sweets thing. Especially since Arianna and I are making Christmas cookies soon. Perhaps I should keep a couple...

Long story short, I drew an onion. Well, mostly the plant growing out of the onion. Needless to day, I wasn't too tempted to eat the onion. Besides the fact that the onion was taking on a new life of it's own, I have become less and less fond of onions. Maybe its because I hate to chop them -- they make me cry so hard.

This was a pleasant 40 minute drawing. It's snowing out and as I drew today, I faced the window and watched the snow fall silently to the ground. I needed a little bit of accentual light, but partially out of laziness of getting and clipping the clip lamp and partially out of my desire to keep with the natural, I lit a candle. (It's the last time I will draw to a Yankee Candle Country Linen candle -- that smell was too much for me.) The natural light was changing rapidly, so the drawing was a challenge. Highlights and shadows kept changing. I don't love the drawing, but I did it. Perhaps in a week or so I will revisit the onion drawing. I imagine it will be quite a change.