Bunny

In a little detour from my usual style, I played around with a little whimsical bunny drawing I was thinking about recently.

Watercolor on Mixed Media, 4x6 inches

Watercolor on Board, 4x6 inches

The second one is still in progress but I enjoyed seeing the two together...

Very Cherry

I was getting frustrated by another project and losing confidence, so I thought maybe if I stepped away and played today while the kids are with a sitter...

I haven't yet cropped this to my liking yet, but I think it's about 4x6. It's watercolor on paper.

The best part of this project? I was tired of overworking it so I ate the cherry. Now I can't go back into it because I have no reference!

Happy summer!

Hair

Studying hair.

I am really struggling with it. I'm having trouble with a full head of hair from behind as well as the movement I want to suggest. 

The face on hair was a study from a watercolor I liked that I found while doing research. I thought it might help with the back.

Here is a detail of a study for another part of the painting.

Pomegranate

I have been working hard on the studies for a painting for a friend. It's taking a long time though because I am out of practice and time is so limited.

Here are some photos of my work in progress and a study of a pomegranate I did today.

It's coming along. I think I will continue to do some pomegranate studies for the next week or so (or until this one starts to go bad. Pomegranates are out of season so this one wasn't cheap so I have to use it to its full potential.

Pomegranate, Fig, and Ice Cream

Woah. As I was writing the title I thought that WOULD be an amazing ice cream flavor!

That aside, I got into the studio today to do some studies. I am kind of frustrated because I like working from "live" objects, not reference photos, but figs and pomegranates aren't in season so I have to make due.

Ice Cream (Watercolor on paper)

I found the ice cream part of the painting while cleaning and today I added a cone. I loved the simplicity of the scoop. Not sure how I feel about the cone.

Pomegranate (Watercolor on paper)

Fig (Watercolor on paper)

This was an underpainting I was going to work into but I kind of like it as is. I might not work into it.

Drawing a Day 20150224

Just Dance (Watercolor on paper).

Another study for my commission.

Drawing a Day 20150222

Ashley's Super Mix
Pen and watercolor on paper

Ashley's Super Mix (before coloring)

I love pen and watercolor, but I don't usually trust myself with a pen for the initial drawing. But this was fun.

Drawing a Day 20150221

Sketch for SSB

Watercolor on Paper

Drawing a Day 20150217

Mango

Watercolor on paper

I am loving watercolors lately. I was really overworking this so I had to stop but SO much fun.

Definitely playing with this again.

A special thanks to someone who has proven to be a wonderful mentor -- thanks so much, Bobby!

Drawing a Day 20150212

Cupcake

Watercolor on paper

Wasn't going to post this because I was really just playing, but isn't that part of the fun? 

I need to get my gouache out. I wish they sold gouache in pans. 

Drawing a Day 20150210

Hey Pumpkin

Watercolor on paper

I love watercolor. I want to keep practicing and playing since I feel out of practice. Just wish I had more time to do all the things I want to do.

Drawing a Day 20150205

Wanna Try Again (Tomorrow?!)

Pencil and watercolor on paper

Meh. But I posted because I do want to try again. This is very muddy and overworked. In this case, my two year old's drawing as a ground didn't work so well. I feel like I was also lazy and rushed in this one. I think I am getting sick so I am not totally there.

Drawing a Day 20150202

Ice Cream Truck

Pencil and watercolor on paper

This is rough. I am posting it for a couple of reasons. 

1. I had so much fun. 
2. I was lazy and didn't want to brave all the snow to get to the studio. I got creative and cut up one of my toddler's watercolor paintings and used it as a ground and I love that part of it. (I can't keep all of the work they do -- they are so prolific -- so I have to pick and choose. This way I am recycling and king of keeping it anyway.
3. I see parts of this drawing I really like and I want to expand on further. 

Drawing a Day 20150128

Goodwill

Pencil and watercolor on paper

I wanted to play today. I have been really into using white in my past few drawings and so I found a blue piece of paper and played with using white for the negative space to make the image pop. I had fun! Not sure I love it, but I had fun and that's what counts.

Drawing a Day 20150128

Twisted (for the) Sisters

Watercolor on chipboard

I picked this carrot out at the farm share because I thought my four year old would get a kick out of it. Little did I realize what a pain it would be to clean and peel to actually eat, so it's been in the fridge for a while. But it's a great subject matter. 

I had so much fun working on this. I have been listening to my music on shuffle and have been reminded that one of my greatest passions is listening to great music and making art. I started this piece while listening to an old high school friend's music: The B Flat Project. Listening to Brian sing was so inspiring and it was great to "rediscover" his work as it appeared in my playlist. 

I had to stop this one because I am overtired and overworking it and it was getting muddy, but I was just enjoying it so much. I can't wait to see where my art takes me. 

Hey Chickie!

Violet was painting today. I made a tiny chick. Violet smudged it after I took this picture, but it made me think I could work on tiny paintings while she paints. Fun! I miss this. 

Cone

I've missed this. Watercolor. Close to actual size. Enjoy.

Mini Watercolor Sketches

It's been a while since I sat down and drew or watercolored or really did anything too creative, so I am a little rusty. I took out my watercolors today to work on a project for my sister, but in the end just started playing with mini watercolor sketches. I'm not in love with them, but the important thing is I had so much fun and it felt so right to be working today.

I love the looseness of them though, even though I don't think they are fine works of art or anything.

I was really loving playing with the baby food jars -- I did some more (but I didn't scan them in) -- but I think even when I have a babysitter for Violet for four hours I am clearly still thinking about her.

I also want to thank Peter Reynolds -- he's truly an inspiration. Yesterday Leslie, Vic, Violet and I went for ice cream in Dedham and stopped at the Blue Bunny Books + Toys, which Peter Reynolds owns. I have always loved his work -- I think his drawings/watercolors are so full of life and movement, and I also just love the lessons behind his books. Yesterday at the bookstore he had two original drawings out on 18x24" drawing pads and I really wanted to buy one of them. I mean, desperately. It was of a child with wings. I haven't been this taken by a piece of art in a long time. Anyway, I wanted it for Violet's room, but I also left the store with this strong feeling that I needed to create. So thank you, Peter. And if you ever decide to sell that drawing, can I have first dibs?

And here's to hoping that someday my drawings will be as fluid and beautiful as yours.

Thirty-Eight Self Portraits (Because I Wish I Were Smaller)

I just entered this in a show...cross your fingers for me...

It's called Thirty-Eight Self Portraits (Because I Wish I Were Smaller), and it measures in at 8 inches by 7 inches. I had so much fun with it. Of course it wasn't so much fun when I was coloring in the third print because the first two didn't look as I wanted and I was racing the clock because the post office was closing in two hours!

Anyway, it's been an especially interesting project about body image, because knowing since about sixth or seventh grade that I wish I had smaller hips or smaller thighs or whatever, and then finding all the pictures, I realized that there were points I thought I should be "smaller" when really I looked pretty darn good.

Keep visiting, because I know I am going to work on more variations and now that I have these thirty-eight drawings of me, I see them being integrated into a lot of other works.

Study of a Dead Baby Bird

Note, these drawings are referred to in order, but the text about each one doesn't fit next to the image, so I have put a number next to the drawing I am referring to. Although the drawings aren't numbered, I trust my readers to understand that the first drawing on the page is 1, the second 2, and so forth.

Growing up, we had a charcoal drawing of a dead baby bird in our house. (The image to the left is not it. That's mine!) It was truly beautiful, once I learned to appreciate it for the art that it was and not for the rotting corpse. My father loved to quote the artist, his friend Steve Halford, and I in turn liked to quote my dad. When asked why he drew a dead baby bird, Steve answered, "Because a dead baby bird is a lot easier to draw than a live baby bird." True. But a dead baby bird isn't that easy, Steve, so I am quite impressed with the drawing.

Yesterday, Kevin called me outside to see a dead baby bird in the front lawn. I scooped the bird up onto a disposable plastic plate and I promise I too would try my hand at my own drawings.

I did one yesterday and three today. I don't love the drawings, but I loved the exercise, and I never before got to appreciate the beauty and the delicacy of our feathered friends in such intimacy before.

Additionally, I loved the excuse to spend the day in the warm sunshine -- what a perfect day! (Drawing a dead animal certainly is an outside activity.)

Yesterday's drawing was simply pencil (1). After giving it some breathing room, I like it better than I remembered.

Today I stared off with a watercolor sketch (2) which frustrated me so I stopped. Looking back, I like the simplicity, lightness and unfinished nature of it.

Then I went to focus on a gouache drawing on a collage page (3) -- I started this piece when grandpa passed away in March. I collaged some pages from an old book full of synonyms. I found a bunch that described grandpa: merchant, soldier, and man. I found it to be the perfect base for the drawing, because in the last months of his life, I saw him as delicate as a baby bird. I am frustrated though because I don't like the drawing at all. The image became too colorful and too muddled. The gouache wasn't even adhering to the area where the head was. You can't see it because I scribbled over it in graphite -- while covering up my frustration, I think I was also trying to demonstrate the dark empty space grandpa left in all of us.

Finally, I did a simple pen and ink and then filled the background in deep red gouache (4) which I am not loving, but I don't hate it either. I love how the red really makes the little bird pop off the page.

I am wondering how I can take this gorgeous creature and maybe turn it into a silk screen. Or is it too delicate for such a bold medium. Maybe it would work for just that reason.

This little bird had a short life, but I like to think that I immortalized it in some way.

My little friend is starting to smell and attract flies (but a citronella candle works wonders for the later) so I think tomorrow will be our last day together. I don't know though. If the smell gets much worse, these might be the final drawings.