Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try! - Dr. Seuss

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Sketch Of The Day

Hi gang!
I have got away from drawing and painting for a few weeks and I have no idea why - but I have to fix that.
Today I am starting a series of projects (one per day). Now each of these will either be a sketch or  a drawing and painting.  I miss sitting down and creating.  By my own rules, photos do not count.
So, here goes......
Day 1 - simple pen and ink sketch
Once I finished it, I decided to put it on a card front for Darcey's birthday (hence the black paper and the button you see).  I cannot ever remember drawing a "real" animal before but I think he turned out OK....although his head is a little fat.
Stay tuned until tomorrow to see what I can come up with.
Thanks for stopping by!

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Pumpkin Art (sort of)

My pumpkin family is about twenty years old.  They were such a simple yet fun project to do.
My dad cut me a log and then here are the steps:
I de-barked the log (not an easy thing to do) basically by roughly cutting and then sanding the post.  
Then I cut it into sections with a chain saw.  I made the sections all different sizes.
Now for orange OUTDOOR acrylic paint - several coats.
Drill a hole in the top and glue in a dowel you painted green.
Draw and paint faces once again using OUTDOOR paint.  
And you are done.  Every year they will weather a bit more and you will find that everyone loves these permanent jack-o-lanterns.

A little story about my pumpkin family:
You will see from the photo that there are nine left in my little group.  There once were twelve.  I gave one to my daughter for her own front step when my grandson was tiny.
The other two kind of walked away.  About ten years ago, a little boy stopped by my home a week or so before Halloween, rang the bell and asked if he could have one.  How could I say "no"?  And then a few years ago, a little boy was trick-or-treating and when he was leaving, he just picked up the littlest one I had.  His dad told him to put it down and he started to sob.  As a result, that pumpkin found a new home.
Just like in a real family, apparently my pumpkins sometimes feel the need to leave the nest.
Happy Halloween.

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Raspberries and Seed Pods

I love taking photos of plants and flowers. To me, a great photo is also great art.  Now, I am not suggesting my photos are great -- but they sure are getting better and I LOVE taking them.
My Raspberry Bush
amazing that there are still ripening berries.
I tried really hard to capture the ripe berries, almost ripe ones, ones that will never ripen and the various colours of foliage.
And I am very happy with it.



Seedpods on Our Back Fence
Two different stages of progression - the first is much newer than the bottom photo.  The bottom one is just about dead.
On the top one, I like how the vines crisscross in front of the pods.
In the bottom one, I focused in on the pod so the leaf in front is faded.  I am so happy that I am learning about focusing.  It is trial and error but I see how my skills are evolving.

Let me know what you think!



Thursday, October 10, 2013

Fungi Continued



I was walking in the park again yesterday and found these fungi on a big old tree.  They were dying to be photographed.

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Fungi Photos

Hi everyone!
I had to take these photos of some fungi in the park.  I love taking close-up pics with my macro lens.


To me, photography is one of my favourite forms of art.  Let me know what you think.

Monday, October 7, 2013

Day Of The Dead Addiction

Good day everyone!
I am soooooo loving painting these Day Of The Dead girls!
Here is my second one - acrylic on canvas:
I learned a lot doing her.  The large flower on her forehead makes her face look way too wide so I either should have made it smaller but - better yet- should have shown a hint of her other eye.  I painted in her eyelashes but they get lost in the embellishment around her eye.  Next time, I will do as Megan did and do a circle around her eye and then embellish.  The other thing I would change is the two tiny flowers beside her nose.  I just do not love them.
I know I sound very critical but over all I really like her.
Thanks for visiting.

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Day Of The Dead Girl

This 12x12 canvas is done in acrylics. She is a Day of the Dead face based on the class I took by Megan Suarez. I think the black flourishes in the center of her face are a bit heavy but other than that I really like her.  She was so much fun to do.