Elephant Sketch

I was inspired by a documentary I watched the other day to sketch this elephant.

The documentary was titled "How I Became An Elephant" and I found it very moving.  It really called attention to the plight of the abused elephants in Thailand and I hoped to convey sadness in the eyes of my drawing.  I would recommend that anyone interested in animal rights watch it.

Thanks for visiting!

Bijou - Pencil Sketch

When we were in Detroit, I visited Blick Art Supplies and, wow, I was like a kid in a candy shop!  I could not decide what I wanted to buy.  So I took my time and only purchased supplies I know I cannot get here.  My best find was hot pressed water color paper (2 for 1).  While I was there I got a hard cover sketch book and today I dug it out.  My finger is on the mend so I have decided to dive right in to some serious!!!! art.  As a start, I opened the sketch book and just drew.

Bijou was sleeping on Steve's chair so he seemed a logical subject.  I have never really sketched an animal before but I just looked and drew.  I tried to keep my eyes on the dog and not so much on the paper and I am pretty happy with the result.  Could be a bit better with the shading - A LOT BETTER, IN FACT - but as a first effort he is OK and kind of cute.
I found such relaxation in the sketching that I might need a bigger purse (so my sketch book can come everywhere with me).
Thanks for visiting!

Gypsy 101

I have been taking yet another class - this one from Tam Laporte.  This is her Summer Gypsy class and it is great fun.

She is a mixed media piece done on water colour paper.  The paint is mainly water colour crayons with some Crayola water colours as well.  There is some collage on the background and I used gesso to soften it down.  I drew her using graphite pencil and used the pencil for shading her face.  The gold earrings are gold sharpie pen. 
I am really happy with how she turned our although next time I might disguise the collage a bit more.
Hope you like her!

Fairy #3

This fairy features a water colour background, acrylic hair and wings, and a face coloured with Prismacolor pencils.  The floral head band is also acrylics.  I used perfect pearls on her wings as well as paint to give them shimmer.   Hope you like her!

Fairy #2

This fairymust be a garden nymph as she has a butterfly as a friend.  I used acrylics for the hair, wings, clothes and background.  The butterfly is a die cut.  Her face and body are coloured with Prismacolor pencils which blend sooooooooo well. She is 9 X12 and painted on bristol paper.

Whimsy Fairy

Good morning!
I wanted to show you my wood nymph in-training. (You can tell by her crooked wings that she has a way to go)

I drew her with pencil and coloured her face with Prismacolor Pencils.  Her hair and wings are painted with acrylics and her headband and dress are Twinkling H2Os. The background is acrylics printed using my Gelli pad.  A real mixed media work.

I am having a bit of trouble blending the coloured pencils but am sure it will get better!

See you soon.

Some Gypsy-Inspired Girls

I am taking a drawing class with Suzi Blu and the theme is gypsies.  This session is strictly drawing - we cannot shade or colour.  Here are some of my drawings.

A young lady

A small girl

A teenager

I have a hard time drawing with NO shading but hope that will come soon!
Thanks for visiting!

An Old-Fashioned Whimsical Girl

This whimsy girl is dressed in old-fashioned clothing and is coloured using Copic markers.  I am trying to do a sketch a day and this is today's.

Back To Sketching

Good morning!
Today I have a sketch I did last evening of a girl.  It has been a long time since I went back to the dollie style but thought it was about time.

She is not  a true dollie in that her eyes are not big enough but she did turn out rather pretty- I think!

Cotton Candy Girl Workshop

Hello and good day!
I  have been taking a workshop from Natasha May and here is my first painting:

I like everything about her but feel I could have made her just a bit happier looking.  The dress is scrap booking paper and the wings are vellum.  I accented them with gold paint and the swirls are drawn in gold marker.

I am so enjoying this class and am hoping to do some more girls during resting time on my trip.

Thanks for stopping by!

A Card is Born

I am just going to show you the evolution of a thank you card I made using one of my "little girl" sketches.

She started as a sketch in my book,

I adjusted the contrast, cropped her and printed her in Photoshop,

Then I coloured her, cut her out and added her to a card front.

I find by using my sketches in my cards, I am liking card making again.
Thanks for visiting!

The Christmas Cat

I am having so much fun painting these little girls.  This one is in her jammies and sees a kitten for Christmas.

These characters are a great way to practice my face drawing and whimsical bodies.  I am especially happy with the softness of her face and the cute pig tails.  Also, I have never drawn a whimsical animal and I think the cat turned out sweet.

Thanks for visiting!

Another Christmas Whimsy

Hi again!
I do not know why but I LOVE whimsical characters and am immersing myself in learning how to draw them.
Here is the second of my Christmas whimsy pictures.  This one is definitely going to be my Christmas card.

I have to get some better water color crayons as I have nothing which is dark enough blue for night sky.  I also want some more colors.  I will have to order neo colors.

I really like the face on this girl.  I hope you do as well.

Thanks for visiting!

Portrait Of A Girl

Happy Thanksgiving to my American readers. Hope everyone is enjoying the day.
Today I have a portrait done in pencil which I did as part of an online class.
I am really working on faces.