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!

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!

Second Pastel Girl

Here is my next pastel girl for Ady's class.  She is done on packing paper once again.  It is fun using just black and white.  And, she is much prettier in real life. LOL!

Pastels - The Next Experiment

Here is my first pastel sketch for Ady's class.  I like how she turned out but see lots of areas I must work one (for sure - the nose).

She is done in soft pastels (black and white) on packing paper.  It is very inexpensive and takes the pastels well.
let me know what you think, please.

A Baby Owl - Very Plump

Good afternoon!
I have a canvas I finished today.  Thanks, Juliette Crane, for your amazing course.

The canvas is 5X7" and the background is done on using the GelliArts plate and acrylics.  The owl is also acrylics with a heart from left over canvas on his belly.  
I wanted to make him plump since I saw a baby owl all hunkered in and he looked so fat that I had to make mine like him.  There are lots of dots on this picture used in all different ways.
I used acrylics, collage, paint pens and a Pitt Pen to create this canvas.
Hope you like it!

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!

Yet Another Owl

Good Friday morning!
I am so loving the owl class I am taking by Juliette Crane...it is almost too much fun!
One of the exercises is to do a close-up of a head and here is mine:

This is a page I did for my journal and it is acrylics and water colour crayons.  The cheeks are pastels which I dabbed on.  

I was a bit worried about this piece as I am not so good at larger drawings but I have to admit I am pretty happy with him!

Thanks for visiting!

Another Little Girl

Hi again!!
Just a quick post to show you this cute little girl I created using acrylics and collage.  I like the round face and the two little curled pony tails on her.  I also like the flowers which were tapped on with a shaped sponge and then the centres were done with a pencil end. I used a couple of shades of green and an old credit card to do the grass and the lining is done in india ink.  I thought the flowers in her hair made an interesting headband.
Like my last few pictures, this one too was inspired by Natasha May.
Hope you like it!

Texturized Girl

Hello everyone. Hope your Easter was a pleasant one and that you enjoyed time with family and friends.  
I have another girl for you today -this one which incorporates  the  background into the girl (or vice versa).  This girl is painted with acrylics and she is painted on the textured, patterned background.  The background is a combination of spray inks, paints, stencils and stamping. 

She is inspired by the class I am taking by Natasha may -with a twist.  In the class, we painted over the background so that the hair contrasted.  I LOVE the fact that I left the background as is and only outlined the hair.  I did put a white shadow around the entire lady so that she stands out just a bit.
Art is about expression, growth and learning.  In this painting, I learned a few things that I will do different next time.  When I make a slightly tilted, turned head, I have to be more careful of the facing cheek.  it is a bit thick on this painting but I could not fix it without sanding it right down. But, in general, I really like this piece.
Thanks for visiting!

A Curly Haired Girl

Hi,
It has been awhile -again- since I posted here.
So, here goes...............
I have a cute girl I painted today with black, curly hair.  I was totally stumped as to how to do the hair so I simply painted a black blob and added white circles for curls. 

She is done completely in acrylics and I LOVE her.  This was an experiment in several different techniques and a painting I did as a direct result of a class I took by Natasha  May.  I am so enjoying this class and I have several sketches - I just haven't turned them into paintings.
I never would have thought I would enjoy drawing and painting these female characters but I really do.
Thanks for visiting!

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!

Angel Sketch

Since I got "hooked" on drawing, I have taken my sketch book everywhere.  The other day before work, I drew this large-headed angel.

Her nose is a tiny bit harsh but I like her just the same.  I am not sure if I will paint her or not.    I think I might finish her and use her on a journalling page.

See you later!

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.

Doll Dreams First Attempt

I am working on a course at Doll Dreams and here is my first sketch.  I really have to make my sketches a bit darker so that I can better post them.
Hope you like her!

Whimsical Girl

Hello!  It has been a while but I have not been dormant.  I have been learning - or trying to learn - how to draw faces. Here is my first whimsical young lady and I really like her.

I asked some very talented ladies (at Pamela Joy) for input and, as a result, this is the sketch I will paint.  She originally had a Rudolph nose so I softened it and she is so improved.  Thanks Laura and Eva for all your advice.

I will show you my girl again once I paint it.

Thanks for visiting!