the sweet side . . .

Well, it's official . . . that fabulous artist JanettMarie has decided that her next series will be coffee cups.  As always she is an inspiration for the artist both in creativity and endurance.  I am looking forward to her coming series as well as the many new and imaginative works produced by the wonderful artists who blog.  I call this drawing 'the sweet side' because of the ballerina's pink tutu and because - this summer I have decided to just have fun - forget 'the rules' - concentrate on the love of color - and paint with abandon - a new subject for me - the ballet.  But first - I have to clean up my studio.  My dog 'Tiny' got in there - and that puddle ain't water!!

that does not compute . . .

Well, my aging computer threw another mini fit that had to be fixed - so - while I waited for new parts to be installed I comforted myself by looking at great art and by drawing - what else -  a ballerina ala degas!

my 'bonnie' lass

workin' on degas . . .

what I wear when I draw Degas

 

catherine's cozy comfort #2 . . .

I have some chair paintings that are drying right now.  I will post one soon.  I was thrilled to draw this wicker chair - with a magazine?  Another first for me!  I would describe some artists as 'elegant' painters.  I have spent time trying to be an elegant painter.  Now I am trying to embrace the type of painter I really am.  I describe myself as traditional clunky.  Hey!  Some people Love clunky paintings!  (just the facts - more insight and photographic proof to come!)

catherine's cozy comfort . . .

catherine's cozy comfort

Since I have never drawn one before I wanted to see if I could just sit down and draw what I would call 'a classic chair'.   Not a bad job.  I have seen some photos of sunlit rooms with comfortable cheerful chairs that I would love to draw. Why not?  Challenge! Oh it's 'on' like 'popcorn'.  

bonnie in the summer sun . . .

'bonnie in the summer sun'

It's been weeks since I have drawn the human figure.  Quite frankly I am a little afraid now.  I do feel encouraged by artists like Bonnie whose drawings inspire me to sit down, listen to something pleasant  and draw.  Yes, I drew 'bonnie in the summer sun' a few weeks ago - before the pinched nerve in the arm thingy.  I have gone from 'two numb fingers' to 'weird feelings in the fingers'.  Now that's progress!  It is my doctor's opinion that I got a pinched nerve from eating one too many chocolate cookies combined with constantly sleeping on my hand.  What is he trying to say?  I need to be like Bonnie -  get my little fan - and take plenty of walks in the summer sun!

gracious and tea with janettmarie . . .

'gracious and tea with janettmarie'

As this sketch shows I have been working on my drawings and paintings of chairs.  I asked the modern day master of the impressionist apple JanettMarie if I could borrow her wonderful color palette for some of my pillows and she graciously said yes.  Thank you JanettMarie!  Paintings to come soon!

the smallest ballerina . . .

I thought that I would make a cute ballerina doll . . . or is that me on the shirt?

QUESTION: Can I draw a ballerina swooping up her hair?

I wanted to see if I could draw a ballerina with most of her face showing and swooping up her long hair.  I am pretty pleased with the result.  I didn't know that she would look so much like me (about 100 years ago!)

changing . . .

I actually did this composition as an oil sketch BEFORE I went back and drew it again with a pencil. The painting does not have as much detail as I would like.  Drawing it did help me to make ONE decision that improved the painting.  She is chewing gum.  After I drew it in pencil I saw that she should blow a bigger bubble in the painting.  Not perfect - but better.  I will show you the painting when it dries.

(PS I can't wait to see Carol's ballerina when she decides to draw one!  Her latest watercolor has encouraged me to try and draw a car.  Not much success yet - but I will continue to work on it.  It's a Volkswagen beetle and of course it belongs to a ballerina.) 

ballerina clinic and a question for bonnie . . .

In this practice sketch I wanted to leave the face of the ballerina undone.  With just the hint of a face is it possible that she still looks like someone you may have seen before (or am I just being lazy)?  I really enjoyed 'penciling' the skin tone - and - drawing just that little bit of the chair leg was just like having a little piece of chocolate.

QUESTION:  Bonnie how did you execute that last drawing?  As you can see, I really want to know!

to the horizon . . .

Well, everything is still in an unfinished state . . . for example my computer and the plumbing are functional but not 100 percent operational yet.  How appropriate that I could not finish this drawing.  I could have drawn a simple horizon line - just a line - but I was just plain too lazy!  I do like this drawing however - it shows a little improvement in my work - I think.  She's looking at the horizon - to the future!

ma ma

girl with a dog by

Myra Anderson

girl with dog

Milton Avery

The 'ma and ma' stands for myra anderson and milton avery (1885-1965).  There was just something that I liked about this painting by milton avery.  As in much of  his work, I like the seemingly carefree drawing, the vibrant colors, the various textures and in this one - I was especially drawn to the dog.  This painting inspired me to do this pencil sketch using my face for the girl (now I'm lying).  It was a difficult sketch for me to do but I really like the end result.

workin' with renoir . . .

I love Renoir's paintings of 'Girls by the Sea'.  In my sketch I wanted to see if there was a difference between drawing with a regular #2 pencil and graphite drawing pencils ranging from 2b to f.  Of course there's a difference!  I wouldn't have nowhere to spend my measly few pennies if there wasn't!  The graphite drawing pencil 'smooths' onto the paper like butter compared to a regular pencil.  Not that the regular #2 pencil doesn't have it's place.  I would use it right along with the drawing pencils - maybe to fill in the hair or non-essential places.

myra like degas . . .

You may have heard somewhere that I like the ballet paintings and drawings of Degas.  I have long loved this Degas sketch (photo #2).  What I attempted to do in my sketch was to substitute my face for the face of the ballerina (now I'm lying).  I did the best I could with my limited skill set but boy oh boy was it fun!! 

Also, I need to go back and number my ballerina series.  What number is this one?  I think I am going to put numbers on them like JM's apples.  Her artistic way of numbering her apple series is just too cute!

Finally, I am thinking about getting one of those art projectors as a learning tool.  I would like to use one as an aid to help me 'see' objects better.  I would also practice tracing objects in order to learn how to draw them more accurately. 

ballerina sketch

This is another pencil done on watercolor paper.  In this sketch I wanted to see if I could bring a little more 'reality' to the figure.  I also wanted to see if I could make it look as if the tutu was standing out in the back.  You know how we all are at times - so much angst about our work.  In this drawing I thought 'Hey, this one ain't so bad!'  (I think you get the feeling of charcoal when you take the stump and smooth the pencil lines.)

umbrella . . .

This one doesn't 'scare me' as much as that last drawing did!  I love ballerinas holding umbrellas and fans.  This is pencil on watercolor paper. 

JanettMarie and me and figurative work makes three part 1. . .

Helen H. T.

by myra anderson

In my last post I said that I would concentrate on  'capturing the beauty of the human form.'  I let that be the motivating force behind this sketch.   I kept telling myself  'you MUST capture the beauty of the human form!'  Next time I'll fix her hair.

What a beautiful sketch by Janettmarie!

hey bonnie . . .

I 'painted' these on the computer before I saw your wonderful painting of pansies.  Do you have one of those programs where you can draw and paint on the computer?  What a wonderful tool to help an artist envision a painting.  I used a paintbrush tool for the color.  However, I should have used the airbrush tool first because it would lay transparent color over the features rather than cover them.  Of course there are some wonderful graphic artists who produce amazing work using the computer.   Only now have I discovered how much fun it could be!