Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Cosmic Kitty

This is drawn from a photo on the internet.

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Faces

This was drawn, in ballpoint, from an ad in Time Magazine. I am scrambling as to how to continue this project for another seven months and I am thinking about doing a whole month of just people, so if I do, this is a preview.

Monday, December 29, 2008

Other People's Dogs #5....Bentley

Bentley lives in Newburg, Oregon with his parents, Jan and Willie. Bodacious means: remarkable, outstanding, audacious, bold and brazen. Bentley is all of these things. I like that he thinks that everyone's lap is his territory, no invitation needed. I love to visit him and his wonderful family which also consists of a Boston Terrier named Sophie and a cat named Dilly. There is another cat named Tibby who never comes out for company. What I learn from watching Bentley is to seize the moment and enjoy.

Sunday, December 28, 2008

EDM Challenge #107 How you get your news

Since giving up TV, now going on three months, I have turned to other sources for my news. I have to admit that sometimes, on my way home from work, I will listen to Koin TV, Portland's CBS affliate, on the radio. I haven't been able to get to work for two weeks so haven't heard TV news for over two weeks. Now I read the newspaper, Time and Newsweek. I am finding that I am listening to a lot of news and talk radio. During the storm I had to rely on the internet and KEX 1190 am for news and weather updates. I like that I am not watching the news constantly on TV, especially avoiding drug ads. I am just waiting for these companies to start radio advertising then I will have to stop listening to the radio. Anyway I am addicted to the radio show Coast to Coast AM. In the drawing above, the cloud above the radio is supposed to signify all the bad news that we are constantly bombarded with. I am not sure that it turned out as I envisioned it. Even though I love coast to coast some of the dire predictions being made about our country and the economy continue to worry me, but I keep listening. Anyway, here's hoping for a better 2009 than is being predicted.

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Golden Beet

I was looking for a new vegetable to draw and found this beautiful golden beet. It was also delicious. I couldn't bring myself to eat the greens which I know are good for you. They tasted too much like grass.

Friday, December 26, 2008

EDM Challenge #42 Something I am grateful for


I am grateful for oranges in winter. Right now I am especially grateful for my neighbors who shopped for me when I was stuck in the recent snow storm. I am still stuck and my car is now dead and I am very, very grateful that they have a battery charger. I hope it works and I really am grateful for the rains that are coming to wash away the snow. Hopefully soon.

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Frog collage

The finished frog is placed on a background made from putting different elements on watercolor paper and letting it dry for a textured, abstract effect.

Wooden Santa

Thanks to my wonderful neighbor who lent me the Christmas ornaments for the past week's drawings.

Monday, December 22, 2008

Toy soldier ornament

It's still snowing!!!

This is today. If you look closely at the picture below and this one you can see how much more snow we got from Saturday to today.

This is from Saturday


My deck on Saturday

My deck today. This poor tree is weighted down by the snow that just keeps on coming. And coming and coming and coming.

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Radishes

The radishes have been beautiful this time of year.

Friday, December 19, 2008

Snowman Ornament

This was an experiment that I am not thrilled with. I wanted to use the white pencil, so I thought colored paper would be interesting. I should have gone with a lighter colored paper. This has an interesting effect, I guess.
So it is snowing again here. I hope it is over soon.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

A worried fairy

This drawing doesn't do justice to how cute this little girl is. This is drawn from a copy of a photo taken by Stuart Lawrence, the husband of my friend Jill, at the fairy fair which takes place in Portland in early May at Alpenrose dairy. Also the scan didn't work as well as I would have liked.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

EDM Challenge #119 draw something you have made

I made this Christmas ornament quite a few years ago. It was something I was experimenting with. I sewed the angel out of muslin and painted her with acrylics. She is more dimensional than she looks like in the drawing.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Dreaming of Sunshine and warmer temperatures

So I am really freaked out as I am afraid to drive in snow no matter how little there is. Winter has arrived with very cold temperatures and lots of snow in Portland, Oregon. The news, of which I am getting from the radio, since I don't have TV, said this is the worst storm in ten years. And it is supposed to get worse this week. I am a wuss when it comes to winter weather. So I haven't been out since Saturday and might not go out until next week. If the temperatures would just rise, the rain would wash it all away! I realize I am just not a winter person anymore.

View from my deck

My front yard on Sunday. That is a neighbor's house.

Monday, December 15, 2008

Christmas Mooselet


This lovely little moose, or mooselet as I like to call her, lives on my neighbor's Christmas tree. I think she is so adorable in her dotted pjs and her little bow on her head.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Evil Santa

This lovely Santa is borrowed (as is everything coming up) from my neighbor. She calls him her evil Santa. It is hard to tell by my drawing but the mouth area is actually his tongue.

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Friday, December 12, 2008

Santa #2

Well, I could not get a decent scan of this. Hope you can see it.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Santa

The next three days I am drawing and posting some old fashioned ceramic santas that I got when I owned my own card and gift shop in Tempe, Az. This is the only one I did in pencil, the others are in colored pencil. I don't care for this season and when I cleaned out my house last year, I gave these guys to my neighbor who has graciously loaned them back to me to draw.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

This years Starbucks gift card

This year's Starbucks gift card is very cute. Last year it was a mitten which was fun. This year it is a knitted envelope that buttons in the back. I am not a Christmas person but I like to give Starbucks gift cards.

Monday, December 8, 2008

A lavender fairy

This photo was taken by Suzie Wolfer at an annual event in Portland. It is a Fairy Fair for kids that is held at Alpenrose Dairy in May.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Challenge #200 draw something lucky

I realize that I am very superstitious. I have no idea where I heard that ladybugs are lucky. I have them all over the house, as those who have been following for awhile may remember my ladybug series from August. No, I am not going to do a ladybug series again! It was fun to see how superstitious I am. I used to have other "lucky" items but don't have them anymore. I am particularly superstitious about numbers and I might do a drawing about this.

Friday, December 5, 2008

EDM Challenge #192 Draw a rope


This is a pretty pathetic piece of rope. Surprisingly,I had a really hard time coming up with rope to draw. This was what I finally found, a small piece of laudry line/rope.

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Monthly Inchie

Click on for better view
I decided to change how I do my inchies for the month. Since I have so many more months to draw a picture a day I am doing one day when I do my inchies and review the month for myself. I like this so much I might do a month of inchies.

Monday, December 1, 2008

Fairy Tea

The fairies are back for more tea and cookies. This is another small teapot I have in this very small collection of teapots.

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Chloe Nesting


This was a hard picture to get a decent image of. This is the lovely Chloe who makes nests in the bed covers.

Thursday, November 27, 2008

EDM challenge #61 draw a group of similar objects

This is actually done all in colored pencil, no crayons used.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Last offerings from colored pencil class

This is my first attempt with watercolor pencil.

Please note that this image is drawn from a frog at the Portland, Oregon zoo and is copyrighted by the photographer. It is here just to show progress in colored pencil class.


Tuesday, November 25, 2008

EDM #27 Draw a book


Click on pictures for a better view
Of my posts so far this is one of my favorites. I am still trying to get a decent picture or decent scan (bottom). I loved this book when I read it years ago and on rereading it, it is still one of my favorites.

Monday, November 24, 2008

Ball point pen drawing and doodle


This was my attempt to draw directly with a ball point pen. There is an artist, Andrea Joseph, who is a master at this. I still am in awe and still can't quite get how she does it.



I try often to sketch my cat and she always moves. This is the best one so far.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

EDM challenge #158 draw popcorn

I started reading Bert Dodson's book Keys to drawing with imagination, a very interesting book. He has many exercises and one is Macro drawing which consists of using a magnifying glass and to draw something small in a big manner. I did this without a magnifying glass, just drew it oversize. I would like to explore this again.