Around this time of year, I usually think up a little drawing for a few holiday cards. I couldn’t think of anything in particular for 2023 so I started playing around with bits of coloured paper. Four ideas emerged:
One of my sisters liked the “warm woolen mittens” design the best so I made a bunch of those. (I’m pretty sure the idea came from the last K1 art lesson where we drew mittens together.) The first thing I did was paint random red/green watercolour strokes on a piece of watercolour paper and when it was dry, cut it up into squares. Then I drew little mittens on each square (each card is “bespoke” haha), pasted them on coloured card stock and added a piece of wool (ok, acrylic yarn). Here’s one of the finished cards:
I’m trying to avoid saying the “R” word. It’s so final. I’m happy about it though – I have time at last to do my own thing, any time, any where, without worrying about spreadsheets, documents, booking meetings on Zoom and trying to get all that office stuff done without screwing up. I’m Done.
One thing I do recognize though, is the need for a bit of routine so for now it’s art in the a.m., my “work” time. I have some bigger projects lined up for myself and have almost got back into the daily drawing habit – see “Pedestrians” and the “Tulip Bed” below. There’s also plenty of fun stuff to do to keep members of my family entertained. And I am not averse to considering craft art – thus the amigurumi bunny. I think it’s smirking.
(Just in case you don’t know what the “R” word is, it’s . . . retirement . . .)
Happy New Year! Somewhat late are my 2019 Christmas tags – 4 little drawings of some family dogs you can download in a trimmable (trimable?) tag format. This is one of them – “Ollie”, the newest addition, a mutt of no particular breed but quite charming, sketched in pen, scanned and painted using a watercolour brush in Photoshop.
Now, New Year’s Resolutions. I only have one, and that’s to draw stuff for the sake of drawing stuff. I have this “purpose” idea – a drawing should be for a purpose. But I was watching an old movie recently (“When You’re in Love”, Cary Grant and Grace Moore, 1937) and there’s this scene when Cary Grant encourages Grace Moore (the opera singer) to sing just for the heck of it. Actually, for the joy of it. A bit like when you’re a kid, I think. So, in that spirit I drew Venus (Botticelli’s, that is) wearing an Edwardian gown. Fun, right?
At long last, a post! Time flows inexorably indeed. I can’t believe it’s been this long since my last entry. Progress is slow on the project I’ve been working on for too long, but in between times, I’ve managed to get out with the Urban Sketchers. On the weekend the group met at the Crystal Mall in Burnaby. The market alone is worth the visit. I’ve included my drawing here, but the group did some super work and it’s worth a look.
And, there’s always a cartoon in my head. Sometimes I manage to draw them. The one below is just something I was thinking while making a temporary escape from Officeland and taking a little walk along Marine Drive out at UBC.
Work continues on the children’s book. Like the previous one, I’m using photoshop to “paint” the pages. I’m still having a problem finalizing the main character though. I’ve done many colour iterations of “Starling” and am still not happy. Here’s one of the characters I’m more satisfied with (a woodpecker) although no doubt there will be more tweaks (in fact, I can see something I want to change right now):
Painting-wise, I’ve finished a little landscape. I bought a bunch of small canvases and decided that if I was going to fit painting in along with the daily grind and progress on the book, I was going to have to paint quickly and fast. I allotted myself an hour or so and managed to paint a landscape that was mostly satisfying. I left it on the wall for a week then took another half hour or so to tweak it. I’ve got 4 more 10″ x 20″ canvases to “play” with and took the leftover paint from this one and slapped it on a new canvas. Interestingly, it looks as if another landscape is emerging. This is quick landscape #1:
“Early Morning in the Valley” Acrylic on canvas, 10×20″
One of my sisters liked the “warm woolen mittens” design the best so I made a bunch of those. (I’m pretty sure the idea came from the last K1 art lesson where we drew mittens together.) The first thing I did was paint random red/green watercolour strokes on a piece of watercolour paper and when it was dry, cut it up into squares. Then I drew little mittens on each square (each card is “bespoke” haha), pasted them on coloured card stock and added a piece of wool (ok, acrylic yarn). Here’s one of the finished cards:
