Meet Kayleigh

Ok, so I'm not even sure that's how you spell her name, but this is Kayleigh.  She's my boss's adorable granddaughter and as soon as I saw the photo of her, I knew I had to draw her.  

She's super sweet and loves to hang out with us at the answering service where I work.  She really loves when you let her sit on your lap and let her 'type'.  We spent a little while drawing and coloring together a few weeks ago and she got a kick out of my silly drawing of a house with a yard and a dog.  She was especially enamored with my swing set.  lol

I had a ton of fun with this one and I think I'm getting better with hair too!  The eyes and nose were harder this time because of the angle of her face.  Usually I have a hard time with mouths but I think hers was easier.  Strange how things work out sometimes.

I'm loving working mornings.  Some days I'm home by 10am and others by 2pm and I have so much more free time it seems like.  It's also nice to come home and lay out by the pool!  I may actually enjoy summer this year.

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Here Kitty Kitty! A New Camcorder and Acrylic Paints

So I learned that drawing fur is hard!  Ugh, this was so much harder than the dog I did.  I'm definitely going to have to practice fur and hair more.  Those are the hardest things to make realistic looking to me.  I think I'm getting the eyes down pretty good.  My goal this week is to practice more mouths and hair. 

I went to Good Will again yesterday.  I found a mini camcorder for $6.99 and had my birthday coupon for 25% off so it came in under $6!  We had to use our own memory card but so far it looks to be working ok.  It is this exact model which I looked up online and one place is selling it for $109!!!! Can you believe that???  It has a case, carrying strap, and mini tripod. It even still had the clear film over the viewing lens!  I rock!

I also went to Hobby Lobby and got a Royal  & Langnickel acrylic paint set with 10 paints, brushes, palette and two mini canvas boards on clearance for $11.99!  This is what it looks like.  How cool was that!!!???

Now I have to learn how to paint with acrylics.  Yay!

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My First Full Sized Watercolor Painting

I may have been a little over zealous when I chose this picture to be my first water color.  I've done little ACEOs but never a large piece.  I thought it would be easy to do a building but I was wrong.  Creating straight lines and trying to cover the graphite I used to copy the image from the original drawing made it look too outlined and not as realistic.  I realize now that I need a book to help me go step by step instead of trying it on my own.

My boyfriend absolutely loves it so I told him he can have it.  LOL.  I really need to work on my trees and my rocks look like anything but rocks.  It was a learning experience and I'm glad I tried it.  I do love watercolors and I will be trying more images but I really do want a book to follow.  After all, that's how I learned to draw and it seems to have worked.  Again, I had trouble with shading.  I did fine on the church itself but put the shadows in the wrong spot on the ground.  Each time I try something new it is a learning experience and I'm happy to have been able to try new things.

Hope you had a wonderful weekend.  I plan to spend the day at the pool, weather permitting.

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Sunday Sketches - Puppy Love

I think he turned out pretty cute!  This was my second attempt at drawing a dog.  The first had longer hair and was a little harder to draw.  This was another project in the book I'm trying to learn from.  I don't have any puppies right now; however, I did have a black lab mix several years ago that looked very similar to this one.

Don't forget to hop on over to Blue Chair Diary to check out all of the other great Sunday Sketches!  There are some really great artists out there.

Pencil on Sketch Paper

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Inspiration Avenue - Circus

For this week's Inspiration Avenue challenge, the theme was Circus.  I immediately thought of elephants, trapeze artists and a lion tamer, but decided to go with a clown.

I wanted to show emotion with my clown so I made him a sad clown.  Why is he sad?  Because he gets such a bad reputation.  Raise your hands, how many of you readers are afraid of clowns?  I thought so!  lol.  I'm not sure why so many people are afraid of clowns.  Sure, there was John Wayne Gacy (for those of you that are too young or not from Illinois, click here to find out who he was.)  There's also 'It' from Stephen King.  But outside of those two, I really don't see what's so scary about them.

What do you think?  Clowns: scary or not?

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An Award

Yay me!  How exciting!  Thank you so much to Liz for giving me the Beautiful Blogger Award.  Much appreciated!

Here's my 10 Beautiful Blogger List
My Front Porch
Whoopidoo...ings
Rose Hill Designs
Blue China Studio
Waterstone
Through the Eyes of an Artist
Here's My Story
The Wright Stuff
Serial Crafter
Muffin Fixation

Ten things about myself...
1. I'm a huge tech geek.  I love new technology of all kinds, phones, cameras, computers.  If it's new, I want it!
2. I didn't start drawing until about two years ago.  I started taking some online graphic design classes and we had to draw thumbnails.  I couldn't draw so I bought a book and taught myself, well, I'm still learning.
3. I took three years of sewing in high school.  I was entered in a citywide contest for all of the high school's in the Chicago district and won 2nd place for a dress I made.
4. I have taught myself to crochet, knit, quilt and draw by looking at books.
5. I have an Etsy shop but haven't done a lot with it.  You can find me here.
6. I'm a huge Big Brother fan!  Love that show!
7. I love anything to do with forensics, science, medical.  I also love watching shows about prisons and jail.  Too interesting!
8. I have 6 Parakeets.  Which explains my love of birds and why they are so prevalent in my artwork.  We have Gonzo (named after Hunter S Thompson), Bubbles (named after the Trailer Park Boys character), Chili, Tink (Tinkerbelle, my favorite fairy), Sunny and Lizzie.
9. I have three children.  Ages 24, 22 and 18.
10.  I lived in Texas for 3 years and Colorado for 6 months when my ex-husband was in the military.

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Sunday Sketches

Happy Sunday!

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Inspiration Avenue

'Wish'

Marker and Colored Pencil on Sketch Paper

This is my first submission for Inspiration Avenue.  It's a weekly challenge that anyone can enter in any medium and you can even win prizes!  How fun!  My boyfriend said she looked a little sad and I told him that not all wishes come true, maybe she's wishing for the impossible.

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Creativity Boot Camp - Day 12

'Smooth' 

Pencil on Sketch Paper

You may be wondering why this sketch was named smooth.  Well, here's the story...lol.  My boyfriend loved the sketch I did of the little girl so much he wanted me to sketch his parents for his dad for father's day.  Of course he had a really bad photo where there heads were about the size of a pea.  Needless to say that due to the size I was unable to use the grid method.  His mom's face came out fine, but her body looked way too small, then his dad's face was just too cartoonish.  After protesting how much I hated it, we then decided to do his daughter, Madison.  We had a much better photo and everything went very smoothly.  Get it, smooth!

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Creativity Boot Camp Day - 11

'Hush'

Pencil on Sketch Paper

'Hush' Close Up

Ok, I'm at work last night and I decide I want to try my first real pencil sketch portrait.  Yes, I get to do these kinds of things at work.  :)  Anyway, I decide to go for it and do one of the practice sketches from Lee Hammond's Big Book of Drawing.  Now, it didn't turn out exactly like hers.  The girl actually looks much younger in the inspiration piece, but I really love how she turned out.  Then, I click on CBC and our prompt word is 'Hush'.  Maybe I just wanted her to fit but I really feel that she fits!  In fact, I think she's perfect.  Maybe not technically, I'm still learning don't forget and she is my first portrait sketch.  Up till now it's been eyeballs, noses and mouths but nothing put together.

More good news.  I went to Goodwill today and found 5 yes 5 art books.  Four on sketching and one on Art Techniques.  I know, right????  I would have had to pay over $100 easily if I bought them brand new!  What a deal!

Even more good news!  My ACEO's were added to the Ripple blog today!  Yay me for sure!  You can find that post here and my post about the inspiration behind them here.  I don't think the day could have gotten any better.  Hopefully today will be equally as good and I'll have a good weigh in.  ;)

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Creativity Boot Camp - Day 10

'Full Bodied'

Colored Pencil and Marker on Sketch Paper

Today's Prompt - 'Full Bodied'.  I went with hair as I wish I had full bodied hair instead of baby fine and straight!  lol.

Don't forget to check out my post below about Illustration Friday and Ripple.  Thanks!  XOXOXOXO

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Illustration Friday and Ripple

If you haven't heard of Illustration Friday and Ripple  please take a minute to check them out.  This week on IF the topic is 'Ripple'.  Based on the topic you create a work of art in whatever your chosen medium is and submit it to their gallery.  Ripple is a blog where you can find donated artwork to help save the animals affected by the oil spill. Each sketchcard on this blog is $10.00. The $10.00 is a donation to help the animal victims of the Deep Water Horizon Gulf Oil Spill. Every penny is donated. The two Non-Profits that are benefiting are The Institute for Marine Mammal Studies and The International Bird Rescue Research Center. You can purchase a card if you donate directly to one of the non-profits and email the confirmation and your address to ripplesketches@verizon.net. The artist will mail you the signed card.

We don't have to feel helpless. We can help. Our small actions together will ripple outward. 

Here are my submissions for IF and Ripple.  They will be available on Ripple as soon as I figure out how to do that. LOL.  Actually I've emailed Kelly to let her know I want to donate them.

'Better Days'

ACEO Watercolor on Strathmore Coldpress Watercolor 300 Series 140# Paper

'Lizzie'

ACEO Watercolor on Strathmore Coldpress Watercolor 300 Series 140# Paper

'Lizzie' was my first ACEO ever, well technically this one is the second as I gave the first to my wonderful boyfriend without whom I probably would not be creating art at all.  Lizzie is the name of our newest parakeet.  She was just a baby when we got her and is the sweetest bird we have.  I know parakeets don't have much to do with the oil spill but she is a feathered friend of all of the birds being affected on a daily basis.

'Better Days' was my second ACEO attempt.  My inspiration was the beautiful water I saw in Key West and Cozumel, Mexico years ago on a cruise.  I think of those days as better days for the marine life that have to endure this tragedy.  'Better Days' is a shot from below the whale looking upward.  Hope you enjoy them as I had a lot of fun making them.

Thank you Melanie for providing the link to Illustration Friday!

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Creativity Boot Camp - Day 9

'Drizzle'

Pencil on Sketch Paper

So for Day 9 of Creativity Boot Camp our prompt word was 'drizzle'.  I immediately thought of rain but I wanted to go a little outside the immediate response to the word.  I came up with this as I used to make these for Christmas for my kids and you drizzle the icing on.  I drew this from a memory and it's one of the very few things that I've sketched totally freehand.  Typically I use the grid method but I'm trying to get into drawing without it.  I know my plate is a not exactly proportioned and a little misshapen but overall I'm very pleased with it.

I never did get to start a watercolor yesterday.  In fact other than boot camp and Sunday Sketches I only got the image transferred onto my watercolor paper.  I had the worst headache all day and couldn't concentrate enough.  I finally gave up and laid down and watched the movie Big Fish which was extremely good and I would recommend it to anyone.  

This week I'll be working some overtime and wont have as much spare time to spend on boot camp.  It makes me a little sad that we're already over halfway through.  What will I do when it ends?  Where will I get the ideas to draw things I normally wouldn't just because of one little word? Will people still visit my blog?  So many questions, so little time!

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend and I can't wait to see what everyone came up with for this week's word prompt!

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Creativity Boot Camp - Day 8

'Tramp Stamp'

Creativity Boot Camp Day 8 Word Prompt: Ornament

“Ornament” {which by definition is something that lends grace or beauty}

Yes, I have one, no this is not mine. lol.  I have something similar though, very large butterfly with the tribalish flourishes and rose buds at the top.  I didn't spend much time on this as I have so much to get caught up with for journaling and I want to try a watercolor painting today as I'm off today and have some extra time.  I also created my first ACEO yesterday and will be posting that some time this coming week.  Don't forget to check out my Sunday Sketches as well in the post below.  I took more time with that one.  I wanted this one to be a simple outline.  Thanks for looking!  Check out more great takes on the prompt: ornament at Creativity Boot Camp.

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Sunday Sketches

'Wary'

Pencil on Sketch Paper

Can you tell I'm all about the birds?  LOL.  I'll be back later with Day 8, 'Ornament' for Creativity Boot Camp.  Click here to see more great Sunday Sketches!

I just wanted to make sure everyone knows that this sketch is one of the practice images in Lee Hammond's Big Book of Drawing.

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Creativity Boot Camp - Day 7

'Fly'

Marker with Colored Pencil on Sketch Paper

This prompt was a lot of fun fore me.  I knew immediately what I wanted to do when I saw it.  We have six parakeets and have had most of them since they were only 8 weeks old and couldn't fly very well.  One pet shop clipped the wings so short on one of the birds the poor thing couldn't even flutter to the floor.  He would drop like a rock, so this illustration means a lot to me.

In case you were wondering, I decided to separate my blogs.  Just in case I ever decide to start selling my artwork ( I already got a gmail and Etsy account with the same name...lol ) I thought it would be best to keep them separate and apart.  Thank you Retta for your insight on the subject, I really appreciate it.  I also thought it might be easier for those that only want to read about my weight loss journey or just my artwork escapades.

You can find my other blog here if you would like to see my other Creativity Boot Camp exercises.

If you're wondering how I got the eyeball on my banner, scroll down to the bottom of the page to see the original sketch.  Photoshop has some fantastic little tricks you can do to enhance your images.  I'm off to bed now, I'm exhausted but it was just too hot to sleep tonight.  Hopefully I'll fall asleep fast and hard.  LOL.  Can't wait to start on tomorrow's prompt: ornament!

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Favorite Artists

Bob Ross - 1942-1995 Don't laugh, you know you're lovin some 'happy little trees' yourself!  Really, I could listen to this man all day long.  He's just so laid back and fun to watch and he has a very soothing tone to him.  Gotta love the 'fro' too!

Lee Hammond - She has been my inspiration for sketching right from the beginning.  Her realistic sketches continue to amaze me on a daily basis.  I have two of her books and have learned so much from her.  In fact most of my sketches are practice pieces from her book.  I owe just about everything I know to her!

John Jude Palancar - If you've seen the 'Eragon' books by Christopher Paolini you've seen his arwork.  He's more of a fantasy artist but I love his work.

Claude Monet - 1840-1926 a French Impressionist that I simply adore.  Love his 'Water Lily' series!

Raffaello Sanzio (Raphael)  - 1483-1520 Italian High Rennaissance.  What can I say about the beautiful angels and Madonna's that he produced.  I did a study on him for my art history class.  We had to choose a famous artist and write a paper along with our analogy of their artwork.  Most people went with the normal favorites such as Leonardo da Vinci and Michaelangelo.  Let me just say there are not as many books about Raphael and it was not an easy assignment to do.  My teacher was impressed as she stated that very few of her students have picked him as an artist.  Yay me!  lol.

Albrecht Durer - 1471-1528 German Printmaker.  If you've never seen his engravings you are really missing out.  Imagine having to engrave your artwork into wood or thin metal and having to ink it and lay the paper on it to make a print!  How innovative for the time frame!

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Links

Coming Soon

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Portfolio

Artwork - how to make a free slideshow

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About Me

I am a 45 year old mother of three now grown children.  (sigh)

I am currently unemployed and have enjoyed the time I've recently had to practice my artwork.  I am also very lucky to have a wonderful boyfriend that helps support me financially, emotionally and creatively.

I have always been told, "You're so talented."  Don't get me wrong it's a wonderful compliment.  Without sounding like a snob or conceited I have tried and succeeded at many different crafts including knitting, crocheting, quilting, sewing, floral arrangement, scrapbooking, graphic design, sketching, card making, cross stitching, etc.  I have taught myself from books or looking online and pick things up extremely fast (get that from my father supposedly).  However, the bad part is, I can't seem to focus on one particular thing.  I'm not sure if it's a form of ADD or OCD but I'll get really focused on one medium for a few weeks, then get bored with it and move on something else.  Doesn't seem like a bad problem to have except that I would really love to be able to use one as a form of extra income but it's hard to do that when you lose interest after a month or so.  lol.

I'm currently into the sketching, water colors, oils and colored pencil sketches and hope that maybe I have found the one medium that I can focus all my attention on and eventually begin to sell.  Only time will tell!

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