Yikes...no new postings!!

I will try to get more postings done in new year; I have not drawn much since I've been working in Saudi - i seem to have "drawing block" of some sort. I would have expected that drawing should be a good stress relief etc. However, i don't seem able to get inspired; i'll work it out and get more stuff posted in 2011.

For now, happy holidays and a happy new year.

Practise makes perfect.... or at least better

I came across a quote attributed to an 'old school' art teacher who answered, in response to the question "how do I improve my art?", " take a stack of paper equal to your height, draw until the stack is gone and you will have got a lot of bad drawings out of your system". 

I have to do more drawing and stop worrying about how 'good' it may or may not be. I seem to have 'drawing block' again and I need to just draw. Of course, I won't inflict the results on you via this blog!

Raven - Charcoal

Second Raven in charcoal;

Raven-- pastel

More experimenting with pastels.

Pencil Raven

Not happy with this but I've put it up now. I'll try to fix the shading on the feathers.

Portland Island-sunset

 

A flock of ravens is called a .........

I wanted to check that what I read was correct that a flock of ravens is called a "coven of ravens". According to http://www.birdnature.com/groupnames.html it is NOT. A group of Ravens is a "congress" or an "unkindness". Other interesting ones are  a "tidings" of magpies, a "parliament" of owls [ I'm sure a flock of owls is probably as rare as a sitting of our own parliament!], and a "host" of sparrows. Since unkindness sounds disparaging, i'll go with a "congress of Ravens"

No drawings yet, just trying to be sure the title is correct.

New Series of drawings

In order to get over some recent 'drawing block' I decided to set my self a bit of a challenge; I will do a series of drawings of Ravens, using different media. I chose Ravens because I find them a fascinating creature. Stay tuned for the upcoming "coven of ravens" posts!

Bison Sketch

 

This is a large format [18 x 24"] charcoal sketch I did as preliminary to a final drawing that I have not gotten around to actually doing yet.

For Adrian -- "Backyard Friends"

 

This is a set of ink drawings I did early on for Adrian. However, I don't think his Dad thinks of these as "friends" when he is trying to protect his garden!

Sun Flower -

I'm still struggling with the pastels I got for Xmas from Leah; colour ramps up the complexity another order of magnitude from charcoal/pen/pencil.

new cow toy

 

Adrian was admiring a bouncy wooden toy at Eidleweiss and so I was given the challenge of making such a toy. I drew a cartoon cow head and then carved it out of a piece of maple. the body and feet are from purchased wooden items. Grandma did the ears from leather. 

I cannot find a low tension spring to make it bounce properly, so for now she will sit on his own potty!

I've not given this to him yet so keep it a secret if you see this before he gets it.

Wyatt's new blog site

I've helped my friend Wyatt with a simple blog site for him to help catalogue both his sold and unsold art work.
Check it out at www.westernskies101art.blogspot.com

Zen Drawing?

I drew this with no plan in mind while listening to a radio program and it was a very relaxing experience. I've since stumbled across a whole genre called "zentangle" which is a form of unstructured doodling that has been used in everything from mediation to anger management. Google it and see what I mean.

I'll post a zentangle that i've done soon.

Portland Island - ink wash

From my sketch book.

Chinook Arch

I drew this from a photo that Mike took from Nosehill while on a bike ride.

WoodWork#1 - tricycle

I made this for my grandson, Adrian, for Christmas. It is solid maple and all the shaping was done by hand since I don't own a lathe.

Wood Work?

I quickly made this blog as a demo to show a friend what he could do for himself regarding a webpage without having to find someone with html skills. He is an artist who needs a way of showing clients what he has done and what is for sale, since he doesn't have a permanent studio space.

Now that I have banged this together I may keep it and expand it. Perhaps I'll put up some of my wood working efforts - these can be thought of as art as well I suppose.

Stay tuned.

West Coast Scene

Old Barn

Every abandoned building has a story to tell.

Elephant closup

Have had some good comments on this from art site I belong to.

Art and homeless

Went to the concert and art show at Grace Presbyterian church last night. The concert was commissioned by Lands End Chamber ensemble. Backup chorus and some writing was by a singing group from the Drop-in Centre. Afterward there was an art show of works of artists working out of various shelter/homeless agencies.

I was made aware of this by Wyatt, my friend I met at the Foothills shelter. He took up art a short while ago and is making amazing strides. I will put a link here to his web site once it is finalized. He has started selling his art and has some corporate commissions. I remember him telling me his schedule of practicing various techniques each day which reminded me of what I already knew: I'm not going to get better by thinking about it - practice, practice, practice !

More to come

My scanner died a few weeks ago and taking photo's of art isn't the same , especially with my lack of proper lighting,etc. So, once my replacement scanner arrives, I will post some of my sketchbook pages,etc. I'm trying a few things from lessons such as drawing the same subject over a number of days and seeing how the interpretation changes as familiarity with it grows.

I will also try to overcome my reluctance to show my "failures" and to stop waiting for the 'masterpiece' to appear!!...could be a long wait!.

Elephant group

I imagine that over time there will be a number of elephant drawings here as I find them a fascinating animal. I don't quite know why, perhaps it goes back to my early childhood reading of stories of India.

Aspen grove

Drawing from my imagination... testing of technique to represent grasses,etc.

Trapped: charcoal

Inspired by article on justice/or lack thereof/ for the poor.

Pastel #1

My experiements with my new pastels continue.... not happy with this but it is getting closer