DRAWING LAB - Lesson 10

I know, this has been long overdue......very long overdue!
I'm sorry for that!

In this lesson, we were to visit the local coffee shop and draw blind contours of the other patrons.
I discovered that I was actually putting this one off time and time again.  It certainly isn't because I don't like coffee....anyone who knows me is aware my undying devotion to the brew....haha!

I found that I was dreading taking my sketchbook out in public and "staring" at other people while I was there.  I didn't want to be make anyone uncomfortable....or worse yet, have them ask to see my sketches.  If you've done contour drawings before, you know just how weird they can look.  I didn't want to take the chance of offending anyone.

So, instead of the coffee shop, I finally took my sketchbook to Karate Class.  We parents sit there in the lobby area for 2 hours every week.  Even so, I only completed 2 quick drawings.  I still felt strange drawing in public.

But, I guess that's part of the exercise....to do something differently than we normally do.

I actually asked this mom if I could draw her before I did. She liked it and we began talking about my art, etc... So, it ended up being a good thing :)

Please linky up if you do this Lesson (or, like a couple of you, have already done it and have just been waiting for me to get my butt in gear...haha!)

Hope you're having a wonderful week so far.....and a great big welcome to the new Friends I have joining me on my art adventures!

Here's to loving our contours,

Cameron

Buggy Eyed

Hello Dear Friends!

I've been trying hard to get back into being creative.  This is easier said than done when we're trying to milk every ounce of Summer out of the remaining days of vacation.  Maggie goes back to school on the 8th of August (early, huh?!).

But, when I saw that Butterfly Effect had the theme of INSECTS this week, I knew I had to join in.
First, I thought I'd revisit the fun Lesson from Drawing Lab (which, *ahem* I have not forgotten about.....new posts soon to follow) with the monkeys in this post HERE. 

Maggie picked a few random colors for me and I drew common bugs in this new, brighter colors.....

Is a cockroach less gross in red and green?

Or a wasp less intimidating with hot pink stripes?

....and since I was using the Drawing Lab book, I skipped ahead to Lesson 40 and decided to try my hand at a whimsically drawn bug collection.

I did a large blue beetle......

....a bright colored grasshopper....

...and a moth and beetle duo....

I enhanced the mattboards with Sharpie pens and silver metallic ink.  Here's what they look like together as a grouping.

Each  is 5x7 inches. 

I think I may try a larger collection.  I have a few 8 x 10 mattboards around here that could use a purpose :)

Thank you for peeking in today!

....and do crawl, fly or buzz over to Butterfly Effect and add your buggy creation to the mix :)

Bugs....er, I mean, Hugs,

Cameron

LESSON 9 - When Right is Wrong

Hello Friends!
As promised, I finally have another installment of Carla Sonheim's Drawing Lab Lessons to share with you.

This lesson was about using your wrong hand to draw a portrait with permanent ink.
No erasing, limited control and looking at your subject 60% of the time while drawing, is meant to practice further coordination between your hand and your eyes.

For me, my right hand is my "wrong" hand....
So, I used 2 tear outs from a magazine, a Sharpie and began.
Here's the first attempt.

Fine motor control with this hand is greatly reduced, so detail lines were quite difficult.  Eyes were automatically wonky and trying to control the slope of her jaw...well, had some humorous results :)

I chose a larger picture for the 2nd one which proved to be a tad easier...

But not much...haha!  What would usually be a deliberate slight curve with your dominant hand becomes way too wavy like in the lips and eyes....

...and those fine lines of the eyelashes and hair take a lot of thought with your wrong hand.  It was kind of nice not to worry about the outcome, though.  I'm finding that this book is helping me to relinquish the choke hold I sometimes assert on my art....haha!

Next week's Lesson...we get to go to the Coffee Shop and draw the people around us.  I get a little self conscious when I whip out a pencil and paper in public...but I'll do it for you guys, oh, and the promise of coffee doesn't hurt either ;P

Please link up your wrong-handed drawings here!

Thanks for playing along :)

Blowing kisses with both hands,
Cameron

Lesson 8 - Unimaginative Creatures

Actually, this Lesson is called Imaginary Creatures.....but, I had a hard time enjoying this one...

Hi there!  Yes, yes, it's really me.  I have re-surfaced, just briefly, mind you....to bring you another Lesson from this wonderful book:

My Husband is a teacher...so both he and and my daughter are home for Spring Break.  I haven't been on the computer or at my art desk much, but was able to squeeze this in.

The results of this Lesson do not compare in the least to what I accomplished in the last... but I am the first to admit that I just don't pull off whimsy easily. 

We were to put random watercolor marks on paper starting with red.

Then blue...

Then yellow...

After we let these marks dry, we were to try to pull an imaginary creature from the shapes....outlining in ink and adding more detail with charcoal and more paint.

Here's some sort of butterfly/ flying lizard thing....

A kinda mouse thing...

...and a bit of a bird-like thing...

I didn't care for this assignment....but, again, it's about doing something I wouldn't normally do and expanding my horizons :)

What I am really excited about, though, is that the completion of this Lesson moves us into the next Unit.  Lessons inspired by People now, rather than animals!  

Thank you all for joining me so far...and a big welcome to the New Linkers who have found their way here!

We still have a lot of Book left to explore together :D

So, please link your Lesson 8 posts here:

...and I'll be sure to drop by!

Hope you've all been able to use your imaginations this week!

Big Hugs,

Cameron

Monkey Business - Lesson 7

Welcome to another Lesson in Carla Sonheim's Drawing Lab.

This time, she asks us to do some monkeying around using a limited palette of just 4 different supplies.  And then, as you probably already guessed, draw a monkey.

I thought that I would really challenge myself by not even choosing the colors used.  I asked Maggie to choose them for me.

I had her pick one Prismacolor pencil, one chalk pastel and one fine tipped colored Sharpie to pair with my trusty black Sharpie pen.  Here are her first choices.

Here's my little monkey in red colored pencil, hot pink ink, mustard brown pastel and black Sharpie.

I really had no idea I would enjoy drawing monkeys so much.  I've never really been partial to them.  But, I decided I wanted to do another one just because....and Maggie was excited to pick out a new combination of colors!

This time she chose orange prismacolor, tan ink, and periwinkle blue pastel.

I was shocked at how cool this looks!  Totally something I would never choose to do on my own....monkeys just are not blue....haha! 

Carla suggests making envelopes with 4 random art implements inside....and when you want a challenge or need some new inspiration....you pick one, open it up and use just those 4 supplies on your next project.  A neat idea, for sure :)

We have one more Lesson to complete before moving from animals to people....should be interesting!

Thanks for joining me....and feel free to link up your monkey business here, too!

Anyone else have a craving for a banana? :)
Hugs,
Cameron

A Pack of Corgis - LESSON 6

Hi there!  

Here we are, another week, another Lesson in Drawing Lab!  This time our instructions were to draw a dog on 20 index cards....and not just a dog....but the same dog over and over again.  I have never sat down and drawn the same thing that many times before....

So I grabbed my index cards, my Sharpie (since I don't have a chisel-ended pen per the book) and this photo from the Internet.

(Source)

Here are my first 8.

I'm not sure what I was doing with the background on that first one....haha!

It is really neat how they end up being so different....plus, I found after the initial 4 or so, I started experimenting more with starting points.  I usually started with the ears and forehead....but, I also tried starting with the eyes, the nose, all the right side, then the left, etc....

Here are the 2nd 8.

The book does recommend taking a little break when you start to tire of drawing your subject.  In the middle,  from about 11 to 14 or so, it was getting a bit tedious....but then, you start seeing the big pile of finished drawings....and the smaller pile of blank cards....and it becomes a fun challenge to finish!

I sat and drew these 20 in about an hour.

Here are the last 4....sorry about my shadow across the bottom :)

I numbered them on the back, and I found that useful in keeping track of their progression and how many I had left to do.

So, there you go.  

A pack of Corgis. 

 What will your pack be?

Please link them here and share them with me :)

As usual, your visits are always appreciated!! Thank you!
20 Hugs,
Cameron

ZooTube - Lessons 4 and 5

Hello my Drawing Darlings!

Since these 2 Lessons are Part I & II of a Day at the Zoo, I lumped them here as one.  As much as going to a real zoo and leisurely sketching all afternoon sounds like bliss.....it really is an impossible task right now.  Not just for time constraints, but having a kid that expects to go with you, then zooms through it so quickly, you barely have a moment to read the plaques....it really makes taking a sketchbook useless :)

So I decided to use some movies we've taken of our past visits to zoos. Heck, we go to, at least, 3 zoos and 2 Aquariums every Summer during our 7 week camping excursions....should be plenty of videos to be found.

Turns out we have 2 movies.  That's it. Just 2.

So, this is from Petting Farm footage....

I know we are not supposed to erase....but I was really having trouble with the legs and the ears on this little goat.  Videos are harder to work from than I imagined because the camera doesn't necessarily stay where your eye wants to...

We also had a movie we took of 2 bears wrestling...here's my bear ( not a wolf, as my daughter insisted it was...haha!)

So, after exhausting my resources...I was off to the amazing, yet perverted world of YouTube.  It's astonishing to me how many videos of animals mating (and worse) come up when you are looking for zoo or wild animal footage...sheesh!

I did happen on some clean and perfectly suitable ones to use to sketch these...

Parrot

Have you ever seen a skunk run?  It's the cutest thing :)

I must've watched that tiger roar 5 times...this was the best I could do.

Bunny

This little guy is Peabody the Tawny Owl.  I drew this from "Peabody's Bathtime".  I'm not going to include the video here cuz it's long, and frankly, uneventful in getting a good view of him....but, I wasn't going to waste over 2 minutes of watching and not get something...haha!

A video I will include here for your viewing pleasure is this:

What a cutie!  Just look at those eyelashes!

Here's my favorite sketch of the day :)

I chose videos over my pets because I was tired of drawing cats....haha!  Not that tired, afterall!

I can't wait to see what your drawings look like!  Please link up here to share:

Remember to get out some 3 x 5 inch index cards for Lesson 6.

*Puts pencil in mouth to throw arms around you*

Cameron

Crude Gestures - Lesson 3

Welcome to Lesson 3 of Carla Sonheim's Book, Drawing Lab for Mixed Media Artisits.

In this Lesson, we are supposed to do super quick gesture drawings of a moving pet.  Using a charcoal pencil or other soft utensil and just seconds per drawing, the goal is to get the idea of the animal and it's position and/or movements.

But before I show you mine, I want to give a  Thank You to NatashaMay for nominating me for an award on her blog!

Part of the requirements is to share 7 things about yourself. The other part is to pass it on to 15 other Bloggers....and I just don't know how I'd choose....so I'm going to skip that part.  I always love finding out more about my Blog Friends, so feel free to consider yourself nominated and spill some juicy beans ;P

Anyhoo....back to the lesson!

I used a 6B pencil....otherwise, I'd be covered in charcoal!

1. I'm one of those left-handed people that has their hand all curled upside down....smearing everything in it's path.  I usually succeed in transferring it to other parts of me, clothes, surfaces, etc. when I use anything soft-leaded :)

I found this exercise to be difficult for me.  I like to take more time than the allotted 2 seconds Carla recommends.....and trying to draw a moving kitten (more spastic than an adult cat, I think,...haha!) was more than challenging.  I found myself more than once trying to "fill in" where I thought limbs and such to be after Sally had already changed positions.  I guess I don't follow directions very well :)

2. Which leads me to my cooking style, too. Some of my family's favorite recipes of mine are ones where I've just thrown stuff together.  I like to tweak ingredients and add more than the usual stuff....I put veggie puree in my meatballs, cilantro in my turkey chili and sour cream in my pancakes....I make Island Water (that's what we call it, anyway) for my daughter and myself with a splash of coconut milk, sliced ginger root and water over ice.  I love French Toast with a hint of orange zest in the egg mixture and I eat them with a layer of berry preserves instead of syrup...

I know, I'm zany....what can I say ;P

3.  I loathe washing dishes!!  I will scrub toilets all day long over hand washing a sink full of dishes.  I bring this up because our dishwasher is broken!  I never had one in the 13 years we rented.....and ever since having one here at the house, doing dishes has been fine....pleasurable, even!  But now, aaarrrgghh!  I never seem to catch up :(

This one is my least favorite of what I'm showing you today....but, trust me when I say there were others that were worse.  I just don't want to show them to you  ;P

4. I used to have a huge dark side.  Brooding and depressed, I'd entertain fantasies of running away, waste a lot of time feeling alienated from what "normal" people wanted and enjoyed, was convinced that no one understood me.  I always thought that this is where my creativity came from...that this darkness made me special.

But, once you have a child, this way of thinking can be detrimental.  It can cause resentment to build.  Motherhood has been the most wonderful experience I have ever undertaken, but it made my demons feel trapped and angry. A lot of things began to suffer....including my marriage.  Something had to change. I originally started Blogging because I was tired of feeling torn....

The name of my Blog was another attempt at me being clever....and was to elude to me "painting" myself in a better light....to put the best of me forward and focus on that....to paint myself pretty, rather than the ugliness I felt inside...

Had I known, though, that it was going to be such a great experience, and that I'd be opening a shop, too....I would've picked a shorter name....haha!

5.  I still love dark, brooding images and places.....all things forbidden, gothic, scary and macabre...I adore cemetaries, fairy tales with unhappy endings and blood and gore......but, I've learned to not dwell there.

6. Blogging really is better than therapy!  It allows me to connect with real artists....moms....women...who have taught me that I am not alone in my struggles....and who give me a reason to paint and laugh and share and rush to my computer every day!  I can't imagine my Life without it now ;)

This one is my favorite.  Sally had put her paws up on my lap and was watching my pencil as I sketched her.  Everything that moves is potential prey to a kitten....so it was time to stop.

7.  Trying to think of something you don't know....hmmmm....let's see.....

How about this.  I always knew I wanted to be an artist since the first time I could hold a pencil.  I decided I wanted to go to a prestigious art school  in Laguna Beach, jumped through the hoops to get in, took out the loans...and didn't even complete 1 semester.  And I am SO GLAD I didn't!!

As much as I feel foolish for being so flakey....I never, then, would have gone to Bartending School and gotten a job at Embassy Suites.  I would have never met the cute, polite, interesting Room Service guy who would later become my Husband.  I would not have my daughter....sure, I might have a daughter, but not this daughter, who is all the goodness I strive to be :)

Please link your gesture drawings here:

I am really so honored to have you here with me...on my little journey to become a better artist and all around happier person :D

I hope you paint yourself a wonderful weekend!!

Group Hug,

Cam