Uh oh, a day late...

with my drawing assignment for the new online class I started yesterday. Carla Sonheim got together three other artists to also do online classes (www.carlasonheim.com/2013-summer-camp/).
I am taking Diane Culhane's "Between Speech and Silence" (www.dianeculhaneart.com) and I am enjoying it...a lot!
Day 1 assignment was to make 3 drawings following certain guidelines. Of the three, this one is my favorite:

Drawing with identifiable objects

Nothing subtle about colored pencil application - just use a lot of pressure :-)

Unfinished fun

The Blobimals Artist Books class ended on Friday. I managed to get a start on all three books, but omigosh, there's so much remaining to do. It works out well because as something needs to dry in one book I go on to the next and work on that one.
This is the start of the front cover of Book One:

Starting the cover of Blobimals Art Book One

I plan to work on these books in the background as I am starting another week-long online class tomorrow (oy!) but that's just how the class schedules worked out.

Scribble blob...

from the last day of Blobimals class:

A Bunny-roo :-)

That Carla Sonheim...

what a creative teacher.  Yesterday's drawing assignment was so simple...but brilliantly done! Use really "awkward" [my term] collage scraps to create three creatures. It was so funny because the scraps she used were ones she picked up from her studio floor (yes, the scraps I always toss).
I really enjoyed the the exercise; here's my take on it:

Rescued collage fodder :-)

Uncomfortable...

which is how I felt when I posted a drawing assignment to FlickR. It's for the Blobimal Artists Books class, Day 2 and I am not pleased with it...but I "have" to post it. This is because I get more out of a class if I commit to it and this means "showing up", hence uploading my assignments. Okay, so I'll share it here, too...why not?

So the idea is to make a quick scribble and then use it as the basis for a creature.

Creating "random-ness" is...difficult

Excited to have started another online class yesterday - Carla Sonheim's Blobimal Artist Books ( http://www.carlasonheim.com/2013-summer-camp/ ). I always enjoy the drawing part of her classes. This is from Day 1:

"Jig-saw-puzzle" drawing

I found the hard part of the assignment was drawing the random blue lines (!) - somehow my first attempts just didn't look random. Huh...

I see this every morning...

from my window:

Delicate leaves.

Is this normal?

Remy and I were on walkies yesterday afternoon. We were moving along at a nice clip when this white thing caught my eye:

Huh?

We checked it out more carefully and saw that it was...

Wow, it's a meow!

a cat!
I know very little about cat behavior and I wondered, "Is this is a cat thing?"  It did look quite at ease until it saw a perky Golden Retriever giving it his full attention. I paused long enough to take a pic and then we left so that this cat could go back to its reverie...

Practicing "my" calligraphy with a new Gillott #303 nib...

and I like to change proportions, too. The letter height is too tall but I just like the way it looks :-)

Practicing with a dip nib and Noodler's Apache Sunset.

Keep this in mind (heh heh)

I saw this and thought to myself...

now there's a cloud with a sense of humor!

Funny cloud on a hot Colorado afternoon.

Come with me to A Nearby Planet...

it looks like this:

Just a small scene on A Nearby Planet :-)

More "Picasso"-ing

So I thought I'd use Carla's [www.carlasonheim,com] Picasso exercise on another of my favorite animals - Birds.
Presenting Picasso Bird:

I remember feeling this way after a particularly strong margarita; I probably looked a bit like this too :-)

Picasso Dog

Recently I've had many opportunities to work in the little sketchbook I always carry with me.  I've been amusing myself drawing "Picasso" dogs*.  

So, from my sketchbook:

"Picasso" dog in pencil. I love this little guy :-)

* "Picasso" dogs are from an online class I took last year from Carla Sonheim  (www.carlasonheim.com) - her classes are terrific!

Dip nib love!

I love writing with my vintage Hunt #100 vintage dip nib - fabulous flex:

With or without a wand :-)

More:

Heh heh...

15 Second Stealth Sketch

Waiting for our table at a local restaurant, I sketched this fellow - the challenge? in less than 15 seconds and stealthily ;-)

Really fas-s-s-t gesture drawing!

When one draws really quickly, the "target" person or animal isn't even aware of being "captured" (heh-heh)

Fitting pose

I was sitting in my study checking out the little sketchbook I carry with me; this is apart from the larger sketchbook I have in the art tote that I keep in my car. This little guy is convenient, but I have to work smaller than I prefer.

• Should I opt for a larger, albeit more bulky sketchbook? 
• Is it a good thing to work uncomfortably? 
• Ought I to adapt..or not? 
• Etcetera...

Then Remy came over and did his normal "sprawl". From where I was sitting he fit perfectly:

Remy helping me reign in "over-thinking"...

Don't know what this means regarding sketchbook sizes, but synergy is at work here :-)

Imaginary flowers from a nearby planet...

These flowers are found everywhere on A Nearby Planet. I call them Planetary Brights; as they sway and move, they make beautiful sounds that are pretty cool, too :-)

Planetary Brights - imaginary flowers from A Nearby Planet