Tuesday, August 15, 2017

A Cyclic Poem

"History is a cyclic poem 
written by Time upon 
the memories of man." 
 ~Percy B.Shelley


Alcohol Ink On Yupo Using Only Ranger's Mushroom Ink
"History is gossip well told."
~  Elbert Hubbard

Monday, August 14, 2017

Technique And Skills Absorbed

"Technique and skills must be absorbed 
and wrapped up and put away to become 
such an integral part of yourself that they 
will be revealed in your work 
without your thought."
~ Shoji Hamada

Drawing With a Brush Exercise
"Skills can be found, like lost items 
that have always belonged to you. 
If the spirit of learning is there, 
the passion of creation 
will never die." 
~ Melissa Jean

Sunday, August 13, 2017

Double Your Odds

"Every skill you acquire 
doubles your odds of success." 
~ Scott Adams
Drawing With A Brush - Control Exercise
"Artists get better by sharpening their skills 
or by acquiring new ones; they get better by learning to work, 
and by learning from their work." 
~ David Bayles,

Saturday, August 12, 2017

Searching Yesterday

"If you want to understand today, 
you have to search yesterday." 
~ Pearl Buck 


8 x 10" Alcohol Ink on Yupo

"I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge. 
That myth is more potent than history. That dreams 
are more powerful than facts. That hope always 
triumphs over experience. That laughter is the 
only cure for grief. And I believe that love 
is stronger than death."
 ~ Robert Fulghum

Friday, August 11, 2017

Distracted But Committed

“Persistence. Perfection. Patience. 
Power. Prioritize your passion. 
It keeps you sane.”
  ~ Criss Jami


I'm really distracted from drawing at the moment, all wrapped up in 
getting ready for my fast approaching  one woman show.
 I do try to keep my commitments though, so here's today's 2 min. gesture attempt.

Thursday, August 10, 2017

You Are A Rhinoceros ... Charge On!

"Your life is like a river.
Keep the water flowing
and you will be refreshing,
life-giving, clear and beautiful."
~ Scott Robert Alexander.




"You are a rhinoceros!
There is nothing you cannot tackle."
 
Many years ago, I read an awesome little book called:
  Rhinoceros Success
 by Scott Robert Alexander

Wednesday, August 9, 2017

Some Pony Love

"All horses deserve, at least once in their lives, 
to be loved by a little girl."
~ Author Unknown
 


"No heaven can heaven be, 
if my horse isn't there to welcome me." 
~ Author Unknown

Tuesday, August 8, 2017

Beanie Baby Pony Drawing

"You don't have to be young to find comfort in a stuffed animal."



"In a world where everyone seems to be larger 
and louder than yourself,
it is very comforting to have 
a small, quiet companion."
-Peter Gray

Monday, August 7, 2017

Embrace Your Second Wind

"Most people never run far enough on their first wind 
to find out they've got a second."  
~ William James 



"Difficult things take a long time, impossible things a little longer." 
~ André A. Jackson

My hummingbirds are zooming around in full throttle here and already fattening up and training for their long upcoming journey. For this summer's hatchlings, it will be their maiden voyage and probably the most dangerous one ever. They've got a lot to learn and many hundreds of miles to maneuver and survive through until they come back to me next spring. You can see a couple of short recent videos on my facebook page here.

I love hummingbirds and they continue to fascinate and inspire me.
They are a strong symbol to me of enthusiastically accomplishing that which seems impossible.

Sunday, August 6, 2017

Just Keep On Going

"With ordinary talent and extraordinary perseverance, 
all things are attainable." 
 ~Thomas Foxwell Buxton




"Success seems to be largely a matter of 
hanging on after others have let go." 
~ William Feather

Saturday, August 5, 2017

Stick-To-Itiveness

"There is no telling how many miles 
you will have to run while 
chasing a dream." 
~ Author Unknown



"Vitality shows in not only the ability to persist but the ability to start over." 
 ~ F. Scott Fitzgerald

Friday, August 4, 2017

The Ugly Duckling

"The ugly duckling is a misunderstood universal myth. 
It's not about turning into a blonde Barbie doll or 
becoming what you dream of being; 
it's about self-revelation, 
becoming who you are. "
~ Baz Luhrmann


Almost every paining I do, goes through that awkward (ugly duckling) adolescent stage.
I have learned to just keep going however, because when you quit, you cease to grow and even if
the piece does not turn out well, the lessons learned are invaluable.
The ugly duckling is a misunderstood universal myth. It's not about turning into a blonde Barbie doll or becoming what you dream of being; it's about self-revelation, becoming who you are. Baz Luhrmann
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/b/bazluhrman509247.html
The ugly duckling is a misunderstood universal myth. It's not about turning into a blonde Barbie doll or becoming what you dream of being; it's about self-revelation, becoming who you are. Baz Luhrmann
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/b/bazluhrman509247.html
The ugly duckling is a misunderstood universal myth. It's not about turning into a blonde Barbie doll or becoming what you dream of being; it's about self-revelation, becoming who you are. Baz Luhrmann
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/b/bazluhrman509247.html

Thursday, August 3, 2017

Value Sketches

"Known by most of us as value sketches, 
most of us are too lazy to do them, yet
we know they can strengthen our work." 
~ Lorna Dockstader

 

"It's impossible to make a picture without values. 
Values are the basis of any 2D work of art." 
~ W. M. Hunt

Wednesday, August 2, 2017

On Teaching Drawing

"On teaching drawing...
Start lightly, then go dark." 
~ Peter William Brow



"Value (or the use of light) is our best ally as an artist. 
 Don't think for a minute this is not in your control." 
~ Steve Childs

Tuesday, August 1, 2017

Edges and Values

"Edges must be held by tone values, not lines." 
~ A. C. Leighton


"Make the mid-value shape the biggest one 
and make the light and dark shapes smaller, 
but never equally sized. 
One or the other should dominate." 
~ Ron Ranson

Monday, July 31, 2017

A Fun Game

"If you slightly squint your eyes, you will see 
that at least 2 and possibly 3 values of color 
make up any object in the natural world. 
Practice creating entire paintings with 
no more than 3 values on any object. 
Paint a few of those and you'll discern a rhythm 
between areas of 1, 2 and 3 values. It's a fun game." 
~ Cristina Acosta


Sunday, July 30, 2017

Practice Exercises

"Don't be afraid to draw or paint the same thing over and over!"
Learn from a good musician or athlete, because
 "repetition is the key to mastery"!!
~ Sandy Sandy

 See more about how to do these quick ¼ turn gestures here.

Saturday, July 29, 2017

Draw, Refine, Repeat

"If people knew how hard I worked to get my mastery, 
it wouldn't seem so wonderful at all." 
~ Michelangelo


  One of many sketches I did for last weekend's "Paint Your Pony" Playshop here ... 


"There is always more to be found by exploring the same subject again and again." ~ Dion Archibald


Friday, July 28, 2017

Revisiting Some Friends

"Friendship isn't a big thing - it's a million little things."
 


This reference photo can be found in a July 2011 post. I decided to flip the bird and had another go at it. I had some fun with the color combo too! It was like visiting with an old friend. I vividly remember the countless hours of sitting out among the butterfly bushes with my camera, tripod and  flashes; trying to get that elusive, perfect hummingbird shot. I think I like this little color combination. What do you think?

Thursday, July 27, 2017

Love Is All

"Ah, love is old,
love is new.
Love is all,
 love is you." 
~ John Lennon & Paul McCartney


"When you find something you love, feed and nurture that passion. 
Run after it, like it's the last train of the night
and it's already starting to leave the station."
~ Sandy


Wednesday, July 26, 2017

It Is Happiness To Wonder


“Wonder is the beginning of wisdom.”
  ~  Socrates
 

 
 
“The invariable mark of wisdom 
is to see the miraculous in the common.”
  ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Tuesday, July 25, 2017

Magic Things

“The world is full of magic things, 
patiently waiting for 
our senses to grow sharper.”
   ~ W.B. Yeats


 

It was a beautiful day to have lunch out in the yard among the hummingbirds and butterflies.
Relaxing and soaking in all the magic things, with friend and fellow artist, Irvane Spracklin.

Monday, July 24, 2017

Addicted to Art

"A frenzied passion for art 
is a canker that devours everything else." 
~ Charles Baudelaire 



"It's the addicts that stay with it. 
They're not necessarily the most talented, 
they're just the ones that just 
can't get it out of their systems." 
~ Harold Brown

Sunday, July 23, 2017

Cultivate Patience

Cultivate patience in your heart and you will improve. 
Learn to see well and your hand will become sure." 
~ Charles Philip Brooks 

Today's model

2 minute gesture with watercolor wash
 "Growth is a spiral process, doubling back on itself, 
reassessing and regrouping."
 ~ Julia Cameron

Saturday, July 22, 2017

Our Finest Moments

"Believe in your heart that you're meant to 
live a life full of passion, purpose, magic and miracles.” 
~  Roy T. Bennett



“Passion. It lies in all of us. Sleeping... waiting...  
and though unwanted, unbidden, it will stir... open its jaws and howl. 
It speaks to us... guides us. Passion rules us all. And we obey. 
What other choice do we have? Passion is the source of our finest moments."
 ~  Joss Whedon

Friday, July 21, 2017

Imagination is Limitless

“I believe in intuition and inspiration.
Imagination is more important than knowledge. 
For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination 
embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, 
giving birth to evolution."
~ Albert Einstein




“The world of reality has its limits; 
the world of imagination is boundless.”
   ~Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Thursday, July 20, 2017

Personal Growth Is A Choice

"The strongest principle of growth 
lies in human choice." 
~ George Eliot 

Our model for today's 2 minute,  ¼ turn gestures ...


2 minute,  ¼ turn gestures

Repeat As Needed ... 
"Every day, in every way, I'm getting better and better.
 Our subconscious mind does not need the details."
~ Emile Coue

Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Wild, Free and Spontaneous

"Earth laughs in flowers."  
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson





"For myself I hold no preferences among flowers, 
so long as they are wild, free and spontaneous."
  ~Edward Abbey