Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Anatomy Of A Portrait




Here is the sketch I did for this portrait. The first drawing shows the first two steps of my technique and the middle image shows the sketch with the watercolor wash added. This is my forth painting for the "Art For Shelter Animals" project. I decided to do an additional three watercolors, as the oils I did are still not dry. This beautiful girl, ID#D-26033, is named Sasha. The Burlington County Animal Shelter's website says; "What a pretty white German Shepherd Sasha is! She is good with kids, but a bit shy with strangers at the shelter. Her former owner said she is very loyal and is used to being around women and would probably need time to adjust to a home with men. Sasha is very intelligent and likes to play with squeak toys. Can you give this young girl a loving forever home?" See more about this project here on my web log.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Free 10 Week Photoshop Course!

I'm repeating this info. from my web log today, as I don't want anybody to miss out on this great deal! I just signed up for Creative Techs' 10-Week Photoshop Course by Jason Hoppe. My friend, Nancy Louie, alerted me to this incredible deal! This course is FREE, but since it is already in session and I didn't want to miss any of the ones that have already aired, I opted to purchase the full 10 weeks of recordings on audio file and PDF handout for only $50.00! Wow, how awesome is that! Now I can listen to all of them at any time and repeatedly if I need to. Sometimes (or I should say usually) this technical stuff takes some trial and error and review with me. Each new weekly recording should be active by the Monday following each Thursday class.

Feb 26: Week 1 - Photoshop Basics
Mar 5: Week 2 - Photoshop Layers
Mar 12: Week 3 - Selection Basics
Mar 19: Week 4 - Advanced Selections
Mar 26: Week 5 - Masks
Apr 2: Week 6 - Pen Tool / Shape Layers
Apr 9: Week 7 - Drawing Tools / Brushes
Apr 16: Week 8 - Retouching
Apr 23: Week 9 - Color Correction pt1
Apr 29: Week 9 - Color Correction pt2

Monday, March 16, 2009

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Elephants Are Fun To Sketch


Thursday, February 26, 2009 - Frustration Remedy Sketches Ahh, Elephants!

From my Spirit Art Blog: "Seems like every simple task this week has turned into a major ordeal. Staying positive is hard when you keep banging your head against the wall. Putting all fragmented projects aside, I decided to do some therapeutic sketching to adjust my attitude. While I was drawing from photos posted online by my friend, Sally Vennel, simultaneously another FB friend, Abbey Brooke, IM'd me from Kenya. We chatted about elephants and cheetahs. I think my remedy is starting to work! Switching to something you love in situations like this can calm your nerves and heal your heart." Here's steps 1 and 2 of my sketching technique.



Thursday, March 5, 2009 - Finished Elephant Sketches

I'm gearing up for a drawing and watercolor workshop here on Saturday and Sunday. Part of what I will be covering is drawing techniques, including this pencil and watercolor approach. I drew and painted these elephants with permission from my photographer friend, Sally Vennel. Taken on one of her many trips to Africa, these particular elephants live in Botswana. Find links to all my sites on www.sandysandy.com.