Keep Drawing

"The important thing is to keep on drawing when you start to paint. Never graduate from drawing." ~ John Sloan 

 Day 40 ~ SE-40-25

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Making Progress

"As practice makes perfect, I cannot but make progress; each drawing one makes, each study one paints, is a step forward." ~ Vincent Van Gogh

 Day 39 ~ SE-39-25

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Nothing So Delightful!

 “I sometimes think there is nothing so delightful as drawing.” ~  Vincent van Gogh  Working from my old sketchbooks brings a wealth of reference material and  inspiration.

 Day 38 ~ SE-38-25
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Little Opportunities

“Sometimes the little opportunities that fly at us each day can have the biggest impact.” ~ Danny Wallace I know this is true in my life, how about you?

 Day 37 ~ SE-37-25

A Magical World

“I can’t imagine anything better that might happen in a person’s life than for them to start paying attention to birds. To become aware of this magical world that exists all around us, unnoticed by many but totally captivating for those who know its secrets, has to be one of the greatest gifts of life on Earth.” ~ Kenn Kaufman

💖 Day 36 ~ SE-36-25 🥰

Wordless Wednesday

A Kitten, A Horse and Two Hummingbird Drawings

Pencil Drawing - Opie Darling III 

I did this pencil drawing this morning from one of the shots of my new little ginger kitten. As my friend Nan says, I'm smitten with my kitten(s)! Several photos of Opie are now available for license on iStock here! Maybe he'll even be a calendar kitten someday. ♥

"It is impossible to keep a straight face in the presence of one or more kittens."  ~ Cynthia E. Varnado

I drew this cute little horse knickknack on Friday.

2 minute gesture drawings

As usual, I put the figurine up high, close to eye level. I then gave it a quarter turn every two minutes. Isn't he cute? He reminds me of my pinto, Rudy.

A line drawing done in pencil

Pencil sketches of a couple of our many hummingbirds

A hummingbird line drawing done from my photo

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As always, I look forward to receiving your emails and comments!

Thanks for reading, keep creating and have a great weekend!

♥

Drawing Plants and Animals

Today's watercolor sketch is done from life. It is of part of a coleus plant that hangs from my studio porch and is done on 140 lb. Arches cold press paper.

Yesterday, Jerry brought me home some Queen Anne's Lace, so I did this quick watercolor study.

I love the Acacia trees that grow in Africa.

Here's another coloring page to print out.

And another line drawing where you could add your own background.

You could color this contour drawing if you want to print it out too!

I did the Spirit Bear line drawing from last week on Yupo paper in watercolor.

You can see it here on my other blog.

And of course, I can't forget my little flying jewels!

Here's an elephant figurine I have.  This is a watercolor drawing of it in my Sensational Sketches in Six Steps Technique.

I hope you are all having a great summer and are finding some time to create!

Wishing You Happiness and Inspiration, 

"Drawing is one of the best ways to meditate,

while staying connected to the world around us."

~ Elsha Leventis

As always, your feedback is most appreciated, thank-you.

Hummingbirds and a Bear - Free Coloring Pages

Hummingbird - 4 Ways - #1

5.5 x 7.5" - Colored Pencil on Yupo paper, matted to 8 x 10"

 SOLD •

This was done with Prismacolor pencils on Yupo paper. I have never used pencil on Yupo before, but I liked working on the the super smooth surface which I thought yielded an interesting effect.

Last month's personal challenge doing the sunflowers and hydrangeas four different ways was fun and inspiring, so I thought I'd do the same thing with my hummingbird sketch. I recently took an online photography course with a man who talked about "failing with a purpose". When I go into a project with this in mind, it frees me up to discover new possibilities. All our pieces do NOT have to be keepers! I find that I learn the most from my failures. We have to allow ourselves that freedom and we don't have to show people everything we do! Doing the same composition in various approaches helps me to to play, experiment and go a little crazy.

Hummingbird - 4 Ways - #2

5.5 x 7.5" - Colored Pencil on Yupo paper, matted to 8 x 10"

SOLD •

This is Bruynweel design black Aquarel (water soluble) pencil on Yupo paper with water applied. I had never used it wet before and was pleased with the soft effect.

Hummingbird - 4 Ways - line drawing

This is the line drawing I used for my hummingbird - four - ways - challenge. I know a lot of people, (myself included) like to color. It's a very relaxing and satisfying pastime.  

Please feel free to print these out for your personal, a friend's, your children's or grandchildren's pleasure. Each line drawing fits nicely on a standard 8.5 x 11" sheet.

If you do print and color any of these, I'd be pleased to hear about it and would love to see a photo of the end result!

I'm still being inspired by the "Spirit Bear".

This is my first rough drawing of a barn/yard commission that I have taken on. The client wants a lot of components in the final painting, including a pond, outhouse and horses. This first draft was just to determine a general composition, size, layout and the relationships of the elements. I think I want to simplify the pond a bit so it doesn't detract from the center of interest (the barn). Also I was thinking it would be nice having the silhouette of a horse's head looking out from the open doors of the barn. Once I get the owner's feedback,  I will proceed with a final drawing (which will also be framed and be part of the final package) before proceeding to the painting. Upon approval of the final drawing, I will give the client a price. I am thinking the size will be 18" x 24" framed.

I spent most of the past week experiencing waves of tears and sadness over the loss of my studio kitty, Princess. I drew this battered old bear on Saturday which in my somewhat depressed state, I could really relate to.

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I've got more art, pictures and some exciting news posted on my web log today! Be sure and check it out here!! 

Thanks for reading! As always, your reactions, opinions and comments on my posts are most appreciated!!

Greetings from Hummingbird Heaven!

One of Many Happy Hummingbirds

5.5 x 7.5" - transparent watercolor on yupo paper, matted to 8 x 10"

This morning I redrew yesterday's sketch

on synthetic, nonabsorbent Yupo paper with a black pencil

and did this 20 minute challenge painting in watercolor.

I love doing these quick yupo paintings! There's no time to get tight!

Here is yesterday's pencil sketch.

Happy Summer Solstice!

FYI - I've just posted the first two hydrangea paintings from my personal contour drawing challenge on my web log.