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

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

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.

Keep It Simple

"Faithfully copying every detail you see doesn't work. 

Too much detail destroys the illusion."

"Simplicity captures and expresses the essence of the subject." ~ Hap Hagood

 "To see things simply is the hardest thing in the world." ~ Charles Hawthorne

The Skill Of Simplicity

"The most complicated skill is to be simple.”
 ~  Dejan Stojanovic

 "Simplicity is creative in and of itself." ~ Michael Duncan

 "I like to have a thing suggested rather than told in full. 

When every detail is given, the mind rests satisfied  and

 the imagination loses the desire to use its own wings." 

 ~ Thomas Bailey Aldrich

Focus On Your Passion

“Whatever your passion is, keep doing it. 

Don't waste time chasing after success or 

comparing yourself to others. Every flower 

blooms at a different pace. Excel at doing 

what your passion is and only focus on 

perfecting it. Eventually people will see what

you are good at doing, and if you are truly

great, success will come chasing after you.”
 ~ Suzy Kassem  

 

 "Out of clutter, find simplicity." ~ Albert Einstein

    

  “Habit is the intersection of knowledge (what to do),

 skill (how to do), and desire (want to do).”

 ~  Stephen R. Covey

Got To Start Somewhere

“Every artist was first an amateur.”
~  Ralph Waldo Emerson 

    

“Joy is the feeling of one's powers increasing.”
  ~  Matthew B. Crawford

Wake Up Your Senses

"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

"Drawing wakes up the senses and skills, 

and work is sharpened in other mediums." 

~ Timothy Nero

Quick As A Bunny

"As each new skill is learned, you will

merge it with those previously learned until, 

one day, you are simply drawing -  just as, 

one day, you found yourself simply driving 

without thinking about how to do it."

~ Betty Edwards

 "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

What separates the Talented From the Successful?

Talent is cheaper than table salt. 

What separates the talented individual 

from the successful one is a lot of hard work." 

~ Stephen King

"If you work it will lead to something. 

It's the people who do all of the work all the time 

who eventually catch on to things." 

~ Corita Ken

Good Work Practices

"Work joyfully and peacefully, 

knowing that right thoughts and right efforts 

inevitably bring about right results." 

~ James Allen

 

"Proficiency is often nothing more than good work practices repeated." ~ David Allio

The Essence of Art

"Art is the essence of awareness." 

~ Louise Nevelson

"Consciousness is the glory of creation." ~ James Broughton

Expanding Awareness

Art that serves an artist best 

is an experiment in expanding awareness." 

~ Peter Londo 

"Awareness without action is worthless." ~ Phil McGraw

Repetition Is Key

"I like to employ a form of repetition, 

in which the same elements recur but 

in different and unexpected ways, 

rather than being discarded as soon as

 they are understood or passed over." 

~ Graham Nelson

 Before I put the wash on, I refine and clean up the drawing with a pencil and eraser.

 Here I am using an eraser shield to help me get into small areas.

 

"Repetition and variety create unity." 

~ Virginia Wiering

Mindful Repetition

"Satisfaction lies in mindful repetition, 

the discovery of endless richness in subtle 

variations on familiar themes." 

~ George B. Leonar

"Repetition is the mother of study." ~ Latin proverb

The Beauty Of Repetition

"I believe that the beauty of repetition is 

something that is not explored enough yet." 

~ Keren Ann

 

  

"Repetition is important in the training 

not only of animals but also of humans." 

~ Yann Martel

Of Sky And Earth

"When nature made the blue-bird she wished to 

propitiate both the sky and the earth,
so she gave him the color of the one on his back 

and the hue of the other on his breast."
~ John Burroughs

"There is always more to be found 

by exploring the same subject again and again." 

~ Dion Archibald

Got The Blues?

"There ain't no cure for the summer time blues."

 ~ The Who

Meet my newest models; a bevy of bluebirds. All the same shape but all in different poses.

Some ¼ turn, 2 minute sketches of the one on the right.

Detail of one sketch with a tonal watercolor wash applied.

I hope the bluebird of happiness visits you today!

Happy Creating My Friends!

X ♥  O