Love Those Wild Things!!

It has been crazy here today with hummer action galore! The big feeder was empty by 11 am and Jerry just filled it again! I'm sure the others are all in need of filling tonight. I tried to get some snaps, but they are just way too fast. There's courting, mating, territory guarding, fledging and rowdy fun happening all around the yard. They can't wait for the Butterfly Bushes to bloom! I've seen dozens testing out the unopened buds today. Here's a shot of the back of my house. There are at least five little cuties in this picture. 

Of course, I just had to sketch one for my drawing everyday post. I tried to get an unusual position for this one, but I'm not too sure how successful it is. Hummingbirds wings actually move in a figure eight pattern and I've tried to portray that here. As everyone knows, they certainly don't look like any other bird in flight!

Pretty Woman and Seven Happy Hummingbirds

Today I put some wash on yesterday's drawing.

And did a page of hummingbird gesture drawings.

Drawing from My Computer

Today I spent most of the day going through and post processing some photos. A couple of weeks ago, I did a shoot of a lovely lady, Tracy. Since I had her pictures up on my screen, I decided to sketch one of them. I work in Photoshop and it's easy to put guide lines down on the photo. I also put the same grid lines (rule of thirds) on my paper in scale to the original. Here is my pencil sketch propped up against my computer screen for you to see.

Hurricanes Are Severe Cyclones

Today I thought I would do something for our non-horsey friends. 

As far as I can gather, a cyclone is the same thing as a hurricane, only milder. They are both tropical storms with a system of winds rotating inward to an area of low atmospheric pressure.  A cyclone is categorized as a hurricane when it's winds reach a force of 74 miles per hour. 

I decided to sketch and paint a couple of these storms. Using the rule of thirds, I first sketched out where the eye (center of interest) of the storm would be. Once I was happy with the layout, I transferred my drawings onto watercolor paper via my light box. Here are my layout sketches and subsequent paintings.

A Very Busy Day

. . . Of Sketching that is!  ☺ I got out all my how-to-sketch-horses books today and looked them over. Some I have had since grade school! (almost antiques now, I guess.) I read through all of them and got even more excited about sketching horses than ever before! I am coming up with my own formula.

I think that if you learn how to draw a horse, (like the human body) you can draw just about anything. In college, my illustration teacher, Beth Krush, always said how I was really lucky to know horses so well, because they were so hard to draw correctly. I am hoping to get even better at drawing them this summer as I study their anatomy and their physiology.

 I hope some of you all will enjoy my sketching journey as well! Today I did some more 2 minute gesture drawings too.

Still Horse Crazy

Here's the finished sketch from yesterday. I just realized that I said I was going to really  K. I. S. S.  (keep it simple stupid) this year and here I go, already getting carried away and complicated. I am still a little obsessed with horses, you know, especially after my trip on Thursday to the Devon Horse Show after my long absence. I'll try to stick to my word and not get ahead of myself next time. Sorry about that folks.

I also did some gesture drawing today. Here's one of my two minute sketches. I sure am rusty, so you can bet you'll be seeing more drawing exercises like this one from me this summer.  Thanks again to everyone who has taken the time to read my blogs and comment on my posts.

Beautiful Grey Jumper

I went to Devon Horse Show yesterday and took lots of pictures. Today I am sketching from one of them. I've just posted more photos of this horse and the show on my web log today. I like to sketch right from my computer. Here is my set-up.

After the pencil sketch, I wet the background and "whacked in" juicy paint to indicate trees or something in a mid-value (40 - 60% grey). Now the light horse will be set off from the background. Tune in tomorrow to see how I finished this drawing . . . and more.

Oh, and BTW, I started my sketch with the triangle, circle and square. It worked like a charm.

Twisters

There's been a lot of tornados lately. Sometimes it seems like more of every kind of natural disaster is threatening our planet these days. Recently tornados have been happening in unlikely places like in the South and NorthEast USA. Twisters are nothing new to anyone who has lived in the Mid-West however. When I lived in Eastern Kansas as a kid, I witnessed many.

Here's some sketches of your classic "Wizard of Oz" twister.

And I remembered to add in some notes, Susan! I left that piece of paper in the foreground deliberately to remind myself to mention something. If you keep a piece of watercolor paper in your sketchbook, put it under the page you are painting on, and the page beneath with not wrinkle.

Most of these never hit the ground, thankfully, but a local school did get hit and we had to go on half-day sessions with them for a whole year. When the air-raid sirens would blow on our block, all the neighbors, kids and dogs ran out into the streets to see what was happening. Then if we saw something, we'd all go back inside our houses, under picnic tables in our basements and wait for the sirens to sound that it was all clear.

We never saw many hit the ground, because of course, we were hiding in the basement.

See more public domain images on Wikimedia Commons under tornados.

More Horse Heads And Some Reader Participation!

Susan Bronsak writes: "Something I've struggled with through the years is the use of shapes in forming my subjects.  Sandy's first exercise for 2011 is just that, using simple shapes (triangle, circle, and square) to create this horse's head.  Although there's room for improvement with my results, I found her exercise easy and definitely fun to follow along." 

I'm impressed with Susan's drawing and her notes.  She has reminded me to do more of the same with my own sketching. You think you'll remember these details and things, but you don't.

By varying the position and size of the shapes and elements, you will be able to portray different breeds and characteristics. I tried out my theory this morning in the doctor's office. I did these the same way as yesterday, just "head copy"- with no reference. By using this simple formula of circle, square and triangle, it was easy. Both of these were done in less than five minutes while waiting for my check-up in the little exam room. Of course that led to discussion about drawing and talent vs. aptitude and desire with my doc. when she walked in.  What fun!

Surprise, surprise! When I got home, I found that Susan had posted another horse drawing on her blog! I hope she is not getting tired of drawing horses, because I sure am not getting tired of seeing them!! And again, she's got notes and valuable insights to go along with the sketch! 

BTW - Susan is also a daily sketcher and has a wonderful blog, sbwatercolors and sketching "Created and maintained as inspiration for others who wish to tap into their creative self and venture into the world of watercolor painting and sketching."

Here is a photo of my mare in profile view to copy and use as reference. She is a good example of a Thoroughbred / Warmblood type. I recommend observing  side views of different horse breeds to get a better idea of the many variations.

My first sketching challenge is to draw or paint a horse in profile view. You can customize it by depicting a certain breed or individual if you wish. Here's a painting I did yesterday using this (basic shapes) system and Rita's photo for reference..

Please draw along with me this summer and use my photos and sketches here on

Sketching Everyday.com and DrawingEveryday.com, to grow and learn. I do appreciate the credit given to me and my blog when you are describing your piece of art if and when posting it, however. example: This sketch was done from a photograph (or sketch) provided on www.SketchingEveryday.com, where artists are encouraged to participate. Sketch (or Photo) Used with permission - © Sandy Sandy

Because I sell my art and digital mages for a living, photos on my other sites and blogs may not be used without my permission.

You may not sign or put a copyright notice of your own on an image if it is a copy of someone else's work and ideally, you should always have permission from the artist or photographer to repost, redraw, paint, or reproduce an image or copy from a work.

You can find images that are in the public domain which you may use freely on Wikimedia Commons.

Let Sketching Everyday 2 0 1 1 Begin!

Woo, I am psyched! I've got some new and exciting ideas for this year's summer sketching series. I hope a few of you artists will step up and share your input with me and our readers. Remember that in every aspect of our lives, we get back in direct proportion to what we give out. I guess that's one of the many reasons for my continuance of this daily drawing challenge over the years.

One of the changes I want to make to this blog is to really "K.I.S.S. IT!"   or, "Keep It Simple Stupid" or as I like to put it, "Keep It Sensationally Simple".  I went online to see what kind of drawing instruction is available. And wow, there's a lot of it and most of it is pretty darn good! So does the world really need another drawing mentor? Well, I don't know, I guess that's for you, my fellow artists and friends to answer. Please let me know how I'm doing from time to time.


To launch the season, I'm starting off with a simple drawing demo of a horse portrait in profile. I'm showing how the foundation starts off with three simple shapes; a long triangle, a circle and a square.

I add directional lines and divide the shapes in half. This gives me a point of reference for angles and location of the features.

I divide the top half of the circle and find the location for the eye. The mouth follows the directional line of the head as does the top and bottom outline. The crest of the neck is drawn and the slight S curve is added to it's underside. The outline of the nose is rounded some and the nostril is indicated with a semi-circle curve. The ears sit below the poll.

In finishing the sketch, I add some subtle curves, slightly indicate muscle and bone structure and add a mane and forelock.

With the pencil drawing complete, I quickly brush clear water to the edges and then "whack on" a light grey value *with a dry brush. Try not to go over the paper more than once and don't scrub. I am only using drawing paper in my sketchbook, not watercolor paper. This teaches you to work swiftly and then get out of there. " In watercolor, just like in golf, the least amount of strokes wins the game." ~ Tony Couch

Then lickety-split, while the area is still damp, I add darker values* and a few details. 

 and. . .  there you have it!

So, why not copy these steps and give it a try!?

If you are new to my blog, or just a little rusty, referring to my Sketching Everyday Lens on Squidoo will probably answer your *questions. You can also study my watercolor sketching techniques in greater detail on my drawing demo pages on DrawingEveryday.com.

Draw A Horse's Head & Neck ~ Side View

I've always loved to draw horses! It's one of the first things I started copying out of an old American College Encyclopedia we had while my sisters and I were growing up. A door to door salesman had sold my folks the set, complete with a two volume dictionary and a wooden two shelf book stand. I remember it had a couple of pages of the various horse breeds. I looked at it so many times, it was burned into my memory. I can still see it in my mind's eye. I remember it was double sided and there were photos in black and white of 16 breeds. I think I drew them all. The drawings took me hours and I painstakingly copied every detail. Too bad I didn't know then what I know now! It would have helped me a lot. I'm hoping that my posts here will help make someone else's journey a little easier, speedier and more enjoyable. I'm working on putting a drawing demo together to kick off the 2011 season. Here today is a sketch from my pad.  I like this system of using a triangle, circle and square to get the framework of the head and neck. I'll be playing with it a bit more before I do the watercolor. By varying the position and size of the shapes and elements, you'll be able to portray different breeds and characteristics. What fun!

Last Post Of 2010 Season

Wow, the hummingbirds are back and Spring (actually feels like summer) is coming on full force! It's time for me to start thinking about getting back into the swing of drawing everyday. In only a month, I'll start my summer sketching series up once again. I love it and hate it at the same time. Once I get going I'm almost always glad that I did. No pain, no gain. I've got a couple of demos and drawing workshops planned as well.

Last summer, I never posted my last drawing for the season, and it's been bothering me, so I'd like to do it now.  This is Rembrandt (aka: Rudy) my 31 year old TB/Paint I got as a yearling.  On August 29th or 30th, he became seriously ill with a bacterial infection. After several weeks, it didn't look like he was going to make it. He was not eating and getting weaker with new complications everyday. We couldn't keep his fever down and he wouldn't eat, so in a matter of a month, he got extremely thin, even though my husband and I were spending up to eight hours a day, feeding him by hand. His lusterless long coat grew mangier by the day. His face took on darkness I had never seen in the 29 years I have known him. My mare was very concerned and didn't let him out of her sight. I was a basket case a lot of the time. Miraculously however, after a month of intensive and draining home care, my horse made a remarkable recovery once the right antibiotic was prescribed. He looks and feels great now and we are happily riding the trails around our home together once again.

OK, I feel better now. Drawing Everyday 2011 will be starting up soon, so stay tuned folks!