Pencil Shavings

The Peaceful Soul and Content Heart

I've been thinking about the fall.  It's barely summer here in the foothills of the Rockies, and I'm already looking to September.  I am dreading sending my youngest off to grade one, and worried that my prime occupation as a mom will be over (even though I know that they will still need me).

But I'm also looking forward to concentrating more on my art.  I'm looking forward to creating some bigger works, and some longer term works.  I'm looking forward to getting out and making art in new places, doing my sketching at the coffee shop, the library, or beside the river.

I'm looking forward to figuring out my days so I can get the most out of them.

I know that I am happiest when I am painting and drawing.  I konw that my soul sings a song to my heart as my brush hits the paper, and I smell the scent of damp watercolour paper, and hear the sound of the hairs of the brush skipping over the dents and ridges on the paper. 

I hope that being happy and productive in my creative life will show the girls that they can follow their dreams, and listen to their hearts.

I want that, more than anything.

Autumnal - © 2009 Kathleen Ralph, no reproduction with out the artists premission

Art Night

I went to my friends house tonight for a painting/art night.  we ate some chocolate (well I ate chocolate - she's allergic) gossiped, talked about music, movies, the crazy world we live in... oh yeah and we painted!

There is something really wonderful about having a close friend who is also an artist.  I really enjoy these evenings with my friend and I tend to like the work I do when I'm with her, because when I look at it, I'm reminded of the time we spent together. 

I really like that.

365 Days of Art - Day 23 - Tears!

This is another photo courtesy of Richard Kennair of the Kennair Educational Foundation.

This little girl had just had a vaccination and I tried to capture the look of hurt and anger in her face (a look I remember all too well from my own little girls when they got their vaccinations!)  I can see after taking the picture that the eyes are a bit off (the wonders of photography) and that her mouth still needs work.  but I like how the tears look in real life, they don't show so well in the photo.  I'm still looking through the wonderful photos that Richard sent me to find the perfect ones to turn onto paintings for the foundation.

365 Days of Art - Day 22 - tweet!

 I worked on a three crayon experiment last night... and it's clear I need more practice with that!  I'll spare you the messy details!

I also did a quick sketch of a bird I managed to get a picture of.  I wonder how artists paint birds from life, without photos.  These little guys don't stay still for a second!

I have a project on the go right now and I'm anxious to work on it.  I just need to find enough time!

365 Days of Art - Day 21 - art day!

It was a rain day on Monday and so after going to the allergist I had two little kids with energy to burn and needed an activity.

so we started some tissue paper mosiacs.  basically tearing up tiny bits of tissue paper and gluing them to paper to make a picture.  It was a great way to spend the afternoon with the kids.  Although I didn't get any drawing time in.

So the final part of my day was working on some drawing.  I worked some more on my Garden Buddha after doing a short study of a photo I received yesterday from Richard Kennair from the Kennair Educational Foundation. 

I think that the photo is going to make a great painting and I hope to get started on it as soon as I get a canvas that is the right size.

365 Days of Art - Day 20 in the garden

I took this reference photo in my mom's garden on Canada Day.  I worked about 40 minutes on it and could likely work another 5 or 6 hours on it.

This may be the first drawing that I continue on with for a few days, or at least come back to in a day or two.  I like the way it is coming out, I did a close crop of it... what you don't see is the small jungle of foliage totally surrounding him in very light sketch mode.   I think that at least 15 minutes of my time was spent laying out the statue and the plants before I got into the details.

Yes, I think I'll return to this piece and see if I can work to a finish on it.

I would like to see where I can take this one.  Tonight I'm hoping to get a little watercolour work in, I have a painting underway and would like to work on it a bit more after the kids go to sleep and the house is quiet.

All artwork is copyright Kathleen Ralph, no reproduction with out permission from the artist.

I Need a Walk-in!

Maybe it's the spring cleaning bug come late, but I'm filled with the urge to clean out my closet!

That is the thing with having a walk in closet.... you should be able to walk into it!

I think I'll do my hour of drawing later, after the coffee has fully kicked in.  I was up too late, or too early, or something, with my youngest and her new pet nosebleed.  We managed to get it under control (after an hour and a half in the dark of the night) but now she and I are in a bit of a fog today.  Of course because she's five she has more energy than I do.

I wish I had that full cup of five year old energy today.  But at least I have a full cup of coffee, and a project to keep me focused.

It's Raining.... Cue the Music!

After a long dry spell we had two thundershowers this afternoon and evening.  For some reason, despite daily forecasts for rain we haven't had any in a long time.

It's not really enough to green up the grass, but it's enough to make the frogs sing outside our house.

The frogs have been very quiet for a long time, so it's nice to hear them again, celebrating the showers along with the young birds that are playing in the trees, and the flowers that are lifting their heads.

even the cool, damp breeze coming in my window is welcome this evening.  I hope this is a sign of good things to come.

All artwork is copyright Kathleen Ralph, not reproduction without permission

365 Days of Art - Day 19 Hand It Over!

 The day started badly and I didn't get to my drawing time until just before lunch.  So with the family clamoring for food I wound it up the second the alarm went off.

I decided on hands today.  Hands are really so complicated, so many shapes and angles in one tiny piece of the body.  I am still not happy with my hand renderings, I'm hoping that if I keep practicing I can make them convincing the first time (or second) instead of the 12th.

Clearly this is going to take more work, but that is the purpose of this who challenge, to work on weak spots and get better.

365 Days of Art - Day 18 ....some days ....

Some days the victory lies in just getting the work done.

I knew that some days would be difficult, and that not all the art would be great, or even worth showing.  And today was one of those days.  I had a headache, I was awakened by my clumsy cat skidding across the bedside table knocking all my art magazines and my brand new lamp to the floor (the brand new lamp was bought to replace the old lamp that she broke last week!)  And I just had trouble getting what I wanted onto the paper today.

That being said, I guess there is nothing really wrong with my drawing today, there is just isn't anything really great about it either.  The really great part was getting it done, and being able to talk to my kids about art technique and how to use coloured pencils lightly to build colour and depth instead of the heavy lines they normally use. 

I think that I could do another 45 minutes on this piece and turn it around, but really, I'm not that invested in it (which really shows today) and I would like to move on to some other things.

My oldest daughter is committing to an hour of drawing every day with me for the summer.  That makes me happy.  I know that she will be happy with how her skills improve over the summer.

Now, Day 18 is in the bag, and tomorrow is Day 19!