Pencil Shavings

Terry Kelly - A Pittance of Time (Remembrance Day)

via www.youtube.com

Take some time today. It's just a moment, for people who no longer have a minute left.

Tears of Regret

I spent the morning crying quietly in an auditorium full of children.

I watched with pride while my daughter and her classmates in their youth and innocence, sang songs and recited poems of remembrance.  They were still.  They didn't poke each other, or make faces, or wave at their parents.  They very seriously performed a remembrance ceremony for soldiers who have died in conflict.

These children, the ones performing and the ones watching, were no older than 9, no younger than 5 and I wept when I realized that very likely, even the oldest of these children cannot remember a time in their lives when their country has not been at war.

They cannot remember a time when the news didn't have the face of soldier on it, or when we weren't a nation grieving a young man or woman who was coming home to be buried.

After World War One, the cry went up, "Never Again".  After World War Two, "We Will Remember."  But we don't remember, we still tread the same paths as our fathers, and grandfathers, and their fathers before them, to war.  We have not learned to find peace.  Instead on the eleventh month, on the eleventh day, on the eleventh hour, my children and I will hold each others hands, and stand for  a moment in silence, and grieve for soldiers both known and unknown and I will grieve for peace, the silent victim of every conflict.

365 Days of Art - Day 122 - That Wasn't What I Meant!

I was happily playing with my watercolours for my hour of art on Day 122.  Working from a reference photo I had taken at the zoo this past summer I used my "new" technique of drawing with Daniel Smith Watercolor Sticks then wetting them with a brush and painting with them.

Alas.  I think I have been doing too many people lately, because this looks more like a lion/person hybrid than a lion!  The foreshortneing of his muzzle didn't come across very well, but I do like the colours I used and I like the mane!

I keep saying that every pieces doesn't have to be a masterpiece, as long as I can learn from it, and that is really true.

Everyday I make something that isn't "right" but it's all learning, and I love the learning.

The 365 days is teaching me a lot and one of the things that I am learning is that this time for myself is a gift.  I am giving myself time to learn, and time to work and time that is just for me and what I want to do with my creative self.  I am very lucky, and also very determined.  I am going to make the most of this gift I have given myself.

The Rewards of Being Impatient

I know it was only yesterday when I said that I was really looking hard for a sketchbook with toned paper.  In fact I have been looking for such a thing for a little while now, and all my searches have been fruitless both on and off line. 

Yesterday I went to the art supply store and got a pad of assorted colour Strathmore 400 series pastel paper.  I practiced with the white sheets (that I had no real interest in)  folding them and stitching them by hand along the fold with a needle and thread.

When I was ready I moved to the coloured paper and put my sections together and got a nice little 24 page booklet.

I even glued a cover onto it.  (Aren't I so clever!)

The key points are that it opens flat, and fits in my purse and will be handy to have for sketching while I'm out and about.  Providing a nice mid tone that I can add white to for highlights and use a conte crayon or pastel pencil for the darks.

Total time: Less than an hour... far less time than I spent searching for the ideal sketchbook.

365 Days of Art - Day 121 - Bring in Some Colour!

Now it's time to bring in some colour.  I've been working in monochrome studies for a while now and I'm thirsty for colour.

Day 121 was a day for colour and after a few false starts I managed to get this piece done using the DS watercolor sticks and brush. 

My hour of art was a lot more than an hour, and this is just one of the studies that I did. There are problems with it, of course, but each drawing, each painting is teaching me something.

I like this one.. I used mostly high key quinacridone colours, yet it seems to come together.

I'm thinking about some new projects to try but for now I'm happy to be back in colour.

Happy Saturday

The kids and The Man are out running an errand and I'm trying to catch up on some paperwork.  I did want to pop in  a quick note before I update the 365 Days of Art.

Yesterday I was doing some drawing in my sketchbook and really longing to have a sketchbook with toned paper.  I put a shout out on Twitter and Facebook and got a few replies (I love the instantness of social networking, and how people who ware strangers are willing to pitch in to help!)

I would really love to have sketch book that had a neutral tones paper in it that wasn't white, so I could have mid tone and then add highlights with white and darks with sanguine conte, or charcoal.

Do you know if such a thing exists?  I'm really bad at bookbinding, but I might have to resort to making my own!  

On another note... I'm thinking about picking up golden's pastel ground and working on a charcoal drawing on canvas... hows that for something new and different!  stay tuned and see if I manage to make it work!)

Back to paperwork.  You know, there is a reason why I'm not an accountant!

365 Days of Art - Day 120 - Head Study with DS Watercolor Sticks

Day 120 and I was still working on my drawing to painting technique. 

The first picture shows the drawing stage of my head study. 

I have to slow down a bit more in my drawing stage I think, the structural problems are hard to fix once the paint gets on, but I'm still pleased with the overall result.

I am feeling confident enough with the drawing to painting with the Watercolor Sticks to now approach it with more colour. 

I have been asked several times what the difference is between the Daniel Smith Watercolor Sticks and watercolour crayons, or watercolor pencils.

I actually have a large collection of each, so I can give you my opinion, but it's still just an opinion and you need to find out what works for you.

Watercolor sticks are bound with Gum Arabic just like watercolours are, there is just enough of the binding agent to stick the pigment together so it can be rolled by hand into a pastel shape.  It literally is a paint stick.

Watercolour crayons are usually bound with wax or clay (or both)  there is less pigment (in my mind) and I find that the wash from them when they are wet isn't as clear or vivid.  In fact sometimes it looks a little cloudy when it dries.

Watercolour pencils have clay in them as well, so the "lead" will stay hard and firm enough to be encased in wood.  They can be sharpened to a much finer point than Watercolor Sticks and for drawing they are hands down the winner, but for painting they amount of "pre-drawing" before painting can really kill the spontaneity of the work.  Also the colours can also be dulled and not be as transparent as the sticks.

The joy of the Watercolor Sticks by Daniel Smith is that they are made from Daniel Smith paints, and behave exactly as you would expect pan watercolours to react with the bonus of being able to draw with them as well.

So, any other questions?

On a Personal Note

I spend every Thursday at the school helping kids with their reading.

I have mentioned before how very much I love this time in my week.  I read with groups of kids, helping them with fluency and encouraging them to love books like I do.

I have a couple of boys in my group who have been, well, reluctant to participate.  I've worked with them week after week, praising them when they are doing well, and gently trying to steer them where they are going wrong.

It's such a fine line to walk.

Today I came into the class room and two of the boys came up to me, so excited about their new reading project.  One said that he could hardly wait to tell me about what we would be reading today.  It was the best moment of my week when I saw the joy and excitement they had for reading today. 

I don't know if we turned a corner, but I know that they were excited and I know that I am making a difference with the time I spend away from my easel and in the class.  And I am feeling really blessed today.

I just wanted to share that with you.

Not Every Celebrity is Worth Following

This guy keeps showing up on my TypePad dashboard.  He's a celebrity, in a TV show, done a high profile movie.  Typepad seems to think that I should follow him.  I clicked on his picture and there were his updates.  Lots of one liners about "the industry" but nothing really gripping, a lot of gloss, and no real substance.

And what is it about people who think they are channeling e.e.cummings and won't use capital letters.  That's either pretentious, or just annoying. 

Anyway, I didn't follow him.  I really only read one "celebrity" blog and that is Wil Wheaton's.  Because even though he has probably one of the most loyal followings on his blog and on Twitter he doesn't think of himself as a personality.  His tag line on his twitter feed says it all "I'm just this guy, you know?"  He writes about himself (as most of us bloggers do) but it's real and compelling, it's funny and sad, it's frustrating and delightful.  It's life. 

He's also a really great writer, and not just because he uses punctuation and capital letters, but because he has an unerring way of making us hear his voice through the silent medium of words.  

Trying to get back to my point (I'll blame the coffee) just because we admire someone on the screen doesn't make them sparkle in all mediums.  Some folks earn our loyalty as readers by trying hard to keep us as readers.  Being a fan doesn't mean you are required to follow everything  - keep your illusions and skip the blog.

Electronica - Not really from the 365 Days of Art

 Remember a short while ago I posted a link to an iPhone/iTouch app that was called Sketchbook Mobile?

I said that I would post some of the sketches that I did while I was on the train, and waiting for the kids at swimming lessons.

Some are caricatures, some abstract, some just weird. 

But they are fun to do and I have a feeling that given more time with it I could have a lot of fun making all kinds of weird things.

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Typepad says if you click on the thumbnails it will show the pictures... let's see how that works!