Pencil Shavings

A Little Sad Mouse for You

I think he's sad because I spilled coffee on his sketchpad.... or maybe I'm just projecting.

Doodle Du Jour: Digital Art

I made this one on my iPad (in Sketchbook)

He's kinda like a Flamingo version of Frank Sinatra.

On Being Grateful: #3 - Art Shows.

I got some really great news this week, My C3 Van Gogh digital painting is going to be in a digital art show at the Little Gallery (Little Gallery, 6th Floor, Art Parkade, University of Calgary) over the Christmas break   

My Media Arts instructor said that I have a bright future as an art forger wanted by INTERPOL .

I think that's a compliment.

I think the show starts on December 21st but I will post again when I have confirmation of the dates.

The University is really quiet during that time, but I would be really grateful if you could plan to stop by between rounds of gift shopping.

Woo-Hoo!

My Daniel Smith Art Supplies Winter Sale catalog came in the mail yesterday.  

I don't suppose it's any kind of secret if you have been reading my blog for a while that Daniel Smith is my favourite online art supply store, and it's taking all the will power I can muster to not put the catalog under my husband's pillow with a note attached that says "buy all this for Chirstmas"

One thing that I have wondered for a while though is....  Since Daniel Smith is located in Seattle, why does their logo have a cactus on it?

On Being Grateful: #2

As I am sitting here writing this, my husband is snuggled up in bed with our two girls and is reading them one if his favourite books.  The oldest one has her head on his shoulder and is reading along, the youngest is curled up, and, I suspect, sleeping.

I am so grateful for my family.  There are probably a thousand sappy things I could say about this, but one thing that I know, having had an unstable family life when I was my kids age, makes me realize how lucky we are to have this, right now.

 

Stage 3: Fungi

In a desperate attempt to save my print I did an aquatint over the whole tree trunk to darken it, and then burnished the mushrooms up so they were lighter.

Adding in lots of hand wiping to lighten the whole open side and mushroom shapes and I came up with this.

It's still not totally what I had in mind, but it's a lot closer.  And I'm out of time to make a lot more changes to it.

I editioned this one and decided that it was good enough.  I have two more prints to create and edition in less than four weeks, so this has to be good enough.

Stage 2: Fungi

So I did a "sugar lift" and aquatint to get my bark texture.

But the print came out all wrong.  The mushrooms are falling back into the  bark and the shadows aren't working at all.

I was so frustrated.  I did print an edition of it anyway just in case I mess it up totally by trying to fix it, but this is not what I had in mind for my project.

Doodle Du Jour: brush pen test drawings

I got a new ink cartridge for my Pentel Brush Pen today.

So I had to do a little test doodleing to get the ink to flow again. 

These are both really small  - less than 2 inches each.

Just a couple of fun little doodles.  :-)

On Being Grateful: #1

Today I am grateful for the military men and women who are sent to places I don't want to go to, who do things that I couldn't bear to, and who come home and are not treated nearly as well as they should be.

I am grateful to my grandfather who served in WWII, and I wish I had been aware enough to thank him for what he had done before he passed away.

Today I also wish that my children, who have known a time when our contry was not ensnared in conflict, will soon know what a country that is at peace is like.  A generation of children is growing up not knowing what peace is, and that is a crime.

 

(photo curtesy of Pierre Gazzola's Flickr stream)

Doodle Du Jour

just a quick one mini sketch (literally mini I think this guy is 1 1/2 inches tall, tops) with a brush pen