An Interesting Try

Did an interesting "Cat" drawing today. This came from a friend that wanted to see what I could do with a photo of their cat. Now cats are hard. Lots of fur, blurry edges and the like, but I had fun doing it.

I put it in a frame for them and I'm planning on trying a watercolor of it and see what happens.

I'm using some COPIC grey scale (neutral) markers which I like, but they are pricy. The good thing is that they are refillable and that helps bring the cost down. It's the 10...60% markers that get used up the most because of their usage early in the drawing and the lightness of the shade.

I had made a tracing of the image so that I could re-used the basic drawing (basic lines and shading only) for a watercolor version. Works great. I don't have a light board but I used the technique of taping the tracing on a window (or door) with the sunlight behind it and that is plenty to shine through the watercolor paper over it. Amazing how bright outdoors really is.

I use cheap Joe's Starving Artist tracing paper because it rather sturdy compared with others that I've looked at. These tracings need to hold up so that years from now I can re-use them. I should do more of them.

On a side note, my arm keeps getting better and better. It will be 3 months to the day next week. Rather pleased with the healing and recovery. I'm learned a lot about shoulders and PT in this time. I figure a few more months of PT and done (mostly).

Till later....

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A Process

Once in a while I take photos of a work in progress. This is for me as well as others as the work moves from stage to stage. And it is done in stages with defined processes for each step. On this walkway overpass up in Spruce Pine, I've done both an ink / marker and an Ink / Wash on the same piece. This is the finished watercolor of the work. To start the process I did an ink drawing of it and then took a tracing from that. It's the tracing where I did another ink drawing but this time on watercolor paper. Tracings of a work is done with standard tracing paper. I get mine from CheapJoes.com and use the 8x10 size as that covers most of my needs. The tracing is done with a 0.3 ink pen (Winsor & Newton Fineliner). Once I have the tracing I can then use it for other paper or to do another work of the same subject. The tracing is just a start as I still need to get it transferred onto other paper. For that you need a very bright light...

3rd Try is a Charm

I've been trying to draw / paint these barns for a couple of years but never felt or got them right. This time I think they turned out right. So What went wrong before and what's right now with this drawing? This time, the light was right. It's coming from the upper right and the shadows just looked right. The other thing is the corn field on the left had to "be in season", otherwise it's just a plowed field. I had taken other photos from different angles but they never felt right. This angle has the road, power lines, corn field, etc. all leading to the right. The shadows on the lower right helps fill in that corner (don't forget about the corners!). The last part is trying to draw (ink paint maybe) the trees in the background. Not so easy when they are kind of a blob is green shades. So yeah, it's composition that is king. Many times I just don't see it until the drawing / painting is finished and when it's right it feels goo...

Still Life

Life is never still, at least I don't think you would want it to be. That's why so many of us (i.e., retired care free people) travel. Keep seeing new things and places. Well the Hurricane so far inland was a new thing and one I would have rather forgone but life is what happens. Life keeps moving. Except a still life is forever and captures a slice of time frozen in a painting. This is from a wooden bowl of pears onboard our ship during dinner one nice. Again, just thought it looked nice. Enjoy.

A Person, Artist, Software Engineer, Geologist.

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