Summer swarms

It is officially summer in Newfoundland but with a bonus this year. It is actually warm. Often heat doesn't kick in til July and exists in fits and starts til days start to noticeably shorten and cooler evenings are apparent. But this year heat has drifted in for the last two weeks and its blissful.

However with summer comes some unique phemonenons, not all peculiar to Newfoundland. Today's is flying ants. I finished a couple of days of meetings early and as it was warm and summy, came home to enjoy some of the sun in the garden. Noooo. Heavy rain followed by heat seems to bring out swarms of these creatures and they're everywhere. I don't like bugs in any form, so sitting in the garden with these ants landing on me every minute or so doesn't thrill me.

Of course, the ducks and chickens are having a field day capturing ants after they lose their wings or grabbing them out of the air. I commend their efforts.

The older chickens have been given their freedom for the summer now too. The yard is full of birds with occasional squabbles when one crosses the others territory,in particular the geese maintaining the 20 foot perimeter of 'no go' around the ever growing goslings. The old hens, however, faced with the great outdoors, are cautious. They're anxious to walk across the tarmac to the grass, but fearful of the scope of the world in front of them. A fews days of venturing further and I'm sure I'll be shooing them off the front step and having hunts for eggs in flowerbeds and other odd places as they enjoy their freedom.

With freedom comes danger and there are eyes in the woods and the air watching the chickens. Hawks, foxes, coyotes and mink all wait for a lapse in concentration of either human or fowl to pounce. The geese are good in that respect as they have tackled hawk attacks and are perfect air raid sirens. Retirement, even for birds is faced with problems.

This pen and ink drawing was an experiment in technique, completed as I was learning how to control the medium. I like the position of the pots, but its a bit 'busy' for me and I find it distracting.

Another summer phenomenon seems to be the collection of 'things'. Acquisitions that really are of no great use to anyone except as a temporary splash of colour. Now colour is fine, but it costs money. My husband keeps edging towards a set of patio furniture. I haven't any interest in it for a couple of reasons: 1. Newfoundland summers have 2.5 days of sit-out-and-eat weather as a rule (please prove me wrong 2006) 2. Sets of patio furniture cost around $400 (provided you want one that doesn't collapse under the weight of more than 2 glasses of wine on the table or hefty Uncle George relaxing) Lately acquisition of material items doesn't interest me as it once did. They really are just that, things that serve no great purpose in life except to prove to the neighbours (if I had any) that I work my guts out to buy things that I don't need. I came across an interesting article that summed up some of my views well. Don't Die With Your Music Still In You. On the other hand, the footnote of 'send a donation to Steve' made me laugh at the irony of it as well as the other listings of articles that he had written about increasing wealth.

Technorati Tags: summer, flying ants, pen and ink drawing, acquisitions, chickens

Blizzard revisited

Last month I started a sketch in my moleskine that turned into a more developed drawing.It was of an orphan gosling that I adopted in February - Blizzard. It was appealing and I regretted a little doing a double page drawing in the sketchbook, as it meant it could not be removed and had the line of the spine breaking the drawing.

A number of people wanted to see it completed on regular paper so today I made a start on it and here is the result. It is a more realistic image of the original reference and may complete another self portrait once finished. It is done with mechanical pencil and some charcoal powder on Stonehenge paper 9 x 12.

The geese and ducks have settled into summer mode now, content to browse the grass under trees and linger in the shade, particularly the Muscovy ducks who never like the sun much. For that matter, they don't like the rain either...

Here is Buddy, the Muscovy, being coy.


Technorati Tags: drawing, portrait, self portrait, gosling, muscovy duck

Living in the past

Happy, and I'm smiling, walk a mile to drink your water.
You know I'd love to love you, and above you there's no other
We'll go walking out while others shout of war's disaster.
Oh, be forgiving, let's go living in the past.

Once I'd used to join in, every boy and girl was my friend.
Now there's revolution but they don't know what they're fighting.
Let us close our eyes. Outside their lives go on much faster
Oh, be forgiving, we'll keep living in the past.

Oh, be forgiving, let's go living in the past.
Oh, no, no, be forgiving, let's go living in the past.

Jethro Tull

Wet days, like today send me to the past and I rethink people, places, things. I never knwo if that's good or bad. Perhaps a little of both. Music plays a role too and Jethro Tull used to be one of my favourite bands in my youth. They still are in some ways and the classic songs transport me to times when stress didn't exist as a word even less a reality. Or if it did, there was no impact on me.

I pulled out an old portrait that I started about 17 years ago of my father. I don't even know if I can finish it as I don't know if I still have the original reference image that I used. It was to be a surprise birthday gift for him, but it never turned out that way. He died before I could finish it, so it sat unfinished in cupboards and stacked with other paintings. Til now. I've been looking at it and deciding if its worth saving or whether I should just start afresh with a new reference. The canvas is a bit limp but salvageable likely. Acrylic paint was used for the start and its still in fairly good shape, but chipped a little in places. I'll think about it for awhile and consider what to do.

I've been experimenting with charcoal on tinted paper. Soooooooo messy but satisfying all the same. Years ago, I experimented with making my own charcoal using willows which were readily available at the time. It worked but the pieces were a bit large and crumbled easily. Great for large impressionistic pieces but not good for detailed work. I used the textured side of some mi-tientes paper that I had. Its actually a pale brown but the photo shows more grey. I think I'll try the smooth side later as I'm not pleased with the textured look.

Neither of these images have come out well as photographs. Perhaps the dull day has an effect on it. I'll try a scan and see if that comes out better.

And for those needing their baby goose pics, here they are, perched on the grass in the front turning circle of the drive, being cute. The parents are still in attack mode however and go for anything that moves. Tractors, cars, horses, people...

Technorati tags: portrait, acrylic, charcoal, pastel

Portraits and art news

I've worked a little more on the baby portrait. The mouth and nose are causing grief and I've erased and redrawn them at least three times! I think I finally have the mouth right, but the nose still needs work. Then I'll start filling in tones to make the face take shape as well as the jacket.

Babies don't have substantial, concrete features to work with and I find it challenging to say the least to draw this. But I learn as I go along.

Wandering tonight I found the following sites on art news that led me off for an hour down many paths.

Artnews in Canada

Art Daily

Art News Blog

Art Knowledge News

The Art Newspaper

Arts & letters Daily

Artists in Canada

Technorati Tags: baby, portrait, drawing, art, art news

Graphics tablet

Late last year I obtained a digital graphics tablet with the help of a friend in the United States who is in the computer industry. They can be purchased in Canada, but as with all things, if obtained at source, you can get a better price and quicker service. This tablet is a middle range one, price wise as I didn't want to invest a lot of money in one, not knowing if I would use it much.

I have experimented with it and played with a number of graphics programs on it such as Adobe Photoshop,Artrage, Dogwaffle,and Twisted Brush are just some of the available programs either for sale or to try for free. They all have a lot in common, providing a variety of mediums and supports to create art digitally.

Effective digital art has a steep learning curve, dependent on the program that you are using, especially Photoshop. And at this point, I use the most basic features and still haven't taken the time to study or experiment indepth. Time is always the challenge for me. But when I browse forums that produce extraordinary art created digitally, it always inspires me to pull the tablet back out and try again.

This watercolour started as a sketchbook doodle, which just seemed to flow. Can I recreate on watercolour paper? Its fate is in the hands of the gods of watercolour on the day that I try. I'm waiting patiently (well somewhat patiently) for my waterbrush to arrive. Russell Stutler provides a great piece on the different brushes available. Then I can take it on some sketching field trips. These are neat little brushes that eliminate the need to trek jars of water around with me when I want to do some watercolour work with pans of colour or watercolour pencils.

Technorati Tags: digital art, graphics tablet, graphics software, watercolour, waterbrush

Its not as easy as it looks

I am doing a portrait of a friend's baby. I have never drawn a baby before and there are challenges in getting the features correctly placed. I've made a start and I know that simply seeing it on the computer screen will ensure that every error pops up at me.

The baby is a year old now and I spent some time with her as a small infant and I refer to her as 'my' baby. She's a placid easy going baby with a willing smile, even though its more a quizzical look in this image.

It seems others have been down this road before me in varying forms...

After years spent dissecting the works of the great artists, critic Jonathan Jones decided to put his money where his mouth was - and learn to draw. His modest aim was to sketch a portrait of his 15-month-old daughter, but first he had to learn the basics ...

Wet Canvas provides some insight into proportion when drawing children and babies as well as adults and teens.

Technorati Tags: drawing, portrait, baby, baby portrait

Storms and animals

As I got home today, a thunderstorm was brewing. There was a yellowish cast to the light and a faint rumbling in the distance with an omninous sky seeming to lower itself to the ground to meet me.

My first thought was of the horse in the meadow. She isn't usually a horse that is spooked too easily but then again something like a mouse crossing her path can create havoc in her world. A few more serious rumblings and it was decided that she better come down from the field to the barn. Sweet feed is the ultimate control for Kit. You don't even need a lead if you have a bucket of sweet feed in your hand, she'll follow you to the end of the earth and beyond. In fact, you don't even need something IN the bucket. She just sees the red bucket and knows.

As I drove up the drive, I was met by the geese - adults and babies munching grass on the centre of the turning circle in front of the house. As I pulled up to the head of the driveway, Angelo, the large male goose, charged the car! I know he's guardian of the babies, but charging a car? Is that where the term 'silly goose' came from?

The thunder seemed to make the geese and ducks stop in their tracks a few times at the intensity of it but other than that and dealing with gusts of wind that the storm kicked up, seemed no worse for wear and actually liked the rain.

For humans, it stopped power off and on, knocked out internet connections and made me wish it were dark so that I could enjoy it properly. I always feel a good storm is wasted in the daylight.

Today's drawing is of one of the Muscovy ducks, B.D. B.D. stands for Big Duck. Yes, imiaginative I know but these are large, slow moving ducks with no quack. They are more goose size than duck size. They are the remaining two of a flock of 8. All the females (4) and one of the males were killed one night by coyotes. Three is not a crowd for males and as two seemed to buddy up, the third was sent to be companion for a Toulouse goose of a neighbour.

Technorati Tags: thunderstorms, animals, muscovy, duck, drawing, art

Still crazy after all these years

Men have called me mad, but the question is not yet settled, whether madness is or is not the loftiest intelligence--whether much that is glorious--whether all that is profound--does not spring from disease of thought--from moods of mind exalted at the expense of the general intellect. Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night - Edgar Allen Poe

When you are insane, you are busy being insane - all the time... When I was crazy, that's all I was. - Sylvia Plath

In 1992 Dr. Arnold M. Ludwig, a psychiatrist at the University of Kentucky Medical Center, published an extensive biographical survey of 1,005 famous 20th-century artists and writers, comparing their mental health with those of individuals in other, more conventional, professionals. Ludwig discovered that artists and writers experienced two to three times the rate of psychosis, suicide attempts, mood disorders, and substance abuse than did comparably successful people in business, science, and public life. Ludwig went so far as to trace various types of mental illness to different creative professions: he found that if you're a poet you're more likely to suffer from mania and psychoses; a musician or actor, drug abuse; a composer, artist, or non-fiction writer, alcohol dependence. In Ludwig's analysis, those professions which rely on precision, reason, and logic have a much lower rate of mental illness than those that rely on emotive expression, personal experience, and vivid imagery as a source of inspiration.

In other words, it could always be worse--you could be a poet.

Are suffering and art inevitably linked? Carl Jung praised the artist as the one who "makes it possible for us to find our way back to the deepest springs of life." If that sounds like a big responsibility, it is. Jung's artist, forced to carry "the unconscious psychic life of mankind," might find himself with "so heavy a burden that he is fated to sacrifice happiness and everything that makes life worth living for the ordinary human being."

Are artists crazier than other folks? Read on and find out.

Creativity and Mental Illness, by Laura Gosselink has done more research into the subject.

...although it is certainly not the case that all creative individuals suffer from manic depression, it seems that characteristics of mania and depression aid the development and expression of creative thought and action. Mania combines new and heretofore unconnected ideas at a rapid pace and has even been shown to elevate IQ scores(8). Mania also imbues the individual with relentless drive and confidence that can, very often, lead to creative output. Balancing mania, depression not only can serve as a "reality-check" to manic excesses of thought and action, but also can itself provide fuel for creativity.

What does this mean for treatment? "I want to keep those sufferings," said artist Edvard Munch. When told he could end his cycle of psychiatric hospitalizations with available treatment, he replied that emotional torments "are part of me and my art. They are indistinguishable from me, and it would destroy my art"...

An article from The Guardian linking art and sex.

From Lord Byron to Dylan Thomas and beyond, the famous philanderers of the art world may have had a touch of mental illness to thank for their behaviour, psychologists report today.

So before insanity claims me entirely, I'll add my art for today then pour alcohol on the demons within (well, the study DOES expect it of me, doesn't it?). Well these are drawings from a couple of days really, plus another addition for Crack Skull Bob's Selfportrait Marathon. I have updated the image of the duck in the bucket that I did a couple of days ago. The scan didn't turn out well and this version is a digital photograph taken in natural light.



Technorati tags: art, artists, creativity & mental illness, drawing, self portrait

Fathers

Father's Day is a non-event at my house these days, except in thought. My father has been dead for 16 years, my husband's for 10 years. My daughters telephoned to say Happy Father's Day to my husband even if he isn't their biological father. This makes him feel awkward and anxious to get off the phone, so he hands them over to me as soon as possible. He's not good at dealing with younger people and hasn't had a lot of interaction I guess so that makes him feel uncomfortable around them.

However, my father was a kind man and I was more attuned to him than my mother. Perhaps that is just the way with opposite sexes - mothers and sons; fathers and daughters. Together the sexes clash, opposites seem to have more 'give' to them or maybe they see some of their youth in their children or what they wished their youth was. We never were a demonstrative family in terms of affection. It was an unsaid given that we cared for each other, but words and actions to follow up were not something I ever remember. I did a portrait of my father years ago, shortly before he died - or I started one. I must dig it out and see if I can finish it. It would be a good tribute for Father's Day.

The geese allowed us to get close enough to get some photos of them and the new babies - now about a week old. Angelo, the father goose, struts around shouting and charging at everything that moves within 20 feet of the babies, while the mother goose, Lucy, just lets him get on with it with a resigned look on her face.

The broiler chicks are growing rapidly and in another 6 weeks or so will be ready for processing. I had a photo taken of me holding one of the chicks when it was a day old in my hands in the barn. I used this image as one in the Wet Canvas drawing event this weekend so decided it was about time that I did a drawing with it too. It was done with a Pigma Micron pen .005 nib.

Technorati Tags: fathers, goslings, geese, art, drawing, pen and ink, broiler chick, chicken

Life and death

This morning, there was a loud thud against the dining room window and out of the corner of my eye I saw a bird hit the window then fall. I went outside to see if it was ok and found this beautiful, tiny yellow-rumped warbler on the ground, conscious but not moving. I picked it up and placed it on my flat palm where it stayed blinking and panting, but still didn't move. I put it in the grass in the shade and kept my distance, doing some gardening,one eye watching it. Within 20 minutes it died. Unfortunate, but it provided me with an opportunity to sketch it. Such a tiny perfect bird.

On a farm, life and death are as natural as breathing. People who buy their meat from a supermarket or butcher are often oblivious to the origins of their food and would likely be rather squeamish to know. I used to be like that too, but now I have a healthy respect for both life and death.

I worked on 'duck in a bucket' to expand the sketch from yesterday. I decided to use some black Mi-Tientes pastel paper and dug out some old pastels that I have had for years to see what I could do with them. I forgot just how messy pastels can be, but the effect is lovely as I tried to capture the highlights on the duck against the darkness of the background.

Today 17 Chinese geese were moved from the barn to an enclosure on the edge of the woods. Boy, they are noisy! It was a beautiful warm sunny day and the first time they had been outside their pen in the barn since they were born, about 8 weeks ago. There was a lot of herding but they seem to have settled in now. Catching geese is not an easy proposition as they flap a lot and are quite strong. Not something I'd want to do every day.

Technorati tags: warbler, sketch, art
, duck, pastel, geese

Groundwork and lists

I rarely start what I call a 'proper' drawing without doing a preliminary sketch first. Now the sketch can be loose and have inaccuracies or it can be detailed and precise. I like to have some idea of how the final drawing will turn out and if I even like constructing it.

A drawing is like many things that are started and not completed just because they don't feel right.

Here is such a sketch of one of the Pekin ducks whose overexuberance got her into trouble - getting stuck in a bucket. I've had the reference for this image since last summer, but only nowo am getting around to considering it as a drawing or painting.

This weekend I am hosting the weekend drawing event at Wet Canvas so have provided a variety of images for people to choose and create art pieces. The duck in the bucket is one of them. Bear in mind that this is a rough sketch, and started more as a doodle on some lined paper. I'm trying to decide the medium for this piece. Perhaps black paper and pastel or derwent pencils.

I've also been working on more self portraits. I completed one yesterday and another today. Yesterdays was done in graphite and today's in Derwent Drawing Pencils. I love the look and feel of these but haven't had a lot of practice with them yet. They are fat pencils that blunt easily so I'm learning as I go. But I love the rich,natural tones of them and how smoothly they go onto the the paper.

Here's today's efforts.

Loretta at Pomegranatesandpaper has unique List Friday going. Today the theme is What's Missing? List six things that you have lost and never found - youth and virginity not allowed..:o)

Here are some of my losses.

1. A gold bracelet from a very dear friend. I felt like I was confessing a sin when I said it was missing.
2. Forty pounds sterling that my tiny daughter took out of my bag, 'played' with and couldn't remember where she put it.
3. $100 stolen from my car while I showed the girls their first blueberries on the bush in Newfoundland (do you see a trend happening here??)
4. Too many single earrings and socks to mention. In vain, I keep the twin in the hopes the other will magically appear one day.
5. Baby teeth. At least three that I swallowed inadvertently. I felt cheated at the time as I thought the Tooth Fairy would fly over me without a second thought. She still arrived anyway. :o)
6. Two cats, both within a week of each other. Guinness and Murphy, both named after stout beer. Wonderful five-toed cats that I owned for years. They were great hunters, bringing home anything from rabbits to crows. I think they were outsmarted by a fox.

Technorati Tags: drawing, art, sketch, derwent drawing pencils, duck, self portrait

Parenting skills

Being around animals a lot, I see many of the same behaviours in them, both good and bad, that mirror human parenting skills. Or do I just want to see them to try to understand their actions and find a common ground for comparison?

Technically, there is a base of instinctive emotion that over rides all else in most humans and animals. There will always be exceptions to the rule due to internal and external factors. The difference perhaps being in how animals abandon or kill the weak or injured while humans continue to preserve life no matter what the quality or danger to the individual.

My own parenting skills were at zero when my daughter was born. I knew nothing about babies, had never held one or even seen one close up for that matter. They may as well have handed me a puppy for all I knew about what to do with it. There was an instinctive nature to protect and care for, but it took quite awhile for love to develop. It was not a 'love at first sight' affair. I think I took her to baby clinics weekly just for confirmation that I was doing something right. I was young (22), I had no relatives and few friends nearby, having just moved to the area, and my husband left for work in Madagascar when she was a week old. I spent a lot of sleepless nights, not only to tend to a crying baby, but worrying about her and me.

But she did survive and turned out well as did her sister, despite unorthodox lifestyles and parenting skills that were hit or miss or led by Dr. Spock.

What has made me think of this is the birth of a baby making someone a grandmother (no, not me). The discussion was of the practical skills in raising a baby. To bath the infant daily or not; to put it to sleep on stomach or back; to have natural feeding times or schedule them (that's what really floored me...would you really wake a sleeping baby to feed it??) It seems the art of child raising goes in circles with myths and discoveries being passed around. Through it all children survive and thrive no matter how helpless we feel or what a terrible job we think we are doing.

Children are resiliant. So are parents. Just as well, huh?

My drawing over the last 24 hours has been simple line drawings of more animals, plus another self portrait (yep, I'm on a roll) Here are a couple of the drawings, one of the Muscovy ducks. They are so unique and strange looking. It makes you realize how they create these amazing science fiction characters. No imagination needed, just look around yourself at the interesting animals.

The second is a Belgian hare. A large, sturdy looking animal. Hares and rabbits are always appealing to me. Their softness yet they have a manevolent stare sometimes...

Technorati tags: parenting, child raising, drawing, animals, muscovy duck, belgian hare

Older is better sometimes

Its funny how I am pulled back to older things in life. Its not a premature reminiscence of days gone by I don't think, but more a feeling that things of the past are more substantial and real than what I am offered currently.

That applies to art too. Yes, there is some beautiful work being created daily but I only have to look at some of the master artists' work from the 15 or 16th century to realize just what talent they possessed and how they plied their trade in the face of much more adversity.

With that in mind, I would like to recreate a painting done some time ago. The Art Renewal Centre is a site that I browse frequently for inspiration. William Bouguereau is one of my favourite artists and the simplicity of figures in his work appeals to be greatly. The work that I have started of his is called La Soif - translated as The Thirst.

Here is the initial line drawing. Its 11 x 14 and I will try it in coloured pencil. Don't hold your breath for updates quite yet as time is a real challenge for me at this time of year.

Animals, greenhouse and life take precedence many times, but I will always make room for drawing, it soothes the soul and keeps me sane.

Another challenge is the self portrait marathon from Crackskull Bob's site. A self portrait a week between June 8 and July 8th. I have found self portraits to be revealing as you never really know anything or anyone until you try to recreate them on paper or canvas. Each self portrait that I've done looks different than the last. I tried my hand at yet another today and find that, yes, its another version of me. A new day, a new me. Interesting. Self portraits show the world who you are or who you think you are. They are a unique record of the passage of time. Here is today's version of me. And to prove a point about each drawing being diffent, here are a couple for comparison, all done within the last six months.

Technorati Tags: William Bouguereau, drawing, masters, art, self portrait

Books

I have had three people in the last week tell me that I should be writing a children's book around some of my animal drawings (and no, they weren't relatives). The concept is an interesting one, but I know little about where to start or how to start or even if I should start.

I have been a little inspired by an article in this month's Artist's Magazine in which Geordie Millar's large-scale drawings of a female moose chronicle the animal's imagined responses to the gallery viewers. The responses of geese to any viewer?? I have enough drawing inspiration residing in the barn to last for years. The initial image that sparked the book idea was my adventures with Blizzard, the orphan gosling. Since then there have been plenty more goslings and chicks and geese to choose from along with rabbits and moose and foxes and coyotes and bears...the list goes on.

Drawing them would be a pleasure for me as animals are my favourite thing to draw. Creating a storyline around that would be secondary. Perhaps the illustrations would spawn the storyline.

That being said and supposing I were to accomplish this, then there is the question of having something published and printed. Never a cheap proposition or an easy one. I had a browse online and discovered several 'do it yourself' versions that will print and bind books for reasonable prices if I wanted to see myself in print.

Lulu.com Lulu is the web's premier independent publishing marketplace for digital do-it-yourselfers. What is a lulu? Well it's not your grandmother's kitty, that's for sure. Ever hear the phrase "Boy, that's a real lulu"? Well, even if you haven't, we think of the word lulu as an old-fashioned term for a remarkable person, object or idea.

Or you can turn your blog into a book. Might be the perfect way to keep a record of your writing and images. Blogbinders is one that I came across.

I'll have to experiment with the book idea and see what evolves. And for tonight, a sketch of Kit, the remaining horse. She's big and goofy, but loveable and will mug you in a second if she thinks you have treats!

Technorati Tags: publishing, book, illustration, animals, drawing

Muses and imagination

While browsing through other blogs and comments I started thinking about muses and what they are and how they affect imagination and creativity. We often think of them as a person and in mythology they were - if you believe mythology...in ancient Greek mythology muses were any of 9 daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne; protector of an art or science

Not having any mythical daughters of Zeus living at my house I turn to more mundane muses.

Books: I live for books and get lost in them almost as deeply as I can become immersed in drawing or painting. In my mind, I paint images while I read. Its another reason why I feel disappointed in most cases when I see the film version of a book, as it doesn't reflect MY images.
I recall an interesting task in creativity that involved books. Go to your bookshelf and with your eyes closed, pick a book. Still with eyes closed, open the book randomly and trace through the page, stopping your finger at any point. At that point, open your eyes and read the paragraph that your finger points to. The challenge is to illustrate that paragraph. The book can be anything from a cookbook to a novel, historic or fictional. If you happen to open to a page of graphics, simply choose again til you hit text. Its a great inspiration when you're stuck for drawing fodder or inspiration.

Animals: Animals never lose their appeal to me. They have endles behaviour patterns, shapes, sizes, colours and personalities. From simple sketches, to full blown portraits of great details, animals always inspire me to test my abilities. I have access to endless domestic and wild animals to observe, photograph and sketch. Each day brings a new animal and a new composition.

Solitude: I need to be alone to create. If someone is in the same room, looking over my shoulder I can't draw or write. I am social, but I hate company when I create. Its a necessity, not a luxury for me. I have created a studio in a spare room in the house and can lose all sense of time while there but people always come looking for me, wanting practical things done, like cooking supper or knowing where a sock is or did I have the last muffin (with just two people living in the house, why does anyone need to ask??)

Water: I need an expanse of water to sooth my soul and help me feel at peace. I am lucky that I live within minutes of the ocean, so I can take myself there when I need to hear the water lap or roar. Both extremes are equally soothing and inspiring. That, combined with the scent of salt air and the wind whipping my hair do something to make me feel alive and real. Some days I feel as if I am dead and puraly a figment of my imagination. Ocean waves help bring me back to life.

Music: But not always. My choice changes with my mood. One of my current favourites is Billie Holiday. What a Little Moonlight Can Do is perfect drawing music...then again any of her songs are.

People: I have had and do have supporters of my art in real life. It started many years ago with someone very special who nurtured my ability and ensured I was inspired and inspiring. Now that first muse is no longer there, but others replace him in varying degrees. Never quite the same and that's just as well, he was unique and made me unique under his shadow. Current muses are friends and acquaintances from varying backgrounds who nuture in different ways, but who all help me achieve what it is I want and sometimes even help me know what it is I want when I don't.

I had a drawing to post here, but Blogger doesn't want to cooperate - AGAIN! This is becoming a problem when every second day it won't post images. Its making me consider other options for hosting my blog that are more reliable.

Update: My apologies to Blogger. I think the upload problem was an issue with my browser Internet Explorer. I changed over to Firefox and its far quicker and uploaded my image this morning with no problem.

The drawing is one I did some time ago now. The dogs, desperate to want out. I can almost hear the whimpers and see them scratching under the gate.

Technorati tags: muse, sketch, imagination,

Happiness is....

While searching for some art magazines from years ago, I found a photo of myself taken when I was about 13, late 1960's - the official confirmation photo I believe. I remember my mother taking me to have the photo done at probably one of the few professional photographers in town.

I remember having myhair set the night before and having to sleep with rollers in which I thought the worst indignity. Then the dress. I still remember the stiff organdy material and the even scratchier petticoat underneath. It was a one off dress for a one off occasion and that's about all I do remember of it. A rite of passage for the Anglican church.

For fun I drew the image of that photo. Done in a Canson sketchbook 8.5 x 5.5, mechanical pencil of assorted leads, ranging from hb to 2b.

I look at myself in it and see part of the past, part of the future. Thirty-nine years have passed since that moment was captured. So much has happened in thirty-nine years. And I had barely an inkling at 13 of how any of it would turn out.

I spent the afternoon wandering through garden centres looking for scented leaf geraniums and variegated leaf geraniums. I found both and will put them in pots. I wish I'd taken my camera and my sketchbook with me as I wandered. The colours and people and greenhouses would have made great compositions and sketching sites. Next time.

How do you make ducks and geese happy for $9.93? You buy them a paddling pool.

There is a pond on the property but it faces onto the road and I am wary of having the birds there as people do have a tendancy to think the world is theirs for the taking and I don't want them to end up on someone's dinner table or worse. So its the paddling pool for them. Yesterday the Pekins dived into a wheelbarrow liner filled with water and expected the same today. So off to the store to find one - or two or three. The sales guy kept giving me odd looks as I bought three paddling pools. He must have thought I had a lot of kids!

Technorati Tags: drawing, confirmation, ducks, paddling pool

Compromise

The Wikipedia definition of compromise is this:

A compromise is an agreement (or proposed agreement) to accept a situation
in which the parties allow variations from what they originally sought, to
achieve a compatible outcome. Is also something that any involved parties have
to concede in something for the common better good to be achieved in an
appeasing manner.

Compromise is something that I seem to do all my life. I well understand that compromise needs to be acheived to get through life without war happening at every level, but to be honest, I'm pretty sick of it. Maybe its my age, but the side of me where my needs come first is becoming stronger and stronger lately. I don't believe that makes me a bad person, more like one who wants more out of life on a personal level. I want to be able to eat cornflakes in bed at 2am. To have martinis for supper. To go to bed at 6pm or 6am without question. To come and go as I want without being questioned. Is that selfish? Yes and no. Time to myself is precious and rare and becomes something that I crave which is likely what causes me to kick against the traces of compromise.

The mother goose brought her two goslings out into the yard yesterday to meet everyone. They were introduced to the other geese who crowded around like nosy relatives, admiring the offspring. Then the Muscovy ducks, B.D. and Buddy were shown the babies (at a distance). With their penchant for swallowing mice whole like slurping spagetti, I was wary of them around the goslings, but they kept their distance and Momma made sure they knew just where the line was they were to tow.

They next visited the horse in the field who ignored them entirely and probably didn't even see them, then it was off to the Embden geese to parade the tykes there. These little goslings sure do a lot of walking!

I did a sketch of the second pair of geese sitting under a tree trying to avoid babysitting duties this morning. Done in my Moleskine with pen and ink, graphitint and wash.

Opportunity

I took Friday off from work to do some things that I wanted to do instead of working around what others want. Guess what? It didn't work. I still ended up doing everything EXCEPT what I wanted to do.

Well, not entirely. I did manage to get in a few hours of sketching, starting at 6am when I woke and couldn't go back to sleep. Early mornings are good for me for drawing. I enjoy the silence of that time of day when the world is just waking up. Living in the country, the sounds of morning are natural, until humans get involved.

A friend visited yesterday, another artist who works in different ways than me and is in the learning phase - aren't we all? She had completed a drawing course that didn't give her what she wanted in terms of skills and 'tricks of the trade'. We talked for awhile and discussed opportunities to sell work and the concept of me starting a life class locally. There is nothing close by and the life class that exists is on weekdays so useless to me. I am considering the option of a small class for drawing from life. A simple clothed model and artists paying on a drop in basis, perhaps weekly for 2.5 or 3 hour sessions. On top of that the coordination of a sketchcrawl to explore various sections of St. John's or local areas. I will look into this and see what enthusiasm there is for these ideas. It seems if there isn't an opportunity, you have to create it for yourself.

Today I will try to recreate what was in my mind yesterday in terms of doing what I set out to do -some sketching in public. Wish me luck! For now, here is a sketch from yesterday morning - my computer bag sitting by the fireplace. The perspective of the slate floor horizontally is off and I have straightened it since. Its a sketch. They are never 100% what you want them to me, so I'm content. Completed on Strathmore sketchbook 5.5 8.5 with a Micron .005, derwent graphitint pencils and wash.

Technorati Tags: art, sketch, drawing, class, pen & ink, graphitint

Natural

We live in a crazed, speed-driven world, forcefed information through endless emails and phone calls and an overload of internet and television. We expect instant results in everything from food, availability of services or websites. We are bombarding our senses and I feel as if I'm on overload.

I long for a time when life is slower and I don't have to compromise my drawing or my life to acheive results for someone else. I want a natural life that lets my body dictate sleeping and waking. I want to feel the seasons on my skin, not be artificially controlled in an airless building. I want to taste foods that still have earth clinging to them and the force of nature still pulsing through them as I hold them in my hand. I want time to spend with people I care about without interruption of techology or other people. I want time to live my life as it is intended to be lived. I want it to be natural.

Today a little piece of nature presented itself in the barn. One of the Chinese geese has been sitting on eggs and they hatched. Three small goslings who shelter under her wing to seek protection and warmth. There is no interference from humans to handle them or show them how to eat, except to simply provide food and water. Instinctive behaviour, natural reaction. It is how life should be for all of us.

I am taking a day off work tomorrow to catch up with myself and do some things that I want. One is a search for a new book Art and Fear. This is a book about what it feels like to sit in your studio or classroom, at your wheel or keyboard, easel or camera, trying to do the work you need to do. It is about committing your future to your own hands, placing Free Will above predestination, choice above chance. It is about finding your own work.

An excerpt:

Today, more than it was however many years ago, art is hard because you have to keep after it so consistently. On so many different fronts. For so little external reward. Artists become veteran artists only by making peace not just with themselves, but with a huge range of issues. You have to find your work...

Finally, a sketch to end my day. I sat wondering what to draw then ended up with a 20 minute sketch of some shelves leading into the kitchen. The perspective isn't perfect, but neither am I. Note: Blogger doesn't want to upload my sketch so it will have to wait til tomorrow.

Technorati Tags: natural, gosling, sketch, art

Biker Bunny

Last night the rabbit I fondly call "Biker Bunny" came calling again. I call him that as he has a chunk missing from one ear, his turf wars perhaps. Anyway he turns up regularly but doesn't eat the flowers - yet. He stays still for ages eating or freezing in position if he hears something, making the perfect candidate for sketching.

Tonight I got my Derwent Graphitint pencils so I tried them on on the rabbit. They may take a little getting used to but I like the effect of them, even if they made the rabbit look a little bald at this point!

This took about 25 minutes and I finished up a few details after he'd scampered off.

I need to effectively render fur texture with this medium and am tempted to go over it with more pencil or touches of pen to indicate fur.

Blogger was down last night so I had to do without my 'fix'. It becomes a routine, writing here, writing to friends, but never a chore, always pure pleasure.

Technorati Tags: watercolor, graphitint, drawing, sketching, art, rabbit

Captured moments

A quick sketch allows me to capture a moment in time, similar to the way a camera does, but with a longer exposure time. Sketching more quickly provides training in putting down lines economically and removes hesitation, allowing me to become more relaxed in how I draw.

This is the barn waking up. The horse was cranky as the ducks were in her way. I couldn't figure out if she was going to bite them or set them up for a drop kick. Neither happened and they resolved that early morning tetchiness without coming to blows.

Technorati tags: sketching, moleskine, sketchbook, barn

Sketching

There is a new Drawing 102 class at Wet Canvas on sketching, led by Katherine Tyrell

I have admired Katherine's work for a long time and view her blog on a daily basis, gleaning information constantly. Katherine's blog is linked to mine on the right hand side of this page or through the link in this paragraph.

I will be reading the text of the sketching class and participating whenever I can during the next two weeks. Sketching comes more easily the more you practice and the skill of drawing under the scrutiny of the public grows also.

I did a couple of sketches tonight, but not live ones so they won't go into the new sketching class thread. These were more loosening up exercises, having been out of the loop for a few days due to work demands.

Animals and people always appeal to me, so are my first choice in drawings.


Technorati Tags: sketching, molelskine, art

Solitude

I've spent the last 5 days in a whirlwind of activity related to work. It has been brutal at times in terms of workload and time consumed. It has eaten away at any semblance of private life and removed 99% of my drawing time and a similar amount of my time to write this blog.

I am a solitary person by nature and enjoy time to myself to think and draw and refocus my thoughts about life and work and people. The constant pace and unceasing numbers of people around me, demanding my attention, really wear me down. By yesterday, I could feel my mind and body reacting in a non positive way to the stress of constant demands. I found my ability to concentrate on people or conversations diminishing, along with my patience.

It didn't help that the weather has been miserable for a week and the one bright sunny day was the one that I was in 12 hour meetings so saw the sun only through a window and felt it briefly on my skin in a lunchtime quest for fresh air. Today, its the same dull grey sky. I can really see how being deprived of light depresses the mind and creates weight to the body. It will have to change eventually, just soon I hope!

I have dropped my friend at the airport at 6am this morning (it seems as if every day has started at 5am for the last week) and have come to work to make a start on the work coming out of these last few days while its quiet. I'll go home early and try to catch up on some drawing, some sleep and some solitude.


Technorati tags: solitude, art, drawing,

Pricing your work

This is a pen and ink stipple drawing that I started months ago but didn't get around to completing. Several people have seen it and were interested in it, asking what I would charge for it. I really don't know. I have ball park figures for art, and use a sort of size/medium formula, working on a per square inch in most instances. However, I always wonder if that is the correct way, if I'm charging enough or too much

What to charge for art is a constant question for many artists. You don't want to undersell yourself, but you also need to ensure that you don't price yourself out of the local market that you are targeting.

From The Painter's Keys a 'Ten Commandments of Pricing' caused a lot of discussion.

Artists young and old--particularly those who have the intention of staying in the game--ought to strategize for the big picture and honour their strategy with Biblical tenacity. Here are the Ten Commandments of art pricing:

Thou shalt start out cheap.
Thou shalt publish thy prices.
Thou shalt raise thy prices regularly and a little.
Thou shalt not lower thy prices.
Thou shalt not have one price for Sam and another for Joe.
Thou shalt not price by talent or time taken, but by size.
Thou shalt not easily discount thy prices.
Thou shalt lay control on thy agents and dealers.
Thou shalt deal with those who will honour thee.
Thou shalt end up expensive.

I did a little research and found a couple of links that are a good jumping off place for further reading and thinking.

From Self Representing Artists, another view on pricing.

Alan Bamburger's article on Pricing Art Realistically

There are as many articles and discussion on pricing as there are pieces of art.

Technorati Tags: pricing your art, drawing

Meetings

A while back I tried my hand at a miniature drawing. So many people were talking about ACEOs (art cards, editions and originals)that I thought I'd see if I could work on this scale and produce something recognizable. Here it is.

These days are filled with meetings, but never the ones that I want with the people that I want to meet. Instead I am confined to rooms discussing programming and marketing and processes and policy - all things that have their uses but my mind would rather float into the past or future of my memories or imagination.

A colleague is in town from Ottawa and is staying at my house. We get along well, almost too well at times, so work isn't the chore that it could be. We connect on a different level, that is rare, but when it does happen, it is to be treasured, either in life or work. The next few days will be a whirlwind of meetings and activity until Monday takes her away again and brings back a semblance of normality to life once more.

Blogger has been difficult the last couple of days and won't load images, so tonight's may have to wait for another time. However, I will try. There have been similar problems with Blogger in the past and it becomes frustrating when you're trying to update regularly. Perhaps its time to consider Plan 'B' - a back up blog site in case this one decides to take a nosedive.

Also, the ocnsideration of archiving all those posts, photos and drawings. I haven't really considered it til now. What do I do with them? I write as the mood takes me and I don't save copies so I am trusting the ether to ensure that my words are always there and available. I should not be so naieve and back them up I believe.

Technorati tags: meetings, friends, backup

Moving day

This week has been a time for geese to change over from winter to summer housing. First to go are the Embden geese. They've been moved to an enclosure in the old paddock and I watched them almost smile as they felt sun on their heads and soft grass at their feet. They soon discovered that if you pressed hard enough, you could squeeze through the livestock fencing - and squeeze back in again. Animals always teach me something. This time, to buy more chicken wire. I left them chuckling to themselves and preening. Now at dusk will be the challenge to see if they will go into their new goose pen for the night. Geese are usually big enough and ferocious enough to ward off predators, but there are some predators that are a challenge such as mink or coyotes that have killed birds in the past. So into their little house they'll go - with coaxing if necessary!

The Chinese brown geese sauntered past the Embden's pen, taunting them and exposing their own freedom. Little do they know that they'll be enclosed soon too. At last, no more battles with me pretending to be a large goose challenging their initial charges. Adult geese really can be horrible...lovely to look at, but horrible.

Lady, the quarter horse, has passed her probation at the riding stable with flying colours and will be purchased by the stable. She fitted in so well that she won first place in an event at the horse trials this past weekend. Lady responds so well to young people and not so well to adult males so she's in her element with little girls flocking around her, pampering her at every turn. The Princess has found a good place to live. Here she is, on mowing duty, in the front garden.

Now Kit remains. There is someone interested in her, or was. He'll be contacted and we'll see if that pans out. If not, she'll stay where she is and we'll find a companion animal for her, as horses really do need company.

Technorati Tags: animals, geese, horses, drawing, sketch

Grow your own pharmacy

I thought I'd share a little of how I became a herbalist and also a little knowledge of some simple herbs that are often overlooked as simply 'weeds'. The article is one I wrote several years ago for an Atlantic gardening magazine. I found the piece the other day and it brought back memories. Click on the image to enlarge it for reading.

Its quite likely that most people are doing this already without even knowing it. Even if you don't have a single plant growing in your garden, its pretty likely that you have a dandelion or two growing in your lawn. Dandelions (Taraxacum officinale) are the much maligned plant of gardens and people are hell bent on destroying them. Yes they multiply like rabbits at a puff of wind, but there are also many things about dandelions that should make you think twice before digging it up, poisoning it or chopping it to pieces with the lawnmower.

Dandelion root and leaf are extremely bitter and are effective in promoting liver function. Dandelion tincture or a salad with young dandelion leaves increase bile production, which in turn, assists with the digestive processing of fat.

If there was one herb that I could choose to take on a journey to the far flung planet of X, it would be dandelion. Its versatility and healing powers make it the king of medicinal and culinary herbs.

Plantain, that broad-leafed plant found in wasteland, fields and lawns, is the layman's antidote to insect stings. The leaves, when crushed or bruised and placed on the sting, will relieve pain and reduce inflammation. Plantain is also great for disinfecting and cleaning minor cuts and scrapes.

Chickweed grows rapidly, winding its way round plants in flowerbed and vegetable gardens. We pull it out by the handful and toss it on the compost heap. But chickweed is an extremely valuable plant. An infusion of chickweed will assist with bronchial coughs and acts as an effective skin wash for eczema and other skin disorders.

The flower bed provides another source of plant medicine. Calendula, that beautiful orange or yellow member of the marigold family is a disinfectant and wound healer. It can treat common cuts and scrapes, athlete's foot and ringworm with antibacterial and antifungal properties. Thyme is a strong antiseptic and expectorant and can help clear a congestive cough. One teaspoon of thyme in a cup of boiling water, drunk two or three times a day while you are sick or it can be used as part of a steam inhalant mix to help reduce congestion.

A good starter kit for herbal home remedies includes many common plants found in your own garden or easily obtained form a nursery or herbalist. Safe use of home remedies is assured by using only herbs that are recommended and never collecting or growing your own herbs unless you are certain of their identification. Always stick to recommended doses. Self-diagnosis and medication can be safe if simple rules are followed. More than 90 percent of all illnesses taken to doctors are simple conditions that can be treated at home - just look at the 'over the counter' drugs available at your local pharmacy to treat nearly any symptom you can present. Coughs, colds, indigestion, muscular aches and pains, headache, insomnia, insect bites, eczema and so on. All these can be treated with herbs.

Technorati tags: herbalist, medicinal herbs, dandelion, gardens

Ramblings and rabbits

I've had a very busy day at work with issues coming at me from all sides and never enough of me to go around. So tonight I'm a bit brain tired and there seems little energy left in me to write espressively. I drew a little throughout moments in my day as I find it relaxing. A little early morning with my coffee, a few minutes around lunchtime and tonight during a quiet moment. Then I tune out the television set that seems to be always in the background and lose myself in the world of pencil strokes.

I couldn't resist drawing the little (well rather large actually) rabbit that visited the garden yesterday. I'm still tinkering with rendering fur effectively. I envy those who can produce the soft likeness of fur through pencil, pen or paint. It is something I strive for. I do it in part, having more of an overall feeling of fur than a detailed view of each hair that makes up the coat. I think this is why I prefere drawing shorthaired animals.

From Chad Everett's Don't Back Down blog I found the following snippet of information:

"Stumbled across this link somewhere. It uses the Technorati API, and calculates the value of your blog, based on the value of links, according to the AOL purchase of Weblogs, Inc. in October of 2005."

Not able to resist pushing a button, I had to find out. Your blog, illustratedlife.blogspot.com, is worth $18,629.82, according to the script.

Offers anyone??

Technorati tags: art, drawing, graphite, moleskine, rabbit

Landscapes

Today I explored the boundaries of another 8 acres of land that was just purchased - bringing the total amount of land to 15.5 acres. I walked the periphery initally then found a cut line through the woods that was used to mark the boundary by the surveyor.

I had brought my camera with me and found some interesting fodder for drawing. Part of the land borders on bog so the trees in that area are shallow rooted and many dying. Its a natural part of life in the forest and always leaves remarkable landscapes in its wake. This old stump was covered with moss and lichen and fungi and the colours were just amazing, also the texture.

Fallen trees blocked the way and make walking very difficult (how do moose move so swiftly through even denser wooded areas??). I love their textures and forms and on a warmer day I will be back to capture some of these elements in my sketchbook.

Back at the house, I glanced out of the dining room window and there on the edge of the garden was a wild rabbit. I have a love/hate relationship with rabbits. They are beautiful creatures, but very destructive in the garden and greenhouse, eating bark off tress in winter and destroying young crops in the garden. I still couldn't resist a few photos of this one who sat stock still as if posing for me, probably he caught my movement and froze on the spot.

Technorati Tags: landscape, trees, rabbits