Eyes

There is something about drawing eyes that I can't resist. I haven't analysed why I enjoy drawing them so much. Creating that glassy, shiny orb that reflects light and shadow,with even changing colour and reflections attracts me continually.

When I draw a person or animal, the first thing that I start with are the eyes. If I can get them right, then the rest flows from there.

Today I came across a reference that I had of a lemur. They are wonderful, peculiar animals that to me look like a cross between a monkey and a dog. Delicate faces and the most amazing eyes.

The rest is history. I started the sketch in my Moleskine and wish now that I'd done it on some different paper as I liked the eyes. I think I will draw the lemur again and this time use colour. The animal itself is black and white with the most amazing golden eyes.


Technorati tags: art, drawing, moleskine, lemur

Portrait update

I have transferred the drawing that I am doing in Al Jone's portrait class and redone it on Stonehenge paper. The process using derwent drawing pencils is so much quicker, as you lay down tone and colour so much more quickly than in graphite.

The sepia-like quality of the finished portraits is very appealing and provide a warm tone and unique finish.

I will do another portrait in this medium, hopefully of my daughter. Keep watching this space!

Technorati tags: art, drawing, portrait, derwent drawing pencil

Perceived difficulty

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” Mark Twain

There are many things in life that we think are too difficult to tackle and as a result we don't try them. We have the argument in our head that always talks us out of trying something that looks difficult. And in doing so, we rob ourselves of an opportunity to grow and learn and enjoy.

Drawing glass is one of those perceived difficulties.

We see all those little slivers of light and shade and we think its too complex to even try. But it isn't. We simply believe that it is without trying to disprove our own self doubt.

With many things that initially look difficult, when we break them down into smaller, more manageable pieces they become easily acheivable. The mind is a wonderful thing to use. Push it to its limits, let creativity soar, let your mind and eyes see and translate that to paper and canvas.

There are Embden geese on the farm. These are the classic geese, the 'Mother Goose' geese of fairy tales and are beautiful birds with pale blue eyes, snowy white feathers and bright orange beaks and feet. They are housed in the meadow for the summer and love the grass and sun as well as keep the horse company even if they don't enjoy the company as much as Kit does.

Finally, part of dinner tonight. Fresh tomatoes. I love these tiny sweet ones in salads. I eat them like candy, they're irresistable.

Technorati tags: art, drawing, perceived difficulty, glass

Drawing skills. Inherited or inspired?

Mark Meyer says,

A talent or skill for drawing is not really inherited or divinely inspired; it is acquired like most other skills (driving and typing) by learning, practice, and experience.No matter what you think of your overall artistic abilities, you can learn to draw what you see and improve your drawing skills throughout your life. Once you acquire the basic techniques for drawing accurately and properly, you can use those tools creatively to develop an individual artistic vision to express or represent your unique viewof things. In reality, most any art form you may employ (painting, sculpting, installation) ultimately is based on drawing and compositional skills.


Drawing has been with us at least since early humans drew pictograms on cave walls, and remains a vital mode of artistic expression today, constantly evolving.Although we usually think of drawing as a way of portraying what we see accurately and realistically, it can certainly also depict imaginary, abstract, and emotional realms that cannot be normally “seen”, and so can range widely between the objective and subjective levels of our world-views.By learning the basic techniques of drawing, and through hard work and persistence, we can become better able to artistically explore and express how we envision things in unique ways.

I remember drawing and colouring as a favourite activity as a child. Crayons, pencils, paints were hoarded in my room and paper a prized possesion. No one in my immediate family was an artist, though my father did have some artistic talent and interest but never pursued it directly. A great aunt I am told used to draw well, but none of her drawings are still in existance that I know of and she is dead now,with family living in the USA, who I don't know very well.

Does technology weaken drawing skills?

Students are more comfortable manipulating computer graphics than doodling, drafting and drawing with pen on paper, and this has created a sharp decline in drawing skills in recent years, teachers say.

Additionally, tech-savvy students simply lack the initiative and persistence developed by drawing, resulting in uninspired work--at least work on paper.

"I see an increasing passivity on the part of students," says Marc Treib, a University of California, Berkeley architecture professor who hosted a recent conference on the state of drawing in an electronic age.

The Mechanics of Drawing looks at the technical aspect of drawing through art instruction.

A certain amount of drawing is mechanical in nature; that is, it is done more on the conscious level, and even in the left, or analytical, side of the brain. Therefore, this part is a little easier and faster to learn, because it consists of practical, more easily comprehended steps. And it involves manual dexterity, eye/hand coordination, and simple practice; and is more objective, less subjective. It comes in handy for those who are interested mainly in accurate depictions of people and objects - likeness, correct proportions, and other quantitative measurements.

The drawing here is a draft of a portrait to be completed for a class. The draft gives me a chance to experiment on inexpensive paper and get a feel for how the pencils handle and to correct mistakes and recognize the plan I need for the main drawing that I will complete on Stonehenge paper. I strongly believe that drawing skills are latent in everyone. They just need to be brought to the surface, encouraged and used constantly to be effective.

Technorat tags: art, drawing, drawing skills, derwent drawing pencils

Experiments

I have been doing some practice pieces with a fairly new medium - to me at least. I have used Derwent Drawing pencils previously, and have created a self portrait with them last month, but I am no master with them, that's for sure.

So when Al Jones was going to provide some help in a portrait class using Derwents, I had to join in. Over the next couple of weeks a portrait or two will evolve I hope. Meanwhile, I'll keep practicing.



Meanwhile, down on the farm...hot humid days continue to sap energy and make for cranky animals. Everyone seems to be snapping at each other this evening or at other animals. Kit is pacing the fence of the field, waiting to come in for sweet feed and Angelo is vying for leadership of the geese. That bird is sooooooo vocal. He just keeps on making the same noise over and over while strutting around trying to show oneupmanship over the other male goose.

Sometimes it comes to blows, but they are shortlived and finish with Angelo running back to the female, flapping his wings and shouting about how brave he was and how he really showed the other guy who was boss. Sigh. I think Lucy, the female sighs too at this little ritual and says 'don't pay attention to your father' to the goslings.

There are a lot of birds around this summer and this morning a young woodpecker posed on the old bird feeder. It is a Northern Flicker and has just gorgeous colours. I hear them more than see them usually, drumming on trees or metal electricity transformers sometimes which I guess provide a much louder noise. One morning I was woken to one drumming on the side of the house!

Technorati tags: art, drawing, derwent drawing pencils, geese, northern flicker

A week later

On Sundays I have been taking photos of the goslings as a record of their growth. This week is no exception and they are now 7 weeks old. Their are several differences in just a week. The stripe on their heads and down their neck has suddenly appeared as well as the growth of feathers, giving them a scruffy, ruffled appearance. Its amazing just how much they have grown in such a short time. They are rapidly catching up on the adults in size. And all on grass and weeds...well I guess I have to count the stolen strawberries, peas and green beans too that they stuff down in the field when no one is looking.

I have made a start on a coloured pencil drawing - the daunting 'multicoloured white' piece. I've put about 3 hours into it so far and its approaching the ugly stage. Its that point where minimal layers are on the paper and the true blending of colours hasn't yet occured. Its at this point that it becomes very discouraging and I have to work hard to get past that and visualize the finished product.

The other project this weekend are cat images. One in watercolour, a black cat. Black is notorious difficult to capture as the highlights are really all that you see in the animal. The other is a sketch with Derwent Drawing pencils of a grey tabby. I will redo the last one as a larger drawing as the sketch isn't quite as I want it and the measurements of the head are off a bit.

Technorati tags: art, sketch, coloured pencil, watercolour, goslings, cats

Water babies & heirlooms

With geese wandering around loose, its a bit like having small dogs in terms of clean up after them. So every few days the driveway needs to be hosed down. The ducks LOVE this task and either stand in the spray or spend their time foraging noisily for uncovered bugs in the water that leaks into the grassy hollows.

Today, this Pekin stood like a little soldier under the spray from the hose, unflinching, enjoying the cooling shower. They are such beautiful ducks, so white and such little chatterboxes. They are so amusing to have around.

While shooing them out of the flower bed, I discovered the makings of a nest that one of the ducks had prepared. Last night when it was time for the geese to go into the barn, one female couldn't be found. Her mate, called and called to her but she was nowhere to be seen. She was finally discovered sitting on a nest of six eggs under the trees, tucked into an inaccessible nook and she wasn't going to be moved. About 10 o'clock last night she appeared under the living room window, calling loudly and wanting to go in. Obviously, the good idea in the early evening sun turned into something not so appealing later at night with darkness and strange sounds spooking her. Today, she abandoned the nest.

There are some heirloom tomatoes growing in the greenhouse called Green Zebra. When ripe they will be a golden colour with deep green stripes. It is interesting to grow the old varieties of vegetables. They are hardier and less prone to disease and the problems that new hybrid vegetables have. I also like the history behind them, knowing that some varieties stretch back over hundreds of years in their ancestry and that I am continuing to keep their legacy alive.

This sketch is of some of the unripe green zebras growing still. I look forward to tasting them soon.

Technorati Tags: Pekin ducks, water, tomatoes, heirloom, drawing, watercolour

Interpretation

There is a theory that art should have meaning and should say something to the viewer. It should represent the artist's thoughts and emotions and they should translate into colour, light and shape. And sometimes it does do that, but more often than not, an image is simply that. It is a play of light and shadow that captures the artist's imagination or interest or it is a subject that becomes interesting once the drawing or painting process begins and it moves forward to completion. However, the Pareto Principle applies in most cases of art and 80% of art ends up relgated to the back of a storage drawer or is trashed.

In the last week, I have been the exception to Pareto's Principle and most things that I have produced I have liked. Not liked to the extent that I would put them up for sale or frame them all, but like to the extent that I don't want to hide them from others view or to tear them into a thousand pieces in frustration.

One bad drawing or painting by the artist's own standards can be soul destroying and even stifle creativity. Art and fear raise their heads again and seed the artist with self doubt of ability, self esteem and the future.

I believe that having spent the last two weeks sketching from life has helped my drawing ability and from there my confidence to put down strokes and make decisions on colour and form that were a bit rusty previously. Either that or its simply luck. I preer to believe the former scientific priniciple.

I started a watercolour of my husband the other night. He never understands the art process or why I do it and critiques what he doesn't understand. I'm about half way through this painting and have more layers to add to deepen tone and bring it to life. Its at the point where it will become a lot better or I will screw it up entirely. I'm building my portfolio of portrats so that I can start marketing them and look for some commissions.

I wandered in the greenhouse and field this morning, taking some photos of the growth stages of various vegetables. Here is what I call the 'salad bar'. There are about 8 varieties of lettuces and greens growing. I go out each day and cut a few for use in salads and top it up with cucumbers and tomotoes from the greenhouse as well as some fresh basil leaves that is growing especially well this year. They are grown in cut down chicken crates and put in a fenced in area away from marauding geese,ducks, rabbits and horses!

There will also be a bumper crop of grapes by the look of the bunches swelling in size now. There are white seedless grapes for eating and a lovely purple Pinot Noir grape for wine making. They too have really spread on both ends of the greenhouse and I anticipate in excess of 60lbs of fruit + from each of the three vines this year.

Everything is grown organically which is harder work but pays off in the end with taste and quality.

Technorati Tags: art
, watercolour, portrait, lettuce, grapes,

Multicoloured white

Definition from Wikipedia.org: "White is a color, (more accurately it contains all the colors of the visible spectrum and is sometimes described as an achromatic color—black is the absence of color) that has high brightness but zero hue. The impression of white light can be created by mixing (via a process called "additive mixing") appropriate intensities of the primary color spectrum: red, green and blue."

There is a coloured pencil project available in Wet Canvas. The project is about "painting white without using grays". I am in the process of deciding on a reference to use for this project. I enjoyed coloured pencils and learned a lot in Cindy's class last winter. I've had a little break from cp's and its about time I got back into them again. They are time consuming to build the colours, but the time is well worth spending for the end result. Here is one of the references that I am considering using for this project. Its an image of my daughter and me, sitting on the patio in very strong light. I'm not sure if the image is 'white' enough. I need the image to say 'white' immediately. The other option of a flower image may be more suitable. But if there's one thing I hate drawing or painting, its flowers. I don't know why, but they never appeal to me. Yes, they look beautiful, but the thought of drawing them makes my creative side shut down entirely.

I have started on the second scavenger hunt, as the first finished with a clear winner. It wasn't me. I'm way to slow to even be in the running these days. But I enjoy the process and drawing from life forces me to observe closely those simple day to day items that I would often overlook in favour of something more exotic. Whoever thought I'd enjoy drawing the mess on the kitchen counter after supper!

Here are a couple of the drawings completed so far, including the kitchen counter tonight which I did in pen and ink in my Moleskine. I'm stingy using the Moleskine as I've nearly filled it. I have ordered another. Its crazy, I can never get them in Canada, so this one is coming from California. Borderless shopping. Whatever works. Other sketches here include my keys that I lug around daily like the jailor, and my nose. Its quite disconcerting to draw a nose that's disembodied.



The kitchen scene was done in my Moleskine sketchbook with pen and ink, and no underdrawing in pencil. The elipse on the bowl isn't wonky, its an eggshaped bowl (and weighs a ton!).

Technorati Tags: sketch, white, drawing, scavenger hunt, moleskine

Life cycles

The little chick that I nestled in my hand 8 weeks ago is now a large bird and ready tomorrow to travel with its pen mates to King's, the processor. When we raised the first batch of broilers a few years ago, I treated them more as pets. I talked to them, I let them out of their pens to play each day and I felt horrible when they went to the processor. I managed to cook the chickens but couldn't eat them. My memories of them were too emotional. But I got past that point and came to terms with their role in life and how to deal with it.

I have to admit that I still am not crazy about the thought of them going off and I do go in with them the night before and tell them I'm sorry (yes, I know, I'm a wuss). They come back, looking like supermarket chickens and I know they have had good lives and were treated well, fed well, and humanely killed. I can't offer them more than that in this life cycle.

I took this photo of the last group of chickens loaded into crates on their way to the processor. They have space, light, air and are calm and relaxed. I believe if the public knew the facts behind their average chicken dinner produced on a large commercial chicken rearing facility, they may reconsider who they buy them from. And the same applies to eggs. But I won't go into my rant about animal rights and humane treatment. If you want that argument, email me.

Pastel is not something that I'm good at drawing with. I see artists who produce amazing pieces with it and I can only wonder at the process and muddle along with childlike colours of my own. I loved the colours in this piece - the blues and yellows speak of summer. Unfortunately, the photo of the piece didn't come out well and I haven't done a scan of it yet.

Tags: broilers, chicks, chickens, pastel, drawing

Birds, birds, birds

I have missed my Sunday update of the goslings progress into the world. They are about 6 weeks old now and nearly half the size of the adults. Here is the first image of them taken in the barn just after hatching. And again at 2.5 weeks old. Here is last week's image of them. Their feathers are just starting to come in and they look like gangly teenagers, growing into their bodies. The funny thing is that you expect them to have the voice of an adult almost as they are so large. Instead, they have the same little baby peeping voices that they did as hatchlings. It makes me laugh each time I hear them. The photo was taken on Sunday, I just haven't had time to get it uploaded til today. Its been one of those weeks.

Here they are striding across the yard with Lucy, their mother. The goslings don't have names as of yet, but should. They are very similar in looks, one being just a little more yellow than the other. Its near impossible for me to tell the sex of them just by looking at them at this stage. That usually happens as they get older and the male geese are a little larger with deeper voices than the females and in the case of this breed, Chinese brown geese, by the knob on their head as they get older.

Four of the stock geese were sold and travelled to King's Point in Western Newfoundland. It was a six hour drive to transport them there, but the man who bought them did telephone and report that they made the journey unscathed, if not a little pissed off at the indignity of being in a crate for so long.

He asked if we wanted four peachicks. I haven't had any experience with peacocks personally, but remember people that I knew in England having them wandering estates for show. They are magnificent birds - at least the males - but they are also very noisy with piercing calls. Just as well we don't have neighbours. I'm still mulling over whether I want peachicks or not.

One of the reference images for the All Media Art Event was a peacock. I love the brilliant turquoise irridescence of the feathers and the elegance of the bird, so I had to paint it. Watercolour in my sketchbook.


Technorati tags: goslings, geese, chinese brown geese, peacock, peachicks, art, watercolour

Water & rocks

"If you want to know how much I love you, count the waves."

Waves are endless and constant. They ebb and flow no matter what the weather or the season. Sometimes they are hidden under ice or blurred with fog or snow, but they are always present. They are timeless and ancient, mysterious and beautiful.

Living on an island and having the ocean within sight is something I am never really accustomed to, even though I live near the ocean and have it within my sight as I drive to work, when I drive home, and throughout the day when I go about town on business. It is always there in some form, perhaps hidden by everyday life, but always there, moving, swaying to an age old dance. Each time I see the expanse of water stretching into the horizon, I am in awe of its beauty, strength and power. And I am drawn to it, fascinated and inspired by it.

Yesterday, I wandered on Middle Cove beach and without thinking bent to find stones ground smooth by the waves over time and coaxed to reveal their secrets of lines and colour. Wet and cool in my hand, they glistened and felt as if they were alive and telling their story of deep cold water, small fish, giant whales and storms. Those pebbles became a drawing, partially to complete a promised task, partially because there was no choice but to capture them on paper.

The ocean made me do it.

Technorati tags: ocean, drawing, Middle Cove, water, waves, beach

Who am I?

Since the Renaissance, artists have used self-portraits to answer the basic question, Who am I? A mirror or a photograph can tell a person what he or she looks like, but that outer image rarely reflects the whole self. Self-portraiture asks artists to think carefully about personality, character, mood, and physical appearance in order to make decisions about how to represent themselves

Here are some practical reasons why artists make self-portraits:

They get a model who is always available and works for free.
Self-portraits are a good way for artists to practice representing different expressions and moods.
Self-portraits advertise an artist's skill. A potential customer can compare the image in the self-portrait to the actual person and decide on the spot to hire the artist—or not!
Self-portraits live on. They preserve memories and let the artist leave his or her image behind—a way of fulfilling the human quest for immortality.

The National Portrait Gallery had a wonderful exhibition this year, this major exhibition brings together a painted self-portrait by 56 of the world's greatest artists from 1433 right up to the present day, including 14 by women painters. Works by artists renowned for their self-portraits such as Rembrandt, van Gogh, Kahlo and Bacon will be included alongside works by less well-known artists such as Pieter van Laer, Johannes Gumpp and Hans Thoma, whose self-portraits are of exceptional quality and interest. The international range of artists represented includes Carracci, Velázquez, Hogarth, Kauffmann, Courbet, Warhol, Hopper, and Freud.


The Self-Portraits of Albrecht Dürer

Rembrandt's Self Portraits The debate over why Rembrandt made nearly ninety self-portraits continues, but the first exhibition devoted to these works reveals a profound forty-year exploration of what it is to be human.

The portrait above is my own self portrait, done for a challenge in a thread in Wet Canvas. I have done a few sp's in the last couple of months and each one is unique and different. Each one isi a learning experience and a legacy for the future.

Technorati Tags: self portrait, watercolour, art

Memories, technology and trivia

Everytime I draw something, I discover something about myself or I unearth a memory that has lain beneath the surface of everyday thinking.

Memories are a collection of images, sounds, colours,sensation that can be stored untouched for years, then a trigger lifts them from their dusty cabinet and they shine again and become new once more.

The bear in this drawing is known as 'Boston Bear'. My daughter was offered a job in Boston before she graduated university. She refused it, wanting something in Canada instead. The prof she was doing research with at the time gave her the bear when she initially learned of the American job opportunity. Hence the name. Another memory for storage and today it was revitalized.


Now for something completely different...as Monty Python used to say.

Imagine walking into a department store or any big box store, and while browsing an aisle you find a display where packages hang; which, at first glance, seem to contain large action figures. Upon closer inspection, you realize they are actually bizarre, altered, bipedal mammals sealed in a plastic bubble where they uneasily rest in some kind of induced hibernation.

A series of glowing and beeping heart monitors on the packages gives a hint that they are alive. The rising and falling of their chests as well as their occasional twitching, shaking and clawing, albeit limited by the tie-wraps, which keep them in place, confirms the life of these creatures. They are there, ready to take home and add to your life as the next entertainment gadget; bioengineered creatures, mass-produced, and pre-packaged for your convenience.

Adam Brandejs, a Canadian artist has created a controversial 'pet' that people are clamouring to buy. They are similar to some works by Australian artist Patricia Piccinini.

For the brave, check out the GenPet website. Its bizarre!

Want to spill your guts and have no one to tell? Let it all out at PostSecret. You'll laugh or cry, or both. But you'll know that others are in the same boat too. Frank Warren, the owner of the blog, says he has had nearly 30,000 postcard secrets sent to him in the post, with hundreds of new ones being sent each week.

Technorati tags; art, GenPets, drawing, sketch, teddy bear, secrets

Vlogging

When you can't sleep and dawn is breaking over the barn and the sky is tinged with colour and drama, what can you do but photograph it or paint it? The camera was more within my capabilities at 5am.

It was inevitable: Bloggers who previously wrote endlessly about everything from politics to tech tips to how to fry an egg on a hot sidewalk can now take their commentary, advice and random experiments to the next level by filming and broadcasting their work, thanks to the latest web trend -- video blogging.

Video blogs -- also known by their shorter, clunkier name, vlogs -- are blogs that primarily feature video shorts instead of text.

So said this article: Blogging + Video = Vlogging.

Will it ever take the place of art or writing? I doubt it. It has a place and a story to tell, but I can't see it posing a threat to the classics and reliability of pen or brush to paper. Here is a sample of vlogging and art. I am constantly on the lookout for new ways to communicate art and ideas. This may be part of the process and I will examine more thoroughly when I have a chance.

I have produced another couple of drawings for the scavenger hunt at Artwork from Life. I'm at the halfway point just about and will tackle more tomorrow. I really need to put my mind into other projects. These sideshoots are like little tasty appetizers that I find difficult to resist. They are quick and simple and satisfy the side of me that needs instant gratification instead of weeks worth of work before a project is complete.



I WILL start my new illustrations and drawing. Tomorrow.

vlogging, dawn, sketching, art, goose eggs

Its the little things that count

Farms are places of discovery and this small farm is no exception. There are any number of things which capture my imagination and provide fuel for drawing. This image was one of them. The horse's sweet feed bucket one morning had a visitor. A young field mouse who had dropped in and couldn't get out.

I haven't got a love of mice, but I do find them appealing little creatures. Unfortunately the barn is full of them. Animal feed and seed plus shelter is a combination that is irresitable to them and there are constant traps being set to capture them. The crows benefit from the surfeit of mice, rather like a buffet, as they are thrown to the barn roof after being removed from the traps. Its a circle, the same as the 'arrangement' with the foxes to remove old eggs or chicken casualties from the big compost pile at the end of the field. Its amazing that something can be put ther and within half an hour or less it will disappear, as soon as you're not looking. Its a bit odd to think there are always eyes looking at you from the woods...

The old layers now have free access to the yard. Their egg laying capacity is diminishing along with shell quality, so they'll live out their time digging in the compost pile where they squeal in delight when they scratch up a worm and coo to themselves as they dispatch their find. Its a natural environment for them and their diet as freerange birds enhances the egg quality and the yolks are always a rich orange colour as a result.

I seem to be in a pen and ink rut right now and need to break out of it soon. I was always terrified of the medium but once I tried a class in it, I realized that it is a lot more forgiving that I originally thought. The addition of a colour wash to pen and ink brings it to a new dimension.

This is a drawing that I completed this week in that technique. Flowers aren't my forte, simply because I don't enjoy the complexity of leaves, petals, sepals and shading that makes me concentrate too much perhaps. Its one of those perceived difficulties that, once into it, it becomes a simpler task. However, I rarely tackle flowers, beautiful as they are.

Another addition to the scavenger hunt is a stack of books in my office. Lunchtime drawings provide a challenge and a break in my day when time permits. However, I may run out of things in my office to draw that fit the criteria for the hunt soon!

Technorati tags: mice, drawing, pen and wash, farm, freerange chickens

The hunt continues...

The scavenger hunt at Wet Canvas that is. I have 10 items created out of 26. I am definitely not leading the pack in this event,but I am enjoying the freedom of sketching from life. here are a couple of sketches that were done today. An african violet and a baseball cap.






I've had my sister and niece staying with me for a couple of days, so time has been limited in many ways. My niece is off to Europe tonight for a couple of weeks. One week in London, the other in Venice and Florence. Lucky girl...sigh. Its her graduation present. I threw in thirty pounds spending money as my graduation offering. She also managed to wangle my new fleece sweater off my back - literally -at the airport. Oh well, easy come, easy go. Perhaps it will come back as the well travelled sweater.

Technorati tags: scavenger hunt, art, drawing, sketch, travel

Sometimes we just need to smile

And today is one of those days.

I had the thought of trying to put some video of life on the farm on my blog and was investigating how to go about it. In the process of doing so, I came across this little snippet and it makes me smile each time I play it. So I thought I'd share the smile. Turn up your sound and watch the the antics. It is art in a true form. It is designed to bring the viewer to another place and creates its own story. Combined with another art form, of music, it turns into simple pleasure.


I am taking part in a scavenger hunt in Art from Life. Its a virtual scavenger hunt. I find 26 items and draw them, post them. The first person to draw all 26 items wins. So far, I've amassed 5 items. Here are a couple of them, my glasses, and an Inuit sculpture.





Technorati tags: video, art, sketch, drawing, smile

Lawnmowers and boxes

Kit, the remaining horse, works part time as a lawn mower. She's quite selective though about what she eats. She refuses mustard and ox daisies, preferring short sweet grass and clover. Luckily we seem to have plenty of both. Its what adds the green to the lawn. She eats constantly, greenery dripping from her mouth as she takes another mouthful before she's even swallowed the first. She does do a good job as a lawnmower however, if the ground is wet, she leaves hoof imprints, so she's only useful in more decorative areas when its dry.

She also had to be tethered in areas such as the garden as she likes to sample things like flowers and herbs. She's especially partially to huge mouthfuls of comfrey. I guess her bones will be strong, looking at the chunks she's taken out of the large plant in the back garden! She also loves chives. Have you ever been close to a horse who smells like she's just eaten a hamburger with the works?

Kit seems to have settled since Lady was sold but I catch her deep in thought sometimes and I wonder if she's a bit lonely. She often hangs out with the Embden geese, leaning over the fence of their enclosure and watching them or snorting horse breath on them. They aren't as partial to her as she is to them however.

I've taken the weekly photo of the goslings, now a month old and growing fast. They're taking on the characteristics of the adult geese and even trying a charge or two to show just how fierce they can be. They wish anyway...here they were a week ago.

I started a new drawing today - The Box People. It started out as the girl in the top left box, then seemed to go on from there. I'm not sure if I like the current composition as its too symmetrical. I still have to transfer it to my main paper and I think I will enlarge it as well.

I'm toying with the idea of going back to the original single girl in the box on a sheet about 20 x 30. On the other hand, I like the multiple images. If I had to chose, the girl on the top right would go. The pose is a little unnatural and the scale doesn't quite fit in with the rest. Ahhh decisions, decisions...

Technorati Tags: horse, lawnmower, art, drawing, boxes,