Medicinal herbs

I have been neglectful of my medicinal herbs since re-immersing myself in art. What was a glorious expanse of orderly patches and rows of plants has become somewhat tangled and overgrown with unwelcome volunteers springing up between the original plants.

I am a trained herbalist and had over 50 varieties of medicinal herbs which has now dwindled to about 25 with the pencil being more active than the garden fork these days. Of course that isn't counting the wild herbs that grow here such as dandelion, clover, yarrow, etc. The comfrey has exploded and I think I have enough to supply most of North America right now. Comfrey has deep roots that tend to be invasive. You can dig it out, but if you leave a small piece of root in the ground, a new plant will sprout from it.

Someone had run the tractor plow over the comfrey patch one autumn day to cut it back and chopped up and spread the roots....now there is a forest.

There is a giant group of elecampane plants sitting on the edge of the manure pile and loving it, if the size of the leaves and height of the plants are anything to go by. Its flowering now and is one of my favourite herbs. Its a wonderful plant for stubborn coughs and respiratory problems as well as aiding digestion and having antibacterial properties for topical use.

I think that during September I will try to incorporate my art and my herbs and try my hand at some botanical drawings of them. A herb a day for September? It may be ambitious but you never know til I try.

Stripes

Black and white or white and black? Its the age old question about zebras' colouring.

My thinking was, do I draw the stripes first and then start modeling the structure or create the form then add the stripes? As you can see I started with the stripes and am now adding some form to the body.

I've never drawn a zebra before. Its another of those perceived difficulties, like glass or water - or flowers in my case. All those stripes! Its methodical and very graphic but an interesting exercise.

"From the age of six I had a mania for drawing the shapes of things. When I was fifty I had published a universe of designs. but all I have done before the the age of seventy is not worth bothering with. At seventy five I'll have learned something of the pattern of nature, of animals, of plants, of trees, birds, fish and insects. When I am eighty you will see real progress. At ninety I shall have cut my way deeply into the mystery of life itself. At a hundred I shall be a marvelous artist. At a hundred and ten everything I create; a dot, a line, will jump to life as never before. To all of you who are going to live as long as I do, I promise to keep my word. I am writing this in my old age. I used to call myself Hokosai, but today I sign my self 'The Old Man Mad About Drawing.' " ~ Hokusai, The Drawings of Hokosai.

Watercolour

Mother Duck
11 x 14 watercolour
copyright Jeanette Jobson

I played with watercolour for the sketch done a few days ago. I still need more layers and of course the scan doesn't look anything like the original.

Watercolour works so beautifully sometimes and other times can turn into a muddy mess. Overworking is a big challenge and keep the colours pure and fresh. I'm using a 24 set of Winsor & Newton half pans that I bought too many years ago to remember, which shows just how frequently that I use watercolours.

Each time I use them I say that I need more practice and love the process even if I am a little impatient in the drying times. What I would like to do is take a watercolour class with a good teacher that would push me in the right direction and undo some of my bad habits in the medium.

ATC

I am doing an ATC swap with another artist, Jeanne Grant, even though I'm in the midst of a trade online right now. Jeanne mentioned that she'd like to to have something of mine, especially my cat Tripod, so I agreed and did this little card yesterday. It's watercolour and a touch of colour pencil. The blue ear? Well, let's call it artistic license and the unpredictability of watercolours.

Tripod likes to get involved when I draw, making it near impossible to do much when he is around, so I retreat to my studio upstairs and he gives me a little space then - well sometimes.

Jeanne has done a beautiful card for me in return of one of her dogs, Friday, as a puppy. It will be wonderful to receive this ATC and see it in real life.

I'm still practicing with working in such small sizes and do find it difficult to be accurate and realistic. I think the more practice the better for these, but I don't think I could constantly do them, the tiny size would become too frustrating and my need for space would overcome. However, it is an interesting challenge to see what I can fit into the 2.5 x 3.5 space.

Birds

I came across a photo while searching through my archives today and decided to draw it as another self portrait. I always seem to have some animal attached to me it seems and this is no different. A day old Pekin duckling that I couldn't resist picking up. They of course climb instinctively to the highest point and I hwas trying to keep hold of him to prevent him taking off over my shoulder.

I'll transfer the drawing and see what I can do with it in watercolour I think.

Birds seem to be everywhere lately and a hawk has been around for a few days trying its luck at having duck dinner. The hawk has taken a duck already this year but I was hoping he'd go away. Yesterday he was manoevering and obviously got confused by the living room window and crashed into it.

From the livingroom window you can see through to the dining room window and it sometimes confuses birds who think they can fly right on through. A small bird makes a very loud noise when it hits the window but a hawk hitting it really does get your attention. He hit it so hard that he left scratch marks on the window with his talons or beak. He flew off again zigzagging and likely has a headache today. Perhaps he won't come back for awhile.

The scratches on the window are pretty obvious, I just hope it hasn't broken the seal on the window. Does insurance cover damage by hawks? Ahhhh, country living....

Viewpoint

Four Artist Trading Cards - Summer
2.5 x 3.5, coloured pencil on Stonehenge
copyright Jeanette Jobson 2007

How an image appears to the viewer is all in the distance at which you view it.

In close range, especially in tiny images like these ATCs, colours and shapes are distinct strokes or values and the object somehow indistinct. But step back a few feet and everything pops into focus beautifully. This of course works with every drawing or painting. But some people have rituals about how they view a painting and I was trying to assess mine. I think I usually view from a distance, then try to get as close as possible, perhaps to absorb just how the artist as created the image. I want his or her technical secrets!

"What do you do when you look at a painting? I admit, I'd not consciously thought about it until I read Jonathan Jones' latest article The Guardian on a Rembrandt exhibit.

The first thing anyone has to do when looking at a painting is decide where to stand. Personally, I will circle, go away, come back; stand as close as allowed, then far away, then leave the room and return. It's something we never talk about, as if it were an embarrassing or boring distraction from the serious matters of form and content, but it's an important decision."

Artistic license

Each of us is an artist, capable of conceiving and creating a vision from the depths of our being.
(Dorothy Fadiman)

I came across a sketch that I did of my sister a couple of years ago that I later turned into a drawing. The back of the head is rather flat in this drawing, one of the reasons it never made it past the drawing table.

I try to be realistic in my portraits and also flatter the individual as much as possible but I don't know if I always succeed. Then again, the perception we have of ourselves is always different than how others see us.

A friend of mine years ago was a wonderful portrait painter and he loathed two types: middle aged women who still thought mentally that they were 20 and young girls who weren't attractive, but who were so in the eyes of their mothers. Roger was a realistic painter and a good one and he hated to compromise just to soothe someone's ego or flatter unrealistically.

It is difficult to find that easy balance of flattery and realism. There will always be tweaks and adjustments either requested by the sitter or seen through the eyes of the artist. Its a lifelong journey of discovery.

Killer

Lillian Jackson Braun:

Cats never strike a pose that isn't photogenic.

This is the face of a killer.

I left the house the other morning and Tripod wasn't in his usual spot waiting to come in, but over by a tree. He acknowledged me with a few meows but still wouldn't come over so I went over to see what he was up to. He had at what at first I thought was the biggest mouse that I'd ever seen.

It wasn't a mouse. It was a rabbit. Or the back half of a rabbit which was turning into breakfast. (it seems the front half was under my car) It was a young rabbit that was perhaps a quarter the size of the cat. I've seen him stalking things in the meadow but didn't actually think he'd be successful, even though he does catch mice in the barn from time to time.

Tripod's hunting instinct are obviously in good form even with his disability of 1.5 front legs.
Living in the wild for a couple of years must have honed his skills.

I'm waiting to see him dragging a moose up the driveway next.

Little things

Red & Purple Plums
Coloured pencil 2.5 x 3.5
copyright Jeanette Jobson 2007

I'm a moderator at Drawspace and try to spend some time there helping others learn and give back a bit to another online community when I can. Part of my role there is to provide projects to get people drawing and I thought an Artist Trading Card swap might fit the bill. It's well received so far and I've been roped into drawing as well - 10 cards in the next 30 days.

I haven't done much in the line of miniature drawings, but I have noticed the upsurge in their popularity, especially the ACEOs which are the same 2.5 x 3.5 cards but up for sale instead of trade. You can go to Ebay and see them by the hundreds in a variety of talents from very good to very bad and everywhere in between.

But these cards aren't for sale, just for trade to get people into the spirit of it. So tonight I've played with plums in coloured pencil in teeny tiny form and it feels strange to concentrate hard to fit an image into such a confined space. Its a start. Now nine more to go....

Memories

Junior
9 x 12 graphite
copyright Jeanette Jobson 2007

My mother phoned me tonight in a tizzy. She'd found an old diary from 1946 and sat up til 2am last night reading it and recalling the past, which for whatever reason, upset her.

So now she wants me to locate people who she knew in 1946 during the second World War. These were British and Canadian soldiers at the time who spent Christmas with her relatives and she was sent to amuse them or at least give them someone more their age to talk with. The fact that they were in uniform and probably way more interesting than the locals likely never entered into it....

Now thinking of someone you knew 61 years ago and actually FINDING someone you knew 61 years ago, let alone finding someone in a different country is pretty slim. An address in 1946 may now be the car park for a supermarket or hotel or the person may be dead as they would now be older than my mother and she is 83.

But she's not considering these options. Jeanette, Wonder Woman, will stop her life and find these people, as I really have nothing else to do, do I?

So if anyone knows of a David Sidney Gipson, last known address Rosemount, Tenterdon, Kent or a Richard A Bryant, Knowlton, Quebec, let me know. These gentlemen would be in their mid to late 80's if they are still alive.

Make an old woman happy and give me less stress.

Oils

Little Harbour East
Oils 5 x 7
copyright Jeanette Jobson

As I promised myself yesterday, I dug out my oil paints and tackled a fairly simple composition. I haven't used oils in nearly 20 years, but like riding a bike, I'm hoping it will come back to me.

I used to use oils extensively in animal and human portraiture but children and animals and lack of space got in the way so they were put in a storage box and didn't see the light of day too often as I used more dry mediums such as graphite or coloured pencil.

I still have some catching up to do with my oils, but loved the buttery texture and smell of them again. I realized too that I also need some new brushes! I managed with the ones I had, but some of those are equally old and a little stiff from lack of use to say the least.

The photo of the painting isn't great. It doesn't show the true colours and values as it looks completely different in real life. I am very frustrated with my camera lately. I think it may be time to invest in a new one. It can't all be my incompetence. Or can it? I hate tweaking images with graphic editors once I have them on the computer. I always think it detracts somewhat from the original.

Monochrome

I played with monochrome in this sketch. It was a Prismacolor green ochre pencil and I like the effect,even if the greenish tint doesn't show well in the scan, its more like sepia. I haven't worked much in underpaintings or grisaille, but this monochrome sketch had me thinking about the process and its advantages.

Of course all graphite pencil, which I mostly use, is monochrome, yet I find it a little odd to use the same process but in a different colour, even if the end result is the same. I guess its like knowing your mashed potatoes are white, not purple. I'm a creature of habit in many ways. I am pushing myself to explore new mediums and look at the world from a different perspective, but I do come back to what is familiar and comfortable to me in art - dry mediums mostly.

I do use watercolours and am will finding time to push out into oils - tomorrow, tomorrow! A pencil however feels most comfortable to me. I like the detail that I can achieve with it and I know inside out how it behaves, what pressure I need to apply for different values and how lead softness affects my image.

Tomorrow it will be oils. I have a lovely little photo taken in Little Harbour East by a friend of mine. This image is calling me and I think it will be my test piece for oils. I haven't used oils seriously for many years but have a pile of old and new tubes of paints waiting my attention in my studio.

Spanish Adventures

I've spent more time on the dog portrait adding some shading and detail to the fur. I can never get a good representational image from a scanner or photo. The original is much crisper and clearer. I'll continue to work on it over the weekend if I have a chance.

Many years ago I travelled to Spain with my oldest daughter who was just 18 months old then. I was by myself, travelling there to meet my husband who worked in the oil industry. He was on a seismic ship exploring for oil and gas off the coast of Spain, based out of Tarragona.

I was living in England at the time and ripe for an adventure, even with a small child, so I jumped at the chance to explore another country and culture. There were a few snags.

After arriving in Barcelona in early evening, I was supposed to have been met by either my husband or the company transportation, but I couldn't find either. A gentleman was on the same plane saw me looking obviously lost and came to my rescue. His Spanish was better than mine and we figured out that I was being met by a taxi driver. Who was looking for someone with two children. After a confusing conversation, I was packed into the taxi and sent on a journey from Barcelona to Tarragona.

It was dark by now and I didn't have a clue where I was going or with who and felt rather anxious. More so when we stopped at a crossing and a guard stopped next to the car. He wore a large cloak and carried a machine gun. Welcome to Spain.

The taxi driver tried to be kind but his English was a limited as my Spanish and we spent the couple of hours of the drive listening to a football match on radio - in Spanish while he kept offering cigarettes and I kept saying no. My daughter slept oblivious to this for most of the journey.

Finally reaching the hotel in Tarragona, I tried to explain that I had no money and it was all 'tomorrow, tomorrow'. Of course my husband wasn't back from sea by then so I had the next adventure of getting to my hotel room again with my poor Spanish and their poor English.
My husband finally did turn up around midnight, by which time I was sound asleep and half scared to death being woken.

The trip was an adventure and I'd do it again in a moment. Spain is a beautiful country with much to see and do. I loved the history of it. In Tarragona there are wonderful Roman ruins, an amazing aquaduct still standing and an amphitheatre. I remember sitting on the terrace of the amphitheatre and thinking of how others had sat there and watched plays, heard songs, saw the seasons pass so very many years ago. There is something quite amazing to ancient history. I love to be part of it, to hold it, sit on it, breathe it in. In 10,000 years what will the history of the 21st century be? Plastic and electronics? Tradespeople are rare, people don't work with their hands anymore. Where are the knitters, the stonemasons, the furniture makers, the artists? Are we a dying breed to be remembered only if we insist on making our mark on today's history?

Peach

This is another early morning drawing, no more than 20 minutes or so again done in pre-dawn to dawn. I am finishing a few drawings before moving on to one that I want to do. I tend to flit from one project to another lately and have to make myself complete things. Perhaps its the way my mind works lately. Everything moves in choppy blocks of time or processes and at work I find myself never having time to complete a task before demands of another take my attention away.

I had written a long post last night for this, but my internet server was acting up and although I saved it, it obviously didn't save so we have the shortened version or non existant version.. So tonight I will try again!

Ranier cherries

Ranier Cherries
Coloured Pencil 4 x 4 dark green cardstock
copyright Jeanette Jobson 2007

If one says "Red" – the name of color – and there are fifty people listening, it can be expected that there will be fifty reds in their minds. And one can be sure that all these reds will be very different. (Josef Albers)

I did this small drawing early this morning while watching the sun come up. My mind races early in the morning and I need to give it something to do otherwise it gets stuck on work and produces more stress. So I draw in the early morning if I wake then and find it is my most productive time of day.

I can see flaws in the drawing now. The cherries look more like grapes it seems, they are too round and symmetrical. Perhaps tomorrow morning will let me tweak it into a more presentable state.

Marketing your art

Because I'm a bit rusty in the art marketing business, I picked up a copy of the 2007 Artist's & Graphic Designer's Market book to give me a few insights and leads as to where to push my work and to get a feel for what is wanted out there in the world of art sales.

This book is the standard reference guide for emerging artists who want to establish a successful career in fine art, illustration, cartooning or graphic design. It contains up to date information for more than 1,900 art markets, including greeting card companies, magazines and book publishers, galleries, art fairs, ad agencies and more.

AGDM also has website where you can sign up for a free newsletter and access other features.

In glancing through the book, I've noticed that a lot of businesses with freelance design work needs require that the submitting artist or illustrator have knowledge of Illustrator, PageMaker, Photoshop and QuarkXPress software. Others just ask that initial work be provided in files compatible with some of these programs such as TIFF or EPS, so read the submission guidelines carefully before rushing into anything.

Payments vary considerably from business to business, ranging from payments of $10 - $20 for a black and white inside spot drawing to $1500 and up for a colour cover.

Check out the art work that the business already publishes and see if your style will be a good fit for this company. The genres and styles are as broad as there are companies and the competition seems to be fairly brisk. As with any venture, you may have to knock on a lot of doors before you get a response and response time can be very slow.

Heather Castles' blog provides some great tips for submitting work to greeting card companies.

There are so many ways of marketing your skills as an artist. I found this from 10 Essential Marketing Tips for Freelancers by Leo.

Blog. It’s been said many times before, but the blog is the new resume. If you don’t have a blog, learn how to start one up. And don’t just rant about politics and talk about your cat. Make your blog look professional, write about things that would look good to potential clients, and offer your services to others (with contact info, of course). If you are a designer, be sure that the design is clean and creative. If you are a photographer, the photos should knock them out. If you’re a writer, have only your best writing on your blog. In all cases, have a simple, clean layout with well-written words. If you’re not good at this yet, constantly learn and refine. Look at other professional blogs for inspiration, then tweak. Then edit some more.

Its food for thought, as is all the information in the AGDM book. This is another step towards meeting some of my goals that I made back in January. I'll keep you posted.

Metered electricity

I've done a little more work on Junior, starting the fur around his eye as well as the first layers on the mouth and nose. I can't resist doing the eyes first. I just can't leave them til later. Its like the cherry on top of a sundae, you have to eat it first.

Tonight the cable television wasn't working. This doesn't concern me unduly as there is little I watch on tv, except for Cornation Street. I think I've been watching this off and on for almost as long as its been on the air - 30 or 40 years! Oh dear, that does age me, doesn't it?

Being without cable reminded me of how I used to watch television and have power in Ireland and the UK in the days of my youth. In rented flats or houses, electricity was often metered and powered by ample supplies of 50 pence pieces into a box that would give a certain amount of power, depending on what appliance you were using. Electric bar heaters seemed to take a lot if I remember as did cookers, so you had to make sure you had enough 50p pieces to cook dinner or keep warm for the evening without having to nip out to the pub and get more change.

Rented televisions also came metered, and I missed lots of endings of movies due to change running out and escpecially if it was raining, not wanting to go out for more. I often think these days that metered television might be a great choice now, especially for encouraging children to pry themselves away from it. No cash, no television.

However, cable was restored tonight and I did get to see Coronation Street so all is well with the world. And I get to keep my change too.

Tripod has no fear of cars at all. He will stand his ground and rarely move if one comes close to him . Tonight he was sucking heat from the tarmac as well as appreciating the shade of the car. It reminded me 1. Road kill and 2. the Cat testing his 9 lives theory. He's something else.

Junior

Dogs have given us their absolute all. We are the center of their universe. We are the focus of their love and faith and trust. They serve us in return for scraps. It is without a doubt the best deal man has ever made. ~Roger Caras

This is the master line drawing for a dog portrait that may also form part of a class that I'll teach in the fall. As so many people have pets, many artists have a need to know how to break down the construction of an animal and render the specific parts to enable them to create realistic likenesses of their own animals and of commissioned animals.

I enjoy the process of creating an animal drawing and while I need to provide a likeness for someone to recognize the animal, I have a little more leeway than in human portraiture. I haven't drawn an openmouthed dog for some time, so it will be interesting to tackle this one.

Rural wedding

Today I was asked to help with some floral arrangements for a wedding in a small rural town about an hour's drive from where I live. The flowers were cut early this morning then loaded into the car along with every possible thing that might not be available and we drove to the site. It was unique in some ways and very predictable in others.

The building was multifunctional, with the front section a fast food restaurant and the rear a function room with deck attached overlooking the gravel car parking lot with a glimpse of the sea on the other side. Not exactly picturesque, but like many Newfoundland weddings, once the guests have had a few drinks, no one will notice or care where they are. Guests wouldn't miss the building, just look for the large plywood cutout of a whale, painted (badly) grey.

The car was unloaded and a set up point found. The waft of fish and chips mingled with hamburgers floated in from the fast food section at the front, as the door was left open due to the heat of the day. Sixteen tables for six were set and they looked lovely, all white china and glass with sugared almonds festooning the table. The plastic container for the sugar rather spoiled the effect, but hopefully will be overlooked.

The staff in the place were interesting. It seems you have to have a loud voice and a rough manner to work in this place and take lots of smoke breaks. I worry about the bartender who trailed his oxygen tubes (seriously) behind him as he either talked with other staff, unabashedly stared at parts of me or set up the most god-awful disco music from mp3s on the computer which he played at a deafingly loud level. He'd then grin and wink and say 'That will get 'em up on the floor, won't it?' I mentally thought 'that will make them vomit...' but gave him a polite smile and got on with the job in hand. This place, combined with staff has the makings of a remake of Trailer Park Boys.

I managed a little more work on the leopard early this morning and tonight. Its coming together but has a lot of work yet to reach the depth of values that I want.

Leopard

I had a couple of Ann Kullberg's CP kits sent to me and started on one last night and tonight. I love the eyes of this animal, even though it looks so worried! I'm just starting to build the fur and amworking on the background at the same time. I need a couple more colours that I thought I had, so it looks like a trip to the art store tomorrow. Oh what hardship...

My youngest daughter and grand daughter will be visiting in early October for a couple of weeks. It will be a novelty to have a young baby around again and will test my ability to remember all that is required for them. I'll need a crib, a car seat and a high chair for starters. Yikes! I'd better start soliciting people I know who have young children to see if I can borrow some things for a couple of weeks.

Dog's nose

Study of a Dog's Nose
graphite 6 x 6
copyright Jeanette Jobson

Dog's nose are fascinating to me. They are all sizes, shapes and colour. I love the rubbery look and restaurant utility flooring texture. Its also great fun to draw them such as this study. I haven't created the best, shiniest, wettest dog nose, but I bet it's cold.

A Dog's Nose is also a drink. This is an exerpt from the San Francisco Chronical.

Gary Regan is the author of "The Joy of Mixology: The Consummate Guide to the Bartender's Craft" and other books. E-mail him at wine@sfchronicle.com.

"OK, Professor, spill it. What's a Dog's Nose?" asks Jen.

"Ever read 'The Pickwick Papers'?"

"Can't say that I have."

"Well if you ever get around to it, you'll read about a certain Mr. Walker who blamed his love of the Dog's Nose for the loss of the use of his right hand." The Professor clears his throat and quotes the book, " 'If he had drunk nothing but water all his life, his fellow workman would never have stuck a rusty needle in him, and thereby occasioned the accident.' Wanna risk one, Jen?"

"Bring it on, Professor."

The Professor sends the stout back to the kitchen where Leo, the chef, heats it in the microwave and brings the glass back to the bar for The Professor to assemble the drink.

"What the heck is this anyway, Professor?" asks Leo.

"Dog's Nose, chef. And don't ask me why it's called Dog's Nose. I haven't the foggiest." Leo studies The Professor for a couple of seconds. "Stick your finger in the drink, Professor," the chef says. The Professor complies.

"Pretty wet, huh? Now tell me what color it is."

"It's, well, I guess it's black. What's your point?"

"Never mind, Professor. Just let me know if you ever figure out how the drink got its name. You know where to find me."

---

Dog's Nose

INGREDIENTS:

12 ounces Guinness (room temperature)

2 teaspoons brown sugar

2 ounces gin

Freshly grated nutmeg, for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS:

Pour the Guinness into a large sturdy glass and heat it on high in a microwave for about 1 minute. Add the brown sugar and gin and stir lightly. Add the garnish.

Cheers!

Backgrounds

I'm working on three drawings at once as well as preparing class outlines for some teaching in the fall. It seems that I work best under some pressure, well a lot of pressure lately if you add everything else to the mix. But for some strange reason it works. Deadlines seem to push people into action. I can meander along, pushing things to the background when suddenly I realize that something is needed within a week or less and I pull all the stops out to finish it. But some things just sit, like this drawing of Biscuit. I've been toying with this for months but never biting the bullet and actually finish it.

The animal part is going fine. The background is what I hate. All those trees and shrubbery give me the horrors. Landscapes are my least favourite thing to do, but I did want something that placed the dog in a setting that he loved. And he loved racing up that lane to the woods to chase bunnies.

I worked and reworked and reworked that background til its now a hazy blur of nothing and I dislike it thoroughly! This weekend I will pore over Mike Sibley's Line to Life book and Diane Wright's Beautiful Landscapes and conquer this *&^% background!

How do I......?

One of the most difficult things I find to explain to people is how to see the variety of values and colour changes in an object. I did this quick demonstration for someone to try to explain, on paper, the different reflections seen in the mug and the use of colour to make green become green without using a lot of green. Its very confusing for beginners and often their brain works on labelling 'green cup' instead of a mix of shapes and colours.

I know that a lot of this comes with experience and many, many drawings. I am often asked how I choose colours for a drawing. That is another difficult question to answer. Some of my colour choices are intuitive, many based on knowledge of the colourwheel, complementary colours, etc. and much comes with experience.

If you didn't know better, you'd think this was a dead cat. But no, its Tripod on one of the hottest days of the years lying, sound asleep in the grass by the trailer. I shoved him back into the shade without waking him, to finish his nap.

The three little piggies are now three medium sized piggies who love attention and having their ears scratched or to be patted. They make satisfied grunting and snorting noises when you do. I refuse to think of their fate as they are such characters.

and haven't they got just the cutest curly tails?

Christmas in August

Tripod's Hat
Coloured pencil 9 x 12
Copyright Jeanette Jobson

Yes, I know Christmas is months away and a horrible thought in many ways, but I am thinking ahead to it in terms of art. This image will be turned into cards this year and made available for sale along with several other images. Christmas also becomes a busy time when artists are supposed to become magicians and people want commissions done virtually overnight to use as gifts. I will be gently suggesting to people that now is the time to book a commission or even have it completed to avoid being disappointed.

This is another step in the plan I have to market my art and move my career as an artist into higher gear. Time is the challenge for me, but I am determined to make time and reach the goals I have set for myself.

Another of those goals will be reached when I teach some art courses this fall and I look forward to expanding that side of my artistic career.

”What distinguishes a great artist from a weak one is first their sensibility and tenderness; second, their imagination, and third, their industry.” -- John Ruskin.

Why do we draw?

Why do we draw? What makes us put pencil to paper and make marks that resemble the world around us? What makes us crave to learn how to better represent ourselves artistically and to seek out the company of like minded people?

I'm doing some exercises in fur in a class and find myself wondering these things as I do them. I already know how to draw fur, so why do I want to do this class? Will I find a secret, special way to draw that will be my eureka moment or do I simply need to reaffirm that I am doing something correctly and do have the capacity to learn nuances of technique or style that improve my ability to draw?

Humans have been making marks on stone walls, trees and forest floors for thousands of years. Was it decorative then or did it serve another purpose? Why do you draw?

Peter Pan

Full of fresh air
graphite 9 x 12
copyright 2007 Jeanette Jobson

Today is my eldest daughter's birthday - her 31st birthday. And when she stopped by the store to get a bottle of wine tonight, she got carded, much to her delight. There seems to be a bit of a Peter Pan syndrome when it comes with aging in the family which is both good and bad, depending on what age you are. Its great when you're older and don't look your age, but harder when you're trying to get into clubs or bars, even when you're legal age and no one believes you.

Today they went on boat tour out of Bay Bulls to see whales and wild bird colonies. It must have been exhausting as this sketch is the result of the afternoon's adventure. The stub from the tour I had to include when I scanned the sketch just to remind me of the day.

Rural life

Whoever thinks that rural life is quiet and peaceful, come here now and I'll show you a totally different perspective.

The cat has a voice with a decibel level of a jet airplane when he wants attention.

The ducks have become territorial and spend their time quacking and fighting off any other duck who dares put a big webbed foot into 'their' section.

The geese are making mock charges at anything that moves, including my car as I pull into the driveway each night.

The Embden geese are in their summer pen which means they don't attack me, but the greet the 4:30am dawn with their melodious voices, which then set off the crows and bluejays. Who needs an alarm clock? I have been known to stand under the tree outside my bedroom window at dawn and threaten, cajole and plead with a crow to stop cawing.

There are turkey poults and week old broiler chicks that are upstairs in the barn and they sound like a herd of elephants pounding around, then when you go up, its like playing 'Grandmother's Footstep's' and they all freeze in their tracks or scurry into a protective corner, falling over each other in the process.

And its hot and humid so animals and people are cranky and tired, making life even more difficult. I've just come in from the yard, finding myself scolding the Muscovy ducks BD and Buddy as if they were children, for beheading flowers. "I've told you a hundred times to leave those flowers alone! Now listen to me!' Then I realize that I'm arguing with a duck. So I retreat to the house, deftly avoiding goose poop and making a mental note to hose down the drive tomorrow.

Ahhhhh rural life. Anyone want to swap for a condo in downtown Toronto??

Time

This is a newly hatched Khaki Campbell duckling that joined me for coffee early one morning.

Time is such a relevant part of making art and its been in short supply these last few days. There seems to have been a houseful of people to amuse and feed, as well as a double birthday thrown in for good measure. To top it off, the weather has been the hottest, most humid of the summer so far.

I've tried drawing but with constant interruptions, its not been very successful, so on to my last resort - drawing at lunchtime at work. That too has its risk of interruptions but I probably have a better chance of accomplishing something then than at home right now.

The terms that I need to draw (as opposed to sketching) are fairly simple. A quiet place, no people hovering or interrupting, good light and a little inspiration. Its a hard combination to find at times. Sketching is another matter. I can do that most anywhere, whether people are around or interruptions happen because my mind isn't concentrating at the same level of intensity than when I'm attmpting to render a complex subject on paper.

Music doesn't factor into my art often. I don't need music playing in the background to spur me on. In fact it has the opposite effect, it distracts me. Its the same principle as when you're out driving around looking for a particular street and you turn the radio off so you can concentrate. Or is that just me?

Ideas are floating around in my head for another drawing right now and when this happens I need to create thumbnail sketches to put the idea into perspective. My vision is a large drawing or perhaps a painting that will have impact. Large being at least 3 feet long. Now finding the right materials locally is always the challenge. I'll have to scour the little specialist art store, which is often overpriced, but does contain some treasures from time to time.

The power of music

My grand daughter, being mesmerized by the sound of music. Now why didn't I think of a guitar when mine were babies??

Today I went for a 3 generational lunch that had good and bad aspects. Aside from my nearly 83 year old mother wearing a pink plastic 'bride to be' necklace' and complaining about service in a restaurant I came away unscathed. The fact that I'm now on my fourth glass of wine has no bearing on the day whatsoever.

Drawing fur and commissions

Tiger fur Study

4 x 4, graphite
copyright Jeanette Jobson 2007

One of my favourite things to draw are animals and of course they are covered in fur. Drawing fur or hair is another of those perceived difficulties that make people steer away it. But like most areas of difficulty, its more a matter of closely observing how the hair grows, the subtle changes in values and colours and how the individual hairs create the dense coat and follow the form of the animal.

I have been studying how to draw animal fur and animal's component parts for as long as I have been drawing them. It seems there is always something new for me to learn from another artist who's talents enthrall me. I love realism in animal portraits and the fine detail intriques me and keeps me interested up until the very last pencil stroke.

Close up crop - The Artist's Cat
copyright Jeanette Jobson 2007

There are some creme de la creme animal artists that I refer to constantly when drawing animals. Each person has their own style, and I learn something from each of them when I view their work or read their words.

Drawing animal portraits is as fraught with concerns as is any other commissioned piece of work. Dealing with clients, achieving the likeness and spirit of the animal and feeling happy that you have provided the best that you can produce are all things artists struggle with for each commission.

Top 5 tips for pet portrait artists - from Rebecca at Art Dog Blog. Visit Art Dog Blog for the expanded list.

#1 Remember that the client is always right.
#2 Listen well
#3 To proof or not to proof?
#4 Project Reports
#5 Ask your clients to help you

Additional tips were provided from Karen Weller:
#1 More information is better than not enough.
#2 Treat each customer like gold.

From Linda O'Neill

#3 "Take great care in packing and shipping
#4 " Gladly offer to do some minor revisions once you present the final
#5 "In addition to that...include something extra

Rebecca has also put together 5 tips for commissioning a pet portrait. Oh such sage advice to those who want a portrait of their animal. Visit Rebecca's blog to see the full details.

#1 Remember that in most cases you do not pay an artist by the hour.
Faster does not equal better.
#2 A question of decor, will it match the sofa?
#3 A good photograph makes all the difference ...shoot, shoot and shoot again
#4 Choosing an artist
#5 Order your holiday gift giving pet portraits in the summer

Number 1A

"Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself... You may house their bodies but not their souls, for their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams. "

Gibran, Kahlil Lebanese-American author (1883-1931)

My eldest daughter is arriving today for a two week visit with her partner. Because of the far flung nature of families these days, I only get to see my daughters perhaps once a year, sometimes more. This daughter lives in Saskatchewan which is geographically distant from Newfoundland. But we never know where life takes us, so I support and encourage adventures and forays into other cities, provinces and countries. I believe that nothing helps you grow and develop more than immersion into something that is completely out of your comfort zone.

This daughter - Number 1A - (the younger is Number 1B) will have a birthday on August 2nd and my mother, her grandmother, on July 31st so we will have a joint 'do' this weekend to tide them over for another year. My daughter will be 31 this year. I wonder how on earth this happened. It seems literally only moments ago when she was a small baby, a toddler, a school girl. Time moves too quickly and the passage of time makes me face the fact that as fast as the girls have grown, I have moved forward too.

This is a sketch of her that I found in an old sketch book, circa 1988! Now if I can just get her to sit still long enough while she's here, I'll get a chance to do a decent portrait of her.

Working Artist

Inaction breeds doubt and fear.
Action breeds confidence and courage.
If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it.
Go out and get busy.

--Dale Carnegie

I struggle daily with a full time job, life on the farm, art, a blog, teaching and writing that I sometimes don't get time to draw. It is then that I must remind myself that part of the "Working Artist" phrase is "working". I need to make time every day for art so that it becomes part of me, the pencil is an extension of my arm. And I know when I haven't drawn for awhile that it affects me and makes me anxious to abandon life and get back to the drafting table again.

Another step in my journey to make art more of my life is to market my art and my services. Now this in itself strikes fear into the heart of most artists, me very much included. I hate marketing my art, as its part of me that I put on the line whenever I do. But its a necessary part of reaching my goal of having work compete less and less with my art.

Good enough isn’t good enough, because now everything is good enough. Our expectations of quality are unrealistic—and are being met every single day. We don’t just want to be satisfied, we want to be blown away.—Seth Godin, The Big Moo, page xi.

One part of my marketing has been completed, and that's the production of a brochure for animal portraiture, but that's not always convenient to carry or present so I want another smaller form of representation. A business card or postcard that will represent my art, my life, my work - me.

If you Google 'online business cards' you can find offers for cards from $5 to $500 depending on how flashy you want them to be. Here is a wonderful blog from Wendy Gonick about designing an artist business card from conception to print.

So I'm busy setting up designs and researching places that will print to my specifications at prices that don't bankrupt me. Business cards or postcards? I like the postcard option more as it gives me a larger canvas to make a statement. I'll play with some designs and layouts and see what I come up with. Any suggestions from those who have created cards or postcards is more than welcome.

Portrait Update

“The idea of full dress for preparation for a battle comes not from a belief that it will add to the fighting ability. The preparation is for death, in case that should be the result of conflict. Every Indian wants to look his best when he goes to meet the great Spirit, so the dressing up is done whether in imminent danger is an oncoming battle or a sickness or injury at times of peace.” -Wooden Leg (late 19th century) Cheyenne

I've added more layers to this portrait and its coming together. The headscarf is a little problematic with the patterning but I'll conquer it eventually. Its been ages since I did any portrait work with coloured pencil and I'm quite enjoying the process and the colours in this piece.

Culture

I never understand how racism can exist in the world, as I find other cultures fascinating, especially the rituals and traditions that go with important ceremonies. How can others object to this, unless they find it a threat to their own existance?

Yes, there are individuals in all cultures who make good and bad decisions about how they should lead their lives, but why do some people select whole ethnic groups to project their fears onto without ever looking into their own world first.

I started a coloured pencil drawing today of a young native boy, dressed in ceremonial headdress. I love the light and the look of anticipation on the boy's face. How long had he practiced for this monent? What was going through his mind? Did he know his dance was an echo from hundreds of years ago?

The drawing is 9 x 12 on Canson paper and I'll update it as it progresses. There is about 8 hours of work in the current image.

Art and astrology

Camille Flammarion, L'Atmosphere: Météorologie Populaire (Paris, 1888), p. 163.

The Flammarion Woodcut is an enigmatic woodcut by an unknown artist. It is referred to as the Flammarion Woodcut because its first documented appearance is in page 163 of Camille Flammarion's L'atmosphère: météorologie populaire (Paris, 1888), a work on meteorology for a general audience. The woodcut depicts a man peering through the Earth's atmosphere as if it were a curtain to look at the inner workings of the universe.

The caption translates to "A medieval missionary tells that he has found the point where heaven [the sense here is 'sky'] and Earth meet...".

"Flat Earth"

This work is related with the mistaken (but even today widespread) notion that medieval scholars believed in a flat earth. Today professional medievalists and historians of science agree that this "medieval flat earth" was a nineteenth-century fabrication, and that the few verifiable "flat earthers" were the exception.

Years ago I had a friend who was an astrologist. On my birthday one year she produced a detailed astrological chart that really meant nothing to me besides an elaborate set of lines, dots and words, but to her it mapped out my past, present and future.

While I have a degree of skepticism about the whole concept, there is also a deep rooted interest in astrology as well and when I talk to individuals and find out more about them, I see how some traits in specific astrological signs fit in. Now is this coincidence or reality? Do we see what we want to see and make it our own?

Being born under the astrological sign of Pisces, according to some sites, I have a variety of traits that I am well aware of and that follow through in my belief of who or what I am. There are as many astrological predictions and explanations as you wish to examine, some a lot more respectable than others. My astrological sign of the two fishes, swimming in opposite directions, but joined by a cord, was a symbol that I used in my symbolic self portrait that's still being completed. So what am I in astrological terms?

'Well, what are you?" said the Pigeon. "I can see you're trying to invent something!" "I-I'm a little girl," said Alice, rather doubtfully.

She found herself at last in a beautiful garden, among the bright flower-beds and the cool fountains.

Pisceans tend to withdraw into a dream world where their qualities can bring mental satisfaction and sometimes, fame and financial reward for they are extremely gifted artistically. They are also versatile and intuitive, have quick understanding, observe and listen well, and are receptive to new ideas and atmospheres. All these factors can combine to produce remarkable creativity in literature, music and art. They may count among their gifts mediumistic qualities which can give them a feeling that their best work comes from outside themselves, "Whispered beyond the misted curtains, screening this world from that." Even when they cannot express themselves creatively they have a greater than average instinct for, and love of, beauty in art and nature, a catlike appreciation of luxury and pleasure, and a yearning for new sensations and travel to remote, exotic places.

And of course there are horoscopes for artists... and what else could a Piscean be?
Art World Astrology

Time for change

Last night I had a board meeting which went on quite late. Board meetings for a non profit organization are a challenge sometimes. They provide people with an opportunity to shine or fall flat. In the organization I work for, all board members are volunteers which brings its own set of unique concerns. However, I look at volunteers as simply staff members who aren't paid and I make the same demands on them as I would for a paid staff person.

I expect responsibility, strategic thinking and the ability to follow through on work. Sometimes I get that, sometimes not. It seems to be the nature of the beast when volunteer groups come together. It s such an eclectic group, mismatched, unsure of their role sometimes, too cocky other times. And there I am, the staff person, torn between two worlds and wondering which way to turn, hoping one is easier than the other.

Perhaps it is time to change. Maybe doors that are opening now for me artistically and in other areas which are casting shadows on some parts of my life and making it less appealing.Plans that I put in place are coming together and it may be time to reassess and change focus to be able to ensure that changes become something for the good, not just for the sake of change.

Discovery

Kiora's Toy
Graphite & coloured pencil
copyright Jeanette Jobson 2007

My granddaughter is nearly six months old and at a stage of actively discovering her world. The fascination shown by examining a toy's structure, shape and colour reminds me of how an artists views an object when drawing.

Drawing is an act of discovery which brings back some of the long forgotten senses that are so important when examining the world for the first time. There may not be the same sense of puzzlement over an object's purpose or wondering what a colour is, but drawing brings its own sense of amazement as object unfolds on a blank sheet of paper.