Journals

Stopping Time

While I was clearing out some things from my mother's house, I came across an old pastel drawing that I had sent to her many many years ago. It made me cringe a little to see it and to know that I had moved forward so much since then.

It made me think of how we begin as artists and the practice and knowledge that we seek helps us grow and become confident in making marks on paper. It seems like such a slow process of learning at the time and we don't know until we look back and reflect or compare works just how far we have come in our journey and how much we have learned.

I have a little journal by my bedside that I write and draw in at night before I sleep. I wish I had kept one years ago when I was just starting my journey in art. I would love to compare them now and see the changes and the similarities. For those starting out, keeping track of where you are, where you have been and where you want to go are important as a measurement of growth. I have gaps in my journey and areas that are sparsely populated, except in memory.


Perhaps I'm trying to make up for lost time now. I think as we age, we realize how much of life we let pass by and what opportunities we miss for a variety of reasons. I produce as much art as I can because I hear the clock ticking. There are so many ideas and so little time - truly. I feel as if I want to stay up 24 hours straight just to fit in more time to capture images of life.

These images are included in that night time journal. They are images from my head, sparked by any number of things that happen during the day and sit in my brain waiting for release. Some go on to be full drawings or paintings, others find their contentment in simple form on a page.

Double portrait

Half a portrait - master drawing
11 x 14 - Canson sketchbook
copyright Jeanette Jobson

I've been back to work this week and its pretty hectic so far, yet only Tuesday. I'm hoping I'll be back in control before the end of the week.

I've started a double portrait, but am only showing one half of it today, as the other is still in progress. This is the line drawing and is on Canson paper. I will be transferring it to Bristol 500 Plate and using a mechanical pencil to complete it. I haven't used the Bristol Plate before so it will be interesting to see how it performs. Most of my work has been on the lower Bristol 300, mostly because it was all I could get here. I ordered the 400 and 500 some time ago but they've been sitting and waiting for the right piece to come along. And yes, its still my stash, I haven't bought anything new. Still working on depleting some of my art cupboard.

The image is my eldest daughter and her fiance. Sorry S, he's not finished yet! The eyes are making me crazy!! But soon... I'll do some more work on him tonight and hopefully have the full master drawing in a day or two.

Reflections

Reflections in glass

8 x 5 sketchbook
copyright Jeanette Jobson

I was coming in from taking some photos in the garden yesterday and as my hand was on the door to go in, I noticed my reflection in the glass of the door. I hadn't really noticed before, but perhaps because the sky was clear and the sun was shining it stood out more.

This line drawing is from a photo I took of the reflections that I saw. I do need to clean the glass on that door, don't I?

Inside out

An old cabinet was taken apart and a mirror from inside it was propped up in the barn til it can be disposed of. However B.D. and Buddy, the Muscovy ducks think the mirror is the best thing since sliced bread. They stand or sit in front of it for hours, gazing at their reflections. Maybe they think its new handsome ducks come to visit them. Whatever they think, its a hit with them so it may just have to stay. Now who gets to clean off all the duck 'beak prints' on the mirror...

Meercats and moose

Meercat study
Graphite, 11 x 14 on Canson

Despite the fact that I was on holiday, I was called in to work to deal with something yesterday. I guess that ups my karma rating somewhere down the road.

I haven't slept well lately and am up very early in the morning which is a good time of day for me to draw. I'm fresh at that point and drawing can push other thoughts to the back of my mind and let me relax for awhile.

That early morning start was where this little guy appeared from. Meercats are interesting creatures, almost catlike in their facial features and forever alert. I'm doing some simple global shading for this and am enjoying the process. Some pieces just slip off the end of the pencil without effort, while others are trial and error, and error and error...

A young bull moose keeps wandering into the garden for the last two days, startling everyone who sees him as he comes so close. As long as he stays out of the vegetable gardens and doesn't walk in the flower beds, he'll be allowed to hang around. Even though they are fairly timid usually, this guy seems overly curious and not scared by noise or people. I just don't trust them or like coming face to face with one around a corner, so he'll be encouraged to move on.

For those who want to take part, the August Virtual Sketch Date reference image is up. Just leave a comment on the blog if you're taking part.

Bucket O' Duck

Bucket O' Duck
graphite, 11 x 14
copyright Jeanette Jobson

I posted the photo that I used for this drawing awhile ago. It was one of the Pekin ducks who in her enthusiasm to get the water, got into the bucket then was stuck. Of course a photo had to be taken and here is the sketch from it.

Everyone thinks that ducks are enthusiastic about water, but some just aren't that interested. There are groups that go to the pond each day, but others, like the Khaki Cambells, who never venture there, preferring to dip their heads in a pail of water and pretend.

Then there's the Muscovy ducks who really don't like getting wet at all, not even from a shower of rain. BD and Buddy race to the barn at the first hint of rain and flee from drops of water from a hose as well. BD will go through the full motions of taking a bath in the dew on the grass in the morning and still come out as dirty as he went in.

Oils update

The lane to the marsh
Oils 8 x 10 on canvas
copyright Jeanette Jobson

I worked for awhile today trying to save the plein air painting I did the other day and am calling this one done now. The huge old pines in the background are mostly dead, but still soar into the sky, almost looking like palm trees at times.

I adjusted some colours from my initial one hour painting and tightened up a few areas. The water in the lane caused me problems. It went from looking like a puddle to a waterfall and back again several times before I tamed it sufficiently.

Oils are always an adventure for me because they are so very different than working with my usual graphite. They let some of my inner child come out in terms of moving squidgy paint around on the canvas and palette and getting messy. Having paint on the end of your nose or in your hair is a right of passage for artists. I always seem to manage both for some reason.

Another portrait

I've been playing with another self portrait. Yeah, I'm out in the woods and don't have any other victims who want to pose and I always need the practice.

I thought I'd try watercolour pencils for this and here's where I am so far. I add most of the dry colours that I want, trying for even coverage, as I don't want pencil lines to show through. The lighting is strong again, early morning sun which I think I like because it means I have less to paint, leaving the white of the paper for the strongest highlights.

Watercolour really is hit or miss for me and I need more practice. I'll see how this one progresses and if it will see the light of day or not.

Plein air oil

The lane to the marsh
oils 8 x 10 stretched canvas
copyright Jeanette Jobson

Today was warm and sunny so I decided to take advantage of the weather and try a little 'plein air' with some oils. I loaded up my bag and wandered around the lanes surrounding the farm til I came across this entrance into the woods. We had torrential rain on Sunday so the lane was filled with water.

I decided I would give myself an hour and see what I could come up with. This is the result. Rough but with potential.

Unfortunately, it was pretty windy today, so I spent a fair bit of time hanging onto the canvas to prevent it taking off. I also used a paper palette which, even though anchored onto my wooden palette still flapped around like a wet fish, premixing some of my colours!

I took a photo of the scene so that I could work on some details once I have a chance, perhaps later tonight or tomorrow. I haven't done plein air with oils for a long, long time and throughly enjoyed it, despite the wind.

This little pig went to market...

The pigs went to the processor last Friday and I was sorry to see them go. I become over attached to some animals on the farm and the pigs are one of them. I know they are intended for food, but I still treat them as pets, going to see them and rub their noses which they love. I felt more guilty than usual when this group of five went. I had secretly given them names and their personalities came through as they grew.

They were loaded into specially made crates and put on a trailer for the trip. At least the day was warm and sunny and they seemed to enjoy the warmth. Even the trip from the barn to the trailer, sailing through the air via a forklift on the tractor didn't faze them.

I won't go into my rant about animal treatment, except to emphasize once more, that the world needs to know where their food comes from and demand humane treatment for raising animals.

Goodbye piggies...

Starving artist sales

Dreams

My holiday in part is taken up with remodeling my kitchen. That task is moving ahead but does take time - and money. To top it off today, a new refrigerator had to be purchased, as the old one is on its last legs and keeps weeping onto the floor, looking for sympathy. With that dent in my bank balance, I'll be the original starving artist, just one with a new fridge.

I've done some thinking about art sales and how they are sold and have branched out into a couple of areas to see if they will work. I have put some of my jewelry and art pieces on Etsy and have also started a new sales blog - The Starving Artist's Daily Sales. The purpose of the second blog is for art sales only which cover a range of prices, making art affordable for everyone. Daily sales is not so much the time frame in which I should produce, but more the fact that individuals can find something on sale every day.

More local sketches

Pouch Cove - First to see the sun

8 x 5 moleskine sketchbook, Pen & ink
copyright Jeanette Jobson

Today was another lovely day so I took a little time off from my kitchen renovations to do some sketching and soak up some sun. I headed northeast to Pouch Cove, where I once had a house overlooking the ocean. I sat on a bench at the edge of the cliff and watched the waves crash against the rocks and felt the sun warm me while I sketched this scene.

Pouch Cove (pronounced "Pooch" Cove), is one of the oldest settlements in Newfoundland. The exact date of its settlement is unknown but it is documented early as 1611, only 28 years after Sir Humphrey Gilbert claimed the island for England. Pouch Cove's dangerous harbour was the primary reason for its early settlement. Although this sounds paradoxical, keep in mind permanent dwellings were forbidden by law in the 17th and 18th centuries. A dangerous harbour kept away Royal Navy ships seeking the illegal settlers, as well as the pirates who preyed on them.

I then drove through the backroads and ended up in St. John's, where I headed towards Bannerman Park. This park was opened in 1891 by Sir Alexander Bannerman who donated the land for a park.

The Bandstand, Bannerman Park
pen & ink, moleskine sketchbook
copyright Jeanette Jobson

The park was busy with people today, as many inner city people come there to sit in the sun or take their children to the park to play. The ink was running out on my pen and I did a hurried sketch of the bandstand in the middle of the park. I hadn't had many people comment today but in the park a less than savory person, who probably was fairly harmless, kept hanging around striking up a conversation and picking up old cigarette butts so he 'could have a puff later'. "What can you do when you don't have no money?" he said, perhaps hoping that I would find something in my bag for him. I decided it might be a good time to move on.

Gummi bears

Gummi bears study
carbon pencil
copyright Jeanette Jobson

Gummi bears scare me. They also taste disgusting, more the texture than flavour, all rubbery. You don't so much chew them, but mash the rubber into a form that you can swallow.

Have you ever really looked at their little faces, if you can call them that? They look like a cross between aliens from outer space and those little pottery Inca god statues. They're quite creepy...

Despite their drawbacks, they are fun to draw and this study was a warm up for a colour drawing I will do of some gummi bears. I took some photos today on one of those rare moments when some sun broke through the clouds and it made the little aliens glow with light. Or maybe they do that anyway.

The decision now is what medium to do a colour version in. Coloured pencils, oils, pastels....

Other facts about gummi bears:

From Jason Freeny at Moist Productions, a little lesson in gummi bear anatomy...

• The Gummi Bear originates from Germany where it is hugely popular under the name Gummibär.
• The traditional Gummi Bear is made from sugar, glucose syrup, starch, flavouring, food coloring, citric acid, and gelatin. There are also some types of Gummi Bears made with pectin or starchgelatin, making them suitable for vegans.
• Gummi bears, and other gummi candy, stick to teeth and may cause tooth decay. However, gummi bears containing the cavity-fighting additive xylitol (wood sugar) are now being tested.
• There has been some concern that gelatin, a key ingredient in most gummi bears, may harbor prions. Prions are misshapen proteins that cause BSE / Mad Cow Disease in cattle and CJD in humans. Based on studies, the United States FDA and various other national organizations and countries consider the risk of BSE transmission through gelatin to be minuscule as long as precautions are followed during the manufacturing process.

Finally, oddest of all, gummi bear art.

WIP portrait

I've attempted to show a work in progress of a watercolour self portrait. As usual, I got over involved in the creating process and forgot to take all the necessary images that are needed to understand just what I did to get to the final image. This is painted on Canson 140 lb paper 11 x 14.

The bottom image is my trusty box of watercolours, well used and well loved along with the line drawing.

I then did a wash of yellow ochre and burnt sienna to cover the flesh.

I started the background, using loose washes of cadmium orange and ultramarine blue, then added some basic value shapes to the hair.

I continued to add layers, working all sections of the portrait. using similar colours. My palette consisted of yellow ochre, burnt sienna, ultramarine blue, cadmium orange, sap green. Its there where the stages got lost to my creative instincts.

I continued enhancing shadows and refining shapes til I reached the final image. There are parts of it that I like and several parts that I don't like. The colours aren't as transparent as I wanted - I know I worked it too much and muddied it in places. I also know that passages aren't as dark as they need to be. I am aware that is a constant challenge for me, to increase the darker values in watercolours. But each piece brings me a little closer to where I want to be.

Watercolour portraits

Self portrait - line drawing
copyright Jeanette Jobson

.Its been another grey wet day so I've been practicing some portraits. This is the start of yet another self portrait. I'm trying this in watercolour and this is the initial line drawing. I've had to darken it a lot to be able to show it here, so the edges are a little greyed too.

I've done a few watercolour portraits over time and though I prefer dry media, I like to paint from time to time. Watercolour does take some planning and I probably spend more time thinking about where I'll place my next stroke, what the dampness of the paper should be or if I've chosen the right colour or value.

I have an ancient set of Windsor & Newton watercolours that I bought when I lived in the UK. That in itself shows how infrequently I use watercolours! Ancient or not, they work beautifully and when I haul out my old brushes, it brings back memories every time.

I've been asked what palette I use in my portraits and I find that very difficult to answer as it varies so much for each subject. However, there is a base of 'flesh' that I tend to use which consists of yellow ochre, burnt umber and burnt sienna applied in varying strengths, depending on the subject and the lighting. I keep adding layers trying not to overpower the piece or muddy it. I've been playing with different colours in shadows and hair, trying more intense blues, greens and purples that look a little unorthodox, but the values work.

Local sketches

The Beamer, Flatrock
pen & ink & coloured pencil
copyright Jeanette Jobson

This has to be the worst summer in terms of weather this year. The rain and cool temperatures just won't go away. I took advantage of a reasonable day yesterday to do a little sketching locally. I haven't done a lot of on site sketching this year so it was good to get out and just get lost in drawing again.

My drawing drew lots of interest this time as at each place, tourists and locals kept coming up to me asking me what I was drawing. I don't usually mind people asking, but sometimes constant questions impede my progress or interrupt my ability to stay focused.

The first sketch is in Flatrock, overlooking the harbour. There is a long piece of land jutting out from the shore that is known as The Beamer. It is topped with many large boulders; left overs from a glacier that swept the area many thousands of years ago and gave the area its name.

Torbay
pen & ink, sketchbook
copyright Jeanette Jobson

I drove down the coast a little further to reach Torbay and sketch the cliffs overlooking the harbour . The name Torbay comes from an area of the same name in Devon, England and was first mapped in Newfoundland in 1615 by John Mason. The word is the old Anglo-Saxon "Tor" which means a tower.

I'll continue to document local scenes over the summer and these couple of weeks off will provide some free time to access areas that I usually don't have time to visit.

Cupid

When I was a small child, my grandparents lived with our family. They had separate living quarters, a little like the original 'granny annex' but we came and went and shared a formal living room. In that room there were a number of antiques. Of course then I had no idea of their worth, except that a couple of pieces appealed to me and I was occasionally allowed to touch my favourite, the sculpture of a knight on horseback.

The commanding pieces in the room were two huge framed prints on either side of the fireplace of a curly haired child, called Cupid Awake and Cupid Asleep. These were prints of the photo taken in 1897 by Morris Burke Parkinson of Josephine Anderson. Josephine was the daughter of a friend of Parkinson, a single mother who worked and sometimes left her child in Parkinson's care. Josephine was four when the photos were taken and she continued to model for M.B.Parkinson for many years, some of the photos are in the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. The later prints of Josephine are also very sought after collectibles. Josephine died in the 1970s.

I spent hours staring at the face of the child in these portraits, the child that I was, thinking they really were a fairy of some kind. After my grand father died in the early 1960s, the pieces were sold by my grandmother, money was a factor I presume, and I didn't really think of them again for years until I was given a large Cupid Asleep print for which my sister found in Ottawa. I wanted the Cupid Awake to match it, but had trouble finding one in a similar size. Then a year or two later I was given a small pair for Christmas, which had been hunted down by a friend who is an antique dealer. I have the original larger Cupid Asleep and now the smaller pair which I framed and now keep as a reminder of those large portraits my grandmother had.

Looking at these photos now, I think how well they would look as drawings. The sepia tones and hand tinted pink cheeks, along with the dramatic lighting would make a lovely exercise in values. I may just try one and see what happens. Carbon pencil or charcoal perhaps...

The smaller pair are, I believe, some of the original prints, dated and signed with copyright while the larger print doesn't have any information on it. The colour in the larger print is a reddish brown while the smaller images are much truer to colour in terms of sepia and the pinked cheeks as well the image quality is much crisper.

Parkinson copyrighted his prints in 1897 and they were distributed by Taber-Prang Art Company of Springfield, Massachusetts. In 1908, The Ohio Art Company began selling metal picture frames in which the Cupid prints were displayed, some of them hand tinted. Sold at Kresge’s, Sears, and Woolworth’s, people bought the frames for the pictures. The Cupids were immensely popular and were seen in millions of homes across the country. In 1938, Ohio Art Company (makers of Etch a Sketch) bought the copyright from Taber-Prang after their bankruptcy. Originally sold for a nickel or dime, the Cupid photos now command high prices, as much as $450 a pair in larger sizes.

A hibiscus was on the Weekly Drawing Thread at WetCanvas and I found myself doing a few minutes of work on it at lunchtimes throughout the week. Flowers are not my forte and never will be, but I still like to test myself and push into the dark zone now and then. :)

The Regatta

Before bed meltdown

Here is a recent photo of my 18 month old grand daughter having a little tantrum before bed one evening. I don't love the photo because she's obviously unhappy, but I do love it because it shows such natural expression. Can't we all identify with that total breakdown of frustration and anger that we'd sometimes like to express like this, but have to keep bottled up inside because we're adults?

Life's unfair my baby, but you get used to it.

To escape some of the madness that I call work, I'm taking a couple of weeks off. During that time I have some personal things to take care of and some art to catch up on. I hope to do a little travelling, even it is only exploring some of my surrounding areas. There are many places and sights that I pass by, some even on a daily basis, that I overlook. Details that they provide turn them into something extraordinary and turning those details into drawings or paintings make them unique not only to me but to others. I will still be posting when I can during this time. I haven't been posting as frequently as I have been and find that many bloggers aren't during the summer months. There are so many other things to catch up on during a short warm season.

Here, on the first Wednesday in August, the Royal St. John's Regatta, the oldest organized sporting event in North America., is held and it is a municipal holiday. The holiday for the Regatta is also a floating holiday which is weather dependent. The wind plays a big role in this so the committee must decide early in the morning whether or not the forecast is suitable.

The purpose of the Regatta is competitive rowing in fixed seat shells. The shores of the lake on which it is held are also lined with concession stands and if the weather is good, you can find 50,000 attending. This year weather has postponed it and it may not go ahead tomorrow either. This has been one of the worst summers on record. We had a slow start with a cold wet spring and early summer, then a blistering heat wave and now back to chilly temperatures and drizzly rain again.

I haven't attended the Regatta in years as I don't like being jostled in the crowds. The races can be interesting but more so the championship ones at the end of the day. So most of the time I take the holiday that goes along with the day and catch up on other things at home which I likely will be doing again this year.

When I'm 84

84
line drawing, graphite 11 x 14
copyright Jeanette Jobson

It was my mother's birthday on July 31st, but we had a party on Sunday for her. I can see time's changes in her more and more and the years go by. She denies her age constantly and I'm sure she's fixed in her 50s or 60s and doesn't believe time has played this trick on her, making her 84.

My mother and I have a relationship that has never been an easy one, even now. I try to assist in her life when I can, but its hard to do when the other person is unwilling. There are a lot of issues, going back over many years and I choose not to dwell on them most of the time.

I had taken some photos at the party and found one that I thought I would draw. My mother hates photos of herself and would also dislike a drawing of herself as well, especially one that showed her age or characteristics that she denies.

I recall sketching a portrait of my father many years ago and he had a small moustache. I went to her house one day and saw the portrait tucked away and the moustache was missing. I asked her about it and she said she never liked that moustache so she erased it!

Summer sketching

The advantage of having people to stay is that you have a whole new cast of characters to put on paper. This past weekend was my mother's birthday party so people came and went for a few days, food was prepared and eaten, drinks were consumed, and I sat in my corner when I had a spare few moments and sketched.

I really try to be as unnoticeable as possible when sketching as I don't want the person to be aware of me drawing them and stiffen their position or get up and move! Most of the time I can get away with sketching people without them knowing. Sometimes people are aware and humour me by sitting there. Sometimes, especially in the case of my mother, she won't have any of it and doesn't want me to draw her. And sometimes I let her believe that I've stopped too then continue on once she's gone back to doing what she was before she noticed me.

I had hoped to make a start on a larger drawing this weekend, but it was impossible to find time to do anything significant so I stuck with some sketching. I've been a little lost in terms of inspiration for a few weeks. I think the summer tends to do that. There are so many other things to take your concentration away from art, it becomes difficult to find time or inclination to knuckle down and draw.

Because the summer is so short, I feel as if I'm wasting it if I've been inside all day drawing. Yes, I could go outside and draw, but I need to get away from home to do that as I get distracted by other things around the garden and barn, then drawing gets waylaid again.

Illustrated journals

There are lots of sunflowers blooming now and I took a bunch for my office and did a quick sketch of them at lunch the other day then filled in with some colour and information around the image.

I haven't done many detailed pages like this for quite awhile and I enjoyed producing the simple sketch, colour and words. There are endless talented artists whose sole work is producing interesting illustrated journals which are a treasure to look through. There is something appealing about illustrated journal pages. Its liking having an inside look into someone else's life in more detail - just my own in this case!

Necklaces

Sea Bed - Blue porcelain necklace

East & West - Cherry bomb quartz & jade necklace

I have company for a few days and my mother's birthday celebrations over the weekend so time will be sparse. I hope to get in the bones of a new drawing and will share that when I can.

Meanwhile here are a couple of new necklaces that I have created. If anyone is interested in purchasing them, please contact me.

Broadening my horizons

Bucket o' Duck
copyright Jeanette Jobson

This image was taken a couple of years ago when one of the Pekin ducks decided she wanted to get into a bucket of water, then got stuck. The photo op was too good to pass up before she was rescued. This will be the basis of a future drawing or painting. The image was placed in the Reference Library of WetCanvas, for members so if anyone wants to use it, please do. Or click on the photo here for a larger resolution image.

After some soul searching I have decided to bow out of doing tutorials for another art forum. They do take time to produce and while I enjoy the process, there isn't enough return for my efforts, so I am rethinking ways of using these tutorials.

While it doesn't all boil down to dollars and cents, let's be realistic, it is a large part of being an artist. So what do I want in return for sharing my knowledge?

1. Exposure of my art to a wider viewing audience
2. The opportunity to share information on techniques and mediums
3. Potential sales of existing pieces
4. Attracting potential students for drawing lessons

How can I achieve any of these objectives? Let's examine each a little more.

1. Exposure of my art to a wider viewing audience.
I had that to some degree, but the audience was limited to a fairly specific demographic of the population - complete beginners. To be able to reach a wider audience, I have to go outside of a specific framework or area and show multiple options, not just one section.

2. The opportunity to share information on techniques and mediums
I want to be able to reveal the 'secrets' of drawing and take the mystique out of it. Some artists hold it close to their chest as if mentoring others in drawing or painting will diminish their own spotlight. I want to be able to watch people learn and see them grow in ability. It really is interesting to watch the process of someone go from beginner to more advanced.

3.Potential sales of existing pieces
I have a room full of art pieces, some I sell from time to time, some sit collecting dust. They need to be out in the world, being viewed. Its the old saying revised "If an art piece isn't seen, does it exist?" Prints? Galleries? Online?

I think the majority of art sales are done either through word of mouth or through a gallery. I don't have the 15 - 20 pieces for a body of work to approach a gallery at this point, so I'm limited to marketing my work locally or to a broader audience in a virtual setting.

Prints have a limited market and need research before investing money in them. The same applies to greeting cards. These also require an investment of marketing time and dollars.

4. Attracting potential students for drawing lessons
This is a double edged sword, depending on how I approach it. I can do a form of online lessons and that frees up some of my time, with but my preference is to teach in real life. It may become a a bit of both.

Reviewing this information, it is starting to point me in the direction of a website. This has been in my plans for the last year or more, but I haven't acted on. I think it is time to do so. It can be a showcase for my art and a teaching tool as well. I will have to do more research into how I can work both into a good site.

It seems I have some work to do in terms of designing the site and considering what the content will be. Does anyone have any well designed artist websites that they recommend I can review and experiences, good and bad with creating your own website?

Farm life

Its been another very warm and humid day and all the animals feel the heat and are a bit cantankerous. The pigs however, seem serene and if anything, smiling. Their pen was cleaned out and new sawdust put down so they were rolling around it, happy as ....well pigs! This is the second group of pigs that were raised and they are approaching the 200 pound mark. Off to market in a few more weeks. Yes, boys and girls, remember where your food comes from...

I visited the vegetable garden when I got home from work today to find a cow and calf moose had wandered through likely the night before, trampling several plants and munching on some beet leaves. They came in through the gate, so I guess its time to add yet more fencing to the little garden.

I also discovered that deer flies are attracted to blue, so a blue bowl plastered with a sticky fly trap and set on a pole in the field worked wonders for the horrible insects, catching 5 or 6 in the first couple of hours.

I really hate deer flies. They are so persistant in flying around your head trying to bite and if they do bite, its painful. They can easily drive me indoors while doing a dance in the field trying to get them away from me.

I've been playing with watercolours a little more, but am not pleased with my efforts. Its too washed out. I need to be bolder with watercolours but never seem to for fear of overpowering the piece. I'll keep trying. After all, I have 3 pads of watercolour paper to get through before I can buy something new....

Gina at Dogberry Hill Studio has given me a Brilliant Weblog award and I agreed to forward it. Thanks Gina! Its always lovely when someone goes to the trouble of choosing another artist or craftsperson to shine a spotlight on.

As with all awards, there is a process to keep it moving which is:

• When you receive the award, post the award image to your blog.
• Link to the blogger you received it from.
• Give the award to 7 other blogs and link to those blogs.
• Leave those seven bloggers a comment about receiving the award.

My nominees are....

Stacy Rowan
Rose Welty
Teresa Mallen
Chanan Mazal
Marsha Robinett
Steve Chipman
Laurel Neustadter

There is a variety of talent and ability in all of these artists in both artistic effort and being able to paint a picture in words in their blog.

Virtual Sketch Date image

Sunquats
Carbon pencil and white charcoal on mi-tientes 5 x 7
copyright Jeanette Jobson

* I've changed the original image here as it was a digital photo and didn't truly represent the paper colour. This is the scanner version and is much closer to the real life image.

Sunquats was the subject for the July Virtual Sketch Date and the reference was supplied by Leslie. I had never heard of sunquats before this but a llittle research shows that they are a cross between a lemon and a kumquat, with edible rind, like a kumquat. Somehow I doubt I'll ever see them here.

I have to say I struggled a bit with the image, starting out with coloured pencil then abandoning it. Still life subjects don't usually hold my interest, especially fruit and flowers, but in the spirit of the VSD I thought I'd have another try.

This time I did a tight crop of the photo then using the smooth side of an orangish toned Mi-tientes paper I used carbon pencils and a touch of white charcoal to complete the piece.

It really is good for me to go outside my usual genre. I know I can do it, I just choose not to most of the time as the subjects don't interest me as much as people or animals do. However, once I have done a piece outside my comfort zone, it is satisfying, as if I've crossed another hurdle.

We never stop learning.

The stash diet

This moose track was found in the field after some rain we'd had. The moose have been so frequently wandering across the planted field that barriers and electric fences have had to be erected to keep them from trampling/eating plants.

My art cupboard is burgeoning under the weight of art supplies. Papers that I haven't touched, well, except to fondle in passing. New sets of pencils that have barely been sharpened that sit in pretty tins waiting to be used. Canvases, paints, gesso, brushes, books, magazines, the list goes on. And I'm sure I'm not the only one in this situation.

I draw regularly - daily - and I use mostly a few sketchbooks and some larger stock paper. My main tool for drawing is a mechanical pencil (and yes, I have a half dozen of those too) yet I go to an art supply store and come out with something else. Or I see something new in an art forum or online supply store and I want to try that.

So I've decided that I'm going on a diet. A stash diet.

From now until 2009 I will not buy any new art supplies, but only use what is in my stash. The only exception will be if I run out of a staple, such as basic paper or a sketch book (like that will happen she says). I will make a dent in the supplies in my cupboard. I wonder what's in there these days? Let's see....well a quick look shows me what's there in paper.

4 pieces of smooth Illustration board
Bristol plate 500 & 400 pads
A pad of Canal paper
At least three pads of Bristol vellum and smooth
A roll of white Stonehenge paper
Somerset paper
A pack of Colourfix paper
Ampersand panels
Sanded Sabretooth paper
three watercolour pads
scads of canvas panels and stretched canvasses
and more......

I think I have some work to do - or hold a garage sale? Confession time. Do you dare reveal what's in your art supply stash?

Does anyone else want to join my stash diet? The rules are simple.

1. Work only with the supplies you currently own until December 31, 2008.
2. Do not buy ANY other art supplies between now and January 2009.
3. The only exception to rule # 2 is if you are COMPLETELY out of basic supplies such as general drawing paper (or whatever your main support is), your favourite pencil has died or the dog crunched up the last of your only Alizarin Crimson oil paint tube. (but I suspect you have another tube stuffed away somewhere don't you?)
4. You may wander in art supply stores in real life and online, but you cannot buy anything. Remember you are reducing your stash. Doing this, of course, can be a form of mental and physical torture so wander wisely.
5. As an added incentive, you can put away a little cash each week so that by the time January rolls around, you can hit the sales for new art supplies! I'm aiming for about $10 a week. That would give me about $220 to play with in January. And a much reduced art supply stash at home.

Sport and art

This is a quick line drawing of a Canadian international lifesaving sport competitor in a beach race events. I love the lines and movement sketches of athletes provide. With the Olympic Games coming up in a couple of weeks, its prime sketching time, sitting watching the competitors in various sports and trying to capture the motion.

The work I do deals with both humanitarian and sport aspects of non profit work. The sport is lifesaving. Lifesaving sport is sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee and is unique because it is the only sport in which skills are learned for humanitarian purposes and only then applied to competition.

Lifesaving sport is divided into six different disciplines including; pool events, ocean events, Simulated Emergency Response Competition (SERC), Stillwater boat competition, surf boat competition and the inflatable rescue boat (IRB) competition. With this type of diversity it is easy to understand why this sport has been deemed the most demanding multi-discipline sport in the world.

This week - July 19 - 27, 2008 - is National Drowning Prevention Week in Canada. The week is designed to draw attention to the drowning problem across the country and to encourage Canadians to stay safe in, on and around water.

Revisiting a portrait - 18 years later

Draft portrait - Robert William Barber
16 x 20, oil on panel
copyright Jeanette Jobson

Ok, I have that watercolour/self portrait thing out of my system for the moment. Now I need to concentrate on some other projects, one of which are some test illustrations for my daughter's wedding invitations.

I haven't been given a lot of direction in what they want as the backdrop for the invitations, except for ideas for an old sepia map of Newfoundland or coastal scenes in blues. I'll work on a few test pieces and see if anything appeals to them.

I found a 16 x 20 oil portrait that I started of my father before he died, which was 1990. I had the bones of it in place, but then he died and it got pushed to the back and I had more or less forgotten about the portrait until I unearthed it last weekend.

I would like to finish it, but haven't got the reference image that I used for the original piece. I'm hoping that with what I have done so far and some other photos or him, I can make it work. The background was toned with black - I need to lighten that and bring in some other colours so it won't be so stark. Its also difficult to get a good photo of the portrait with that very dark background. I'll try again tomorrow with better lighting to capture the composition and overall feel of the piece as it currently exists.