Monsters

Remember when you were a kid and there were monsters under your bed? You had to jump in from three feet out in case they grabbed you by the ankles and dragged you under. Well I have monsters under my front steps to the house.

The Muscovy ducks, Buddy and B.D. love to sit under there for hours, their own private camp. Muscovy ducks are quackless and make a strange hissing sound that is quite disconcerting for those who don't know them. It almost sounds like a large dog panting heavily. When someone walks up the steps to the house, they hear this strange noise from under their feet and come scurrying up half afraid of just what will be under there.

Here I have captured one of the 'monsters', Buddy, lying in wait.

Its the time of year at work and home which leaves me breathless in the speed at which it hurtles forward. Meetings, presentations, the farm, life in general never let me have enough hours in the day to do the things I really want to do which is drawing.

This week my drawing has been sadly neglected while I take care of other things. I'm smoothing the path towards some goals that I made back in January and some things are coming together. I was asked to sit on the Executive of the provincial Art Association and accepted and started the process in motion last night. Like most volunteer based organizations, there are hurdles to be jumped and a herd of ideas roam in my head for ways to enhance services for the organization and for those it serves - the artists of the province.

Being on 'the inside' allows me access to the vast network of people and resources for the arts and helps network. I can continue to build my portfolio, participate in shows and enable others to influence and help me in my journey. Workshops and information flow freely and it will be good to be back in the heart of the arts community.

I am also working on some teaching possibilities, summer art camps or workshops perhaps and some more regular teaching in the fall for an online course. As with most artists my dream would be to let art make me self sufficient. As with all things, this takes a large amount of blood, sweat and tears, as well as a plan. At last my plan is starting to come together.

More books

Cloud Study - Sky Tutorial
copyright Jeanette Jobson

Yesterday I ordered Diane Wright's new book 'Beautiful Landscapes' from the Drawing Made Easy series. Diane is a wonderful landscape artist with a passion for drawing barns - exquisite barns. She created a series of tutorials on WetCanvas which I followed with interest and participated in as much as time would allow.

If her book is anything like her tutorials, it will be something to treasure and add to the 'must have' resource list. The book has 64 pages and 115 illustrations packed into it. You can order it from Diane's website for a very reasonable price and it will soon be available through Amazon UK as well I believe.

Update

I've been nibbling away little by little at my symbolic self portrait and its slowly coming together, but still a very far way from completion. It may well take months before that happens. Its a large piece 22 x 30 on illustration board and rendered in graphite. I'm using a mix of mechanical and wood pencils to get the full range of leads that I need to make this drawing work.

Getting a good image of it has been a challenge from the start and I just can't seem to obtain a crisp image no matter what the light conditions. My camera doesn't seem to want to focus on softer greys which this is right now and needs a strong contrast for the camera to grab. I'm hoping it will be come easier as the drawing progresses.

The drawing was on my drafting table when I took the photo so the angles are off. The staff should be more upright and the horizon line really is straighter, even if it needs a little tweaking I think.

Curves

Although I have other projects to do, I came across some references in a figure class and did a quick sketch. I will go back when I have time and do justice to the piece. I liked the shapes and curves, even if I think I made the body too long.

I soooooooooo need to find a life class, but no luck as of yet. Sigh.

Textures

I was playing around with a scrap of illustration board today. It was a sample piece I'd received when I was trying to decide if I wanted large pieces of it or not. The texture, especially in portraits, that can be achieved in different paper supports is quite interesting.

I have used mostly Bristol smooth for portraits and sometimes Stonehenge paper, both of which I like a lot for graphite portraiture, each for their own individuality. I am using a 22 x 30 illustration board for a current drawing and liked mostly how its slightly rough texture worked for me. Its quite a forgiving support and takes erasure quite well which I was surprised by. I somehow felt that it would be more fragile.

So I played with this little doodle on the fragment of illustration board that was my original sample, using the circulism technique and it does work well for skin texture on this. I think I'll be buying more illustration board in the future.

Lady

I started this drawing months ago but never completed it. I worked on it a little more but it hasn't turned out as I wanted it to do. The background isn't quite right, the horse isn't quite right. But its a learning experience.

The image is about 16 x 20 in colored pencil on Stonehenge paper.

Art supplies

Today I treated myself to a little online shopping spree for some art supplies in the USA.

Its a little frustrating that I cannot access the supplies that I want locally, or often even within Canada, making me spend extra dollars to mail order things to this remote little rock in the Atlantic. I had a few unexpected dollars land in my lap, so I had to ensure they went to a good cause - art creation.

I browsed Dick Blick - an American chain of art supply stores that I wish I had been able to access when I was in California in February. Stores were in Los Angeles or San Diego, both of which were within striking distance of me, but I was rather in the middle and trying to find my way on my own to either store was challenging to say the least knowing my navigational skills. So I settle for mail order, which is very acceptable, except for exchange rates and potential duty payments. So much for free trade between Canada and the USA. However the exchange rate is quite good now, closer to 90 cents to the US dollar than the miserable 60-odd cents it was a year or two ago.

A post in Katherine Tyrrell's blog made me wish for more Derwent Drawing pencils in the full range of colours. Nowhere in Canada sold them. I could get the earth colours, which I already have, but not the extended range. So a full set of 24 was my first choice.

My second choice was a full sampler pack of Colourfix paper. This is a rough textured surface used predominantly for pastels, but works well with colored pencil as well, provided you don't mind it eating up a good deal of pencil in the process it seems. I did find Colourfix when I was in the US but not the smaller sheets of 9 x 12 which I wanted. I could only find the large 22 x 30 sheets and with travelling it would not have been worth my while to either have them cut or to roll them and hope they wouldn't get squashed in the travels.

I have found some Sabretooth paper here in Canada, by La Papeterie Saint Armand that creates lovely handmade paper in Montreal. Its not easy to find a supplier in my region for it and its fairly expensive at around $8 or $9 a sheet depending on where you buy it. I have a few sheets that I ordered awhile back still sitting waiting for my inspiration to hit.

So now I will have to wait impatiently for the post to arrive so another pile of 'loot' can be added to my growing stash of materials, part of which is shown above.

Birthday portrait

This is a sketch for a drawing that I will be creating for a friend's 50th birthday. I've toyed with images previously and finally decided on a composition (except for the guitar - it won't be in that position and I'm trying to sneak a photo of one of his).

The drawing will be a retrospective with him as a teenager and as he is now. He's still a teenager at heart, he just has more spending money now.

Running out of steam

I have been neglecting my blog lately. Yes I still post, but my posts seem uninspired and don't contain much of interest. Most of the rest of my life seems charging ahead at breakneck speed, so by the time evening comes, my energy levels are flagging and my mind's ability to even think of words, let alone type them is limited.

I spent an hour and a half wasting time waiting for someone after work today. I was to pick up something and there were delays, so I wandered around, wasting time til I could return and retrieve what I set out for originally.

I drove through newish subdivisions of very large houses set on handkerchiefs of lawns that looked out of place with perhaps 6 or 7 feet between houses. Ostentatiousness abounds in these estates and I find it amusing to see For Sale signs on a number of these large houses perhaps a year or so after people move in. Obviously, living as opposed to existing overcomes eventually and putting every last dime into housing doesn't get you anywhere.

Where has this craving for bigger come from? Do you remember living in houses where only one bathroom existed? And four people or more needed that one bathroom? Then basements. Why do people need basements? They say 'Oh, the kids will go down there and play.' No they won't. They want to be where you are and that isn't in the basement! So it sits finished, almost lined with dollar bills with no one venturing there unless its to rediscover what you put in boxes there originally or to avoid the rest of the family or relatives. Basements are horrible places, no matter what people do to make them more attractive. You're underground virtually! What use on earth does a basement have unless you want to store vegetables, as the original purpose likely was?

Flatrock 2007
Why Flatrock gets its name. The rocks are layered and stretch out into the sea from the land.

Even after not getting home til 7pm I guess there may be a couple of brain cells left to rant. Or not. The tree in the photo was a tuckamoor, the image taken this past weekend overlooking Middle Cove. A tuckamoor is a weatherbeaten conifer, black spruce here usually. They grow near the sea often, battered by wind and weather which rearrange their growth patterns and leave them clinging perilously to the edge of rocks, making you wonder how they manage to pull any sustenance out of the sparse soil and rock they are perched on. I wanted an image of such a tree for a drawing that I'm doing. I'm not sure if this will be the image. I need a few more and I couldn't get close enough to this tree without risking seeing the ocean really close up, so I'll keep looking for more easily accessible tuckamoors.

Supported

Supported
11 x 14, graphite
copyright Jeanette Jobson

Babies are so full of trust and life and curiosity about the world. Everyday is a brand new day full of brand new experiences. Wouldn't it be wonderful to be able to experience that again with the logic and reasoning that we now have as adults?

This is a drawing of my grand daughter at her finest, exploring her own world with her parents. Dress style unique and somewhat optional.

A long weekend

Its been a long weekend for me, as I took a day on Friday and today was a holiday, but it still doesn't seem long enough as I have so much to fit into my time away from work. In bits and pieces I worked on my drawing which is very slowly coming together. I still haven't finalized all the elements of it, but that will come as I progress.

These are samples of what I will be producing and price ranges.

Pendant
Trinity
$30.00

The weather was warm for a change so I got out to the beach to collect more stones and have spent time drilling them (and my finger) then started putting them together. Their organic shapes and natural colours lend themselves to fairly simple designs. I love the fact that each piece is so unique and can never be replicated. Even the earrings are not completely alike. The shapes and colours are similar, but not identical.

Pendant
High Tide
$30.00

Earrings (for pierced ears)
Logy Bay
$15.00

Dog

I can never resist a chance to draw a dog picture and today was no different. Even with other things pressing, I did this quick pen & ink then used my graphitint pencils and a wash on it. The dog is that brindle colour which is difficult to render well. He's rather more striped like a tiger.

I've started some shading on my symbolic drawing and its coming along. I still need some decent references for fish before I tackle the fish in my drawing. I want to ensure they look as realistic as possible and can't really do that out of my imagination.

Changes

I transferred my drawing of the symbolism portrait onto 22 x 30 illustration board. I've made some changes to it and I'm still not sure if its where I want it to be quite yet. The central images are fine, but I'm not quite sure where I'm going with the right side yet. I don't want to overcrowd the drawing, yet I want it to contain elements that are important to me too.

It may be one of those things that simply come to me as the drawing progresses. The photograph isn't great, as the lines were quite faint on the drawing so the camera didn't register them well and I had to try to adjust them with a graphics program.
Here are the newest additions to the farm. I know they are intended for food, but they are rather cute and do have personalities. It will be interesting to watch them as they grow. They're about 6 or 7 weeks old. Two will be picked up this weekend by a neighbour and three will remain. I'm sure there will be some drawings taking place around them.

Tagged

Cherries
Graphite sketch 5 x 8
copyright Jeanette Jobson

Wendy Prior, that wonderful New Zealand artist tagged me. Being tagged means that I must reveal seven secrets about myself and then tag seven others to do the same. That may be a challenge at this point as most of the others that I know have been tagged already. But I'll see what I can do.

Now let's see what many of you don't know about me....

1. I hate marshmallows and cotton wool. Its a texture thing. I can't bear to touch them and you couldn't pay me enough to eat a marshmallow.

2. I met a Hungarian prince at a nudist beach in the UK. My art mentor, Tom Greenshields would go there and take me along from time to time. 'Good drawing potential here...' he would say. Anyway, a good line perhaps, being a Hungarian prince, I mean, how could I ask for ID?

3. Early in my art career, I worked as an artist's model for life classes. It was interesting to see both sides of the easel and the pay was good. I also learned the art of staying very still for long periods of time. I have no exhibitionist qualities, but felt quite comfortable in the role most of the time.

4. My eldest daughter was looked after by armed bodyguards when I worked and lived in a pub in Sunbury-on-Thames. Some gentlemen who frequented the pub obviously needed armed bodyguards. I never had the courage to ask quite what they did for a living. The bodyguards looked after her well and enjoyed their time with her.

5. I love whales, and being very close to the ocean, see them regularly in season. When my children were younger, I would 'call' the whales. This would embarrass the girls no end. But the whales always arrived on cue.

6. I was asked to be an extra in 'The French Lieutenant's Woman' when it was being filmed in Lyme Regis. Unfortunately, I couldn't do so at the time as I couldn't find a child minder for my daughter for the day and couldn't really haul her around all day in period costume. However, as it was friends who made the contact (he was the art designer for the set) I was asked to the final cast party and met Meryl Streep and Jeremy Irons who were both lovely people.

7. I have met Paul King of Mungo Jerry, Denny Laine of Wings and Eric Clapton. They all used to came into the pub where I worked, either socially or professionally . I'll leave the younger of the readers to Google the names and find out who they were, as I'm sure you're saying 'Huh? Paul who??'

Now who to tag??? Seems I can only come up with five that are as yet 'untagged'.

Monica Gillis, who inspired me to work with stone.

Terry Banderas, whose paintings and pen and ink work are always fresh and bright.

Farm Girl Fare. Susan's adventures on a working farm are a constant delight.

Loretta's blog - Pomegranates and Paper is simply delicious with every reading.

Jeanne Grant's constant work at her art is an inspiration as is her progress.

The three little pigs

I started transferring my initial sketch for the symbolic drawing onto a 22 x 30 piece of illustration board last night. I got the fish image on there, then didn't like how the other symbols tied in - or didn't tie in, so I'm rethinking their positions and if they should be something entirely different. Boy, this drawing is taxing my brain!

Today I spent two hours in media interviews, standing outdoors by lakes,, fighting with sound equipment that didn't want to cooperate and with the wind which liked to play havoc with the sound equipment. It finally all came together and I got the interviews done for local news stations. I hate watching myself on television so I tend to not watch if at all possible. Why is it we don't like watching ourselves or hearing ourselves? Do we have such a different vision in our heads of what we are than what is reality?

Today three little piglets came to the farm. Well, five actually, but two are destined for Gerhardt, the three will remain here to grow and become food eventually. I'm not sure how I feel about that. I'm used to having chickens and turkeys and geese as food animals, but larger animals seem more personal somehow.

I went into the barn to watch them, little pink and white bodies sleeping, snoring slightly. They are 6 - 7 weeks old and about 30-40 lbs right now. They seem exhausted after their day of adventure but I'm sure they'll adjust and be bouncing around tomorrow. Then I'll have some photos of them to post.

The Wedding

The greenhouse is full of flowers - or half grown plants more like in preparation for a wedding. We have been asked to provide the flowers for an Indian wedding that will take place in mid July. Do you know how many flowers are used at an Indian wedding? THOUSANDS. Do you know how important an event this is in Indian culture? BIG. Does this concept worry me? You bet it does.

There are so many variables with growing that one fell swoop of Mother Nature and the bride could be walking up the aisle or whatever she walks up, round or into, with Walmart plastic flowers instead of the real thing. So keep your fingers crossed that all is well. Right now everything is in a commercial sized heated greenhouse, simmering along nicely.

Indian weddings are all about colour with marigolds playing a large role in providing the oranges and yellows. Currently there are 4,000 marigold plants growing, along with countless other varieties of flowers, including hanging begonias which will form centre pieces of floating flowers in special bowls.

Lavish affairs come with a price tag and in this instance money seems to be no object. I would anticipate that this little party will cost in the region of $50,000 all in. Let's hope they don't get divorced six months later...

Draft 3

I've finally decided on an image for my symbolic self portrait. I just have one more image to create in the lower left corner. The colour in the drawing was more me doodling while on the phone than how the real drawing will evolve. It will be in graphite only at this point. I haven't made any decisions about colour and know that this will be something that the drawing it self will tell me.

The challenge is now to transfer it to a larger scale, about 22 x 30 most likely. This image is quite small and is the thumbnail sketch. I guess gridding is likely the best way to go to ensure I get the main elements in the right places. I can fill in the details from there.

While the images are there, I won't explain much about the symbolism. Much of it is personal and its always good to let the viewer put their own spin on what they see and how they interpret it.

Strange packages

Today I picked up a unusual package from the post office. I had ordered something from the USA but it seems it was shipped from Pakistan. That's fine, but the wrapping it came in had me and the post office clerk examining it closely.

The box was shipped in a muslin cotton sleeve and stitched closed. The time and effort that it would take to prepare and ship each package amazes me, considering the speed of today's society. The postage strip was stuck to the muslin and overall, the package was quite exotic by current standards.

Is this common in Pakistan as an 'envelope' or something unusual?

Jewellery

I have created some jewellery, some of which I have donated to charities and which has been well received, so I kept going. I am still working on beach stone jewellery and should have some of that to show early next week I hope. Meanwhile I'm putting a test piece out into the market place locally soon to see what people think.

It is a necklace and matching earrings. The stones are aquamarine and forest landscape jasper, interspersed with turquoise and sea green glass beads with silver bead spacers. The fastening is a heart shaped toggle. The earrings are for pierced ears and have the same aquamarine jasper and sea green beads that the necklace contains. This set is available to purchase for $55 (Canadian).

This is a unique piece of jewellery and will not be replicated. If anyone wishes to purchase it prior to it being let loose to the St. John's public, please email me for payment and shipping details.

Recognition

The Realist Artists Association of Newfoundland and Labrador have chosen my art piece 'The Artist's Cat' as Best of Show in the recent Spring Show that I exhibited a few weeks ago with the Artists Association of NL.

I was thrilled to receive the news and happy as that drawing sold as well. I was to be presented with the award last night at the Association's Annual General Meeting, but unfortunately was unable to attend. I will receive the award later this week however. Its good to receive recognition for work. Artists have fragile egos and every pat on the head counts.

Now to work on more ideas for the symbolic self portrait. After this week so far, barbed wire and high fences seem good choices. The sketch above was a quick line drawing, done while travelling, of a lab looking as if his walk was stopped in mid flight. Perhaps that look would sum me up about now...