Of Mice and Butterflies

Carla has a list of subjects in her book.  You pick two numbers at random then match the numbers with the subjects.  I got mouse and bycycle!  I hate mice, and haven't had a thing to do with a bycycle for at least 25 years.  But, to play fair, I gave it the ole one two try.  He is rather dapper, don't you think?

On another lab, you make a list of twenty subjects you LIKE to draw.  Then go to net randomizer and draw in order what comes up.  

The randomizer gave me these in order:  face, butterfly, lines, flowers, lips.  So this is how my picture turned out...

I am not too sure how many more labs I will be able to complete.  Some of them require field trips and I don't "get off my hill" very much.  Like going to the library... I gave that up years ago.  Our mini library does not have much to offer...  and side walk crack art...   well, you get the picture!

Scribbles and Paint Splotches

Art can be way laid back as in these little fun labs using scribbles and paint splats.  Rochart or Freud anyone? (spelling?)

Gouche smears turn into a pelican (?) and a red lady.

I like this green man... reminds me of an old TV show host... something supernatural I think.

Miro and Picasso inspired, again.

Scribbles into a fish and a mouse?

Into a turtle face and an Otter?

Into an owl and an elephant

Some birds

a duck

a dog

a woman

and some bugs!

What better subjects could an artist ask for?

More Drawing Lab Fun/Play

Collage then Draw!

Doodling on Steroids

Klee Carbon Transfer

Monkey Business

I am way behind with the book.  Most everyone else is finishing up.  I have to keep revisiting the labs because I think I can do better.  I usually do come up with something I like better.  I think the group tried to go through the labs way too fast... I am only like about half way through.. and I skipped a few labs too!  

Paper Dolls?

Ok, so I am not a big paper doll enthusiest (sp?), but I like to try everything when I am doing a book study.  So, in Drawing Lab, Carla suggests making paper dolls and playing with them, I did make the dolls, but I did not play with them.  At least not like we did when we were children.  Perhaps the coloring of them could be considered "playing", lol.  I did have a bit of a struggle with getting dimensions right with these, but I am sure I will be giving them to my sweet car girls and they won't notice the unusual body formations, he he.

Transfers

In Drawing Lab, Carla has us use a couple of transfer methods.  The first one is to use a carbon or transfer sheet, drawing on the backside of this with your fingernails.  Here are some I tried.  I had to use what I had with me on the trip to color them.

Camp visitors for models.

Ok, these may have been scribbles at first... not too sure here.

Yesterday's Playing

You know, having 5X8 card stock next to my nightly viewing chair makes it handy to grab one and play.  Last night and the night before, I revisited the Miro and Picasso Labs, just because they intrigue me.  I have tendency to think about a process after I have tried it, and I decided I could do better.  So these arethe second time around efforts!

The top one is the Miro and the bottom one is a Picasso dog.

I really should move on to a new lab now.  Maybe I will!  LOL

Oh, and for those of you who asked me "What is YSM?" the answer is yard sale mall... my way of referring to the country wide selling of stuff in yards and garages.  I hit some awesome and some really pitsy ones everywhere I travel, and at home.  

One Eyed Monsters

Playing with Carla some more.  I am not too sure about this process, but I have to learn to just get funky and play... perhaps more and more practice at this will work, lol. I like that Carla says to use what ever you have to make art... a philosophy I have held for many years.  Nice that someone in the "main stream" of the mixed media mania flow agrees with me!

I did this one in my "anything" journal that I keep by my evening TV viewing chair. I love this journal, it's size, the manila heavy weight paper, the fact I found it in a 99 cent bin in a scratch and dent store.  I colored this guy with Walnut Oil Pencils, one of my YSM finds.

These came after the first one, on the blue card stock (card stock is recommended by Carla) I also found at the YSM.  The top one I filled in his body with a Koor I Noor Magic colored pencil (bought in an art store from the sale items in Astoria) and Copic markers from Dick Blick.

The second one I used the Copics except I think his hat is the Koor I Noor pencil.

I love finding art supplies at the YSM.  I have some unusual mediums, which I would never buy otherwise.  I also like to buy from the sale/mark down items in stores, but I don't do that often because I don't live by any stores.  Going to an art store is like turning a kid loose in a candy store for me!  I loved the little one I found in Astoria called Dots and Doodles. I mostly just bought sale items and I still spent way too much $ there, lol.

Draw a Monkey

Another Drawing Lab inspired drawing.  I am afraid I started this, but did not actually follow directions.  Whimsy eludes me!

Drawing From TIME

After I drew the little dog from the cover of TIME, I leafed through the magazine and found a couple more fun animals.  Here is one done on a pre prepped art journal page, drawn with a charcoal pencil.

More Ho Hum Faces

It is hard to keep doing the same thing over and over.  I started my facebook some time ago, showed about six faces here, then moved on.  Then, I started this 100 faces project as I am working through the book study over in the ART group of Carla Sonheim's Drawing Lab,  so have done faces for what seems like days right now, but in reality, it has only been three days.  So, I think, I need to take a rest from face book again!  I have been trying to use water color with my latest faces.  Next time I pick up my face book who knows?

Faces In My Facebook

You may remember my facebook I started?  Well, I added a few more to it today.  I divided the page into parts and made smaller ones, rather than a large one face page.  This is a child's book, I think the road runner, which I gessoed over.  Then I used a #2 pencil to draw the faces.  Gave them a water color wash. Then brought out details with a charcoal pencil.  My goal now, thanks to Drawing Lab is to get 100 faces in this book!

And here is a page from a really old journal, which was blank at one time, then gessoed, then sometimes I have ephemera I have collected so I paste them at random on empty journal pages.  If the pasted whatever doesn't work with an idea, I can always gesso over it later.  This one, I think, works with the dog I drew last night.  The dog was on the cover of TIME magazine, and he is way cute!

More Drawing Fun Catch Up

Today, my first day home, my studio kept calling my name.  So, I sat down at my art desk and did some eye dropper portraits.  Let them dry, and added a bit of watercolor to them.  I love this process!  It takes the drawings a bit beyond the usual, don't you think?  It was fun to be able to play with ink, a media I would never use on the road as it is too messy!

I bought a little tub full of inks at the YSM earlier this summer so of course I had to try a couple in colors!

And this is a non dom hand effort I forgot I tried, while on the trip.

Another scribble portrait, with a bit of water color over wash.

I really really like the portraits!  I probably will be doing more of these!

And, if I happen to repeat something please forgive... traveling sorta makes your life a bit wonky!

Klee Carbon Paper Transfer

We have had lots of camp visitors... they like to clean up trashy people's messes.  So, I used them for models for a Drawing Lab lab.

We will be heading easterly starting tomorrow.  We are sad to be leaving the coastal areas of WA and OR! I say that as even now, as I am fogged in at an ocean side campgrounds.  I like the different climate... a nice change from our high desert one at home.

Scribbling

One of the Drawing Lab labs deals with making art using scribbles.  To warm up, just use a piece of paper and a ball point pen and scribble nothings.  I did that.  Then, today, I went to a fabulous art store here in Astoria, called Dots and Doodles, and bought some "on sale" stuff.  One thing was a box of German made Lyra pure color sticks in metalics and a Kor i Noor Magic crayon.  I started playing with the crayon on the page already scribbled and surprised myself with this piece of scribble art!

I love the Drawing Lab book and all the fun labs in it!!!

May The Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose

and other Drawing Lab labs too.

Miro type art.

Picasso influenced.

Picasso again!

These are so fun to do.  I believe I will be doing many more, if and when I get back to my studio.

Don't you just love the hairy leg?  lol

One Liners

One of the exercises you can do in Carla Sonheim's Drawing Lab book is try to draw something using only one line!  Interesting and playful drawings can be made with her method.
We went to Neah Bay and I got to walk along the shore of the straight of Juan de Fuca where I found a sea weed bulb, some sea weed flowers and some rocks and flowers.  When we got back to camp, I put the flowers in the bulb like vase and layed the shells and rocks around it to make a still life.  Here are the one liners I made from the still life.  I want to do some more of these when we get back to home base!

Done with a fine point permanent marker.

On the left I used a #2 pencil.   On the right a brush tip permanant marker.