(no subject)

[miladycarol]

 I took yesterday off the editing job.  Instead, I cooked, cleaned the kitchen and washed the windows from the outside, walked to the grocer and back, and played some relaxing board games with Mom and friends.  I also neglected to paint more leaves on my trees.  The other day, I was so tired of little green leaves, I grabbed my blues and purples and a fresh brush and ran off to the bathroom.  This is what happened.



It was good to paint something with eyes after only leaves for weeks.

Comments

[wyliekat.livejournal.com]

GORGEOUS!

[miladycarol.livejournal.com]

Why, thank you. If felt good to loosen up and move my arm in broad strokes for a bit. I've been spending so much time hyperextended on a ladder painting tiny leaves on my ceiling for too long. Some day, I'll be finished with the deciduous trees. Some day.

[wyliekat.livejournal.com]

I can't wait to see the finished result (assuming you share).

[miladycarol.livejournal.com]

Oh, I certainly shall. I am hoping to finish this editing job late this week or early next, then finish the mural room by the first week of March. I'm having some folk over for G's birthday and I'd like the room to be useful. It's my goal, at any rate.

[thoughtsbykat.livejournal.com]

That's really lovely. I love porpoises.

[miladycarol.livejournal.com]

Feisty little beasties, they are. They are great to play with... it you're into unrequited relationships. *grins* I have great respect for them. It seemed natural to include them in the bathroom with the shower in it. Maybe I'll ask a tortoise if she'd like to join the room, too. After my trees, though. Must stay focused...

[sbloss.livejournal.com]

You are such a talented artist! I wish I could paint like that. That is really very beautiful.

[miladycarol.livejournal.com]

We all have a different style. You have a great comic book/line drawing style. I'm not so sharp at that. I'm more of a sketch person. Very different styles. There's room for us all, don't you think?

[sbloss.livejournal.com]

That's very true, thank-you. There's always room for improvement though. I intend to improve my artistic style. I think it will help even my cartooning if I do this. I just neet to buckle down and draw more. :D

[miladycarol.livejournal.com]

The same can clearly be said for me, as well.

I remember my graphic arts teacher once told us that we should devote at least 2 hours a day to sketching. This rather rankled me.

I understood that he was absolutely correct and I know that the great masters of art, like Michelangelo and Bernini, spent their entire days enveloped in their work. All those hours of passionate devotion cemented their mastery. I understand and respect that. I also am cognizant that these men had wealthy patrons that paid for their upkeep so they could submerge themselves in art. No matter how great the potential of a serf, they simply weren't going to find the resources to sketch for 2 hours a day. At the time, I found myself in the same circumstance. Most of my day was spent at work, my evenings in homework, cooking and family matters. Finding time to draw wasn't always a possibility. Still, I'm fortunate that my work as a jeweler was in art and it afforded me time in sculpture, if not sketching.

In sum, even when you don't have time to actually sit and sketch for 2 hours a day, the mere act of thinking in art, planning it, drawing in your head, is all part of the experience. Yes, there will always be room for improvement. Always. I'm sure Bernini felt the same way. As a human, I'm never quite satisfied. I'm convinced I could do it better, faster, with more surety... yet I love what I do when I do it. Just love the experience of it all. When you do sit and draw, it will be enriched by this feeling, I'm sure.

[sbloss.livejournal.com]

Two hours a day? That's a good target for me. I can do that! Thanks!

I just need to turn off the "inner-critic" because I can really enjoy drawing if that nasty fellow shuts up for a while. :D

[miladycarol.livejournal.com]

You know, if you like drawing people, I have a trick. I will sometimes sit with a movie and hit the pause button when I see an image of an actor that I'd like to capture. I grab my sketchbook and just go. I had a VCR that used to tape for me during the week. I'd play it back on weekends while grooming dogs and cleaning fish tanks. If ever I saw a good image, I'd back it up and hit pause. The pause lasted for 3 minutes, then it would shut off, assuming the person had gone away. It was an excellent time constraint to make sure I didn't fuss over details. The point was to capture the face, the expression or the body in motion, quickly and with feeling.

My point is, you can sit with your sketch pad, doodle while watching a movie, then pause every once in a while and draw from the screen. No pressure. There's no nasty little fellow in your head, for your head is full of the movie dialogue. Just shut up and draw, eh? *grins*

[sbloss.livejournal.com]

That's a pretty good notion. I shall have to try it!

[karjack.livejournal.com]

That looks great!

[cmdr-zoom.livejournal.com]

ooo, pretty.
And very appropriate for the bathroom. :)