Archive for the ‘Everyday Matters’ Category

Pouring Water Into A Glass

Friday, January 1st, 2010

glass-sketchSketched from a photo on Stock.xchange.  The drawing is out of proportion and crooked, which I attribute to the couple of glasses of wine I drank before pulling out my sketchbook; but if you squint and look away quickly, it might fool your eye just a little.

Oh well, learn from your mistakes and move on, right?

Mountain Bluebird

Sunday, December 13th, 2009

mountain-bluebird0001

This mountain bluebird is my entry for Everyday Matters challenge #125: draw a bird.

Drawn from a photograph in the book Born Wild by Henry H. Holdsworth; a photo book of young animals in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks.

Trash Can

Sunday, December 13th, 2009

trash-canDrawn during a short break at drawing class.

Negative-space Chair

Sunday, December 13th, 2009

negative-chairA simple, scribbly sketch while waiting for drawing class to start.

A Corner of the Den

Saturday, October 17th, 2009

chair-and-lampOur condo has a small area at the front of the living room that is not exactly part of the living room, but neither is it a separate room.  The floor plans referred to it as a den.  I suppose with an open floor plan, you can call any area anything you want; but I get a kick out of showing guests “the den”.

This was a 30-minute sketch: 4B pencil in my sketchbook.  Just trying to capture the light/shadow from the lamp.

Brown Paper Bag

Thursday, October 15th, 2009

paper-bagHobos are known to share their brown paper bags.  I’m not a hobo, but I am still willing to share mine with you.

This was drawn in class this evening.  18×24 charcoal on Canson drawing paper which was graciously supplied by the instructor.  This was too large for my scanner, so I had to photograph it with my phone (because it seemed like too much trouble to dig out the good camera); that dark spot on the bottom-right is my shadow.

Another Crack at the Crock

Thursday, September 10th, 2009

garlic_and_crockI was happy with my loosey-goosey sketch of that garlic crock the other night, and (apparently) lacking much in the way of creativity, I decided to try it again: this time a little more controlled, and I tried to make the composition a bit more interesting by placing a bit of garlic in front of the crockery.

I stuck with the Cotman paints and waterbrush just for the sake of seeing whether I could keep things from getting too messy.

The main issue I have with this is that I don’t think I got quite enough contrast.  This has been an issue that I’ve had from the beginning; though I do feel like I’m slowly improving in that regard.

Garlic Lives Here

Tuesday, September 8th, 2009

garlic_crockAs I slowly reintroduce art back into my daily routine, I thought I would try a very loose painting today.  This garlic crock stood out while I was cleaning up after dinner.  It keeps moisture from getting into the heads of garlic stored within, and it looks nice sitting on the counter.

I eschewed the under-drawing, opting instead to lay down the paint directly.  Accuracy suffered, but I like the looseness of the image.  I also opted to use my student-grade paints and a waterbrush for this one, because they are just less hassle to deal with; and tonight was all about minimizing hassle.

My Keys

Wednesday, July 29th, 2009

keysEveryday Matters challenge #37 is ‘Draw some keys’.  These are mine.

Yes, that is a Garanimals key chain.  No, I don’t have kids.  Yes, I am a full-grown adult.  That’s just how I roll.

And for the record, I don’t actually wear Garanimals.  Although if I did, it would certainly have prevented a number of fashion faux pas committed by yours truly over the years.

I’ve been in an artistic funk for the past couple of weeks; waiting for inspiration to strike.  It hasn’t.  Fortunately, the Everyday Matters list has lots of things to choose from — no need to wait for inspiration.  Too bad the list can’t come to my house and kick my lazy butt off the couch sometimes.

Your Basic Bottle Opener

Sunday, July 12th, 2009

bottle_openerI picked up some gray PITT pens this weekend while I was supposed to be grocery shopping.  Hey, it’s not my fault they put the grocery store so close to the art store…  This is my first sketch with them.

Edit: just for the record, I did continue on to the grocery store immediately after the art store.