Jeff's Blog » Everyday Matters

Pouring Water Into A Glass

Jeff — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 01:30:42 +0000

Sketched 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

Jeff — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 03:54:22 +0000

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

Jeff — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 06:29:47 +0000

Drawn during a short break at drawing class.

Negative-space Chair

Jeff — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 06:28:52 +0000

A simple, scribbly sketch while waiting for drawing class to start.

A Corner of the Den

Jeff — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 02:54:27 +0000

Our 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

Jeff — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 03:34:05 +0000

Hobos 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

Jeff — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 04:02:04 +0000

I 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

Jeff — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 04:09:06 +0000

As 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

Jeff — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 03:22:33 +0000

Everyday 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

Jeff — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 03:03:19 +0000

I 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.