Day Fifty Five

After a long day, I’m sitting here listening to the peaceful hum of my computer as I scan sheet, after sheet, after sheet of negatives. Leaving my computer every few minutes to run to the window and check for snow. I’m hoping (sorry anyone who has to drive in this weather) that we really do get the blizzard everyone has been forecasting. I love shooting in the snow. Especially with my trusty and (so far) indestructible Pentax k1000; with film you needn’t worry about the cold. Now for some ink...

Today’s word fits perfectly with my day, my outlook on creativity and life in general. Must be some word, eh? Well, I think that it is. Okay, before begin to ramble, here’s our word:

oasis n., pl. oases  A fertile section in the desert which contains water; anything that provides refuge.

I wanted to illustrate my belief that you are your oasis. I was thinking the other day about how nothing and no one will be there for you every second of your life except for you. I think it’s important be able to be solid and calm within. It’s a lot easier, in my experience, to deal with the outside world if you have yourself to fall back on. Alright, enough!! Time for some pictures...

I'd begun with a sketch in pencil, and worked to define the people surrounding her more and more. I then inked the drawing to create more of a bold contrast. I decided against erasing the pencil from the paper after inking; I didn’t want to lose the softness and fill that the under-layer of pencil provided.

As always, I hope you enjoyed today’s post! Thanks for reading!

Xx

-r

Day Fifty Four

Grr!!!!!!!!! Coming to you from the world’s slowest computer…how I left my laptop’s power cord behind is beyond me… *SIGH* Alright. Let’s settle down and work on The Ink Drop, right? Right.

Today’s word is so lovely and peaceful, I wanted to twist it a little. As I began to sketch, I formed a more solid idea of what I would like to create. Approximately ten thousand tiny, detailed, lines later I was still as far from my goal as I was when I started. Well, I tossed that piece of paper aside and began again.

Once again, I relied on pastels to “make” the piece. Oh wait, the word..

moon-lit  adj. Lit by the moon.

Right, okay, back to pastels… I used the pastels to create a soft, dark enviroment in which to place my character. I would say more, but I am already in danger of giving away the surprise. So, I’ll shush and just show you:

I liked the idea of the character being moon-lit, but not in the usual way. I played with the idea of the character interacting in some way with the moon, and settled on the idea of eating it.

I hope you enjoy tonight’s post! Thank you for reading!

Xx

-r

Day Fifty Three

Attended a lovely dinner party this evening. I tried brussels sprouts flavored with bacon and almonds for the first time. They were delicious. A few dozen Billie Holiday songs and three or four intellectual conversations later, here we are.

After reading today’s word, I was feeling torn. Because this word has multiple (and very different) definitions, I found myself wanting to incorporate both definitions into today’s piece. So, I did. How successful I was is for you to judge. But first, the word!

re-flect v. To throw back rays of light from a surface; to give an image, as from a mirror; to ponder or think carefully about something.

Immediately, I thought of a person standing with their hand on a mirror, looking at their reflection. Although I have found this scene depicted in a variety of mediums, I still enjoy it. I think the point of connection between the person and their reflection is fascinating. It is like looking at two identical people who “grow” from one source; that hand pressed to the glass. I decided to illustrate this (as best I could) but have the character seeing a version of themselves in the distant past. 

I wanted to make use of multiple definitions of the word “reflect”; I wanted to show a person both being reflected in a mirror and reflecting on the past. I’m still not satisfied with the angle of the girl in the mirror, but I decided to avoid creating any more distracting eraser smudge and just stick with what I had.

I hope you enjoyed today’s post! Thank you for reading!

Xx

-r

Day Fifty Two

Worked a bit on some side projects today. We had miracle 50 degree weather this afternoon; every hipster and their sidekick were out to play. After a long day, I’ve settled down in front of the tube for some Star Trek: The Next Generation (and am enjoying the hell out of it just in case you were wondering). Alright, enough about my day...it’s time for some blogging.

With today’s word, I had plenty of options. I had a few good ideas, but one image really stuck with me. Much of the time, I’m fortunate enough to have a loose idea of what to create pop into my head upon reading the day’s word. Today, the idea was very clear and well-formed. I knew exactly what would appear on the page, and managed to follow through with it from start to finish. Okay, okay. I’ll tell you the word before you get confused.

crumb  n.  A small fragment of material, particularly bread.

There are just so many options for this word! Luckily, as I said before, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. As I began to sketch out this character, it began to take on a life of its own and grow steadily creepier.

As the hands came into being, I realized that this character was no ordinary one. After all, what ordinary character could be found down on the floor collecting crumbs? I imagine her, much like a small mouse, scuttling out from the shadows in search of bits of leftover food. To me, she is more animal-like than human. I try not to read too much into my art, and let other people make their own opinions but I couldn’t help myself with today’s art.

I hope you enjoyed today’s post. Thank you for reading!

Xx

-r

Day Fifty One

Ooh, long day. Got a bunch of products packaged up to take to the Wonder Fair. (yay!) Okay, time for today’s post...

Like yesterday’s word, today’s word made me laugh. It brought a very cute and bittersweet image into my head. And I knew exactly what to draw. Oh yeah, today’s word...

pudg-y  adj. To be fat and short.

I looked at it and went “aww”. There’s something so adorable about a pudgy little kid. I wanted to separate him from classic fat kids by drawing him as a slightly strange character. Alright...now for the picture:

Between the sad eyes and the enjoyment of licking something sweet from his fingers, there’s a mix of emotion in this character that I really like.

I hope you enjoyed today’s post! Have a great night and thank you for reading.

Xx

-r

Day Fifty

I can’t tell you how excited I was about today’s word...but I will definitely try. So, I grab the dictionary and flip through until my finger lands on a word. I look down, and there it was. Ah!! I thought to myself I love this word! It’s amazing. It’s wonderful. Well...what can I do with it?

Before I tell you, I should probably tell you what the word is...

noodle n. A flat strip of dried dough made with eggs and flour.

I thought, and thought...and eventually came across memories of taking care of my younger brothers. I remembered fun outings, long afternoons at the park, and trips to the ice cream store. The parts of these events that I remember most clearly are the endings. You know that moment, when you’re doing something fun for a small child, and it’s time to leave? The resulting screaming and kicking fit has always stuck with me. At least they were young enough, at this point, that we could pick them up and carry them out. As they gave up fighting, they would try their last option; something my mother nicknamed “the limp noodle”. Enter: today’s word. In order to make themselves as heavy as possible (trust me, it works...they magically gain like 100 pounds) they go completely limp. With the unexpected added weight, you strain to keep from dropping them as you haul them out and home. It’s difficult to keep from bursting out laughing at being in this ridiculous situation. Wow, that was quite a build-up! Well, anyway, I think you know what I decided to illustrate today. Alright, I’ll stop writing now and show you the pictures:

I like the simple pencil sketch and was afraid of losing the emotion in the eyes by inking the drawing.

I really hope you enjoyed today’s post. Thanks for reading!!

Xx

-r

Day Forty Nine

Ah, settling in with a hot cup of tea. Dad is presenting weird number theories and we’ve all pulled out our phones. (When did I reach the point where I couldn’t do basic math and began to rely completely on my cell phone’s calculator??!) I did start a new sketch...there's work to be done but it's coming along:

 Enough of this insanity...back to the blog!!

Today’s word, although more extreme, follows in the footsteps of yesterday’s word. Maybe it’s just me, but this word made me immediately start humming “Psycho Killer” by The Talking Heads. If you are unfamiliar with this song...I pity you. I also recommend following this link before you continue:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Smge23DCE8

“don’t touch me I’m a real live wire psycho killer...qu’est-ce que c’est...fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa far better run run run run run run awayyy...”

Okay...I’m done...

Anyway, this song has absolutely nothing to do with today’s drawing. But it’s a good one. Would you like to know the word...?

Yeah. I figured you would...

live wire  n., Slang An energetic person.

So, I decided to do a real character today. I wanted to draw a young woman who was still carefree and very spunky. She’s strange and a little spastic, but I found myself liking her more as the drawing came closer to a finishing point.

In case you are confused by the hair situation, she is supposed to be wearing aviator goggles. The straps pull her hair in at the sides. 


I hope you enjoy today’s piece. Thanks for reading!!

Xx

-r

Day Forty Eight

Ooh...late post. Spent the whole day working on school stuff. Darn. I did manage to ink a drawing, though:

Anyway, I really liked today’s word because it reminded me of a relative of mine. She sort of embodies this word. Although it was impossible to capture the true level of “bubbly” that is this cousin of mine, but I really tried. Alright, let’s get to the word:

jaun-ty  adj.  Having a buoyantly carefree and self-confident air or matter about oneself.

No matter the circumstances, she is always incredibly upbeat. I have always been inspired by her to be more jaunty. I just did a simple sketch in pencil for today’s word. I added a little color for the mouth and hair to make it pop.

I’m not entirely satisfied with this piece; it is much, much harder to capture a real person’s personality in a drawing than it is to just create your own character. Sounds like a good exercise for later!

Thanks for reading!! Hope you have a great night!

Xx

-r

Day Forty Seven

Oh boy! Today’s word...I could NOT have thought of a better one. I will tell the story from the beginning. Realizing I had yet to complete my day’s work, I emerged slowly from my vegetative state on the couch, rolled over to the dictionary, and “found” today’s word. It took me approximately an hour to convince myself to get up off the couch and face the seemingly daunting task ahead. Alright, enough of this drama...

When I saw today’s word, my eyes immediately went to the styrofoam containers piled on the coffee table. Mmm, Chinese take-out. If, like me, you have parents who refuse to shop anywhere but health food stores and the closest you got to Wonder Bread as a child was seeing it on tv, you’ve probably heard today’s word many times...

mon-o-so-di-um  glu-ta-mate  n.  Sodium glut-amate used as a seasoning, abbreviated as MSG.

Oh, MSG, how I love thee. I think this word (or words) wins the award for most syllables so far. Well, after gazing at the coffee table (had a nice, close, eye-level view from the couch) the rice container caught my eye. I’ve always loved them; there’s something so...cute about eating rice out of a little paper box with a handle. Anyway, I used the take-out rice box as a start for today’s piece. Because an illustration on monosodium glutamate sounded boring (and involved research) I decided to illustrate feelings, actions, and objects I associated with MSG (specifically in Chinese food).

Side One:

Stuffed cheeks and full bellies.

Side Two:

Bowls of food and (what is supposed to be) fortune cookies.

Side Three:

Left: The initial excitement as the delivery person arrives.

Right: Ordering, and a post chow-down nap.

Side Four:

Looking forward to some yummy Chinese food.

Top:

Gotta’ love that MSG.

Thanks for reading!! As always, I hope you enjoyed today's post. 

Xx

-r

Day Forty Six

Today’s post coming to you live (just barely) from the couch. I almost forgot about today’s piece; I scrambled last minute for the pastels and a piece of tagboard. As I sketched in pencil, I came up with the idea for what to do with today’s word. Oh yes...today’s word...

in-dus-try n., pl.  –tries The commercial production and sale of goods and services; a branch of manufacture and trade; industrial management as distinguished from labor; diligence.

After working for a bit, I decided to do sort of a sort of mirror image.

I liked the idea of the plants mirroring the buildings in approximate shape and size. I wanted to show the replacing of plants and trees with tall buildings and smog. (Just between you and me, I prefer the dark and grungy industrial wasteland to the picturesque field any day.) I think I would rather have spent more time cleaning up the image; maybe I will work on this idea for a print later on. Now that I have the rough draft, I’d like to see how a clean, bright silhouette would turn out versus the sketchy, soft lines created by pastel.

Thanks for reading!! Enjoy your night!

Xx

-r

Day Forty Five

Did a little linoleum block carving today. I am pretty thoroughly convinced it is not for me. Oh well, I gave it my best. I have one piece I have not carved-that will most likely be my final attempt. Now for some bloggin’

Today’s word brought an image to mind that I knew I had to bring to life. It’s not original, or even particularly interesting. Cute, maybe. Funny, yes. Would you like to know the word before you see the piece? Yeah...that’s probably the order we should go in.

head-set  n.  A pair of headphones.

Now, I don’t know about you, but if I didn’t know what a headset was, this definition probably wouldn’t help me all that much.

Although this scene/character is not at all a new idea, I couldn’t help but create my own version. I started with a pencil sketch...

And then moved on to the paint. 

I decided against inking the drawing; I didn’t want to lose the soft edges and the easy flow of her hair to the deep, clean black of my drawing pens.

Hope you enjoyed today’s piece. Enjoy your night, and sleep in for me tomorrow. Good night, all!

Xx

-r

Day Forty Four

I liked today’s word. I thought it best, after a long, long day, to do a simple pen and ink sketch.

primp  v.  To dress or arrange with superfluous attention to detail.

I used today’s word to illustrate a girl getting ready to go out. 

She begins, hair pulled back from her face, with makeup.

 The second drawing is of the final “mirror check” where the last little hair adjustments are made. Oh, how I love being a girl.

My favorite is the drawing on the upper right. I like the way her mouth turned out.

Thanks for reading! Have a great night.   

Xx

-r