Day Twenty Four

Happy New Year’s Eve, people! I’m sort of drifting between being relieved that the year is over and looking around in surprise wondering where the hell it went. Oh well, time for 2011, right? Jeez, it’s like living in a science fiction movie. Who ever thought we’d get to 2011??

So, today’s word fit perfectly with an antique oceanography book I had been given to use for art projects. As much as it pains me to pull the pages from the book, it made a great background for today’s artwork.

Oh yes…word!

sail-ing  n.  The skill of managing a ship.

My grandmother, when she was younger, sailed on the Pacific racing and transporting boats back and forth for those too busy to experience the incredible adventure that is sailing. In honor of her (she also happens to be the person who gave me the oceanography book) I drew a picture of a young girl on a sailboat. After my father bought a sailboat (although we only sail on lakes), I was able to understand the wild thrill of being on a ship. The best place to stand is against the mast. Out of the way of the sail and jib, you are able to see everything as the wind makes you free and wild. Anyway, you’re probably tired of reading my ramblings...so I’ll let you see today’s art:

It began in pencil...

And traced in pen,

Please enjoy! See you all next year! ß sorry, couldn’t help myself...

Xx!

-r

Day Twenty Three

The room is well on its way to becoming usable...yay!

As promised, here is the photograph of yesterday’s piece:

Now for today...I had decided to use my white pen and a small piece of mat board that I had found on the floor while cleaning (so, so glamorous) for today’s piece even before I knew what the word would be. After I had found my word, everything just came together...

fe-mur  n., pl. femurs or femora  The bone extending from the pelvis to the knee.

Although I’m not entirely satisfied with this creation, the altered take on black and white line drawings has (hopefully) potential. It may not seem this way, but it is definitely a dramatic change (and challenge) to create a good balance of negative and positive space when switching from black-on-white to white-on-black. I’m excited to see what is produced with a bit more practice. Until then...

As always, enjoy!

Xx

-r

Day Twenty Two

Here we are again, beginning day twenty two with my apologies for being unable to post images. Dear readers, I swear to figure out this issue by next week. This is getting old!!

For those of you blessed (or cursed) enough to have signed up for facebook, I will be posting today's images on my art page: under "Ruby Love". You should see a drawing of a girl with a camera as the page's photo.

Now, down to business...

Today's word turned out to be very fun to draw, and I hope at least half as fun to view.

im-pos-ture or im-pos-ter n. One who assumes a false identity or title for the purpose of deception.

I decided to do a couple that had "switched places" and assumed each other's identities. Hope you enjoy!!

For those who could not track down the facebook art page-never fear!!
I will include the photo from today in tomorrow's post.

Enjoy your night, and be grateful for those who wander in (and out, and then back in) to your life.

Xxx!

-r

Day Twenty One

I emerged from the chaos that is now my room...

to bring you this post. Apparently large amounts of anxiety lead to large amounts of re-organizing. Yay for a new room!!

So, although I am not a religious person, I can really relate to today’s word. As my family and I have experienced plenty of worry this year, I know the comfort today’s word can give.

Oh yeah, today’s word...

ro-sa-ry  n., pl. –ies  A string of beads for counting prayers, a series of prayers.

Although the picture does not really embody the praying aspect of a rosary, I enjoyed drawing it and I hope you enjoy looking at it. I made a little mistake when it came to the gloves; it is hard to tell that those are her arms, but I decided to try out my amazing white pen on this piece.

Thanks for reading!

Xx

-r

Day Twenty

Day two of digitizing negatives...five and a half rolls of film finished; about twenty three more to go...but that’s another story.

Wow!! Day twenty! It is very exciting to have made it this far; I am looking forward to many more days of drawing, painting, sketching, photographing, writing and whatever else goes into this eh...production.

Today’s word was an interesting one.

se-quence  n. A set arrangement; a number of connected events; the regular order; the order in which something is done.

Tough, but not entirely without possibilities. After some thinking, I decided to do a few drawings of the same character as they changed and progressed.

As the drawings continue, she gets less matronly and less restrained. The progressively wider eyes were not intentional; I kind of like the way they turned out.

Enjoy your night and today’s posting!

Xx

-r

Day Nineteen

This late post brought to you by a post-Christmas dinner with our beloved Maddie and Liza. Although it delayed the blog somewhat, it was well worth it for the wonderful evening.

scal-pel  n.  A small, straight knife with a narrow, pointed blade, used in surgery.

Today’s art brought varying degrees of frowning upon the faces of the family members I eagerly handed it to for inspection. Although somewhat different from the rest of the pieces in spirit, today’s word brought with it a certain thrill; the idea of creating something that slightly scares those who see it kind of delights me. With that...um...lovely introduction, I will leave you to your own opinion. Feel free to voice it in the “comment” section below.

As always, I hope you enjoy. Have a great evening.

Xx

-r

Day Eighteen

Let me begin by saying: Merry Christmas!

Here is the photo that you missed out on yesterday (apologies):

This is going to be a small post for that very reason; I think I got maybe 6 hours of sleep and in the world of the teenage girl that is about 2 hours. But, hey, it’s Christmas!

Today’s word, although not particularly Christmasy, could definitely tie in with what I imagine many of you are doing at the moment-settling down with some post-Christmas blues in front of the “boob tube” after a long day.

The word (or, rather, words) is “rabbit ears”.

rab-bit ears  n.  Indoor television antenna, having two extensible rods, connected to a base forming a V shape.

Although TV’s have evolved far past the point of rabbit ears, I still draw them with this addition. It’s much more classic or recognizable (after all, without rabbit ears, a TV just looks like a box). Anyway, I decided to do a little bit of a strange take on television watching with today’s drawing. At first, I thought of placing the TV in the stomach, but that reminded me a little too much of teletubbies. Remember those things? Eew. Anyway, I decided to go with the mouth. It seemed a good and ridiculous place to have a TV. I hope you like it and, again, Merry Christmas!!

Xx

-r

Day Seventeen

Christmas Eve! Where did December go?! Once again, I find myself without access to internet (aside from the ol' iphone) and am unable to post pictures.

Today's word, though, is "plaid"

Plaid. n. A rectangular wool cloth or garment, usually worn by men and women, having a crisscross or checkered design.

I decided to draw a hipster-inspired character wearing a little plaid dress (pictures coming to you tomorrow!!) Check back tomorrow evening for day eighteen and photos from day seventeen!

Apologies for the lack of pictures today; tomorrow's post will be doubly fun. (:
Have a wonderful Christmas Eve and Christmas morning!
xx
-r

Day Sixteen

So much wrapping...SO much wrapping...I think I’ve fallen into a Christmas coma. Finished at last, though!

Tired of grabbing the same old random sheet of cardstock or plain paper, I decided to use an object many of you who are currently in the process of wrapping piles of gifts will know all too well; the wrapping paper tube. I saw it laying there on the floor as I prepared to begin today’s project, and thought it would make an interesting new addition to the collection.

Ah, yes...today’s word...

e-nor-mous  adj.  Very great in size or degree.

 Today, I decided not to think, and just to draw. I came up with a couple of satisfying versions to show you. The second one (with the man) is my favorite of the two (I think I got a better handle on drawing on that type of surface the second time around), but you are entitled to your opinion.

Apologies for the short post! Hope you enjoy the bounty of photographs...

Xx

-r

Day Fifteen

Ah, a night of Christmas shopping and a day devoid of food. Then, after wolfing down my dinner, it was time to get into the darkroom. Oh crap!! I’ve got to go get a print out of the fixer. Be right back, guys...

Okay, where was I? Oh, yes...the boring details of my day. To sum it up, there was much to accomplish before I was able to get to this project, and still much to be done after I am through. (Since when was preparing for Christmas so stressful??) But here we are and it’s going swimmingly!

re-con-struct  v. To build something again.

Today’s word made my tired brain visualize a Burton-esque character. Although not a very original idea, this type of...eh...creation is always fun for me to draw.

Enjoy!!

Xx

-r

Day Fourteen

Ah, home at last...

After throwing some laundry into the washer and feeding the fish, it was time to get down to business.

Today I lucked out with a very easy word; most of my drawings could be said to already include it. Although today’s drawing is not necessarily entirely about the word, it gave me the freedom to experiment with a new element that has been showing up in my art for the past few days-impossible eyelashes.

Today’s word, in case you were wondering, is “gird”.

gird  v. To surround, encircle, or attach with or as if with a belt.

As soon as I saw it, I thought “haha! Dictionary, my old friend, I have won this one.” For those who have not yet caught on, (it may be most of you due to the lack of good writing featured on this blog) many, if not most, of my drawings depicting young ladies show them with some sort of a belt or ribbon around the waist. So, for today’s word, I simply carried on as usual.

The eyelashes showed up on a drawing a few days ago; it was one of those sitting-at-the-kitchen-table doodles that manages to spark something and gets you going on a new path. For some odd reason, I have been unable to draw a satisfying pair of eyes lately, so this makes a great alternative for the moment. I hope you enjoy!

Xx

-r

p.s. Zachary’s word of the day was tinker.

tinker n.  A person who mends domestic household utensils; one who does repair work of any kind. v. to work as a tinker; to attempt to fix, mend, or repair something in a bumbling, unprofessional manner.

In about .00001 seconds (how ever does he get ideas that quickly??), he was drawing this: 

Day Thirteen

Ah, another day of winter break spent lounging around. So far, the microwave, vacuum, phone, kitchen lights, and tractor have all mysteriously broken. My grandmother is at her wits end, but the rest of us aren't bothered much. As long as the couch remains cozy and there are plenty of cookies to go around, I don't think she'll hear a peep from any of us.

Today's word is one, that for some, brings to mind sweet and precious memories. For me, not so much. Don't get me wrong, babies are sweet and cute and lovely, but they do have their drawbacks. Having four brothers, maybe I'm just slightly (or more than slightly) tired of children. Who knows... Well, I should tell you the word, huh?

new born n. A recently borned baby.






















I drew inspiration from today's word and created more of a little devil-like creature than a newborn. But hey, that's what they turn into, right? Just kidding (well not really, but you have to admit that some of them go through...phases).


















Hope you enjoy.
xx
-r

p.s. Zachary's word of the day was:

un-der prep. Below, in place or position; in a place lower than another; less in degree, number, or other quality, inferior in rank, quality, or character; during the reign or period; in accordance with. less than the required amount; insufficient.

Seems like a lot for "under" doesn't it?
We agreed, they went a little overboard.













"Thank heavens I brought my umbrella."

Day Twelve

Day twelve. Oh boy. Hoping to somewhat recover from yesterday's poor excuse for a post, I spent extra time this evening working on this piece.

Today's word, despite the rather dry definition found in my trusty dictionary, produced a sweet and wintery image.

Oh yeah, the word...

Today's word is rouge.

rouge n. A cosmetic coloring for the cheeks.

See what I mean by "dry"? I mean, come on dudes, I know you can do better than that.
Well, anyways, I thought it would be nice to have a black and white drawing with just a speck of color to make it pop, and "rouge" provided the perfect opportunity for me to experiment with that. Hope you enjoy!

xx
-r





P.S.
After trying to pick gross words out of the dictionary for me to draw, Zachary and I have agreed that he will join me in the word of the day challenge. The word I "chose" for him was "Carton".

carton. n. A container made from cardboard.































Boring? I think not.

Day Eleven

Ah!! For some reason, producing today's art seemed harder and more painful than sawing off your own leg. Okay, maybe i'm just being dramatic but STILL. Tough. I had several rough starts, and couldn't settle on a word.

Main character from He Died With a Felafel in his Hand:
word: gaga. (those who have seen this movie will get the connection) Also, stubble looks stupid when drawn with this type of pen...

















I...don't know what this is...

(day 11 and this whole things gone to the dogs, huh?)

So, the word I found and (sort of) settled on could also give an explanation as to why my brain isn't working today...

fug v. To hang around or loll indoors in an atmosphere that is stuffy.

Hah! Kind of sums up the season for a lot of us, huh? I went with a person laying on a couch because that is the image this word brought to my mind. Hope you enjoy (or at least don't feel too let-down)

xx
-r