Day One Hundred Forty One

Another strange day today. I believe I’ve entered into the summer way of thinking, where one loses track of not only the name of the current day, but the name of the current month. Oh, well, it’s bliss.

So, I haven’t got much to say about today’s word, so I’ll just begin with it.

wa-ter-tight adj. Closed or sealed so tightly that no water can enter, leaving no chance for evasion.

Immediately, I knew I wanted to illustrate a character in a water-tight vessel under the ocean. Going with a steam punk edge, I added large rivets to create a strange little box to house today’s character.

I added blue pastel to convey a sense of water, and used a lighter bit of blue pastel to cover the area on top of the box.

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

Xx

-r

Day One Hundred Thirty Two

Today was a good day. Although, any Monday in which one does absolutely no work automatically counts as a good day but I think this one was good despite (and partly because of) that fact. So, I returned home to throw a record on the turntable, brush the notebooks, jewelry and odd antiques from my desk and start in on some art.

Today’s word delighted me. I loved the way it sounded old and unused. It fit right up there with words like “jitter” and “bop”. Sure enough, a Google search later, this word was (approximately) in prime use from the years of 1940 to 1945.

table--hop v. To go from one table to another in order to talk with one’s friends such as in a restaurant.  

I loved this! I decided to illustrate a café at which some table-hopping was occurring. Inspired by Edward Gorey (though not nearly anywhere within the same spectrum of artistic talent) I used cross-hatching to convey a sense of nighttime and depth.

As I finished, all I could think was Oh, boy. This man must have used so many pens... I kept the color confined to the match to emphasize the action taking place. I like the subtlety of the woman sitting at the table, partially hidden by the “gentleman”. I can just imagine a drawn face; red lips pursed beneath narrowed eyes as she watches her date “table-hop” on over to another lady. Hah!

I hope you enjoyed today’s post; thanks for reading!

Xx

-r

Day One Hundred Twenty Four

Goodbye and good riddance, Sunday! Not that today was bad, but I’m ready to give this whole work-week thing another shot. (I’m pretty sure last week’s effort amounted to about 3 hours of actual work time...oops.) I spent the day with my mother and younger brothers, planting seeds, jumping cars, and, well, dressing up:

So, with it being this late and all, I think it’s about time I begin today’s post.

The word of the day was just awesome for the jerky transition to spring we’ve been experiencing here in Lawrence. As the weather turns from snow, to rain, to blistering heat and back again, we all struggle to adapt.

ther-mo-stat n. A device that automatically responds to temperature changes and activates equipment such as air conditioners and furnaces to adjust the temperature to correspond with the setting on the device.

Hah! I couldn’t help but chuckle as my eyes settled on this word. I decided to use the relentless wind that battered us all day as inspiration for this piece, and incorporate also an element of weather that I have always enjoyed-rain.

I sketched the piece first, and then went over it in pen. I then used an old bottle of diluted blue paint and dripped it onto the page. I like the contrast between the stillness and peace of the paint droplets and the stormy chaos represented in the illustration.

I hope you enjoyed today’s post, and thank you for reading.

Xx

-r

Day One Hundred Eighteen

Mmm. I took this Monday slowly; gradually easing into the week while escaping doing any actual work. Bliss. I hope your Monday was as equally relaxing, or at least you can forgive me for so thoroughly enjoying mine.

So, time for some art. I took some serious time with my piece today; working my way through while attempting to break out of the drawing routine.

mum adj. Silent, not speaking.

I wanted to use “mum” in a darker, more in-your-face way. I decided to illustrate a character “keeping mum” against their will. I began, for once, with the eyes. Instead of crafting a face from a quickly drawn oval, I decided to begin with some seriously adorned eyes. After I finished the pencil sketch, I went over it in pen:

Then, I pulled out the pastels and worked to get some definition and color into the piece.

This piece was both interesting and surprising to me for several reasons. For one, I rarely, if ever, work in this large of a format. I did not expect this piece to be this large, and was shocked upon finishing it! I liked the addition of the bow-its bright, pink, girly look almost mocking the fact that she is tied up and kept from speaking.

I hope you enjoyed both today’s post, and this piece. As always, thanks for reading!

Xx

-r

Day One Hundred Seven

I’d like to begin this post with a shout-out to my incredible father who turned 85 today. Happy birthday!! I returned home from an outrageous sushi dinner, and got right down to work before I passed out.

Today’s word was really interesting; I began to draw without knowing quite where I wanted to end up, and the sketch seemed to pour from the pen without much guidance or consciousness on my part.

smash v. To break into small pieces; to move forward violently, as to shatter; to ruin.

Although the final sketch is nothing near this, the word “smash” reminded me of the scene in The Runaways where Cherie Currie (Dakota Fanning) smashes a pill underneath her shoe and snorts it from the stage before the band begins playing. This got me thinking about smashing things under-foot.

This sketch ended up with a woman smashing a heart with her foot. I love the strong, confident expression on her face. As it finished, I looked down and was surprised at how it had turned out-I really enjoy it.

Thank you for reading!

Xx

-r