Day Ninety Six

That was one quick weekend! It’s strange, though; I find myself looking forward to the enormous amount of work this week is sure to present. I can see the end of the insanity (at least schedule-wise...much of the insanity is probably here to stay) and am ecstatic to be finishing this year of schooling around two months ahead of schedule (sorry, people, this much work requires a little bragging). Today was one of those days in this blog that I plan, before beginning, to “just get it over with” and make something quick and easy. This was also one of those days that I was swept up in it all and fell deeper in love with art. What was going to be a quick pencil sketch before bed turned quickly into a full-on project with research, careful shading, color, and *gasp* A HAND!

house-coat n.  A woman’s informal garment to be worn around the house.

Although I already knew what a house coat was, I did a little research to get ideas about styling in order to do a glamorous, vintage take on today’s word. Immediately after reading today’s word, I thought of a very sophisticated woman who, although she was simply lounging around, did not in any way lose her glamour or beauty. In fact, I tend to think that an effortless, raw look intensifies it.

I took photos throughout drawing today’s piece in order to show the steps taken to create it.

I began, as usual, with a pencil sketch and then inked it to increase the definition.

After this, I took a bit of black pastel smudged on a q-tip and did some shading.

Finally, I took another q-tip, this time with red pastel on it, and colored her “house coat”. After several layers of pastel to get the color correct, I was finished.

I am very pleased with the way this turned out; I have never before drawn a character in this position.

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

Xx

-r

Day Forty

Day forty! Holy cow! Only 325 days left to go...

It’s often liberating; not having a plan for your art. I love the feeling of opening up the dictionary with no expectations. I try not to have a plan in place for how the art turns out before I see what my word will be. This way, the art is spontaneous and (hopefully) new.

Well, today I had a plan. I had a plan in place the second I walked to my desk to get art supplies. I knew exactly what to get, and how my piece would turn out. Then, I saw my word.

Would you like to know what it is?

fish bowl  n.  A bowl usually made of glass, serving as a small aquarium for fish; a lack of privacy.

As soon as I saw the word, I tossed my plans aside in favor of something much more interesting.

I liked the comical idea of a girl being in a fishbowl. Although I had originally intended her to be stuck, she seems almost to be just hanging out there, blowing bubbles with a straw. I used oil pastels to add some color, because they are easy to blend to create that watery look.

I hope you enjoy today’s artwork and your night.

Xx

-r

Day Thirty Nine

Lovely late evening. Had an incredible dinner with our English and Italian neighbors. There was talk of music, politics and burning down the Vatican. I saw my first glass of wine used as a slide for an electric guitar...innovative? I think yes. The night wound down with some slow jazz and gifts of beautiful European clothes (custom Turkish leather coat, dresses and jackets from Spain and Italy...) are you jealous yet?

drift  v.  To be driven or carried along by or as if by currents of air or water; to move along the line of least resistance; to move about aimlessly; to be carried along with no guidance or control; to accumulate in piles , as sand; to deviate from a set course; in the western U. S., to drive livestock slowly to allow grazing.

I think many people, especially those that are my age, struggle with “drifting”. With or without a passion in life it is, in my experience, often difficult to find “direction”. I will stop here; I could write for days on this subject and end up nowhere. I don’t think there really are any big-picture answers on the subject of how to live your life, and I’m okay with that.

Now for today’s piece...

I wanted to illustrate the relaxed and free aspect of the word “drift”. Watercolors seemed to be a good fit. I began with a simple pen and ink sketch (jeez!! if I had a dollar for every time that phrase appeared on this blog...) and then painted over it with watercolor paint.

I hope you enjoyed this piece, your evening, and the wonderful people that surround us all.

Good Night.

Xx

-r

Day Thirty Seven

Sadly, today was a designated school day. That means no art, no television, and no music. Well, I cheated a little on the “no music” front. Feeling deprived, I decided to take some extra time today’s project.

I had an uncarved linoleum block sitting around, and decided to use it. After the experience with linoleum block print Christmas cards, it seemed like a good art form to explore.

Before I tell you more about the carving process, I should probably tell you today’s word:

romp  v.  To run, play, or frolic in a carefree way.

Okay, back to the carving...

The original sketch was of a girl (seen from the back) running through the forest. This block was very easy to carve; cutting down considerably on time and amount of accidental stabbings. (hooray!)

I spread some paint on a sheet of glass with a silkscreen squeegee, and placed the carved block onto the paint to ink it.

Let me just say that many of the fine details did not come through in the carving (the blades I had were much too wide for this task) and the girl herself did not come through as much as I’d hoped.                                                   

The first time, I’d put too thick a layer of paint on the glass, and the print came out "blobby".

The second print had too little ink, and barely came out at all.

The third and final print was lacking some paint around the edges, but I decided to go with it.

The two people (other than myself) that have seen the print can’t quite tell what it is *sigh* but I hope at least some of you can. Thanks for reading!

Enjoy your night!!

Xx

-r

Day Thirty Six!

Holy cow!! I have never before been this close to NOT posting!! Oh boy..came pretty close, there. I was wondering to myself if anyone missed me? I was curious if there had been any readers checking in only to find...nothing... Well, to those readers (if you do exist) I am very sorry.

Would you like to know what happened?

I’ll tell you anyway.

As you may have guessed, The Ink Drop is far from being my only artistic outlet...

Recently, I have been attempting to master (or at least become friends with) the art of silk screening. Tonight, I was finally able to come close. I’d burned a screen with two images on it to save time (before printing one, I’d tape over the other) and decided to do three print runs in one night. The results?

This is a print from a high contrast photograph I’d taken of my younger brother in France. I burned it to a screen and printed it on 5x7 backing board.

This is a print from a photograph taken last year (date unknown) in an alley downtown during a construction project. (Those of you who live in Lawrence: that stupid “night club” called Tonic...this was the construction of their back patio...you know...the one with the giant fake palm tree...)

I decided to play around with some 80’s style pop art colors. I hand-painted the background, did the first layer in pink (or green) and then did another layer over that in black.

I then had to wash out my screen...

My small army of paint:

Now, back to the reason you are here...

Today’s word is PERFECT. I could not have picked a more perfect word for today...

sat-is-fac-tion  n.  Anything which brings about a happy feeling; the fulfillment of a need, appetite, or desire; a source of gratification.

Ahh...just the way to describe my evening.

I decided to use some of the paint that had been sitting around, and draw the sound that came to mind:

I painted the girl (over a pencil sketch) and left her face in pencil-the brush was much too large for that fine of detail.

I hope you enjoy tonight’s post! (Most of you will no doubt read this tomorrow) For now, I will be sinking into bed and not moving for at least 10 hours.

Good night.

Xx

-r

Day Thirty Five

Saying today was cold is like saying getting shot in the knee might sting a little... Deciding to walk to my hair appointment was maybe not the best of ideas, but well worth the touch of frostbite.

couldn't help it...gotta to show it off

Time to curl up a few inches from the space heater and defrost just enough to scrawl a sketch onto a piece of paper. (okay, now I’m just being dramatic) Today’s word made me think of some unwritten social rules, and the almost ridiculous way that people follow them.

dis-tance  n. Separation in time or space; the degree of separation between two points; the space that separates any two specified points in time; the quality or state of being distant; aloofness.

Phew!!

Anyway, it made me think of that awkward hug people give each other when they’re practically strangers. The one where they stand about 3 feet apart and lean in and pat each other on the back... I can’t stand that hug. I mean, if you’re going to hug someone, actually hug them. If you’re not comfortable enough to do that, you shouldn’t be hugging them in the first place...that’s what handshakes are for, people!

Okay, enough ranting about “air hugs”. I decided not to sketch the scene I just described, and instead to go for something sweeter and arguably much more awkward...

 I like that they are leaning so far, they are about to fall.

Hope you are enjoying your read, your night, and your warm house. It’s harsh winter days like this that make me extra grateful for what I have.

Xx

-r

Day Twenty Eight

And now for something completely different...

Today I opted for a simple sketch in pencil, which turned into a multimedia(ish) piece. The word is one that(for some strange reason) always makes me think of an old diner. Sort of a glossy, shiny fifties-style diner...the kind that serves up delicious heart attacks three times a day. You know the one... Okay, well I guess I’ll tell you today’s word (and let you realize just how strange I am for making the connections that I do)...

may-on-naise  n.  A dressing for salads, made by beating raw egg yolk, oil, lemon juice, or vinegar and seasonings.

I guess the dictionary is handy for definitions AND recipes now...

So anyway, I decided to sketch the first thing that came to mind:

For good measure, I added a dollop of white paint to accentuate the mayonnaise aspect of it...

Hope you enjoy!!

Xx

-r