EDiM #30: Draw the inside of your closet

When we were evaluating this house to buy back in 2001, one of the many things I was impressed with was the huge walk-in closet with built-in shoe shelves.  What luxury!

And yes, my husband does have a bright orange shirt in his wardrobe.

EDiM #29: Draw something from a pet's point of view

Though we are currently "without dog", which is sad but necessary, we have shared our home with Great Danes since we got our first in 1987.  Since they are so tall, and can consume a lot of food and water, they need big bowls elevated to their level.

For today's EDiM assignment, I dug out their bowls and the plant stands we put them on, and crouched my camera down to their eye level for my reference.

I was intimidated at painting the metal bowls, but it worked out pretty good!  I used mixes of Permanent Orange and Cobalt Blue for the various warm and cool gray tones.

It made me miss our dogs...

A break from EDiM...off into the neighborhood to sketch!

I was "free" from Every Day in May today because I did a "two-fer" yesterday, so I used my time to stroll to the entrance of our neighborhood and finally sketch one of the cute little decorative kiosks there.  I found a shady spot under the shade of a palo verde tree, set up my sketch stool, and enjoyed a nice hour of sketching.

While there, I witnessed a motorcycle officer from Pima County Sheriff pull over a speeder.  Too many cars do indeed go too fast on 35 mph Wade Road.

EDiMs 27 & 28: Draw something sticky / Draw a jug

How 'bout a jug of something sticky?

EDiM #26: Draw a screw

Not content to draw just one screw, I decided to look at multiple screw concepts...

Since these are essentially mechanical drawings that require a modicum of precision, I drew these in pencil first, then inked it in, then watercolor.

EDiM #25: Draw a tote bag

I don't have many tote bags, never really saw the utility of them because there was a huge gaping hole at the top where all my stuff could fall out of if I should drop it.  So this particular bag was my first, bought many years ago, and it actually used to have a functioning zipper at the top to prevent such mishaps.  I also loved this bag because I loved the colors--it looked to me like a watercolor painting (and this was before I even thought of trying to do watercolor painting!).

Green inktense pencil was used to outline the leave shapes in the interior, then wet with a small brush to "set" the lines so they wouldn't bleed when I added watercolor.

EDiM #24: Draw something that makes you laugh

Though my husband is not a "funny man" nor a jokester, his sense of humor (which is often self-deprecating, as depicted here with these crazy sunglasses he found on the ground) has often made me laugh.

This is a big milestone for me, doing a human portrait. This is my first attempt since trying the exercises in Drawing on the Right Side of Your Brain 6 years ago, which was awful and I never attempted it again...until today. I did the whole bit, first drawing guidelines, then the features in pencil, then in pen, then in watercolor. I am really pleased with how this turned out, and I can breathe again.

EDiM #23: Draw a summer joy

Of course I find great joy in the warm temperatures, road trips and camping that have been a feature of my summers.  But what I love most of all about summers in Arizona are the monsoons storms that happen during July and August here.  I find the buildup of beautiful cumulus clouds, the lightning and thunder, and the short-lived torrential rain exciting and a welcome break from the summer heat.

I love to try and photograph lightning, too, and this drawing is a result of a conglomerate of two photographs.

EDiM #20: Draw your favorite drink

When I am camping I love a mug of this particular brand of hot cocoa in the morning.  No other brand will do, as this one is not as sweet as the typical hot chocolate.  Unless, of course, someone offers me hot chocolate like I had in Rome...rich and chocolatey, that was!

This is my first sketch using Noodler's Walnut ink, followed by watercolor washes.  It worked great for this image, adding a new dimension of golden browns to the dark browns I mixed with burnt umber and ultramarine.  A bit of spatter completes the chocolatey mess.

EDiM #19: Draw something that belongs to someone else

Rental DVDs, belonging to Netflix.  I was supposed to mail off the bottom one on Saturday but missed the mailman, and we finished the second one last night.  What are we going to watch tonight?

EDiM #18: Draw the palm of your left hand

Definitely a handy subject, don't have to go far to set it up!

Drawn with TWSBI mini with Platinum Carbon Black for the outline of the hand, Pilot Prera with Lexington Gray for the lines and wrinkles.

A few days in Northern Arizona

Mark and I spent a few days up in Flagstaff visiting Mark's mother and brother, and as a bonus we drove up to the Grand Canyon!  This was an opportunity to finally work in the 5x8 watercolor Moleskine I bought a year and a half ago, before I discovered the joys of Stillman & Birn sketchbooks.  I struggled with this book, not really wanting to commit to using it as my everyday Artist's Journal, because of its odd shape.  Then I had the brilliant idea to reserve it for times where can really shine:  the panoramic format.  I had a blast tackling a part of the Grand Canyon here while my husband and his brother and elderly mother enjoyed the sight.  The mid-day light was not optimal, but the shapes and colors are still fantastic.  I was told that many children were curious about what I was doing.

I also kept up with the Every Day in May assignments, and it was serendipity in many cases as my mother-in-law has lots of stuff, lots of potential sketch subjects that fit in with each day's topic.  I am also working in a new sketchbook, a Stillman & Birn Epsilon.  It is fun to use, though certainly quite different than regular watercolor paper!

EDiM #13:  Draw a Pillow

I chose the most colorful pillow to draw, and just propped it up against the arm of the loveseat in the morning light.

















EDiM #14:  Draw a figurine

Mark's mother is the queen of knick knacks, and must have over 100 figurines of varying sizes and subjects all over the house.  It could be the reason why we only have one in our house (my husband had overload growing up).  I found a fun one to draw.














EDiM #15:  Draw a pencil

I cheated a bit here and sketched the most interesting pens I found in Julie's house for this days assignment.  Her pencils were rather ordinary.












EDiM #16:  Draw something that scares you

I wanted to draw an illustration of an impending collision with an on-coming car, but didn't have any adequate reference material on hand (or life-study material, thank goodness!) for that.

So I did something simpler to draw, yet also scary for me.  As a child growing up in southern California and learning the scary power of waves to keep you underwater when you don't want to be, I still retain into middle age a fear of waves.




EDiM #17:  Draw something from your first aid kit

This for me was a no-brainer.  I had to have skin cancer scraped off my back a week ago and I am currently in the daily regimen of cleaning and re-bandaging the wound.  These are the supplies I took with me to Flagstaff to perform the wound care.