Kolhapuri Shoes, pitt pens and tombow markers in kraft paper sketchbook, 2008
I only did one after work sketch this week, which was this sketch of my kolhapuri shoes. I bought these shoes the day before we left India to come back home. I spent a lot of time trying to find a pair that fit me properly—I have wide feet to begin with and Indians have exceptionally small feet in general. Each pair was different and they were all handmade and embroidered with gold thread. Interestingly, there is no distinction between the right and the left shoe. I would often see this style of shoe painted on the backs of buses as decoration. Now I just have to find an outfit to wear them with!
Waterlilies, tombow brush pens (4×6), 2008
Happy Mother’s Day!
This is a marker sketch that I did on a blank greeting card for a friend’s baby shower. They passed it around the room and all the ladies gawked at it. I haven’t been that flattered in a long time.
I’ve been thinking a lot about the progress I’ve made this year so far. It really is extraordinary considering that I didn’t do any artwork for almost a year and I’m working 40 hours a week which I haven’t done in ages. I think the time constraints actually push me to get busy sometimes. There are only a few weeks before my big trip so I think I’ll use the time to be more productive with my artwork. I actually have a few pieces that I need to finish and I want them to be really high quality as they are gifts for some important people.
Imaginary Landscape (5×7), Tombow brush pens and pitt pens in landscape colors, 2008
I’ve been doing landscapes lately and I’m in the middle of another one at the moment. I go through phases but I find that when I’m doing a piece of art for another person, landscapes are universally appealing. This drawing was a birthday card for my father and the piece I’m working on now is a commission for a person I’ve never even met. I hope he likes landscapes.
Rose and Lily Sketch, tombow brush pens, 2008
Yesterday I went to the Wadsworth Atheneum to see Impressionists by the Sea. I took my time to read every single description and it was very interesting. I loved it how they paired up paintings of the same scene by the same artist at different times or from slightly different angles. They also displayed the paintings according to time period. The earlier paintings focused on shipwrecks and fishermen and then moved on to paintings of vacationers on picnics, etc. At the end, the paintings focused on just the sea and landscape. Those were my favorite paintings. I am not really a beach person, but this exhibition has inspired me to try to get to the beach this summer.
Rose Sketch, tombow brush marker, 2008
Inked Roses, black pitt pens and Prismacolor colored pencil, 2008
Here are some more rose drawings that I’ve done in the past few weeks. I really like the marker one and I’m thinking of doing more marker sketches in the near future. The ink drawing looks way too Victorian for me but by the time I realized this, I was too far gone in the drawing to justify quitting. I added some colored pencil to the roses in an effort to improve it but this just made it look like a hand colored black and white photo—even more Victorian! I did one more rose drawing (which I will write about soon) before I had to throw them away.
Green salad, marker (5×7)
I just happened to be at my parent’s house yesterday and I was eating salad for lunch so I decided to wait a bit and draw it before I ate it. Normally I don’t like the idea of drawing a plate of food because it would get cold, but I didn’t mind with a salad.
Generally, I have only been doing small sketches these days, but I am happy with that because I have other things to worry about right now. I am hoping to do some more watercolors next week after my sister’s wedding when things are quieter.
Red arrangement, felt tip pen (9×12)
Jeet bought me flowers a few weeks back. For a little while all I was drawing were bouquets of lilies. There were the classic orange liles and little Peruvian lilies that came in all colors. I had so many things I wanted to draw but I felt that I had to drop everything and draw these because they were there and I wanted to capture them before they died. I got a few very good sketches and many mediocre sketches. Here are the ones I did in marker.
I meant to write this post three days ago, but I got busy and put it off. Anyway, today has been one year and three days since I started kouklacarolyn.com. I am a little proud of myself for sticking with it for so long. I paid for two years of hosting so I will stick with it until then, although I have to say my interest has been waning. Sometimes I think all the time I spend online reading other people’s blogs and updating my own would be better spent actually creating more art. But I have been working on my art more in general since I started it, so I guess I am succeeding.
The drawing above was done in marker with colored pencils over it. I think this method made for especially vibrant colors. I did it on a blank greeting card so it will actually get sent to someone for their birthday or something.
In an effort to prove to Jeet that I really am a good baker, I made him these blueberry scones last Saturday. These were the last two of the batch, and I drew them exactly as they appeared on the plate. Jeet thought it was hilarious that I even drew the saran wrap. By the way, he thought they tasted good too.
