Yesterday evening I filled up a page of sketches of my dog Ruggles. I drew him in every position he took for about 15 minutes, ending at 6:46. Since he is sick these days with a bad heart, he is more sedentary than he used to be—and it is a lot easier to draw him.
Last week Jeet gave me an absolutely beautiful bouquet of orange roses and pink lilies. The roses have since shriveled up and the lilies are fading too, but I managed to get a few sketches before it was too late. I did this in Prismacolor colored pencils while listening to a documentary on Biblical archaeology. I love having weekends off these days. Yesterday I went to visit my grandparents and went clothes shopping at the mall. Today I went on some errands after church and then relaxed at home. I love it that my days off coincide with Jeet’s so we can actually do stuff together. Luckily, he encourages me to spend a lot of the time drawing.
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.
My mother has had a certain silk flower arrangement for years and I have always loved it. I’m amazed that I have never drawn it, or elements of it, before. Here are some sketches of some of the individual flowers.
I was in Barnes and Noble yesterday for a few hours. I often go there and sit in the cafe and read magazines. I happened across Danny Gregory’s article in the August issue of How magazine, which was very interesting and inspiring. After my catching up on all my favorite magazines, I got a toffee nut latte and started to draw this chair. Chairs in general are some of the hardest things for me to draw. I can never seem to get all the angles and converging planes together in the right arrangement. This drawing also has some discrepancies (which I didn’t notice until after I had already inked it), although it is way better than any earlier chair attempt. When I got home, I added in the blue background which I think makes it really pop. Overall, I think I got a lot out of this drawing.
Take care not to casually discuss matters that are of great importance to you with people who are not important to you. Your affairs will become drained of preciousness. You undercut your own purposes when you do this. This is especially dangerous when you are in the early stages of an undertaking…Most people only know how to respond to an idea by pouncing on its shortfalls rather than identifying its potential merits. Practice self-containment so that your enthusiasm won’t be frittered away. -Epictetus, The Art of Living
I had this weekend off, which was a huge blessing. Not only did I get to miss no tax weekend in Massachusetts, but I got to go to Vermont. We stayed in a little house on Lake Eden and I got to spend time with my relatives, plus do a little sketching. I sketched this view of the lake as well as a single red carnation in a vase. The whole place was so scenic and I could have done so much more sketching if I had had more time. On the way home we went to the little shops in Stowe and we took a tour at the Ben and Jerry’s Factory. Overall, the whole trip was really nice and relaxing and I’m glad I got to go.
This is another quick sketch of my dog Ruggles while he was nesting in a blanket. He never stays in one position for too long so it is always a challenge to draw him. I did this sketch in Derwent watercolor pencils, although I didn’t use any water. They are pretty good for sketching like this, but I never use them for anything else because I can’t get really bright colors like I can with Prismacolors. I’m on a mission right now to use up my old art supplies before I buy anything new. I have quite a lot of stuff right now so I think I will have to be very busy.
I didn’t have much time to draw today, but this is a small sketch that I was able to do before leaving for work. I’ve tried to draw this vase and flowers a few times before but have always had trouble with the vase. I think I will have to try drawing it a few more times before I am satisfied with the results.
Jeet gets me the nicest flowers because he knows I like to draw them. This is another example of flowers from Jeet. I did this on a watercolor card using dip pen for the outlines and then painting it with gouache. Lately, I’ve been trying to use more color in my artwork. It is so easy for me to just use pens or graphite but I know that people really love color and I want to learn how to use it.
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