Let's do art!

Since it was so hot, muggy and sometimes raining this weekend, the hubby and I didn't venture out much. I used the time to catch up on viewing art demonstrations online. You can subscribe and watch them on sites like Artist Network TV, or if you're not ready to commit to purchasing one yet, you can watch some free instruction on How to Draw and Paint, or you can watch shorter videos on Youtube and other sites.

In any event, I have such respect for portrait artists and am always trying to improve my skills in that area. Using a cosmetics ad from a magazine as my model, I came up with this...

I used the grid method to transfer her features to my paper and I drew my grid wonky and all her features are a bit off. It's drawn with a 2B pencil and blended with a tortillion. It's only practice, so I won't be too hard on myself, but it does go to show that you really need to have your feature placement dead on, to get a realistic drawing. I think that's why every portrait I draw has a "cartoony" look to it. Well, practice makes perfect.

Another thing that intimidates me is painting. I can never loosen up enough to get a painting that doesn't look stilted. I think that I perhaps I over analyze the process, so for this one I just grabbed a small watercolor pad and using acrylic paints and an old plastic plate for a palette, followed along with the tutorial for this little scene...

This was actually a study on how to use masking fluid and a sea sponge for texture. My masking fluid (years old) was dried solid in the bottle, so I used rubber cement. My sea sponge has long since migrated to warmer waters, so I used a regular sponge that I picked little pieces out of. You get the picture??? Once again it is only practice and while I cringe and see everything that is wrong, I'm still not going to beat myself up. I had fun doing them both and plan on doing more soon.

That's it for now. Hope everyone had a great weekend and is ready for whatever this week brings. Just remember, if you're bored or looking for something to do, check out some art videos and you just might surprise yourself.