Happy Mother's Day!

Nine days and counting

This is another cloud study from an old photo, brown colored pencil and watercolor pencils in my hand.book journal. And here I am nine days into the Every Day in May challenge. The scanning and posting daily isn't as difficult as I thought it might be. But that doesn't rule out the possibility that I may skip a day here and there with posting, and double up on my daily sketches in one post. However, working with these watercolor pencils is becoming more frustrating instead of easier. With this being a new media for me I think I need to slow down a bit to really learn how to best make them work for me. And that's part of what Every Day in May is all about. What I am posting here are obviously not finished works, but the raw sketches quickly done in my sketchbook. I love seeing artists' sketchbooks, and getting a glimpse at how they work out visual information. Sometimes it's more about the process than the product.

Grapes

I thought I'd give my Moleskine a try with watercolor pencils. It was okay but I think I like the absorbency of the hand.book paper better. Kind of a ho-hum image, too.

Thanks to those who responded to my art history question in the last post. I am curious as I enjoy reading about artists and exploring various styles. So now I have discovered two artists I wasn't previously aware of, Ray Hendershot and Rosa Bonheur.

Ray Hendershot's watercolors are incredible, very photographic when viewed on the web. I would like to see one in person to get a better sense of how they were painted. Beautiful imagery in his pieces. And I can't believe I have never come across Rosa Bonheur! Back when I took Art History survey, we used a text that pretty much excluded women artists. Her painting The Horse Fair is amazing. She sounds like a fascinating artist to learn more about. Thanks for mentioning her, Jennifer!

Jennifer also mentioned Michelangelo's sculptures as a favorite. I was just reading about Michelangelo last night from the book, Painters on Painting, by Eric Protter. Reading this book is partly what inspired my art appreciation question! Anyway, it seems that someone suggested that painting was more 'noble' than sculpture. Michelangelo argued that "Suffice it to say that, since both emanate from one and the same intelligence, sculpture and painting can be made to live in harmony together, and give up so many lengthy arguments, for these arguments take up more time than the actual practice of both arts." So I'll leave you today with that.
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Who do you love?

Which artist I mean. Or artwork? Your favorite painting, drawing, sculpture? From any time period, contemporary, Renaissance, 19th century? What one art work could you live with for a very long time without growing tired of it? For me that's a tough question, there are so many, which is why I am curious about your favorites. What moves you about your favorite piece? Why do you like it?

One of my very favorite series of art works are the studies of clouds done by John Constable. Many years ago I was fortunate enough to see a small collection of his cloud studies and had one of those 'aha' moments. They were inspiring to me then and still are. Constable remains one of my favorite artists. So who do you love?

My sketch above is with the usual watercolor pencils in my hand.book journal. It is from an old photo of a storm approaching over Hatteras Island. The view is from the ferry from Ocracoke Island. I am doing these quickly (obviously!) yet with water media I have trouble knowing when to stop. My sketches are usually much better about five minutes before I stop working on them.

Humph

Yes, I am still mining old photos for these Every Day in May sketches. This one is also brown colored pencil with washed water color pencil in my hand.book journal. I am thinking this will ultimately be a good way to explore compositions for future colored pencil works.

I am still feeling my way with these water color pencils. I like that not all of the marks dissolve and that some are still visable. That is often what attracts me to any media. I am usually drawn to art works that show off the media they were created in. I like to see brush strokes in paintings and linear patterns and the marks of pencil. It is a direction I am headed with my colored pencil works, hopefully. I would like to create pieces that do things a photograph can not.

Speaking of colored pencil works, here are two from this past year that were rejected from the annual CPSA International Exhibition. Now I have been around the block enough times to know that what one juror selects may not be what another would choose. And that's okay. Katherine Tyrrell over at Making a Mark has an informative post highlighting some of the accepted works. It was interesting to have this preview of the exhibition. There are some amazing works in colored pencil. I'll be looking forward to seeing the rest of the show when it becomes available on the CPSA website. In the meantime I thought I'd share an example of what didn't get in. Humph.

*top picture is Edisto Dune, colored pencil on pastel board, 8x10 inches, and bottom is Stratus, colored pencil on pastel board, 11 x 14 inches. All work copyright © Ann Thompson Nemcosky.

By me

Another sketch with brown colored pencil and watercolor pencils in my hand.book journal. This is also from an old photo taken while on a hike somewhere around here. I have tons of photos like this from back when I used to paint. At one point I had organized them into envelopes by subject - trees, water, and sky. Now when I want to practice or just play in my sketchbook it is fun to go back through those old photographs and try to remember when and where they were taken.

I just have to share this video - maybe you have already seen it. Gives me chills every time.

Rainy days and Mondays

This is a sketch from an old photo I had taken at of Bass Lake. Again, I used brown colored pencil and watercolor pencils in my hand.book journal. I am looking forward to getting out and doing some sketches like this on location, if it ever stops raining.

I did have a wonderful surprise today. As someone who can't have too many bags, look what arrived in the mail for me today! I ordered this bag from Etsy artist 'Doodlescoot'. She customized her usual hipster design for me to be just a little larger. And it's perfect. Because I usually choose dark or unassuming colors for myself, I decided that this time I wanted something bright and colorful for spring and summer. And that would be large enough not only for my usual purse items but also big enough to tuck in a paperback novel or a sketch book and a few sketching supplies. This bag has two ample pockets inside for my keys, cell phone, pens, and other small things plus plenty of room for everything else. Plus the strap is adjustable so I can wear it across or over my shoulder. I love the cheerful fabric and colors. My new bag's arrival really brightened up this soggy day for me.

Roses for the ballerina

The ballet was spectacular. Kiddo was brilliant, of course. I am exhausted. Today I managed this quick sketch of some of the roses she received after her performance last evening. I would like to try another sketch of these roses when I am not so tired. Or at least get some good photos of them.

Dance Day

After a long week of rehearsals, today is Kiddo's big day of dance performances. This morning was the huge recital with over a hundred dancers ranging from age 2 to adult. Kiddo performed in one tap, one jazz, and three modern dance numbers. I managed hair, make-up, and costume changes. This is Kiddo's seventh year of dance so she received her third trophy and a tiara.

The sketch above is with brown colored pencil and water color pencils in my hand.book journal. We have a few hours to rest before the ballet tonight, Alice in Wonderland. It should be magical.

Getting started

I am starting off May with a sketch of lilac blossoms. I was so happy to see my lilac bush survived the recent snowy cold snaps and is now full of blossoms. Spring is just beginning to awaken here in our mountains, a wonderful time of the year.

This is the sketching kit I put together for my Every Day in May project. I have decided to stick with watercolor pencils. I have also included a walnut brown colored pencil, a graphite pencil, eraser, water brush, and of course a pencil sharpener. I keep the pencil sharpener in a plastic sandwich bag so the shavings will be contained no matter where I am. I also have one of those re-usable, disposable cloths for cleaning my water brush. All of these supplies fit into this lovely pencil case from Peru that a dear friend gave to me last fall.

I was thinking that I would work in just one sketchbook for these May drawings. So I tried out a small Cachet watercolor sketchbook for the lilacs shown above. Although the texture of the paper will be nice for watercolor I don't think I will be happy using it for watercolor pencils. I may explore other journal options. My goal is to develop the habit of keeping a sketch journal and to become more comfortable with watercolor, particularly watercolor pencils, since they are so portable. We'll see how that goes.