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Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Pens, Paper and Gesture Drawing

I've been playing with my new Art Pen from Rotring and like it so far. Last night while watching the Tigers play the Mets, I tried to do quick sketches of the players. I mostly wanted to do a quick sketch of the pitcher in his windup, but the whole process is over in a nanosecond and there was no way I could catch it that quickly. The two curved lines in the picture below were supposed to represent his left arm and right leg at the end of his delivery. That is as much as I could get. Considering that the Mets hit two, yes I said two, grand slams and were showing no signs of slowing down, it is good that I got something out of the game. Here's what I did get:









The elephant sketches challenge that I tried yesterday were supposed to be gesture drawings not blind contours. Sandy Sandy put up pix of a deer today so I tried to do gesture sketches of them. At least I think these would be considered gesture sketches:









I also intended to show you a sample of the papers I got from Paper Mojo yesterday, but I was having problems with Blogger (so what else is new?)




Aren't these lovely?



I need to go to the Library today to return some books that are due and then to the daughter's to feed the cats. I cut my toenails yesterday and hurt myself by trimming one way too close to skin that is not intended to be exposed. Ouch!!! Needless to say, I will not be walking the treadmill today, but hope to get back to it tomorrow.


I got such lovely feedback about my photos yesterday, I thought I would share a few more:
I love the fence line in this one.



I can never get enough pix of these little guys.



Do you see the size of that bee? This one scared me into the house.



Mr. Gorgeous!



This looks to me like the personification of the "cat who swallowed the canary".



Lovin' the lilies


I am so looking forward to meeting Dee in Battle Creek on Friday and doing some outdoor sketching. I will tell you all about it on Monday. Can you believe that tomorrow is the last day of June??!!

I hope to see you tomorrow,

xoxo

9 comments:

  1. Your photos are awesome! Good job w/the figure sketches. So very difficult for me - figures. I've been painting fairies lately and it's been quite the struggle, but I'm gonna keep at it!

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  2. Drawing those action shots like the batter in your sketch would be hard. The movement is so fast. Your sketch is a good one.

    Love the yard pictures too. We get big black bumble bees that are huge, but they seem really docile. They share the bird of paradise blooms with the hummingbirds.

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  3. Hey Vicki ! I am so delighted that you are sketching everyday with me! Yes, your gestures are coming along! I love that you tried to sketch the players while watching the game! I will be posting about gestures all week and hope to talk a little about the figure. Thank you for sketching and for spreading the word! Hugs, Sandy

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  4. Vicki - I wrote a long reply and then somehow lost it. You are getting closer! Keep up the good work. I'll be posting more about gesture drawing all week. Thanks for sketching along and sharing! P.S. Love the oriole with the halo!

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  5. Vicki, I'm looking forward to sketching on Friday, too! Your photos are LOVELY. I'm drooling over that wonderful paper...

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  6. Orioles are stunning birds. Love them. They come to the sugar water feeders I put out for the hummers. I remove one of the little plastic flowers so they can get to it easier. Once the bees discover it I have to plug the hole or the entire feeder fills up with drowned bees! Ugh!

    I wish I could grow things in my yard, but that will never happen here. My husband chops down or kills every flower or plant so I've given up on it.

    I'm way behind on any paintings or drawings, but I have been drawing Zentangles.

    I tried to post something on your blog yesterday but couldn't get past the send button...don't know what has changed, if anything, but will hope this one posts OK.

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  7. great pictures Vicki! And I like the sketches of the deer.

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  8. Great shots of the birds and cat! Love the hummingbird. We have the ruby-throated hummingbirds, too, and we use the same brand feeder as you. Word of advice of the bee. Good and bad news. It's a carpenter bee, or wood bee, and it's probably a male and they don't bite. However, they do bore into wood like decks and porches. They return every year to the same spot to bore more holes and lay more eggs, until the deck is all eaten up. So, look for their 1/2" diameter bore holes and fill or plug them or talk to an exterminator. They can be an expensive pest.

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  9. Wonderful pics, and you did a fine job with the gesture drawings. And carpenter bees? eeewww!!! lol hugs, nancy

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