Freehand Herringbone

So, I lied. I still have some old book covers lying around. I didn't think I'd have the time to doodle, but, I was wrong. In fact, it turns out the stress of doing research can drive a body batty. I was looking for any excuse to take a break. Going for a run, mopping the floor, doodling a little bit. I did this one with my note-taking pen. Then I slapped on a bit of paint. It only took ten minutes. Maybe the whole "sketch and plan" thing needs to be scrapped for good. At least, for therapy's sake.

My doodles are usually very geometric--lines, grids, cubes--but only when I'm doodling (not paying attention) in class.
When I doodle at home, usually a result of craving the feel and smell of art supplies, I return to this avian theme.

I can't stop thinking about sweaters and shoes. Stuff I can't afford.

Time Not Well Spent

I started classes again on Monday.
(I could rant here about the idiots who text/facebook during class, but I won't.)
I had hoped to get some "fun" done during my two-week hiatus, but such was not the case.

If anything, I decided to wrap up the whole "book cover" series and start some larger-format pieces.
And I'm teaching myself calligraphy.
But a glance at my syllabi for the semester has me convinced that these two doodles will be my last for quite some time.
There's always fall break (or winter?).

3 men and a little rotten potato.

I love babies. My friend of...wow, 20 years is due in a few weeks, and I drew a picture for her nursery. A woman at the shower asked if I had parakeets, and I said, "No, I just like to draw birds."

The jury is still out, but I'm pretty sure I get the prize for "most uncomfortable lady at a baby shower."

I also won a prize because I could finish a bunch of Mother Goose rhymes.
Just FYI, the second/alternate verse of Three Men in a Tub starts, "Rub-a-dub-dub, three men in a tub and how do you think they got there?"
They crawled out of a rotten potato. No really.

Now, I saved this right-side-up, and just tried to resave it, but alas, it wants to be upside-down, so here. I refuse to fight it.

Inspiration/Envy

Kay Nielson.
Such pretty little fantastic illustrations.
A little trivia: He did "Night on Bald Mountain" for Disney's Fantasia.

Anyway, I love him. He did some lovely things with vertical lines. And color. Oh, how I wish.

Trippy Dippy

The theme of the blog has become: I don't have time to draw as much as I used to.
But when I do, my drawings are more free-form. I no longer sketch--I just sit down and doodle til I have something that looks pretty decent.

That's how I ended up with this. It began as a positive/negative thing--fill in the background until the foreground/negative space made some sense. But I didn't like what grew out of it, so I hacked into it with a good ole Sharpie.

I will say, cross-hatching and it's mongrel cousin, scribbling (which I seem to prefer), make for some good therapy.

It is, after all, a hobby.

I'm never going to be a professional artist, so I'm trying to loosen up. Not obsess. Keep everything I make instead of throwing out what I deem unacceptable.

I wasn't sure what this was going to be. It all started as a doodle in my counseling notebook.

And when I grew tired of it, I stopped.

That way, it never feels like too much work.

Brevity, my dear.

I haven't much time to elaborate on anything I've been doing lately, especially artistically. I don't really like this drawing, but at the same time, I'm really drawn to it. That's it, in a nutshell.

(I don't think anyone feels neglected as this blog slowly dies. It just used to be an outlet for me. These days, instead of obsessing about design and music, I'm focused school. Meh.)

Yes

Just found this one.

Some sketches

Another case of liking the early stages better than the final result.

I was a special child.

I find comfort in nostalgia; I think I've expressed that before.
My mother has envelopes full of my awards and drawings and birthday cards and progress reports--all that I started saving years ago.

Every now and then I like to look back.

This picture stands out to me. My teacher gave out pre-drawn circles and instructed us to "make something."
Maybe I was into feelings at age 4.

Voila.

I'm still trying to draw, thought it's not happening very often.

Diptych possible

Happy New Year.

My doodling has been recovering from the holidays.

This is currently one piece, but I'm considering breaking it up.


I'm a little indifferent about it. I need to revive the creative passion. Need I a muse?

Sara, the Victorian

I usually don't do straight pencil. But my little fairy waif niece doesn't have features that translate well into ink.

My take on a Victorian miniature portrait.

Lilies

Buy it. Frame it.

Really, folks.
My little drawings are just darling when framed.

Athena looks wonderful on Eric's wall.


Thanks, Eric!