Sketchcrawl #46 from Jan 31

 

Sketches made on my iPad with Paper by 53 while I was running errands with Mom in tow.  I didn't have enough time to prepare with a real sketchbook and my travel paints.  Where have I put it, come to think about it...

Sky Bison

 

It's funny how in my "old age" how much I enjoy animation.  Time Warner cable sucks because their changes have left Mom without TV unless I'm there to work the cable box for her.  So I watched the whole series of Avatar Aang the last Airbender & its sequel Avatar Korra on YouTube and she's rediscovered the radio in her room.  This fluffy sky bison just looks so cuddly.  Yea, that's the March page of my desk calendar.  I wish I could call it Appa, but it's not quite Appa.

When I was a kid, I got no comics.  Comics were for boys and my parents saw no value in comics, so even my bro didn't have but a handful.  Admittedly, the cartoons were corny, too.  Entertaining but no lessons in it -- also a waste of time in my parents eyes.  The stories which are animated now are a long way from Tom & Jerry's endless chases.

2014 was boring

Wow, only 8 or 9 posts in 2014.  That's pretty bad for me.  I really haven't sketched much this year.  None at all in the last 4 months.  After the cataract surgery I posted, I had another one done on the same eye to rotate the implant so I could actually see.  It's good enough now, but there's a bit of residual from that surgery.  If it doesn't correct itself by April, I may consider another surgery to get rid of a little double vision.  I had plans to update the 20 year old TV but other things started breaking down around that time and needed replacing:  the fridge, then the clothes washer, then the car.  There goes my savings, even borrowing a little from Mom.  There was dry spell in my side business so I went and changed my withholding at work.  Then I get an avalanche of work in December which is helping my financial recovery.  I hope I don't get a whopper of a tax bill come April.

That said, I still haven't stopped collecting sketchbooks & art supplies, dammit.  LOL.  A new Hobby Lobby moved in about a mile from my house.  Oh, so tempting!  Mom has a thing right now about buying canvas bags/backpacks.  I've been painting them but I haven't been taking pictures.  The first one was a pudgy owl.  The second was a lady bug, and I have one I attempted the "monkey selfie."  It's got some drawing problems.  I'm pretty sure I'll paint over it...if & when I figure out a subject.  I've been using my cameras more, but wide angle lenses like the Polaroid Cube or GoPro don't make good pictures of artwork because of the distortion.  I'll have to figure something out and (re)start posting to my Flickr or Picasa.  It's just that my life is boring right now, all work, little play time.  Doesn't make for creative or artistic photography...just documenting my boring life.

I finally broke down to get an amazon account.  I've always had issues about credit card security & delivery left on my doorstep.  But now I can finally get stuff I've been waiting to find in a local store-- like Noodler's Bulletproof Black Ink, my first purchase.

No art goals for 2015 except to sketch more than I did in 2014.  That's a pretty low bar, but in the back of my head, I really need to use up the growing pile of sketchbooks.

Happy New Year!

Cataract Surgery

Images from 8/7/14 cataract surgery memories.  No, I didn't take the sketchbook into surgery with me, LOL I drew this while vision was still blurry but memory was fresh.    There was an anesthesiologist behind a couple of monitors but I was awake during the procedure.  Conte in 9x12 inch visual sketchbook.

Dragonfly

Reference from Scattykat's WDE 6/16/14.  Chinese Ink applied with a BBQ stick in my 4x6 inch sketchbook.

WDE Daisy

Reference from Lisilk 6/8/14 WDE weekend.  Watercolor in my 5.5x10in home made watercolor (Arches paper) sketchbook.  The light shadows in the petals got washed out by the scanner.

Sketchbook #19 put to bed

No picture to post.  I tried a couple of watercolor experiments, then covered up the learning curve  with collage.  Nothing exciting.  On the 2012 list, it was listed as the Strathmore Watermedia sketchbook.   I'm not using up my acrylics but I'm still knocking out the sketchbooks.  Yay!

Watercolor only sketches

 

 

References from Lisilk's WDE in the 9x12 watermedia sketchbook.  Only two more pages to put it to bed.  My latest kick is watercolor only sketches.  I started down my art journey with watercolors.  I had a great first watercolor, beginner's luck.  Everything after that was crap.  I threw out the watercolors and hit the drawing board, literally.  I learned to draw.  I mean, I've always been able to draw, but for the first time I started developing what basic talent I had.  Now I want color.  It seems all I've ever had time for outside the classroom was for sketching.  I tried to travel with color pencils, oil pastels, watercolor crayons, acrylic -- I can't use any of them even when I'm not on a tour group.  Root cause: Mom has a small bladder.  For lightweight, for quick sketch, for on-the-move, it has to be watercolor.  I've tried bringing oil pastels, watercolor pencils, acrylic -- They're all cumbersome if I can't just sit down and paint in peace.  I get no peace.  So I'm trying to get bright color with watercolor.  I don't get it yet.

Sketchbook #18 put to bed

On the 2012 art goals list it was called 6x8 inch Strathmore Drawing #2 (because I started two of these at the same time).  I'm almost done with #19, too. which may be the 9x12 inch Wet Media sketchbook.

Koi

Reference from Wetcanvas's Mar21 WDE in my 9x12 mixed media sketchbook.  Hmm, looks better in person than on the screen.

Holding a ball

 My idea of Tai Chi for Crash Test Dummies started in January 2013. Compare the two.  I hadn't done anything on the project, but let it stew in my brain for a year.  I've just been so busy!  Compare the dummies, talk about technological improvements, eh?   Everything has been very boring for a couple months.  I'm busy again, dammit, but not before making my Tai Chi website a usable reference (for me, if not for anyone else) so that I can get a workout in -- the goal is every day.

Sketchcrawl #42

Better than nothing, I suppose.