Where you goin’ with my lopers…

EDM# 324 Draw a garden tool

I haven’t posted a challenge in a long time. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed these challenges. When this challenge came up only one thought came to mind, my Grandma and her lopers. My dad’s girlfriend was trimming the hedges for my Grandma. After she was finished she was putting the “lopers” in the car and Grandma ran out of the house screaming, “Where you goin’ with my lopers!” It caught the g.f. off guard and she said stuttering, “No, these are my Dad’s lopers and I have to return them.” By the end of the conversation my Grandma ended up with the lopers and my Dad had to sneak them out of the house because they weren’t Grandma’s lopers:) As I re read this story it doesn’t sound very funny but in real life it was hilarious and has provided many years of laughs. Lord, How I miss my Granny!

Be Well and Happy!

EDM Montage….

EDM Challenges

Colored Pencil on Sketch

Since I am so far behind on completing my EDM challenges, I thought I do another grouping. It was a great exercise in practicing colored pencil and layering color. I used my cheapo sketch pad and colored pencil set.

EDM #33 Draw an eye – I liked this exercise and I will probably do more of them on my own. The books are right in saying that it is less daunting practicing one part at a time.

EDM #26 Draw a vegetable or anything you like – This is my beautiful carrot drawing and my favorite drawing of all the exercises.

EDM #19 Draw something you’ve made – This is a pair of ear rings that I made for my sister-in-law. The ear rings are supposed to resemble tie-dye and were made out of polymer clay.

EDM #40 Draw something with folds – This is from an exercise that I got out of a book. I have a lot of difficulty with folds too. I messed up some of the drawing by adding violet to heavily.

EDM #39 Draw your toothbrush – This is my cool black and pink toothbrush. It’s is one of those breast cancer proceeds brushes. The odd shapes in the brush made it a fun exercise.

EDM #22 Draw something old or vintage – This is a drawing of my Great-grandpa’s shaving brush. The brush is one of my precious treasures.

EDM #23 Draw your foot – Well, I’ll never draw my naked foot, but here’s a drawing of my foot in my favorite handmade, half-inch thick, knitted house socks….Better than shoes!

Be Well and Happy!

My IPod…

EDM #97 Draw a present you have received. Why is it special?

Graphite and ink on sketch

David bought this for me a couple of years ago for Christmas and it is still a very special gift. I always keep my IPod in my purse and whenever I’m bored or stuck in the car traveling I am able to pull out this little piece of technology and I’m instantly entertained. I guess I’m like a three-year old in that aspect and I always have to have something to do in a car or I will get really cranky. Cars make me claustrophobic after a while and I have to take my mind off of being in a metal box rolling at high speed. I have lots of music, movies, games, books and a few photos that keeps me perfectly content for hours so it’s the coolest thing ever, except maybe the ITouch….

Saying Goodbye….(for now)

EDM #116 Draw something green

Graphite on sketch

Sorry, the image is a little crooked. But I’m feeling rather crooked at the moment. This is my third week of no soft drinks, chips, cookies, cheese, white bread, pasta, candy bars, ice cream or any thing else that tastes really good but is extremely bad for you. I have already lost about 6 pounds which is really good considering that I haven’t been working out, but it’s still very hard. I still drink a half a cup of coffee in the morning and tea if I start getting caffeine withdrawal headaches, but mostly its water for me about 3-4 liters of it a day. The whole family is in on it, so it could be worse… But eating healthy? Counting calories and fat grams? It isn’t fun so don’t believe the hype!

I’m not giving up on junk forever. But like most things are fine every once in a while, but not fine everyday. I was promised that I won’t miss them after a while.

HA! I still want it, so we’ll see.

Draw a pencil…

EDM #240 Draw a pencil

Graphite on sketch

This is a sketch of one of my Derwent Graphic pencils with a value scale. I have drawn more value scales than I can count. When I first started drawing scales, I used (light to dark) 2H, H, HB, B, 2B, 3B, 4B, 5B and 6B. Now, I just use a 2B mechanical pencil and blend and blend and then I blend some more. This technique was gleaned from reading Lee Hammond’s book Lifelike Drawing. Great book by the way. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to improve their drawing.

Remember those lost in the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.

We Will Never Forget…

No Art Just News….

For the last couple of days I have been cleaning out closets and such, and by the time I am able to sit down and draw I’m too tired…. But I do have a couple of things to share.

My nephew Richie has had some local fame this week when a reporter was gushing over his “mad skills” on the skateboard and was put in Sunday’s paper. He’s the one on the left about 10 feet in the air. The boy has no fear what so ever and thankfully hasn’t broken anything (knock on veneer).

The other news is that my Everyday Matters drawing group (based on the books by Danny Gregory) has it’s own super blog. I think it’s a pretty neat. Anyone can see art from artists all over collected in one blog. It is definitely worth a look see. Clicking the words in bold above or clicking on my pear badge on the bottom right will take you right to it. Seriously….grab a cup of something, sit in a comfy chair and browse…

Marilyn Monroe…

Hollywood is a place where they will pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss and fifty cents for your soul. -Marilyn Monroe

Graphite on Bristol Smooth

EDM #151 Free Choice

Well, this is my third portrait…All I’ll say is that I got a lot to learn, but I’m getting better (hopefully). I love drawing hair, but drawing blond hair is pretty hard to pull off. It may not look exactly like her but it was a good learning experience so I’m not going to be too hard on myself. Drawing celebrities is intimating because everyone knows what the drawing is suppose to look like, but they sure are a lot of fun. I can see why a lot of artists draw them. I wonder who I’ll draw next?

Father’s Day

EDM 20 Draw something “Dad”

Bristol Smooth on Graphite

This is a card for my Dad. He’s not an old timer, but he loves and collects knives. I hope he likes it. I’m not worried about spoiling the surprise because by the time he sees this post he will have already gotten the card. What I like about this card is that if wants, he can tear off the back and frame the front.

Other than that not much drawing goin’ on lately. A lot of the end of the year stuff with Alana having assemblies, preparing for SOLs and exams. The last day of school is tomorrow. Thank Goodness! I’m tired, so I can’t imagine how she feels. She asked me to teach her to draw and paint this summer. My heart leaped with joy that she had been bitten by the art bug. I’m not sure what I have to offer, but I told her I would and she’s really excited. Of course I be posting mini me’s work. I really hope she grows to enjoy drawing as much as I do. If she does she’ll never be bored again. One can only hope!

Greenbeans and getting arrested…

EDM #112 Draw something fresh

Prismacolor on Bristol smooth

These beans were simple to do and it only took about 15 minutes to complete. I don’t know what I am going to do with all these when I am done. This does fit the EDM challenge 112 Draw something fresh.

On an unrelated note: I got an email yesterday. It was one of those jokey ones that I usually don’t respond to. This email got me thinking so I complied and forwarded it to some of my family and friends. It said If you saw me in a police car what would you think I was arrested for? Here are the responses: Speeding (I use to be a lead foot not so much anymore) Torturing a dog after it tried to molest me ( I was bent over in my front yard and my dog tried to mount me in front of about 5-6 people and I could not get him off of me. When I finally got him off of me, I chased him all over the yard with a shoe threating to kill him. NO HARM CAME TO MY DOG. Because someone tried to do something to Alana ( yeah, I would) It doesn’t matter, she would get out of it (I’ve gotten out of LOTS of tickets…for speeding) Fussing at some fussy ass chap (True, I can’t watch a smart alleck kid, I mean it physically hurts…and I try to hold it as long as I can, but sometimes it just flies out of my mouth before I can stop myself)

So, if someone saw you in a police car what would they think you were arrested for?

These are a few of my favorite things…

EDM #222 Draw your favorite drawing instrument

Graphite on Sketch paper

This is a drawing of my electric eraser, clutch pencil, drafting brush, kneaded ereaser and a Q-tip. The drafting brush was the most fun to draw. I think it was because of the bristles. The Q-tip was a little lonesome on the big piece of paper so I added a few of my other favorites. I have stumps and tortillions aplenty, but q-tips are my very favorite drawing instrument. They are very soft and don’t wreck havoc on the tooth of my paper. I think stumps and tortillions work really well with paper that has a deep tooth, but on smoother paper I like the light blending touch of a Q-tip to make up for my heavy hand. I have used Q-tips in spite of my (ex) art teacher’s ridicule and will keep on using them…

This was a hard exercise for me because I love art supplies. I just don’t know how to use all of them yet.

Carol Ottaway

Back to the drawing board…

Category: EDM-Challenges