almost there...yahoooo!

 as you may remember, this is where i last left this drawing in this post

this was last weeks progress

closing in now...and it feels soooo good! just have to finish the roof and readdress the weeds at the bottom and then i can call this drawing done! this has been a challenging piece, so i can't even begin to tell you what a relief i am feeling to be almost finished with it!! so now i am jumping for joy to have at least one drawing to enter into the north light book competition, who's deadline is rapidly approaching!

forging ahead and "just california"

 i am sooo hoping to be able to finish up with this elephant drawing in the next week! then i know that i will have the birds in art show covered...well...with at least one drawing! i'm a bit nervous about starting the bird as that's the focal point of this piece and has to be super accurate! the bird will end up being pretty small so i will have to dig out my reading glasses to magnify all the details. what can i say...these eyes are getting old!!

and cool news...5 drawings were chosen for the "just california" gallery show at the mcgroarty arts center in march. the reception is march 9th from 6-9 , just right around the corner! and like, i just realized today that i have a lot of framing to do...and fast!

progressing and tragedy

 when i looked back on my last post i realized that i am actually making a lot of progress!! and relatively fast as i found numerous pockets of time this past weekend to draw!

 i wanted to stay close to home this weekend as my youngest daughter witnessed a very tragic incident at school on friday afternoon and i wanted to keep her talking and feeling her feelings as much as possible.

a boy she knew took a running leap off of the 3rd story roof of the science building at the beginning of lunch period. unfortunately many other students witnessed this horrific scene as well. something you never want your child to have to deal with. something you, yourself never want to have to deal with. my heart is very, very heavy with sadness for the family, wondering how they can possibly cope with such a loss.

we are profoundly changed by this experience and hope that for whatever reason or higher purpose of this tragic incident that some good will come out of it...more kindness, understanding and thoughtfulness on the part of all the students there at the high school. maybe that's what Drew was looking for in his fellow classmates to make such a dramatic exit.

"Keep your love of nature, for that is the true way to understand art more and more."  

~Vincent Van Gogh~

 

this is the start of my Clouds Over Kenya drawing. it's coming along pretty fast considering i barely squeezed any drawing time in last week. 

 

Sammy...he never fails to jump up on my drawing board and sit for awhile. i just consider it my "coffee break!" and by coffee break i really mean red wine and dark chocolate with sea salt break!

 and this silly thing is our foster kitty Diamond, who likes to lay underneath my drawing  board, partially on my lap. 

this sunday i'm hoping to get out to the LA arboretum to get some great photos for a fourth drawing!  hope you have a wonderfully creative weekend too!!

LA Art Show and Deukmejian drawing

What art offers is space - a certain breathing room for the spirit. 

~John Updike~

there was a ginormous convention hall full of spirit and soul at the LA Art Show this past weekend! so inspiring and fun to see such excellence in one place!! i tell you i was swooning!! these are a few of my very favorite artists displaying there:

  

 Julio Reyes(my very favorite of course...awesome graphite drawings!!)

 

Seung Hoon Park's woven photographs

 

Cameron Gray very cool block paintings

 Tong Hongsheng's impressive painting at the China pavillion

  and these crazy sculptures that i just love but didn't catch the name as they were closing and i was hurrying, trying to get in last peeks of all the art.

the rest of the weekend i was able to get in some good drawing time. working hard on my deukmejian drawing and started a new drawing...a sky landscape from Kenya. i need to get 5-6 drawings done by mid to late march as i have 3 very important shows i am entering. so i am very focused and excited (like triple-shot expresso excited!!)...working hard to get them all done in time!!

 

new drawing and vegas

 i switched gears quickly since i last posted. i was working on an elephant/oxpecker drawing to enter in the birds in art show in wausau wisconsin in april, but i found out that northlight books was coming out with strokes of genius: the best of drawing, book #5, so started a new drawing even though the theme and rules have not been officially announced as of yet. i don't know if this drawing will be a good fit for the competition but wanted to get a head start just in case!

i took this photo at a local hiking trail called deukmejan, named after former california governor george deukmejian. there's a beautiful old stone barn at the trail head, along with a few smaller buildings south of the barn. i think i'll be adding a jack rabbit at the lower portion of the drawing that i took in laguna beach last summer...i think it'll add more interest to the piece. and if this drawing doesn't end up fitting into the theme of book #5 i'll still have a nice drawing to add to my portfolio!!

 this past weekend my whole family plus friends met up in vegas to celebrate my nieces 21st birthday. although it was a super fun trip, vegas is definitely not my kind of place...but my boyfriend, his son and my girls had a fantastic and memorable road trip that included endless snacks, the world's largest thermometer, a ghost town and alien jerky!!

 Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.  

~Oprah Winfrey~

i've always loved the start of a new year...it feels like a blank slate full of possibilities!! i always start by creating a list of intentions for the year in december. this year i've hung my list on my closet door in the middle of my dream board so i can see it every day (and not forget about it, like last year!). and just recently i found a worksheet from susannah conway that is super thought provoking and helped me to clarify my intentions even further.

almost done with these elephants

i'm changing things up a bit with my art this year. i'm focusing completely on my drawing: working on my portfolio, entering competitions (specifically 3...but want to enter at least 5 if not more), finishing my book and will teach myself pastels. i am leaving etsy as i felt it made me play it small and look forward to finding gallery representation in 2013.

can you even tell what this is? the back of an elephant!! it will have an oxpecker on it (like in the photo below). to be entered in the birds in art show in wisconsin. one of my long time dreams!!

sooo...this will be a very interesting and exciting year for me, one that i believe will rival one of my very best years, 2010!! i don't know why i have that feeling but i do!!

happy new year everyone!!