It’s all a big game of construction, some with a brush, some with a shovel, some choose a pen.

 ~Jackson Pollock~

 

making some good progress on this drawing despite the busy week i've had! hoping to get a lot more accomplished on sunday, in between soccer games!

have a super weekend!!♥k

things that caught my eye yesterday...

 ...a pair of sleeping feet hanging off the bed...

 ...the air soaked and saturated with moisture...

  ...an abandoned water bottle on the sidelines...

 ...and...

...at dawn, while sitting at a stoplight, a flock of pigeons swirling in a circle, again and again... 

start at the very beginning

a few posts back i had mentioned that i was in the process of writing a small book on graphite drawing. i am still hard at work on it but it's really caused me to pause and become aware of just exactly how i begin a drawing. 

after years and years of drawing it's just become an intuitive process for me, i don't think about it at all, i just jump in feet first!

i really have no exact method of starting...some begin with an over all tone (like the drawing above) building up layers of darks...others i start in one section of the piece with high values, tones and details, each area fully complete before moving onto the next.

so it's been a very interesting challenge to pay attention! it has oddly effected how i began this commissioned piece above and in writing my outline and notes for my book.

it really is an exciting project i've embarked on!! i'm learning so much along the way!!

wrapped up in fog

 this lovely hike in the fog was the only thing on my to-do that actually got done this past weekend!!

it was an art filled weekend, just not with drawing or working on my pile of photo blocks, but with music. 

i unexpectedly scored tickets for moulin rouge at the hollywood bowl saturday night...box seats right up front and middle. it was a spectacular show from the orchestra to the can can dancers, parisian singer and synchronized fireworks!! then sunday night again i lucked out and got an opportunity to see celtic bands at the ford theater. i was sooo inspired by these concerts, i just wanted to jump up on stage and start playing my violin along side them cuz heck, they looked so joyful, having the time of their lives up there!! but since i haven't played in more years than i can remember, i would have cleared the house!! so i just had a fantastic time in my seat instead!


i'll get back on track tonight with my art!!

an animal's eyes have the power to speak a great language 

~martin buber~

(c) 2011 raccoon by kathryn hansen

i'm super late in finishing up and sending out this donation to the california wildlife center...they'll still get it in plenty of time, but i hate cutting it so close!! 

their information is here if you live near malibu and want to attend their annual fund raiser or just donate...it's an absolutely wonderful non-profit organization that helps rehabilitate native animals. i've been out there heaps of times for open houses and let me tell you the facility and people are just amazing! if i lived closer i would definitely volunteer there, i think it would be sooo rewarding to help out!

see past donations here.

 

from the mountains to the sea

horse flats in angeles crest to santa monica

photo blocks

ta da...here they are~ the finished photo blocks that i  showed you in progress in an earlier post...seen here. 

 i'm very happy with the way they turned out, altho to be honest, they were a lot of work! 

 but i think i have figured out a way to go much faster for the next batch...the ones i will eventually offer for sale. the labor intense sanding and finishing is what took up most of my time in making these blocks...but on the positive side my arms are getting very buff! 

 i did receive a few complaints along the way from my oldest daughter Allie, because i took up too much counter space in my kitchen when i was staining and finishing the blocks...like..."there's no place to make my food mom"...and you know how much teenagers love to eat, so i will have to set up a temporary table in my family room next time!! 

 with the long weekend ahead and now knowing what i am doing(!!) , i should be able to get a ginormous started on the next set of larger blocks!! so exciting!!