infographic

A month or so ago, I signed up for a class of Sketchbook Skool (Expressing). I made it through the first two weeks/assignments before life got in the way. Plus…I had to make 29 Faces in February. It’s a tradition ☺

One assignment was an infographic. This one was fun. I guess because I used to do so many infographics at my old job, that it was fun to do one for myself! However, for work, they were all done in Illustrator…not by hand.

This was done only in ink. No pencil. This is why I ran out of room before I got to the last item in the list! Oh, well. I was so close!!

my kitchen and face #10

Here is an illustration I did over the weekend for Sketchbook Skool. It took about 4 hours over the course of 3 days. I don’t think I’ve spent that much time in my kitchen in the last 10 years. Well, not at one sitting anyway!

Sharp dressed man!

For the 29 Faces challenge.
Reference photo found here.

face #3

First of all … thanks to everyone for stopping by and leaving nice comments!! Head over to 29 Faces challenge and check out other people making faces this month!

I had a little fun with today’s doodle. I loved drawing all of the curly hair.

Today’s image is based on a photo of Lillian Gish.

And here is a painting I made for my Sketchbook Skool assignment from last week. Jane LaFazio was our instructor … I always like visiting her blog.

buried treasure

Cleaned off my desk and found all sorts of fun things!

room with a view

I wanted to get outside and sketch over the weekend but that didn’t happen. It was too cold, too rainy, too sleety…just plain yucky!

Instead I drew the view from my studio. It’s not much…just a view of our side yard. I do like having a window though.

Sometimes a squirrel runs along the top of the fence. In spring and summer, the trees are so pretty.

But this time of year, I like the patterns and lines that I see when I look out.

Now back to hibernating ☺

SBS assignment

Just a quick look at an assignment for Sketchbook Skool. I signed up for Beginnings because of all the good things I have heard about it.

This is a doodle (on gouache) of something that has meaning to me. I inherited my Grandma’s old sewing kit.

It is full of thread on wooden spools. They don’t make those anymore. Also, some of the price tags are 10 cent or 15 cents. Now, I haven’t bought thread in a long time…but I would guess that it costs more than 15 cents!!

It also has a bunch of old keys in it. I probably hold the keys to the family treasure and don’t even know it!!

But I doubt it!

starting 2015 with a bang

Here are two paintings I submitted last month to a competition. The theme was Spring or Summer….so, of course, that means FLOWERS to me!

I didn’t win anything. Oh, well. There’s always next time!

I’m working on some drawings for the new assignment as Sketchbook Skool. I’m taking “Beginnings” this time around.

And Year of the Spark! officially kicked off yesterday.

It’s going to be a fun, busy, creative year ‘round here!!

book cover

This week’s assignment for Sketch Book Skool … a book cover.

I chose for my subject a book I’ve been working on for a few years now. I keep rewriting it.

Over.

And over.

And over. I think it will be a posthumous printing ☺

My grandson was the model for the main character. I have a bunch of reference photos of him “in flight” that I took when he was about 8 years old. He’s 13 now.

The model for the old lady “walking” her dog is my grandmother. The man reading the paper on his way to work? That’s my husband.

Maybe someday I’ll finish this story. At least I have the cover done!

a drawing about drawing a drawing

More homework for Sketchbook Skool.

first day of school

Hey friends!! Excuse my absence.

It’s been a Wake Up/Go to Work/Time for Bed routine lately and one day just blends into the next.

I have been doing some doodling and painting but nothing is finished except this sketch.

It’s another assignment for Sketchbook Skool. We were supposed to draw a memory of our first day of school.

I can’t remember last week let alone my first day of school but I did make some sketches of odds and ends that I do remember from school.

And a note about Sister Mary Scary…she wasn’t scary because she was mean. It’s just that she was larger than life and I was just my normal shy self. I did my best to keep on her good side though.

how to build a fort…

…in 3 easy steps ☺

This was one of the assignments completed for Sketchbook Skool.

another recipe

I drew out the instructions for making a homemade vanilla latte. It’s ok…I just didn’t think it visually “popped” though.

This is a recipe I use everyday. I’m too cheap to buy a coffee house latte everyday to feed my addiction ☺

first assignment

Sketchbook Skool started last week. Our first assignment was to illustrate a simple recipe.

I took my favorite burger and illustrated it. I tried to keep it as simple as possible.

storytelling

When my grandson comes to visit and we do road trips, we play a game in the car. One person will start a story like, “Once upon a time, there was a little boy with red hair and freckles...”

Then the next person adds a little more, etc., etc. Sometimes the stories go on for 30 minutes or more.

All of our stories finally get to the point where you either can’t figure out where to go next or you are just sick and tired of playing the game.

At that point, someone (usually my husband) will say “…and the car went over the cliff and there was a 60 foot fireball. The end.”

Or

“…they were hit by lightning and there was a 60 foot fireball. The end.”

There is always a 60 foot fireball.

So in order to help me with my storytelling skills, I’ve signed up for Sketchbook Skool. I’ve been reading so many good things about these courses so I HAD to give it a try.

The next session starts October 3 with the theme – Storytelling.

I’ve been so giddy about it. Like a kindergartner…that kind of excitement!

I went through all my usual suspects of sketchbooks. I want to start skool with a fresh book, you know.

Some sketchbooks are good for pen but not watercolor. Others are the right size but wrong media. Whatever.

So… I ended up making my own out of inexpensive watercolor paper. It’s not hard.

Needle. Heavy thread. An awl to poke some holes. Several episodes of Breaking Bad on Netflix and voila…you have sketchbooks. Or at least sections of sketchbooks. (See Lily in the background..she's such a good helper!)

I’ve made my own before. It’s nice to bind them all later into one big book. But for now, they are just the right size and paper weight to be portable.

I am so ready for October to get here (and then there was a 60 foot fireball. The end.)