Wisconsin in April

The self-realizations that I've had this weekend are that I'm a control freak. I don't allow myself to go with the flow. I don't allow myself to be open to the unexpected. So, I created my own landscape, based on a sketch I did one April. The beginning of April in Wisconsin is still essentially winter. There are no leaves on the trees yet, the grass is still brown. It's still very bleak. I wanted to capture the dull colors in this sketch from a park, across the street was a subdivision. Even the color of the houses is boring and neutral. But, as you can see, it's very precise drawing, with it's little houses and clawlike, stick like trees. Still, there's something about this one I like.

Landscape

Here's an example, of when sometimes, you need to just shut the art book, and do what you feel based on your own instincts. I tried to do this landscape exercise out of my pastel workbook, and I don't like it. Okay, maybe now that I'm staring at it, it's growing on me, but I tried to meticulously follow the instructor's directions, and I found, that she was doing things that I wouldn't do, in recreating this picture. The end result in the book, I didn't particularly like, so why should I like my end result? I did choose a brighter color palette. It's still goofy and beginnerish, but I guess that's what I am, a goofy beginner.

Chalk Pastel Trees

I got some chalk pastels. What was holding me back from getting them sooner? These are lots of fun, and terribly messy. Voila, lollipop trees, but I love them. I love the colors. This was splendidly fun to do.

Tiger in the Grass

Here is another one from my art ideas book. I was kind of sad that I didn't really do a good job on the tiger, but that's okay. You can't really see him, because he's hidden in the grass!!

Abstract Landscape

I have some chalk stick pastels on order now. This exercise would have been easier with them, instead I used pastel pencils, so the coloring in of the spaces was tedious. I got this out of my art ideas book.

Pansies

Okay, I woke up this morning, and decided to get my artwork out of the way, so I can go outside and play the rest of the day, however, I do see me doing another project later this afternoon. It's just that when the weather is nice, it seems sinful to stay indoors. So, I have to get out, even if it's just take a walk, ride my bike, or sit in the yard with a magazine. I did this project based on my pastel work book. It's better than the stupid flowers I did yesterday, but so far, this weekend, my Lilacs are the winners. I don't have quite the same color palette as the author of the book. I think I should have made the background darker. Oh well, c'est la vie.

Ellen's Still Life

Maybe I should stick to fruit and flowers. You can make mistakes on the shapes, and no one has to know exactly. I chose these items, because they're me. Strong coffee and chocolate. That's what helps me through the day. Oh, I try to be a goody goody and eat my fruit and yogurt, and yadda yadda, but that's only a prelude to the chocolate. I didn't like this picture at first, so I did the flowers next, determined to do a picture that was better. Turns out this one is the good picture for today.

Bad Flowers

I thought the goal would be to improve. A number of factors have helped me to not like this picture. I wanted to do this on brown paper, and I don't have any brown paper. I started this one, and then some people came over. I was distracted, and then went back to it. Using red paper, my color choices are all wrong. These colors may have looked all right on brown paper. Oh well. Oh, and it's hard for me to do well, when the weather is nice and it's beautiful outside. I can't seem to concentrate, and I'm too embarrassed to work outside. I feel like people will make fun of me, because I don't consider myself an artist, I haven't taken ownership of it yet, or there are some days I don't take ownership of it, and I know that's wrong, that's totally the wrong attitude.

Lilacs

Voila, it's late May and these Lilacs won't be around long, so I took the opportunity to sketch them with my new chalk pastel pencils. I see the need now for big chalk pastels also for doing larger areas. I like how the white ones turned out. The lavender ones were more difficult. I actually do have white and lavendar ones in my yard.

Country Scene

I give up. I tried 4 times to get this picture on here the right way. I don't even like the picture. When, I'm on my own, I'm totally lost with pastel. I thought I would do a landscape like the one on orange paper with only black and white. It's spring, and everything is coming up green. This picture doesn't show progress or skill. Something that is postive? I like the white barn and red stop sign. Green is calming and soothing.

Still Life with Fruit

I wish I would have taken this photo a little better, now the batteries on my camera are dead. But, wow, light and dark, shading, shadows, are much more dramatic on this one then the one I did on my own. If I don't follow instructions, I'm kind of lost, but I'll keep experimenting.

Still Life with Apple and Vinegar

Here is a still life I tried to do by myself, and not copy what was in my work book. I tried to work on shading and shadows and light and dark, but I think the fruit that I did from the work book is a lot more dramatic

Blue Petunias

No time this weekend to really practice and crank out drawings. I had my mom over for Mother's Day yesterday, and she gave rave reviews over my previous still life. Who would have thought. I want to get more charcoal like, chalk like pastels. This I don't feel is anything that special. Still fun to kill time while doing a load of laundry.

Still Life with Mushrooms

Here's an exercise practice from my pastel workbook. I'm still not working with the type of paper and utensils that the book talks about, but I'm improvising. For pastel paper, I'm using colored construction paper, and I have some charcoal pastels and some oils, not quite in the colors suggested. Not sure I understand light and dark yet, but I get the idea, you should shade in your darker areas first, then layer in the lighter areas. Still needs work.

Charlie

Rode a new horse in my lesson today. His name is Charlie. He is very cute, and was very forgiving of all my mistakes. He's calm and a slow poke. Chestnut, cute blaze on his face, white socks. This might not be the best drawing in the world, but I think he actually looks like this pretty much. :)

Goofy Landscape in Orange

Voila, goofy landscape in orange. I think I like the other one better

Goofy Landscape

This was practice out of my pastel book, experimenting with different colored paper. The mood is different on light gray paper, compared to orange paper.

Blarney Grazing

I think I've captured textures a little better on this one, and I love the pine tree. Not sure about the horse. It's kind of like a ghost in the middle of all this green.

Blarney at Harmony

I decided to experiment with colored paper in my quest to draw a white horse. So, this is pretty green, and hard to see. I did it in pastel, and this is proving a hard medium for me, but it's fun. I think I'll get the hang of it. Eventually.