From the land before mom

Pen and ink: Hus

Lithography: The child

Watercolor: Mom and daughter

Pen and ink: Little mouse

Pen and ink: Rabbit in the snow

Pen and ink: Raccoon on the tree

Pen and ink: White wolves

Okay, technically these were all done before I was a mom. I found them in storage when our dehumidifier malfunctioned, spreading watery not-so-goodness across the basement carpeting. I'd forgotten all about them (twenty+ years will do that to you), and when I unpacked them because the corner of the storage box was wet, this is what I found. Fortunately, I had put them all in plastic, so they were fine.

Anyway, I enjoyed looking back at them. Hope you do, too.

Learning curve

Three siblings on the beach

I finished my first panoramic-style pencil drawing today. (Normally I only do portrait close-ups in pencil, which was why this was different.) This was a learning experience, but as I look back over the project, I should have seen some things coming.

I wasn't expecting it to take me that long. If you look at the image, it seems fairly simple at first glance. It's just three children standing on the beach. No big deal, right?

Wrong.

Just as in the picture I did of my nephew who was getting his first serious hair cut, I underestimated the portions of the picture which were loaded with details and texture. His face went quickly. Everything else took lots of time.

It turned out the same in this image. The three figures were fairly easy and went quickly. Even the water wasn't too bad. It was the sand that was trouble. At one point, my mom asked me if I was drawing the grains one at a time. Upon reflection, I decided that, although it was bad, it wasn't quite that bad.

I'm happy now that it's done. It's always a relief once it's finished and safe in its protective sleeve, probably because drawing a picture is like labor. Tons of work, not always fun, but always worth the end result. I hope my client thinks so, too!

Something new

Thought I'd post my recent work-in-progress. It's not my usual thing, and I don't know whether I'm happy with it yet or not. There's a lot left to do, and unfortunately most of the undone portions are water and beach, but I'm plugging away at it until it's finished.

This wasn't a very good photo of it (sorry) because the reflection from my desk lamp washed out the left side and cast a shadow on the right, but you get the idea.

The moral? It's good to try things (pencil landscape with three kids) that aren't what you do the rest of the time (close-up portraits).