Tried a little bit of crafts :)

Well, I don't have any new drawings to post yet....but today I did try something new..well for me that is.  I saw some nice fabric on clearance the other day...a nice lady at the crafts counter gave me a great idea on what to do with it.  It was a Hello Kitty fleece fabric and my youngest daughter just loves Hello Kitty...but I had no idea what I could do with the fabric.  The lady explained to me how to make a simple pillow with it.  So today I worked on it, and here it is:

It took about 1/2 to do...since I am not that great hand sewing, but I think it turned out pretty good, and Sammy loves it! :)  I want to find some dog patterned material and make my other daughter one...it is quite fun. 

Hoping to work on some of my art tonight and tomorrow and will post what I do then.

More drawings and blast from past :)

I spent some time today digging amongst my art supplies..and found a few drawings from my past:

And here is one I did in the 8th grade:

I remember that one taking me quite a while,  but I had a lot of fun drawing it.  I found some more cartoon drawings and some realistic:

I also came across some paintings....some watercolor I was experimenting with mostly:

I LOVE watercolor, but I find it hard to control.  I am looking forward to learning more techniques because I would really like to experiment with it....

And now the drawings I made yesterday and today:

These drawings were ideas from some kids that I work with.  They really enjoy having me draw pictures for them, and I like it too, because it gives me much practice :)  It also helps me to see what areas I can improve on.  For instance, in drawing the train I realized that I can work on my perspective since it is a slight askew in the picture.  So I plan to research and practice that along with my shading.  Oh, and the animals with shades and moustaches,  totally the kids ideas ;)

My theme that I am mainly working on for now is drawing cartoon characters,  since I think it may help me with illustrating the books I have written.  I read some wonderful information on how to become a successful artist, and one of the things I noticed is they say to stick to a theme....like if you were showing your artwork.   They said you could have a certain theme and have different types of art(paintings, drawings, sculptures, ect...) as long as they went with the theme.  After I am done doing my cartooning...I want to try that one out. 

Plans for tomorrow,  drawing and more drawing ;)  study shading and perspective.  I need to draw a Lego tow truck, Daphne from Scooby Doo,  and a princess...per requests ;) 

More Drawings

I did 3 drawings last night....various characters....

I wanted to draw more today,  but ran out of time....really hope I can draw some more tomorrow and work on my chalk pastels...I can now usually create a drawing in 15-20 minutes each.  I hope to watch some videos on shading and I really should work on that...I think I have the drawing down...so now need to add some depth to my drawings by shading...just not looking forward to it.  I have always had some difficulty with getting the shading to look right....so I guess that is what the how to videos are for ;)

Feeling Insecure

It was very nice to be able to post my art on this blog for the first time,  and I also posted some of it on Facebook.  Basically I put it on Facebook for my friends to see,  I don't even think some of them know I am into art.  But I still feel insecure about myself and my abilities.  I think I draw very well, and am pretty good at chalk pastels, and getting there on watercolor.  I tend to worry somewhat on what others think of my work.  Just because I like what I do doesn't mean others will and I know that not everyone will like my work.  I have to somehow build my confidence up as an artist and not overly worry about what other people think.  But that can be easier said than done.  I guess it is a work in progress, just like my art journey ;)  I think for me the most important thing is I really really LOVE what I am doing and creating.  And perhaps my love of art and what I am doing is already coming through in what I create.  That is  a very nice thought and one I will hold onto and remind myself of, especially when I start to feel down or doubt myself.   I hope today to do some more drawing,  I need to watch some more shading videos and practice...I want to add more dimension to my drawings....

Some of my various art :)

Finally was able to take some pics of my art and put them on my computer now will have to see if i can put them on my blog....here goes:

These are my chalk pastel paintings.  I LOVE working with chalk pastels...they are very easy to blend and work with.  And all the ones I did I just used the medium weight drawing paper, not even the pastel paper...I do have some  but it is nice that you can get just as nice effects with just drawing paper....

  

Here are just some pencil sketches   I am trying to improve on drawing people.  The puppy is the only drawing where I actually looked at a picture...I have been working on just drawing things from my head....sometimes they turn out not so bad ;)

Some of my cartoon sketches....I did draw these all from pictures...but the pictures were mostly small size,  maybe 4 or 5 inches big...so ya I do draw kinda big ;)  I like to draw from different artists,  it is fun to study their different techniques.....

Some more of my cartoon sketches....Disney people are really challenging but I enjoy it :)

Now, here are a few of my paintings:

 The first two are oil paintings....the only 2 I have ever made actually....and the 3rd one is an attempt at watercolor, but I really like it for some reason....I love the sky and liked how it turned out.  Also the trees look like they have shadows on the ground but that was a total mistake!  The paint ran where I didn't want it to, but I just left it alone, and now I kinda like it there :)  And the last one is Tempra paints on I believe posterboard....I liked how it turned out...did that in my senior year of high school.  I am really hoping to sign up for a Watercolor painting class this fall....will help me a great deal I think...