First Post of 2013

William
Pen and Ink in Purple Moleskine

I've fallen behind in posting sketches over the last couple of months. My excuses:

1. My computer desk broke and it is now awkward to reach the scanner
2. I've been busy
3. I've been ill (nothing serious, just a nasty cold and over-active arthritis)

Over the next few days I'll attempt to catch up on scanning the sketches. I am still sketching nearly everyday, but not necessarily in my sketchbook. I've been keeping my skills up by playing DrawSomething on my iPhone. This is a fun and addicting game!

For your enjoyment, here are my DrawSomething images (or at least the ones I remembered to do a screen-shot).

These images are drawn on a 2-inch by 2-inch area on the iPhone screen.

If you are just getting started with Evernote, Ana Tirolese suggests that you buy Brett Kelly’s remarkably practical e-book, Evernote Essentials, Second Edition. It is worth setting aside a couple hours to work through this brief, 95-page book. It will save you DAYS of learning Evernote on your own.

Fountain Pens Make Drawing Fun!

Self Portrait in Pen
Pen and Ink

I drew this in my sketchbook as an entry to the Fountain Pen Day contest.  

I was having a little fun with this by making it look like my self portrait was pulling away from the pen.

642 Things to Draw #49 - A Crystal Ball

Crystal Ball
Ink and Watercolour

This is a pretty sad crystal ball. When I look into it all I see is myself looking back, holding a paintbrush. On the other hand, we could say that it is an accurate crystal ball in that it is claiming that I am an artist.

Book: 642 Things To Draw -- this is an Amazon affiliate link. If you would like to purchase this book please use this link. Thank you.

EDM #21 - Draw Something Old, Antique, or Vintage

An Old Iron
Ink and Watercolour

This iron belonged to my dear Mother-in-Law, Maria Grazia Ciolli Tirolese. She used it for many years before getting an electric iron. She would place hot coals in the body to heat up the iron.

We have it now, but it is no longer in use, other than as a sentimental decoration. My mother-in-law gave it to my husband many years ago, as he was admiring it.

EDM 18 - View from My Window

The View from My Window
Mixed Media

When I sit in my corner of the sofa, I am close to the patio-doors in our living room. We don't have windows in our apartment, but rather two patio doors, one in the bedroom, and one in the living room. We are on the 10th floor of our apartment building and face the street.

What you see here is my view from my sofa corner. I pulled the curtain back a bit so I could look outside. That is my brown curtain on the right. At the top you see the roof our our balcony (or the bottom of the upstairs balcony). Then you see cloudy sky. The two black areas is my veranda (railing). You can see the tops of buildings between the top and bottom sections of the veranda (railing). At the bottom you see a bit of street and some tree tops between the bottom of the veranda and the floor of my balcony.

I used ink, watercolour, and Derwent Inktense pencils, both wet and dry.

642 Things to Draw #46 - A Bag of Hammers

A Bag of Hammers
Pen and Ink

Bag of hammers, according to Urban Dictionary means: "An insult referring to either the stupidity/low intelligence of another, or the uselessness of an idea, remark, or person."

You can say something like, "He sure is pretty, but he is as smart as a bag of hammers!"

I drew a literal bag of hammers.

Book: 642 Things To Draw -- this is an Amazon affiliate link. If you would like to purchase this book please use this link. Thank you.

Seagulls in the Parking Lot

Seagulls in the Parking Lot
5 Minute Sketch
Pen and Ink

The other day Alexander and I went shopping. It was an overcast day and there were dozens of seagulls all over the parking lot. While Alexander ran inside a shop to grab something, I sat in the vehicle and quickly sketched a few of them. This was not easy to do because they kept moving around.

642 Things to Draw #45 - A Jar Full of Pennies

Penny Jar
Pen and Ink

Well, it is not exactly full of pennies. It is only a third full. This is my penny jar. It is in the shape of a Teddy-Bear and was originally full of Kraft peanut butter. These bear-shaped jars came out in 1987 as a limited time promotion. The lid had a coin slot built in to it so you could use these as coin-banks.  Ours is a large (1.5 Kg) glass male bear with a red lid.

Kraft bear-shaped jar banks
circa 1987

Book: 642 Things To Draw -- this is an Amazon affiliate link. If you would like to purchase this book please use this link. Thank you.

Beverage Receptacles

Left: Drinking Glass; Right: My Favourite Mug
Ink and Watercolour

Recently I saw someone draw some mugs with bold coloured backgrounds. I don't remember where I saw this or who did it. However, I liked it. So, I thought I would try it too.

The image on the left is of our son,s empty drinking glass. He had diet cola in it. There are still some ice in it that has not melted and there is a straw. I am looking at the glass from a slightly lower perspective. Yes, I felt a tiny bit silly drawing this practically lying on the table (okay, with my head down like I were going to take a nap in school). our son is used to me and he claims I do not embarrass him. 

The drawing on the right is of my favourite mug. My husband brought this mug for me. He purchased it at the Museum of Civilization. It has an image on it from one of my favourite artists: Alex Colville. I have illustrated this mug twice before. I drink my morning coffee in it. 

Other posts with this mug in it:

• EDM#4 Draw Your Mug or Cup
• TSP2013 - Make Coffee

642 Things to Draw #44 - A Juice Box

Rubbermaid Juice Box
Pen and Ink

I was going to draw one of those cardboard juice boxes that you can purchase in the grocery store, however, it made more sense to me to draw the Rubbermaid Juice Box that we used when Alexander was younger and took lunches to school. These are reusable and litterless. You can even purchase replacement inner straws when needed. I used to fill this with apple juice for Alexander (his favourite).

Book: 642 Things To Draw -- this is an Amazon affiliate link. If you would like to purchase this book please use this link. Thank you.

Side-View Mirror

View from the side-view mirror
Watercolour, Ink, and Inktense pencils

This view is from the passenger-side side-view mirror. I was on an errand with Alexander (he was driving) and I looked in the mirror and loved the way the clouds were being reflected on the windows and side of the vehicle.

I took half a dozen photos with my iPhone to remember the moment. None were perfect so I used several different ones, plus my memory, to come up with this image.

Perhaps some day I will recreate this in a large painting.

642 Things to Draw #43 - Pom-poms

Pom-poms
Ink and Digital Colour

Pom-poms. My little cartoon girl is showing off her cheerleader moves with pom-poms. This is something I have no experience with. I was never a cheerleader, nor did I want to be one.  I have never enjoyed sports enough to want to be at games. And, I am extremely uncoordinated, as it is. When I was going to school cheerleading was not a sport, in itself.

Book: 642 Things To Draw -- this is an Amazon affiliate link. If you would like to purchase this book please use this link. Thank you.

Anthony & Lucha Libre

Lucha Libre (Left) and Anthony (Right)
Pen and Ink

Lucha Libre mask.

These are not related drawings except that they are both on facing pages in the purple Moleskine, both are pen and ink.

I am attempting to perfect my skills with pen and ink.

642 Things to Draw #42 - Synchronized Swimmers

Synchronized Swimmers
Pen and Ink

I have to admit, I do not understand the appeal of synchronized swimming. It looks silly to me. I realize that it does take a lot of skill and talent to do. I understand it is not an easy thing to do. When I watch this sport I all I can see are the weird movements and the bizarre facial expressions. I am certain synchronized swimming is one of those sports where it is more fun to do than to watch, like golf.

Truth is, I am not fond of any sports so I am not the best person to comment on something like this.

Book: 642 Things To Draw -- this is an Amazon affiliate link. If you would like to purchase this book please use this link. Thank you.

Two Tiny Dolls

Left: Dollinha, Right: Herbunculous
Watercolour and Ink

I have illustrated and written about Dollinha before. If you go to the previous post, you can see more about her, as well as see some photos of Dollinha. Dollinha is about two-inches tall.

I gave given Herbunculous the wrong name in my sketchbook. Both Alexander and Anthony informed me that the doll is NOT named Mr. Homuculus but Herbunculous. This is a small thread doll that used to hang off the rear-view mirror in our vehicle. There has been a previous post about Herbunculous that explains more about it.

Al

Al
Pen and Ink

On Monday and Fridays at 10 am there is coffee in the building's social room for tenants of the building. I go when I can.  This is Al from the coffee group. He is fascinating to talk to. His life has been so interesting. He has traveled all over the world.

UPDATE DECEMBER 28, 2012

I am sad to say that Al passed away on December 26, 2012

My Hand

My Hand
Pen and Ink

No sketchbook is complete without at least one rendering of a (my) hand.  I was trying to emulate Robert Crumb's style when I drew this.

Anthony says he can always recognize my hand because of the crinkly knuckles.

642 Things to Draw #36 - The Milky Way

A Milky Way Candy Bar
Pen and Ink

Instead of drawing THE Milky Way, I drew A Milky Way. YUM! The chocolate bar was far more fun to draw (and eat) than a bunch of dots on a page representing stars. But, for those who wanted to see THE Milky Way, here is an image of it from Wikipedia:

Book: 642 Things To Draw -- this is an Amazon affiliate link. If you would like to purchase this book please use this link. Thank you.

Of Watercolour and Erasers

Watecolour Stack and Kneaded Eraser Container
Pen and Ink with Watercolour

The portable watercolour stack (left) has three tiers of 6 colours each giving me 18 colours to carry around with me.  They are opaque watercolours in cake form. The whole thing is about 4 inches wide by three inches high and can easily fit in my purse or backpack.

On the right we have a Michael's Superstore tin that is shaped like a palette. It used to hold mints. Now it holds my kneaded eraser. It is small and portable.

642 Things to Draw #35 - Head in the Clouds

Head in the Clouds
Pen and Ink with Digital Colour

This cartoon was so boring without colour so I added some digitally. The colour helps to illustrate the "head in the clouds" theme better.

When someone is said to have their head in the clouds it means that they are out of touch with the real world. They may be flighty, frivolous, scatterbrained, or just daydreamers. They are considered unrealistic or naive as a result of having their  head in the clouds. These people are often guided by whim and fancy.

Book: 642 Things To Draw -- this is an Amazon affiliate link. If you would like to purchase this book please use this link. Thank you.