....And to All a Good Night

I wish you and your loved ones a joyous Holiday Season!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Christmas, Colds, Getting Nothing Done....Fa La La

Last week was a tough week in our household. Both our kids got colds. They are still toddlers so, a simple cold has them up every 90 minutes during the night. My son has it tougher though. He has Allergy Related Asthma (that's what the doctor called it). Normally it's under control with medicine but when he gets a cold he gets a horrible cough he can't shake. Sometimes he coughs for 5 minutes straight. It's horrible to see him there struggling, just wanting to sleep but a cough attack is preventing him from rest. And,of course, if he isn't sleeping neither am I. Needless to say, very little got done last week with the family/Christmas to-do list and my art making to-do list. I did manage to practice shading with pencils in my sketchbook. I'm taking Suzi Blu's Petite Dolls e-course and she shows how to shade with pencils. I think I did okay on my first go. 

I found coloring with the pencil to be rather soothing. I wasn't sure if I would enjoy it as I tend to have the brush in my hand more than the pencil. I think I will keep practicing with colored pencils since they are portable and will likely help improve my shading skills.

Consumed With Christmas

I didn't fall off the face of the earth, I've just been all wrapped up with Christmas (pun intended). I always try and have the bulk of the shopping done by Thanksgiving weekend, but that never happens. Fortunately, I am pretty much finished with shopping. I just have mailing gifts, Christmas Cards and wrapping presents to do. We aren't into the double digits of the month yet so, I'm feeling pretty good right now. I have been sketching daily too.  I've been pretty good about keeping up the practice. I love curling up with my sketchbook after the kids have gone to bed and just practicing or doing home work from the numerous e-courses I'm taking. I am also discovering tools that I like and don't like. For example, I prefer the Strathmore Visual Journals (mixed media and drawing version) over the Canson Mixed Media Journal. Canson claims to handle water media but the pages buckle and wrinkle like crazy. Not so with the Strathmore. Here are some things I've been doing and you can see that some of the pages have buckled. I suppose I can iron them but, I barely have time to do art!  In future posts I will tell you all about the e-courses I'm taking. 

AEDM- The Final Day

The Art Every Day Month challenge has come to a close. Even though I didn't post to my blog every day, I can say I did create almost every day. I may not have been in my studio 7 days a week (more like 2 days a week if I was lucky) but I did sketch almost every night before bed. I have a nice little set up with pencils and water soluble markers and crayons. I might do homework from one of my e-courses or just sketch something random. My creative time may have only been 10 minutes some nights, but it was something. I'm happy I took this challenge because it got me into the habit of doing daily sketching and that was a personal goal. 

This past weekend I also created profit for the retail industry (Merry Christmas Shopping!) in addition to the work pictured below. 

This is some homework from my I Heart Drawing e-course. 

This is homework from my She Art 2 e-course (still working on her). 

This is from my sketchbook.

 

AEDM- Alton Brown, Thanksgiving Day Hero!

Cooking the perfect turkey is an art.  Ask anyone who has had a dry turkey!  The secret is in the brine, baby!  I learned all about brining from Alton Brown.  I'm a big fan of Alton Brown. He is the host of Food Network's Good Eats.  The show explores the science of cooking with a very fun and often silly flare.  He has a great episode on cooking the perfect turkey. I followed his recipe to the letter last year and it was the BEST TURKEY we ever had!  This year I'm only cooking the breast but I am still brining. The brine insures a juicy turkey. You can see Alton's recipe here. You can also check YouTube for the Alton Brown brining video! 

 

Salt, spices and an iPad help me make the perfect turkey. 

AEDM- I Heart Drawing Homework

I am taking I Heart Drawing from Jane Davenport. It started this week and it looks to be a very fun and informative class! We will be learning to draw the female figure 3 ways; realistic, whimsical and fashion. Below is homework. I haven't colored the girls in yet, but it's a good start. There is still time to sign up. If you click here, Jane is offering a discount for all my friends!

AEDM- She Art 2 Homework

Had a chance to start my first lesson for She Art 2; A She Art Girlie with a Face. I used a 9x12 canvas panel and created a painted background. Then I used paper from an old magazine to create the head and neck. I lightly sketched in a face. When I will be able to return to finish her up is always a mystery in my house.



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