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7/1/06 ~
Dragonflies
Today's drawing is
a close up of yesterday's "Longwood Canna".
There are three dragonflies in this picture. Can you find them?
These translucent creatures symbolize that there is only seeming
reality on earth. They remind us to become more aware of our
feelings and intuition as they, like our thoughts, mysteriously
appear and then disappear into the sunlight.
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7/2/06 ~
Climate Crisis
Today's drawing is
inspired by Al Gore's movie, 'An Inconvenient Truth'
which my family and I went to see yesterday. I highly recommend
it and
think everyone over the age of ten should see it! The issue of
global warming
is presented with humor and passion in an easy to follow format
that is
entertaining as well as highly informative. Go to www.climatecrisis.net
to find out more about the movie and how you can help!
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7/3/06 ~
Time Out
Today's drawing is
a waterfall somewhere in my imagination.
I haven't heard from anybody this holiday weekend, so I'm
assuming you are all relaxing, playing and recharging your
batteries. Hope you are all enjoying a refreshing change
from your usual daily activities!
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7/4/06 ~ Spirals
Today's drawing is
of our galaxy, the Milky Way. After doing the hurricane
pictures, I got to thinking just how much this force of nature
resembles our
own planetary home. I contemplated how the spiral has been a
symbolic art
form throughout history and how often it often shows up in nature,
from
vast galaxies all the way down to the shape of the tiny DNA molecule.
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7/5/06 ~
True Blue
Today's drawing is
of our current "berry of the month"
here in Southern New Jersey. My brother in-law owns a
blueberry farm nearby. This time of year, there is seldom a
shortage of these delicious, large, sweet beauties. Last night,
watching the fireworks on TV, I noticed that in Philadelphia,
they even used blueberries in their red, white and blue floral
arrangements which adorned the commentator's podium.
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7/6/06 ~
Distractions
Today's drawing is
of my favorite distraction. For some reason,
the hummingbirds are mostly gathering around the feeder by
my big studio window. This is where I draw and paint and spend
most of my creative time. I am filling the two cup feeder three
times
a day! Even though I have four other feeders out, this is where
they
want to be. Lucky me!!
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7/7/06 ~
Still Distracted
Here's another drawing
of my favorite distraction, hummers!
I'm going out several times a day rotating and filling feeders.
The return is well worth the effort! I especially love to watch
the
youngsters carry on, just a few feet from where I am "working".
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7/8/06 ~
Cat Days Of Summer
Today I'm sending
a drawing of my studio cat, Princess. She loves the
heat and spends much of her time now lazing around outside and
napping
on my studio porch. Oh, those lazy, crazy, hazy days of summer!
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7/9/06 ~
Magic Frog
Today I'm sending
a drawing of a white tree frog that took a trip home
from the super market with my husband. A little girl first spotted
him
clinging to Jerry's cart. There he stayed 'til he was transported
in a box
home to me. After I photographed Froggie in my bird bath, with
just a
little water in it to cool him down, I went into the house to
get my reptile
and amphibian handbook to see where to release him. When I got
back
less than a minute later, he had vanished; poof, just like magic!
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7/10/06 ~
Tommy's Toy
Yesterday we did some
shopping at PetsMart and picked up a new toy
for our adolescent house cat, Tommy. He is in heaven! It is white,
his
favorite color. He drags it around with him everywhere and has
been
even more of a terror than usual, shredding faxes, invoices and
paper
towels to get attention. Somehow he must think this will entice
us to
play with him and his favorite new toy.
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7/11/06 ~
The Hum of Summer
The hummingbirds are
still busy as bees outside my studio window.
They've got me thinking about color, composition and design.
(For some new paintings, featuring them, of course.)
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7/12/06 ~
Hummingbird Quickies
I decided it was time
for me to switch gears and do some quick sketches
instead of the more detailed drawings I have been doing. These
were lots
of fun and helped get me loosened up this morning.*I highly recommend
Betty Edwards' book, "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain"
if you
would like to get into drawing or learn how to draw and see better.
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7/13/06 ~
More Hummingbird Gestures
I sure do love having
the company of my little friends all day
long. I never tire of watching the little cuties and I hope you
are not getting bored with seeing my sketches of them!
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7/14/06 ~
Blooming Hibiscus
I decided to do a
sketch of my potted blooming Hibiscus today.
It is the hummingbirds' favorite plant and it's located outside
my
studio window right by their favorite feeder. I keep it inside
my
studio in the winter. It is about 6' tall and takes up a lot
of room,
but it repays us generously with big, beautiful blooms all summer.
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7/15/06 ~
Mountain Stream
I spent most of the
day finishing up some small paintings, framing and getting
ready for a show at the shore tomorrow. I had no idea what I
was going to
draw tonight until I opened an email and saw several pictures
of a mountain
stream near Yosemite where my friend, Monte Guynes' ashes became
one
with nature. It was the same kind of scene he loved to paint
and it inspired
me to draw this one. Many thanks to my friends Christine and
Carol!
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7/16/06 ~
Island Breezes
Tonight I'm sending
a rough sketch of a tiny island in the bay adjoining today's
show grounds. It is surrounded by a huge shallow sandbar, so
people boat out
there and just hang out in the water. I got to cool off today
too. A vendor's
husband brought a couple of kayaks and I spent a couple of hours
boating
around while Jerry minded the booth. It was the first time I
ever tried it and I
really liked it. I had fun checking out the island and some of
the local lagoons.
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7/17/06 ~
Summer Sports
I took a picture of
a guy wind surfing yesterday while at our show along side of
the bay. It may be something I'd like to try. I think I'd opt
for just a little more wind
though. When the breeze died down, it looked like this person
was having a little
trouble keeping his new toy upright!
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7/18/06 ~
Barbaro
The first time I saw
him was on Kentucky Derby Day. I knew the gorgeous
bay colt that he was something very special. Even before the
race started, I was
telling people that I was pretty sure this horse could be our
next triple crown
winner. Dsaster struck Barbaro at the Preakness on May 20, 2006.
Since then, he
has been at New Bolton Center, University of PA School of Veterinary
Medicine.
He is under the care of a very able staff headed by Dr. Dean
Richardson. I'm familiar
with the center and the surgeon. Today's drawing shows America's
favorite equine,
at the height of his short but amazingly glorious career.
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7/19/06 ~
Rembrandt
Today's sketch is
of one of my "kids". Rembrandt is my 26 year old, Thoroughbred
/
Paint. I got him as a yearling when I was just a kid myself.
Although he's always been
very laid back, he still has plenty of spunk. I often catch "Rudy"
kicking up his heels and
showing off for Rita. He's like a frisky three year old when
it's not so darn hot out!
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7/20/06 ~
Santa Margarita
Today's sketch is
of my "baby", Santa Margarita. "Rita" is
my 15 year old, 17 hand,
Thoroughbred / Oldenburg mare. I got her as a weanling and was
actually present at
her birth. I documented the blessed event on video and in many
photos.
It's the closest I'll ever get to having one of my own!
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7/21/06 ~
Blind Contour
Today's drawing is
an exercise I haven't tried in a long time. In blind contour,
one traces the object with their eyes and draws without looking
at the paper.
It should be done very slowly, with emphasis on really feeling
what you see as you draw.
The only time you're allowed to look at the drawing is to occasionally
find your spot and
reposition your pencil. Once the pencil starts moving, you must
focus on the subject only.
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7/22/06 ~
My Baby Elephant
Today's sketches are
of an unusual piece that shares my studio space with me.
It is a 3' x 3' leather covered baby elephant sculpture. We are
guessing it is
from the 1920's or earlier. If anyone out there is really into
elephants, and
can give this baby a good home, contact me about the price.
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7/23/06 ~
Last Roundup
Almost everyone I
know has found good stuff in someone else's trash before.
The very best find was a new Rolex in the box! It's amazing what
some folks
throw out. You know what they say about one man's trash being
another's
treasure, but I never thought of drawing or painting it before!
Here, this old
hobby horse which has seen better days, is headed for the last
roundup.
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7/24/06 ~
Challenge
Today's sketch was
a real challenge. Although I'm fairly comfortable
drawing most things, vehicles are really hard for me. I have
trouble switching
my brain out of left mode for some reason. You need to draw in
right-brain,
intuitive mode for good results. After less than satisfactory
results, trying
to draw from life, I took a photo and drew a grid on it which
I transferred to
my paper. It allows you to see smaller shapes and relations to
the whole.
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7/25/06 ~
Summer Bouquet
Our friends grow flowers
and sell them fresh cut and dried.
They have some unusual and colorful varieties. Amy brought me
this bouquet on Friday. I decided to do a loose value sketch
of it
in gray markers before it fades. I may find it useful as a guide
for a future painting.
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7/26/06 ~
Summer flowers
Sharon Coyle sent
me a picture she took of some wild daisies this
week. The colors are awesome. Thanks Sharon! They got me
thinking about painting some daisy types. Not necessarily white
ones. See my painting from this sketch in tomorrow's Spirit Art!
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7/27/06 ~ Glaciers
Jerry and I were talking
about how fishing is way off this year because the
ocean water temperature is unseasonably cold. We concluded it
was most
likely due to the massive amount of glacier melting that is currently
taking
place on the planet. I experienced lots of glacier calving when
I visited Alaska
last September. Here's a couple of thumbnail sketches from photos
I took.
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7/28/06 ~ Riding
Boots
My favorite riding
boots were drawn from life today. First I did a
blind contour, then a gesture, then a series of drawings done
on tracing
paper. The drawings ended up really large. (18" x 24")
I xeroxed them
smaller and retraced them for the drawing today.
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7/29/06
~ Another Blind Contour
I couldn't resist
doing one more sketch of my riding boots
before I put them away today. Like before, this drawing
exercise is done without looking at the paper while drawing.
Shoes are fun to draw! I think they portray some of the
personality of the wearer, once they are broken in.
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7/30/06 ~
People Doodles
Realizing that I have
yet to post any doodles, I decided to show you
some notes I made from Tony Van Hasselt's video, "Fun With
Figures" today. They're done in a simplified way with a
formula
anybody can master. Go ahead, give the "U O W" people
a try.
Be playful! I'd love to see your results!
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7/31/06 ~
More Figures
Today I decided to
show you the second phase of Tony Van Hasselt's video,
"Fun With Figures". He considers this the painting
phase, but I consider it
drawing with paint. I hope a few of you will find it useful and
try it out!
"Try not to get
caught up in the results, just have fun and enjoy the process!"
(Monte Guynes)
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