#project52drawinglab :: WEEK SEVEN

April 1, 2018 Arlene Giddings

Week 7 of the 52 drawing lab project
was to pick 4 colors
of various mediums (ie marker, crayon, pencil crayon, etc)
and then
look at a picture of a monkey
and draw it
using only those colors.

I will be completely honest.
I hated my first try so bad
I won't even post it.
But I was a little happier with the rest.

this guy was not my favorite...but i kind of like his teeth.

It did make me look at light and shading
and dark areas a little closer.
And it was a good exercise in patience
because I was pretty frustrated
all the way through.

NEXT UP - IMAGINARY CREATURES (do I need to tell you
how excited I am about this one?)

Also...if you are wondering what I am doing in this post,
you can read all about it here!

#project52drawinglab :: WEEK SIX

March 25, 2018 Arlene Giddings

For week six, I did not have to
go the zoo.
:)

Luckily for week six,
you needed to use a number of
index cards
and because I am a total hoarder
I have a ton of index cards
that I bought for a project,
but bought far too many.
So this was perfect.

The instructions were to
draw a dogs a number of times
on index cards
quickly without a lot of detail
with a chisel type marker.

I'll admit
I was nervous.
I don't draw dogs.
I tried a pug recently with
not great results.

But this was kind of fun.

When I showed them to my husband
(who is always the somewhat unfortunate
audience for EVERYTHING I make...heh)
he said the expressions were funny
and would make a funny book.
:)
That's why he is always my audience...
he's so sweet.
♥♥♥

#project52drawinglab :: WEEK FIVE

March 18, 2018 Arlene Giddings

Week 5 was a day at the zoo
part two.

I tried panda bears this time...
the intent this time was to experiment
with what your pencil
(and different types of pencils)
could do.

I enjoyed this
(and in all honesty, I totally enjoyed
watching the pandas...
one rolled all the way across the grass
and out of camera view
which struck me funny)
but felt like I really struggled to capture
anything that I really liked...
which is why
there is only one photo.

NEXT UP - INDEX CARD MULTIPLES

Also...if you are wondering what I am doing in this post,
you can read all about it here!

#project52drawinglab :: WEEK FOUR

March 11, 2018 Arlene Giddings

This week's exercise
required me to go to the zoo...
and it's winter.
I can barely make it to the grocery store
(and if you want to know how serious
I am about that, consider this...
we ran out of salt two days ago.
Salt.
Two days ago.
And I will still not go to the grocery store.)

So, no...even if we had a zoo,
I am not going.
Instead, I watched this on youtube
and pretended I was at the zoo
in the comfort of my own home.

Again, not to be redundant
but in the spirit of being honest,
I really didn't think I was going to like this exercise.
But it ended up being fun
and not nearly as frustrating
as I had feared.
I think the fact that this is also based on
process not final product
helps and hurts me...
I like something to show for what I did...
and I am not always happy with the
"process" photos...
but I'm going to stick with it.

I had really intended to try this again
but with a different animal but time got away from me.

NEXT UP - A DAY AT THE ZOO...part two (well....looks like I will get my chance to try drawing a different animal after all!)

Also...if you are wondering what I am doing in this post,
you can read all about it here!

#project52drawinglab :: WEEK TWO

February 25, 2018 Arlene Giddings

OK...so this really has nothing to do with this post...
i just like to start every post with a photo but
didn't want to give the giraffes away
until the end...
so...
here's some snow.

So...I really didn't want to do week two.
I really, really
thought that I was going to suck at it.
I really, really
thought I had no interest
in drawing a giraffe,
especially
drawing a giraffe without LOOKING the paper
while drawing a giraffe.

I thought it was going to be like those games
you played at baby showers
where you tried to draw a baby without
looking at your paper
while wearing safety pins attached to
a paper plate hat...

OK. I might be getting more than one game
mixed together in that analogy but you know what I mean.

BUT I LOVED HOW THEY TURNED OUT!
like...loved in all caps kind of love.
So much so, that I went back and painted/colored them
and one of them, I would like to put on my wall...
so...yay to trying things even though your head is
telling you this is not going to be fun at all AND
you are going to suck at it.

I can't wait for week 3 now!

ATTEMPT #1 - WHERE I WAS LIKE...HEY WAIT A MINUTE...THAT WAS KIND OF FUN!

AND MY FAVORITE....ATTEMPT NUMBER 3. IT'S THOSE CRAZY EYES. ♥♥

NEXT UP - MY PET PROJECT :) I see pugs and cats in my future.

Also...if you are wondering what I am doing in this post,
you can read all about it here!

#project52drawinglab :: WEEK ONE

February 18, 2018 Arlene Giddings

Last week, I had decided to start a new project.
I know...I know...
I haven't finished the first one yet (or, let's be honest,
I am not sure that I have finished any project I have ever started...
which makes me wonder if maybe my son's
school guidance counselor may have been on to
something when she randomly suggested that perhaps
I might be ADHD).

OK. I am getting off topic here.

- 52 Drawing Labs for Mixed Media - LAB 1 -
Draw cats in bed.
Not cats in actual beds.
But you should be in bed...when you are drawing cats...
which sounds right up my winter-sucks-i-just-want-hibernate alley.
But I did not do that part so well.
I had a hard time with the loose lines...which was kind of the whole
point of the exercise. I wanted my cats to look like cats
and I ended up drawing lots of cats...but not the way I should have.

But that's ok. I still found it enjoyable.

There is always a second part called "Taking it Further"
where you can follow some further instructions...I had a lot of fun with this part.
One suggestion was to pick one of your favorite cat drawings
and re-create using acrylics or oils or watercolor...
I have been playing with watercolor a lot lately
so went with that...

The second suggestion was to re-draw
using colored pencils or ink...I used both...

The funny thing was that I found myself doodling cats
when I would normally be doing robots...when I mindlessly doodle...
so it was interesting to see that shift. And, in all honesty, I was
very scared when I saw it was cats. I don't do cats. Or animals really.
It was fun to push myself outside of my norm.

NEXT UP - BLIND CONTOUR GIRAFFES :)