Fred...The Octopus?

Well, Ollie would have been a little unoriginal right?

I spent the day shirking my responsibilities. Okay. I did balance the checkbook. Lesson plans for the week and other things, they were neglected.

Ollie, er...I mean Fred, he kept me busy :)

I am out of practice with painting, but I still had fun. It's watercolor paints, watercolor crayons, and colored pencil.

(if you want, you can get an uncolored version of him, and try coloring him yourself. see yesterday's post)

Happy Sunday,

Rhoda

Seuss Meets Pastels

I have been trying to make an effort to draw more each day.

Some days I make it. Others I don't.

Inspiration is lacking, but I have order

ed some new books (Amazon and I get along really really well...but my bank statement doesn't really like it *wink*).

This one came in the mail recently:

The ABC Drawing Lab by Carla Sonheim. It has some great ideas to rejuvenate your creativity. One that I used in my H.S. Art class was the Dr. Seuss buildings. There were a few great pieces that came out of that lesson.

Here is my version from today. I was wanting to play with pastels, but wasn't sure what to draw. My eye drifted to the book and the first page I opened to was the Seuss page. Off I went :)

(I'm not sure why that image keeps loading sideways, I've rotated and saved it in my files...grr. Oh well, tip your head *grin*)

And, for those of you that have downloaded my doodles to color previously, I have created another doodle page. I'm hoping to color this one with watercolor paints and maybe digitally as well. Fodder for lots of artsy fun.

Click on the image so it opens in a new tab or window and then right click and save. Print. Color. Enjoy :)

Have a great creative weekend!

Rhoda

Crushed, But...

I have been thinking about college again. It's time to start working on my Masters. The thoughts were swirling around, and I came back to an idea that I had when I first started college at 19. Drawing. Illustration. Make money doing something I love. Go to school. Learn more. Draw. Make money. Sounds great right?

Problem #1: we live in tiny, rural, Montana.

Solution: find a college that offers a Masters degree online.

This led to Problem #2: Most colleges don't offer a full online program for a MFA in Illustration.

Solution: search harder. Find 2 that do.

Problem #3: Money. Holy crap!! The cost is as much as my bachelor's degree was, and that included living off some aid money when we started the family a little early.

Solution: There isn't. So I cried.

My heart was really set on learning to draw better. Put my skills to the test and use them as a source of income. Become a Freelance Illustrator.

Today. Solution to Problem #3. It's round about. It doesn't get me another step in my education. But, it is what I do best. Teach myself. Yep. You don't have to have a degree to get Freelance work. I'm sure it helps. Oh Well. I'll do it the hard way. I challenge myself to do it.

Step One: Draw more. Be confident about it and just do it!!

On a lighter note.

We walked to breakfast this morning. Hayden wanted to know what he was going to do for "entertainment" at the table. What he was really asking was "Can I take my Nintendo DS and be a game head". Nope.

Instead, we took paper and pencils and challenged ourselves to draw something on the table. All four of us. We sat and doodled. My coffee and creamer. They are destined for an art journal...into the scrap-box they go :)

Happy January. Let's hope it goes fast! It can slow down when spring comes :)

Rhoda