Fun Learning...

I am taking a Digital Design class online, offered by Jessica Sprague. Fun Stuff!!

She has been providing some great new sites to use online for inspiration. Makes me all happy inside.

Today's made me glow. Color. Yummy. Scrumptious. Color.

There are sites out there that you can use to make color swatches. Use them for design. Painting. Decorating. Whatever your heart desires, in whatever color combination.

Ever found a pictures that you love the color scheme, but you aren't sure how to break it down into a nice package to take to the paint store or the department store for accessories (or if you are a paper addict like me, to the scrapbook store)?

Here you go: Color Suckr
Enter the URL of the picture you like...and voila. You have color swatches.

Want to be even nerdier? (Is that a word?)

You can install it as a Firefox Plug-in. Then all you have to do is right click on your image and choose "extract color".

Yum. Yum.

Happy Wednesday!

Rhoda

Challenge Me. . .

What should I draw?

If you are reading my blog (here's hoping someone is), give me a challenge.

Tell me what you would like to see me draw.

Post it in the comments section. Give me a short story to illustrate. An image or character you would like to see created.
The more the better. You can even post a handful of times. I need some motivation and direction. I challenge myself to draw everything on the list.

When I finish a piece I will post your comment and my creation. Should be fun :)

Ready, set, post. I'll draw!

Rhoda

Today is Pastels...

I have been digging through art work. Posting it on Deviant Art and in my Flickr. My charcoals are in there. I started thinking about how much I really liked using charcoal, but I start to miss color. Pastels are the obvious choice, but I have never really used them for a piece of art that I liked.

Today, I started chanting in my head: charcoal, charcoal, charcoal. Brought out the pastels, and kept the charcoal mindset. Didn't get distracted by the color.

And guess what? I like it :)


Happy Thursday!

Rhoda

Still Playing...

I have been playing again. Paints. Which do I like.
Watercolor.
Acrylic.
Watercolor.
Hmmm. Not sure. Both have their good side and bad side. I just need to keep playing I guess. Ahem. I mean practicing :)


I did this one, and a student really wanted it. So, my plan is to paint her again. Maybe a few more times. Once with acrylic. Once with watercolor. Until I'm happy. Then I will move on to another...

Creativity. Makes me happy!

Rhoda

My Sunday Creation...

I played with acrylic paint today. Not sure I like it, but I stuck it out and finished the picture.

At one point, I was going to just let Kyla paint on it. The I realized I had already spent a good hour and a half on it. No point wasting that time and being growly about it.

I finished it instead. Used a little colored pencil to give it some detail. I'm not as irritated with it now. I might even try again :)

Really wish I had a little bit more education with acrylics. I know their potential, I just don't know how to get them there...guess it's time to go find a good book and teach myself. Again. :)

Rhoda

Family Drawing Time

The kids and I each had a sketch book while we watched T.V. last night.

Actually, I don't think we really even watched T.V. We plugged in "Open Season", and just listened while we doodled in our sketchbooks.

Hayden asked if I would take a picture of his. I told him we would scan it and I would post it on my blog. Kyla chimed in that she wanted to share hers as well. So. Today you get 3 artists for the price of 1 :)

My dancing moose. Not sure where it came from. I was thinking about showing movement with arms and legs, and it just evolved into a Moose Party :)

Hayden started out adding details to another moose in my sketchbook. When I stole my book back, he asked for a moose head and body (just the head, no antlers). I drew the outline, he added all the details and then colored it this morning.

And Kyla drew a wolf. She found an online tutorial and followed it to the end (even though a few times in the middle she was starting to growl at it).

I'm hoping that just by practicing and having fun with it, they will both develop skills far greater than mine!!

Here's to many more family draw nights. Even if I have to put them on the calendar!! :)

Happy Sunday,

Rhoda

Art with the Kids...

We started working on "How to Draw" lessons today. They are more complex than the Mark Kistler lessons.

Less steps.

They really have to pay attention to proportion and details.

There was some grumbling.

Once they settled down, I drew with them (under the document camera so they could see how I worked it, and how I fixed my own mistakes).

It makes it harder for them to say the lesson is "impossible", if I do the assignment with them.

Here are my finished doodles:


Happy Art Day :) I'm off to play some more!

Rhoda

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