Artist in progress....

'Hummer' 

I drew this hummingbird for one of my wonderful older sisters back in 2011. It was one of those cold and dreary days when you wish with all your heart it was spring, you either want it to be so cold it will snow or you want the cold to go away. I sometimes wonder why I didn't print out a reference picture for my sister's drawing, but for some reason my reference photo for this drawing was a little cartoon hummingbird, which wasn't of the greatest quality, so if I am a little bit proud of this hummingbird it is possibly because I chose one of the worst reference pictures ever for a 'realistic' drawing.

'Hummer' close up.

I'm not going to say this was one of the best pictures I've ever done, it isn't. But I believe that by posting even the mediocre artwork and my beginning pieces, it shows that I get better with each piece I do. Nobody is born with the ability to draw perfectly, I believe the beginners artwork is more beautiful than the masters perfect magnum opus, because sometimes more love and dedication was put into that lopsided face, or that hummingbird which was drawn on a cold winter's day when there wasn't a flower in sight! Captured in those pictures is some of the greatest feelings which not many people see or feel once they have become masters of drawing and painting.

'Joey from War Horse'

“Can you imagine flying over a war, and you know you can never look down, you have to look forward or you’ll never get home… I ask you, what could be braver than that?”

One of my favourite movies is War Horse, therefore, for a long time I spent my days drawing horses.

The reason for posting this particular picture is, if you look at the picture you'll shudder and say- "Wow, that is not very good at all, the picture is crooked, Joey's neck looks funny, check out his leg...etc." 

I realise I've set myself up for such comments, but you should know, I drew this particular picture without a reference photo, with a terrible No. 2 pencil and I'd probably only had about three hours of sleep.

I'll give you a brief picture, the day was exceedingly hot (too hot for May), I was bored out of my wits, my legs were sticking to the metal folding chair I was sitting on and my brain had all but failed me for any good story ideas, so trapped among clumps of stuff we were selling at our yard sale. I began to draw random objects, a cookie jar, a shoe (yes, I was seriously that bored) and finally I began to draw Joey, and I was very happy to see how it turned out.

'Joey from War Horse'

I know.... I drew this before I watched the film, so I didn't know he had a stripe down his nose!

This picture was a 'Thank You' card for my grandmother and grandfather for giving me a book 'The Big Book of Realistic Drawing Secrets' by Carrie Stuart Park and Rick Parks. Obviously, the book helped me immensely. For this version of Joey, I had an excellent reference photo. I'd probably still be erasing little bits and shading in different areas now if the picture wasn't at my grandparent's house! 

Paintings!

 'Jewel & Jingles'

My first attempt at painting a horse was a work of my sister's miniature horse and my own.

Jingles (my miniature horse) left (tan), and Jewel (my sister's miniature horse) right (brown and white), were painted for a 'Get Feeling Better' card. I must admit this picture is a bit of a stretch for the imagination, I've never seen Jewel and Jingles so loving to each other. :) Since this was my first painted picture of a live horse, it was quite good. My second attempt at painting a horse was a bit better...

'Cookies and Crème'

'Cookies and Crème' was a painting I did last year for an art show! Alas, 2013 has not had any painted masterpieces yet, but already I have something in mind for this years art show.

This painting as you can see, I was a lot better with seeing the colours and where they needed to go. Many of my inspirations come from Illustrator Wesley Dennis- www.wesleydennis.com.

The amazing thing about art is the fact, you don't do it to show it off or compare it to others...(well, we do show it off somewhat...) but many of us draw or paint to have fun, relax and get away from the hectic real life sometimes. Whether you draw Japanese artwork, comics, paintings, realistic drawings, or maybe you just draw little stickmen, drawing is something not everyone has the opportunity to do, and yet by embracing the simple charcoal pencils, and blank pieces of paper, we can connect with people we've never met before, and we connect with our inner-self. 

Good Morning, Good Afternoon, Good Evening, and Good Night! ☼