That means Work In Progress. I just made it up, but I’m probably not the first to do so. I’m also making this up, revising as I go, and Mrs. Bob said the most wonderful thing to me about that: “Do whatever! You’re the artist and I relish that…I love your work so do what […]
Cottage Commission Commenced
I am creating a piece of art to the specifications of Bob, My Favorite Customer. (Since he calls me his Favorite Artist, it is only fair that I return the compliment!) He and his family discovered a piece of their history while in Ireland, and I have the privilege of drawing it in pencil. Bob […]
More Links to Learning
If you are here, I’m guessing you have finished the first 8 drawing lessons and are ready for more. Help yourself – I love to teach people how to draw! Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Cajon Pass My maternal grandfather, Eugene B. Maise was […]
Commissions
#12 in the series “Thoughtful Thursdays” Commissions are one of the most necessary pieces of the art career patchwork quilt. Not every artist is willing to draw or paint to a customer’s specifications. Some believe it is too commercial or compromising. Of course it is commercial – this is how I earn my living! Compromising […]
What you want to see
After I got over the thrill of drawing what was really in front of my eyes, I began to want to make better pictures. Real life is messy; artists get to clean it up. It takes practice to draw what isn’t really there, to make up a tree that you didn’t see, to show the […]
What You Really See
As we learn to put on paper what we really see instead of our symbols, it is shocking to learn how much is really there and how it is really shaped or sized. Drawing upside down is one tool; tracing the basic elements and only looking at the tracing instead of the photo is another […]
C Words
Eighth in the series “Thoughtful Thursdays” (yes a bit out of order – why WordPress didn’t publish this as scheduled is a mystery to me. Why I didn’t notice is perhaps because I was doing other things – I need people for this!) Two of the most common ways to earn a living in art […]
Commission
Remember this word? It means “an order for something to be produced such as a work of art”. Indeed! A friend of a long-time customer contacted me with a request to draw a house. The photos came next-day type post and had to be signed for. There were three and they had obviously been peeled […]
Love to Draw!
All summer I have been in conversation and planning for a drawing of a cabin. It has grown from a simple drawing to a collage, and the very trusting and polite customers have given me freedom to do it anyway I want. Often, the customers like to participate in the planning and be given a […]
A Pair of Minutes, continued
Amazing how much work can be accomplished when one sits down, removes distractions, picks up the tools and works for just a pair of minutes! You can see how this very large drawing is nearing completion: The right side of the water wheel, brick pavers, some ground cover and a few detailed flowers in the […]