Portrait and Figure Studio, November 3

Here is the model.

6 inches by 8 inches...watercolor

I painted only this small portrait because I arrived late at the session and had to leave early. I have learned even an hour of painting from a live model is better than none.

Below is the equipment I keep ready to grab for the sessions. I like to travel light.

A lightweight easel is on my wish list but, until then, the folding table works well. It allows me to set up anywhere. When I paint outside I sometimes sit on the ground on a section of a plastic tablecloth and leave the table at home. Then all I need is my backpack.

Happy Birthday, Barry

You have always been a busy person.

Here you are working on an art project in our basement.

You mastered card tricks far a Halloween party.  I couldn't even catch you at the one you said was the easiest to follow. 

Thank you for showing me some of the Karati routines you have learned. I know routine is not the correct term but I can't remember what you said the set of motions was called.

And thank you for letting me take a photo of you with the medals you have earned.

This is a lovely drawing of your friend. I am impressed that you have learned to create art on the computer as well.

I hope your birthday is a special one.

With lots of love from Grandma

A Walk at Charleston Falls, October 29...Part One

My friend couldn't walk with me on Saturday and it was cold so I went to Charleston Falls about nine rather than the usual eight.  We had had our heaviest frost  this fall  during the night.  Mist was rising from the river and lay over the fields.

The frost edged leaves and plants were beautiful. 

It was a little after nine AM when I arrived the sun was still low in the sky and the grass was covered with frost.  The sun reddened the grass in random  spots.

The Tulip Poplar leaves were trimmed in frost.

As I started down the trail I spotted this maple decked out in red.

If you double click on the photo below you will get more detail of the scene at the falls. It is always a challenge to get a good morning picture of the falls. There is a huge contrast in lighting between the ravine and the cliff.

A Walk at Charleston Falls, Ocotober 29...Part 2

I have so many beautiful photos of this fall walk to share that I decided to put them into three blogs. If you are like me, you don't always have time to read a long blog. If you want to, you can look at all three. If your time is short, enjoy what you have time for.

I followed the boardwalk trail down into the ravine and passed the falls. Then I climbed the stairs beyond the falls and continued down Redbud Valley Trail. I found asters still blooming.

By the time I reached the bottom of the steep hill that leads to the valley, I heard drips and down at the bottom on the boardwalk that goes through the wet low area, I found wet spots from the melting frost.

There were still frost trimmed leaves in the valley and frosted seed heads.

Even the alien honeysuckle that crowds out native plants was beautiful.

A Walk at Charleston Falls, October 29...Part 3

And now to continue.

Beyond Redbud Valley, I saw more and more spots of sunlight on the forest floor as the sun rose higher in the sky.

First I saw just tiny spots of sunlight.

The rising sun was more noticeable on the tree trunks.

And soon it was high enough to light the trail ahead of me.

After I crossed the creek and started back toward the parking lot, I spotted this beauty. It is the start of a new tree, but hardly big enough to call a sapling.

I climbed higher. The day was growing warmer. Everywhere the leaves were covered with water droplets.

I looked ahead to a small patch of prairie beyond the woods.

Back in the parking lot, I took a second photo of the Tulip Poplar that was in shadow when I began my walk. The grass covered then with frost was now sparkling with dew.

Last of Five Drawing Classes for Fall

Every time I have a new group of students, the first question I ask them is, "What do you like to draw?" The second is, "What would you like to draw in this class?" The answers vary from class to class.

The largest number of students in this class chose animals. Several mentioned wild animals so I brought models of tigers and lions for the second session. The next time we worked on dogs because some of the students asked for them. Then a couple students asked, "Are we going to do any people?" Some classes want to spend all their classes working on one subject such as tigers and lions but this group had a variety of interests.

Since there is no set curriculum, I work with what the students decide. There are plenty of things to learn about drawing. No matter what I show them, they are always learning about looking carefully and drawing what they actually are seeing, not what they assume they are seeing.

For the last session, I told them about the standard measurements that artists use for faces. The eyes are halfway down the oval that is the face. The nose is halfway between the eyes and the bottom of the chin. The lower edge of the lower lip is about halfway between the bottom of the nose and the bottom of the chin.

Below are the faces the students drew. They used white paper but the lighting in the classroom was not ideal for my small camera. I adjusted the colors with JASC Paint Shop Pro 8 but I need more practice!

I suggested that the students make a small mark with a black marker to show about halfway before putting in the eyes.  This student gave her face freckles so the mark doesn't show.

I told this girl I would erase the dot she put  to mark halfway so I did.  See below.

   One of the other girls used what started out to be a study sketch in her notebook as her final drawing so this is what she drew.  The teenager's acne camouflages the measurement dot between the eyes but the lines she drew to get a good shape for the head were a distraction also.  I told her I was good at getting rid of acne and lines on faces.  Nothing like a computer!  Here is the before and after.  I left the spot she told me was a mole. She accidentally left her drawing in the classroom.  I will take it to the Community Services Office where she can pick it up this week if she wants to.

Although most of the students decided to complete the how-to sketch, the artist below drew a new picture.

This artist used the batman characters for models.

After this student did her face sketch, one of the ones shown above, she decided that she really wanted to work more on this drawing of Dixie.

Happy Birthday, Camille

Here you are when you were three weeks old.

A little less than a year later you were celebrating Halloween.  Don't you look like a cuddly bunny?

This was taken when you lived in Virginia.  You were three years old.

When you visited us in 2004, you had a lot of fun with the collection of realistic plastic animals.

When I saw you ride this mechanical bull, I decided you would make a good cowgirl.

You were braver than I would have been at the Renaissance Festival of the Carolinas.  You gave me this thumbs up just before the man hooked the bungee cords to the harness.  I smile to see the smile on your face.

Up, up and away!

Here you are with the flower wreath you wore at the Renaissance Festival.  The sun was really bright.

Now why were you smiling when you were washing that pan?  Maybe you were thinking of what you were planning to do later.

I hope your special day was a good one. 

Lots of love from Grandma