Thank You Sunday Sketches

My first sketch for SS last July

On July 30^th 2013 I first linked up to Sunday Sketches, it was my second link up ever (the first was Paint Party Friday the day before), I had only been blogging a week.  I have become so much more confident in my art since I have joined the blogging art community and I want to say thank you!  To show my gratitude to all of you for my first year of blogging, I am going to have a giveaway every week of July.  For Sunday Sketches I will give away 4 postcard size sketches every week.  You will have to log on to PPF next Friday to see what I am going to give away there! 

This afternoon, I did 4 sketches ready to stick on a postcard, I will be adding a quote and maybe a few tweaks here and there.  I will make the first giveaway on the 30^th June your time as it will already be 1^st July by mine. (I hope that makes sense?) 

At this stage I am not sure whether to have 4 people get one each or one person gets four or two get two!  Or even have a whole lot that the winners can choose from. What do you think!  

Have a happy SundaySketches everyone.

Faces 2 and 3

It is so hot here at the moment that I haven’t done much in the way of painting over the last few days. Yesterday was a stinker, my thermometer said 39o Celsius.  That’s hot for here, wasn’t surprised to see on TV we had the hottest temp for all of NZ. 

   

So this morning I was up before the larks, it was relatively cooler so got my journal out.  I got cracking on my 2^nd and 3^rd faces for the 29 Faces in February challenge that Ayala is hosting.  Go there and check out some of the wonderful work others are doing.

I decided that I wanted to test drive some new pencils I got last week.  They are Derwent water soluble graphite pencils and they come in a light, medium and dark wash.  I have just received a batch of photos from my sister of her two grandchildren (Yeah that makes me a great aunt!).  They live a eight hour drive away from her, so she doesn’t see them that much, and when she does, there are millions of photos flying my way.  She is such a proud grandma! 

FACE 2

Here I used the medium wash pencil in the traditional manner.  Kendal loves to pose, as her father, my nephew, says she loves to work that camera!

The next picture is of Flynn at the harbour making friends with a seagull.  I used the medium and light wash pencils with water.  I think that this has possibilities for my illustration work.

FACE 3

The next picture is not really just a face its Kendal on her beloved bike.  I was on a roll, and the theme at Illustration Friday is Wheels.  I am not going to link it there as I really struggled with this.  Kendal was okay to do, it was the bike, and I couldn’t get the perspective right.  Inanimate objects can be a problem for me.  Any way I used the dark wash pencil in a traditional manner.  I will come back to this later as I think the picture has potential. 

 

Well I am up to date now, so think I will go and stand under a cold shower for half an hour, its only 9 am and it is 31!

Have a lovely week Sunday Sketchers and blessings.

Linking to Sunday Sketches

Old Ladies and Wings Galore!

I love painting and drawing people’s faces mostly from my imagination.  However, I do find that after a while they all start to look the same.  When this happens, I have found that my drawing improves if I spend some time drawing faces from magazines and books.  I usually do this in the evening while watching TV.

The above drawing is from a picture from the National Geographic which I did this week.  It took me two evenings to do as it is about A4 size and lots of detail!  I have a ready supply of faces as I buy piles of old magazines from the local Salvation Army charity shop.  Then I go through them ripping out images that take my fancy, and put in in big envelopes according to subject.

 

I am dreadful at putting the date on so often have to rely on memory.  The above was from an article about Chinese women grieving about the imprisonment of their children.  I do know that this batch of magazines was at least 30 years old!  I like the magazines from the SA as they usually are very old (they are the only place locally that will take estate clearances).  I find that the old photographs have more tone and depth of field.  I suppose they haven’t been Photoshopped!

WINGS

For Illustration Friday this week the prompt is wings.  This is an illustration I completed before Christmas for one of my stories: 

Melody’s Quest

Melody called out, "Jeremy Wizard, are you there?"

"Melody, come on up and bring your friends. I promise Harvey, my disreputable winged cat will leave Toby alone."  A voice called back

"What a strange wizard," muttered Melody, "Living up a tree? Wizards are meant to live in towers or old castles." She climbed up the ladder and sat on a branch near the Wizard. Gavin wrapped himself around a branch, and Toby settled himself just out of reach of the strangest cat Melody had ever seen.

"Do you know where I come from?" Melody asked straight away.

"A valley far away, there was danger there, and your parents asked me to find a safe place." Jeremy answered.

"Can you do some magic and whisk me there?" Melody demanded.

"I am afraid I cannot do that, I do not think there is any magic that will do that!" Jeremy laughed.

 “You aren't much of a Wizard then are you!" Muttered Melody. 

I had hoped to have the picture of Melody flying over the Red Mountains with her friends on Amber the Red Dragon’s back.  Unfortunately, I haven’t had time to complete it.  Never mind another day perhaps.

So my friends, blessings for the coming week and wishing you lots of creative endeavours.

Linking to Sunday Sketches and Illustration Friday.