Currently Browsing: The Drawing Life 235 articles
Planners—It’s Already Time to Plan for Next Year’s Planner
For a decade I used a certain planner which was the right size—and well the right everything else: layout and paper quality. When that company stopped making planners (or datebooks) a friend told me her search led her to Hemlock & Oak and she thought I might like them too. So I checked them out. […]
In Context—Painting Rocks
All my students are groaning right now as they read the title of this post: “In Context—Painting Rocks.” Don’t worry, I’m not going to go on about Ruskin, today. I just wanted to post this rock portrait because April marked a return to painting in color for me, after a long bout of pen and […]
What Makes an Artist an Artist?
Recently we had a power-outage in our area. (Dick later told me it involved 51 houses near us.) It’s never great when you have a power outage. The first thing that happens in our house is alarms go off. This is even more stressful now that I have permanent tinnitus. I have to run around […]
Guest Artist in My Journal
I had week off from blogging last week while I tried to balance physical therapy and reactions to various events, personal and national. In the latter category I was touched by the very sad death of Rob and Michelle Reiner. If you make a list of my favorite 30 films of all time almost all […]
In Context: Thoughts on Visual Note Taking
Visual note taking. We all notice things that matter to us. How much we develop those elements in our drawings…it depends on so many factors. The point is to keep noticing. Page spread in a Strathmore 500 Series Mixed media journal on which I pre-collaged a piece of grey Strathmore charcoal paper that had been […]
A Sweet Dog to Wrap Up the Week
I think drawing a dog is always a good way to wrap up the week. Or the day. Even if you don’t have a dog at home (and I don’t any more) find a friend with an interesting dog, or go to the dog park, or, in a pinch, if you can’t get out, find […]
Folio Paper—Another Paper Gone?
Today I was going to write a reminder about what a lovely paper Folio is. I went to Legion Paper and see it is no longer available. It was a versatile printmaking paper sold in 22 x 30 inch sheets at a very affordable price—which, together with the fact that it folded well with the […]
Creative Ideas Stick with Us and It May Take a Lot of Thumbnails to Work Them Through
Creative ideas stick with us over time. Sometimes it’s just days or weeks. Sometimes it’s months, years, and decades. The time something sticks with you is not necessarily a clue that you’re on to something worth pursuing. But it is an indication that your attention is still engaged. It makes sense to recognize these themes […]
Thumbnail Sketches—Thinking Through Ideas
Over the past few months I’ve written about thumbnail sketches and grids a few times. I want to spend a little time today and going forward, discussing these topics because I think both are important tools artists often ignore. They save us time, they clear our brains, and if we are paying attention they show […]
Thinking About Hair
I’ve noticed that I’m painting a lot of portraits of women with lots of hair. And less men with beards. Here’s a woman with fabulous braids from December 2024—a fairgoer from Earth’s World was my reference. I was sketching in brush pen and Schmincke Watercolor on a page in a Strathmore 500 Series Mixed Media […]