Georgia Cabin, 8x6 Pen and Ink Drawing

 

I have been viewing a class on Sktchy.com on crosshatching and this is my first effort. In retrospect, it was a little crazy to start with a such a complicated subject. The class is taught by David Morales and his beautiful drawings inspired me. I'll find a simpler subject next time. Can't wait to do this again.

Carmen

Banyan Tree, 5x8, Pen and Ink Drawing in Cypress Gardens, Florida

My friend Kathy Garvey and I went to Legoland recently, which is on the site of the former Cypress Gardens. To our delight, Cypress Gardens is still there as a section of Legoland.

Cypress Gardens gave us an opportunity to sit, rest, and sketch in our journals. Above is the giant Banyan Tree that was planted in the 1930s. My drawing is only a small portion of the tree (see below). It's so big that paths wind through it.

There are no longer belles sitting around in big dresses, but there are some made of Legos.

When I was six years old Esther Williams made a movie at the Gardens and my mother took me there. Ms. Williams was sitting around with no makeup and no one noticed her but my mother, so I got to meet the star who inspired me to learn to swim. She was very nice, which made me love her even more.

Carmen 

Still Life with Zen, 9x9 Pen and Ink Drawing

Click to Purchase, $35

I haven't been doing much artwork this week, except for illustrations for a memoir I am working on. It's now time for me to paint the cover art, and that will be a relief, after sitting at the computer for three days straight getting the book laid out.

The drawing above was our challenge presented by Kathy Garvey to the Pieces of 8 last week. The challenge was to make everything look flat and one-dimensional. I think I slipped up with the zentangles inside the mango (between the glass and the teapot.) They are giving it some shape. I admit that's my favorite part of the drawing.

No. 10 on my list of things we should not put up with, yet we do:

Grocery products are getting smaller, yet costing more. There is either less in the package (like coffee and sugar), or the product itself shrinks (like toilet paper that is getting narrower and narrower in width), yet the cost is higher. You might say less is more.

Madame X, 5x7 Pen and Ink Drawing on Paper

$35, click to purchase

The attitude of this haughty bird reminds me of the original Madame X, the masterpiece painted by John Singer Sargent. It's like she's saying, "Here I am; yeah, these are funky shoes. So what?"

No. 6 on my list of things that make me grind my teeth and want to scream:

Negative political ads, especially the ones with the low-pitched, sarcastic, gossipy-sounding voice that sounds like they are sharing a nasty little secret about the opponent.

Zentennae, 8x10 Pen and Ink

$35, Click to Purchase

I haven't posted for days, because I am working on a complicated larger painting right now. It even has a horse in it. Last night I indulged in some meditative zentangle as a relief from the detail work in the oil painting on my easel. I just drew a line and let it grow from there until I had this quirky piece.