New Year = New Drawing!

Did anyone else see this coming??  I'll let you in on a recurring New Year's resolution of mine.... Simply put, No Excuses.  I do NOT want to continue on with the last drawing.  Was it progressing you ask?  Yes, it was coming along, but I dreaded looking at the loads of leaves that were ahead of me.  Dread is never a good thing.  Since it was not a commissioned piece, I let myself out of my own personal contract.  Will I revisit it at a later date?  Probably... But I will start with the main subject and alter the background to something that makes me happy.  Why not? ;)  For right now, it is shelved...

So you may be wondering what pushed me into this decision.  Well, hubby pointed out a week ago that he noticed  my lack of time at the drawing table over the last few months.  No excuses right...What could I say?  So my tactic was to change the subject, but he is not that easily distracted.  He reminded me how irresponsible it is to turn my back on this blog and the work that I am always saying that I love.  Ouch...Trust me, he has a way of being brutally honest; and of course, he was right.  Rats!

So I guiltily went about cleaning up the remnants of Christmas.  Occasionally, I would walk by my drawing table with the current work taped up and roll my eyes.  I loathe the feeling of dread.  That is when my younger sister called.  I was in the process of compiling next year's Christmas card address list.  The conversation turned to my exchange with my hubby.  She mentioned that she had visited the Sketches blog and was a little disappointed by the lack of work.  (I should have figured this response, since she and my hubby share the same brain! LOL)  What could I do?  I had to agree and proceeded to scratch her off my Christmas card list... Just kidding! ;)  The best thing to be surrounded by in life is honest people.  They keep me in line and help me to recenter my priorities.   She suggested setting the current work aside and finding something new... Maybe even in a smaller format.  Could it be that easy?  

I am happy to say this is the result of that conversation.  The current drawing on the board is a memorial that I promised my son of his hamster Gord.  There were four very nice pics of this little guy to choose from.  The first was on his beloved exercise wheel.  The second was almost identical to Dani in the work out ball drawing.  The third was a profile shot.  The final pose was the one that my son wanted to see completed in graphite.  It is the smallest format so far at 4 3/4 x 6 1/2 inches.  My preference would have been for a little bit larger composition.  This particular photo, having such a little guy as the center of focus, looked better with the hands being close to actual size.    After the line drawing was completed, the size of the drawing really does appeal to me.  And let me add, it felt so right and exciting to be working on this subject.  I sure have missed that feeling... *sigh*

To commemorate the New Year and a fresh start, I loaded up my new PhD Sanford mechanical pencil with a  2b lead.  My hand was cramping bad in the dark areas of the last drawing, and my cheap mechanical pencil wasn't helping matters.  I had purchased a bundle of these new Sanford pencils off of EBay during the Yorkie double portrait but didn't dare start using them mid stream.  The difference in weight is notable and effects my stroke and depth of graphite drastically.  So far, the grip is way more comfortable on my hand.  My hands are relatively small in size; and for some reason, all of my writing instruments work better for me in a larger size.  Go figure?  Due to weight of the pencil, the graph lines go on alot darker.  I almost have to lift up on the pencil when laying the lines, instead of pulling it across under its own pressure.  No big deal! :)

Let me wrap up this long post by saying that I will be working to perfect last year's resolutions.  How did I rate this year?  Well... The amount of graphite pieces fell short of the mark.  A colorized original piece was completed on my Pumpkin Hollow blog and was finished out with acrylics.  My business cards were completed, and a local friend found some art guilds for me to look into for this year.  My "go to" word focus served me well.  Although with so many projects at my hands, I found myself having troubles of letting my focus go long enough to spread my time evenly.  So the only change made to last year's left over resolutions is a new "go to" word, and it is a doozie... BALANCE.  A fair sharing of time to my family, art, work, hobbies, and adventures.  I have been thrilled with my focus on certain areas of my life this year, but the lack of balance threw off  my time distribution.  The year 2012 will be spent combining the two!  I look forward to some great work being created at the drawing table and sharing them with my blogging friends.  Happy New Year Everyone!!