Drawing of a Boxer 5

I am currently working on the darker side of his face. It seems to be going a little faster. The lighter hairs will wait until the end of the drawing as usual. I hope to get the ear and neck in tonight. The weather forecast for tomorrow is a possible 15 inches of snow, so odds are in my favor for some drawing board time (between trips out to shovel). :) Let's just hope that the electricity stays on!!

Drawing of a Boxer 4

Made a little progress this last week. His chin will get more defined when the light hairs are added. I shaded in the white of the muzzle. His forehead had very faint shadows. When I put in the black along the side of the face, the white area on the muzzle may get some darker shading. It is easier to gauge the depth of shadows in the lighter areas when I have a strong contrast present. Hopefully, I will be able to post some more progress in the next couple of days. I would like to finish this one up by the end of the month to keep on schedule... or at least be close! :)

Drawing of a Boxer 3

Well, I can breath a little easier (and now so can he!). The nose area had a lot of tiny details that translated to a lot of lightening and darkening (over and over again). It is such a small area with a huge impact on the overall balance. After the nose area was complete, it made it easier to map in the muzzle. The more I work on this guy...the more I am liking this composition. :)

Drawing of a Boxer 2

This is how he sits on the drawing board this morning. His coloring does not have a whole lot of contrast in the ear and forehead area, but I think it holds its own with the black. The area around the eye and to the side of his face was deepened in the shadows. I will go back and put in the fine hair details after the whole face is finished. The mid section of the face is white, so that should add some nice contrast to the piece. I am looking forward to getting some work done on this guy later today. Hopefully I didn't jinx myself with that statement! ;)

Drawing of a Boxer Cont.

It is hard to believe my last post that involved blending a drawing was on the 22nd of November. But I can tell you this for sure, it felt like more than a month break as I sat in front of the drawing board. This moment was when I chose my word-of -the-year (Focus!). The difficulties were comical and horrific at the same time, but I was determined not to scrap this guy. My first hurdle was the fact that this reference was not my first choice to draw, or as I call it "The Grass is Always Greener on the Other Side" effect. (Just another way to feel sorry for myself by making a lame excuse for the slow start!) My second hurdle... I honestly was getting messed up in my process of starting a drawing and even found working my photo printer to be a challenge. (How pathetic is that?? And the answer is "No... I do not drink or take mind altering medication!") My third hurdle... after that does there really need to be a third?? ;)

Well, it was then that I picked "focus" for my inspirational word and told myself to pull it together. Then that lovely feeling came into the room, and I felt a familiar sense of organization come over me. My method of madness began to take hold, and the rest of the world and the static that comes with it faded away. The shadows of my reference photo began to make sense (I actually reworked the area of black twice before my old self clicked in- just in time to do the eye which is always a fun area to play with). It was at that moment that I could relax and begin to piece together my subject. I will do my best to stay focused and never let such a gap go between drawings!

This puppy is such a straight on view and not a whole lot of value (color) change on the sides of his face. It is interesting rendering such a straight on shot. I'm feeling a little bit out of my element but that is okay. It is nice to 'mix it up' once in awhile. As always, I am working with a 2b mechanical and a 9b wood pencil. I have been giving some thought to breaking into some charcoal to make the black value more intense. It will definitely be a media that I'll be spending some time with in the future...

Artistic Goals for the New Year

My blog began on January 8th of this year. I had made goals for my New Year's resolution. One of the goals was to start a blog and on the 8th that goal became a reality. The second goal was to build a portfolio of work. I admit that I could have been more diligent, but I am very proud of the work that has been completed to date. Looking through my old composition notebook (my resolutions/goals have been entered there since 2005), I see more goals were achieved and others were not. (My style has always been to free write my thoughts and aspirations on the 31st of December.) Not accomplishing everything on a long list is to be expected. That is why, I put all of my resolutions/goals in the same book. It can be pulled out to check on current goals and complete those that were overlooked. So what will the artistic goals be for the year 2011?

First of all, I will devote more time to drawing. My slacking at the drawing board has caused me great stress when resuming a project. My excuses for not remedying this flaw of character were abundant, when it should have been addressed this past year. My set goal will be to create 10 new drawings for the new year. My s-t-r-e-t-c-h goal will be to complete at least one drawing a month.

Second, I will join at least one artist guild or chapter in the area. It would be good to be part of a bigger picture and be more involved in the arts around me.

Third, I will make up a card that will showcase my work/blog and distribute them in my area to let people know about my artwork. There are only a few people that know I am an artist, and even fewer that I have spoken to about my blog. I finally feel that I have enough quality work built up behind me to share with others. (And maybe built up enough confidence in myself, too! :0))

Unless more goals enter my mind tonight in my scribbling... that will be my artistic goals for 2011. I attribute this post to Painted Thought's Blog and thank Laure for encouraging her fellow artists/friends to post their goals for success in the upcoming year. I will also take her challenge to take up a word-of-the-year for 2011. My great nemesis last year was 'distraction', who was always accompanied by his buddy 'procrastination'. When lured into following these two, one is in danger of becoming best friends with 'self doubt'. So with such strong villains to contend with, I needed a word that comes to a sharp point and strikes a mighty blow. It must be able to be put into action in every aspect of my life and improve myself in areas that are in dire need of refining... My word of the year 2011 will be FOCUS. Focus will keep me on track in any endeavor that I choose to tackle until completion. It will help me to center in on goals/tasks and help me to have a more productive schedule.

With 2010 rapidly coming to a close, I raise my cup of hot spiced cider to a New Year and wish everyone health, happiness, and prosperity with all of your endeavors in 2011.

Happy New Year!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

'Twas the night before Christmas when all through the house not a creature was stirring not even...

my CAT??

Here's hoping that this Holiday Season finds you all healthy, happy, and in a warm cozy place. Where ever that may be! ;)