What I've been Up To...

 Hello again!

Although I haven't posted here for a few days,

I have been working on faces!

This is Randall...

Since he is Felice's best friend, I put them together in my sketchbook.

Julie was originally done as a line drawing,

but I added color for another day's drawing.

And Enid, whom I had originally drawn with her hair in curlers,

now is shown in the morning with her curly hairdo!

Both images are side by side in my book.

And young Mary...

is placed beside her older sister Margie.

Hope they get along with each other!

Finally Marian, done as a pencil sketch,

rounded off my week.

I've come to look forward to making a face, a person.

a bit of a story each day.

I wonder what I'll attempt when this 100 day project 

is finished!

Maybe some stitching?

We'll see!

Hope you've had a wonderful weekend!

Bobby

Sending love to my British friends.

How do we comfort children

when we do not even understand 

acts of violence ourselves?

So sad.

Howard

Back to line drawing with a brush pen again today.

I'm starting to question my ability to draw faces,

as everything I make is beginning to look the same to me.

If you've stopped by to look at this post, I'm wondering -

Do you prefer my line drawings or colored pencil portraits?

I'm questioning myself, but I suppose that's to be expected

after all these days of drawing faces!

Thanks for visiting!

Hope your week is off to a good start!

Jack, again!

Today I redid my picture of Jack, and placed him

in my sketchbook, right beside his daughter, Marilyn!

She is, after all, the apple of his eye!

I'm getting close to the 50 day mark in this

100 Day Project, so in my next few posts I'll be

ruminating a bit about what I've learned so far

and what I still want to accomplish in this 100 day period.

Hope you've had a wonderful weekend!

Jack

The first face I did when I started my "100 Days of Faces" in April

was Marilyn. Today I began a picture of her dad, Jack.

I want them to be side by side in my sketchbook,

and I'm glad I drew him on a separate piece of paper.

Not happy with my work today,

so I'll redo him tomorrow, on the actual sketchbook page!

Thanks so much for visiting!

Renee

Another brush pen drawing!

Renee's pointy chin is a bit more pronounced than I intended,

but now she is planted forever in my sketchbook.

After making about 40 faces, I'm beginning to believe 

what I've heard from various artists,

that making art every day allows you to let go of perfectionism

and just enjoy the process.

Some are better than others, that's all!

Thanks for stopping by to visit!

A Visit with Some Young Artists

Earlier this week, I visited a 6th grade art class which is taught by my friend Amy. The students are working on a project in which they are painting faces and writing stories about the characters they are creating. I brought my sketchbook and a couple of pieces of my work to share and then observed these young artists at work. They are painting on muslin fabric and will eventually cut out the faces, stitch them to a background, and create wall hangings with the stories written around the faces. I can't wait to see the finished products!

Here are a few photos of the artists at work!

                

I was really thrilled to be invited to visit this class.

Wonderful and talented young people with a fabulous teacher -

a very enjoyable afternoon!

Thanks for visiting!

Sandra and Lavinia

Just a quick look at the latest faces for my 

100 Day Project!

Sandra and

Lavinia!!

A couple more days with the line drawings,

then I plan to try a different technique!

Hope you've had a great day!

A Bit of Doodling!

Found this in an old sketchbook...

Must have been in a bad mood and the 

exaggerated faces made me laugh!

Being angry is exhausting!!

Hope you're having a good day!!

More Faces

I've been on a three day trip to beautiful Vermont with my husband. We went to our nephew's college graduation and stayed at the Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe. It was quite a place, with mementos and photos of the Trapp family everywhere, and quaint folk art decorated rooms. Here are a few photos of the grounds.

During the three hour drive, I did some drawings in my sketchbook and completed them with Pigma brush pens at night. Unfortunately, I couldn't blog while away, so here are the latest faces.

Vanessa

Cara

Valentine

Nina

Julie

I'm enjoying doing line drawings. Truthfully, they are easier to do, but the challenge is to avoid getting too complicated and add too many details. For that reason, I'm planning to do a second version of "Vanessa", without most of the flowers. I'll keep these line drawings up for the rest of the week, then go back to color.

Thanks so much for visiting!

Wishing you a wonderful week!

Francesca

I love the line drawings of Henri Matisse.

I used a Sakura micron brush pen for this quick sketch,

seeking inspiration from Matisse's style.

I may try a few more like this.

Thanks so much for visiting!

Mary Ellen

Mary Ellen seemed like she might make a nice

big sister for Katie, so I paired them up in my sketchbook!

These pairings are fun to come across when I look back 

on the characters resulting from this challenge!

Thank you for visiting!

Cynthia

Yesterday was the first day I totally skipped in the 

100 Day Challenge, and today I reworked

this old cut paper piece.

I literally pulled her original hair off (I can be brutal!)

and created new hair, then used a different background paper.

At least I accomplished something!

Hope you've had a wonderful day!

Maya

 Maya is a little sprite

who lives beside her mother, Natalie,

in my sketchbook!

I think I'm falling in love with the people

in this book!!

Hope you are enjoying them!

Lily

Lily

A darling girl with

an infectious giggle!

Eleanor

 Eleanor has found a lovely new home in a Senior Community,

right next door to a handsome fellow named George.

They also live side by side in my sketchbook!

I've also been taking a new class in mixed media collage on canvas.

We are working on still lifes, and began with an underpainting in acrylic.

I've already worked on applying pieces of paper to the tablecloth and will continue 

next week with the other elements. I'm hunting around, looking for some of the 

nicer papers I have saved to use in this collage.

I hope you've had a great week, dear readers.

I have no idea who visits my blog (well, I have a few ideas!)

but I appreciate your taking the time to read and view my posts.