this was a week full of creative adventures

and also I cooked a big dinner for a friend's birthday.

i'm pooped and going to give myself a day off.  but only

a day because I have many weekend plans.  

here are a few daily coffee shop drawings.

and continued charcoal love

I did a few monotypes, first applying inks to 

a paper.  after letting it dry, I ran it through a press 

with an image.  finally adding collage.

I worked on this large spring abstract painting.

finally, went to the santa monica hanger artists

open house.  I found it odd that many of the artist 

studies were not open but did enjoy the trip.  my 

apologies for not having the artist names for these pieces.

this is gus.  his mother has a studio next door.  her work is below, 

the pencil birdhouses.  gus just returned from  painting his way through a 

multi country tour.  his  mother said that as a student in college, gus 

was on his way to being an attorney.  when he mentioned that what

he would do when he had enough money was to pursue art, she said,

why wait?  what a refreshing outlook as a parent.  It turned out to be a good 

decision for gus.

each activity had its unique and interesting 

aspect for me to ponder and learn.  as you probably 

can guess, I try to squeeze as much in my life as I can.

thanks so much for joining me this week.

this posting is linked to a weekly art community,

 paint party friday hosted by kristen and eva.  

welcome to my week,

this hit home because i find myself following

a whole new path, realistic charcoal drawings.  

it's not my thing to depict realistically, but here

I am, loving it.  so I have decided to go with it 

and see where it leads.  

charcoal portraits #7 and #8

then, there are the new supplies.  erasers of 

various kinds for specific uses!  who knew?

but I am still painting with abandon.  here is

proof.  spilled paint.  that happens when you sling 

you brush.

and there still are the starbuck drawings with watercolor

.

this was drawn while watching judy dench

in victoria and abdul.  a lovely film.

lastly, there is life drawing homework to be done 

the skull never interested me before.  In fact, I found it 

a bit creepy.  now, I am fascinated.  

as I said in the beginning, who knew?  I a enjoying 

the meander and don't feel lost at all.   but I surprise myself. 

do you find yourself meandering, wandering and 

ending up fascinated by your new path?

linked today with friends at paint party friday

hello!  this week i attended a two day portrait charcoal 

workshop with robert kelly at kara bullock studio.

this was the second time i used charcoal.  both times 

i really loved the medium but tried to talk myself out of it.

why?  because it is not the free, spontaneous type of 

creating i often do.  still, what i loved won out and   

i plan to explore a lot more with charcoal!  once again,

i realize that the heart and mind often conflict.  i am 

trying to go with my heart.

this is the final drawing and the following 

are the steps she went through.  

all participants were asked to bring their own 

reference image.  i used the same image for two  

drawings, one on 18 x 24 newsprint, one on 

the same size drawing paper.

 some people chose to try another image. 

there is a lot of push and pull with charcoal.  

charcoal drawing was definitely my creative 

highlight of this week!   what was yours?

posting with eva and kristen's who have been hosting 

paint party friday for seven years.

welcome to a peek into my creative week.

southern california continues to be in a drought 

situation.  mother nature promises rain and we do

get trickles but we can use much much more.   with 

daylight saving time this weekend and the first day of

spring on march 20, i believe the rain won't be in our picture.

what is in my picture, so to speak, follows in the photos below. 

i have been working on her for a long time.  i couldn't find 

an early photo.  there was something that continued to niggle at me.

i'm liking her more with contrasts and detailed flowers.

when to stop??? that is sometimes the question

a little spring drawing

and sample from my figurative drawing class.  i asked the instructor

to show me how to use inks.  i brought sum ink, bamboo

pens and natural brushes to do this. 

i visited the jasper johns exhibit at the broad

museum, downtown los angeles.  the exhibit was 

huge with over 100 pieces.  i took lots of photos

at the exhibit but they disappeared!  i was not familiar

with this icon and knew very little about him but for an 

article sent to me by my friend john arbuckle.  after seeing

his work, i can say that i appreciate that he was so prolific 

in his point of view.  he selected common symbols, the most

well know is that of the american flag. if i understand it correctly,

he used the symbols as a familiar base to create from, allowing the 

paints and materials he used to stand out.  johns did not give interviews

or discuss his work so interpretation is left to speculation.

i love this dramatic entrance into the museum.

a life sized bronze sculpture by johns.

i thought it was his paint brushes until i

read the sign.

two favorite pieces by the late outsider artist, basquiat. 

and here are welcome signs of spring from trader joes!

so, that was my week.  i'd love to hear about yours!

thank you so much for visiting today!

i am linking to paint party friday, hosted weekly 

by eva and kristen.  visiting the link is definitely a 

treat!

a week in the life...

a daily starbuck sketche.  done quickly, in

stealth so no one feels uncomfortable.  my goal is to

capture the character with as few lines as possible.

a sketch while watching the godfather.  thus, the quote

'get rid of the bodies'

life drawing drop in. one day i hope to draw 

so the body does not look so stiff!

homework from life drawing class at 

otis college---one page of seven 

and lastly, are a few images from this quirky exhibit at 

the el segundo museum of art

los ángeles is experiencing rain!!  it is such a rare occurrence, 

that i want to sand outside, look up at the sky and thank

mother nature.

i am linking with paint party friday as i do (almost) weekly.

thank you for visiting today.

wishing you a lovely weekend.

tgif!!!