Weekend Journal

I'm having a great deal of fun with the "29 Faces" challenge, but there has been some other journaling going on in between creating the faces.  I completed all the spreads I had started - maybe you'll remember some of them.

Remember her?  I saw her face in the painted background, and I knew I wanted the rest of the page to be very Renoir - like because I wanted her to stand out from the rest of the page.

I'm really pleased with final results.  I have to say it's one of my favorite spreads because it feels like a memory of a warm summer day.  She reminds me of pictures of my mom from long ago.

Here's the spread where I created the border first by just dropping in splotches of water colors randomly around the pages.  The border became flowers and leaves, and I saw shadowy figures in the background.  This became a spread about avoiding the trap of the mind, rehashing things from the past and staying in "the now".

I finally finished the Alice in Wonderland inspired pages by painting in Alice.  This spread is about the surreal feeling of winter and the mania that sometimes happens in my thoughts.  I really need to get outside and in the garden - HURRY SPRING!

Aside from the faces for the challenge, this is the only other spread I completed.  Yet another face that appeared in the painted background.  I love when that happens!

SKETCHBOOK UPDATE

WARNING: NUDITY AHEAD

I continue working in my sketchbook, but I'm afraid I haven't found the time to do it on a daily basis.  I really enjoy working with the charcoal pencils.  It's refreshing after playing with all the paint and inks.

I found some wonderful online resources for artists who who want to do life drawing but do not have access to live models.  I'll post links to them at the end of the post.

I couldn't believe how much I had forgotten from the life drawing classes I had taken years ago!  But it's like riding a bike - once you know how, even after many years of abstinence all it takes is a little patience and gradually it all comes back to you.

It's going to take some time, but hey, I can only improve from here!  These life drawing studies have also prompted me to do some studies on perspective.  That's something that I never totally had a grasp on, and something that I've tried to avoid since it was introduced to me those many years ago.  I'll be looking for resources for that, too.

I hope you're having lots of fun in your journal and that is well in your corner of the world.  Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

LIFE DRAWING RESOURCES

Pixelovely

Lovecastle

I'll be adding to the list.  If you have any sites you would like to add, please let me know!