The sky is the daily bread of the eyes.

                                         Ralph Waldo Emerson


This is my latest drawing ~ although it needs some tweeking I have decided to leave her to ride her bike for awhile without me.

Optimism

In the midst of winter, I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer.

Albert Camus

I have been trying to finish up some of my old paintings and have gotten completely stuck on one in particular ~ the colors aren't working. Unfortunately, I am working from a black and white drawing and it has been extremely difficult for me to find exactly the color combinations that I think the painting needs. Color mixing not being my strong point I see now where I need to spend some time practicing with my paints. I have also been going a little crazy trying to find some ideas for future paintings. There are countless photos on the web to choose from and yet I couldn't seem to settle on any of them. It was all getting rather depressing. Yesterday, however, my daughter sent me a wonderful article on optimism. I decided to put my challenging painting aside for a few days, look through some of my old work that I was pleased with, and just pick three photos that seemed to provide a different bit of a challenge and dive in with my oils. The flower above is a watercolor I did quite a while ago ~ I love the color combination in this one. The purple sky and yellow wheat field are the beginning of a small landscape in oil that I started this morning. The old rule of being an artist is true ~ just get in the studio and start. I feel better already!

Starting Over

If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavours to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.

Ralph Waldo Emerson


After a long and tedious relocation and an unsatisfactory attempt at moving into a shared studio I have finally set up shop at home again. My first day back at the easel after way too long was spent putting some final touches on this painting which I had already posted on my web site. It is amazing how things can look so different after a long absence. I am much happier with this painting now and plan to set it aside for six months and then give it a coat of varnish. It was oh so lovely to be back with my brushes and paints!

Final Elephant

Not the power to remember, but its very opposite, the power to forget, is a necessary condition for our existence.

Sholem Asch

They say elephants never forget ~ maybe that's why this one looks so deep in thought. Imagine never being able to forget anything! At any rate, I don't think I will forget this elephant's face for awhile. Although I could probably go on shading forever I think this is just about all I'm going to do on this one. This was a real exercise in patience. Like all drawings though, it was just a matter of darks and lights.

Elephant Portrait 2

It is in vain to hope to please all alike. Let a man stand with his face in what direction he will, he must necessarily turn his back on one half of the world.

George Dennison Prentice

Well, I have gone over the entire drawing once in an effort to give it depth. This is the process I enjoy the most, the fine tuning. It's amazing how much of the work now is done with the eraser. First the dark lines are put in, then some shading, then some blending, and finally some erasing. This process is done over and over until the final figure takes on a true look of three dimension. It's like pulling his face out of a snowstorm!

Elephant Portrait

That which is bitter to endure may be sweet to remember.

Thomas Fuller

Well, I've finally gotten all the major lines drawn in and an indication of where most of the shadowing is going to go. Now it's just a matter of spending lots of time getting the right amount of blending done and the right amount of shading. To get a good feel for the all the wrinkles I'm also going to have to go back and pay close attention to each line ~ they need to be very dark in some places to indicate depth and much lighter, almost invisible, in other places to indicate just slight indentations in the surface of the elephant's face. Lots of fine tuning to be done!

If, after I depart this vale, you ever remember me and have thought to please my ghost, forgive some sinner and wink your eye at some homely girl.

H. L. Mencken

Known for their ability to never forget, elephants seem amazingly calm. If they are really remembering everything they have clearly found a way to deal with their past. They seem to know how to live in the present and let their hurts and cares of yesterday behind. What a great outlook to have! I have decided to do a series of drawings of elephants. My thanks to Wet Canvas for this great photograph. An extreme close-up, it's going to rely heavily on getting each wrinkle in place and then a great deal of shading to give his face some depth. I am working with only graphite pencil but will probably add a little bit of charcoal at the end.