face to face

elephant statue from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and Annie.

click image for larger view

added 2/1: thanks everyone for your comments! Annie was drawn a few days after my visit to the museum, she was looking out the door at something just long enough for me to get this pose, I never saw what it was that caught her attention so I'm glad the eleplant was there to stand in as substitute :)

it's for you

store window of Urban Artifacts in Carytown

year of the dog

My Dear John . . . .

. . . click image for larger view.
lovingly
Ellen

blind contour buddha

More blind contour's can be found at "Inkfinger", go see!

Capitol cafe musicians

go figure

Sketch of Margaret's doll, practice with shading and proportions.

Just scrolled down and realized that everything I've done of late, (mannequins, statues, friends, classmates, dolls) is of the human figure.

sketches

A very quick sketch of my friend Patti, I am trying to work on drawing quicker and capturing an expression.

And to that end I had wanted to attend a figure drawing class but pooey, it was cancelled as only two people had signed up. Instead I began today an intermediate drawing class. I got in a bit of figure drawing anyway by doodling other students (the two bottom sketches).

sculptures by ?

I forgot, again, to make note of the sculptor, though I should probably know without looking.

sketchbook page

Degas statues from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and Annie.

good mannequins to draw

When I went out to lunch on Wednesday I was happy to see a new window display at "Bygones", a vintage clothing store in Carytown. As it was almost 70 degrees outside today, I returned to draw it for "Everyday Matters" assignment #40, draw something with folds.

Click image for larger view.

added 1/23: Many thanks everyone for your comments, I'm so lucky, the window dresser gave me such a great scene to draw on a beautiful day!

Blind Contour Horse and Rider

For this week's blind contour Friday, another equestrian statue from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. I forgot to write down the sculptor's name, I'll try and remember to get it next time I visit the museum.

More blind contour's at "Inkfinger", go see!

"E" is for . . .

Elevated Equine Ex Libris. Unfinished, refinements and color yet to come. Submitted for this week's "Illustration Friday".

lunch at Millie's

City Shoes

added 1/18: thanks everyone for your comments, many of which asked about the handwriting in the background. They are the "words and thoughts" of my great-grandmother, her letters home during her tour of Europe in 1910, my Mom recently gave a small packet of them to me and I've started to use them a bit in different drawings, I love her handwriting. An odd thing to discover, she never addressed her husband by his first name, instead always as "Mr. Kidd"!
Cin

Dean

When Dean smiles, his whole face smiles! I couldn't draw them all in but he has the most "smile lines" I can ever remember seeing.

horse statue

sketchbook page

Sonny tilted his chair up and back midway through the drawing (arrrggghh!), the next day I went to the museum and commiserated with the statues.

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Not Completely Blind Contour Chinese Statue

whenever I can't resist and peek to see how the drawing's coming along I'll start again to do a completely unpeeked version, my resistance though was way down today, drat, peeked a little bit every time.

unpeeked blind contour's can be found at "Inkfinger", go see!

Old Stormalong and the Octopus

An unfinished illustration I did a few years ago for the American Tall Tale of "Stormalong", submitted for this week's Illustration Friday work of the week "sea".

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cake columns

a pinch of Corinthian, a dash of Doric, add Ionic to taste!

exercising dragon and resting cat

A dragon doing sit-ups (the handle of an urn at Maymont) and a not sitting up cat. Submitted for "Everyday Matters" week #44 assignment, "draw an animal".

portraits

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sketching friends

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sketchbook junkie

I've become so addicted to looking at sketchbooks! In addition to everyone already listed in my link bar, below are links to just a few of the oh so many others I've discovered and love to look through on "flickr".

• tailor's apprentice
• paula wirth
• schoenwasser
• lost4words
• rami efal
• featherbed
• bbmarie
• documentalista
• nathanael.archer
• Sr.nefasto
• cattrain

also, similar in idea to Laura's themed sketchbooks is "tortuga del bosques's" wonderful creative project to explore one object, a teapot, 100 times.

And the image shown is from my new sketchbook, a drawing of a very sweet lady (and great model, she held very still!) named Gerri. click for larger view.

blind contour Cleopatra

must have been casual dress Friday for the queen, for me it's a blind contour Friday drawing of Cleopatra by William Wetmore Story (American 1819 - 1895), a recent acquisition of The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

More blind contour drawings where it all began "Inkfinger", go see!

projects

It's very late, I'll write more tomorrow, and tell about the traveling art journal project I will be contributing to called 29,00 Floating Ducks!

ellipses's elude me

oops, Anne's (on the right) left wheel is just not right, afraid she won't be going far in that chair 'cept maybe on the floor. Gail at least I think will roll, just though with a wee tad wobble.

New Year Annie and Itemus

Maybe the last of Holiday-Hatted Annie until February, maybe not, she does like to surprise me!

sketchbook page

Submitted for Everyday Matters Drawing Group week #1 assignment, draw a shoe.

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Happy New Year!

Last drawing of 2005, a sketch of a few of my friends who have kindly allowed me to use them as models throughout the year. It's been such fun for me and I hope for them too, and I'm looking forward to another year of, hopefully, learning daily.