colored pencils

European Eagle Owl in Profile (#34): 100 Face Challenge

| Laura (Createarteveryday)

I came across an image that grabbed me by the throat recently at Paint My Photo. The photographer is Paul Sherman, and his wildlife images will wow you.

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This was a quick “I should really be sleeping” type of sketch, but wouldn’t it be amazing to sharpen a whole bunch of colored pencils and have a go at a detailed painting of this gorgeous photo? Here is a live link to the image. You will have to setup a free account at Paint My Photo to view it. If you’re an artist, it’s worthwhile. The photographers there graciously share their work with the art community, which is a beautiful thing indeed.

Who’s dancing? Time to splatter and splash in big splotches of paint this weekend! Peace.

Same Face, First Try (#33): 100 Face Challenge

| Laura (Createarteveryday)

Here is the initial, whole head sketch of the “Eyes Without a Face” man from this morning.

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This is the most challenging face I’ve tried.   He is an actor, born in the UK, although I believe most of his films are American.   As far as I know, he now lives in the US.  I still don’t see him there, but thought I’d post this initial sketch of his whole head, in case anyone was curious.     This was done from a different reference photo than the one I posted this morning. Comments are all being held in moderation, so feel free to guess!

Hope you’re having a great Wednesday!   Peace.

Eyes Without a Face? (#32): 100 Face Challenge

| Laura (Createarteveryday)

I thought this face would be easy to draw, because it has so much character.

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It wasn’t. Because it has so much character(!)  Thus, a partial face! He is an actor from the UK who……is shall we say, north of 50? Not sure how old he was in my reference photo…..and he is still alive. If you can’t tell who he is, it honestly won’t surprise me much! hehe. I’ll hold all comments in moderation, so don’t hold back if you have a guess!

The fun thing (ok, it’s “fun” when I’m looking on the bright side) about art is that I never know what is going to happen when I sit down to draw. It may turn out, it may not, or it may turn out….in part. It’s what keeps it challenging and exciting. Peace and Happy Hump Day to you!

Backyard Bird Nerd Bluebird (#31): 100 Face Challenge

| Laura (Createarteveryday)

I can’t even count the number of times I’ve been struck by Kathy’s photos at Backyard Bird Nerd. She recently posted a series of bluebird photos that begged to be sketched. If you are interested in birds at all, you owe it to yourself to check out her site.

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My Polychromos colored pencils once again helped me out with this little sketch in my Strathmore mixed media art journal. I may just have to make time tonight to sketch the whole bunch! I just love bluebirds, and Kathy captures them from every angle. Sometimes they look so disgruntled, which always makes me laugh. Thanks again, Kathy! You are a huge blessing to us all!

Stay tuned for another famous face tomorrow. Not an American and not a sports figure! Woo hoo! 😀 I just hope I can resurrect it…….we shall see if the portrait gods are with me! Peace.

Who am I (#30): 100 Face Challenge

| Laura (Createarteveryday)

After helping Hub dig out yesterday, I settled in with him in the Den of Zen to watch TV….and was faced with an interesting face! Hello? Google images?

Presto! Hope you all enjoy.   Feel free to guess his identity, as I hold all correct guesses in moderation; this way everyone has the fun of guessing!   I freehanded this with the help of a Polychromos colored pencil (love them – helpful when you need to erase, which they do so well) in my humble Canson sketchbook (Thank you Kirk, for that wonderful recommendation!)

I’m so glad that the sun is shining, the birds are singing, the roads are fairly clear, and all is right with the world again. Definitely an answer to a prayer! Happy Monday to all!    Peace.

Partial Rabbit (#26): 100 Face Challenge

| Laura (Createarteveryday)

I found a nice closeup of a rabbit/hare head via a Google images search and had to try to capture it.   This is a simple ballpoint pen with a bit of Polychromos colored pencil on top.

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It kind of reminds me of the hares I’ve seen Rebecca over at RebeccaEvansCreate do so many times, but now the photo is gone and I can’t find any more info about him/her.   I just know he was cute and I had to try and draw him.    I was surprised how much I enjoyed working with the ballpoint pen!    A nice inexpensive art supply, I tried it due to a suggestion and related video from Alphonso Dunn (my ink hero).

Let’s all blow really hard and send that snowstorm out to sea.   Who’s with me?   Stay safe and warm, my friends.   ❤

Little Dog Grieving (#23 & #24): 100 Face Challenge

| Laura (Createarteveryday)

Sometimes an image I find will grab me so hard that I must draw it immediately.   This image from Meg at Little Dogs Laughed was such a photo, for me.   I didn’t even make it through breakfast before drawing it once in colored pencil:

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and then again, this time in Copic 0.1 mm gray ink with Derwent Graphitint watercolor pencil overtop.

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Because what drew me to this photo so strongly was the expression on her dog, Hubble’s face. And I wanted to focus much more on it.  My goodness.    Such emotion!   Animals know so much more than we give them credit for.     And they can be much more intuitive than humans.   I want to thank you, Meg, for inspiring me with your lovely photo.   This one really knocked my socks off.

Peace, wags and whiskers to us all!  Enjoy your Wednesday.

Pine Warbler (#16): 100 Face Challenge

| Laura (Createarteveryday)

If you ever need a bright spot in January, just head over to Kathy’s place at Backyard Bird Nerd, where I was met with yet another stunner last week.

011316Birds were the first thing I became interested in drawing when I got started over a year ago, and I think they are still my favorite subjects.    I got help from Derwent’s Graphitint and Inktense lines of watercolor pencils with backup from a General’s Sketch and Wash watersoluble graphite pencil and a touch of Polychromos colored pencil to finish!    Not to mention an amazingly clear, crisp shot of a wing-ed masterpiece!

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a pine warbler in real life.   Isn’t he a beauty?    Thanks again, Kathy!   Happy Wednesday to all.   May yellow birds of happiness follow you everywhere you roam today!    Peace.

Butterfly, beautiful dog: 100 Face Challenge (#15)

| Laura (Createarteveryday)

I was reading Rachel Mankowitz’s blog post the other day and was immediately struck by a terrific closeup shot of her adorable little dog, Butterfly. I just had to try drawing her.

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I usually start with a preliminary sketch, but I was enjoying the subject and the sketching (and that Polychromos colored pencil) so much that I started adding more detail than I normally would. Then I realized there was a bit of an issue with the placement of one of the features, and decided to end the preliminary sketch.   This dog is so sweet, though, that I just had to share it. I hope to try a more complete sketch of this sweetie sometime soon. Thanks for sharing, Rachel! It’s clear you really love your dogs and you take wonderful photos of them. I hope you got a smile from this!

And I hope you did, too!    It’s a great feeling to be sketching faces this year.    I do believe I could do this every day and never tire of it!    I hope your Tuesday brings you wags, woofs and laughter.   Peace.