.. to be hitting the art page again.
Happy Memorial Day Weekend!!! Ready for the beach, sun, surf, swimming? After all, it’s is coming on summer, right? NOT THIS YEAR. It’s damn cold here in Mass. We had rain here all day yesterday.. but, psst.. come closer… I secretly love the rain and a dreary day. I took advantage of it and after cleaning the house and after dinner, I went into the garage and pulled out my “sit down” art bag , made a cup of tea and sat in my comfy chair and prepared to go into my “art bubble”. Yup, that’s what I call it… my “art bubble”. I’ve always told my daughters when they were young.. “everyone needs their bubble time”. Time away with yourself, some peace time, doing what you want and no one can bother you… a refresher, from the crazy days.. all the talk.. all the busy-ness in your life.
As a mom, it’s hard to find “bubble time”. I remember when the kids were really little, all I wanted was to go to the bathroom in peace. Can I just have a little time to myself? Nope, here comes my 5-year-old, Megan.. “mom, whatchya doing?” Then comes my 2-year-old, Rachel … calling “Megaaaan, Megaaaan” She found her. “what you doin in heeya?” Then the dog comes in and hubbie shows up eventually, saying “what’s everyone doing in here?” Um, hullo.. why don’t you all just invite the neighbors!!! Well, the girls are 22 and 19 now, so thankfully those days have been over for about 3 years. No, I kid I kid. But, I have to admit, my dog pushes her nose and opens the bathroom door now, as if to say “is it safe to come in”. NO……..go away!!!! God, no wonder I have irritable bowel syndrome.. sorry TMI.
So, off in my art bubble I went. And I tell you, it was so nice after being away from it for a couple of months or more.
What was the first thing I did? I pulled out my Moleskine watercolor pad, pencil and Koi watercolor set and played with drawing eyes, faces and doodling. I never get sick of drawing eyes and other facial features, because I keep thinking… this will be the perfect eye, the perfect mouth, the perfect nose. Nope, not gonna happen. As my cousin, Wayne (great artist-read my post about him here), tells me.. “you gotta draw to draw, Judy”. That IS true.
I went onto YouTube and found tutes on drawing eyes/faces. Check them out. What was nice about that, was I could pause the video when I wanted and took my time to try to get the hang of what the artist was doing.
Not too bad, huh? I really like the left one. Just goes to show if you take your time with the details, you can achieve a pretty realistic eye. I really need to work on noses and mouths.
Here are some others I’ve done in the past.. they are so so. But practice makes you better. .. and shading… shading changes everything. I couldn’t do this 5 years ago.
Then, I doodled some goofy pods and flowers then used watercolors to give it a boost. So meditative.
As some of you know, I am moving and we are selling our home. I’m excited for the next chapter in our lives. Get away from all the big house responsibilities, downsize and enjoy a simpler life in a coastal town. But, if I can anyone who is thinking of moving soon or in the next few years ahead of you… PURGE NOW, as if you were going to move next month. Seriously, do a little at a time and continue to get rid of things you have not used in years. Sell, donate, throw away. There, that’s my 5 cents worth.
I’ll keep trying to get some creativity in my life to share with you.. and some summer recipes too.
Thanks for stopping by. Love hearing from you.
Judy ♥