Something Frozen and Highly Prized

This is my father's clock, the one that he received for 35 years of service to the company that he worked for for nearly all of his adult life.  He's gone now, but the clock is a highly prized reminder of him.  It also reminds me of the days when someone worked for the same company all their life, they received a retirement gift, and they also received a pension that kept them going in their retirement.  What a different world we live in now.

The clock is also frozen...the hands don't move.  I think it's more than just a battery problem, though I can't remember the last time I looked into it.  Maybe it's me that's frozen : )

Here's a "sneak-a-peek" contour drawing.  It's not entirely blind, in that you get to look at your paper once in a while just to check your reference.  However, you need to look back at your subject right away and not do more than sneak a peek at your paper.  These are fun to do and nice to mix up with blind contour drawing, especially if you are like me and need a little more confidence.

Happy New Year

First of all, let me say Happy New Year to all that stop by.  I appreciate your comments and feedback.  I am looking forward to 2011, to continuing to do art, music, and non-violence work.  I hope that your year brings joy and fulfillment.

This year I'll be participating in Creative Every Day, Every Day Matters, and in the Saturday Muse Groups as well as taking some classes.  I'm sure the daily practice will help me improve the skills that I'd like to have.  I'm very interested in exploring art as a pathway to Spirit.  I'm also going to experiment with facilitating some creative events.

This first piece is a work in progress which I've been enjoying doing in watercolor on my new tabletop easel.  Not too much more needs to be done except to lay in the background a little more and to try and fuse the subject with the background a little bit.  This has been an interesting project which has just evolved step-by-step.  I didn't have a vision or plan when I started out, just layed yellow and red paint onto the paper and added drops of alcohol.  Then I saw this woman's figure in there somewhere and she and I have been working to bring her out.  As it's taking shape, I've been working with glazing and with removing paint.  I think she has something to do with walking in the light while embracing the shadow side.

EDM Prompt 302: Draw Something in Motion

We have a couple of bird feeders in our backyard where the chickadees are in constant motion.  They flit in and out and are occasionally run off by a very bossy stellar's jay.  I'm enjoying sketching the commonplace objects and scenes around me.