lionseyes's Xanga

Monday, September 01, 2008

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 16:32:38 GMT

Hello. dont know if anyone sees this but i'll write about it anyway. This is the back cover of my "Paint Me " drawing pad. Seems these drawing pads wern't the greatest idea, sure it's great to have your own art work on the cover of a book, but how do you keep finger prints and the sweat from your arm as you carry the book, off the paintings? and no, I'm not going to put contact paper over it, I can just see the many disasters that could come from that! I asked the guy at the hardware store about polyurethene and he said NO, so, it's still uncovered and I dont draw in it a whole lot, as to not get it dirty.

This was the last photo taken with my camera of Tommy and me (I've learned the hard way, not to put more than one person on a page when drawing, one of them usually turns out not the way I hope for.) Another black and white painting, this time using more water than I did on the front cover of this book. I really like it and I am no painter but I've always liked B&W photos, have the paint surface, HATE waste (back cover painting surface) so, why not. Wish the next one I did turned out as good. Having a CLEAR photo really helps here and this whole paint thing is what got me going on getting a digital camera, still reading the instuction book, learning as I go.

When I get a photo on my digital, worthy of walking all the way to CVS to get printed, I'll attempt another B&W painting or even one with just black paint and water. I did one like that and really like the way it came out. That one some other time.

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 22:50:45 GMT

Hey guys, awhile ago I started fooling around with paint, (I am NOT a painter) Someone gave me a sketch pad with a cover that said "Paint me!" I was never crazy about paint, it's wet, not easy to control and getting skin tones can be a pain in the butt, especially when the paint keeps drying before you can get it down. I do like monochromatic painting, (but the drying too fast is still a pain in the butt!) So I decided to go to the hardware store to look for paint. There's no art stores in walking distance and I'm too cheap to take a bus or train to where ever there might be one who knows where, so... the hardware store will have to do. 5 dollars for a lousy tube of paint, 11 for the white?!! no, I dont think so. Oh wait here's some craft acylic paint in a bottle, only $1.99, thats the one! got 1 black and 1 white.

Ok, time to paint, and I'm going to do it MY way, from a photo my father took, my favorite baby pic. Once again the paint kept drying (I forgot you can add water) but just kept it up, think I was watching (listening) to Underdog while doing it,and if it wasn't done by that movie, probably hit Cars or Ratatoilie (yeah I know, lousy speller). Stayed up till after 2AM before I started washing the brushes, then back at it again after work to finish up.

So on this, there is much paint and very little water but I really like the way this one came out. and yes I know, I tend to repete myself, working from the same photos over and over, and I am running out of good photos and its getting harder to find the film I like (which is not color) so, I went and bought a digital camera, so I can shoot some more black and white photos with out worrying about film, only problem is some of my favorite people live quite far away.That and the fact I have no idea what I'm doing. So guys, you know who you are, next time I see you, I'll have my camera that I dont have to worry about going through the xray machine at the airport and ruining my pics, by then I should know what I'm doing, and yes, that includes my "camera shy" friends. Get your eyeliner ready, I'm coming!

Tommys Testemony

Fri, 23 May 2008 02:15:02 GMT

What a Great Neighbourhood!

Thu, 22 May 2008 19:28:21 GMT

I was talking to Pastor Leon last night, at one point we came to the subject of Tommy.

I tend to "paint with words", I can be quite graphic and sometimes gross people out, (ex."the mouse, sitting on your chin,(while you are sleeping), eating the potato chip you left on your bed, dropping crumbs on you lips...") not really trying to do that, (gross people out) just trying to make a point that people will remember.

I was telling him how I veiw heaven, and how I veiw Tommy in heaven. I see heaven as a great neighbourhood, better than anything any of us have ever seen. A neighbourhood where there is totally no crime, no one is ever sick and everyone always gets along. You dont have to worry about housing, temptations, hunger, money issues, fighting, fitting in or any of the other things we deal with while still living here on earth.

One day I will also live, forever, in heaven. Jesus is preparing a home for me, me, wow!, the Bible says in John 14:2 "In my Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." Jesus wants everyone to live there with Him, in Romans 10:13 the Bible says "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." do you see that? WHOSOEVER that means anyone, that means everyone, that means YOU. God wants YOU to live forever in heaven, and he did everything that had to be done in order for you to live there, Jesus paid the price, in full, He is the way, the only way, in John 14:6 the Bible says "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father , but by me." We are ALL sinners, every single one of us, and, we all deserve hell, yeah I said it, we all deserve hell. In Romans 3:10 the Bible says "As it is written, There is none righteous, no not one." vs. 23 says, "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." In chapter 6 vs 23 the Bible says, "For the wages of sin is death; but the GIFT of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Without Jesus, our forever "home" will be hell, man, what a no brainer, live, with Jesus, forever in heaven, or die with out His free gift, and spend forever in hell. And, you dont have to be a "good person" either. The Bible says in Ephesians 2:8,9 "For by GRACE are ye saved, THROUGH FAITH; and that NOT of YOURSELVES; it is the GIFT of GOD; NOT OF WORKS,lest any man should boast." We cant brag about how "good" we are, because the fact is, we are all sinners, the only reason I will live in heaven some day is because I accepted Gods free gift, back when I was 17, Jesus is my Saviour, and those arent just words of "religion", He is my Saviour and I will live in heaven someday. And, I never have to worry about becoming "evicted", this home in heaven is forever, God wont kick me out because I do something stupid, (which I'm quite good at!) In John 10:28-30 the Bible says, "And I give unto them ETERNAL LIFE and they shall NEVER perish, neither shall ANY man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Fathers hand. I and my Father are one."

There are so many Bible verses that mean a lot to me, these are just a few. If it were not for the fact that I know that Tommy trusted Jesus as his Saviour, and I KNOW that he lives in heaven, I would be a very sad person, I know I will see him again some day when I go to live in this perfect neighbourhood myself someday. I hope to see you all there too.

Have a good day,

lionseyes

My 3 day experement

Mon, 19 May 2008 05:13:56 GMT

Hey guys, remember this?

For those of us that were here last March, this is of the photo Brenda had done of Tommy and later gave to me. This is my 4th time drawing from this photo, 3rd time in color pencil, 1st time nearly half this big and on watercolor paper with lots of "tooth". This is just one example of my bad sense of size judgement, the paper I did it on was as big as the whole scanner, my drawing has an ear, some hair and a signature.

At first, all that tooth was a pain in the butt, this drawing took so many layers, I sharpened my white pencil 3 time, just in the waiting room of the dentist office on Sat. (yes, I did bring that big drawing board, pencils, the drawing and another sheet of the watercolor paper to my dentist appointment). The extra paper really came in handy. As much as I try to keep my hands off the drawing, pencil transfer does get on the paper from the side of my hand, so, I used it as a cover sheet. I used a 1/2" to a 3/4" graph, which was a tight fit. You remember how big that picture was? This is definetly the biggest one I've done and all my pencils are getting small. Thinking of going back to Ebay to see if those pencils that were there are still there, I hate bidding, and they want more for the shipping than the starting bid itself, I dont know... Oh and by the way, the "candy store" doesnt carry colorless blenders, at least thats what their web site says. I know Derwent makes many different sets of pencils, but you know me, "If its not broke, dont fix it!" why spend money on something I dont know, and there be a chance I'm not crazy about it, and they just kind of sit around. I might just buy a few blister packs and check the "clearance bins" for any loose ones of this type.

There is a slight shadow on this scan, which is where the edge of the lid of the scanner is. I think I used every color in the tin to do this, plus two that didnt come with the set (venitian red and terracotta). I thought I was nearly done, I think sometime last night, I put it on the other side of the room to get a better look ... hmm....no way, way too pale, definetly needs color, more layers! I think there are more layers on this drawing than there are layers of leather dye on my "leathergraphs", and the burnishing! this is where all that tooth came in handy, for the background I let a little of the tooth show, just a little, I got the face to where I really like it, although I look at the tooth (his) on his right, my left, there could be a little more shadow, they look a little flat, mabey a little blue, I dont know, just to create a little shadow... if it makes that much difference, I'll rescan.

Now, where to put him, I really like this one and its not in a pad like the rest of them, and for those of you who have seen my room know, I have no room on any of my walls, anywhere, for anything! besides, I dont want to staple him to the wall, I really should spray him with something but I keep remembering the girl in Mr Larsens class that sprayed the sample pointalism plate with some kind of spray and all the colors ran right off ! It was very smart of him to tell her to try it on a sample first, you have any idea how long it takes to do something in pointalism??!!

Well, its getting late, you know, I dont even know if I'm taking jojo...think I'd better get to bed, this night owl, draw-all-night, get no sleep thing is very easy to fall into but very hard to escape!

Have a good night!

lionseyes

The eyes have it (part 2)

Mon, 19 May 2008 04:16:01 GMT

Heres "The eyes have it". Burnishing was a lot of fun. Same as before, start with the chocolate, sepia, venitian red, sanguine, terracotta and chinise white with the addition of solway blue as another burnish to cancel out some of that red. This drawing sat in the drawing pad for a few days before scanning because of the really big one I did on watercolor paper but I really do like this one, the correct order of colors really does makes a difference.

lionseyes

"The eyes have it"

Fri, 16 May 2008 18:25:50 GMT

I'm not quite done with it, but, I started another experement of burnishing with color pencils, I love drawing eyes and figure this would be good subject matter, should have stuck with one eye. The owner of these eyes, I think, is quite handsome, I was up til 1:00AM last night trying to get them just right. I'm really enjoying this burnishing thing, I can understand why the guy in the book recomended buying multiples of pencils used most often, white is definetly one of those colors. Plus, he also says to keep your pencils sharp, making them smaller and smaller. I dont have a whole lot of colors, not do I really want. I know people who draw a lot of ducks, so, they need many more colors than I do, I like the "life drawing" colors because 9 times out of 10, I'm drawing someones face. "Aunt Barbara" bought me a set of 12 and they are great. Not to mention the fact that when I have too many choices, I get totally confused. This set is also nice and soft&thick. My next visit to the "candy store" I'm going to check out paper, looking at "tooth". I tend to work small so I cant have it too toothy but slick and smooth was never a favorite, that type of paper is good for cutting stencils but my daughter has my airbrush (I hope!) and theres no desire for stencil cutting right now, plus I have plenty that someone already gave me. Watercolor paper is very toothy and I have a bunch, somewhere. This morning while getting dressed, I was thinking that huge picture of Tommy that was hanging in the funeral home would be a nice burnish experement. I've already drawn it 3 times, twice with those same colored pencils, but now I know a little more about tech. of blending and burnishing and tooth and the order of things, plus its a nice pic, if I'm happy with the results and feel it is "scanner worthy"it will be here.

This rain, and the fact I went to bed late last night, is making me want to take a nap. Tommorow is Sat. YAY!

Have a good day,

lionseyes

"Here's Ginger,again

Thu, 15 May 2008 23:26:42 GMT

Well I did it, I "fixed" Ginger, trying to "fill the whites". This is before getting out the library book, I just tried adding layers of color. I thank God I didnt ruin the drawing, I really like the way it came out, I just didnt want it looking unfinished. I added a coat of "Solway Blue" to her face, not sure if that was a great idea. The rest (background, hair, shirt and sweatshirt) I just kept adding layers of color,then retouching the details. I didnt want that look of her being lost in the background. Mr Larson would tell us to do the background first, otherwise everything would get lost in the background, I totally agree and thats a horrible look. With color pencils,it easy to fix, just retouch. and yes there were many layers of layer of color, then retouch. my signature is lost in Gingers sweatshirt but I can deal with that, just glad I stopped before I ruined her!

Have a good night,

lionseyes

"I was a beautiful girl!"

Thu, 15 May 2008 23:11:53 GMT

For those of you who recognize this photo, you know exactly what I'm talking about, that is a direct quote! This is the photo that hung in the hallway of Grams house and that is what she would say to us as we would look at it. This is a very old photo. I guess what I have is a proof, (Daddy gave it to me) I decided to use this photo for my burnishing experement I talked about in my last entry. After work yesterday, it was a nice day, so, I took my art kit, my big magnifying glass and my dog outside to start the drawing. If by chance you have seen my shelfari, you know one of my fav books is "You can draw real people!" this is where I learned the graph meathod which has helped me greatly, I can blend no problem and I love detail, with faces anyway, but my proportions were always hit or miss, I also tried the tech. drawing meathod I learned in high school, not a bad meathod but took way too long. If your interested, check out the book, I'm not going to bother going into details here. This drawing is about a 2:1 ratio. As per in the book I'm reading, I started with my darkest color first,"Chocolate" VERY light in some places, normal presure in the rest (normal for me is light anyway) next was "Sepia" then "Venitian Red" followed by "Sanguine" then "Terracotta". Again I'm not going to quote the book, if your interested, check out the book, also on my "Shelfari". I used "China White" as my blender, to burnish, then tried "Solway Blue" to cancel out some of the reddish color then added "Ochre Brown",which wasnt the best of ideas. So I did another layer of sanguine to cover up that yellowy tint and covered that with another coat of white. Retouching the hair (look SP, no "whites" in the hair!) with chocolate.and another coat of terracotta in the background and put a layer of white over that. Let me tell you something, your paper really needs "tooth" to hold all those layers. When I'm in walking distance of Michaels, I'm going to check out something called a "colorless blender"which from what I've read is a color pencil with no color that blends the layers of color without adding color. I'll try one and if I like it I'll probably buy a whole box!

Have a good night,

lionseyes

A few new things

Wed, 14 May 2008 02:29:10 GMT

Well, I stayed up later than I should, trying to fix "Ginger 2008", no, I didnt ruin her but after a few hours of more layers, trying to "fill the whites", there are still some existing white flecks, plus the drawing surface is getting slick, so, I decided, before I DO ruin her, I'll leave well enough alone. After work I took a trip to the library and took out a book called "No Experience Required! Colored and Watercolor Pencil" by Gary Greene. I have 3 watercolor pencils given to me by Babera, I use them as reg. color pencils, I decided to try doing the watercolor thing... hmm, no, I dont think so, I'm a bit of a control freak when it comes to my drawing and water is very hard to control, not to mention I dont like dealing with uncooperating brushes and wrinkly drawing paper, I just dont like the feel of the whole thing. But, this book is also about tech. of color pencil drawing and this guy also uses layering methods. Theres also something called burnishing which after reading sounds like what I was trying to do with "Ginger 2008" but had no idea what I was doing. I have the book for 3 weeks so I do plan to master SOMETHING with the method,even if it's just one of my typical eye drawings. I love eyes, if you can get the eyes just right you are really on your way.

Decided to try the layering thing, one thing I did have right is using the darkest color first, (except for the graphite) so in this order I drew an eye, darkest color first. 1) Ivory Black, 2) Chocolate, 3)Sepia, 4)Venitian Red, 5)Sanguine and 6) Terracotta. I drew the colors light, certain parts getting more color than others and decided not to worry about the white flecks. SP has students competing against thousands and wants each student to have a very professional look, (hey, it could end up on the duck stamp!) As much as I would love to have a drawing really look like a photo,I have no pateince with water in my drawing pad or on my drawings, if this burnishing thing works for me, great! if not, I'm going to try to draw uniform, if its going to have flecks,they will be uniform flecks!

I like the way my sample eye turned out but as I looked at it I remembered "Leather Mimi",who is very light, but to look at her here you'd never know it, now I know the scan wasnt a good one,and this is even darker than the actual piece but not by much. When I cut the dye, I didnt put in enough rubbing alcohol and the painting started out too dark. I know that leather and paper are two totally different mediums and leather dye and color pencils are also very different, but I use the same tech. of layering in both (except that I dont have to wait for color pencil to dry before I know what the color will be!)

Guess I'll just have to read what this guy has to say and experement. If I come up with anything "scanner worthy", I'll upload it and yap about it.

One more thing, somewhere on my page, I think, is something new called "Shelfari" which is a book shelf I put on last night or at least I think I did. Gingers shows up on her page, I had to click on mine but I dont even know where I was that I saw it, it looked like my page, sort of, but with a white background.

BTW, WHAT is a widget?! I think I created like 3 of them within 10 min. I must have spent 2 hours in here, fighting with the computer trying to get that bookshelf on my site, I got it to look the way I wanted it to look, they showed me a preveiw, very nice, now, where is it ?! Aaagh!, WHATEVER! if it shows, it shows, I'm not a huge book person anyway, I just thought it would be nice. My thing is drawing, so long as the drawings show like I want them to, no problem.

Have a good day,

lionseyes