More Coffeeshop...

(07-31-2011. This man had a rounded face, so much so it made him look very young ...which I'm sure he'll appreciate later in life... Second day at the coffeeshop, and another great day of relaxing, sketching, and reading.)

185th...back at the coffee shop...

(07-30-2011. and a plethora of people to pick from to draw.  Yum.  Can you tell which one I drew first? Hint: It's the most stiff one.  Yup. The belligerent female. I could hear her being grouchy all the way across the room. Next came the guy at the bottom, them my two favorites. By then I was nice and loose, but I ran out of people, my iced chamomile tea, and space on the page.  Well, I could have fit more, but it felt like a good stopping place. So I kicked back with my book on Impressionism, finished off my carrot cake slice...yum.. and read for a bit. Then back home.)

184th post... peoples...

(07-29-2011. I'd say a bit more successful than the last one. And a bit more fun.) :-D

183rd post... earrings...

(07-28-2011. Having fun with thick and thin lines....)

182nd post, drawering on a train...

(07-27-2011. And not half bad with the lines on a bouncing car...)  :-)

181st post...zen.

(07-26-2011. I started out this journey with great hopes...of what, I don't know. But definitely one was to stop hating sketching. I've had ups and downs. And I think I've finally figured it out. At least until it changes. And what I've figured out is what it ISN'T. It isn't deciding which pen to pick up. It isn't deciding what subject to pick. It isn't deciding what line to put where. Every time I make conscious decisions about anything, it seems like it... well, to be blatant, SUCKS. Too stiff, not readable, just plain off. Let go, and just BE [yes, my zen is showing] and it always feels like you can feel more life in it. Even sleeping life. Ask Mr. B....)

180th post. Angles.

(07-25-2011. On one hand, I'd call this sucky. She had this weird twist to her face sort of like she was thinking really hard, and the shading lines just seem odd / off.  On the other hand, I like the rest of the lines. They felt good swiping off the tip of my pen.)

And I managed...

(07-24-2011. Between laying out my next project, having dinner, and juggling two baby kitties that wanted hugs and pets [not to mention a drink out of my glass, which I had to move, prompting the drippy smudge on this gent's nose] I managed to sketch this guy out. One handed. While fending off the wildlife from my water...) :-)

177th post...faces at the coffee shop...

(07-23-2011. Down at the coffee shop this morning for a scone and a cuppa tea, I focused on playing with faces.  And for the most part am rather pleased. Lots of people wandering in and out, good food... and the realization that I've not sketched at the shop for a while, but feel that compared to previous tries, this one was better, more comfortable, more prolific, and the sketches are more sketchy and less fumbling with the pens.)

176th post. Red.

(07-22-2011. This is Laura. This is Laura's red hair. I went a bit boring with Laura's hair, coloring inside the lines. I need to get some non-water soluble ink pens. It was still fun playing with the Inktense pencils. )  :-D

175th post. How many possible ways....

(07-21-2011. Can one draw oneself without getting bored? Today? The heat kept me inside. Yes, I suppose I could have picked something else to draw but it was fun, and I like the lines. Maybe next time.) :-D

174th post..."what the!?!?"

(07-20-2011...do I REALLY need to explain this one?  No?  Good, because frankly, I dunno if I could explain it...) :-D

Drawing with the Kitties

(07-19-2011. Okay, yeah...didn't go too well.  But it was amusing as heck. I've learned my lesson. Never ever ever try to draw seriously when you have two kittens playing around you and stalking the pen. Not to mention chewing on the sketchbook.) :-D

172. I hate hats.

(07-18-2011. Well, Really, mostly Baseball hats.  So awkward to draw. But practice practice practice...)

171st... quicksketch

(07-17-2011. Today was a great day. Cleaned my house [phew!], painted, and did my sketch o the day. A quick sketch, so I wouldn't focus too hard on subject, but feel the line.)

In Honor of the 170th post....

(07-16-2011.  Okay, not in honor of, but since this is what I've spent most of the day post-work doing, I thought I'd show you the progress. Still not nearly done.  I'm working on the grassy foreground and then I'll have to add people in [because HEY, what's a city without people?! Well, besides the premise for a big blockbuster movie] but this was a very pleasant way to spend the weekend, painting and doing crossword puzzles over the phone with my mom. She insists I know so many answers because I do a lot of crossword puzzles. I tell her it's because I'm smart. She laughs. I get the feeling she's not impressed. Even after I bring up the whole smart because of the gene pool thing.)

169th post...silly boy...

(07-15-2011. I love little kids. I love the joy that they are unashamed of showing, despite who may be around. Not about realism, this one was about line.  I love this line. Well, except for where my pen slipped in one spot, but it's part of it now, so it will only add more.)

A Sketch From...

(07-14-2011....the TRAIN!  Really?  Say it ain't so! Yup. Two pens, a sketchbook, and a pretty smooth ride until we got into downtown and slowed way down.  Go figure that slowing down made it MORE bumpy.)

But fun was had by all. Well, I had fun.  And they don't count because they weren't even paying attention to me....

Pops

(07-13-2011. Yup. My pops. typical Pops pose. I like the thicker line usage here, as opposed to the previous one, where the dark line was directly on top of the thinner line.  I'm thinking I'd like to go and take a look at some other artist's sketches [I'm fascinated with a few different artists.] to get a grip on having more fun. Get some ideas and see if they translate into "cyndi" language.)

166th post. Loosening up on the black...

(07-12-2011. I had two pens.  One finer than the other.  I did good with the thin one. The thick one is where it went south. I'ma have to learn to either block it in, or let it go and be more loose.  *shrug*)

Walk awaaaay!

(07-11-2011. Not a front view, but hey... we don't always look at people from the front anyway, huh?)

guardian

(07-10-2011. The guardian outside my door. Well, the lesser of the two scary ones... the other one looks like the devil. This one has flowers in her hair. I'm not sure how she's guarding my door, but you never know....)

163rd post...mmmmm...pretzels.....

(07-09-2011. Pretzels are one of the best munchies if you happen to be out wandering around and hungry. Tell me it's not true. No weird dayglo orange cheese to wipe off the fingers onto the used to be clean pants, low in fat, very dip-able with all sorts of sauces. OH...the DRAWING.... yeh.  It's not REALLY mindblowing, but I do like it, as when I started I was sure this one was going to tank. But it turned out rather nicely for one of those odd poses...) Say it with me. YAY for lines!

Oh, I got another pen, and I'm breaking it in with this 'un. Ran outta ink in the last one...

162nd post... random lady

(07-09-2011. Yup. Random person. Living in a city is good for that....) ;-)

inside...

(07-07-2011. On a self-imposed isolation today to help a booboo heal. So the B was my choice of sketching today.)

160th post....shadow...

(07-06-2011. Pardon the darkness, but the photo was in a darker room, and if I lightened it any, I'd take away the lines.  This one was a bit of exploration with sketching and using not-so-scribbly-lines to define shadow areas. Sort of like a topographical map. I kinda diggit.)  :)

159th post (this time for real... {;)

(07-05-2011. A bit of a break today. Not that I didn't create anything, but I got a bit caught up in my project.  So my creativity went into painting THESE lines... working on the beach front. The wall, lower green area, and rocky area off to the right are definitely not done. And the lake. I think. I'm painting this one as a present. For my mom. So she doesn't try to steal the other painting I did of a cityscape.  It's okay. She doesn't have a computer.  So this one is just between you and me, okay?)  ;-D

158th post. huge failure...

(07-04-2011. Or IS it... I've never been very good at reproducing electronic equipment by just eyeballing it. Too much perspective for fun sketching...at least MY idea of fun sketching... if I want to see an exact replica I'll look in an owner's manual.  Or get out my ruler and start drawing a lot of angles and planes to fill in. Instead my sketches look a bit flat, a bit off, like it's in the first stages of exploding. Which to me is, well, fun. After a lot of sketching I suppose the second grader charm will be gone, to be replaced by something a bit more mundane, but I'll take what I've got now... for giggles.)

daisies.

(07-03-2011. Blind drawing siting outside of the daisies in the courtyard. I like this one quite a bit, because I like the pen that I was using.  It has a gripping nib that, as I draw it across the paper, catches and releases ans makes quite the cool lines. Added to that the great inktense colored pencils...the background of which I added a bit of water to make a partial wash...and there ya go.)

a detail of the cool pen....

156th post...too much in the middle...

(07-02-2011. Okay, I'm cool with some of the lines on this one, but if you'd want to consider it successful you'd either have to loosen up some more with the lines and the line weight or you'd have to tighten up.  This one is too in the middle.  But hey, we have to take the good with the bad... )  :)

Drawing

(07-01-2011. Well, not ME drawing. Technically, though, I guess you COULD say me drawing. Me drawing my niece. Too confusing.  ANYWAY...I need to ditch this pen, I think.  It's dying big time.)