Two Blue Jays – Which do You Prefer?

It’s been a while since a post – again! Let’s face it, time spent at the computer is time NOT spent painting or drawing or writing. Well, a lot of writing is at the computer, but you get what I mean. Time spent creating is not the same as time spent telling about creating.

On to today’s good stuff! Here are two watercolors of a blue jay. Same format, same colors – Cerulean Blue, Manganese Blue and Mars Black –worked at the same time. One is much better to my eye, what do you think? Do you like #1 or #2, this one or that one?




I’m curious which one is more appealing to you. The winner will become a greeting card in my Etsy shop so please comment!

Slumps are like Spinach – Yucky but Good for You in the End

I haven’t created a significant amount of art, or anything other than writing, for the last nine months. So, this is what a slump feels like.

Now that it’s been long enough to see clearly what happened, it’s obvious I did it to myself. I took the joy out of creating so I quit and balked like a three year old at spinach.

My mistake came in two little words: have to. Having to do something turns it into a chore, a drudge, something to be endured. I turned my art and the very act of creating, making things, into a have-to-do by setting expectations that, in hindsight, were unreasonable. Then what? I set myself free by deciding to make whatever I wanted out of what was on hand.

It was incredible! In just a few hours, I felt the old joy of making something with my own hands come back. Rummaging through my collection of supplies and materials was intoxicating and my imagination came back to life. The old me, the one who hated to stop working to eat, is back.

Now, I’m working on a crochet book proposal for my publisher and have a modest selection of one of a kind Halloween things in my shop at Etsy as well as continuing with several magazine article assignments and planning new paintings. During the slump and subsequent invigorating burst of creativity, I learned several lessons but the most important for me is to be careful with setting goals. Having goals can move you forward but not if they stifle the root of your creativity.

Let me know your thoughts and if you’ve dealt with the same issues

Drawing of a Robin - Colored Pencil

This soft sweet Robin is in the same series as the Cardinals. It's 5x7, on Champagne Mi Tientes paper (smooth side) and done in Prismacolor Pencils.

For this one, I ended up with a few more colors than usual: Indigo, Periwinkle, Mineral Orange, Yellow Ocher, Black and White. The blue and orange tones are complements and work together nicely even though Robins in life don't have much blue in their feathers.

The softness of this drawing is very apparent, to me anyway, and adds a sweet look to the subject. That wasn't my goal when I started but I did work with it as it appeared.

The entire back of the bird is suggested but not drawn clearly or just plain missing. I'm still experimenting with the pencils to see how loose I can go. This may be getting close to the boundry of "not enough" - we'll see where it ends up.

Drawings! Cardinals! In Colored Pencil!

OK, so that's a lot of excitement up there in the title. But, it's been such a long while since I posted and almost as long since drawing and painting that I got kind of wound up.

This is the first drawing after being away for while and I could sure tell in my rusty hands and eyes. It's sketched lightly on Champagne Mi Tientes and then the color is worked in with Prismacolor colored pencils. In trying to stick with limited colors, I chose Tuscan Red, Scarlet, Poppy Red, White and Black.

Overall, it's OK but I didn't like the texture of the paper - too mechanical. Nor am I happy with the stiffness and lack of life in the bird; perhaps it's a bit overworked.

So, I did another drawing exactly the same- sort of.



Here's Cardinal #2, same paper (except on the smooth side), same size (5x7), and the same colors. To me, it seems fresher even if there's less detail. This one was much easier to draw and complete; I could feel myself loosening up as it progressed.

Colored pencils are a big draw for me, but I'm still getting comfortable with how I want to use them in a less precise manner. I'm enjoying exploring these small drawings and am trying to do some everyday. I've got another couple to show very soon.

Thanks for looking and any thoughts and comments are always appreciated.