Playing on Photoshop

Boy is this blog out of date! Have to spend some time catching up on posts.
If you want to keep more up to date on what I'm doing, check out my Facebook page.
Did I mention I had a baby? Hmm... I wonder why I haven't been keeping up with blogs and art.
Today though I was fiddling around with some images of my boys on Photoshop Elements and this is what I came up with...

Apologies and updates

So sorry to have been away for so long.  I have been dealing with some health problems and personal issues and all of my obligations (and art work and everything else) has been completely abandoned for the past 2+ months.  I'm trying to get back into it all now as I am starting to feel somewhat more human these days.  Huge, HUGE, HUGE apologies to all of you waiting on your artwork from the giveaway .  I will complete it and get it to you as soon as I can.

The only thing I have worked on recently is this new knitting project; it's easy to take along to doctor's offices.


I am interested in the idea of creating large, 2D art in knitting.  I also like how graphic designs look in knitting.  I'm experimenting for only the second time with intarsia for this, so it's a bit ambitious to say the least.  I haven't measured it, but it's approximately 50" in width.  I hope it will turn out good enough to hang!




The design is a group of crows in silhouette.  Did you know a group of crows is called a murder?

Here is the "design" I'm working with.  You can see, I am kind of making it as I go, and drawing in the stitches when I get to the section to be worked on.



You can read more details about the project and see the latest update on it also on my ravelry project page .

Patrick's piece, sketch 2

Oh my gosh! My first ever use of charcoal! I have fallen in love with a new medium! I can't wait to try it again!!!

Jacira finished!

Hubby kept complaining that my drawing made her look heavy so there was some tweakage this morning. You know you're done tweaking when you made one tiny tweak too many.
Went to scan this but then realized the size if the paper is too large
for the scanner! Ugh! I think I will have to get it professionally
scanned. Drag!

Jacira - Work in Progress

Been working on this portrait again today. Much better this time. Had some problems though. Was working on it outside, and my muddy dog actually STOOD ON IT!!! I shrieked! I tried to rub off the mud, even began damaging the paper, but no, couldn't get the mud off. So I began again. But nothing I drew could approach this one. So I went back to it and decided that most of the damage would be covered by Jacira's jet-black hair so I would let it go. Still, there is some raw/rough paper where I rubbed too hard, and the texture of my color changes there. Bummer.


My 'real' camera is in repair and the iphone never keeps the proportions right. This does actually look better in person. There is still some tweaking to do for sure though. And obviously I have to finish the rest of the piece. But I am mostly happy with it. Obviously it's not her face precisely, but if I don't show my hand and my interpretation than what's the point of doing the drawing? If you want true photo-realism without flaws, hang up the photo. 




[EDIT - 5:40pm]
Finished?

Still needs some tweaks. I think I will sleep on this and see how it hits me in the morning. Not set on the background either.

Sketch for 2nd giveaway winner

I started off thinking this might be a finished portrait but I'm
definitely calling this a sketch. It's a start but Jacira is much
prettier than this. Some proportions are off and I think the messy
colored pencil look doesn't work for a portrait. Or at least not like
this. Back to the drawing board!

Knitting and stuff

I haven't had focused time that I could devote to working on those portraits since I got the first one finished.  But I hope to resume work on those within a week.  In the meantime, I've been knitting a fair bit.  And for the first time I made my own pattern and am using it to make myself a little cashmere/silk top with this yarn:



Yummy stuff.  I can't wait to see if the top is actually wearable!  I will post my pathetic little pattern sketch up here for all to see at some point.

I also made a few knitted soap covers:

...out of this yarn:


And the first half of a sweater, knit out of bamboo:

Oh my gosh, bamboo is a dream to knit with (if you can get past the nightmare of the balls of yarn which tangle badly if a lot of care isn't taken.)

I've been drawing a lot of airplanes for my son's birthday party (tomorrow):


(scribbles added by said son)


And today I made this little drawing for a birthday gift for another little two-year old friend:

I like the idea of children being given art for their birthdays so they have a collection when they become adults. I read about some parents doing that in a magazine once. So lately our little friends have been getting art from me.

Portrait #1 DONE!

Lorna and Morfar, Graphite on Paper, March 2009

C'est finis!  (Original here.)

I thought it was finished last night. Then, I got crazy this morning and started tweaking it, which is generally NOT a good idea (once you think you might be done). I usually go a few steps too far and regret it. Didn't do that, but I'm absolutely FIGHTING the urge to tweak further.

I'm sad to say I do have some problems with this drawing. It's about 15+ years since I have worked with pencil/graphite so I'm learning the medium over again (and learning the limitations of my eraser!)

Morfar's face is a bit overworked, and not right, and baby Lorna is not as solid looking as I'd like, but I'm afraid of ending up with her being overworked.

It's not too bad for my first portrait effort after a HUGE drawing break though.

Now on to portrait #2!  Wahoo!

Here are a couple of recent sketches.

The first one is for a bunny painting I did for a little friend on her first birthday.


The second one is the third version of some preliminary sketches I've done for the giveaway.


I think, after the third try (it was the charm I guess!) I am getting there with this latter drawing.

Will keep you guys updated with these pieces as I work on them!