Evolution of a Painting

I realized that I never posted about this painting so here we go...

While toodling around in my sketchbook one day I was reminded of the legend of Haumea. I have often seen works that portray Pele in the volcano fire but couldn't recall seeing Haumea's legend done in any form. Depending on which version or source you get your legend from will make the "facts" vary but she is known to be the "mother earth" and deeply connected to childbirthing. She has numerous daughters but I focused on only two; those being Pele (fire) and Namaka (sea).

So I began to sketch ideas....
  

Normally I do not remove sketches from my books but I used these as references as I painted.

Here is the initial sketch on canvas done in water soluble pencil. You can see the changes in details and how things evolve as I work through the concept.

I will share more tomorrow

Stirring Things Up

I took a quick break from faces and mandala to capture this simple line drawing in my journal for A Year in the Life of an Art Journal's 15 Feb prompt "favorite quote".

Here's the back story - I am trying to document my new journey with Type 2 Diabetes using the prompts this year. For me this is not going to be so much about the art as it is the emotions and responses to having this challenge. This is a fairly recent diagnosis and with the life style changes/improvements I have made (including medication!) I am learning to manage it. I have had some roller coaster moments with conflicting information and opinions from medical personnel which truly has been the most aggravating thing thus far.

I decided to add a quote that encouraged me and represents where I am at in this moment of time. I totally cheated and searched on goodreads for one that fit! *L*

So tell me...what message do YOU get from this little drawing? What does it say to you?

Faces of the Weekend

My faces project went in a different direction than I thought it would but one I think is ultimately beneficial to me. I planned that I would draw more faces from my "Draw This Face" board but somehow ended up finding a tutorial to watch and follow from proko which then lead to another and another and another etc. I have not worked through all of them yet but it is on my agenda! After I posted "Another Face" and remarked about her eyes needing to be changed and then seeing other things I wanted to fix on her I thought I really needed to get specific about some of things I want to change about my portraits. I am always wanting to grow and improve in my work, aren't you? I felt these tutorials addressed a number of the specifics I was concerned with. I spent the rest of my free time over the weekend drawing tons of tiny little heads and faces and features in my "Body Parts" sketch book! Here is a mosaic of some of the work to share with you!

(Sorry about the bluish cast; not sure where that occurred - in the camera, mosaic maker, flickr?)

Now there are at least 15 more faces shown here that I am going to count toward my 29 for this challenge and 100 Faces collection (more in the sketch book of course!) This puts me at 27 of 29 and 72 of 100 but I am still going to be working on as many more the rest of the month as possible. The only way to learn and grow is to draw, draw, draw! Right? 

I do want to comment about the face on the upper left hand side - I am not happy with this one at all. It is completely over worked, has too many texture lines, tons of erasures, and still needs fixing. But! It stays as is because 1) It is merely an exercise 2) It lets me know what issues I need to continue to work on  3) It reminds me to switch to some other materials I have been wanting to play with again!

Close-Up x3

Sketchbook Challenge for February is "Close-Up"
I wanted to see if this was something that I ever do in my artwork. I know it do it with my photos but couldn't recall if I did much closeup in my sketching. I was happy to discover these three tiny drawings in one of my journals. I tried to clean up the scans a bit by removing some grayish-purple cast and apologize that you can still see some and most certainly you will if you go larger in the views.
I did discover that typically I do NOT draw things zoomed in so to speak. It is something I will be trying this month though.

Mama and Baby Sketch

I did this sketch some time LAST YEAR and then never got around to scanning it so it sat in my sketch book unloved til now. But the coloring and angle is wonky so I am not sure I am doing it any favors in sharing it now. It was done from a photograph I saw online of a mama and her then new baby.

Cello

This is for my sister, Brenda, who plays the cello but not as often as I would like. As soon as I saw the prompt was to draw a musical instrument I knew I wanted to do a cello. Foolish me! I didn't stop to think how difficult it would be due to the symmetry required for the instrument. And being able to indicate wood grain using pencil. I tried not to fuss with it too much as I use my edm's and zentangles and my daily art journaling as warm-ups/exercises and not as finished pieces. I have to say, this was thoroughly enjoyable work though as I was listening to Vivaldi quite loudly as I worked.

i.rocks

My first piece for Sketchbook Challenge's Jan theme "Highly Prized".
Randy brought these tiny heart shaped rocks back for me from one of his deployments to Iraq. I treasure them. He spent months there and would gather them on his walks back and forth from his hooch to work. They symbolize his thoughts of me and his constant love. They are one of my greatest treasures.

28/100

28/100, originally uploaded by Trish Nonaka.

This is from a photo in Dec-Jan2011 Hana Hou! magazine. I rough sketched it on the flight from BI and finished it moments ago. I am not happy with the scan so may redo it - or not.

Done on medium weight paper in my every day sketchbook using pencils and tortillion. Tried to represent the intricate designs and fibers of tapa cloth along with adding in additional designs on the side.

Glasses

Glasses, originally uploaded by Trish Nonaka.

EDM #11 Draw your glasses or sunglasses.
Quite a challenge for someone who NEEDS their glasses ON while drawing! Still fun though!

Interpreter

Interpreter, originally uploaded by Trish Nonaka.

EDM #10 Draw your hands or someone else's.

These are my hands but that is Courtney's ring. She's our oldest. She is an ASL interpreter and this is the sign for that. This is her birthday gift. She is my gift.

Jewelry

EDM 008, originally uploaded by Trish Nonaka.

Some days I am in a rush but still want to do at least a warm up sketch. This is one. Not that I like it much but not all attempts are successful. And that is okay too.

Monday Tuesday Journal Pages

Art Journal, originally uploaded by Trish Nonaka.

Monday stuff on top and Tuesday at the bottom with a tiny EDM to the right side. Elizabeth Smith does the sweetest little date boxes for her entries so I thought I would give it a try as well.

Organized Chaos

Organized Chaos, originally uploaded by Trish Nonaka.

EDM #9
A contour line sketch of my coffee table Weds morning. While I was trying to do some warm up sketching and enjoy my coffee Chelsey needed to discuss wedding plans and ideas. And somehow the dog's collar and brush got mixed in there too. I thought a contour drawing would lend itself nicely to the chaotic aspect. What do you think?

Slippah

2010-11-02-1547-47, originally uploaded by Trish Nonaka.

EDM 001 draw a shoe

Lamp

2010-11-02-1548-44, originally uploaded by Trish Nonaka.

EDM 002 draw a lamp

Bag

2010-11-02-1549-14, originally uploaded by Trish Nonaka.

EDM 003 draw a purse, wallet or bag

My Mug and Our Bed

2010-11-02-1550-07, originally uploaded by Trish Nonaka.

EDM 004 Draw your cup or mug

EDM 005 Draw your bed

For Robbie

2010-11-05-1317-38, originally uploaded by Trish Nonaka.

EDM #6 Draw a well-loved object or childhood toy

Lemon Curd

EDM #7, originally uploaded by Trish Nonaka.

EDM 007 Draw a bottle, jar or tin in your kitchen.
Had this lovely jar of lemon curd sitting in the fridge begging to be eaten but it only got drawn.

7-16/100 Faces

7-16/100 Faces, originally uploaded by Trish Nonaka.

i thought applying some of tam's ideas from Art, Heart, Healing might help me create a more realistic japanese face.
argggg
obviously an area that continues to elude me yet one i want to conquer so i can draw my family.
practice practice practice.