Eyes Right

I was not able to get her eyes right. So I decided to leave it as is for now.

Look Up

Make sure that you take the time during the holiday season to enjoy nature. There is no snow here where I live and winter is not the same without it. I miss sleighing, snowmen, and snowball fights. So for winter I look at the trees with the last few leaves holding on and not willing to be set free.

Take Time to Look Up

Sometimes we are so busy with life and getting things done we forget to look up and enjoy the peace of nature.

New Moleskine - Froggy Chronicles

Well I completed another moleskine and started on a new one. I started the Froggy Chronicles. I don't know if I'll fill my moleskine with just frogs. I hope they make you smile. I'm trying to let go.

Reading: Just For Fun

As I was at the library I came across a funny book cover so I decided to pick it up. It's called Fashion Kitty and the Unlikely Hero by Charise Mericle Harper. I thought my fashionista daughter would like it. Of course I couldn't resist reading it for myself. It was so funny, it brought back my inner child because sometimes you need a laugh.

Fashion Kitty has met her biggest challenge: school uniforms" The school principal thinks fashion has become a distraction and no one is learning so now Kiki and her friends have to wear uniforms. Ugh!

AEDM: Day 17, 18, & 19 That Blue Girl

I have been so busy preparing for my daughters 15th  birthday celebration that at the end of the day when I laid down to take a quick nap I just didn't have enough steam to get back up. Well now its over and I can get back to art.

I'm posting 3 drawings to make up for the days I miss. They are a continuation of my Blue Girl series. As I was doing these it made me think back to watching the Mary Tyler More Show and That Girl in the 70's. I guess it's the clothing. I wish I had time to put detail in the background of my drawings.

AEDM - Day 16: That Blue Girl

Another little drawing of that Blue Girl Series. When I was a teen I thought I would live in New York, I loved the city, never in a million years did I think I would live in the south, married to a southerner. In life you can't always predict how things will turn out. But LIFE IS GOOD!

AEDM: Face 21 - Will You Tell Me How Long You Loved Him?

This is one of my favorite lines from Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice Jane's question to Elizabeth about her feelings for Mr. Darcy.
"Will you tell me how long you loved him?
Elizabeth's reply "It has been coming on so gradually, that I hardly know when it began, but I believe I must date it from my first seeing his beautiful grounds at Pemberly" lol. This always makes me laugh.
Day 15 of AEDM another  illo of a couple.

AEDM: Face 20- Is he looking at me?

The first time ever I saw your face



I thought the sun rose in your eyes


And the moon and stars were the gifts you gave


To the dark and the empty skies, my love.
Lyrics by Roberta Flack, Its one of my old favorites. I thought it went with my illustration today. I decided to draw another couple only younger.

AEDM - Face 19:Husband And Wife

I thought I would put a man in the mix since so many of my faces are only of woman. I didn't have time to do color today plus I am not feeling well.

Love is the balm that helps ease the friction of life between two people who have made a lifelong commitment to each other's growth and development.

IF: Silence & AEDM

My submission for Illustration Friday - Silence. Sometimes you have to bite your tongue, put on a fake smile, and keep your silence.

AEDM submission also. I ran out of time and didn't have time to do another drawing.

AEDM- Surrounded in a Cloud of Blue

Day 10 of Art Everyday Month. Today I didn't want to do my face series, so I did something different- Surrounded in a Cloud of Blue. Don't you hate when that blue cloud surrounds you with that deep feeling of sadness?  Which you allow to encompass you. However you do not have to give into it find that inner strength that God has given you. Choose to be happy.

AEDM- Face 17 Cheetah-licious

I made cheetah spots! I know that this may seem like a simple thing but I love the way they turned out. My youngest daughter who will turn 15 this year has been a cheetah print fan since she was 5 years old. Take a look at her family turkey she made for school when she was 7. A turkey that is Cheetah-licious. She still loves all things cheetah.

AEDM- Face 16 :Time to go to Sleep

Art everyday # 8. Not my best work, I'm too tired! I used oil pastels. I wasn't happy with look so recolored on computer.

AEDM- That Blue Girl

 Since I am working on conquering my fear of color in my sketchbook I decided  to add these little drawings called "That Blue  Girl". The title is based on what my best friend mother would call me. I don't think she ever called me by my first name, she just always called me by my last name which was Blue and would refer to me as that Blue girl. I was excited and went out and purchased a lot of sharpies. I like  my little drawing but I was unable to draw more in the background. When I look at it the memory of how I loved to be outside in the fall enjoying the crisp air as a teen.

AEDM- Face 15: Broken Hearted

I remember feeling this way when I was 15. My boyfriend Alphonzo broke up with me right before the Christmas holiday. I didn't see it coming. At the time I was totally devastated. My heart really felt like it was broken. I stay in the whole holiday break. My sister who still had a boyfriend saw Alphonzo out. I just never thought I would get over it. but I did. So if any of you young ladies feel like this. Time is a great healer. Someone else came into my life and we just recently celebrated 29 years of marriage.

AEDM - Face 14: Too Tied Up

I'm too tied up with things. I really want to post everyday. It's 11:07 pm justing getting a chance to post.

AEDM - Face 13 - I love Fall

I didn't have time for a story today. As a matter of fact I didn't have time to finish adding color because I didn't want to ruin my drawing. Instead of paint I used pencils and markers for color.

AEDM- Face 12 : I Am Determined

 Day 3 of AEDM in some ways my story of Tikezia and I shared the same goal which is determination. Despite the fact that I have limited time I am determined to post my art each day for November. Today was our immunization audit  by the Health Dept., so I went to work early and got off late. It's the end of day and I'm attempting a background in my sketchbook. I'm not so happy with the results because I'm rushing, at least I'm conquering my fear of painting directly into journal. Today's story is of a young African girl determine to survive the destruction of her village.

Finally a book worth reading

Mice by Gordon Reece. I came across this book thinking it was really about mice. I didn't read the jacket cover. I just dived in. I haven't had a good read in such a long time. The  beginning is very good a little dark, but interesting.
Shelley and her mom have been menaced long enough. Excused from high school where a trio of bullies nearly killed her, and still reeling from her parents' humiliating divorce, Shelley has retreated with her mother to the quiet of Honeysuckle Cottage in the countryside. Thinking their troubles are over, they revel in their cozy, secure life of gardening and books, hot chocolate and Brahms by the fire. But on the eve of Shelley's sixteenth birthday, an unwelcome guest disturbs their peace and something inside Shelley snaps. What happens next will shatter all their certainties-about their safety, their moral convictions, the limits of what they are willing to accept, and what they're capable of.

AEDM- Face 11: Where Did the Time Go?

The 2nd day of Aedm and another face painted in my journal. I thought I would get to do more like add something to background but having two teens changed my plans. So it is the end of the day and I'm just posting what I created. This is Marion who can't believe that time has gone so fast. She's been so busy she can't remember her 30's and 40's and now that she's in her 50's she has a little wisdom to share. Stay focus, enjoy life, and only look back to learn.

AEDM- Face 10 - Overcoming Fears

For the Art Everyday Month I am attempting to overcome my fear of painting directly into my sketchbook. This may seem like a small thing but for me it is huge. Usually I sketch in my book, then make copies to paint. I am also working on my writing skills each painting will have a story. This painting is a story about a girl named Janna, who walks around with this scowl on her face as her protection against being shy.

Face 9 - Happy Halloween

 I can't believe a whole month has past since my last post. How do you like my mask?

Face 8 - Regretful

Sometimes we are regretful for the decisions that we have made, but we can only pray that everything will turn out well.

Homage to Modigliani

I have a new old artist that I came across Modigliani. I love his portraits. I admire the way that he did portraiture but put them in his owe style. If you have not see his work just google his name. The painting at the top is my attempt of his style, I didn't want to copy it exactly so I made a few changes. Modigliani died at the age of 35. If you are a reader such as I the book entitled Modigliani. There is also a movie.

Face 7- Really? Is That Necessary

REALLY?

I see so many talking on their cell phones while driving. You have to ask yourself REALLY. I'm not talking about hands-free. I've been almost hit several times and when I glance to see what they are doing, they have their cellphones to their ear. I'm afraid to talk and drive. I have my children answer my phone when I'm driving. Years ago when cell phones first came out I was talking and driving and I totally forgot where I was going. This was not a good mix for me. When my phone would ring I would just pull over.

My Funny Zoe

My daughter Zoe hates it when other family members eat her food. This is her warning. I thought it was so cute I had to post it.

Face 6 - Gentle



March gently with the shadows, yet breath the wind.



I have a poetry board in my office at school which I allow children to create while their waiting. There is one student who loves the board. This is her short poem.

Face 5 - Groovy

Groooovy!

A little flashback to the 1960's. She could probably fit right in with today's fashion.

Face 4 - Innocent

I'm not that innocent!

Sometimes the quiet, demure ones are not innocent at all, they just deceive with their looks.

Face 3 - Je suis une femme



I can bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan, and never let my husband forget he's a man. Do you remember that commercial for Enjoli perfume?



Je peux ramener chez le bacon, faire frire jusqu'à dans une poêle et jamais laisser mon mari oublier que c'est un homme. Cause, je suis une femme - w-o-m-a-n.

Je suis une femme

IF: Influence

" I don't like her!" Why not?, I think she's okay.

Sometimes you can be an influence for good. Try not to feed the negative in people. I haven't participated in Illustration Friday in a while so I thought I would give this word a shot.

IF: Stripes-Face 2 - Caught

Ok you caught me!

We'll from my photo of new sketch book you can tell that I had already started with drawings. No color for this one. Maybe I should add blue to background.