Advantages of an Art Educator

As an artist it is very important for me to practice drawing from a live model, to keep my observation skills honed. However, being an art educator, makes it difficult for me to attend the figure labs near me during regular days. So when the school does a one day "Jump Rope for Heart" day, I am overwhelmed with joy! I don't teach a regular class that day, but help monitor the kids as they " jump rope"~ we gather in the gym and I bring along my sketch book to practice my quick & fast gesture drawings!!! 

This year I brought along my water refillable brush and a sketch and wash pencil by "General" , some manilla paper and some loose strathmore paper out of an old sketch book. I was set. 

The trick to making action drawings is in your skill to observe and record with your eye and subconscious mind. Watching consistently makes you see the rhythm of movement being created by the model. In my case, jumping rope. It doesn't matter if the model you are observing moves away while you are drawing. The next jumper who comes across your line of vision may be doing the same movements. Your eyes must linger on the contour of the figure ( model) being observed, every fraction of movement being followed by your pupil is like drawing with your eyes. Don't think about the pencil in your hand. The hand moves automatically with the eyes, following the contour and gesture. Very quick, scratches, dashes, dots and squiggles. Now move on to the next drawing. Each drawing taking only seconds to draw. A most exhilarating feeling! Try it, as an art educator, you have no shortage of models, for the rest of you, go visit the local playground, watch a sport on TV, go to the zoo. 

Now I am thinking of using white pastels to do some highlights on the Manila paper - later, I want to share these right now! 

A bit of reality a bit of imagination!

So I have been drawing / sketching people off an on for quite sometime now!! And I always wonder what they are thinking about? Sometimes I create my own stories about them. The sketch below was done while I was waiting at a local restaurant for some friends. What fascinated me was her hat. It was quite warm inside but she was totally immersed in her coffee and had not taken off her coat nor her hat. I wondered what she was thinking of and so after a quick sketch of her I just decided to draw a city scape in pencil behind her as if her thoughts. The two mediums worked out great to show the now and the dream~world.  The city scape is purely from my imagination. I like this new style of portraying my drawing. I think this is going to be the first of many more to come in this style as a series. 

Mid Spring Break

So Wednesday spent time with another art educator to go visit a local Hindu Temple and sketch it. It was a beautiful day! It is amazing how we forget to stop and look around at everything right next to us! This is the one exercise we should all do whether we draw or not - just to appreciate life.
This sketch was done using a Lamy fountain pen filled with Noodlers Bulletproof Black ink and water color.

HALLOWEEN!

Well, October ended and I have a classroom full of over wired or over tired kids, from all the candy in middle of school week! I love to watch the many costumes flitting in and out off sidewalks and around yards in the neighborhood. The many bling bling strobe like lights flashing back and forth like aliens searching for a spot to land on. Parents frantically trying to keep up with their group of chaperoned kids and continuosly counting the number of winged costumes under their surveillance! The 2-3hours of constant door bells, creaking doors, cackling background, hounds baying and bats swinging - yes, the teacher is tired too! :)

My Weekend

The weekend began with taking my mom to the Dentist and not picking up after doing dishes in the kitchen. I did use every moment I got to sketch in my little sketchbook.
Like I have mentioned before ~use every moment you get to do quick sketch of life around you. I don't believe in "planning" every drawing in my sketchbook. Be spontaneous! Thats the spice of life! Same in creating art, its the unknown, the happy accidents that make the oomph!
Saturday I attended the monthly art meet with Sugar Land Area Artist and enjoyed a free pastel demo and Sunday evening spent some time at a local restaurant enjoying the ambiance.
Okay so now I am ready to go back to work for the week! :)

Stop and look!

I have been coming and going through the Bush International Airport quite a few times since December 2012, and not once did I notice the decor! Today, I had to sit a bit when I went to pick up my husband at the airport. While he was at the baggage claim, I made these two quick sketches -using the micron ink pens. I used the water color later at home. This just proves that it's really important to stop and look around you~take a moment to pause, or you will miss seeing so much! Keep sketching, and learn to really see what you draw!

Pen & Ink w/ Watercolor

Drawing in pen and ink is a great way to cover mistakes when drawing direct and drawing fast, and its better when you use watercolor on top of it. So you don't have to worry if you feel your drawing isn't perfect - as long as you enjoyed making those marks. This is my sketch share for today. Hope you are doing yours too!

Grapefruits anyone?

So it's 2013, January 1st - and I have not gone out of the house at all! However, my "tall" bro-in-law helped pick grapefruits off our one lonely tree in the backyard. Now we have grapefruits all over!

STORYTELLING

Sketch booking is a great tool to use for story telling. Just drawing is fine, but to add a little bit of story, a little tale behind the drawing gives it an added life! Many times the drawings come about because of a story. So, give it a try, fantasy, reality, myth or legend! What makes those cog wheels turn?
Sometimes, I create a story after I draw something too- so what story can you create from the pictures below?

What's in your bag or pocket?

It never ceases to amaze me how surprised people get when they see the contents of my bag. Like a photographer, I don't want to get caught without a camera and miss a great shot.
You never know when you come across a moment that needs to be memory stamped into your sketchbook! I always have several pens and pencils, brushes and watercolor set or two, some paper towel and of course The Sketchbook!
So what's in your pocket or bag?

Catch up Time

If HAS been ages since I have has time to write! Not that I stopped sketching, just busy getting the classes going. l have been doing small, random sketches around the school - and now I realized it is already time to do the first progress report cards!
So I have been playing with the ballpoint pen and these are what I scratched up- I think the speak the way I feel- 1) too many things to do, 2) working to the bone, and 3) now ready to jump to the next session!!

Lost in Downtown

So I got to use my phone GPS for the first time! I had to go downtown -(Houston) to attend area art supervisors meet at the Hobby Center. What a beautiful view from the "founders room"! Things were going fine till it was time to come back home! So I turned on the GPS and stared at this blue dot that kept blinking at me as I drove... and drove and drove. I was getting quite concerned because I had been informed previously that the "dot" moves when you do!!
But the dot just blinked back at me from the same spot! I drove some more, getting quite giddy by now, almost panicking, thinking about all those one way streets...
And then... I realized I had only been going round and round - yes I was still in the parking garage!
You think it's age?!?
Well, at least I got a nice sketch done!