Thursday, January 6, 2011

A Happy Artsy Sight! (The Sketchbook Challenge Continues...)

Artsy JOY!!!

Well, I have not fallen off the artsy bandwagon yet~~will miracles never cease!
In continuing with the small tag sketch book, I finished the drawing on the LaFitte image, waxed some lovely laid paper and did title pages to slip in between the covers. The amount of medium used on the pages left them with a bit of *tack* and I wasn't sure if they would, over time, adhere to the sketch pages next to them.


 Over cautious, I know. But when your first sketch page is something you really LOVE, it's worth the effort!
Ever since our first visit to New Orleans, I have loved the massive Live Oaks of the South. I collected acorns and have used them sparingly in my work, my dear friend Silke sent me leaves from the behemoth trees to use in other artwork, thus the first sketch of things I highly prize is the acorns of this grand lady, growing on limb.


 I started with a gessoed tag, gave it a loose wash of color to get rid of that scary, frightening *WHITE* then began working with Prismacolor pencils, white gel pen and a 2H drawing pencil.
For anyone with *White Page Syndrome* I highly recommend doing a light wash of acrylic or watercolor to stain the page. Even if you are unsure what you will be drawing, the color automatically tones things down and lets the mind settle into the job quicker. 
I lucked out and found that some of the movement of the paint was close to the twists and turns of the limbs, leaves and acorns.


I have not seriously drawn in a long time and all I could think of was, I feel like I am illustrating a greeting card......go figure. It wasn't that I did not enjoy the process, it is just that I have not FELT the process in so long.
I am happy with how it has progressed; I may not do a whole finished piece~~it may stay as it is. I don't know. I will leave the gessoed back plain, to include text, thoughts, etc later.
And now for the *odd things in my hand photo*.......

This is the *wishbone* or breast bone from a duck! Doesn't it look like a toothless jawbone???

You guess!
I'll disclose this one later!
And yes, my studio is full of the most peculiar items. Including the artist that there in resides! LOL!!!
Now go make art. ;-)


Pax....

44 comments:

Linda and Michelle said...

I think you are on to something with this idea of the tags for the sketchbook! Contained, yet plenty of room for experimentation. I like the vague image in the background and then the colored one on top - restful, serene...like its maker?? (snort)

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

And that is the JOKE of the day! The maker being SERENE! LOL!!!!
Really---LOL!!!
The size of these are great; it was a lucky thing to choose them. I was picking other items to work on last night~~need to give a few more tags washes of color.
I think you'd enjoy tinkering with them Linda; it is a small commitment of time a labor.
Well, maybe not the labor when in my hands.... ;D

XXOO~~♥
Anne

Bunny said...

You always amaze me with your art. Wish I could do that. Happy New Year. Hope your year is full of wonderful ideas that become art.

martinealison said...

J'aime beaucoup votre oeuvre avec les glands...
Tous mes voeux de bonheur, de joie, de paix et de créativité.
Bises

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

Hey Bunny,

Sometimes I amaze myself....LOL! That fact I have sat still long enough to get this much done is quite the surprise!
You've got a cruise coming up soon, yes???

XXOO~~♥
Anne

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

Bon Jour martinealison!

Je vous remercie pour les aimables paroles --- J'ai aimé faire ces beaucoup. Ils ont été une belle surprise!

XXOO~~♥
Anne

Janet Ghio said...

I love your taag book idea for the sketchbook challenge and the subject matter also!

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

Hey Janet,

Thanks! I love the size....I still spend way too much time on a drawing, but it sure lets me experiment with things without having a huge piece of paper with this tiny image in the middle! LOL!
Or worse yet.....NOTHING in the middle!

XXOO~~♥
Anne

marianne said...

what a great start! the book is going to be wonderful. i think that medium does get tacky- especially in humidity. in my reading about altered books they caution about that, but there's only 1 way to find out! happy studio time!

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

Thanks Marianne!

I figure I may give those separator sheets another coating of wax; I shoved them between waxed paper and ironed. I think they can use some more. (and I have no idea where my massive chunk of beeswax and hot iron are....geez!)
I should have cut up a teflon sheet! LOL!!

XXOO~~♥
Anne

yoborobo said...

Doesn't it feel good to draw again? I haven't drawn anything in far too long. Maybe if I got OFF the computer I would have time to draw...hmmm. :) I love your tags, you creative diva! xox

audrey said...

LOVE the acorn drawing!! Really really nice, Anne. I want to run away and hide in your studio and play with all your neat stuff while you are sleeping.... hahahaha
Is that white thingie one of those spiral shells you find at the beach?
♥ audrey

Quilt Rat said...

love love LOVE those acorns!!!! This is absolutely beautiful......it would make a most stunning art quilt!

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

LOL Pam!!!

I have that problem; trying to manage my time is a joke. I mean, I never have been really good at that, and then when I started the blog it all went south fast!
Yes, it has been both fun and odd to draw again. I really had to THINK! hahaahha! You know how hard that is for me..... ;D

XXOO~~♥
Anne

Jan said...

I love these tags, what a great way to play but not have a huge canvas to fret over. The acorns are very very nice. I know what the thing in your hand is, nya nya nya nya nya nya!

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

Hi Audrey!

I wish you could come play and hide here too. (the hiding part would be easy with all the junk---I get lost frequently.....)
Glad you like the acorns; I was happy with them. The pencils worked nice on the gessoed paper too.
And nope, the white thingy isn't from the beach, though it could be from something that frequents waterways! :D

XXOO~~♥
Anne

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

Hey Jill!

I bet *YOU* could do a lovely rendition of the acorns as an art quilt.....and get it done LONG before I could even pick the fabrics.... :-)
Thanks!!!

XXOO~~♥
Anne

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

Hi Jan!!!

Shhhhhhhh........don't tell! (yet)
I am loving working small on pieces. I think the big work I have done has just totally wiped me on large scale projects for a while.
These are so nice to know there is a little space, and a lot of impact.
Sometimes that's all you really need.

XXOO~~♥
Anne

Anna Rosa Designs said...

Hi Anne,
Ohhh, another fabulous tag!
Great idea to lay a wash of colour on a white tag and the piece.
Love the acorn tag.
Hugs,
Anna

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

Hey Anna,

That gesso on the tag really made for a nice base for the pencil. I liked the feel a lot better than pencil on plain or toothy paper alone.
The wash was a perk....kind of a humor. Had not really planned it---just wanted to see what it would do!

XXOO~~♥
Anne

studio lolo said...

I hope you find time to draw more often. My, those acorns are delicious!! So soft and transparent. I love the unfinished look and the layers it lends to the whole piece. Wowee!
It's gonna be a doozy of a book!

x♥Lolo♥x

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

Hey Lolo!

Keep telling me that! LOL! I am stumped on what I want to draw next; can't seem to find my stash of pics from NOLA, have one in mind and of course can't think past that.....if I had an ordered brain, my gosh, I'd be dangerous! ;-D

XXOO~~♥
Anne

Robbie said...

What a great tip on using a wash to color the 'white page'! Go figure, right! If I ever get nerve enough to draw (rather than trace!) I might give that a go!! Your drawings/tags are wonderful!!

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

Oh just have a glass of wine and go for it! I now have paint all over my fingers and still cannot find the photo I want fr the next tag.
There may be a gap in posts due to utter disorganization at Chateau Lockard....
Hard to believe, eh? :D

XXOO~~♥
Anne

Magpie's Mumblings said...

Hah - have a glass of wine and go for it? I'd need the whole bottle to muster up courage to try something like this! Drawing is NOT my forte. Story - I always dreamed of being able to 'paint' and decided to take a two-day course in watercolours. The course project was to paint lilacs. Well, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that a lot of the 'painting' was actually techniques and I was quite proud of my lilacs, thinking that they actually might look like what they were meant to be. Well, I took said 'art' home and showed my husband, who, after asking me what it was supposed to be, promptly went on to tell me I was holding it upside down (I wasn't). There endeth my budding career as a great master.

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

Oh M.A.!

I think I would have throttled him!!! Although I have been down similar roads with people.....sometimes, well, you just cannot make people SEE.
I have found (seriously!) that when I have had a group that was scared of the first attempts at drawing or painting, a bit of wine took the edge off and opened up the right side of the brain, producing a happy class and often, results they were pleased with.
As you can tell, I think learning should be FUN!!!

XXOO~~♥
Anne

Elena said...

Awesome drawings! Have you noticed you're on a great creative flow since turning in the banner? Can't wait to see what you'll do with the claw my oh-so-inspiring mentor.

di from di-did-it said...

Love the acorn drawing! You never cease to amaze me...

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

Hey Elena,

Yes, despite the little bumps life has thrown on my road, I am on a creative path this year. Part of it is the constant voice in my head that says "When are we getting studio time today?!" It's rather demanding.... ;-D
I already have an idea for the crab claws---it's a work down the road a ways. HAve to mentally brew it a bit!

XXOO~~♥
Anne

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

Hi Di!

LOL! Thanks---I have to admit I was rather surprised with the drawing. When you haven't drawn--and I mean REALLY DRAWN in ages--you're never sure what the hands are going to produce.
Or not. :-D
Now I'm scoping out the next drawing and still am searching my messy studio for the *one* photo I need to refer to.....otherwise, it may be a collage!

XXOO~~♥
Anne

Georgina said...

Fantabulous, Anne!! Love the tags and as for that little white snaky thing, I'm stumped!! Looks like something my grandsons were working on in my studio on New Years Eve....gave them modeling clay and they made snakes. Hunter showed me his snake and Jesus on the cross, telling me a Bible story about how Jesus was bitten by a snake and since Jesus is, well, Jesus, he survived the bite...told him I must have missed that story during my catechism years but as I recall, I miss quite of few!! LOL

Keep up the creative work and did those roofer finally come by and did you provide them with the Speedos????!?!?!?!? LOLOLOLOL

Love ya,
G

Unknown said...

holy smokes!!!! those acorns are so so cool!!! you are amazing Anne!!!! and that wishbone...wow!!! I never seen one so white before!!!

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

LOL Georgina!!!

Sounds like the little ones have your story telling ability! What a hoot! But a good story none the less.
I have disclosed the mystery item.....
And no, no roofers, dressed, undressed, wearing muck-lucks or tutus. NONE.
I am not a happy camper, but hey, so what else is new.
Now I have to return to digging to try and find the photos I *put someplace safe*....i.e. LOST.
Grrrrrr....

XXOO~~♥
Anne

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

Hey Diana,

Thanks on the acorns! They were fun...after the initial revolt of the brain/hand connection. ;-)
Okay, I save bone for mixed media work, and after being washed (yes, I wash them to get the grease off) I put them in a plastic tub with hydrogen peroxide. I have to admit I got sidetracked and left this last batch a little long.....that is why it is so white.
Try is as a project with your son sometime; I bet he'd get a kick out of watching them whiten....then put them in the garden for the calcium!

XXOO~~♥
The Bone Lady....A.

Silke Powers said...

Oh, Anne, your tags are just gorgeous!! You've got something there with working this small. I just bought some smaller canvases to be able to paint something smaller again. Can't wait to get started!!

And I LOVE that wishbone!!! I'm sure it'll make it's way into some art, right?

Love, Silke

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

Absolutely Silke! You know me and bones...they always end up in art!
I have small canvas too, and I really like the *instant gratification* of the size, plus they make nice gifts. (and if I ever put up a STORE, I suppose they might SELL....LOL!!!)
You'll have a ball with the small pieces!

XXOO~~♥
Anne

RuAn said...

OH! what a beautiful job. I wish you a very happy new year. Kisses

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

Hi RuAn,

Thank you! Wishes for a happy and creative new year to you too! Lots of ART!!!

XXOO~~♥
Anne

Anonymous said...

Wonderful branch and acorns. The big white page is always oh so scary isn't it. I like your idea about a light color wash to give you someplace to go....I looked at your duck breastbone and shuttered to think of my little duckies in the back yard. The bone is so delicate, and they are so delicate too. xox Corrine

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

Hi Corrine,

YIKES! I did not think about those who had live ducks....I have a hard time cooking chicken with my parakeets---I always think they *know*...
I was just amazed at how beautiful and different that bone is from ducks.
I thoroughly enjoyed the acorn branch; now I'm off to another drawing from the Big Easy....

XXOO~~♥
Anne

Susie Jefferson said...

Love the tags, and as for the duck bone - it looks like a coat hanger to me! Maybe it's the angle...

I'm finally surfacing to wish you a Happy New Year after a disastrous computer crash compounded by my 2nd bout of flu! Not a good start... it can only get better, lol. Hugs from the UK!

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

Hey Susie!

I had never thought of the duck bone looking like a coat hanger, but it does! I'll have to file that little thought away---it might inspire something!
So sorry to hear about the computer crash--golly! That is NOT the way to start a new year. <:-[
Hope that you're up and running good now, and healthy too.

XXOO~~♥
Anne

*Ulrike* said...

That is such a great idea about adding some color. I painted a small picture over the holiday, and that would have helped. Of course the way I have been on blog commenting lately I could use a push on that one too!
Take Care,
Ulrike

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

You ought to give it a try sometime. You don't have to use as much color as I did; in fact, you can lightly stain with tea, green or jasmine are good for the color they produce.
It's just toning that white down.
And you can always go back with a bit of gesso or goache and rewhighten an area.

XXOO~~♥
Anne

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