Tag Me!

Sometimes I find that the harder I try and focus in one area, the more real life starts pulling me hither and yon.

Case in point, it should NOT have taken me so long to finish this current tag for the Sketchbook Challenge. But there were little things like trying to keep up with my online class and FIND things in the studio, distractions such as FOOD and COOKING and then having electricians in to redo all my studio lights.
The good part of that is now they are bright enough I only have to have half of them on. Of course the downside is I can see all the dirt and crud in nooks and crannies which remained well hidden in dim shadows. (there is something to be said for mood lighting.....ahem.....)

At any rate, for those who want a story, in New Orleans the tombs are quite ornate--not all but depending on your personal wealth you could commission someone to build a fine family tomb complete with caveau beneath to accept remains after it was time to push to the sides previous generations and newer caskets be laid to rest.

One of the common motifs is the inverted torch, symbolic of life being extinguished. I photographed several different versions of this while there, but the one depicted was by far the most beautiful. It was the difference between the stone mason and the sculptor.

The drawing started with the watercolor wash, was built up with hard drawing pencils, gesso, and Prismacolor pencils and finally received a bit of both black mica gel and pearl mica gel. With age and humidity, the stone the tombs are made of take on a patina both dark and dirty and tidbits of shiny highlights.

A good view of the under texture from gesso, then the addition of layers of colors and finally the mica gels.

This was a more difficult piece than I anticipated; I have used the image in so many works that finding the *new eye* to really see and interpret was hard. I found myself walking away in frustration several times.

Overall though, I am happy that this varies a fair amount from the photo and took on a life of it's own. It has it's own story to tell now.......

I think maybe the next thing I'll include in the tag book is a crawfish.

Because after photographing it, I can EAT IT!  ;-)

It's hard work drawing AND being witty, or so I think.....don't burst my bubble.

I have no *odd-thing-in-my hand* photo this time, not that I don't have an abundance of odd things within hands reach, but decided instead to leave you with a lovely and colorful Winter sky, as the sun had sunk below the tree line and everything was lusciously shell pink and blue.

Pax....