I find drawing variations on a theme an excellent way to teach myself.  It may seem repetitious, which it is.  But, each time I learn a little more.  I believe I'm helping to build my inner eye and drawing muscle.  So, onward…toward 365/365!  Oh, and I'm not really shell shocked!

I really enjoy myself and the drawing process when I draw one of my stylized shells.  It's most satisfying and I think a more powerful visual statement.

Thank you and enjoy!

Meet Ms Kitty and Toy Pony in Blue-Daisyland!  And, why Blue-Daisyland?  Shouldn't there be a place called "Blue-Daisyland"?  It would be a place where daisy grow big and tall; where cats and toy ponies play; where tic-tac-toe is the order of the day, and…well, life is good.  Sort of like my house, except the blue daisies are in my head!

And…I continue working away at my drawing and painting exercises.   

Do you have a favorite drawing exercise?

I wonder if my choice of subject matter may get repetitious.  But, that's the point.  By studying multiple times, I learn more about the subject and it becomes mine.  

I hope you enjoy my daily studies.  Thank you.

First, a word of thanks!  Thanks to Eva Macie for citing me in her blog post.  I'm honored!  I heartily recommend reading her recent posting; it includes a great definition of an artist!

I have been exploring the theme of "fire" this August as part of the "Creative Every Day 2010 Challenge".  This is the final posting for the challenge this month.  I thought it fitting to include a painting I did inspired by forest fire season in the Cascades.  Last fall my husband and I were camping in Southern Oregon.  We saw three different forest fires.  The third one was near Diamond Lake which is in the Cascades.  The fire was beyond the mountains that surround Diamond Lake.  We saw the dense smoke.  As I sat in our camp site drawing the scenery I was struck by the warm wind.  Around me butterflies and aspen leaves were moving in the breeze. The winds were spreading the fires and smoke.  I had one of those odd moments of deep mystery.  I worked to capture how I felt.  

The swirling, spiraling shape represents the wind.  The colors might allude to the forest fires, or to the coming of fall.  The leaves, trees and butterflies are all caught together in the cycle, spiral or web of life.  After the fires, the environment will heal and new growth will start the cycle over again.

This design continues to inspire me.  I'm posting the painting along with the original drawing and two new drawing I'm working on.

Thank you.

Today's posting includes four pages from my sketchbook.  These quick studies add up!   All drawings are done with ball point pen.  

The first page has my last drawing of our 1982 VW Westfalia Vanagon, affectionately known as the Bat Mobile, or Batsie.  She was a good van and took us to lots of interesting places.  It was time for her to move on and she is now making her way to Costa Rica by way of Louisiana.  Her new person is a photographer and he leads photo tours in Costa Rica.

My apologies for the size of these images.  The only way I know to make them bigger is to split up the pages.  I'm thinking about how I might do the images better.  Thanks for understanding.

Back to my shells and espresso cup.   I learn most by doing multiple times….and it's fun!

Oh, here is my daily drawing page.  Der Fledermaus is really kind of cute in a goofy way.  My abstraction seems to show the influence of drawing lots of broken sea shells…I've repeated the spiral.

Thank you and I hope you enjoy the day's work.

Welcome to another "Blind Contour Friday".  If you've done your own blind contour drawing, please leave a comment with a link to your blog.  Or, send me an email with the link.  If you think you'd like to do this challenge on a regular basis and exchange links, send me an email too.  

Today's drawings are of my buddy "Der Fledermaus" (the bat…but he really looks like a flying mouse), and a long lighter.  The lighter was done in homage to August as "fire" theme month with Creative Every Day.

Thank you and enjoy!