Celebrate The Small Stuff : Drawing
Posted on August 19, 2016
Today is Friday, and that means it's time to celebrate all the small things that are totally awesome in your life and all the little successes you've had during the past week.

This week, I am celebrating my rekindled love of line art.

These last few weeks I have been working with some talented poets in the Poetry Universe Facebook group on a compilation that is close to being published. I've been providing technical support in the self-publishing process like page layout and formatting, image optimization, etc. There were some incredible drawings in the compilation and it has inspired me to take up some drawing. I used to draw tons when I was younger until my art was literally discarded by a jealous boyfriend in college. The incident killed my desire -- but that's disgusting festered water under the bridge.

The point is, I'm starting to get the itch again, and my husband just so happened to get me a set of Roting isograph pens for my birthday back in July. Evidently, I have been doodling and drawing line art enough that he thinks I should have some real tools of the trade. These pens are absolutely fantastic. Even though they are marketed towards architect and technical drawing types, I still love them.

Aren't they pretty? It's okay to be jealous.

I didn't get to use them much when he gave them to me last month because... well... life, but I started using them last week. Here are the results of my practice runs with the .25 and .5 pens. These are all single continuous lines...

I call this Mesh Pizza
This one is Ecstatic!
A Square Maze, perhaps?
Kind of looks like a sandwich.

Those were just the test runs to get used to using the ink pens. I wasn't expecting it to be messy at first, but if you've never poured actual ink from bottle, be ready. Ink got everywhere on the first try. I was washing ink off my right cheek afterwards.

That was day one. Lots of hand and face washing. I was more careful afterwards.

A few days later, I decided I wanted to draw real objects out of my imagination. I usually draw stick figures doing all sorts of things, like parachuting or fishing, where the stick-person is the main object, because... I love stick people. But, this time I wanted to do some scenery. So, I tried drawing a city street.




A shoe store, restaurant, hair salon, and a pizza place at the base of an apartment building, on a single city block -- those places are all fake, but Bergenline in North Bergen looks very much like this. Of course, my stick people make an appearance. What's a city without people, right?

Then I tried drawing a picnic in the mountains. The problem with ink is you can't erase, so when I drew the picnic blanked all disjointed from the perspective of the scene, I had to leave it there. I slapped my forehead after I drew it - talk about a brain fart. I tried to deflect the error with rocks and "happy ants".


My trees need work - instead of leafs and branches, it looks like a messy updo hair style. I think that swirl at the upper right was meant to be wind. Who knows...

And lastly, I though I'd try to draw a vase of flowers. Looks more like a vase of dried-up dead flower stems, something in a Tim Burton movie. Still, I like my dead stick flowers. Maybe all my life forms take on a stick-figure personality.



I know what you are thinking... "Tanya, hot momma, you sultry vixen you... it's so cartoony! What gives?" I know, I know... I was hoping for something more realistic, but these are pens, and I have yet to get a how-to book on anything to do with drawing. That's my next step.

And I promise you, all of the pictures look a thousand times better in my mind.

"So what's the goal?", you ask. I am going to work on another poetry compilation where my poems will be included, and I may include some drawings. You know how sometimes you know EXACTLY what you want in an image but you can never find it anywhere... wouldn't it be great if you had the ability to draw it? That's my goal. I hope to draw the images in my head, the way they appear, with crisp clarity and maybe some color.

And, hopefully, a lot less cartoony.


HAPPY FRIDAY!!

~ * ~

Blog Hop hosted by Lexa Cain
http://lexacain.blogspot.com/

16 comments:

  1. That's a nice pen set you got there! What a nice husband!

    I just mentioned Lynda Barry to another blogger, but I think you would like her, too. She does comic books and teaches classes on how to create comics. She helps you pull ideas and stories from your childhood and believes anyone can create comics. You don't have to know how to draw. In fact, she prefers that her students have no drawing background. Her book called What It Is contains a bunch of exercises that are helpful and fun. I'm a trained artist, but I think a lot of less polished drawings are more charming than the polished ones. Your vase of flowers has charm, by the way. They DO remind me of Tim Burton! Anyway, you can find Lynda's lectures on YouTube, too.

    Happy drawing!

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    1. Kim, you rock! Thanks so much for introducing me to Lynda Barry. I've just read a couple of article on her workshops and am loading up her videos. Her books seem so alive and full of crazy imagination. I love it when I find a new artist to follow! :-D

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  2. So nice that you're rekindling that love. May it blossom and blume :)

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  3. For not drawing in so long you did great! My favorite is the vase with the curly fronds. Love that one! I hope you get that book and continue your work. Kudos to your husband for buying you such a great and supportive gift. I guess he's way different from your jealous college ex-BF. Have a great weekend!

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    1. Thanks Lexa. The vase was a complete off-the-cuff drawing that I didn't plan. I didn't know where it was going until... I got there. It's weird how that works out sometimes.

      And my husband is awesome. I was so touched by his thoughtfulness. :-D

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  4. I love your stick figures! It's cool that you're getting back into drawing. The only thing I've ever been able to draw from my head was swirly lines, leaves, and dandelions hehe. It *would* be awesome to be able to draw an image you've got floating around in your head. You keep at it! And I love the vase. That looks just right the way it is. I'd totally pick it up if I saw it on a card or something.

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    1. Don't knock swirly lines, Sara! Swirly lines go a long, LONG way! And I'm working on tree definition, like leafs and trunk ridges. Flowers are hard. Maybe that's why I stick to the stem part. Hm... :-D

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  5. I love your drawings! I used to try to do drawing but no amount of practice could make me competent at it. The 'mesh pizza' looks a wee bit like the doodles I used to do only yours are better looking. Mine always ran out of steam and the ending bit looked awkward.

    Nissa from
    http://myantimatterlife.wordpress.com

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    1. When I say I've been doodling for yee-ee-ears, I mean it. It take a long time to get this... uh... good at doodling? LOL. I'm might do another post with my doodle bots. They are exactly what they sound like, doodle robots I draw while on the phone, in a meeting, etc. They're so silly, but I absolutely love them!

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  6. I had to laugh when I read how you always include stick figures. My son is forever drawing stick figures doing all kinds of things. And the "messy updo hairstyle" cracked me up, too. Your drawings are amazing, and it's great that you're getting back into it. So nice of your husband to give you those pens!

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    1. He is the bomb, right? My stick figures are super flexible and can do all sorts of things -- I get why kids love drawing them. Maybe I'll draw a girl looking away, with my tree 'hair', HA! :-D

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  7. This looks like fun. The only drawing I've done recently is coloring books. Hmm, don't think that counts, actually.

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    1. Doodling IS fun Tamara! I tell my son, who dislikes all forms of creating art, that he can make sound effects and create stories and silly characters in his doodles. They come out all crazy and messy, but at least he has fun doing it! :-D

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  8. I think it is awesome that you've taken up drawing (again). I recently got into adult coloring books (flowers, rural farm scenes, etc.) and it makes me happy. Good for you that you're using real ink pens! Enjoy and don't put too much pressure on yourself. Keep it fun. Found you through the #CTST and so glad I did. www.dianeweidenbenner.com

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    1. Hi Diane, good to meet ya! I once bought a felt drawing kit for my daughter that I wound up coloring in myself. I find coloring so relaxing. Like meditation. :-D

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