Autumn Already?

October 5, 2019 roxannebaldwin Leave a comment

Yes, it’s fall, and I’m enjoying it. Today was a crisp, bright day, with a sapphire sky. I went to the local farmer’s market. Apple and pears abounded-not to mention pumpkins. No, I’m not talking about my cat again. I’m talking about the raw materials for jack-o-lanterns.

My very first autumn picture in colored pencil is this: Autumn Song.

Didn’t have the best of cameras when I did it. Or rather, photographed it.

And October Fruit Loops, for, why not?

Or this:

And this little nameless one:

I used to hate fall. It meant back to school, and the doorway into winter. The ugly yellow of school busses was more dismal than ever. Not to talk about the rain! Okay, I will anyway.

But now I don’t mind an occasional fall rain. The purple sky clashes beautifully with the orange trees. With a dash of red to tie it together.

(Please, Powers that Be, notice I said an OCCASIONAL fall rain)

So, my latest, but not so greatest: This is a little one, still nameless.

What I do like about it is the little figure in a raincoat scurrying by. My first try with that image was in a larger version of the rainbow drawing. It came out awful. Yes, offal.

But this makes me think that possibly or a least in the realm of possibilities, a good full sized drawing. It better be good, I have one sheet of paper left until my next paycheck. Gratefully, that’s coming up this Friday. Thank God, for the day job.

Oh, yeah…and this one.

I guess this is what I’m doing these days

September 26, 2019 roxannebaldwin Leave a comment

Sometimes, I surprise myself. Sometimes, I’m surprised that I surprise myself. I thought the line of drawing styles went neatly from A to B to C, and so forth. I’m wrong.

I did a drawing of a sky. I thought it would turn out like this:

Much to my surprise, it didn’t. Am I using the word “surprises” too many times?

That’s how I thought I did skies. I realize now that I’ve strayed from my idea of a sky many times.

Such as:

I also did this:

And this:

So, I did a loopty loop, started out at A, went to D, and then, somehow ended up at C.

This drawing of a sky looks quite a bit like the one I just showed you.

Which reminds me of this, which I did a little while ago, and declared a failure. Looking at it again, I like it better than I did.

So, I’ve been doing loose scratchy lines and curliecues.

I guess that’s what I’m doing these days.

One more time

September 4, 2019 roxannebaldwin Leave a comment

I don’t like to repeat subject matter, but since I have done…just how many drawings of bicycles this year? I’m breaking my own rule once again. Rules are meant to be broken, even your own.

This time it’s after the storm pieces. For instance, this:

But one attempt at a rainbow, seemed okay, but not quite hitting the mark.

Btw,I did a long treatise on the false notions on the cheerful subject of rainbows. My picture came out kind of hhopeless. Not a good rendition of the time honored symbol of promise

So,I’m working on a rework of a rainbow.

After this, I expect to be working on a fall or winter theme. In case I haven’t mentioned it,I seem to do my best work in the winter.

Why? Because I get sick of flowers and foliage! I was moaning about my boredom wwith this a few years ago.

So,bring on the change of seasons!

Of course I had my failures too.

Now that I have reminded you ,let’s forget about this:

Having my Cake

August 28, 2019 roxannebaldwin Leave a comment

So, here are the most recent little drawings:

You know what I’m thinking……….Just how many small pictures do I need to do a show? I already have plenty. Doing them is definitely disappointing too. I can’t sink my teeth in them as I can with the large drawing.

It’s like going into Costco, being handed a bite-sized piece of cake…and that’s it. You want the whole damn thing, and the only way to get it, is to buy it. It’s just that I want my cake and to eat it, too.

Thinking further, I’ve only done little mixed venues. In an art show, that’s limited to fine art/fine craft, maybe the larger pieces would sell, because the type of customer attending would be different.

So, I’m going back to the large cake, and eating it, too.

Let’s Be Realistic

August 23, 2019 roxannebaldwin Leave a comment

So, I’ve been diddling and doodling around with these drawings, so far, try to get the perfect balance of realistic drawing and fanciful design.
I redid 101. Having done the one that was mostly a half-hearted try at a good realism, I decided to have a little fun instead. Here’s the redo, of 101.

These go so fast……..last night I knocked out one in a couple of hours. It was more fun in this case, to draw as realistically as possible. I was a little hesitant to do this drawing…for fear it would turn out as a colored pencil Bob Ross. It didn’t, and I’m quite pleased with it.

Early in the summer, my friends and I went to a park in Connecticut……….Kent Falls. I snapped a photo to work from in light so bright, I couldn’t see the viewfinder. Somehow managed to come out. Worked on it, last night. This was the result.

Once again, I’m getting tired of summer, not only artistically, but weatherwise, too.
Late summer, with all its mugginess, and its bugs. I don’t mind the crickets and other night insects, so much, but the break room at my day job, is decorated with fly traps and fly paper. All well populated.

I’m doing one more summer drawing and then maybe a still life. By then, I hope it will be clearer, cooler, pretty early fall weather. So, for now, I’m working on an improvement of this card:

Also, I am eager to put together the tent and display panels, to get ready for show biz. Since I think it’s late to do any shows this year, I figured we’d wait until less oppressive weather to assemble the display

Cosine of a Learning Curve

August 15, 2019 roxannebaldwin Leave a comment

I actually liked math, except for trigonometry. So, forgive if I use the terms wrong.

So, here’s the latest:

It’s not perfect, but I’m reminding myself…..I’m learning. The secret was in the details of the larger pieces. That’s hard to do so small. I did this piece, as a sketch…..

To work out this:

I used this:

To work out this:

See what I mean……..it’s close, but it’s not yet getting there.

Speaking of Math…and we were a while ago, if you haven’t forgotten, I’d like to discuss numbers.

I have a friend who is adamantly sure about the validity of numerology. At times when I find myself needing to put numbers in a picture, I often wonder if I should use that number symbology to add meaning. I believe in meaningful coincidences………..

But if I faked them, they wouldn’t be coincidences. So, I’m doing the numbers as they appear in the study, letting the coincidences fall where they may.

The picture I just finished is : 101

This is 35

And this one was done long ago, when I picked a number at random:

Turning Back Time

August 11, 2019 roxannebaldwin 2 Comments

I was wondering, thinking about the learning curve I’m facing, whether it would be best to keep making versions until I got one that I liked. That, is, after all, the way I learned to handle colored pencils in the beginning…….I’d just go over them and over them, until I was so frustrated, I nearly started biting my fingernails again.

I did get good results though………………

Started these in the mid-eighties, and ended in the late nineties. Started in Greenwich, CT and ended in Manhattan NY.

They have a place that’s dear to me, like looking at an album of old photos.

The first I dd was this one: