May Day

I want to make myself a larger sketchbag. I love the one I have, but want another that will hold a larger sketchbook. I don't like the cramped feeling I get using tiny little sheets of paper. I keep buying the smaller ones, because they're so cute and portable. But...when I want to draw I find myself hindered by the lack of usable space.
I have a stack of old denim jeans just taking up precious room, so I hope to sit down this month and design something that will be the best of both worlds -light, easy to use, durable, and roomy. :) Fashionable would be nice, but I'll worry about that last.
I finally did some sketching today. Nothing worth posting or even keeping, but it was nice to lose myself in the work once I got over that feeling of complete incompetence that always haunts me.
I want to do some work with color schemes and alternative palettes. I saw the results of someone else's experiements at WetCanvas! and now I'm doubly certain I want to try it. But...first I have to find the patience and motivation to sit down and do it. I need to make a simple drawing with two or three elements and then copy it for each different color scheme. I love painting, but painting the same subject over and over is really not my cup of tea. :(




http://www.wikihow.com/Make-an-Oreo-Cheesecake-from-Scratch

My last finished painting

I'm proud of it. But...I want to redo it again because the elipse on my coffee cup is out of whack.

The sketchbag followed me home from a flea market several months ago. I've filled it to the brim with art supplies -in fact, I had so much stuffed in there at a watercolor workshop I took that people were really surprised. It seemed everytime someone needed something they'd forgotten, I had..."Sure, I have tracing paper" or "Oh, you need a french curve?" to "You've run out of tape? Of course I have some...." And it's such a lovely bag, made in Italy with hand stitching. Built to last a lifetime, and I just couldn't be happier with it.

The little orange calcite? onyx? demitasse cup and saucer are part of a set I picked up at yard sale. I just couldn't resist -I think they may be my favorite dishes. Ever. Honestly, I want to buy more stuff just like them but haven't seen any. Most of the stone dishes I've seen just haven't had the character.

The tiger eye stones have been here awhile, tumbling around in my desk. As soon as I pulled them out for my drawing, my cat went bonkers. He kept jumping up on the table to steal a stone, then playing with it 'till he lost it under the sofa or behind the appliances, then he would come grab another one. I started out with a handful, and by the time the drawing was complete there was only one left. :) He had a blast, though, so I certainly don't begrudge him a few little pebbles...whatever makes him happy.

I really love Rembrandt sepia paint (much nicer than W&N)...but I wish the drying shift was less dramatic. Wet, it has beautiful golden tones that almost disappear once it's dry.

I intend to try this again in the next couple of weeks.