What are you working on now?
Do you find time to practice your new skills outside of the classroom?

I have had the last 5 weeks off because unit 5 won't be offered til the end of August. I am amazed at how much I didn't do! The classroom certainly motivates me! The only thing that I've finished during this time is a shoe. I chose this shoe because it was so similar to the shoe we shaded in the shading class. This shoe is owned by a co-worker who wore this shoe during the late 60's in London... it has a lot of character. (I still struggle with shoelaces!)

Very Nice!

That is just brilliant!

That's fantastic!

Great work Tannis, I particularly like the confident erasing technique you have used here and the variety of textures you have creatively come up with to render this shoe is very good. With the shoe laces, they need to actually be very carefully 'worked out'. Yes, we need to really annalyse the tiny pattern jsut like you were shown on the shoe exercise in unit three. Shoe laces are quite intricate but if you study the pattern it begins to make sense. Great work, so glad to see that you are still faithfully showing up at the table and putting your newly-aquired skills to good use.

Cheers
Cindy

Thanks everyone... drawing the outline of the shoe was actually easy, but it took me awhile to get into the shading, as you mentioned Cindy, the shoe has a lot of character to render, and I felt like I needed to think my way through it....but you know, once I started in earnest, and got into it, no thinking and analyzing was necessary. I need to remember that! To just start and not worry about the end result before I even start! Just start and trust that I can do it! What ever the end result is, it is the best i can do for now...

Here is a piece that was inspired by standing on the floor of Maligne Canyon and looking up. The rock formations intrigued me. I used acrylics, on 4- 5x5 gallery wrapped canvases.
I piped the lines using gel gloss, used a brown wash to stain the canvas then I used some iridescent paints and drybrushed them in layers for a translucent effect.

Hi Tannis I love your shoe and your rock formations. It's wonderful that you're able to apply all the skills you have learnt in class to such great effect in your own projects. I really look forward to that day! Still working on my shoe - have now submitted the first stage, so I'm definitely making progress.

When you say you piped the lines - do you mean that you squeezed the gel out of a tube? You've achieved a great effect and it's obvious how much fun you're having with your art. You're a real inspiration, Tannis - I'm so glad you're here.

Really glad you're here too Steve - great music site and love your quote about the wife and dog - it cracked me up, lol!

Hi Metta,
I used a gloss gel thinned a bit with water, then I used a cake decorating bag to pipe the lines. The gel holds the shape and dries clear. So when you start adding layers of color....especially irridescent colors then the surface tends to reflect the light.

It is fun to play, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't!
Thanks, and I am sure that your shoe is coming along nicely! I am glad that you are here too, Drawspace is rich with supportive people!

I love your painting, Tannis! It looks like mica to me...very cool!

Cool!

Hello,

Ok, I'm late with my comment, but that's really what I was wondering about (being able apply the technique to everything else other than the exercises) and it seems that you did it greatly!

I can't wait to reach the shading course (I'm still waiting to begin the first unit lol)

Ciao

I've been trying to practice my drawing skill by keeping a sketchbook. I don't draw in it every single day, but I'm trying to develop that habit because I'm finding that it really does help to practice. Go figure!

Anyway, this is the drawing I finished yesterday. I sketched it from a reference photo using the construction method. It's not an exact copy of the flower in the photo, but it's pretty close. I did the coloring with Faber-Castell Polychromos.

Click to view attachment

It's beautiful, Donna! I love the colours - your daily practice is certainly paying off. Thanks for being an inspiration.

Metta - Thanks! I think we inspire each other...so what have you been up to?

Tannis - Thanks, and yes, truly amazing!

Hi everyone! I'm currently enrolled in Cindy's Complete Draw and Paint in your Pyjamas course, and have completed the drawing and shading sections. I still have a lot more to do to finish the course, but already I have so much more confidence to try different things. I recently completed a couple of "outside the classroom" projects that she suggested I share with everyone here.

This first one is a portrait of my step-grandson. It's 11"x14" done in colored pencil on smooth Bristol.

Click to view attachment

An this one is a pen and ink drawing I did from a photo I took of Bug Light in Portland, Maine. I scanned my drawing and added the color in Photoshop.

Click to view attachment

Wow Donna you done a great job with the protrait! Well nice job on the lighthouse to but the protrait really sings.

wow, I'm really impressed

Hi Donna, truly outstanding work... thank you for sharing! Both pieces are absolutely wonderful!

love both pieces but wow that portrait really is stunning what a great job you have done

Nancy, ZioRiP, Tannis and Slaine, Thank you all so much...I really appreciate you taking the time to comment.

Well Done Donna,

Your portrait of your grandson is fabulous.

Neat idea with your lighthouse. I have used pen only a handful of times. Interesting to use pen as a stroke is a nonerasable commitment!

Fantastic portrait Donna! I can't wait to see your self portrait when you get there. I love your light house too!

Fantastic Donna! You are going from strength to strength. Your coloured pencil drawings are incredible - especially love the one of your grandson. Keep up the great work!

Thanks everyone! I'm looking forward to seeing some of your outside projects here soon!

I did a painting as a birthday gift for my niece. She absolutely loves to shop. This is her puppy Pooka. I call this "Lets Go Shopping".
8"x10" Acrylic on canvas board.
Laura

Wow, Laura, this is a wonderful painting, and what a special gift!

Wow, it is very beautiful!!

I can't wait to reach Unit 2... I was already about to ask Cindy to teach me that before Unit 3

What a beautiful painting, Laura. The puppy is SO cute! Your niece is very lucky having such a considerate and talented aunt.

Thanks all for the words of encouragement! ZioRip, you're going to love unit 2. I was so anxcious to take it and it helped alot with color mixing. I can see I struggled with that in previous paintings. Rather like my hair, no more gray!

Jeans, great job on the puppy, I love it! So cuddly!

I'm hooked on painting now and can't seem to stop. But since I need lots of practice that shouldn't be a problem in the foreseeable future. lol

Not all my pictures have turned out but I really did like this one - only wished I had started on a bigger canvas so there would have been more space around the picture. I think it will look nice matted when framed. My family thinks everything I do is great so they are not very good critics with the exception of my youngest son who can be brutally honest. Unfortunately he can't tell me how to improve but he sure can point out where I went wrong. lol Bless his heart and I appreciate his honesty.

Really nice Lisa... I like your color scheme...

He's adorable! well, done.

Hi This is my first shading outside the classroom. I just finished the shading class and thought of trying something myself. I just wanted to see if I could achieve the texture of the rose petal.I still have to do the background and not very sure whether I should do it. I tried something near the leaves and it isn't looking that well maybe it should be a little more darker.

Beautiful painting Lisa! I love the colors and lots to look at!

Love your rose Kanoo! Great job on shading!

Thanks Jeans

Kanoo, well done...it is good to try things on your own...good for you!

Another rose that I tried. but i somehow I like the earlier one better. My Husband and my sister like this one though

I bought Mike Sibley's book "Line to Life" and in it he says that after each drawing he finds things he should have done better or different. I find that to be true of me as well. It's like an addiction, the next fix will be the great one. Here then is yesterday's great one; there's a lot I would have done better but after more than 40 hours it is time to let it go. The next one...

Here is a makeover version

Hi Lisa, this is so beautiful! Your painting techniques are looking great and colour mixing skills too. I just wanted to give you a little tip; if you don't mind. The plant in the bottom left on the pavement, is overlapping with the plants in the foreground it should be painted back behind it. The chairs are much smaller in scale compared to the door, you can read your unit five perspective notes week 5 page 8 for a reminder of how to use a scaling stick to acheive proportion. This is really a lovely painting and thanks for sharing it with us. These are just a couple of little reminders for you based on what you learned in our course. Cheers! cindy

Thanks so much, Cindy. I hadn't picked up on the flower but the chairs... let's just rename this one a children's garden party! lol That way the chairs could pass.

After whiting them out several times and starting over (and 40 hours later) it was just time to put the project to rest. I would like to repaint this one again some time.

The fall season is so full of wonderful colors. This Cottage painting was such a delight to paint.

I took someone's advice and cut a cottage out of paper to try it at different locations. I'm still not sure I made the right choice but I think the white lawn chairs help to secure the focal point. All in all, I'm very happy with this one.

The glow in the bottom right hand corner is my shadow which seems to reflect once the painting was photographed, it is certainly not glowing in the painting.

Hi Lisa , your painting skills are getting better and better! Fantastic work!

It's been a full year since starting Cindy's classes. These two are the most recent paintings that I'm entering into a juried art show. Thanks to Cindy for starting this passion for painting that I didn't even know I had. I'm totally hooked.

HI Lisa, let us know if you make it into the juried show and how you go, I love these, there is a kind of warm nostaligic feeling about these images. Keep going you are doing so well. Cheers! Cindy

a belated "hi Tannis",

Very very impressed by your work.

What I would like to know is;

how long did it take you to finish this?

wooow! and regards
len

Hi Len,
Thanks so much! Do you mean the shoe? It was one of the first pieces that I did right after taking Cindy's Paint and Draw in Your Pyjamas unit 3 shading. It probably took me about 20 hours to finish.It takes alot of patience LOL! Can't be rushed though, just have to surrender yourself! It was the very first artwork that I sold too, so ot is special for me in that way too, thank you again for asking about it. If you have any othere questions please don't hesitate to ask me.
Happy Drawing,
Tannis