Sorry Cyn,
I can't let you get away with putting yourself down on this one. You did an amazing job! So cut it out right now and give yourself a pat on the back!
Paulette

Cyn - marvelous, marvelous job! I can actually "feel" the coolness of the ceramic just by looking at your drawing. You really gave life to your subject!

Andreea - welcome.... lovely work on the baby!

Jeanette once told me to step out of my comfort zone and see what happens cyn when we do

I want to thank evryone for the kind comments...and this challange is amazing...everyone has done such beautiful drawings....
I love this site....just like one big happy family

wow everyone is doing excellent on all the portraits!!! they all look so good--cant wait to get started, been busy drawing the other things that are due before these are, but will get there soon
cyn i just seen that portrait of the baby. that looks fantastic!! i am sooo proud of you. you did such a great job, i cant wait to see another from you. you are doing sooo great--
Lori

Cyn - your picture is the perfect example of "getting out of your comfort zone" and doing something different. Good for you!!! I agree with paulette - pat yourself on the back. If you don't try different things, your work will start to become boring. After all, this is a "Challenge" isn't it? LOL You are supposed to have fun.

I can't believe you actually don't like that still life - its wonderful - you did a really good job on it. But I think we all have those feelings of "inadequacy at times. Especially when going into an area that is unknown. I feel like that every time I pick up those colored pencils or when I try my hand at a portrait. But yet I don't seem to have too many problems with still life. Go figure.

Oh my hand hurts ..lol I just finished the portraits .. so here they are .. they were tricky .

Kim - Way to go, Kim. Good likeness, can't believe you did 2 of them!

I'm really glad I put on some portraits and not all still life - It seems like everyone likes to do them the best. lol

Super portraits Kim. You've been busy! They both look excellent. Well done!

I've hardly had time to do anything with this challenge so far. I'm working on it...

Kim wow wonderful job....the portraits are great ...love the Santa’s too...I’d like to draw in colored pencils too but...my drawings look like a 10 year olds...

Farfallina, IslanderNL , painter48 , kim1963 - thank you all for you warm comments! :-)
i like this forum - the challenges are interesting and inspiring, and i also love to see and compare all the drawings - so many different interpretations of one subject!

I love to see new faces participating here. It just warms the cockles of me heart - as they'd say in Newfoundland lol

I want to thank you all for making me feel so much better about art. I was having a really hard time trying to get the wonderful things in my head to come out of my pencil. Well, we all know it doesn't work that way for most of us.
The big thing is the Secret Santa.. None of us beginners want to disappoint the seasoned artists. I just don't know where to start. I was overwhemed. Then I thought, "My goodness, this won't be any different than any other Christmas present that you get and say, oh it's just wonderful, thank you, and then put it on the closet shelf until someone moves or dies, so that you can get rid of it".. Now I'm alright.. LOL

Cyn ... no need to worry ....you will do fine ...this whole thing is not to see what great artist out there is going to draw something for us .. heck girl .. and no offence to anyone when i say this .. but for some of us its easyier to let the flow go .. it takes more work from others and that in it self makes the drawing special .. does that make any sense to you ?
and thanks everyone for your nice comments

cyn you have been doing soo great with drawing, you will do great with the secret santa too. i think we all are a little nervous. but all the drawings come from our hearts so everyone will just love them. you will do great i know it.
Lori

Wow! The work on this challenge is really good! Kim your santas and portraits are terrific! Cyn your portrait & still lifes are super! How do you guys find the time to do so many? Rose your still life and portraits were great! Jeanette I am looking forward to seeing yours on un-lined paper you did such a great job on the lined paper! Venus, Nair, Venona and Deea your portraits were great too!

I also did a portrait. I used only a number 2 pencil and it took around an hour to do. I feel better about it than I did about the portrait I drew for the last challenge. I am pleased with my improvement which I attribute to this site encouraging me to draw more and the comments and suggestions. I still see mistakes such as the shape of the mouth and the drawing is too narrow compared to the reference photo, but overall I am pleased with my results.

Thanks guys!


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Once my drawing board is cleared, I hope I will have time to come play here in the challenge.

Twincedar, lovely work on the baby. You've got it all happening there. Excellent!

Cyn, I can see that I'm going to have to give you a BIG stocking full of self confidence for Christmas! Secret Santa is not a contest, nothing will be judged, its pure indulgence and enjoy at its finest - for those drawing and those receiving. So stop this right now. You can draw perfectly well. I know because I've seen the results. Anyone receiving a drawing from you will be thrilled to bits.

Cyn, i'm 29 years old and my entire life my mother was and still is against my artistic vein just because i looked too much of my father and that in Portugal there's no future. I know realise that i lost to much time because i believed on her like a bad curse. Take a chance on yourself and for yourself. Drawing should be a pleasure for you. There will always be someone who doesn't like your drawings and so what girl... you had pleasure doing them. I'm believing in my self... and because i lost so much time i have to start over again because natural gift ins't all.

Lori T very nice portrait ... that baby has such a cute face I think its the cheeks ..lol and you captured them just fine lol

This place really is like a big family. Thank you all for the boost and thank you Jeanette for the stocking full of self confidence. This is a wonderful place and you are a bunch of wonderful friends. You made me feel so good that I got my drawing finished. I may tweak it for a couple of days, but I got over the insecurity of a beginner and jumped in with both feet. And guess what? Even though it was out of my comfort zone, and something totally different, once I got it started, it wasn't any different than any thing else. humph.. silly me.
Now I can get back to the weekly stuff. yay!

I wish I had more time this week to participate in the challenge...but unfortunately ...I'm barely going to be able to do the things that I have left to do for Christmas...eeek!!!

Anyway I jumped in here because of what you said re: the Secret Santa, Cindy!!!! Don't ever belittle yourself or your abilities...we're all on a journey... we are all traveling down the same road in our own way and at our own speed but there is one thing that is the same...and that is how much we love what we are doing and so we give our best effort!!!

Every piece that we do has a part of us in it and that makes it the best gift that we can give to others...so it doesn't matter what level you are at if you are giving me a piece of your heart...your love for what you create... than I am overjoyed to recieve it!

Merry Christmas!!!
Laura

Laura, you couldn't have said it better. I was so wishing you could join in the Challenge, but it is very understandable with the holidays and all.

Twincedar, that is a really nice job on the baby. You are right, what is important is that you are pleased with your work. Actually, that is all that really matters. You could draw the most perfect picture in the world and there would always be somebody who wouldn't like it. It's your creation, you're happy with it, who cares what the rest of the world thinks? Always ask yourself, Did I enjoy doing it? If the answer is YES, then don't worry about what everyone else thinks.

Cyn - Have you ever received a picture that was drawn by a small child? As a mom and grandmother, I have received many scribbled drawings that have hung on my refrigerator door. I cherish each and every one of them because they were drawn just for me. No, they aren't the most perfect pictures, but the artist put a lot of time into making that picture for me and that's what makes them special. Keep this in mind when you are drawing for your Secret Santa Challenge. I'm sure that whoever receives their drawing will be very pleased to receive a picture from you!!!! I know we all would.

Thanks Kim! Painter48 you are so right! I draw because it relaxes me and I enjoy it. I have never been pleased before with my efforts on portraits and have not enjoyed doing them that much and I believed it showed in my work. However on this one I noticed my drawing style was very loose and I enjoyed doing it. I felt like it was more the feeling of the baby than an actual representation and although looking at it now and comparing it to the reference I can see many mistakes I am pleased with the results and that makes me feel great and willing to tackle more portraits.

I love this site and the support we all give one another. There are so many really good artists here and all skill levels are welcome.

While I waited for things to bake today, I did a little drawing of a couple of the challenge items.

Here's Holly the baby and the jugs (no, not on yellow lined paper this time! )

I did Holly with mechanical pencil and the still life with conte crayon

Lovely work Jeanette!

You know, I wish this weren't the week of Christmas and I didn't still have so much to do. I really would like to attempt the birdhouse still life. I am intrigued by the many colours, textures and reflections in it - very challenging. It keeps beckoning me... taunting me almost... but I doubt I'll find the time to do it.

Wow, Jeanette, what a good idea to do the jugs in conte. Nice change from the white jugs. Just stunning - I like it a lot. I like how you always come up with something different - it is a good example of not getting stuck in a rut and to branch out and try different mediums.

And your portrait of Holly - wonderful!

conte crayon ...like crayola ? very nice color I love it jeanette.

Thanks Joanie. I hadn't used my conte crayons for ages then was playing with them a bit today so had a go for this one. I love the tones they give.

Kim, no conte crayons aren't crayons as such. The name is a bit misleading as there isn't any wax in them. They are more like little hard pastel sticks. I like the earth tones they produce.

I know about not having enough time to do these wonderful drawings. Perhaps I can save one for another time .

French Crayon Conté, drawing pencil named after Nicolas-Jacques Conté, the French scientist who invented it late in the 18th century. The conté crayon is an especially hard pencil, made of an admixture of graphite and clay that can be varied for different degrees of hardness. It is usually made in black, red, or brown and is used as a drawing medium in any combination of these colours.

wow i never heard of those crayons before. that looks really neat. i love those earth tone colors too. i am going to have to do a search on those and see what everyone is doing with them. i love learning new things
Lori

with a set of prisma I got a blue square about maybe 3 inch. long is that what that is maybe ? no paper or word around it ..your fingers kinda get messy when you use it .

Kim

That is probably an Art Stix - they are the same as the lead in your prismacolors only fatter for filling in background and larger areas of your drawings. You can buy a whole set of these to match your prismas.

Conte comes in black, white, brown and terra cotta colors mostly. They are used by artists to keep the color ranges out of the pictures and teach you to work with only minimal amounts of color. The Old Masters used them in their sketching and drawing. But they do come in little sticks like the one that you have. They are more of a chalk than a pencil.

Hope that helps some. If you go to any art store, they will have a small pack of 4 and they are rather inexpensive.

Kim, here's a picture of them. I just happened to have a couple of packs that I haven't opened yet. The one set is for portrait drawing colors.

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At last here is my baby, maybe a little better with the age, I think. Used only 2 pencils. I have to use more.

Thats a good version of the baby Nellie. I find I rarely use more than 2 different pencil leads for a drawing. Its more about pressure than the darkness of the pencil.

Hi all,
here is my contribution to the challenge.
It's the first time for me, hope you enjoy.
happy Christmas.
Zizzuzzu


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I do like your drawing Zizzu. You have the form and sheen of the jugs perfectly. Well done.

Hi again,
thank you for your comment.
Attached a quick sketch of Holly.
Bye.

Zizzu

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That's lovely Zizzu! Even your still life is very good. Well done!

Nellie - what a great job on the picture of Holly. You really captured her likeness.

Zizzu - You also did well with the picture of Holly, and I really like the still life drawing.



Thanks to both of you for joining in the Challenge. We like seeing newcomers joining in.

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I hope this is okay.. I used wood pencils.. I haven't touched those in years...


I like these challenges, this is really fun

Katchan - great job on the colored pencils. Glad you are enjoying the challenges. Don't forget the Sketching From Life thread - it changes every Friday.

Painter I wish I had unopen boxes of pencils lol just laying around the house .
nellie your portrait is very very nice .
zizzu...your as well is very nice ...love to keep seeing more of your guys work:)
Katchan lovely still life

Here is my first contribution to the challenge. It's done in Yarka sauce and charcoal on regular copy paper.
It was fun to draw Matthew and his eyes are amazing. Hope I did them justice

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Victor,

This is amazing...what in the world is Yarka Drawing Sauce?! I want some!!! Hehehehe

Laura

Fabulous portrait, very expressive.

I think Yarka Sauce (pronouced saw oose) is a cross between a pastel and a conte crayon.

Well, the best way to describe Yarka Drawing sauce is the way they describe it on the art supply sites... A cross between conte and pastel. They come from Russia.It's pretty rich in color. I used a black on on these drawings and you can go from very light to absolutely black using the same crayon. I found it earlier this year at an art store and bought it because the name peaked my interest and they are cheap, but I've fallen in love with it and now that I'm in Russia i've been using it almost exclusively. If you can find them in your local art store (I bought it at Pearl's) I recommend trying it out. I bought a set of 10 for $10. Otherwise, I see them on lots of art supply sites for a little bit more. good luck

and thanks for your comment .

I believe a lot of oil painters use yarka sauce to do an underpainting before they begin so they can develop their lights and darks. I've never used it. I have some drawing pencils that are made for adding water to them like watercolor pencils. Only these pencils are black, no color but they are not called yarka sauce.

Victor, that is a wonderful likeness of Matthew! May I download it?

Hi everyone....I think I have all ready had too much X-mas food Though I did find time to try this one. I admire everyone's talents.

Cheers! Brian.

Hey Brian David, thats a really good job on those santas and snowmen. I figured you would sneak in a little tweety bird among them. LOL

Thanks Painter....I kind of rushed it but I could not let you down... ...lol...Here is another.