New Painting

Something different tonight, I am going to work a painting through and post the results.  This is an oil painting, which will be a twilight sky with Pronghorn Antelope silhouetted on the horizon.  This is the basic thin colors to block in the canvas and remove the white.  More tomorrow.

Zuni Kachina

Today was an interesting day of work, come home early to a frozen water pipe and the need to replace insulation.  I finished up with a headache, so no artwork tonight.  I got the headache to go away eventually with pain killer and meditation techniques.  I feel a little anxiety if I don't do some art everyday.  Above is a colored pencil sketch of a Zuni Shalako Kachina.  The Shalako is a winter solstice ceremony and it makes the harvest too.  Outsiders don't get to attend these ceremonies, probably because people were behaving badly.  Our loss, I like these sketches for their design and simplicity.  I do them because I want to, so enjoy.

Dallas the Pit Bull

Meet Dallas, she is my sister-in-law Michelle's rescue Pit Bull.  Since it is Michelle's birthday today, this is her card from Barbara and I.  This is a pencil sketch with an ink box outline and my 'Chop' of my initials.

Pied Kingfisher

This is a Pied Kingfisher, she is a native of Africa and the Middle East.  She might be found elsewhere but I have only seen them there.  This is a reference sketch based on observation of one for around fifteen minutes.  I made notes of colors and bands on the feathers.  This is a female and she is a cousin to the Belted Kingfisher which was yesterday's post.

Belted Kingfisher

TGIF, good riddances to that week.  Too tired to give much today.  This is a colored pencil sketch of a Belted Kingfisher.  I see these a lot in the summer on the shores of rivers and lakes here in Maryland and Virginia.  I have seen its cousin in the Middle East and Africa, but that is a post for tomorrow.

Niman Katsina

This is my rendition of a Hopi Niman Katsina, which is a representation of a Hopi deity associated with a Home Dance or Coming Home Ceremony.  Hopefully, I got that right.  I really like the simplicity of the design of these and the color.  I did my best to capture the color but it is never as good in 2D as it would be in 3D.  This I drew with pastel pencils and it gave me a gritty texture which I am undecided about.  This is a drawing purely for fun and for my own sketchbook.

Doodle Revolution

This last Sunday morning, I caught a story on CBS Sunday Morning News show about doodling.  One of the interviewees was Sunni Brown, author of "Doodle Revolution."  I am going to order the book but the gist of her story is doodling is a way to unlock ideas, improve comprehension, and to develop creativity.  Hallelujah, I now have proof I was not goofing doodling in those meetings.  I know my feelings of calm and better retention of the meeting's topics is not my imagination.  Another interviewee was a college professor who draws heads and encourages his students to doodle in his lectures.  It is nice to actually learn something good on the TV for a change.  Above is a doodle of a co-worker in a mass mandatory meeting.