Rejected Photos and some art

I have been working on next years (2018) calendars. Every year I try to select the best photographs I have made over the past year and create calendars for family and/or friends. This year there are 3 different calendars.: one with bird photographs, another with butterfly photos, and the 3rd with, this year anyway "Landscape" photos. Not that all of the photos in the Landscape Calendar are really of landscapes. Feeling that just landscape photos would get boring (the area I make my photographs in is fairly limited) I included some photos that are more close up photos of nature, not long distant shots so I have fudged a bit.

The bird and butterfly calendars are in a way a bit easier to pull together, I just pull out my best photographs and select from there. Since I need 14 photographs for each calendar I usually don't end up with a lot of extra. Esp. as I don't want to repeat species in each year. But with the landscape calendar there are some months that are harder to make the final selection for. So this blog post includes my "rejected" calendar photos. They didn't make the final cut, but were selected as possibles.

The above photo was a possible March. For the Landscape calendar, photos are made in the month they represent. This one was made in March at Ponkapoag Golf Course, showing the Sugar Maples that line the road leading back to the Bluehills Reservation area around the pond.

The above photo was made in Ames Nowell State Park, Abington, MA in April. Powered boats are not allowed on lakes in the state parks, but some visitors bring inflatable kayaks or canoes such as seen here.

This photo was made in my local city park in August, and shows this year's swan family, parents and cygnets swimming away from me. I used another photo of the swans in the calendar, one I liked better, and didn't want to repeat the image, so this one got cut.

The photograph above was made at the Governor Ames Estate, Easton, MA in July. This is what I mean when I say that not all of the photos are "Landscapes". Still nature, but not a long distance shot. I really like this photo of water lilies, but it just didn't fit in for that month.

This photo was made at Daniel Webster, MA Audubon site in Marshfield, MA in June. It shows the fields where the bobolinks make their nests. The fields are mowed toward the end of every summer so that the trees don't take over, but it is done after the young birds have fledged so are out of the fields. I just liked the range of values and colors in this photo, but it just didn't fit so got eliminated.

Hope you enjoyed this peak behind the curtain so to speak and like viewing my "rejected" photos.

Lately I have been trying to get back to some of my other loves (drawing and sewing) so above are two bookmarks that I have been working on. I painted a made up landscape on some watercolor paper, then cut the paper into strips and added ink work over the painting. There are a couple of more that I need to finish, but these two are the ones I have done so far. I apply acrylic medium to the fronts and backs which not only makes them waterproof but pretty durable.

That is it for today. Per usual comments are welcome

Found Shoes

Oops, the found shoes project took far longer to finish than I expected, but it is now done.

Above is the inked version of the shoes just prior to my starting work with the colored pencils. I moved the child's sandal in the upper left to be a bit more in the corner and made some corrections to the laces (which still aren't quite right, but I don't care). I used my 0 sized technical pen to draw the outline. As a reminder the size is 8 x 8 inches on Strathmore's new Colored Pencil paper.

Above is the finished colored pencil drawing. I used various Derwents (Artist, Signature, Colorsoft, Studio) pencils with usually an over lay or final layer of Faber Castel Polychromos. Colors were mostly my pick though some were inspired by the actual shoe colors. I had the most fun with the high heel, which is in the original photo black. Isn't it more fun my way? I have actually seen sneakers that were almost this color of green, though the ones in my photo weren't.

I rather carefully tried to use each color in more than one place, repetition is after all one element of design. I didn't want to color the background so instead came up with this idea of something like slats. I did use a ruler to draw the lines and to get the spacing a consistent 1/4 inch. But I did not use the straight edge to actually draw the lines, so they do wobble a bit, which I think is more in keeping with the style of the rest of the drawing. The black was inked using my 1 technical pen (.5)

Actually I am rather pleased with how this came out. I like the bright colors, and like how the background works. There are some things I might have done differently, but overall I am not displeased. Oh yes, the paper, I rather liked using it for colored pencils. It has some tooth so will take 4 or more layers of pencil, but it also feels like a firmer surface than what Stonehenge paper has. Stonehenge seems to feel soft to me and tends to "absorb" color meaning you have to add more layers than you might think you need originally, with the Strathmore paper the color stays on top. Now I have to think up another project.

The above is a very sketchy drawing of a vase with flowers and was made at a friends on Thanksgiving Day. I was invited for dinner and after the feast I sat around listening to the chatter and drawing various objects. As I said very sketchy but I still rather like it.

Photographs from my local park today. I haven't been going very far afield lately for my walks. In fact most of my walking is between my home and the library. Since the days are getting shorter there is less daylight available for photographs. Ah well, Christmas isn't that far off, along with the winter solstice after which the days will start getting longer again.

Above is one of this years Signets stretching it's wings. The birder group I belong to on facebook won't let us post invasive bird photos, I totally understand, but still rather like this photo of this young swan. They are usually graceful looking birds.

Above is one of the ponds in the park. This is a section of the park that I don't usually visit or photograph, but I rather like the photo with the cat tails in front and the mostly bare trees in the distance. A very typical November day.

That is it for today, per usual comments are welcome.

Journal drawings, Shoes and Thumbnails

I actually had the above penciled in for a few days prior to adding ink. I used the .03 Copic Multiliner for this one. Lots and lots of fine lines, almost as good as stipple without the dots or the huge amount of time that stipple takes even on small drawings like this one. Done in my new Strathmore Multimedia Journal (5 x 8 inches) from a personal reference photograph.

A real still life was the reference for this, a bowl full of 3 lemons and 2 limes. I used Paynes Grey acrylic ink and a dip pen for all of the line work and added watercolor for the fruit and bowl. I was mostly trying to see how well the multimedia paper in the new Journal will take watercolor. Not bad, not as good as using the real thing, but not as tricky as using the thinner sketchbook paper. I tried to avoid outlining anything, though there are a few in the areas where there are dark shadows. Semi happy with the results. I really do need to do more watercolor work though.

I have a habit of photographing what I call "Found Objects". They are usually physical objects found out of place, often on a sidewalk, but as in the case of the sneakers some on grass. Over the years I have made a collection of shoe photographs as you can see in the above scan. All of these shoes were dropped, lost or left by their owners who were not around when I made the photos.

Last week I printed out all my shoe images on one sheet and started a group of of thumbnails to come up with a good layout. A funny thing, when I was taking classes a few years ago I got so sick of drawing shoes that I think I swore I would never draw another, oops, well they do make interesting subjects, and these probably have interesting stories to tell about how they got left.

Above are the six thumbnail drawings I did using my "found" shoes. I know thumbnails can be a pia to do and for many seem like a waste of time. But note the first drawing I did above, The four shoes are centered on sheet, not only centered design wise but all shoes are about the same relative size. Not a very inspired drawing. I don't know about you but such is my initial tendency when starting a drawing, my comfort zone so to speak. In the next drawings I tried different things working the shoes larger and smaller, pulling them toward the edges  I probably should have done more drawings, but some of these I actually did some erasing and redrawing on just to change things up.

One of the first things that happens if you spend any time in Collage level art classes (other than beginning drawing) is that you will find that instructors push you to create thumbnail drawings to play with various layouts. Since I have realized that my initial layout drawings are usually pretty trite I have to admit that I am trying to stop plunging into a major drawing without at least some thought if not spending the time to do the thumbnails. Once I start with colored pencil I am going to put significant time into this piece, so the overall design should be as good as I can make it up front.

I decided that the one I liked best was the middle drawing on the right side, but rotated so that the sneaker was on the bottom.

Above is my working drawing, still just pencil right now and I am trying to decide if I like it or not. I intend to ink outlines on this and then color it using colored pencil. The drawing is being done on Strathmore's new Colored Pencil paper and I am curious as to how well it will take colored pencil.

The sneaker ended up a bit smaller than the one in my thumbnail, and I am trying to decide if this smaller version works. Drawing is approx. 8 x 8 inches in size.

 Only one photograph today, as fall slips into winter there is less and less plant material and insects to photograph. Since we haven't yet had a hard freeze I do still see an occasional butterfly (a yellow sulfur or cabbage white) but I haven't actually photographed one for a while. Above is a milk weed pod letting loose its seeds. Love how the light lights up the seed heads. Photographed over the weekend in my local park.

That is it for today, per usual comments are welcome.

Exploring Various Ink Colors

Took a couple of days off from drawing after the finish of the #inktober challenge last weekend. I had sort over extending myself and needed a mental break if not physical.

Earlier this week I took a trip into Boston and made a visit to the large Dick Blicks store up near Fenway Park. I picked up some new colored ink and colored pens to play with.

Not a very good still life, I did the drawing last night and then did a rush job with the inking this morning. Two apples and a pear, and I am not at all happy with the apple to the left in the drawing. Part of my problem this morning was with the light hitting the fruit. Last night there was only a single source from a lamp on a table next to me, this morning the sun was coming in the east and south facing windows that are in the room, but it was still early enough that I also needed the lamp on. Still Life's do much better with a single source light source, should of inked it last night or waited. Ah well guess I can try again another day. Also should have thought through where I wanted outlines and where I didn't before I started inking. Oops indeed.

I used my new Acrylic Indigo ink with a dip pen for this, though I am not sure that the scan really shows off the blue ink. Indigo is a combination of blue and black, and I am thinking as I write this that a drawing using the Indigo with Paynes Grey and maybe some black should be interesting. Drawn in  my new Strathmore Visual Journal. I like the paper for ink, not so much for pencil, but that is OK, any pencil I use will be because I need the guidelines for the ink.

I was visiting Blicks because I needed some replacement tips for a couple of my aluminum body Multiliner pens. To my surprise I noticed some new brown colored pens in the rack and ended up purchasing a couple to try out. The color on the pen is Brown, vs the other brown Copic Multiliner that is labeled Sepia. So they are two different colors.

I had picked up this oak leaf and small acorn on my walk along the Fens (I was on my way to the MFA) and thought it would be a good subject to test the new brown ink on. I added some lines using the Sepia pen so you can see the difference in colors between the old Sepia and the new Brown. The new Brown is slightly darker.

Don't go by the acorn I added black to that since the actual acorn has a very dark walnut colored body. Not sure what kind of oak this is, but I have a feeling it isn't an American oak, most native oaks have much larger acorns, and this little guy wasn't a fluke, there were lots of them about the same size.

Last of my drawings today, I sketched a fellow passenger on the bus into Boston, rather sketchy, but I actually rather like it.

Now for a couple of photographs. The above was taken on the Northeastern University Campus in Boston. The day had been warm and sunny earlier, by the time I made this photo it was getting to be not only late afternoon but a bit overcast so the colors aren't as brilliant as they could have been.

The above is a photo of one of my White Christmas Cactus flowers. I have two plants and they are both currently in bloom. The flower is being lit by some sunshine coming in a south facing window, so the light hitting the petals and reflecting off some of the leaves give this a rather abstract look. Christmas Cactus flowers are a bit strange looking in any case, but I rather like this photo.

That is it for today. Per usual comments are welcome. Have a couple of other projects in the works so  hopefully it won't be a week until  my next update.

Final Images from Inktober

I don't like to post so many drawings/images at once, but it is now November and #inktober is over so I want to be finished blogging about the challenge.

I feel I did well, I actually managed 31 drawings within the 31 days. Now I have to take a deep breath and think about what I want to do next. Not sure, though I did pick up a new sketchbook over the weekend that is a Strathmore Mixed Media Visual Journal which I think I will be using. Should be good for pen and ink and some light watercolor washes. Well it will be better than the Strathmore sketchbook that I was using for the #inktober challenge. The Journals were on sale at my local A.C. Moore and I just couldn't resist.

Back to the drawings, expanding from just single cats or dogs I made the above drawing for the 27th of Oct. I used a reference photo I made a few years ago. The bird is a Blue Jay, and I don't think it was happy to find the squirrel in its feeder. This is a photo I have been saving to use for a more finished work. This drawing isn't quite as finished as I would like (had to be done in one day for one thing) but it is a good study for something larger. Pens used were a mixture of my Copic Multiliners and my Rapdiograph technical pens.

From another of my personal reference photographs. A swan with arched neck and an almost perfect reflection. I used Copic Multiliners for this one the .03 for the swan and the .5 for its shadow. I made an error with the placement of the swan on the page and didn't have room for the complete shadow, rather than spend time redrawing the swan I just went with it. I may also redo this one someday, there are other errors, though you may not notice them.

This is from a photograph that was one of the January 2015 Pen and Ink Wetcanvas Forum challenge images. I didn't draw them at the time, and by the 29th of October I was looking for something that would be relative quick and easy to draw, so I used it. I used my Rapidograph 0 pen for this one, and tried to limit the amount of outlining that I did, using the shading lines to create the outline of the gourds.

For the 30th I did a quick revisit of a leaf and seed pod. We have lots of Catalpa's in my city, in fact they are something of a problem I think for some people, growing where they aren't wanted. Again I wanted something not too complex. I added some watercolor to this one, and am not really happy with how it looks, splotchy on the leaf. Would have been better if I had been able to pre-wet the paper but the sketchbook I was using wouldn't have been happy with that technique. Otherwise a mixture of Copic and Rapidograph pens, and a dip pen for the outline of the leaf, seed pods and seed.

Since I started the month with just a black and white drawing of my elf helper, I decided to end the month with another image of him, with the addition of a jack-o-lantern, after all the 31st was Halloween night. Maybe he went trick or treating after posing for this.

Not the best drawing, but by the 31st I just wanted this done with. Pens used were my standard mix, Copic Multiners and Rapidographs.

As a final photograph another scene of fall foliage, the last for this year I promise, mostly because we had a storm last week and the trees were pretty much stripped of leaves so they aren't there to be photographed. Well maybe there are still a few trees with some leaves so perhaps there might be one or two more, but I am fairly sure there won't be any more photos with trees with green leaves in them. This was made in my local park along with the photos I showed last week. Yesterday was mostly cloudy so not a good day for photographs.

That is it for today, per usual comments are welcome and appreciated. Oh I had issues with the uploader today so the image size isn't as large as I usually post - sorry.

Cats and a doodle

I call this one Cat Nap. It is based on a photograph my sister sent me of her cat sleeping in the object that she (the cat) uses as a scratching post. Obviously not a post, but it is covered with material that is suitable for a cat to happily scratch. She likes to curl up and sleep in/on it. Well not when I am around, she is very shy around strangers, and for all I am a relative of her cohabs I am still a stranger. Also I usually visit in winter when she prefers to nap next to a hot air vent where it is much warmer.

This is a small drawing that I started last month as part of the #inktober challenge but quickly realized was going to be more work than I could easily do in a day. After working on it off and on for several days she is finally done. Size is 4.0 x 4.0 inches on Bristol Board smooth paper and done with my 4X0 technical pen. There are mistakes but for the most part I am pleased with how this came out.

Above is another of my neighbors strays. I photographed this one the other day, and I think it was actually hissing at me during this photo. Oops, but I did interrupt it having a snack. I used some of my Derwent colored drawing pencils for this drawing. It isn't a very large drawing (working in my 5 x 7 sketchbook) and the pencils don't hold a point very well so details aren't good. It was not easy to get the few I did manage. Still I rather like the pencils I just think I need to work larger with them so the lack of a sharp point isn't such a problem. As you can see they also don't erase terribly well, I was having problems getting the slope of the back both large enough and then the right shape and over did it a bit and then had to try and erase.

If you think you are seeing hints of color you are, as I used a couple of different drawing pencils for this and then added in some color from a few of my Graphtint pencils. The cat is mostly grey but there were some hits of a sort of rusty brown in some of its fur.

Eventually I hope to do this cat in pen and ink, but don't know if I will use this same reference.  I don't recall seeing this cat prior to the day I photographed it and it may not hang around for me to capture it again.

Above is just a doodle, I was playing with my blue and grey .05 copic multiliners, and this is the result. Just pattern somewhat based on what I have been noticing on the Classic Greek vases I photographed and those whose images I have also downloaded as part of my research on classic Greek vase patterns. The mandala is waiting for me to get back to it while I do this research.

OK I admit a not very exciting photograph. But the sparrow taking off in the lower left is what I was after and pretty much captured in mid wing flap. To capture this image I put the camera in Manual AV mode, white balance set for sunny, ISO auto, and the F stop for 4.0, I had to lighten the image just a bit to post, but I often do that even when the camera is in total auto mode.

So the adventure continues. Our weather hasn't been really good for photos and the trees are mostly stripped of their leaves so subjects for photography are getting a bit slim. I want to take a trip into Boston and head over to Faneuil Market and see what I can come up with there, or even on the Common, the wading pool should be set up for ice skating soon, as long as the weather turns cold enough to freeze the ice, maybe after Thanksgiving.

That is it for today, per usual comments are welcome.

More Ink work, and a Library Doodle

The turkeys are finished. I took the inked drawing from my last post and added some wash with a brush and then went back in with my technical pens to add a bit more line. This technique has possibilities, but I think I need to learn more patience with it. I want to just do it and get it done, and I think I need to slow down and take a bit more time with the washes.

While at the library this week I was inspired to create a small doodle. It started out with the book worm on top of a book then I added the words "Read More". It was fun to semi create a font for the text. Not a full font as I only created the letters I needed for these short words but still it was a fun exercise. I have no clue why this idea/subject occurred to me, but I had fun drawing it.

After creating the graphite drawing at the library I brought it home and added some ink to outline letters and objects then added colored pencil for some color. With suitable modifications I think this could be a fun poster design. But I fear it will never go any further than this sketch.  I even went so far as to think up a name for my book worm, "Billy the Book Worm says READ MORE". I suppose I could ask at the library if they would like it for real, maybe.

One of the pens I purchased in my binge buying of colored ink pens was a copic .005 grey pen. Since I hadn't had a chance to use it previously I though why not do a quick sketch with it. I happened to have a bottle of ink sitting out at around eye level so it didn't take me long to use it as a subject. Done in a sketchbook with just the grey ink, one of my ink bottles. I like this color and have to think about how I want to use it to show it off. Maybe with the blue copic multiliner I picked up at the same time.

Above is a not very good photograph of my progress on the latest Mandala. Center is basically done, the next out ring needs to be finished off but probably before I do finish it off, I will design and start coloring the corner elements of the first square. I am doing an under drawing with Derwent pencils then layering over them approximately the same color of PolyChromos. The Polys are more fade resistant so hopefully the resulting work won't just fade away in light. Course when it is finished it will be sprayed with a clear fixative that has some UV protection.

My Final photograph for today is of some trees that still had leaves earlier this week, I think they are now gone. But the subject of the photo is actually the white wall with the shadows of the trees on it. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon and I was on my way to library when I noticed these shadows and thought they would make an interesting photograph. Not sure I have cropped the image as much as it should be but hope you enjoy it anyway. I have been reading about Notan, the Japanese concept of balancing light and dark, to me this shadow is a form of Notan, but wanted to include a bit more color which is why I left so much of the original trees in the image.

That is it for today, per usual comments are welcome.

Pen & Ink WIP, and Some Camera Talk.

Another of the WetCanvas challenge images for November. This one I worked on toned paper with some colored inks along with my 4x0 technical pen. The colored pens were .005 Copic Multiliners. I really like how this one came out though it took me a heck of a lot longer than I thought it would when I started even though it is only 4 inches square. Had to make lots of lines though.

Another 4 inch drawing, this one I started in October as part of the #inktober challenge but never got it done. It still isn't done, I intend to add some washes of ink to this to add value to the turkey's feathers. The drawing combines a couple of my personal reference photos into one. The lines in the current piece were done with my 3x0 technical pen.

Sorry for the poor quality of the above image. The drawing is too large for my scanner (outer ring is 12 inches) so I used my tablet to make a quick photo (I would have had to use the flash on the SLR, and that causes other problems).

Anyway this is the current status of the new mandala I will be working on. Center drawn and inked, but I haven't selected any colors yet. I think this one is going to go heavy on the blues and greens though the Greek pottery that the motifs come from are red and black and/or white, but that was the limits of the materials the ancients used not because they didn't like/prefer other colors. Anyway I don't think I want to limit the mandala to those colors. The Greek flag is blue and white, again not enough colors but at least it makes the blue make sense. On Bristol Board smooth, a

As a final image, a photograph I made last week. The oak trees around me are the last trees to change colors. Sometimes they just turn brown, but this sapling oak had glorious red leaves, and I was able to include just a bit of yellow from another neighboring plant to accent the red. Focus is on the leaf in the center making the surrounding leaves a bit out of focus, intentional for this photo.

I have just discovered the Canon Digital Photography forums on the net and am currently lusting after a new lens for my Rebel. But at over $1,000 for the lens I don't think it is going to happen anytime soon. In any case I need to spend more time exploring the forum but have already realized that to make the most of my camera I really need to take it out of Auto mode. I need to start using one of the manual modes,and learn to adjust settings on my camera to get the best shots. In my defense Auto mode makes some pretty good photographs and I do switch out sometimes, like when I am in a Museum, or like I did last summer when I was trying for a better photograph of white flowers. Now I just have to be more consistent about it, selecting for conditions, sun, cloudy, shade etc along with shutter speed etc. Will this make be a better photographer? I don't know, but I won't know until I spend some time trying. Wish me luck.

That is it for today per usual comments are welcome.

Finished Mandala, and some pen and ink

Since I have in mind some ideas for another Mandala I finally had the motivation to push through and finish the one above. It is done, or as done as I am going to make it, it is even sprayed with its protective coating.

The art work was done using colored pencils on Bristol Board Smooth, with pen and ink outlines, size is fairly small as far as my Mandala's go, when I started this one I didn't want to commit to a lot of time, so it is only about 7.5 inches in Diameter.

I use various types of Derwent pencils (Artists, Colorsoft, Studio and Signature) and my newer PolyChromos. I usually layer all of my colors though the outer band blue is just one of the Poly's. Flowers are semi made up but mostly based on real flowers, daisy's, roses, pansy's, and poppies.

This is actually my 7th Mandala, though I only have 6 in my possession as I somehow managed to loose the first one I made back in 2009. For some reason this type of art work appeals to me. I usually choose a theme before I start working then select images to illustrate and expand on that theme. As for colors I seem to pull in a wide range, for this one there are a lot of complementary pairs, blue/orange, yellow/purple, so it makes a fairly dramatic statement.

The beagle above is from a Challenge reference photo in the WetCanvas Pen and Ink Forum. Because of #inktober I did not managed to work any of the October images, but really liked this reference of a Beagle for November and wanted to see what I could do. I used my 4x0 technical pen for this work.

The important part of this drawing to me is actually the paper. On one of my trips into Boston with the subsequent visits to Dick Blick I found and purchased a couple of pads of Strathmore 400 toned papers. Strathmore makes both a grey and the above tan. The paper is a lighter weight (only 80lb) than I would prefer for pen and ink, but the surface is fairly smooth and hard so it takes ink fairly well. The paper is slightly lighter in real life than in the above scan, but I really like the contrast of the black ink against the toned paper. I can envision using both black and white conte crayons on it, fun stuff.  

Not sure what I am going to do with the above drawing on a  6 x 2 inch piece of the Toned Grey Strathmore paper, maybe make a bookmark out of it, though it needs to be backed with something more substantial as the paper itself is a bit too light to make a bookmark with. I was just doodling with various pens including some with colored inks, can you see the green? Again the scan makes the paper look slightly darker than it is in real life. Still I like the colors and am happy to have this option to work with.

Even though it is getting late in the year there are still a few trees around me that have color and leaves. The above photograph was made in a local park last Saturday. Love how the sun was lighting up the upper left area of the tree. The sky could have been a darker blue, but one takes what one can get.

That is it for today, per usual comments are welcome.

Back to the MFA, Mandala Update

Traveled back into Boston on Wednesday to re-visit the Boston MFA and the Goya exhibit. On the bus I drew a quick sketch of a fellow passenger just to keep my hand in. Not wonderful but not too bad either. It can be a challenge to draw on a bus as the ride isn't always smooth, and I don't really want my fellow passengers to realize what I am doing.

On the rest of my journey I started the above panels for I guess you could say graphic stories. I have, for a couple of years, been working on writing about some stories/adventures from my childhood. Some of these stories involved a cat we owned for a brief period of time. Or should I say he owned us. Anyway that cat was most adventurous and how he survived for as long as he did I am not quite sure, I am sure he used up more than one of his 9 lives in his adventures. Two of the panels have to do with stories about him, top and bottom. The middle was something that happened to me with a friend one day when we went exploring.

Anyway I have been wanting to add illustrations to some of the stories and have actually spent some time doodling possible images. Still not much has jelled other than a few concepts and I wasn't pleased with any of the sketches I drew.

As an aside one of the groups I am a member of (Everyday Matters), has an adjunct site Sketchbook Skool where they have classes for beginning artists. One of the classes that has been discussed is Storytelling. Add that thought to others rattling around in my brain, and I though to myself, why not do panels for the stories using the style of comic book art. That way the art doesn't have to be elaborate or even totally accurate, just enough so the readers know what they are seeing and can relate.

Hmm, well the result is the 3 panels above. Not sure where I am going with these as they are only thumbnails and the real art work would need to be much larger. But I think I finally have an idea that I can work with. This will be a totally new adventure for me as I have never done this type of work before. I previously never had any desire to draw a comic strip, which just goes to show that you never know where art can take you.

You're probably going to yourself "what is that"/ The above image is a close up a pattern on a Greek Vase. After going through the Goya exhibit for a second time, this time with the narrative device that they rent to attendees, and which is fairly informative and supplements the notes next to the pictures. I wandered over to the part of the museum that has ancient art on display and found the newly renovated Greek and Roman Galleries. They aren't quite done with the renovations but I totally enjoyed viewing what has been finished.

I have been making it a habit to photograph esp. ancient pottery with the repetitive designs the artisans used. I consider these photos as reference materials to be used in some of my own art work at some point. Esp. with the mandala drawings I create I am always on the lookout for designs that can be used in panels. Vases are circular to designs used on vases are esp. appropriate.

I spent a little time translating the design in the above vase to my notebook. I used various technical pens to ink this, and did a terrible job, but still I like this pattern and am looking forward to finding a use for it.

Speaking of Mandala's above is an update on where I am with the one I have been working on. Since I am motivated to start another using Greek motifs I really need to get this one finished. I am in the outer band, and even better I would say I am about half way finished with it. I am getting there. Not sure how I feel about the over all piece. Some parts I like and others could have been designed differently. Looking at it as I write this I think I have an idea for some changes that I can still make and which might improve one of the inner bands.

Even though Wednesday was overcast with no bright sun I think I finally managed to get a fairly good photograph of the Indian statue that stands in front of the MFA. With the backdrop of the changing Oak tree the statue is placed in relief and becomes very visible. In other photographs I have made of it the horse and rider seem to blend with the background.  Sorry I don't recall the title of the work or even who the sculpture is.  Oops will have to pay attention the next time I travel to the museum.

That is it for today, nothing major finished, but some generated concepts and an update on a major piece. Per usual comments are welcome.