The Boga...

The Boga - Colored Pencil 9" x 12" 2006

OK! She's all finished. I LOVE this creature.
That red made it in, was there any doubt? Nope, it was an easy bet.

The scanner only scans sizes 8" x 10" or smaller so the edges have been cut off...I wasn't going to run down to Kinko's at 3 am, no full size scan until later.

LM

WIP Commission

Private Commission - Colored Pencil 18" x 20" 2006

This is a private commission based on a real event and a fictional backdrop.

This work will seem (to me) to look so different by finishing time.

I enjoy my initial sketches (I'm a fan of sketches in general and thoughout the ages), I tolerate the first quarter, despise the second and warm up after most of the color is laid down in the third and fourth quarters.

LM

Red Flora...

Red Flora (WIP) - Colored Pencil 7" x 9" 2006

I'm betting at this point you're seeing the red pattern.

I love finishing florals, I cannot honestly say though that I love the process of coloring them. Real details are more important for my own style than shortcuts that trick the viewer into thinking there are more details when viewed at a *small distance, I want the viewer to see up close that the details are just as detailed up close as they are from a distance.

Don't get me wrong, I do have my periods of simplicity but I prefer realism over abstraction in my own work. I have not gone to the super realism plateau, I don't know if I'll ever feel the need to reach that stataspheric level of realistic achievement...or frankly to commit the time to such an endeavor.

*My works are generally small, less than 9" x 12"I'll post this when it's finished.LM

Distraction...

I can't say this happens all the time but occasionally I am distracted from my work by research. Sometimes it's in the form of, or FOR, inspiration, sometimes for historical info (familial or otherwise), or whatever. Of course if there's no time limit and my purpose has been satisfied I will go off on a couple of tangents. It's like a whisper from one person to the next and so on. By the time I finish what I started the message has changed dramatically.

Today, one search took me from Clancy Brown to David Tannenberg. Another from Heart Surgery to Snow in the Desert and on to a series of dogs. One of the photos in the dog series was a man hiking in the mountains looking over the valley here. It was an incredible view, that lead me to thoughts of all my trips into the wilderness as a child and beyond, the bears we'd run across and other more secretive or smaller creatures too. So much beauty. That was enough motivational thought to keep me drawing for the next 5 hours straight.

My father and my husband both often marvel at how long I'm able to concentrate without feeling antsy, getting a headache or other pains, or tired. I can't explain that exactly but drawing gives me energy, yet calms. Some mornings I think I might be too tired to start (but I do anyway), once I sit down and put pencil to paper I'm pretty much set for the day. It's on the very rare occasion when I am sick or have a headache where art takes a secondary role in the day...not that I always have a choice in the matter. There are no sick days when you work for yourself.

I have two projects to share, I have many more but I'm only sharing these two. Both are WIP (works in progress) one is a commission and the other is for a show here next month (April). The next blog entry will focus on these works.

LM