A joy from childhood

When I was very young about three or four years old my Dad would make animals out of modeling clay. The olive green kind of oily modeling clay. I was very fascinated by how he could take this green lump and make a gorilla or hippo. My young mind was full of wonder at my awesome Dad that could do these creations with his hands. Needless to say I worked very hard to duplicate his work and became fair at doing the animals. Well not long ago I came into the possession of some of that same olive green modeling clay. I decided to see what I could make. I had very little as it came in a package to cushion an object. Very odd thing to use but I had some. So I got out a few tools I had and created this Dragon head and the gnome and fairy. Not happy with the gnome and fairy and will probably trash them and start on another creation. What do you think? If nothing else it was fun and nostalgic.

Been awhile

Sorry it's been awhile but I've been working full time on a few projects and haven't had time to do anything else. I'll post later this week. Hope to have something good to post. Later my friends and have an awesome weekend.

Bull Elk.

This is an acrylic on canvas 18" x 18". I am not really satisfied with it. Any suggestions? Sorry the photo is crappy. It's from my iPhone.

Light houses

These are some of the light houses I've done over the years. The first is a pen and ink. The second is pastel on colored paper and the third is a charcoal on colored paper. What do you think? Which is best? Please comment. Thank you.

Random charcoal abstract drawing

       Are you in a state of "what to create next"? Are you needing inspiration?This is a fun and easy exercise for you to restart your creative juices flowing. Get your paper out and set it up for a quick sketch. Start by drawing some random lines across the paper and a few vertical ones also. Then draw some biomorphic shapes at random points. When you have the paper covered take some compressed charcoal and do some shading of the shapes. This is random so shade in odd places as well as in the correct ones. We are not in class and we do not have to "stay in the lines" so have fun with it. After shading use a smudge pencil or tortillion to smooth your shading. You can change the look of the drawing at this time in a very unique and exciting way. The pics below show how I did this drawing today. I titled it "Fun house Fantasy". Feel free to comment. Hope this helps you get restarted.

Ships

I don't do many seascapes or ocean scenes because they seem to be over done. I have done a few but only out of my head. In other words I didn't paint a scene from a picture or of another painting. Here are a few I've done of a sailboat and some ships. The ships I did after reading fair blows the wind by Louis l'amour. I have also done a few lighthouses. I will post them later. The charcoal ship drawing has gotten the most attention over the years and I felt it was my worst ship drawing. Go figure! Well, if you like them or if you don't please leave a comment. Thank you.

Void drawings

This is a fun and unique way of creating a charcoal drawing. You start with some of your basic materials: drawing paper or newsprint paper, soft compressed charcoal, smudge pencil or tortillion, and kneadable eraser. Place your paper on a flat surface and use the charcoal to completely cover the paper. You can leave a border of non-covered paper for effect if desired. Then use your smudge pencil to blend the charcoal to give it a uniform look. Do not press hard when blending because you will be removing the charcoal with the eraser a little later on and if it's pressed to deeply into the paper you will not be able to get the brightness in your light areas. You can use a folded paper towel for this as well. When the charcoal is nicely blended lightly blow away the excess. It is now ready for you to begin your void "removal" drawing. You can attach the paper to a drawing board at this time and put it on your easel if you prefer. Take the kneadable eraser and pull and fold it until it is nice and soft. Then mold it to a point and dab it to remove the dark charcoal. Do not rub the eraser in the charcoal as this will have the same effect as with the smudge pencil and press it into the paper instead of removing it. What you are trying to accomplish is to bring out the light that is on the surface of the subject as in the first photo of the sphere and cone. You will have to complete several drawings before you feel comfortable with this technique but don't give up. Have fun and make Art!