More pears and a scavenger hunt

One of my goals for 2010 is to get back to sketching every day.  It's something that I tell my students that they must do and yet this past year I've slacked off and I can tell it when I sketch or draw.   Wetcanvas.com has a group that does a scavenger hunt every week.  For me it's a good way to make sure I sketch something everyday and it's fun figuring out what to sketch that's on the list.  Here are my entries so far this week....

I also finished two more pear postcards for the MMA Postcard Salon.

Today I plan to finish a couple drawings, the first step in what will become poured paintings, more scavenger hunt and it's the weekend so there will be a weekend drawing event on the wetcanvas site, I'll have to check that out.

Postcards and sketches

Every year the Muskegon Museum of Art holds a Postcard Salon Exhibition and Sale.  It's a fundraiser and a fun event.  Artists may submit up to 5 postcards, unframed and all the same size 4x6.  The postcards are exhibited and a Salon and Sale is held in February when museum attendees may see all the work, leave the room, at the signal go back and take the postcards you want (if you get to them before someone else did) and pay the cashier.  The museum gets 1/2, the artist gets 1/2 and everyone gets a chance at some really good art for $30 per postcard.  I'm doing pears this year... well, that's what four of them will be I think.  I was going to do bottles and got done, the next one didn't work so I tried a couple pears, liked them and now will do a couple more.  As I said, .... I think, because if the next two pear postcards don't turn out... I still have time to try the bottles again.  Here are the three postcards that are done...

 

I also did a sketch for the wetcanvas.com weekend drawing event... this is for the New Years weekend, I'm a week behind.

One thing I realize is that I'm not doing enough of this sketching with my paints.  I need to get back to doing that.  I also need to get to work on some major pieces.  There are some competitions  coming up that I should enter but I need new work to do it.

Zentangles & why didn't I think of that

An article in the Nov/Dec issue of Cloth Paper Scissors caught my attention.  It grabbed me because it showed illustrations of something I often did in my sketchbooks and journals while I was waiting for my son in the doctors office or at a practice of one sort or another.  When I didn't see anything that I felt like sketching, I doodled.  That was 20 years ago.  Maria Thomas and Rick Roberts were smart enough to carry it further, they offer kits and publish patterns in their newsletter.  The kits include tiles that are 3 1/2" square.  I haven't purchased one but I did cut some bristol board into 3 1/2" squares to give their method and some patterns a try, it's addictive and I agree with them, done in this format it's a work of art.  It's also very meditative.  Here are a few of my zentangles....

And here's a link to the website: http://www.zentangle.com/index.php

They gave it a lot more thought too, I was just passing time; this is what their website says about it:

"Zentangle is an easy to learn method of creating beautiful images from repetitive patterns. It is a fascinating new art form that is fun and relaxing. It increases focus and creativity. Zentangle provides artistic satisfaction and an increased sense of personal well being. Zentangle is enjoyed by a wide range of skills and ages and is used in many fields of interest.

We believe that life is an art form and that Zentangle is an elegant metaphor for deliberate artistry in life. Explore our web site and learn how you can use this wonderful and uplifting discovery. "

I like that.  I especially like that anyone can do it and the slow and deliberate part is good for me... I tend to rush too much.