art, lately

Staples had the 48pc set of Prismacolor Premiere colored pencils on closeout at a ridiculous price and... I succumbed. These are the good, creamy ones that make thick, rich colors and blend well. Not that colored pencils are my go-to mark making tool, but I've seen so much neat work using them that I figured it was time I learned how, at least a little.

While S was watching bad sci-fi the other night, I joined him on the couch with my cup of pencils and an ancient sketch pad that had one full and one partial sheet left in it. It's a Strathmore 400 series 8"x10", and I don't know how long they've been making these, but back when I bought it, it cost $1.65. I looked on Amazon just now and they're $5.75. My, how things change. 

Faces are not something I'm good at but that's what I worked on, along with a weird flower that I mostly used to try colors out on. I took a baby wipe to the flower just to see what would happen and it blends nicely. I'm actually pleased with both faces. Lips are obviously not my strong suit, or maybe I was going for the Angelina Jolie look. And don't ask me why she has a salad bowl on her head. Whatever. The pencils were fun and I feel a glimmer of light in the long, dark tunnel of my drawing skills.    

And just as I was sitting here looking at the picture after I loaded it into the post, I see that I forgot the tiny dots of white in her eyes, so I added them to the drawing. Just pretend they're there.

I made another formula mixed media piece on an 8x10 canvas board. Pretty much followed the recipe again but in different colors. This one has a fires-of-hell look about it and I toyed with a few titles for it but ended up leaving it nameless for now. I like the juxtaposition of the dapper man in the photo and the lace and cream tones against the raging background. The little zig-zaggy things top and center at right are thin bits of cross cut corrugated cardboard. I'd been cutting strips for another project and spotted them when I was looking for things to add. Sprayed one with several inks and left the other au naturel.