Bug

I had about 10 minutes to escape to the driveway yesterday. (Boy, that's a sad statement.)

I got halfway through this obnoxious beetle and then I had to put the chalk down.

Rain came 2 hours later, so he's not going to get finished.

Dog

I had to take a break from drawing in the studio, so I went outside to draw with the girls. Lily drew 5 rainbows. I drew one dog.

It all started with this doodle I did about a week ago while warming up.

It was harder than usual to get the photo of the kids with the drawing, but patience sometimes gets rewarded.

Get Well, Michelle

I got a slight reprieve in the workload this week, so I enjoyed some outdoor time with the girls. That means chalk drawings, of course, so I started on a bird inspired by a doodle I did during choir practice.

Halfway through, I thought I'd dedicate the piece to a good friend on our street who is struggling with some difficult health issues.

Get well, Michelle, and pay us a visit whenever you need cheering up!

Sea Monster

Finally, better weather is here!
Things are heating up a bit in the studio, but I was playing with the girls outside last night and thought it might be a good time for a fresh drawing. This one's unique, because the girls contributed more than usual.



We started by tracing our shadows. After this warm-up exercise, I put two red eyes down. I spaced them far apart, not knowing what it would become. I crafted a mouth and put in two peglike teeth (inspired somewhat by the art of Lane Smith.) Lily took interest at this point and wanted to help. I decided to make it a large Sea Monster and showed Lily my simple technique for drawing teeth. She took over while I instructed Carol on how to make a halfway convincing strand of hair.



At this point I had to go inside —phonecall or something. Anne Marie watched the kids, and Lily began to exert her influence over the grand design. When I returned, she not only finished the teeth and the hair, but she had blocked in a basic body and added waves and an island. I liked the contrast between the big head and tiny body, so I decided to run with this new direction and concentrated on making her additions blend with my previous work.

The results were not too bad for a quickie. I may get help on all these drawings from now on.



Here's a diagram, showing who did what:



Later that evening, I put the girls to bed with a book we got from the library —a great vintage holiday book by Adrienne Adams about a family of artistic Easter Rabbits. The Rabbit Parents are watching their young son's artistic skills bloom as he takes greater interest in his work and develops his attention span. It was the perfect coda to a nice spring evening.

Chalkarella