A New Name

"My Neighbor's Fence"

colored pencil

14 x 20"

Still at it. Getting prepared and competing in the Art at the Arnold sidelined my progress a bit. But I have been working steadily on this drawing all week.

One of the great benefits of blogging is that you receive feedback from your readers. One reader, much more savvy than I, let me know that my original title "Poison Ivy" would not be a good idea as the ivy I am drawing is something else entirely. And since I have no idea what it is (I am not a gardener), I have changed the title to "My Neighbor's Fence". I am rather pleased with it, too, because it's such a great metaphor for having good neighbors (which we do).

So, thank you, readers for keeping me in line and for your feedback. I really appreciate it!

"After the Fall"

Oil on canvas

16 x 20"

This past weekend, I was one of fifty artists chosen to participate in an art competition at the Arnold Fitness Classic in Columbus, Ohio. On Friday morning, we worked from live models who were also athletes competing in several of the events that weekend. Then Friday afternoon, were turned loose with our cameras to photograph whatever we liked.

Bright and early Saturday morning, the competition began with all 50 of us setting up and painting from whichever photograph most inspired us. Mine was the little girl you see above.

After seeing her fall (she wasn't hurt - but emotionally, devastated), I realized that most of the time, the winners of any sporting event are the ones photographed, highlighted and painted. But so many don't win; I wanted to show the emotion they might experience after months and years of practice have gone into a single moment when the outcome is not so glorious.

This paint out is an emotional event for the artists competing as well. We paint with each other and can see our competitors work progressing and can judge ours rather harshly in the process. Over 250,000 people attend the Arnold Classic and many, many of them stopped to watch us work, which also adds to the excitement/anxiety. All the while a clock is ticking: 8 hours to complete a painting or drawing which is judged the next morning.

Oh, I forgot to mention that at one point, I was in my zone, headphones on, brush in hand and suddenly I realized that there were a LOT of cameras all around me. I turned to find Arnold himself leaning over my shoulder and looking at my work. He wanted to know why the little girl was crying, so we had a heart to heart about my motivation. Pressure there, too.

So Arnold, media, crowds, peers and a time crunch all make for an exciting day. I loved every minute of it.

On Sunday, we arrived early again to find out the results. First, second and third places were awarded and, alas, I was not one of them. No bitterness; all of the winners' work was fabulous. Just disappointment and creeping self-doubt.

I guess my painting was apropos for what I, too, was feeling after my competition.

Continued Progress - Poison Ivy

Whew. This represents about 4-5 hours worth of work. The fiddly bits on the right side with all the water spots and mold are a real challenge. One I am enjoying, though.

Poison Ivy - More Progress

More work on the "poison ivy" piece.

I wanted to share how I am rendering the fence with all of the mold and character. Instead of using browns I have chosen to use chartreuse and various light green colors along with lavender and purples while throwing in some pinks and peaches for good measure.

The colors are mixing beautifully and giving me the effect I had hoped for. Check out my color mixing blog here if you are interested at all in learning more about mixing colored pencils. Remember, they are translucent and layer very well for color mixing.

"Poison Ivy"

14 x 22"

colored pencil on Stonehenge

More Work In Progress - colored pencil

Boy, this one is slow going. To try to render the moldy wood realistically is a challenge. But, overall I think it's beginning to come together.

I haven't decided yet on a title. So, I'm just calling it poison ivy right now.

I am working exclusively in colored pencil for this one on Stonehenge paper. Rather large: 14 x 22".

New Digs; New Work

Recently, I was accepted into an artist studio group, Junctionview, where an old warehouse was renovated with many art studios. I couldn't be happier. I have my own space away from the house where I only work on my art. It's fabulous for me.

I have an amazing studio at home; however, I just had the hardest time working there. There was always a load of laundry to do, a phone call to take, a visitor - you know the drill. I just wasn't good at working at home. Has anyone else had this problem. I can't believe I am the only one.

So here's a little bit of my current work in progress. It's a colored pencil drawing on Stonehenge paper which measures 14 x 22". It's very slow work and the piece is large for a colored pencil drawing (and for me), but I am very happy with it so far.