Why do all my plants die?? WOYWW #23

 

Dear Readers,
 As you can read from the post title, this is a slightly shamefaced admittance that as a botannical illustrator, ALL of my plants die.  I can illustrate the life out of them, just not keep them alive!  I guess it just isn't my gift.  The problem that this leads to is that I have nothing to draw in the winter.  These pictures are of an African Violet that is currently ending its life on my studio table.   I was so excited when I got it as a present- I even bought African Violet food!  But nothing worked and now it is dying.  Sniff.  So I'm drawing its slow ending of life.


 

Season's Greetings! WOYWW #22

 

Dear Friends,

Season's Greetings!

Since next Wednesday is Christmas, I doubt I will be putting out a post!  But I wanted to share with you what happened with me that definitely put me in the Christmas spirit.  On Friday I found out at school that 49 families were going to be without presents due to a mix up in communication.  I teach in a very low-income area and I knew there was a chance my students might not get presents at all because of this.  I went home and posted on Facebook about the situation, and before I knew it people were sending me checks and presents in the mail!  It was so overwhelming and wonderful!! I spent all day Sunday fetching and buying presents for my students.  As of today I have received a total of 79 gifts!  It was unbelievable!  So out of gratitude to these wonderful people I did a little painting of a holly leaf as a thank you for each of them.

 A Christmas miracle indeed! 

 May God Bless all of you this season.

Liz

 

Snow days and guilt- WOYWW #21

Dear Friends,
Hello!  For the past two days we have had snow days in our state.  I'm pretty sure I'm back to work tomorrow, but it has been pretty nice.  What wasn't nice was what came to visit this afternoon- a whole big whopping load of guilt.  I felt suddenly horribly guilty because I hadn't spent the last two days in my studio painting.  The truth of the matter is I have been forcing myself into the studio lately.  It has felt more drudgery than joy,  I don't know if this is the winter blues or just a rough patch in my painting life, but I was very frustrated with myself.   I guess my question is- does this happen to you?  And if so, what do you do to shake yourself out?  It really was a very nice two days, with lots of reading and resting.  I just feel I wasted time I could have spent painting.   Either way, this is what I've been working on when I do get in here.  I also have a picture of my in-laws dog next to the photograph that I worked from.  Hope you are all staying safe and warm this Wednesday!

Holidays are coming! WOYWW #20

Dear Readers,

Happy Wednesday!  I am sure that you are busy, so thanks for taking the time to stop by.  I know what the holiday season can be like.  So this year I am trying to slow down by planning ahead.  Most of my gifts are purchased and wrapped, thanks to online shopping.  ( I am a recent, but BIG fan!)  This also saves on the stress of fighting the crowds.  So since I have a little extra time than I otherwise would have done I am taking that time for making of gifts.  This top picture is a image of my in-law's adored dog, Luke.  I am making a drawing of him even though I usually draw flowers.  It was tough!  I am rusty at drawing anything besides flowers.  I need to keep my hand in!  (This is my 3rd attempt. You're not allowed to see the others)  The next shot shows all the holiday themed flowers I am working on!   I am painting holly, as well as some others I will show next week.

I hope that you find time to relax this coming holiday season.

 

 

 

What keeps me fueled... WOYWW # 19

Dear Friends,
Hello!  Happy Wednesday WOYWWers!  I thought it would be fun to take a picture of exactly what I use to keep motivated when I'm painting.  I don't know if I mentioned it on the blog yet, but I LOVE Starbucks.  Yes, it's expensive, but...yum.  I try to keep it to once a week.  Also in this picture are some of my husband's candy stash that I snuck to go with my coffee.  Hopefully he doesn't read this post.  :)  I am still painting at least a line a day, and I am happy to report that I painted every day this past week!  So progress. 

I also didn't want to blog without mentioning that all of you who were affected by the storm in the Phillipines are in my prayers. 
Prayers for all of you today, and God Bless.

Painting in the Dark-WOYWW#18

Dear Friends,
Well, it has been 2 and a half weeks since I started my "not a day without a line" challenge, and so far I've missed 4 days.  I'm doing ok, not great.  I am pretty happy with how my painting is turning out, and I've begun another painting of my in-law's dog for their Christmas present.  I'm not sure how that one is going to go- I don't usually paint animals.  But I'm giving it a go! I'll keep you posted.  Happy Wednesday!

"Not a day without a line"; WOYWW #17

Dear Readers,
 Hooray! Week 2 in a row!  Let's see if I can keep this roll going! :)  Currently I am trying something new where I am attempting to go 12 weeks painting at least a line every day.  I based this idea off of several things- "Not a day without a line." Originally attributed to Pliny the Elder but made famous by Vincent Van Gogh in his letters to Theo.  I also read The Artist's Way  by Julie Cameron, and while I did the morning pages, I want to do 12 weeks of painting this time.  So far this has been fairly successful ( I am only on day 4)  because it gets me into my studio to paint that line.  Then once I am there I get engrossed and keep going for a good 20- 30 minutes.  Hopefully this keeps up.  Do you do anything similar? Thanks for visiting!  Check out the other WOYWWers!

Shoes and Flowers- WOYWW # 16

Dear Friends,
I know.  2 months.  What was I DOING?!?!?!  Can I just say I missed you all?  But Wednesdays are now my CRAZY day, working 6 hours straight with 1. 25.minute.break.  (In which I run around like a crazy person getting ready for the next 3 classes). Sigh.  I come home wiped.  SO I have a great new plan where I prepare my pictures/ect. on Sunday, and then post on Wednesday.  One click and it's posted.  It's a great plan, but in case you haven't noticed, I'm a world class procrastinator.  Something to do with being creative...I'm very creative at postponing things! So we'll see how it goes.  Anyway, I present to you, work from the last two months!  I really have been busy artistically, drawing at a botanical gardens near my house nearly every single day. And visit some other wonderful WOYWWers!
This is my workdesk currently:

 

This is what I've been doing:

I love them!  Finally posted a pic, they've been finished for months.

An image from my botanical garden sketches.  I'll post more next week!
Thanks for catching up with me!

Summer and Art Show Rejection WOYWW #14

Dear Friends,
Sorry for the depressing title folks. I couldn't think of a better title for what has been going on with me artistically lately.  I submitted the second picture-the iris- to a very small local show with local artists, and it was rejected.  It was very disheartening!  But after a couple of days of mulling it over I have decided that this means that I need to work harder and paint harder, not give up completely!  I have a friend in show business, and she told me "50 rejections for every acceptance" Yikes!  I had better get applying!  This first picture is my other current project- a New York City skyline for our bedroom- it has a NYC theme.  I'd love any and all advice about entering art shows!  Happy WOYWW!

My new Studio!!!! WOYWW #13

Dear Friends,
I am finally back! And proudly presenting: My new studio! I am sooooo excited to finally have one-it has been 8 years since I have had a room just for art! I am thrilled that it is here and I look forward to many days and nights of drawing and painting! Below are just a couple quick sketches I have been working on. Its good to be back to WOYWW!

Packing! WOYWW#12

Dear Readers,
It has been too long!  I was particularly sad to miss last week, since it was the anniversary swap!  But I had literally no art made to post about. :(  Sad but true-buying a house and packing has taken over my life.  We closed on the house this past Friday (YAY!!!!) so I was actually able to do a little art this weekend. 
The second picture shows the disaster just behind my drawing table!  Packing has taken over, and will continue to do so until July! But I will keep trying to make art in the midst of chaos.  Hope everyone is enjoying June! Stop by and visit the other WOYWWers!

Murals and Botany- WOYWW #10

Dear Readers,
Hello!  I apologize for missing last week, I was away on vacation, and painting two murals.  They are pictured below. One was for a friend's daughter's room, and the other was for my niece's room.  The castle is by far my favorite mural that I have ever painted.  As for my desk this week, I am currently studying botany! In an effort to learn more about flowers, I got the book "Botany for Artists" out of the library, and it is kicking my butt.  I'm only 20 pages in and so lost!  But I'm taking lots of notes and going slow.  Let me know what you think of the murals- and go visit some WOYWWers!

Happy Spring!! WOYWW #9

Dear Readers,

Happy Spring!!! :) I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am about this. Unfortunately Rita's free Italian Ice is out because it's still pretty cold here in the Northeast, but I did run 4 miles today in the sunshine!  I cannot wait until the flowers start blooming! I've already seen some daffodils.  On my workdesk this week I have a Yellow Sneezeweed (teehee) that I've been working on, as well as a sketch of a mural that I am scheduled to paint on Monday!  I am very excited to do this particular mural, since they requested a garden! Yess!!!  I'll post pictures next week to show you how it turned out.  Check out the other WOYWWers and have a beautiful evening!

Snow day!!!-WOYWW #8

Dear Readers,

Happy Wednesday! 

Today  I received the unexpected gift of a snow day with the husband. But as you can see, its not snowing! :)  Oh well, I am loving life anyway.  Working hard right now painting my Tickseed Sunflower painting.  I also did a close up drawing of one as well.  I am starting to long for spring!  But for now, I'll just soak in the joys of a non-snow snow day! Check out the other WOYWWers when you get a chance! 

WOYWW #7- Beginning to Paint Again

Dear Readers,

Happy Wednesday!  Sunday was my 30th birthday, and I am very excited to begin this new decade in my life.  On my desk you can see one of my presents from my awesome brother in law- a travel sketchbook that you can paint in! I am planning to put that to good use as soon as I can.  I have begun painting my florals again after taking a break- I am still finding it frustrating but I am trying to persevere!  The painting on my desk is a Tickseed Sunflower, and the final picture is a Swamp Milkweed.  Check out some other great artists at WOYWW!

WOYWW #5-I love sepia!

Dear Readers,
Happy Wednesday! I thought it would be nice to show you my drawings next to the images I was working from. This week I focused on pen and ink. I've been getting frustrated with watercolor lately. So bring on the amazing Prismacolor sepia pens! These are a Joe Pye Weed and a Black Snakeroot. Don't forget to check out the rest of the amazing WOYWWers!

WOYWW #4- Background Musings

Dear readers,
Happy Wednesday! Unfortunately I missed last week due to craziness at work. My partner art teacher left unexpectedly, put on 2 months of bed rest. Nothing was ready, so I've been scrambling quite a bit! But I am back and still working with my new backgrounds. I have to say, I love the red behind the jack in the pulpit. The orange, not so much. What do you think?? Hope you visit some of the other wonderful artists at WOYWW!

WOYWW #3-Busy Week and a Wild Indigo

Dear Readers,
Well, it has been pretty nutty, grades due at work and 3 observations this week. But I am loving this background! What do you think? It's a Wild Indigo.
 I've also been loving all of this feedback I'm getting on WOYWW!  Thanks for visiting!

WOYWW #2- IPhone blogging!

Dear Readers,
Once again I am attempting something new. I am blogging from my iPhone tonight! I wanted to try this to see if it would make easier transitions from camera to computer. This way it could all be done from my phone. We'll see how it goes! Thank you to all the wonderful people who visited from WOYWW- and here is my finished flower from last week! I look forward to visiting your blogs- once I figure this out!

 

My messy art area-in case you thought my drawing table was too neat! :)

My First WOYWW!

Dear Readers,
So here it is, the new year!  I have lots of ideas for things I want to do this year, and one of them is to begin What's on your Workdesk Wednesdays. I have read these posts with interest for the last few months, but I have never been brave enough to link.  So I am linking today! Welcome to anyone reading my blog through WOYWW- I hope to establish this as an every week event! 

This is my workdesk today.
This is a Smooth Blue Aster that I am painting.  I hope to have the finished piece to show you next week!  Thanks for visiting!