Monday, September 19, 2011

Getting Sketchy

Happy Monday (it is barely still Monday)!

When I decided I wanted to give art a go, I looked around a little for some classes.  I emailed someone who was giving art classes at Hobby Lobby.  She sent me a questionnaire to fill out.  She wanted to know my philosophy of art.  Um....huh?  Maybe you are supposed to have one of those.  I don't.  I like pretty things to hang on the wall or to put on a shelf when I run out of room on the walls.  And I don't really like to try to figure out what something means.  I like art that tells me what to think.  Hence my tag line:  "Art that Speaks".  If I'd ever had an art class, I might like art that keeps its trap shut. 

This is where it gets sketchy.  Having never had an art class, I mess up a lot.  And I potentially have to plan things out more than someone who's taken classes.  Or maybe not.  If I'd ever had an art class, I might know that for sure.  Anyway, I thought it might be fun to compare some of my sketches with the finished products.  Or it might not.  I've never done this before either, so we'll see.  Here goes:

This is a sketch for a collage I did and sold on Ebay to benefit Ozarks Food Harvest after the Joplin tornado (they could still use some help, by the way.  That was a devastating event.)


Here's the finished version:


This is the sketch I did for my mom's Mother Day present this year.  I was in a big off-site meeting for my real job.  I'm a good multi-tasker:



And after


And this little idea...


Became this.....



Next up:


I've never painted a face before (that I would be willing to show in public).  She's on my easel.  Maybe I'll show you next week.  Or maybe not.

Thanks for stopping by.  I'll try to make sure that next week's Monday Musings are not so close to Tuesday.  May the Lord bless you with sharp pencils in pretty colors.

<3 Lori

11 comments:

  1. Wow!! Wish I had a plan for my paintings...I sketch a few ideas that sometimes and sometimes not end up in an artwork....but mostly...I fly by the seat of my pants. Oh, and for someone that never took an art class, you my friend are an amazing natural talent :). Cant wait to see the little princess!!

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  2. Thanks, Kelley! Your kind words mean a lot! :)

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  3. I've tried planning but I mostly do it in my head, the I just work it out on the canvas. I do practice (or used to back when I created) different things like faux finishes or painting things, before I put it on paper/canvas or wall.

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  4. wow Those are all really really good Lori!!!
    Linda Raboin

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  5. coming from the contemporary art world, this just makes me laugh. years and years of artist statements, critiques and art speak can wear a girl out! i enjoy your posts, lori.

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  6. Thank you, Linda! That means a lot coming from someone who can paint beautiful faces and hands that look real! :)

    Jaertworks, :). Maybe I shouldn't say this stuff out loud. Thanks so much!

    Lynda, I don't always sketch, but I'm finding that things seem to go much more smoothly when I do.

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  7. These are beautiful! I love the present you made for your mom for Mother's Day. I also love the beginning drafts and the final projects. It was fun to see part of the process.

    (Visiting from Brave Girls. I'm a new member.)

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  8. "art that keeps its trap shut" - bwahahaha good one - not all art has to speak to you.

    I love how you can turn your sketches into beautiful art.

    Faces can be scary - check out http://willowing.ning.com/

    and the Art, Heart and Healing - free class in which Tam teaches how to paint a face.

    http://willowing.ning.com/group/theheartofart

    I'm going to put into practice what she teaches.

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  9. Hi, Callie! So glad you stopped by, brave girl. :)

    Shells, yes I'm planning to get myself together enough to take a class. I almost signed up for this one: http://joyouslybecoming.typepad.com/joyouslybecoming/2011/09/online-class-registration-extended.html#comment but decided I had too much to do right now. Thanks so much for your recommendations!

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  10. Wow! Love all your creations! My middle daughter is a sketcher and I can't wait to show her the things you've create with your sketches! Love it :)

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  11. Wow...you and I seem so much alike. I don't have a "philosophy" for my art; I just paint and draw whatever comes into my mind and for whatever mood I'm in at the time. I sketch my paintings and drawings before I do them too. I think I'll do a blog post similar to yours as it's a cool idea. I'm looking forward to doing a class at some stage, just to get some tips and perhaps try out some watercolours and oils.

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