A Weedy Post

Henbit

Ink and colored pencil

I was feeling a bit uninspired so I sketched one of the weeds coming up in the yard not that the weather is warming up. I really need to do work in the yard. It's an annoying little weed but if you look closely, the tiny flowers are lovely. I think it's called Henbit. I've lost my painting mojo lately in favor of sketching. I feel it coming back though. I'm getting the urge to grab some brushes. Here's a couple of random things I picked up in my Internet travels the past few days.

Photography
One of my goals this year was to learn more about this fancy camera I got for Christmas so I can take better photos and reference photos. I've noticed that a number of people, including me, have questions about your legal rights as a photographer. Photojojo recently had an article on this, nicely distilled into 10 simple legal commandments for photography. The article also has links to more extensive information and information for those of you outside the US.

Influential Artists
Dani Draws has a list of 75 artists that influenced today's illustrators and web sites where you can find their work. Make sure you read through the comments for more artists.

If you find my painting mojo, send it back home.

Spring Daffodil

Spring Daffodil

We've had spring-like weather here this week, and we had snow just the past weekend. The first set of daffodils are blooming. Some of the trees are getting flower buds on them and I've seen some bird activity lately. So I just had to draw one of the daffodils. It's done in ink and colored pencil. I've been on a colored pencil kick lately. I'm not sure why since I've haven't done much with them until now. Maybe I'm just feeling lazy. I don't have to worry about water. I just grab a few pencil and go.

Sketching While Waiting

My Foot
copyright - Sydney Harper

My husband had to get some work done on his car this week. If possible, we try to make a day, or at least an evening of it, and do some things around town. We still have to deal with the time spent in the waiting room at the auto shop though, so we go prepared. He brings his computer. I bring my sketchbook and my knitting. We had a longer than usual wait this time so I knit a little, sketched a little, knit a little again, and sketched again. I practiced sketching some of the people in the waiting room. Then when I ran out of subjects, I drew my foot, which just happens to qualify for EDM 1 - Draw a shoe. I usually carry a copy of the Everyday Matters (EDM) Challenge List in my sketchbook in case I run out of ideas. Having time to just sit and sketch makes car repairs a much more pleasant experience. Things have been so busy lately that I seldom have such a large block of time to just sit and sketch.

Blue Katie Cat

I've been intrigued by Kate Johnson's sketches on colored paper so I thought I would give it try with a pencil sketch I had done of Katie. I like the way it turned out, especially since I haven't had much experience with colored pencils. I may have to try this again sometime. Plus since she's a blue-grey cat, it works well for her.

Also I've added section on the sidebar called "SydneyH's shared items" with interesting blogs I've come across. This list will change over time. If you find something interesting, make sure you save the link.