Poverty

Have you ever been really hungry and not known where your next meal was coming from? I haven't either, but there are people who are hungry. You can help by blogging about poverty because it is blog action day 2008:poverty. And I believe that one person can make a difference. I am going to make a difference and take Debi's lead by donating to my local food bank the East Texas Food Bank . For $1 they can provide 8 meals. What a bargain! I'm writing my check now.

Win A Painting, Help Darfur!

Here is your chance to own one of Enzie Shahmiri's paintings and help a Darfur refugee at the same time. Put Oct. 8th on your calendar and bid to win.

"This painting is a concrete way to provide humanitarian relief to the hundreds of thousands of people--mainly women and children--who have been forced to flee the unspeakable violence in Darfur. The proceeds from the sale of this work on ebay will go directly to support the UN Refugee Agency's operations in Darfur, providing protection, shelter, water, medical care and education. Please support this work!

Caitlin Van Orden
USA for UNHCR
The UN Refugee Agency"

Secrets To Drawing Realistic Faces Chp 5-10

Finished! Hooray!

Source Picture

Before
After

What do you think????

I enjoyed following along with "Secrets To Drawing Realistic Faces" by Carrie Stewart Parks.

Chapter 5 - Shade
Carrie teaches us to use values to shade our self-portraits which really gives dimension to our drawing.

Chapter 6 - Drawing Eyes
This chapter and the remaining chapters refine what we already know adding additional tips and measurements. This chapter gave my eyes life and you should be able to see the difference. I did.

Chapter 7 - Drawing Noses
Again, some refinements to my nose created a more realistic nose,,,pug that it is :)

Chapter 8 - Drawing Lips and Teeth
More expounding on lips and teeth to make a more realistic portrait.

Chapter 9 - Drawing The Head
Explains the difference between adult and child heads and between male and female heads. Much good info here.

Chapter 10 - Drawing Hair
Good chapter, discusses hair types, shades and highlights.

All in all this is the best book I have read on portraits. I learned a lot and I think the difference between my before picture and my after picture is astounding. I will be looking for more books by this author. Thank you Carrie!

My apologies to anyone who picked up my post with Babylon information embedded in the text. I think I inadvertently caused this and have since removed the offending code.

Secrets To Drawing Realistic Faces Chp. 4

Continuing with my self-portrait I've completed Chapter 4 in "Secrets To Drawing Realistic Faces" by Carrie Stewart Parks.

Chapter 4 - Shape
Carrie teaches us the elements of "Shape" by training our minds. There are quite a few very useful items in this chapter and here is where my drawing starting coming alive.

I apologize for not posting sooner but throughout this entire month my internet provider has been down more than it has been up as they have been replacing cable and repairing as they go.....

Secrets To Drawing Realistic Faces Ch. 1-3

Here is my self-portrait line drawing after finishing chapters 1-3 in "Secrets To Drawing Realistic Faces" by Carrie Stewart Parks.

Chapter 1 - Materials and Supplies
Carrie discusses various materials and supplies, but basically all you really need is pencil, paper and a BIG eraser!

Chapter 2 - The Problem
This chapter is most interesting as the author discusses perceptions and memorized facial patterns. These memorized patterns get in the way of really seeing what you are drawing. Additionally there are before and after student portraits. One of the students is 7 years old and her work is amazing!

Chapter 3 - Site
Here we start getting into the meat of the book. Carrie shows us several methods to use to help get the right proportions. Very useful chapter.


I am enjoying this book and really believe that it will help me become a better artist.

Finally! It was a struggle but I have completed my "before" picture so I can follow along with the art lessons in the book "Secrets To Drawing Realistic Faces" . It was a struggle and doesn't even look like the photo, I guess I fudged a little and took some weight off. hehe. As you can see I need a LOT of help.

Thank you dear DebiCates for taking the photo of me :)

Secrets To Drawing Realistic Faces

OK, OK...I get the message. Here is my post finally :)

Right now I'm reading Secrets To Drawing Realistic Faces. I would recommend this book to anyone learning to draw. It is written by professional forensic artist Carrie Stuart Parks and so comes with a more technical approach to drawing. It is very easy to understand and I think I can actually do this. I will be drawing my "before" self portrait and posting it soon so you can help me compare the "before" and "after" pictures and see if her method has helped. Stay tuned!

Recycling

Recycling is a worthy activity for young and old these days. But reusing is always the real challenge. I am on the lookout for new ideas for reusing old materials and when I found Jan Pinney's Art See Blog I just had to share. The clock is made from cardboard and the flowers from pop bottles. Be sure to check out January's archive where a mannequin leg is all decked out. Check it out.

P.S. Hello to all and I am back!

In The Middle of Things

Here I am in the middle of things. Notice that the inset picture is of my "feather" duster, that may give you a hint of where I am. But the feather duster is only the tip of the iceberg, there is a lot of mop, broom, bucket, and plain old elbow grease below the water line. I am getting into the Zen of it now and actually enjoying it. I'll be working outside after this and so will probably have this hiatus from my blog for awhile. But don't give up on me, please, because I will continue commenting and occasionally posting. Be back soon.

Book Meme Let's Play

Oh fun, it is called The Book Meme and it goes as follows:
Pick up the nearest book of 123 pages or more. (No cheating!)
Find Page 123.
Find the first 5 sentences.
Post the next 3 sentences.
Tag 5 people.

The Mapmaker's Opera By Bea Gonzalez

'And because he is no good at small talk, has never bothered to learn the rules that govern high society, does not know how to engage this man on his own turf, Nelson jumps in now and begins to laud the area's birds - the motmots, the ibises, the hummingbirds, the owls and the terns. "So many precious birds," Nelson says. "Do your people know how truly lucky they are to live under this extraordinary piece of the sky?"
Don Victor nods in reply. Though he has only a passing interest in the area's birds himself, he is most pleased at a foreigner traveling from so far to admire the beauty of his region of the earth.'

I tag Debi Cates Photo A Day, Sue of Sacred Circle Mandalas, Barb of Life In The Sunshine, Enzie of World Market Portraits, and D.C. Confidential. Let's play!