The Grid Method

Years ago, I did a portrait of Willie Nelson for my father.  I began in the way I normally do;  freehand.  I was seriously struggling.  Belonging to many great artist message boards (my favorite is Artpapa.com forums ), I posted my frustrations.  I was led to a technique that I was quite honestly, not looking forward to trying.  The Grid Method.  Drawing is challenging enough and now they want me to add math to it?  For real?  Still, I had to at least try.  I bought this:  Paint By Grids.  When  opened it up, I was extremely intimidated.  All of those squares.  Plus, now I would have to draw a grid - and make it perfect - before I could even begin.  I hated it.

Still, I did as the instructions asked.  This was one time in my life where I was thanking my mother for her very strict attention to details.  This was a woman that used a slide rule to cut Christmas wrapping paper.  "Measure twice, cut once" I learned from both of my folks!  I got the grid down onto paper.  With a few minor recalculations, I was ready to start.

In a nutshell, the Grid Method is a way to draw shapes.  Shapes inside squares.  The smaller the squares, or grid, the more details you draw. You place a template in the same measurements as the grid you are using to draw on top of a reference photo.  I learned in school that if you truly wish to draw realistic things, simply turn your reference photo upside-down.  That way, you don't see the face, but the shapes that make up the fave.  Still,  I found this technique very tedious and, well, stressful.  Art ain't fun when it's stressful.  This was to be a gift for my father.  I had to finish.  Here is a photo of the beginning:

This took me two solid weeks of drawing to complete.  Here is the (finally) finished portrait:

For Dad.

  I admit that while this is, in my opinion, the best sketch I've ever done, as much as I dislike using it, the Grid Method is, indeed, the way to go to get that realistic portrait.  Maybe someday I'll try it out again.

So, with that being said, the reason I even brought this subject up is that my son, Alex, came home from school on Friday with things to show me.  For whatever reason, his teacher will not let his students bring home their artwork until the end of the school year.  I am NOT having that.  So, Alex snuck this home for me to see on Friday:

 

This is his very first time drawing using the Grid Method.  I tell you, I almost wept.  This led to a pretty cool conversation with my kid about drawing and art in general.  Proud?  No words.  

What else is really cool about this is the fact that the one thing I would draw anywhere I could, no matter where I was... was the eye.  He is so my child.  

Until next time,

Keep drawing!

Dots and Hearts.

Still drawing hearts.  Four of them.  I like shading things with the dot method.  I remember learning how to do this in my art classes in high school.  The cool thing is that my youngest son is taking now and told me that he was learning this  in class.  How cool is it to discuss art with your kid, I ask you?  VERY.

I was going to leave the hearts white and ZenT the insides.  Then I thought I'd get brave and again, test my dotting technique to lighten the areas under the hearts on 'top.'  I do need to slow down when placing the dots, as you can get very carried away and place a smudge instead of a dot.  Again, the pens I'm using allow me to really play with texture.  Not bad for a two-hour piece.

At first, I only dot-shaded the bottom.  Then, I decided to get crazy and do the top.  Why be normal, right?  Every piece I do is a learning experience... and a FUN one.

Until pen and paper meet again,

Peace

My First True Zentangle

Okay, I said previously that there are really no rules to Zentangle.  At least I thought there weren't.  Doing research, I still see that there are no true rules, but I find that shapes and things do have names.  I find this odd.  So, perhaps I am doing it incorrectly?  Art?  Wrong?  Pahsha!  I did find that there are classes held here in Howard County for Zentangling.  I would love to take a class.  Learn Zentangle In Howard County

When I did my first ...okay, my first experimental ZentT, I used a black Prismacolor pencil to draw my shapes and outlines.  Big mistake.  Ballpoints failed miserably, smearing ink everywhere.  Again, through my research, I learned that there are pens, micro-tipped pens, made especially for ZenT!  Sakura Pigma Micron Pen Set  What a delightful difference!  Five black pens (they do come in colors, too... next payday... ahem) from thin, really thin, ultra thin, crazy thin, and OMG is this thin.  Perfect for ZenT!  So, Inspired from my open hearts I just completed, I began in pencil.  The only thing I sketched in pencil were the hearts in the middle.  Again, I was trying to, at first, design a cool Valentine tattoo for myself.  I tried all kinds of ways to position four hearts.  I finally came up with something.

The amazing thing about ZenT is it truly does take you somewhere while you're doing it.  It's almost inspiration overload.  While you're doing one part, you are already thinking and seeing where and what to do next.  It helps to play music.  Ella Fitzgerald helped me with this one.  I started this yesterday afternoon and signed it complete five minutes ago:

I have to admit, I am really proud of this.  It's also inspired me in ways I've never been inspired before.  do me a favor:  Try it.  Put on some music.  Grab a pen... even a Sharpie will work.  All this is is lines and dots... some are thicker than others.  ANYONE can do this.  The trick to this art form is to RELAX and just flow with it.  If you are stressing over it, you are taking it way too seriously.  It's a very laid-back, relaxed way to unwind.  It's great for kids, too.  Try it!

Until next time,

Keep doodling!

Hearts Abound

Every year around this time, at least for the past ten years or so, I get the itch.  The tattoo itch.  I take out my sketchbook, and doodle.  I have tried and tried to come up with a clever design that included hearts.  I am a Valentine Baby.  Surely that deserves a really interesting tattoo, right?  Sure.  I just can't seem to come up with anything clever or anything that would warrant inking my body permanently.  I get angry at myself, too.  Surely I can come up with something, after all;  this is my day.  I've seen  clever Valen-birthday... birthentine's Day ideas in the lovely cards I receive... and have kept.  I feel as if I've failed myself.  I even drew up some candy "Conversation Hearts" with all of my families' initials.  Yeah, yeah. 

I have not been feeling well lately, and decided to just lay around.  I started thinking about hearts again.  I was determined this time to come up with something, or at the very least, an idea to tweak.  I began sketching large hearts.  I tried joining them.  Then I tried sketching some with a border... hmm... I kept going.  I liked what I saw.  Then, it hit me:  Chain them together.  Yeah!  So I started over.  It was easier than I thought.  Before I knew it, I had sketched out a really neat design.  I thought about "Zentangling" it;  including lines and shapes within the inner part of the hearts.  I chose not to, but decided to color each heart.  It was nice.  Still it lacked something.  Shading.  I began with the darks, shading the areas 'under' the 'overpasses.'  Happy with that, I then added the highlights.  It was done.  Looking at it now, I still may Zentangle it.  If anything, this has inspired me to create my tattoo idea using this design, only using 4 hearts instead of the 8 I drew here:

I was not going for perfection.  I was going for whimsy and I think I caught that.  I'm pleased. 

Until next time,

Doodle on!