Back in Business

I know, I know. Its been a very long time and unfortunately I have no good excuses. I don't think being busy counts. But,be assured that this is the first of many posts! In the meantime, here are just a few of the projects I've been working on recently. The first one is from a photo of my sisters when they were younger. I took the basic layout and poses from the photograph, but I changed many of the details such as hair and clothing, the dishes on the table. Even the facial expressions. This is obviously a rough sketch, but I plan to fine-tune it a little more and eventually turn it into a color piece. The only problem will be choosing between watercolors or colored pencil.

This next one is a rough pencil sketch of a magazine photo. I was first intrigued by the unusual angle and decided that I had to give it a try. Once again I took the basic shapes and played around until I had given the drawing my own little spark. I had the most fun drawing her face; it was tricky to get it just right, but I like to think that I got that pure joy right.

The last one is one of my very first attempts with my new colored pencils. It was a different project to work on, and I've obviously have a ways to go before I am completely proficient in the medium. Nevertheless, it was fun to try out different techniques such as layering and burnishing. And the fall scene with all those gorgeous colors was just too hard to resist.

Annnd, I have been having some problems with with my scanner, computer and camera. Yes, all three at the same time and its been frustrating. I apologize if the quality of the images is poor or if they are too small. I'm trying to work around these technical difficulties.