Making a Mark: Sketchercise!

Making a Mark: Sketchercise!

Updates

So... is anyone still involved in this exchange? Or should we restart/reset and begin again?

I received Kathleen's moly in the mail today. It looks great. I can't wait to add to it. How is everybody else coming along? Don't forget to post your art and let us know when you are sending them along. Thanks guys. 

White-Tailed Deer

The White-tailed Deer, Odocoileus virginianus, has been extremely important in Ohio's history. The state tree, the Ohio Buckeye, is named because its nut resembles a deer—or buck's—eye. Buckeye is based on the Indian word "hetuck," meaning "eye of the buck." White-tailed Deer have been in Ohio since the end of the last Ice Age. The deer played a very important role in the lives of practically all of Ohio's prehistoric Indian cultures. Ohio's native people used the deer's meat for food, the hide for clothing, and the bones and antlers for tools. Indians also used the hides, antlers, and bones for ceremonial purposes. There are tons of deer in our area and although there are those who do not like hunting, harvesting of deer through hunting is necessary to control the over-population and allow for enough area for these animals to rome. 

What I have depicted here are 3 white-tails that frequent the field behind my house. I live on the edge of a residential area and behind our house is a grassy field then the alfalfa and the wooded area. It is early morning and the deer have come out to eat from the alfalfa. As in most herds the does are the ones that enter the open field first to make sure there is nothing to fear. However the ears up mean she has been alerted to something near-by.  

So, my moly is on its way to Anne in Spain. Whew. 

Also cross-posted at Crosshatch Studio.

Sleeping Beauties

Queenslander houses, with their high stumps, polished floors, deep verandas and wooden lace, are not designed to keep heat in. They are freezing in winter (they also have many of the features of a wildlife corridor, but that's another story), and so instead of working at one of my desks (one of which is in the annex and so basically a cold-room) I did my first entry on the coffee table while sitting crosslegged on the floor in front of Inspector Rex.

Here is my coffee table and floor:



This is the full spread of my first entry, featuring bougainvillea, veranda railings and flowery prose:



And a detail of the pop-up (with real Queenslander architecture in the background - those are coloured glass windows looking over the back yard):



And some real bougainvillea from my parents' yard:



All pictures are on Flickr, so you can click through and click on "all sizes" above the picture if you want a close-up.

ETA: It is posted and on its way to Robin. I didn't take a photo, but the sign-in page is just the inside front cover - draw a little thing (I did a flower) and put your name and general location. I also put a flower postage stamp on the front cover, so if you have any stamps or stickers and this book comes through your hand, feel free to add them! And there are some moo cards in the back pocket for those what wants one.

A little about myself - Redredpres

Well, since i requested that everyone give an introduction of themselves, I guess i better do it myself as well. Thanks Kathleen for starting. My work can be found here on flickr and also at Crosshatch Studio.

I used to paint a lot when i was a young man, mostly before kids. Then i started a career as a graphic designer. Most recently i am now president and creative director of my own graphic design studio called Red Red Design. Now that kids are older I really wanted to start painting more so recently i joined a group of artists that do plein air painting and although i don't go often I have really enjoyed that. Kids still keep me plenty busy getting ready for their high school fall sports programs and just being teenagers. Then i discovered sketch blogging and decided that would be a good way to make myself keep up with art by at least sketching. I really look forward to seeing what comes out of this group of artists. 

So how is everybody doing? I admit, my Moly is not ready to be mailed yet but I plan to get it out by the end of the week. Please let us know how your doing at this point and also feel free to share what your working on if you can. Lets get this blog active. 

Thanks,

Robin

Introducing Tanaudel

Hi all! Robin suggested we introduce ourselves, so I'll jump in now. I'm Kathleen from Brisbane, Australia and I can be found at http://www.flickr.com/tanaudel and http://tanaudel.wordpress.com/.

I've been doodling for a long time, drawing every day since 1/01/2007 and keeping a moleskine sketchbook since 10/2007 when I used one for my travel sketchbook/diary when I went to the USA for three weeks (that set is on Flickr here: USA 2007 Moleskine). My second and latest travel journal was for a trip to Vanuatu but that is still being uploaded. I've also been participating in Illustration Friday for some time and that with sketching and reading (especially James Gurney's blog) have been a good education, although I hope to continue to learn a lot more.

I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone does for this theme!