Brain Rest

I was going through my drawings the other night when I realized I hadn't drawn anything this year...at least, not that is in my portfolio thingy. I know I've done a pastels/pencil portrait of Professor Snape for my Harry Potter FDS but other than that...I don't think I've done anything but scribble. Accordingly, I took my colored pencils out [which were in woeful need of sharpening] and sketched.

The first drawing came out alright. The second one, not so much. The third one, alright. The fourth one, good until I got to the skirt. I picked the totally wrong color. The last one, which I started drawing last night, and finished up today, might be one of the best pictures I've done. [Which isn't saying much - there is still stuff I could have done to make it better] I'm pretty happy w/ the composition, very pleased with the coloring, and the proportions turned out better than some other drawings I've done. All in all, it's a cute picture. Now if I could just get a background or border. We'll see. I'm a little hesitant. Sometimes I just know that it's done.

The thing about drawing is this: when I draw, I enter my own little world. I don't hear anything around me and I am COMPLETELY absorbed. I sit there, calculating, sketching, erasing, for hours until I'm happy with what I'm doing. Then I go through my pencils and scribble on an extra sheet until I'm happy that the colors match; otherwise, I end up w/ a drawing that I like but the colors are off. Then I color and try [note: TRY] to get it smooth. Then I look at my drawing and the rest of the world comes back into focus.

I didn't want the style I have - I wanted a more realistic version of what I draw. But I'm happy w/ my style now, although I haven't a clue as to how I can use it. I can't draw the same thing twice, so illustrations are sort of out of the question, unless I can do different things each time. I've thought of cartoons but I don't think that's QUITE where my drawings should go...so right now, I just doodle and hope that one day I get to do something fun with them. Who knows?

Today was the first day I drew something out of a book that wasn't in the Harry Potter 'verse. I drew Valancy from The Blue Castle, by L.M. Montgomery. At least, my interpretation of Valancy. I drew her w/ curly black hair instead of straight black hair, but if she was dressing up for a special occasion (which she is in my picture, having taken a description of an outfit she wore and fancied it up), she might curl her hair. Anyway, I like how she turned out.

I also started painting again. I went to Ruth's this morning to just sit and paint. I started with a small canvas, brushing on white and blue until I could blend it [I still haven't quite gotten the hang of it, although I suspect I need new, soft brushes that will blend instead of using a scratchy old brush like I did this morning] and then I sketched in someone flying on a broom...yeah, well, I still love Quidditch. And Harry Potter. :) It's a wonderful world that I love visiting. So that might turn out nice. Hopefully.

I am glad that I have these two outlets. Instead of letting my brain whirl and whirl on just one side, it's nice to take a brain rest [Oh THAT'S why she called it that...sorry...been watching Family Guy *gasp*, isn't that terrible...] and visit the other side of my brain, which I prefer working with. Now to find a job like that...:P LOL.

Have a lovely afternoon!