It’s Womans History Month
March 1, 2018
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I heard it was Woman’s History Month so here is a little “Who Is It” game to play. The answer will be posted tomorrow.
THE BLOG
Read to your chickies.
February 8, 2018
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Just before bed is a good time to read to your little ones. You can snuggle up close and share a great story with some great art. You can talk about life and goodness and kindness. You can share with them a great knowledge of the world around them and how to deal with the different experiences they might encounter such as how to have courage if you are a mouse and you get captured by a lion. (The Lion and The Mouse by Jerry Pinkney) Or if you are a farm lady who absolutely loves her chickens.
Sketching quietly during the Messiah
December 21, 2017
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Dave’s mom sings the Messiah every year with the Oratorio Society so we get to go and see her every year. She has recruited her sons and granddaughters and daughter in laws. I bring my sketch book because it is the best time to sketch with the music swirling all around me.
We walked in and found our seats.
Before I sat down, I reached into my back pocket and turned off my cell phone. There was a man in his 80’s sitting to my right. The announcer welcomed us and told us all to turn off our cell phones. The man sitting next to me said, “Turn off your cell phone. I see that you have a cell phone.” I told him that I had turned it off, not on. I thought I would have a bit of trouble sitting next to this gentleman. He might have a hard time if I was sketching during the concert.
During the intermission he turned to me and said, “l see that you are a pretty good sketcher. Do you see the blond lady on the front row of the choir. Do you think that you could see her well enough to sketch her?” I thought he was talking about my young niece, but he was talking about his wife who was sitting three seats over in the soprano section. “I’m 84 and it is our anniversary today.”
I told him that she was a bit far away to see but I could sketch him for her. He was a bit hesitant but posed for me. I don’t often rip out pages from my sketch book but this seemed a special occasion. During the next half of the concert, I sketched his wife and the group of singers around her. Before the first bow string over violin sounded to the Hallelujah chorus, the gentleman shot to his feet and stood.
After the concert, I handed him both sketches. He wanted to have my address so he could send me a copy of the book he had written on the Pony Express. I said he didn’t have to but I would be thrilled to receive it.
Merry Christmas and happy holiday season to you all.
Inktober 31
October 31, 2017
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Thanks for joining me for this Inktober challenge. The challenge is from illustrator Jake Parker, who gave a great presentation with Will Terry at our local SCBWI illustrators conference, to do an ink drawing and post it every day in October. For the last two years my ink drawings have told a non fiction story. This year it was the story of Harry who later became known as B.H. Roberts.
There is a lady in my ward who came up to me and said that her family had someone die and be buried at Chimney Rock. She figured out that the story was about her great grandfather’s trek to Salt Lake.
I plan what story I want to tell and break it down into 31 days, which this year somehow I skipped a day so the last sketch was due to the error in my planning. I start the sketches on October !st. If I have to go out of town for some reason, then I will do two sketches a day to plan for that.
Why do this? It gives you great confidence as an illustrator to be able to look at the story in the morning and watch the drawing appear from your mind to the paper. There is usually sometime during the month where I go, “Oh no why am I doing this. But there is great satisfaction at the end of the month. It is also fun to read the comments of people who follow along with the story. I like to sketch in ink. I got into the habit of sketching in ink when I noticed that my sketches in pencil were smearing in the sketch book that I carried around with me. It gives you great confidence in your sketching because there is no turning back once you put ink to paper. I suppose there is white out and photoshop but not having the immediate ability to erase makes you quicker in your sketches. So thanks again for joining me in this months ride.
