Harley Brown Rocks!!!

I was completely blown away by the generosity of Harley Brown. As the winner of the "Last Photo" contest I was informed that I would be receiving the last photo from Harley. I was completely expecting to get an 8x10 photo with a piece of cardboard in a manilla envelope.... seriously. Late last week I received a package from harley with "the photo" - framed, a nice note written in one of his gorgeous note cards, one of his signed prints, a copy of his book in which he drew a stunning indian and a personal note to me. I couldn't believe it, I am touched! it shows the generosity and spirit of such a great man! Thank you Harley Brown!

I have started reading Harley's book and I am loving it!!! He is so inspirational, and has given me a new outlook on my art and how I feel about my own work. It's an easy read, broken down into small sections. Perfect for someone like myself, with the attention span of a gnat : )

Exciting News!

I was feeling a little down yesterday. I was laid off in January and the job market is getting worse and worse. Ocassionally it gets the best of me. : (

Around 6:00 last night I decided to check my email, and received some news that cheered my right back up!!

Several months ago I came across an article by Harley Brown in the International Artists Magazine. I love his articles. He is, to say the least, amazing and his articles are always interesting and informative. So he had a contest to draw his last photo, of a lighthouse.

I took the challenge and sent in my drawing, and I actually won! The editor of International Artist Magazine wrote me a nice little email informing me that I won and said of the hundreds of entries from all over the world mine stood out. How nice is that to hear?

I will receive the original photo signed by the master himself, Harley Brown, as well as having my drawing published in the next August/September, # 68 issue of International Artists Magazine.

Here is Harley's photo-

And here is my drawing - I used graphite powder on this one. I'm in the process of doing another drawing with the graphite powder. The more I use it the more I like it, and the more comfortable I get with it. It has a different- "looser" look.

Playing with Color Again!

I am going through a weird little faze right now! Being a graphic designer, I always associate a piece of art with coordinating patterns. When working as a designer we always took a main image and added coordinating patterns to make a group.

I often think that way when I am drawing. After completing a drawing I almost always start picturing patterns that would work with the art. I often think about drawing a pattern to coordinate with my main image. I started playing with this idea this week. I have a couple done already because I'm working fairly small right now. I also decided to add a touch of color. I'm doing washes of watercolor. I will post another very soon. What do you think? Good or bad, I would love to get some feedback.

I'm also trying to figure out why my blog is not updating correctly on other's blogs. I'll keep trying, and thanks to those who have been trying to help me with the problem.

NEW DRAWING

Here is my latest drawing. Not sure what to call it yet. The horse belongs to a friend of mine and I can't remember what his name is. It's rather large - 17" x 20". The photo isn't great but you get the idea. I love drawing horses and I have some incredible reference photos, so I may do another one soon. But in the meantime I think I will do a few smaller drawings.

Western Screech Owl 9.5" x 10"

Ok so I was supposed to have this finished like, a month ago! I got a very big freelance design job in - which of course is paying my bills right now. I have also been busy experimenting with acrylics and epoxy coatings so I can mount my art and seal it without having to frame. I guess it's just for no other reason than a different look and an extra added touch. I started this drawing with powdered graphite, which I am still learning and experimenting with. I like the process a lot.

I think this piece still needs some work. It looks a little flat still. I will keep working, but I hadn't posted in so long I was feeling a bit guilty!

Latest work

Elephant 12.5" x 18"
I just finished this elephant drawing. I took this picture last time I was at the Reid Park Zoo, I wish I knew a little more about the elephant. I think I'll go back and find out more about him... or her. I thought it was going to take me forever but, actually wasn't too bad. It was fun! I love drawing new textures that I'm not used to doing, because it's always a nice learning process. You come out of it feeling like you learned something. I'm also working on an owl drawing that I used the powdered graphite ( turned to liquid) on. Hoping to get it done by the end of the weekend!

Lighthouse

For those of you who read the International Artist Magazine, you should recognize the name Harley Brown. I love his articles, in the back of every issue! He is amazing to say the least. For those of you who don't know who he is just google his name and look at some of the amazing art he creates. Well, in his last article he asked readers to do a pencil sketch of his last photo and I thought it sounded like fun. So here is my version of Harley's last photo.

I also used graphite powder mixed with water to do my background. I've been playing with it for a while and this was the first picture I completed using this technique. I still need to keep experimenting with it. It's a little hard to work with, not at all like watercolor, which I'm used to. Much harder to control. Maybe it's just that I don't know what the hell I'm doing yet.

I've already started another drawing with the graphite powder. I like the slightly looser look I'm getting with it, and hopefully if I keep using it I will actually figure out what I'm doing!!