EDM #110 - Draw something with a flame or flames

EDM #110 - Draw something with a flame or flames
Originally uploaded by NeonFog

Talk about going down in flames - my last challenge for the month. I made it with every single day sketching a EDM challenge.
I was attempting to fill the space with the smoke from the flame. Yes, smoke usually goes up, but with my test strike the smoke went sideways while the flame remained upright. I thought it would work. The whole time I was sketching this the song "The Flame" by Cheap Trick kept going thru my mind.

EDM #58 - Draw a hat, cap or other headgear.

EDM #58 - Draw a hat, cap or other headgear.
Originally uploaded by NeonFog

I may have mentioned I'm a San Francisco Giants fan. One of my many baseball caps I have collected over the years. This cap is my Oakland A's version. I wear it to A's games as it is black with a green Giants logo. This way I try not to offend A's fans and enjoy the game and yet still show off my affiliation to the Giants.

EDM #17 - Draw a musical instrument

EDM #17 - Draw a musical instrument
Originally uploaded by NeonFog

I was given this uke as a gift about a dozen years ago. It is made out of an inexpensive wood but has a lovely light cherry wood color. It is a little beat up and has plastic strings. The labels are all gone - it is not a real cheap uke but clearly not the best you can have. I still like it. If only I knew how to play it.

EDM #73 - Draw a mailbox

EDM #73 - Draw a mailbox
Originally uploaded by NeonFog

The same mailbox I drew last month. Today was a hurry break at Noah's Bagels. It was chilly and lots of rainy little clouds threatening rain.

EDM #189 - Draw a shaver or razor

EDM #189 - Draw a shaver or razor
Originally uploaded by NeonFog

DH's shaver. I drew this early Thanksgiving morning before DH got up and we all started to have to cook.

Happy Thanksgiving.

EDM #11 - Draw your glasses or sunglasses

EDM #11 - Draw your glasses or sunglasses
Originally uploaded by NeonFog

Reading glasses which are much deeper color than pictured but are purple none the less.

EDM #145 - Draw (or paint) a tree in autumn

EDM #145 - Draw (or paint) a tree in autumn
Originally uploaded by NeonFog

Down the street from where I live there is the wonderful oak tree. The original developer of the area, Niels Schultz, wanted to keep the integity of the oak trees in the area with all of the building he with the property. Recently one of its sister oak trees had to be cut down.

I couldn't do this tree justice as it is so gorgeous. I only had a short time today to capture this sketch and ran out of water in my Niji water pen before I finished.
Here is the Google Map picture of the tree (center):

Teesha Moore YouTube

Last week I watched all of Teesha Moore's wonderful new videos on YouTube. I have been an admirer of hers for many years.

She is a very good teacher in these videos. Very straight forward as I only had to watch once and I pretty much absorbed it all. So here is my piece styled from the videos:

I have been some form of this art journaling for years, but I like Teesha Moore's way of seeing collage and journalling. Quite honestly this was a blast to do.

Monthly Sketch Project - November Hand

Monthly Sketch Project - November Hand
Originally uploaded by NeonFog

Quick sketch for the second Monthly Sketch Project for November. The original photo is here.

I like to draw hands. Haven't done it in a long while. I have another idea for hands I think I will do. But it requires a couple of friends as models.

EDM #179 - Draw an onion

EDN #179 - Draw an onion
Originally uploaded by NeonFog

I rarely have onions in the house. Others have to cut them and when they do I have to leave the house. I like them cooked and I can eat them. However, with the holidays coming we have onions.
I switched watercolor palettes. I had been using a really old W&N travel palette and switched off to some new colors I recently purchased. The old colors weren't quite as bright.

EDM #108 - Draw a light bulb

EDM #108 - Draw a light bulb
Originally uploaded by NeonFog

Good old-fashioned lightbulb.

EDM #224 - Draw a Jug or a Pitcher

EDM #224 - Draw a Jug or a Pitcher
Originally uploaded by NeonFog

I wasn't able to get the cobolt blue of this pitcher correct. This might be the subject for a future acrylic practise painting.
This is a little pitcher that is a part of a set of blue and white stoneware from the 1920s I have. My mom found a large version of this pitcher in a house my parents had moved in to and that pitcher was one of my favorites. When I saw the set for sale, and at the time it was a big ticket item as the antique store wouldn't break up the set, I had to have it.

Mixed Media Monday - I Am Woman

Mixed Media 9 x 12 Watercolor "I Am Woman"

Here is my submission to Mixed Media Monday for the "I Am Woman". Though I used a muted palette the original is much more vibrant. One of my favorite pieces of clip art - this woman just has "don't mess with me" look that I wanted.

EDM #207 - Draw something that has a shell, or draw a seashell

I never really have enjoyed drawing shells. As usual I overpainted it. Dry brushed some chinese white which calmed it down.




I still knit. Started this little project about 10 at night. Saw the pattern, had the yarn in the stash and off we go.


Marsan Hat in Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride M176 Silver Gray

I have been knitting with Lamb's Pride for a long time. It is one of my all-time favorites. I like to have a skein in my stash, but since I am trying to stash bust I may not much longer. I am starting another Marsan Hat in M76 Blue Heirloom. Then I plan a third in left overs with a possible matching scarf or mittens.

EDM #105 - Draw some scissors

EDM #105 - Draw some scissors
Originally uploaded by NeonFog

These are my favorite all-purpose scissors. I have two. I don't know why I like them - a little heavy for their size (about 5 inches long). They cut little serrated edges, but I can live with that. They were purchased for about .50 cents at clearance.
This was one time I would have like to have had gouache. The handles are much more opaque. I guess I could have used Chinese white in the mix.

EDM #197 - Draw a remote control

EDM #197 - Draw a remote control
Originally uploaded by NeonFog

Just one of those days. Wasn't too enthusiastic about drawing or drawing this. I have some mixed media and knitting (remember knitting?) projects I started last night that are holding my interest.

EDM #240 - Draw a pencil

EDM #240 - Draw a pencil
Originally uploaded by NeonFog

Here are my everyday pencils. I have had these a long time. I tend to go from different media and back again. The fourth pencil didn't make it in to the piece. I had to use it to sketch out the details. I will use my drawing pencils until I can't hold them anymore.

EDM #120 - Draw a flashlight

EDM #120 - Draw a flashlight
Originally uploaded by NeonFog

What I did today...it is a small Maglite. It is not very big but very heavy for its size (it is a Maglite after all).

EDM #24 - Draw a piece of fruit

EDM #24 - Draw a piece of fruit
Originally uploaded by NeonFog

Pears are in season here in California.
These are California Barletts that are much greener than then I painted them. Pears are much lumpier than I thought.
Edit: AutumnLeaves was kind enough (thanks1) to leave a comment which somehow cannot be added to the regular comment section " I really like your watercolor technique. I think these are beautiful!

Just Before....

Created for Mixed Media Monday challenge "Fashion". Gesso over watercolor paper, scrapbook paper, acrylic paint, stamps, bubble wrap, shelf liner, ribbon, buttons, hand made paper, clip art.
Unfortunately, the scanned copy was not usable because of the dimensional collage element.

EDM #91 - Draw an Apple

EDM #91 - Draw an Apple
Originally uploaded by NeonFog

This is the first time I have ever had a Jazz apple. So why not draw one.
I like the graphics on the label but elected not to draw it on the apple and just stuck it on the piece.

EDM #205 Draw a soda can

EDM #205 Draw a soda can
Originally uploaded by NeonFog

Detail oriented as I am - even I wasn't going to copy all of the writing on the can.

Vitual Paintout Part Two (A Story of Three Pieces)

For my second submission to Vitual Paintout this month, is this lovely building in Halifax.

I don't draw buildings much. The last building I remember drawing was when I was about 18. I drew a pencil sketch of a house on Divisadero in San Francisco.

NO STRAIGHT EDGES WERE HARMED IN THE MAKING OF THIS DRAWING. I don't use straight edges or compasses in my art work. I think some art teacher I had told the class we couldn't use them and I have been in the habit ever since. Which of course makes for a lot of drawing and erasing. A lot. Hence the rather leaning windows and lines curving where they shouldn't.

My Original PITT ink drawing.

I was too chicken to add color to the original. So in to the scanner the original went and out printed a new copy on watercolor paper. Very creative use of purple pink.

Too much color. Another print on watercolor paper and a visit with my old friend Payne's Grey yielded the picture which was actually submitted.

Edit: AutumnLeaves left a comment regarding this post that somehow cannot be posted in the comments section. Thank you for the comment: "This is beautiful" I really appreciate this and all comments.

EDM #34 - Draw a fall leaf

I picked up this leaf yesterday. Beautiful, rich burgundy and ruby color on one side and pick green on the other. Yes, we do have fall colors in the Bay Area.
Once I inked this in I liked it so much I didn't want to watercolor it. I might print out a copy on water color paper later.

EDM #214 - Draw something representing a favorite hobby

EDM #214 - Draw something representing a favorite hobby
Originally uploaded by NeonFog

You gotta love my DH - he thought my drawing of a stapler was a school bus and he thinks this is pecan cookies.
This is my set of zils for belly dancing. This is kind of my other hobby but I belong to a troupe (Rising Stars) since 2004 so it maybe more than a hobby.

EDM #203 Draw a glass of juice

EDM #203 Draw a glass of juice
Originally uploaded by NeonFog

Glass of orange juice in an old TraveLodge glass. The glass has a very cool old "Sleepy Bear" logo which I elected to leave off.

EDM #101 Draw a bar of soap

EDM #101 Draw a bar of soap
Originally uploaded by NeonFog

The first attempt at drawing a bar of soap yielded something that looked more like a rock with a serious fungus issue. Plain old bar soap is hard to draw as something interesting.

Though I think the soap looks more like an egg , I had an opportunity to practice bubbles. The bubbles look so happy.

2288 Shore Drive, Halifax, NS

2288 Shore Drive, Halifax, NS
Originally uploaded by NeonFog

Done for this month's Virtual Paintout of Nova Scotia. This is a golf club located on an old military installation complete with bunkers.
I am not the best landscape painter (no kidding) but I have to practice.

EDM #20 Draw something "Dad"

EDM #20 Draw something "Dad"
Originally uploaded by NeonFog

Originally I was inspired by the EDM challenge to "Draw a knife or blade". I choose my dad's pocketknife which he carried everywhere and used for everything - work (he was a T.V. Repairman), fishing, fixing the car. The knife invokes so many memories of him it was only fitting as nothing else I have really fit the category.

Monthly Sketch Project - November 2009

This is my first sketch for the Monthly Sketch Project. It is a bottle from a picture Leslie Hawes submitted. Normally I don't have trouble with shadows but I think it may have had something to do with the mysterious flying object we had yesterday evening.

EDM #71 - Draw something representing your favorite sport

EDM #71 - Draw something representing your favorite sport
Originally uploaded by NeonFog

Major League Baseball has been my favorite since I was a little baby. Having been born and lived all my life in the San Francisco Bay Area naturally I am a Giants fan (I will go to A's games if the Giants are out of town). This baseball is a real live foul ball. Jack Clark (former Giant who was with the Padres at the time of the foul ball) hit it off of Scott Garrelts of the Giants at a night game at Candlestick when the Giants were still there.

This ball is actually very dirty. The umpires rub special mud on the ball to remove the shine prior to each game. Also pitchers have dirt (and who knows what else) on their hands. There is a mark on the other side where the ball was hit.

AJS Lesson #5

I created these pieces in one long session today. Sometimes once I get going - and this was after I painted the cell phone for the EDM challenge. My normal color ranges is the pieces numbered 7-9 but I was trying to work out of my comfort zone.

All pieces on watercolor paper 1. Pastels (I didn't intend to make it look like Saturn) 2. Gesso over collage (newsprint, scrapbook paper, pages from a book) 3. Roller sponge with acrylic paint 4. Created patterns with glaze medium and acrylic paint over painted background - used finger and toothpicks to create squiggles 5. Monoprint from acrylic paint on palette paper mixed with a brayer - dry bush over print 6. Stencil layers made from stencils created from punches.

7. Crayon rubbing of wall heater and of light switch plate 8. Rubber stamps inked over acrylic paint 9. Sprayed and splattered ink over acrylic paint allowing it to drip 10. Pale paint wash 11. Water based oil pastels to build intense color 12. Tissue layers over paint and gesso (unfortunately the gold layer does not show its intensity in the scan.



13. Bonus piece created with coffee grounds poured wet directly on the paper. A wee bit messy process but I like the results.

EDM #13 Draw Your Telephone

EDM #13 Draw Your Telephone
Originally uploaded by NeonFog

My little basic bright green Samsung.

EDM #111 Draw a Bowl

EDM #111 Draw a Bowl
Originally uploaded by NeonFog

The drawing was easy. The bowl is a very nice periwinkle color milk glass bowl. I over painted it. Went back with some Chinese White watercolor straight out of the tube. It kinda worked. Live and learn.

New Computer

My laptop never did recover from its trip to the computer repair store. I didn't want to take it in as I knew what was wrong and didn't want to spend the funds. DH insisted and the computer shop confirmed that nothing was going to replace the burned out USB ports.

DH and I agreed to purchase a new desktop. DH is a flight sim fanatic and wanted his desktop back. Off to Best Buy and I bought a Dell Inspiron with Windows 7. Other than an issue with the new anti-virus, I like this desktop. The old laptop still works so I might just use it like a netbook. Only one problem - the back-up I did when the laptop's USB ports still worked did not back up all of my Itune files. Bummer - I have to find a way to transfer them via the Internet.

Still trying to learn Windows 7 but I like the backgrounds that come with it. There are some wonderful illustrations. But Windows 7 is very much like a Mac in some regards.

EDM #109 Draw a Clock You Have Around Your House

EDM #109 Draw a Clock You Have Around Your House
Originally uploaded by NeonFog

This is my maternal grandmother's clock. It is one of my prized possessions. It is not very valuable - just to me

EDM #164 Draw a Camera

EDM #164 Draw a Camera
Originally uploaded by NeonFog

From my new desktop/printer/scanner set up. I didn't want the Epson printer bundle but it was cheaper to get it. I like my Canon Lide much better.

This is my "everyday" run around camera which gets thrown in my bag. It was also an experiment in watercolors as I made black from dark blue, cad red, and dark brown. The W&N set I use is so old I cannot remember what color names are in the set.

EDM #201 Draw a Stapler

EDM #201 Draw a Stapler
Originally uploaded by NeonFog

I was told by DH that it looks like the top of a school bus. This is a really old stapler which is a prized possession of mine.

EDM #190 Draw Your Palette or Selection of Colors

EDM #190 Draw Your Pallette or Selection of Colors
Originally uploaded by NeonFog

This is the first sketch of my goal to sketch one item from the Everyday Matters list.

It is also the first page in a new journal I am creating since I can't find exactly what I want.