Deer Drawings

Here are some drawings of deer noshing on the grass in my mother's backyard.

Trendy Feathers

I drew these feathers at my mom's house out in the country a few weeks ago. Today, she and I did a little bit of shopping. We went to Anthropologie and Paper Source. There were clothes and paper at these stores with feather patterns. This is not the first time that I have drawn something and then seen images of that subject in stores. Owls and Russian nesting dolls have also been things that I've drawn and then seen them "everywhere." It's one of those situations where I start to feel like either my ideas are really on trend, or I'm brainwashed by commerce and don't notice it until I draw something. I was comforted by the fact that mushrooms seem to be a popular image for women's clothes and gift items, but I haven't drawn them. Because... EEW... mushrooms... bleh.

July D.C. Art Museum Visits

A few weeks ago, I took the metro into D.C. I went alone with no plan of where I wanted to go. First, I went into the Freer because I've always thought of it as one of the more boring art museums in the city and I wanted to give it a second chance. It was still small and sparse as I had remembered, but I enjoyed revisiting the nutty extravagance of the Peacock Room. Thomas Dewing's paintings "Before Sunrise" and "After Sunset" were pretty in a quiet, spooky sort of way. I copied a portion of a Japanese scroll into my sketchbook:

 

Next, I wandered through the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden and sketched one of the sculptures:

Inside the NGA's East Wing, I was impressed by the huge exhibit about Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes. I loved the costume designs by Leon Bakst. In the NGA's West Wing, I checked out some Pre-Raphaelite illustrations, a Munch exhibit (he seemed to have an obsession with women's hair), and lots of sculptures by Rodin and Degas. There were crowds of tourists in the rooms with the Monet and Van Gogh paintings. But the only painting that I really reacted to was Andrew Wyeth's "Wind From the Sea." It's not a pretty picture of flowers or people. But when I stepped in front of it, I instantly imagined myself in an old house by the sea, with the wind WHOOSHing through the window, the tattered curtain, and onto my face. I had a physical reaction to this painting and probably even said "Woah" out loud. It probably doesn't have the same effect with an internet jpeg:

You'll just have to trust me on this and check it out if you ever go to the West Wing of the National Gallery in D.C. I've never been a big fan of Andrew Wyeth's hyper-realism, until it blew my hair back with an imaginary gust of wind.

Vacation Sketches

Here are two small drawings from my recent family vacation at Topsail Island in North Carolina. For about 10 years now, I've been keeping a little book of drawings of flowers that I've seen here and there. I especially enjoyed sketching along side my niece who did some great drawings of shells, a sunset, and a pineapple. She's got a lot of artistic talent and I hope we will make more art together on future vacations. I get a surge of creative energy when I'm around other artists and I hope that I do the same for them!

The Little House

I've been spending a lot of time with my mother this summer. We've conquered a lot of crossword puzzles. Here is a drawing of her house that I made this week. She was inside paying bills while I drew this. Sam, the dog, was inside too, trying to stay cool. I didn't have enough time to draw the shadows on the house, but it'll do.

Completed Portrait Project

Hooray! I completed 24 portraits for my client. Click on the Drawings page to see all of them.

Illustrators Club of DC 2013 Show

I was thrilled to learn that one of my pieces was accepted into the Illustrators Club of DC 2013 juried show. Here is my "Mechanical Nightingale" hanging next to Sally Comport's "Hanging off Jefferson's Nose." To learn more about my Nightingale, check out the Paintings page. I love looking at the art in illustration shows because it is often clever, humorous, and full of visual puns.The show will be up until July 12th at the Pepco Edison Place Gallery.