More Ooglies

Now if you've been reading my blog all week, I know you'll have been wondering what the shape shifting Ooglies look like. Of course, the answer was there all along - anything they feel like (they are shape shifters after all!). Here are two of them who have popped along today to share the story of where they came from.

You see it all began around a week ago when I took the prompt from the group I'm working with on the Drawing Lab book (on Gumnut's blog). We were to squiggle some shapes in watercolour then draw fantastical creatures. I thought this would be a fun exercise to do with my son and even tidied up my work table in preparation.

Unfortunately he prefered to shoot things on the computer and even uttered the dreaded words... "But, I don't like art Mummy". WHAT? Doesn't like art? I'm cut to the quick... (Don't worry - he's a child, fickleness comes naturally, he'll like it again tomorrow.... I hope....)

Anyway, Mummy played with her paints and made a bird and an elephant with jelly legs, then she sat on the sofa and created the land of the Oogley Baloobleys while watching drivel on TV. Since then it's become something of an empire build (we even had shoe design on Wednesday), but I guess that was the whole point of the art exercise - to try something different, see where it takes you (in my case, a whole other planet!).

I just love to stretch and learn. Why didn't I have this burning desire when I studied art at school? I just stuck to what I knew best (encouraged down this path by my somewhat useless art teacher). What was missing from my education was the message that it was OK to create silly splodges, that experimentation was all part of the fun and a finished piece could look like it was created by a five year old if that was what you fancied. It seemed that as we grew older we were expected to leave the merriment of creation behind and focus on the technicalities - it was all about what was going to come up in the exam and that was all that mattered - the teachers weren't bothered that this ridiculous system was killing the creativity of their pupils.

It's different these days thank goodness. Some sensible head in a committee somwhere finally realised that a portfolio of work created over two years was actually a far better indicator of ability than one painting and a pencil sketch knocked up in a 4 hour exam.

I'm off to paint more random lines and see what magic starts to appear out of the paper. Maybe I'll even sign up to re-do my A Level Art...

A sneaky spot of multi-tasking

So much art to do, so little time... Sometimes you just have to grab the opportunity to mix a few challenges into one. I present a sneaky bit of fairy tale story telling sketched out. This equates nicely to:

An entry for Illustration Friday - sneaky. Just look at the cheeky faced Prince as he calls out to Rapunzel "let down your long hair". She's expecting an old hag to climb up her golden tresses but instead will find her knight in shining armour (let's hope he sheds some of that additional metallic weight before he climbs up or the poor girl will have a headache for weeks.)

Fairy tale was coincidentally the prompt from the Drawing Lab I found begging for attention on Gumnut's blog. I'm a bit late with this one, but hey better than never.

Then we have the location of this piece - in my 'storybook sketchbook' for the Sketchbook Project - that's another page ticked off.

Art Every Day Month is satisfied.

And finally, it's a sketch - albeit a fairly detailed one, so we'll see it on Sunday Sketches.

Phew, not bad for an hour's work! All that experience of being a woman helps I think :)

I fancied a bit of whimsey and was pleased with my young Knight. I did struggle with his wink though. Any hints on how to draw a whimsey wink would be most appreciated. The tower is rather out of proportion/perspective on purpose - bit of artistic licence going on there...

Lessons from long necks

Remember last Sunday when I pulled on my white coat and stepped into the drawing lab? Well, I did say that Giraffes were next and sure enough, these long necks have been receiving some special attention from yours truly.

I took small boy to the library yesterday and we came home armed with tales of Mr Pusskins, spacemen and athletic cats as well as a sneaky collection of mammal texts. I'm intermingling the nature lessons with the fiction so sneakily that he'll never realise he's being 'taught'.

Today we both learned that Orangutans make two nests every day - one at night and the other to just sit in during the day while they digest their lunch. But as usual I digress we're here to talk about giraffes.

I was practising a technique where the artist is not allowed to look at the paper - merely the subject. It was harder than you might think. Not so much the drawing part (though that was of course tricky). No, it was the 'not looking at the paper' bit that caused the greatest hardship. Try it and see!

I do however present my best efforts. I was allowed a quick peek for repositioning the pen for internal features - which is the only reason the eyes are not half way down the legs - but other than that I was a good girl and managed to refrain from looking.

I recommend the technique. If nothing else, that constant staring at these beautiful creatures teaches you so much about them - the tiny nuances you normally miss like the wrinkles around the eyes and neck, the fluffy horns and the incredibly nobbly knees! Drawing animals is definitely outside my comfort zone too, but has really tested my observation skills.

I became so enthralled that I then tried a proper sketch too and then decided my long necks needed a splash of colour so, in a further step outside of the 'zone', I experimented with some mono printing. Dabbing some savannah colours on acetate, I then placed it over my sketches and brayered. Had to go over the lines again but quite liked the result.

These 'lab experiments' are becoming my regular Sunday habit thanks to Sophie's prompt for Sunday Sketches. Why not join us. No theme - just draw!

I finish with a moment of serendipity. I have no idea which keys I accidentally pressed to cause this colour inversion in Photoshop, but boy was I happy with the result. Cool eh?

Sunday Sketches, Scissors and Rockets

Next up - drawing giraffes without looking at the paper! I'm enjoying these exercises - all about freedom of expression, imperfection and not thinking too much. Just getting pencil on paper. They are from The Drawing Lab by Carla Sonheim.

Still woozy from this labywotsitinnerearinfection. It's such a nice day too - I should be running about outside and practising the 'Ronaldo Scissor' with my son, but any sudden movements are most risky and liable to have me falling into flower beds. Next time I see someone wandering down the High Street apparently drunk, I might have to give them the benefit of the doubt!

Half an hour later and I return from NASA launch pad in the front garden ready for a rest. We have blasted numerous rockets into space. Two sadly failed to return safely. They landed on planet Rowan and planet Sycamore where their astronauts are waving and hoping for a stiff breeze to send them on their way again.

Note to self: launching rockets does not exacerbate labywotsit symptoms. Clearly safer than driving, picking things up off floor or lying down. Maybe should write a report for the British Medical Journal...