Laura's Daily Scribbles

2012-01-21T19:20:00.000-08:00

This is not what I intended to do next, but I saw a photo in the paper of this rock. I know it well. It's on the beach below the Sea Crest Hotel. If the tide is out, it is on the sand; if the tide is high it becomes part of the ocean. It looked like the photo was taken before sunset and the moon was visible in the daylight. This, again, was a rush job, kind of fit in between playing and cooking and shopping with Hannah today.

2012-01-18T19:57:00.000-08:00

And then I added some watercolor.

2012-01-18T19:12:00.000-08:00

This is close to a scribble because I realized how much ink and time I would be using to detail this better; so it became a kind of rushed job.

#3

2012-01-06T13:08:00.000-08:00

Another quick watercolor...didn't have much time yesterday and its doubtful I'll fit any drawing in today. We'll see.

#2

2012-01-05T10:23:00.000-08:00

First daily scribble for Jan. 2012

2012-01-04T10:42:00.000-08:00

My sister wants me to do something, anything, even a stick figure because I haven't even tried to draw anything for so long. She is doing a one-a-day drawing for the new year, and so I am intending to join her and will do something a bit more involved when time allows.

Sandy's bird

2011-08-02T20:06:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time since I've tried drawing a thing, so I'm starting small.

2010-11-08T14:11:00.000-08:00

I kind of hurried through this and it shows, but I wanted to do a watercolor for Wanda's challenge.

2010-10-15T15:26:00.000-07:00

I did the little bird from the challenge also, in watercolor.

2010-10-14T18:04:00.000-07:00

Here's a little critter from Wanda's art challenge. I started off with watercolors, couldn't get good coverage and ended up putting colored pencils over the watercolor.

2010-10-11T16:33:00.000-07:00

I have really never succeeded at putting watercolor on a face. This is better than I've ever done, but I did get too much paint on the face and tried to lighten it up with white watercolor. It's something I need to practice doing because I really would like to be able to draw and paint more people.

2010-10-11T15:18:00.000-07:00

Just sketching from a photo of Hannah, and thinking maybe she might look like this when she's older. The biggest problem with this is I sketched it on watercolor paper and so it is more difficult to blend. I might try to erase most of it and see what I can do with actual watercolor.

2010-10-08T16:29:00.000-07:00

A watercolor flower from a photo I took.

2010-10-08T14:16:00.000-07:00

I tried this from a photo I took. I used colored pencils but it was difficult to get the coverage on the black paper with the colors I was using.

2010-10-03T16:03:00.000-07:00

This is an effort to do some fall leaves for Wanda's fall challenge. Done in watercolor on a very small postcard-sized paper.

2010-09-16T20:10:00.000-07:00

Sandy, I took the tree from one picture and the rock cabin from another and combined them. Obviously, I think, I did it with watercolors.

2010-09-15T19:55:00.000-07:00

Sandy, I tried one of your tree photos, but pretty much screwed it up with my ink marks, so I think it looks better in black and white.

2010-09-15T19:50:00.000-07:00

A watercolor flower that I based on a photo of a cactus flower I had taken.

Wanda's cat challenge...

2010-09-14T18:44:00.000-07:00

I should have taken my time, but I couldn't decide what medium to use. At first it was going to be a pencil drawing, then I decided it would be pen and ink...and after I had used ink, which makes for really solid lines, I decided I wanted to use watercolor. Well, this is the result. I'm wondering how one can get fine cat hairs with watercolor. I've never been able to do that for the whiskers.

Scribbling

2010-09-10T14:26:00.000-07:00

I swear my cat knows where I am in the house even when he's outside. So if I decide to sit on my bed and get the laptop out, he whines at me until I give in and let him sleep next to me. If he's outside, he comes to a bedroom window and sits there and whines until every last nerve of mine is on edge and I let him in. So the other night as he was practically pushing me off the bed and causing me to get very hot with that little body up against me, I decided I would draw a picture of what he looks like from my angle, sitting on the bed with the laptop on my legs.

A cat's comfort is ALL that matters to a cat. There is no one else in the world and no other reason to be in the world other than to make the cat happy and keep him fed.

2010-09-09T19:59:00.000-07:00

I saw a photo of a parrot at my sister's blog and wanted to try for the colors in watercolor. And she's always trying to get me to paint something and post it, so this should satisfy her for a couple of days...ha!

2010-09-02T19:45:00.000-07:00

Colored pencils...I softened it because I was photographing by lamp light and the glare from the light messes it up. I think I'll do it in watercolor also.

My try at the hawk...

2010-08-26T18:29:00.000-07:00

I used black pen and watercolors on this one.

The challenge bird...one of them

2010-08-25T18:59:00.000-07:00

I did this in colored pencils on black paper. I'd still like to try to do the others that were offered for the challenge.

2010-08-19T19:48:00.000-07:00

My take on Sandy's aloe vera plant withe fall colors...obviously I wasn't up to covering the whole page with leaves...maybe if I'd made the leaves really big it would have been better.

Here is my effort at the challenge, S

2010-08-18T16:42:00.000-07:00

2010-08-17T17:57:00.000-07:00

Sandy's challenge to me. I used watercolor and black pen

Wanda's horse challenge....

2010-08-15T19:58:00.000-07:00

Hahahaha...lots of things wrong with this, it was difficult, but at least I attempted it. I usually will draw animal faces but rarely their bodies because I just don't have the experience. I definitely wouldn't attempt a person and an animal in the same drawing...well, I have in the past and they just go to the trash.

Water color water lily

2010-08-14T16:41:00.000-07:00

Sleeping cat

2010-08-13T15:35:00.000-07:00

I actually did this in colored pencils, and I drew it very large, too large to get good coverage with the pencils. Therefore, I changed it to black and white in Picasa because with a digital photo, having used colored pencils, it just didn't photograph well in color. There is absolutely no forgiveness in digital pics.

Sandy's deer

2010-08-09T17:43:00.000-07:00

I used a photograph my sister posted to draw this deer with colored pencils. Thanks, sis!

2010-08-06T12:54:00.000-07:00

I saw a small photo in the local paper this morning of this little cub and had to try to draw it...it is so cute!

2010-08-05T16:16:00.000-07:00

I wanted to do the butterfly that I saw at Wanda's. It was a challenge that she had offered for others to participate. I used colored pencils but wasn't thinking and did it on watercolor paper. It doesn't come out very smooth on that kind of paper. I also messed up the flower, but I enjoyed drawing and coloring in the butterfly.

I tried this cow from Wanda's art challenge

2010-08-04T16:45:00.000-07:00

I just used colored pencils on black paper and so I couldn't really get the color of the cow due to the impossibility of covering this low quality black construction paper with lighter colors. But it was fun trying to draw again!

2010-07-28T19:24:00.000-07:00

Just dabbling...it's been a very long time since I drew or painted anything. My sister's photos from the Rainforest Cafe kind of got me wanting to draw a fish and use lots of color.

2009-10-13T18:28:00.000-07:00

The wind blew hard and the rain gushed today, so I had plenty of time of cover a sheet of black paper with colored pencils.

2009-10-10T11:09:00.000-07:00

Another colored pencil drawing on black paper

A fox in colored pencils on black paper

2009-10-07T13:21:00.000-07:00

Sunflower in colored pencils

2009-10-06T11:09:00.000-07:00

Hannah visiting a lighthouse

2009-09-29T19:10:00.000-07:00

Hannah on a hill overlooking the ocean in Trinidad, CA

2009-09-28T10:28:00.000-07:00

Hannah takes a walk on the path

2009-09-27T15:13:00.000-07:00

2009-09-25T16:38:00.000-07:00

This is a colored pencil drawing of a pelican I had take a photo of on the pier.

2009-09-22T13:05:00.000-07:00

2009-09-19T14:48:00.000-07:00

I saw a photo of this rose in the local paper and saved the picture so I could try it in colored pencils. I've done a couple of things in watercolors and I wanted to try the pencils again since it had been so long.

"Then Fat Percy invited them to spend the night with him; but Johnny Mouse said he didn't want to spend the night in a pigsty."

2009-09-18T16:25:00.000-07:00

"First they tried to catch a fish, but their stomachs rumbled so loudly that they frightened all the fish away."

2009-09-17T19:09:00.000-07:00

I was reading this story to Hannah one day and liked some of the pictures in it, so I wanted to try my hand at a couple of them.

2009-09-10T19:47:00.000-07:00

It's been a LONG time since I've been here or drawn a picture. I just did these balloons to get myself started again. I used markers on this one. I have several things I want to at least draw out, and then when I have time I'll paint them. I started an oil portrait but lost interest because of so much going on in the last few weeks. I hope I can start painting and drawing soon on a more regular basis.

2009-07-07T16:51:00.000-07:00

This is what it took to inspire me to draw something. I watched the memorial service today and I was touched by the songs and tributes, so I decided to try this drawing.

2009-05-28T19:57:00.000-07:00

I did another ink and watercolor of the Piedras Blancas lighthouse on the coast up near Hearst's Castle from a photograph I had taken.

2009-05-26T20:27:00.000-07:00

Same drawing as yesterday but I added watercolor to see how it would look.

2009-05-25T21:27:00.000-07:00

This is a pen and ink drawing I did tonight just so I could get something new up. It's really a fast way to get something down on paper.

2009-05-24T17:26:00.000-07:00

We had our annual Strawberry Festival in the Village this weekend, so we were really busy and I had no time to even think about drawing; therefore, three old portraits I actually like.

2009-05-22T16:55:00.000-07:00

I decided to do a watercolor flower this time, also using a photo of a flower on my balcony.

2009-05-21T20:47:00.000-07:00

I took a picture of some roses I had picked from the garden and put in the kitchen window and then I wanted to try to do a drawing...again, colored pencils on black paper.

2009-05-21T08:02:00.000-07:00

Ever since I took this photograph, I've wanted to have time to draw it on black paper with colored pencils.

2009-05-19T20:26:00.000-07:00

I am posting three old portraits I did quite a while ago. I'm not seeing much chance in the next day or two to paint or draw anything new.

2009-05-18T20:57:00.000-07:00

Just a quick, 4 by 6 postcard watercolor today...all I had time for.

2009-05-17T17:12:00.000-07:00

Just a cartoonish scribble based on a photo of Hannah on the swing at the park. I used ink and watercolors.

2009-05-16T20:46:00.000-07:00

I got closer on this attempt...she has a very wide face at eye level and a big forehead and big eyes. I'm a lot happier with this one, and so this will be it. I'm satisfied enough not to keep trying.

2009-05-15T16:16:00.000-07:00

I always have a problem drawing Hannah. This time her nose is too long and her eyes are too wideset. I am going to keep trying this drawing until I finally get it right! I, of course, softened it and added more light to the drawing in Picasa because I was also too heavy-handed on the shadowing. One of the problems is I think of her with a big grin on her face and a devilish light in her eyes; so to do a "serious" face for her is not the way I very often see her. And I certainly don't want to do the "crying" face I see a lot too! ;)

2009-05-14T16:36:00.000-07:00

These two are older drawings I did, and I'm putting them up because I have nothing new to post and I'm tired of having that awful partial drawing at the top of my blog. I'm hoping to get some time this evening to do a little drawing. I now have a couple of things that I'm thinking of trying. I haven't been inspired lately to pick up a pencil or pen or brush. I can kind of feel it coming back. Now it's just about having the time and no interruptions. If I recall the top one was with pen and watercolor and this one below was just pencil, and it's supposed to be Meryl Streep. Of course I see I drew her eyes too big! I can't help it; I always do that.

2009-05-07T20:57:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I do such a terrible job on a drawing that I can't show it and I try to disguise it in Picasa with all the stuff you can do there. I worked on two pieces today...one I just completely deleted and this one doesn't really deserve to be up here. I guess one shouldn't try anything if they're really not inspired or in the right mood to create.

2009-05-06T20:45:00.000-07:00

This was just a quick sketch and I used colored pencils. It's my cat, who climbs up on the roof to look through my bedroom window each afternoon and whine until I have to get up and let him in. I'm on the third floor, so he goes through a lot to get that high up on the roof. And he will NOT stop whining at me until I do let him in. It's usually right after Hannah goes down for a rest period and finally there is a little bit of quiet and I go to read the paper and relax. But the minute I get comfortable, here comes the whiner.

2009-05-05T20:37:00.000-07:00

I had taken a photograph of the sea lions on the pier in Avila and I used one of them to draw this in colored pencils...NOT on black paper for a change.

2009-05-03T21:02:00.000-07:00

Rebecca had some photos up from when she went kayaking, and the blue boat and its reflection in the water really caught my attention. I didn't know what medium to use on this, so I just went with colored pencils once again on black paper.

2009-05-02T20:39:00.000-07:00

I did this in colored pencils and I also like it in black and white, so I'm putting both versions up. I got lucky today and had lots of time to draw!

2009-05-02T18:06:00.000-07:00

I was just playing with markers today and wanted to try a zebra and a giraffe together. Why? I don't know!

2009-05-01T20:04:00.000-07:00

A tulip in front of a window, done with colored pencils on black paper.

2009-04-28T08:16:00.000-07:00

Poppies done in watercolor.

2009-04-26T17:30:00.000-07:00

This is from a photo I took of our table with tulips and roses. I did this in colored pencils on black paper.

2009-04-25T17:32:00.000-07:00

I saw a photograph of an orchid at Brenda's blog and loved it and wanted to draw it. I used colored pencils on black paper.

2009-04-24T21:02:00.000-07:00

I loved working on this with all the colors! Of course it's from Sandy's banner photo, a picture of a stained glass piece she photographed when she was at a nursery one day.

2009-04-22T21:00:00.000-07:00

Here's my funny looking chicken...I've never drawn one before, so it was fun. I used colored pencils and basically scribbled in the background because I used a large piece of paper and was in a hurry to finish it. I used "soften" in Picasa for the background to try to hide my laziness.

2009-04-21T20:06:00.000-07:00

Some watercolor berries. Okay, this may actually be two days in a row that I had a chance to paint! I hope I can keep it going, but Hannah is sick and mommy goes back to work tomorrow, so I will probably be busy.

2009-04-20T21:11:00.000-07:00

Drew this on the wrong type of paper, so had no choice but to use markers instead of watercolors. Then three of my markers went dry in the middle of doing this and so I had to cover over with different colors. It was quite frustrating and I spent a lot of time on this, so up it goes. You cannot go very subtle with markers, by the way.

2009-04-18T21:11:00.000-07:00

This at first was just a bunch of grapes, but I started drawing lines in the background and decided to color them in just because I wanted to keeping painting but didn't want to start a new watercolor.

2009-04-16T21:05:00.000-07:00

This design was on a teacup Sandy bought me. I love the design and I love the teacup! Done in watercolors

2009-04-15T09:36:00.000-07:00

I was having fun with colors on this one, and I was using watercolors.

2009-04-14T09:41:00.000-07:00

One of the two drawings I did while visiting Sandy...this is what my birthday card from her looked like, and she picked the card, knowing I would want to paint it because I like the style of drawing so much. I used watercolors on it.

2009-04-07T21:31:00.000-07:00

Sandy put up a photo a while back that had been saturated a lot and created interesting patterns...well, that was the inspiration for this, and I used colored pencils.

2009-04-04T20:29:00.000-07:00

Just going for color on this bird and I used watercolors.

2009-04-03T20:50:00.000-07:00

Just a colored pencil drawing because I wanted to draw something and not have it take too long.

2009-03-30T20:46:00.000-07:00

I wanted to work with watercolor, and I saw a picture in the paper in the Travel section that caught my eye, so I thought I'd try it.

2009-03-30T09:51:00.000-07:00

Just a desert drawing since Sandy is on her way to the desert tomorrow. Enjoy your trip!

2009-03-29T20:39:00.000-07:00

I did this in black marker and it bled through to the other side of the page. I noticed the texture on the other side of the paper and liked the effect of it, so I'm posting both sides of the paper.

Ink pens and markers...

2009-03-26T20:21:00.000-07:00

I use pens and markers when I don't feel like bringing out the brush and paint.

My challenge attempt

2009-03-25T19:46:00.000-07:00

It looks like a cartoon to me, but anyway I used ink and watercolors and even some colored pencils in different areas, so it's quite a mix of media. This will have to do...but I enjoyed attempting it. I do need practice on the body, fer sure!

2009-03-22T21:18:00.000-07:00

I did this one in colored pencils but the background in markers.

2009-03-21T21:19:00.000-07:00

Here is a watercolor of a scene in Shell Beach where I go hiking often. There are stairs that lead down to a wall that the high surf pounds against and sends up spray from the ocean. I used the yellow color on the flowers too soon, so the color is muddy...it picked up some of the ink I used when I drew this out.

2009-03-20T21:17:00.000-07:00

This was done in colored ink pens...I did it last year probably and just ran across it again. I didn't get a new drawing done, so I decided to put up this one. I had forgotten about it completely.

2009-03-19T21:14:00.000-07:00

Panda bear in colored pencils. I took a photo that Erin took at the zoo of this panda and used it as a guide.

2009-03-19T11:14:00.000-07:00

I haven't had the time nor the inclination to draw this week, but I wanted to at least attempt the challenge drawing. I did this in colored pencils. Now I have to get inspired again!

2009-03-13T16:29:00.000-07:00

Time for a swim, thought ms. piggy.

2009-03-12T09:40:00.000-07:00

When Sandy was here we only brought out the art supplies one night during American Idol. I wanted to do quick little drawings, so the boy with the raincoat and boat and this elephant were two of the three I drew and then used watercolors.

2009-03-11T09:08:00.000-07:00

This was from a picture I liked in a children's book and wanted to try it in watercolors. Sandy has been here visiting and we finally were able to find a small amount of time to paint together.

2009-03-05T21:24:00.000-08:00

I just had time for a quick sketch tonight and I added some watercolor.

2009-03-04T12:09:00.000-08:00

Here's my catboy from Sandy's project...using colored pencils.

Sandy's cat project

2009-03-02T19:11:00.000-08:00

I didn't take a lot of time with this, and it shows. The cat in the photo had this colorful face and then completely white hair that is difficult to do in colored pencils.

2009-03-01T18:10:00.000-08:00

I was reading a book to Hannah and I loved this little picture and wanted to draw it. I used watercolor.