Friday, July 11, 2014


'june' ~ acrylic paint and oil pastels on 140# coldpress watercolor paper, 5" x 7"

june's not happy about the hot july weather...  she remembers the mild, sunny days of, yeah, june...   but it was the hot weather that made me stay inside and paint her, so maybe it's okay after all.  ; )

watercolors and pencil in fabriano venezia

for a while now i've thought about doing a post about my drawing journey of the past year; this post  is about that...   i've been learning how to express myself better through drawing, and it has not seemed easy.

pencil and colored pencil in softcover pocket moleskine

i don't think i'm any better at drawing than i was a year ago, but i have learned a few important things.  one of them is that my people/creatures like wings better than arms.

pencil and colored pencil in sennelier journal

and hair - i'm just not into it.
 
watercolors, pencil and soft pastel in stillman and birn gamma

i thought that once i learned how to draw it (how it sat on the head) i'd put it on every head i drew. 

pencil and colored pencil in sennelier journal

sometimes i do, but not often.   and not so often with legs either.

pencil, colored pencil, and watercolors in stillman and birn gamma

i like bodies that aren't human.

pencil and colored pencil in softcover pocket moleskine

these don't sound like big revelations,

pencil and colored pencil in sennelier journal

but it's taken me a while to figure them out.

pencil and watercolors in fabriano venezia

The Critic likes to tell me that if i were a serious drawer i'd draw more arms, legs, and hair.

watercolors, pencil and soft pastel in stillman and birn gamma

no way.

pencil, colored pencil and watercolors in stillman and birn epsilon

i've found myself thinking at times that i can't draw.

pencil and colored pencil in stillman and birn epsilon

what could be a more ridiculous thought?!!  but i've come to see that it takes practice to draw what i feel, in a way that makes me smile.

pencil and colored pencil in stillman and birn epsilon

and this.  it took me a long time to get this: i am a dabbler, a doodler, a jotter.  i am not a drawer of big, complicated scenes; i like little glimpses...  i am a messer arounder...


last week i got a .3 mechanical pencil and i love it for tiny details.  otherwise i use a .5 mechanical pencil and a cretacolor 8B pencil.   that's another thing i've learned:  i like drawing with pencil best - not because i can erase, but because i can smudge.

* * *

“There is only one valuable thing in art: the thing you cannot explain.” 

~ Georges Braque

45 comments:

  1. Wow....you expressed so much of what I myself feel.....but you can draw ....really draw....love your non human bodies, wings & no hair....Love love love it all....thanks for the inspiration!

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    Replies
    1. it's funny sally, but i don't think of myself as a drawer - one who can really draw. so thank you for your words - i appreciate them! it seems that we internalized this i-must-be-a-perfect-drawer-or-i'm-not-a-drawer-at-all thing at a young age. i remember clearly that there was a boy (at my school) who was an amazing realistic drawer, and everyone else was held to that standard. i fell so far below it wasn't funny. now i'm finding my drawing voice again - and it's not easy.

      here's to the drawing journey... : )

      xoxo

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  2. Thank you for your comment on my blog!

    Love, love, love these photos!

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  3. Ignore your critic. I wish I could draw how I feel the way you do - my inner critic doesn't have a stop button.

    I love your unhuman bodied, winged baldies :)

    And I'm totally with June - I don't do hot weather - Mother Nature needs to get the memo ;)

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  4. Your creatures are strange but beautiful. with regards to your critics, draw and paint what makes you happy. There are a lot pf people out there that love your art and I am one of them.

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    1. heya fuzzie fingers... thank you... : )

      and yeah, bah to *all* critics - internal and external!

      xoxo

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  5. love this post Lynne . . .and I love your true confessions about drawing - lol. I find it fascinating how our inner critic measures our skill set. You see I love your drawings - your beings seem to come straight from my dreams - I connect to their expressions, their innocence. Oh yeah - you can draw - but better yet - you can draw 'emotion.'
    xxoo

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  6. "and hair--i'm just not that into it" --that little line speaks volumes to me. the whole post is a gentle powerful artists statement. best i've ever read. thank you.

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    1. judy, it has taken me *years* to figure out that i'm not into hair!! so yeah, that little line speaks volumes to me, too. it's huge...

      xoxo

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  7. Your artwork may be simple but it is powerful in its impact. I always react to it in an "oh my, I absolutely love this" sort of way! Thanks for the inspiration.

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  8. Your drawings hold so much feeling, so very beautiful. Bodies that are drawn too anatomically correct don't always allow the imagination to run free and then lack the poetry. :) The 'Critic' is wrong!
    Jess x

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  9. love this post ! i say " fire that critic " ... ( :
    love the george braque quote .
    oh i love your people .
    xxoo

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  10. You have listened to your inner self, and drawn what that inner self wants to show.
    I'm slowly getting used to the way I draw is the way I draw, and that is OK.

    Hands and hair - in your world, clearly they are not as necessary as the ability to fly and be guided by otherworldly assistants.

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    1. denise, clearly they're not...

      so much love to you my fellow traveler...

      xoxo

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  11. I so love your style of painting. Just exquisite.

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  12. Lynne, Who are these critics anyway? I love your work and adore the fish lady :-).
    Never ever doubt that you can draw and paint, you are an artist, drawing from your heart, that is where all real art comes from. xoxo

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  13. so lovely to see each piece dear Lynne
    so interesting how so many of us come to moments where we wonder.... if we can draw
    especially after a break
    such sweet and charming pieces
    and i love considering the tools
    i find there is something freeing when we learn things about ourselves
    ah, we simple are
    and then it might change
    xo

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  14. Light leaks from you

    If the critic exists

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  15. Well my tiny ipod got stuck so
    That was well not finished.

    If the critic exists he is a tiny mosquito

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  16. People like wings better than arms- love it, though I'd like both ;)
    And I feel about ears the way you feel about hair.
    Enjoyed reading this
    Gxx

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  17. Hey sweet Lynne, I'm in complete agreement with every thought, I adore your wee creations, they have got heart and soul, whether or not they have hair, arms, legs, whatever....I think quite a few of us would be better off with wings tho, I've flown in my dreams and it's quite all the rage. Sometimes I stand in our backyard and find myself trying to launch upwards...wouldn't it be a thrill if one day I actually lifted off....hmmmmmm once again your art has made me smile and ponder what matters most..it shows when someone is doing what they love rather than what might be proper and correct...I personally find the unusual and unique so much more interesting .... :)

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  18. Hello my lovely thought it was about that time...I adore June and Solivigant well she speaks to me...glad you have worked things out ,you are unique so why on earth would you want to add arms and hair like everyone else ...keep following your own star...
    Luv ya xoxo

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  19. I prefer wings to arms, myself... You exploration has brought you to realize that you must go with your own flow, which is an important thing to know. You have your own kind of magic, and i love it! June is especially beautiful...

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  20. I'm glad you choose to ignore that inner critic and to instead keep doing what makes you happy. It makes me happy too.

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  21. Wonderful post Lynne. Your drawings are magical and always bring a smile to my face. And I say that hair -- and all those other body parts -- are overrated!

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  22. I like what you've learned, getting to know the quirkiness that is the self, rather than learning what we "think" we should know. Yes to wings and light from pockets and all the ethereal, magical beings you treat us to! The world is a better place for all your pencil magic!

    And I love June in all her irritation! Maybe in August, you'll draw July??

    Loving the heat here, which is a rare treat in this coastal place.

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  23. Your created world speaks to me, makes me happy and makes me want to draw. I agree that we may internalize a critic early on. Play is the thing and hair and arms aren't such important parts but Wings are not optional. I love your world and those creatures that walk with your pencil lines.

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  24. i love this post dear one, it is so good to take stock and really SEE what we have done, i did this a while ago and it was quite a revelation to me... now you will know where you want to go, even if you don't really KNOW... just let the little creatures lead you in the right direction... the ones with the light coming from their pockets and wings for arms... they are the ones who know... xoxo

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  25. Oh my you have said it so perfectly ... as for your creations they are perfect too, as you create what comes from you. I love them all. I don't like hair either - I do like birds, and chairs and other things though. I love the appendages you give your beings and their wings and bits of non human bodies. I always always enjoy the show when I come for a visit.

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  26. As a June, I love your June, she's made me smile in a particularly difficult week. Many thanks.

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    1. hey june... waving, and thank you... : )

      xoxo

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  28. Yeah, one of the most challenging things I've found about being a drawer or painter is to shut up my inner critic. Just going with the moment, no matter what that moment inspires me to do, is just fine and dandy. I love the phrase that you are a 'messer arounder'. I think that fits me well too! Really love this post. :)

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    1. itaya, i agree... going with our inner feelings at each moment provides lots of opportunities to ignore the critic. and it can be little things - the day before yesterday i found myself thinking that i couldn't make the marks on the inside of a foxglove white because they're really dark. oh ha ha ha!! like i can't make foxgloves look any way i want!!

      thank you for leaving your thoughts... : )

      xoxo

      a fellow messer arounder

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  29. speechless! looking up at you on that pedestal. it's the YOU i ache for in between each post.. because you are a breed apart... a solivignant that all of us are trying to catch up to. i love you beyond words!

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  30. I absolutely love your drawings. They draw me in and make me want more and more. I wish I could see them up close and personal. The softness or ethereal look is something I wish I could produce. I love your creations hair or no hair.

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  31. it's just me...
    letting you know
    i was here
    for a looong visit
    {long over-due}
    you know how much
    you make my heart sing....
    ♥ ♥ ♥

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  32. I like wings better than hands and arms too. Though hands and arms are pretty handy in "real" life. Hair? Like it in real life, but love your hairless beings just as they are.
    I love what you bring to the world so much, Lynne. It is serious magic.
    Enjoy cozying up with June and your other friends until the cooler are arrives your way.
    Much Love !

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  33. I just love Ethyl and your un-earthly creatures.

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