The rollercoaster ride of self doubt

I hate the rollercoaster ride of self doubt, don’t you?

First comes the high of that one drawing/piece that hits the perfect notes. You are pleased (and just a little bit amazed) it turned out so well. (Actually, I like this part! Lol)

Then come the days when EVERYTHING you put your hand to is rubbish. You can’t even draw a decent line!

Your mind goes into overdrive. That niggling little voice in your head grows louder. It was a fluke; you don’t really have any talent.

Someone makes a thoughtless comment. (I have enough trouble dealing with my own insecurity; I don’t need your help, thankyouverymuch!) As a side note here, whatever happened to ‘if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all’?

It’s hard to shake off the negativity. It hangs in the air.

(sigh)

Bad day.

Okay I know it’s cheating, but

I know I’m supposed to be doing this in watercolor. But I needed the comfort and control of my markers!


And it’s still practice, right?

HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY!

maybe it is just me, but does it bother anybody else to see all the signs for ‘patty’s’ day? it makes me wonder who this patty is?

it’s not PATTY’S day it’s PADDY’S day!

Makes me crazy!
okay, i feel better now. i’ll get off my soapbox.

thank you for your attention.

Enjoy your corned beef and cabbage!





Stylish Blogger Award

Timaree from Freebird Drawing just presented me with the STYLISH BLOGGER AWARD! (Wheee!)

I’m tickled pink! (pun intended! Lol)

 

Thank you, Timaree!

As a recipient I’m supposed to tell you seven things about myself and then pass the award on to (up to 15) other bloggers.

The hard part…seven things about myself.

Um, okay, here goes:

1. I like to eat chocolate ice cream with fresh bread. (Sour dough is the best!) Yum!

2. Even now, at the ripe old age of mumble mumble I am very naive.

3. I want to try every art and craft known to mankind before I die.

4. I am left-handed. (But I can do a lot of stuff with either hand!)

5. In my head I’m still 22.

6. When I was a little girl and would color with my mother I would get mad at her (and jealous) because she would make plaids and paisleys on the characters clothing, and I couldn’t!

7. It took me years before I could call myself an artist.

Now to pass the award on:
1. One of the first blogs I ever stumbled upon. Mary Ann Moss at Dispatch from L.A. http://dispatchfromla.typepad.com/ I just love her style, her grace and the best part is she takes us along for the ride when she travels!

2. Kim Henkel has a lovely blog here at Letting in the Light http://www.khenkel.blogspot.com/

3. Marianne Walker at I Like Markers does amazing things with markers at http://ilikemarkers.blogspot.com/

4. Pat from Lost and Found http://patpitingolo.blogspot.com/ is on an artistic journey and welcomes friends!

5. Elizabeth Remy at Lost Coast Post does the most incredible journal drawings http://lostcoastpost.blogspot.com/

Not that any of these bloggers need a bit of help from me but, they are a few of the blogs I visit on a regular basis and I think they deserve this award!

If the bloggers mentioned above want to pass on the award, you do it by copying the picture of the award and pasting it on your blog. Link back to the one who awarded it to you. Then, tell seven things about yourself and list links of up to 15 blogs to whom you want to pass the award.

This is totally voluntary, no pressure! You can choose to participate or not, it’s up to you.

As Timaree says, “There should be total freedom and ease in blogging.”

Have fun!

Sketching and Watercolor: Journal Style

One of the great things about living in a subtropical climate is the flora. Things we used to struggle to grow indoors up north sprout like weeds here!

Poinsettias were a hothouse item up north. Here they’re shrubs!

Week two of Jane LaFazio’s Sketching and Watercolor: Journal Style-Leaves

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, FLUFFERNUTTER!

Need I say more?

I’m spilling over with excitement!

This is so cool I just had to share. (The technique, not the drawing, lol.)
http://www.joggles.com//tombowmarker-video.htm

Joggles.com has a new tutorial on using Tombow markers. The very last technique is using them with ‘canned air’ (the stuff you use to clean your computer keyboard) as sort of an airbrush technique! So cool for backgrounds. I just tried this one, and you don’t really have much control like you would with a real airbrush, but still….Oh the possibilities!

I tested all of my markers (Bic, Sharpie, Copic, etc.) just to see. It worked with all of them.
(I know, it doesn't take much to excite me! lol!)

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree

When my boys were growing up they would get frustrated when they would try something new and they weren’t perfect at it the first time out. (They get this trait from me, I’m sorry to say.)


I would tell them. ‘Nobody is born knowing how to do these things. We all have to learn.’

I find it interesting that I can give this advice but I have such a hard time taking it for myself!

sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't

I keep trying to get the perspective right when drawing a spoon. Trying to show the volume of the bowl. This one is better, although the honey needs a bit of work (you knew that was honey dripping off it, didn't you?)
So, here's another one for 'spilling over'.

Why I love Google

Are you a member of the look it up club? (I’m gonna show my age here, lol.)
When I was growing up, clubs were ‘in’. The Mickey Mouse club, special secret clubs with decoder rings (Captain Midnight, Dick Tracy, the Hornet…..) Everyone was a member so why it was considered a secret escaped me.

My parents jumped on this band wagon. We were members of the ‘look it up club’.
 
We had a full set encyclopedia with yearly addendums. A huge one volume encyclopedia (that was used mostly for pressing things) countless dictionaries and a myriad of other reference books.

I got into the habit of looking everything up. My parents wouldn’t tell you how to spell a word when you were in the midst of writing a report. Their response was…. (you got it!) “go look it up”.

It got to the point that when I had a question about anything I would make a note to go look it up later.

I would start looking something up and an hour later finally find it because, on the way to my topic, I’d stop and read half of the volume! (Smart parents, right?)

This is why Google is my best friend!

I love Google.

Big pink puffy heart love.

(And I still get lost looking things up, but now it’s because of links!)

So tell me, were you a member too?