Friday Sketch

pen

Acrylic painting- "Ancestor"

"Ancestor"
acrylic paint
4"x5"; 3/1/15

My high school was unique in that it offered a lot of art classes, which included ceramics, video, drawing, and painting.  In fact, it was during my senior year of high school that I took painting for my homeroom class, and it was the peace and focus which I felt during this class that guided me to choose visual arts for my college education.  Some brushes, canvas, and acrylic paint (BASIC brand) was provided.  The rest was up to us.

I broke out my acrylic paints to do a very small painting, and I had a blast.  With a relaxing playlist featuring such artists as Nightmares on Wax and Air, I was able to become fully absorbed in the creative process.  I began by layering blue and white paint in an atmospheric blend for my background.  Then I took a fine brush and, without any reference, freehand painted the outline of the horse figure.  Then I added the pattern in blue.  When I finished with that, the horse looked a little flat and just "blah" to me, so I went over the lines with white highlights.  This added some great highlights and needed visual interest.

I'm looking forward to doing some more painting.  My technical skills, like everything else, need refining, but it's very easy for me to embrace my creativity when wielding brush and paint.  It's always smart to learn from your mistakes, but when painting, it can be a lot of fun to learn from imperfection.

"Spirit Paint" gel pen sketch

"Spirit Paint"
gel pen
small leather sketchbook

My last gel pen died, so when I found another one on my dresser, I was perhaps absurdly delighted.  I love the clean, crisp look of ink, and my recent stylized horses lend themselves well to the medium.  Today, I was the happiest while drawing that I have been in a few weeks.  I even feel up to the commitment of drawing as frequently as the pros suggest.  Maybe it's the simple, classic black and white that helps my brain focus and engenders a sense of excitement and passion.

I'm also trying a new style of signing my name; while I do like signing my full name, I've enjoyed other artists' very simple yet elegant signatures enough to try it myself.  RCF.  Rebecca creates forever.

Spiral Skylarks

"Spiral Skylarks"
graphite
small leather sketchbook

Wednesday Sketch

Untitled graphite sketch
small leather sketchbook

Tovero Dream: combining old and new styles

"Tovero Dream" partial
graphite sketch
small leather sketchbook

Today I decided to combine a more realistic style with my recent experimentation in abstraction, and this sketch was the result.  I used a photo of a tovero stallion as my template for non-abstract conformation, and his patches as a map for my topography-like lines.  His mane originally hung over his neck and chest, but as I find myself fond of a Roman or Trojan horse look, I decided to change that.  This is a graphite sketch, but I feel that this would have the most impact in ink or a clear crisp paint such as gouache.

First sketches of the new year

Chiaroscuro Arabian
graphite
small leather sketchbook

Leaping OTTB
graphite
small leather sketchbook