the Nose... book sneak peak

 I had planned on working on my portrait book this summer. I managed to make 6 still-lifes, but I just couldn't work on my book.   I've learned how to draw with my kids around. I started drawing seriously 8 and a half years ago after my youngest daughter was born and I taught myself how to work with constant interruptions. You would think that as they get older, you would get less interruptions, but honestly I think its gotten worse, lol. The typical day this summer consisted of 4-5 meals a day, driving them places, having friends over, lemonade stands, hiking, biking,  applying many band aids, etc. Okay maybe they didn't have 5 meals a day but it certainly felt like it!

The reason I could work on drawings this summer but not my book is because it takes a completely different kind of attention to write. Writing, I think, is THE biggest brain teaser! What a difference a break makes though. I came back with fresh eyes last week and have whipped it into shape. I've reorganized things and have figured out the answer to some of the things I was stuck on. Maybe the kids nagging me was meant to be, lol.

So above is another sneak peak: my example of a straight on nose. :-)

Art In the Park, Coloursoft Tins arrived, New School Year, the Hurricane

Well I have been busy, busy, busy so this blog post will just cover everything. I'm sitting here this morning right in tropical storm Irene's path (it has been downgraded) waiting for the electricity to go off so I figured it was now or never for this post. 

That little red pointer is my house and that blue line is the projected "center" path. Considering that the storm is a couple hundred miles wide, I think we will be getting hit. & actually we just got some of the first big gusts. I'm beginning to not like trees. 

If you have been reading my blog for a while, you may have read that my artwork was commissioned to be on the new boxes of Coloursoft pencils. Well I just got some in the mail! They are not in the US stores yet as far as I know (not at mine), but should be soon. I need to send a bunch of little elves in to buy up the old boxes so they can be replaced!  Derwent contacted me to submit a design because of this blog and Facebook - so if you are wondering if you should start an art blog - start one now. :-)

This was the original drawing that I sent to Derwent sitting on an easel. It was done in all Coloursofts (of course) on Fisher 400 paper that Creative Encounters mounted on Gatorboard. 

So this has been a busy couple of weeks - last week was meetings at school and readying the classroom for a new year. I've gotten my room and assignments so much better organized - I hope it will make for a happy year. Then the last couple of days I've been getting ready for the hurricane. 

Tuesday school starts and then Saturday and Sunday next week is the annual Art in the Park fair in Keene at Ashuelot Park. I hope it doesn't flood too bad and the show can go as planned next week. I have loads of artwork to display this year including my 3 new juice still-lifes and my 2 new Harry Potter inspired ones. I have a new tent and finally have enough display walls to fill it. If you have time, come and see me! Its a really great fair with over 80 artists in a beautiful park (that is right next to a Starbucks, win, win). 

Now I better log off. 

Moo Cards

I used to get postcards from Vistaprint and more recently business cards. I like the photo business cards better than postcards because I can carry them with me all the time in my wallet and give them out when a conversation about my art comes up. Although postcards are great, you can't carry them in your purse without them getting dogeared.

I started using Vistaprint because of their "free" deals that are always advertised on the web, but I have become increasingly disgusted with their business practices. If you don't watch every pre-checked box on the multiple offer pages you have to click through to check out, you risk being signed up for a "club" that automatically takes the $50  membership free from your credit card account. 

So after seeing my friend's mini moo cards I decided to try out www.moocards.com. Instead of making their money on seedy business practices, their business seems to be based on good design and quality cardstock. They also allow you to have several images printed in one box of  business cards. So as you can see above I paid for one box, but I made three designs. I just made my designs in photoshop using their template in a layer to make sure the bleed was right, and then uploaded the .jpg. 

I'm really happy with the quality of the cards/cardstock and definitely would recommended them. They may be more expensive than places like Vistaprint, but they seem to be committed to the product rather than the con. They also have a first time customer deal : http://moo.com/share/b8yqqc

If anyone wants one of new business cards - just send me an email at nicolecaulfield@gmail.com and I will pop one in the mail. If you want a specific design from above let me know or I will pick one randomly. 

Apples 4 Ways

Apples 4 Ways

6" x 18" Coloursofts on Pastelbord

What a week... but I managed to get my last juice drawing finished. 

I started the drawing (like the others) with my focal point: the glass of juice. I've often heard the advice of doing the focal point last, but I can't seem to work that way. I like starting with the focal point because it is the star and I want it to have the most contrast and the most detail of the composition. If I do it first I can draw the other elements in a way to support that focal point, possibly with less detail and contrast. So I started with the glass and then I worked my way left to right just so I wouldn't smudge much. You can see how the details of the cloth in the back is the most "unfinished" because it is just there as a supporting element and I didn't want to call attention to it (although I am in this blog post right now, aren't I?). 

& below is them all together. They work pretty well I think! AND as an art teacher I can't help but like the analogous color grouping.  

Lemonade

Lemonade

6" x 18"

Coloursofts on Pastelbord

I decided to play with 

the reflections on the tabletop more with this one. They seemed to go with the more sparkly glass of lemonade. To create the reflective white surface I placed my objects on a  white pastelbord that was still wrapped in its protective plastic wrap coating. The plastic makes a great surface for reflections and with the many colors of Pastelbord there are many colors to choose from.

The other two glasses in this set have grapes on one and apples on the other. I need to make another trip to the grocery store to work on the next one!