Fuzzydragons

24/365 31.07.09 Originally uploaded by fuzzydragons I'm playing along with Jenaveve at her blog August Street for Just a minute. This month has gone by extremely fast. 365: with skeebie, who probably needs a name soon. For some crazy reason I decided to do a 365 project with my little cow. Now that I am getting in the habit of taking a picture a day its not so bad, but time will tell. :) Reading: Finished 5 books this month. I am still trying to finish The Visitor by Sheri S. Tepper. I honestly have no idea if I like the book or not. Took forever for anything to happen and moved even slower then her other books. I think this is the longest in a while it has taken me to finish a book (working on over a month) Rare Earth by Michael Asher The Time of Singing by Elizabeth Chadwick Midnight's Lair by Richard Laymon Working Wonders by Jenny Colgan Brimstone (Diogenes Trilogy, Book 1) by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child Drawing: Managed get some art done and a few things started. A pa...

and give me a cookie! :p My friend Leslie has generously allowed me to use her photo of her dog Deuce :) Please go have a look at her Flickr page, there are so many gorgeous photos to look at there. This is done on the Fisher paper that Chrissy sent me to try. I wanted a simple subject but one that would still require blending to see how the paper works with the pencils. So here is the first layer of pencil down. It went down really scratchy and patchy, not fully covering the area. But then the second layer went on and I had no problem with the area being covered. I guess it needed a base layer to help with the blending and to help the pencil stick to the paper? At this stage the two layers look really rough and are not blended that well into each other. They did layer just not very evenly. I took a few different shades of brown and yellow to help round out the eye itself. With each layer the pencil blended together easier and easier. Light colours at this point have no problem going...

23/365 30.07.09 Originally uploaded by fuzzydragons Helping out in the potato patch :) The potatoes we have had from here are really good :) If we both ate more veggies I think from now on we wouldn't buy any from the store. (I think we would need a bigger garden with less weeds first...it looks like a jungle in some parts....but thats what weedkiller is for :P >> Mr.F) My creative space this week. A clean desk :p All of those pencils were loose and covering the tablet. Figured it was about time I cleaned up. I really want to get a tool kit or a tackle box for all of my supplies. Might help keep everything together (thats the idea anyway :p) On the left is the line art for a set of eyes that is going to be done on the Fisher paper. I found it hard to get a good transfer onto it, will have to think of some other way of copying line art if I end up liking the paper and using it again. Mr.F is busy playing a pirate game. All we need now is a parrot, a peg leg, an eye patch and ...

Copyright Jennifer Rose Phillip hmmm. I am not 100% sure about this now. All the angles look off to me (she looks a little cross eyed), so might be doing this again. I could be completely insane and do it with pointillism, but I might run out of ink. Probably leave it for a few days and then see what I think. A good thing that has come out of writing a blog (besides finding lots of nice people), is that I am not afraid to post WIPs. If I mess up I mess up. I figure other people might learn from my mistakes and if it does turn out, I figure it can help people learn how to do something. Took me a few posts on some message forums before I became comfortable enough to post rough work and WIPs, but I do think my art is better off for it. And a lot of the time posting a WIP gets more sets of eyes looking at it that can help with composition and can help make sure the basic sketch is all right.

22/365 29.07.09 Originally uploaded by fuzzydragons

Copyright Jennifer Rose Phillip Prints for Sale Here Finished the Inukshuk. I really like how this turned out, the rocks look rough but smooth at the same time. If I didn't have so many other pieces of art to finish I would probably just start another pointillism piece. But the list of art I need to do is longer then my leg, so another ink piece will have to wait :( And I do still plan on doing a big bird piece in this style, but that will definitly have to be one that I work on while I have a few other things on the go. Close up showing the dots. The one thing I miss about using a metal nib now that I usually use ink pens is that with the metal nib you get a bumpy texture to the paper. I think it really helps give the illusion of texture. But the metal nibs do have a habit of blowing up and getting ink everywhere. Many a piece of work was ruined like that (plus numerous shirts and even a bra when the nib snapped off and the ink went everywhere. I think it even got up to the ceilin...

20/365 27.07.09 Originally uploaded by fuzzydragons I have had this puzzle since Xmas but its pretty big and we don't have a table or a board for it, so I got sick of it sitting in the box so just decided the floor will work :) Just have to remember to vacuum around the pieces and its a good thing we don't have a dog or the pieces would get eaten :p Copyright Jennifer Rose Phillip Another update of the rocks. Almost finished, and I do really wish I had done this bigger now. Coloured pencils will always be my first love artistically, but this is a close second. I don't really have to think with this unlike when using CPs. I can let my mind think about anything because its not hard to concentrate on the dots (well that might be why I end up with dots all over my fingers though....). I think that when we have any extra money I am going to be getting some coloured inks and a Rapidograph pen. It has been recommended by so many people for work like this.

beauty :) I fell in love with New Zealand, I thought it was a gorgeous place and most of the people I met where really nice. There was that one car that flipped us off, even when they were in the wrong but other then that no problem :p This was a really great place to visit. The beach covered with these boulders is a wonderful site :) And this bay was a gorgeous place to stay but nothing there besides the bay which is fine but when you didn't really bring any food you can't stay that long. I think we ate crackers and cheese and drank lots of tea because it was free :p I want to go back so bad I am probably sounding like a broken record lol one day *crosses fingers* This weeks theme chosen by Stacey . For more eyespy head here

18/365 25.07.09 Originally uploaded by fuzzydragons Nice day so walked down to the loch, didn't think we would see any ducklings but there were a lot actually. Most too far away to get pictures of but a few came up to shore :) The loch is actually really dirty looking right now, lots of algae that just looks like green slime all over the surface :/ Mr.F says its been worse before, way worse but the ducks seem to be eating it so at least its a food source for them. Didn't see any goslings just lots of ducks and its odd not seeing any Canadian Geese hatchlings in the loch. There are a few of them in the park but now that I think about it I have never seen them in the loch, just wondering the fields. Old guy or just different markings? I know almost nothing about ducks, so this could be a common colouring or just a fluke. Copyright Jennifer Rose Phillip And some more dots on the rocks :) Things are starting to take shape and its not taking as long as I thought it would. Almost ev...

17/365 24.07.09 Originally uploaded by fuzzydragons Xbox off of Ebay. Works perfectly fine but Mr.F still did some improvement to it. I can't believe the size of the controller, will have to get another one that is smaller at some point. Must resist the urge to get Fable or I will never get anything done :p Sketch of the Inukshuk. I think the sketch on its own works well in making the rocks look rough but I did end up deciding to try this in pointillism. This is on Bristol paper and the paper is 14 by 11 inches but I am not that crazy to try to fill the whole page up :p The stones are only 6 by 5 inches, but part of me thinks I should have drawn this really big to get a more impressive effect. hmm maybe next time :) This is about an hours work and I only know that because I had the first episode of The Tudors playing at the same time, I really need the second season. And I love the costumes. I really want to make one that Anne Boleyn wears, but I have no idea how I would go about ...

Rocks. Specifically an Inukshuk (photo is from a stocksite as I can't find the photos I wanted to use). This is for Jeanette's rock challenge . I am debating on wheter to follow Jeanette's lead and do this in pointillism, but not sure if it would get done before the deadline and I really do need to work on my Halloween dragons (which is going to take awhile too). If I do decide to go the dotty route I don't think I will be doing it as big as the work she is working on. It looks gorgeous, but I think Mr.F will commit me when I start blubbering about all the dots :p And I need to finish this little bracelet if I can untangle the cow :/ First the powertools and now my crafting supplies. Worse then a kid :p This is number 16, how many more to go? lol :p I have been posting the photos over on my Livejourna l as it was looking a little empty :)

Copyright Jennifer Rose Phillip Coloured pencils on black Stonehenge 5x5 Inches Finally finished the Foxgloves. It was an interesting experiment with the paper and I did come to the conclusion that I like black Stonehenge but still hate the white version. Not too happy with that bell on the top right, but for an experiment I like how it turned out :) You can see in the close-up how the pencils blend on top of the paper. Colour is easily built up and there is no need for dozens of layers to get any kind of value to what you are drawing. I do still think that the pencils act more like pastels on the paper, they seem to blend differently, more like chalk pastels do. I didn't have any problems with any yellows turning green or changing colour but that might be because I was using a very light touch. I didn't have to burnish the layers, I found that after a few layers that happened on its own. The paper didn't warp or bend as it is pretty thick, but like most black papers it is...

I swear I still draw! lol Just been really busy the last few days so I am hoping to get some drawing done tomorrow. Almost did a face plant today walking back from the store of evil, (now really if it was actually a store full of evil I probably wouldn't mind going there :p). I'm sure people that saw me thought that I was drunk but :p to them. Messed up my knee and hip when I caught myself, slamming my leg down so I wouldn't fall, had a fun time walking home:/ and to top if off, it rained.... ok enough whining :p I think I mentioned that when we were at the in-laws we happened to see a pair of Starlings feeding their fledglings, but I don't think I posted the pictures I took at the time. I was about 20 feet away and wish I had a different camera with me at the time but had no idea they would show up. Hey! Where did you go, we are still hungry!

singercow Originally uploaded by fuzzydragons something that I should use. My old singer sewing machine which does work but I have no idea how to use it lol The manual is huge and it does weigh a ton so doesn't make for ease of transport. (the machine weighs a ton, not the manual, even though you could probably knock someone out with the manual, or at the very least give them really bad papercuts :p) Its pretty old, made in 1939. This is a handy little page to find out the dates of any machines you have. I just love all the detail on the metal plate on the side/front, and the fact that it still works after such a long time really does say a lot for the brand. more eye spy here and this weeks theme was chosen by The Bird Bath

10/365 17-07-09 Originally uploaded by fuzzydragons day 10 and out of ideas. no not really but with the weather we have had today going outside to take pictures is out of the question. It's raining; it's pouring. The old man is snoring. He went to bed and bumped his head, And he wouldn't get up in the morning. I could have sworn we sang different lyrics to that little rhyme and there were more lines to it but I must be going senile in my old age :p and its another lovely rhyme dealing with death. The guys gets a concussion and never wakes up, thats fun to say :p any guesses as to whats in the box? (no its not a bomb or imported cheese, or a big box of meat :p)

9/365 16-07-09 Originally uploaded by fuzzydragons Trying to get as much done on the foxgloves as I can today :) The cow is trying to help out and at this point I could use an extra set of hands to help me finish :p Its too bad I only have one little cow because I have a few ideas for herds of cows :D Stampeding herds of cows, or cows mimicking lemmings jumping off cliffs, hmm but that might be a little too odd :p (yes I know that lemmings don't actually wake up in the morning and decide to fling themselves off of cliffs.) For more creative spaces head over here

Copyright Jennifer Rose Phillip wins the race? :p Another small update on the foxgloves. I seem to be getting more of a shine to this bell then the last, practice practice practice :) A few of the other bells will have more yellow in them then pink so should be a nice contrast in colours. I'd love to do a blue version of the foxgloves which I think would look really nice on this black paper. Copyright Jennifer Rose Phillip For sale Here Another blast from the past, this is from 2003. I have kept art that I really liked and enjoyed drawing but I just don't have the room for a lot of it now :/ I remember I had a lot of fun drawing all of these lines and looking at it makes me want to draw another piece in this style :) Not like I don't have enough on my drawing list all ready :p

8/365 15-07-09 Originally uploaded by fuzzydragons

strawberries Originally uploaded by fuzzydragons Only a few but they taste great :) If we are here next year there will be a few extra plants in the ground that have branched off of this one so should get more berries as well. Copyright Jennifer Rose Phillip For Sale Here Adding more older art to my Etsy store. This was a drawing from a photo I took sitting on the bench near the top of Baldwin Street . Really glad there was a bench there after walking up that hill, I didn't make it all the way to the top but Mr.F did. I can't believe it was so long ago that we were there. Another flower in the backyard :D Can't remember what this is, I can never remember the names properly :p This weeks Scottish word: 1. rift Answer to last week Scottish word: 1. vratch is a despicable person

5/365 12-07-09 Originally uploaded by fuzzydragons Favourite Childhood party games. We use to play card games a lot when we were younger because it was cheap and you really never ran out of games to play. Usually played Crazy Eights, but of course Go Fish was played and War, which is the game that never ends. Many a bruises were had from playing Snap!, had to remember to take your rings off when playing that. We use to play Bug Your Neighbour but I don't remember how and can't seem to find a card game that is exactly right, similar games but no exact matches. And when you ran out of card games to play there was always trying to build a card house :) Never managed to build a huge house but did build 2 or three layers before someone sneezed :p This weeks theme chosen by princesskirstiejane For more Eye Spy head over here

4/365 11-07-09 Originally uploaded by fuzzydragons Jeanette has issued a rock challenge so people can get work on their rock skills and see what other people are doing. I have decided to participate because it never hurts to practice and these are the first of my attempts. The cliffs in Arbroath drawn in my little sketchbook with graphite. I really just wanted to focus on the rough lines, and then the shading. I think that if I draw this section of the cliffs again I will use colour. And some little colourful pebbles :) Inktense on Langton paper which works really well. The colours are really bright on this paper and the pencils glide over the surface. Really just wanted to see how the Inktense worked on this paper so wasn't too worried about the texture of the pebbles but I did manage to get a smooth texture to most of them with a few little cracks showing up :)