Fairy Finished

I had a friend who wanted me to draw a fairy for her. So I decided what better time to experiment with new techniques than on a drawing for a friend. In the past I've used ink and sometimes acrylics to outline my drawings, but this time I chose to work with coloured pencils for an outline. It changed the drawing in ways I didn't expect and caused as many complications as problems it solved. All in all it made for a nice experiment. Let me know what you think.

I had meant to post an update half-way through the drawing process. I am having a terrible time with my internet right now and I haven't been able to do much on the internet because of this. This problem should be resolved this week or next. I hope it's sooner rather than later because I'm suffering from internet withdraw!

Fairy for a Friend

As you have probably noticed I didn't do a book of the week. I have decided to discontinue this feature for the time being, mostly because I'm not posting other things enough and the non-fiction books are taking over. I'm not kidding... they started asking for equal rights and were picketing on my bookshelf. I decided enough is enough, so until they learn I'm not going to do another non-fiction book of the week.

I do have a sketch for you today. It's not a finished sketch by any means. I'm working on this for a friend and will have to do a lot of changes in the next few days. I'm hoping to finish it before the end of the month. I wont be able to if I have more non-fiction book issues, so let's hope that doesn't happen.

It's Not My Fault

It's not my fault... really it's not. I mean the fact that I haven't been working on my portfolio. So much has been going on, and I haven't been able to get anything done. The following is a list of factual reasons why I haven't done more work on my portfolio:

1. My cat hid every pencil sharpener I own.

2. My husband forced me to watch bad TV.

3. I was outside too long and was blinded by the sun.

4. I forgot to save my art supplies and I lost them all when my house reset.

5. It wasn't my turn to do the portfolio.

6. The baby ate my artwork.

7. There wasn't anything to draw.

8. I stopped believing in the existence of portfolios long ago.

9. I actually finished my portfolio, but left it in my
pants pocket so it went through the wash.

10. I cleaned and therefore can't find any of my art supplies.

Breezy Girl

It's been a while since I've been able to do some serious work on my portfolio. Rest assured the problem is being dealt with as we speak (or at least our imaginary  conversation that's going through my mind right now). The following post will explain everything. For now here is a drawing that I've been working on lately, enjoy!

More About Colour

Color Harmony, much like Living Colors, is a book for helping artists to determine color palettes for their projects. Color Harmony is much more compact than Living Colors. To replace the paintings are photographs depicting different color schemes and the mood each one creates.

For each mood there are several different 2-3 color schemes to help artist choose their palette. These schemes are divided into categories of Monochromatic, Tertiary, Complementary, Split Complementary, Analogous, Split, Clash and Neutral.

There is a color chart for every color within this book. Also included on the cover are gray and black color masks. I haven't used these, because I hate the idea of cutting up any book! Rounding the book out is a color wheel, glossary of terms, and information about the different color moods and trends.

Color Harmony 2: A Guide to Creative Color Combinations

Rocking Horse

     I haven't decided if this is actually going to be a picture of a girl on a rocking horse or a real horse (or both). I'm still playing with the design idea, so the horse could be jumping fences or cars depending on my mood. 

Living Colors

Colour (and arguably the lack thereof) is one of the most important elements in creating a strong picture. There are so many colour combinations that sometimes it's difficult to decide which combination is best for a particular project. The book "Living Colors: The Definitive Guide to Color Palettes Through the Ages" by Margaret Walch + Augustine Hope removes a lot of the guess work of colour selection for artwork and can save artists a lot of time.

This spiral bound book has two sections to it. The left side has Artwork, and the corresponding right side shows the colour palettes of each work of art. This is very useful if one isn't sure how certain colours will look and blend together in a picture. If a picture book requires a certain mood throughout, just a quick look through this book will allow an artist to choose a palette to complement their ideas.

Beyond the colour these pages contain a rich history of fine artwork, fashion/textile, and architecture. Sometimes a bit of technique can be found, but this mostly relates to colour. The book starts out with a glossary which contains colours and art technique terms.

The only thing really missing from this is an actual list of colours used in the palette. The text has some indication of the colours being used, and it's true that artists can colour match, but it would be very useful to have a list of all the base colours used (The colours before mixing). This would be particularly useful because many of the colours given aren't pure colours. These mixed colours are also disgusted even further at times with white or black. Even though it may be a bit of a challenge to identify the base colours, I still think this book is well worth having in any book collection.

If you are interested in purchasing this book it can be found here: Living Colors: The Definitive Guide to Color Palettes Through the Ages

Background Work

I decided to make my diva elephant take a walk on the red carpet. I'm still in the rough draft stages of this drawing as you might be able to tell from the decapitated giraffe and  zebra. If anyone is reading this blog and has little kids looking over their shoulders please read this little letter to them:





Dear Kiddies,




I'm sorry about the animals with no bodies. 
Mr. Lion didn't kill them (yet). Their bodies
and feet are still inside my mind and my pencil.
Someday soon they will be able to walk, play
and then be eaten by Mr. Lion.


Sincerely,


Dani Duck*














*Any parents who have issues with the content of this blog are welcomed to send hate mail to my Mom & Dad.

The Flapper Elephant

Elephants, I think, are the most ridiculous thing man has ever thought to put in a dress. Imagine having two sharp bones protruding out of either side of your nose. Now imagine putting your shoes on your hands and using them to put on your clothes. And even if you did manage to get your dress on without tearing anything, zipping it up would be a challenge even with a trunk.

I don't think it's ever been considered that an elephant's skin is so thick that it wouldn't be able to tell when it snagged it's dress on something. They could have a huge hole in their skirt and never notice a thing. Actually, maybe that's why most elephants walk around au naturale.

I, for one, love silly things and that is why I dressed an elephant in a 1920's flapper-esque type outfit. I haven't yet decided on a backdrop for this gal, but it will likely be a stage or the red carpet. It's still on tracing paper, but I hope soon to have it in full colour.