Sweet Kitty?
...or so it would seem.  We call this pose the "Venus Hand Trap".  So soft and innocent as you reach in to stroke his soft belly.  Then, faster than you can blink an eye, the trap has SPRUNG! Your hand is trapped inside a kicking ball of claws.  B E W A R E!!  ;)

Drawn in Faber Castell artist pens, colored in Derwent watercolor pencils and Niji waterbrushes.

Trace and Fill

I used the paintbrush to trace the lines of the photograph in white. Then I used the selection color tool, selected one of a range of colors inside the area, and then the paint bucket to fill the area. It was simple. I had my doubts though. After filling the first sections of the flower and losing all the exquisite detail that mother nature provided, I was sure this exercise would look hideous. But it doesn't. I persevered and really like the overall effect. The colors, the lines, the shapes....all pretty.  And, from a quilting perspective, I can totally see this as a quilt.  The quilting lines could stay simple to the concept, or you could pick darker threads and add the subtle shading that the flower started with.

Gladiola

Wouldn't it be cool to be able to paint a flower like this? It is so beautiful! My style of art isn't realism though. I find beauty in lots of places and consistently am drawn to clean lines and nice colors, very graphic in style. I think I might try to play with an image like this in Photoshop and perhaps draw on top of it, fill it in completely, and then "disappear" the photo all together. I think it would be fun to play with it on real paper too, with pencils and maybe watercolor...dreaming until I get my cast off. At least the photography is fun to look at as well. ps. can't really hold a camera yet, so I am sort of cheating by posting this old photo. Enjoy!

starry nights
on real paper...with triangle shaped crayons between my ring finger and middle finger (right handed), my first post accident attempt.  it looks a bit sketchy to me.  ha, ha! i overpainted with dilute watercolor. it took a couple of days to complete- but it's a start.
this is also inspired by google art project.  i have been browsing the museums in my spare time.  van gogh, always a favorite.  i love that you can zoom in so close to the paintings, and see the brushstrokes. i miss being able to drive. i am happy that i can make coffee by myself-unassisted.  i am adapting.

Delay

well... i was sketching--a new fabric line, but i can't post that. it is unlikely that i will post at all this month.  setback.
bike crash. too fast around a corner.  this is after the er.  i won't show the before.  the right hand looks good, just soft tissue damage. i can't write or open jars.  missing the use of that wonderful opposable thumb.  i am learning new ways of doing things, but can't drive yet. grateful, so grateful to be able to walk, and no head injury. yeah for helmets, the kindness of strangers (who scooped me up and rushed me to the er), and pain meds. road rash is not for sissies, and i feel like a big one. bleahhh.

Day 29

Today I have a guest blogger.  She is my daughter, Jane.  She happened to see my blog today, while I had it up and asked about the Sketchbook Challenge.  So I explained it to her and she wanted to participate. I told her the theme was Highly Prized and immediately she said "my cat"!  Of course! I thought she would draw with real paper and paint, or markers or something, but no!  She wanted to give my drawing tablet a try.  It was a bit frustrating for her, because she doesn't know anything about Photoshop.  So I started her off easy and showed her just a few simple things.  She started over a few times, but this is what she drew.  I am really quite proud of her for sticking with it!  And I LOVE her drawing!

Day 28
Well, it's day 28 and I don't have 28 drawings.  Darn it!  I am still in the first month and unable to make my goal.  Well, this is supposed to be fun and instructional by making it a daily habit.    And it seemed like the carrot danging at the end of the stick.....that is, while I wasn't working much on my art quilts.  However, I have now managed to carve out some time to do the work I love so much.  So all is good on the art front, but maybe not so much on the sketching front.  Too bad, I won't apologize for making time to create art quilts, I just can't go there. 

Meanwhile, today at the bakery, on my son's iPad, I drew another doodle.  He did save it, but that is NOT what you are looking at here.  His app is called ColorTilt.  It is FUN.  As you tilt the iPad, the colors change while you draw.  I must admit that it is rather difficult to draw anything on a constantly moving surface.  The app does allow for a LOCK mode, in which you can just draw with one color at a time.  I like that too.  Anyway, here is my rendition of the sketch I made on his iPad.  I drew this one on Photoshop.  This evening I learned how to draw a rainbow line.  How cool!!!