SHOW ‘N’ TELL
Well here I am with another Art Chat Show ‘n’ Tell. This is where I share what art I’ve been doing lately. I had contemplated starting a monthly linkup where others could share their creativity also, and mentioned this in my last Art Chat Show ‘n’ Tell post. I’ve decided though not to go ahead with it as even though I think it’s a great idea, I don’t think the current climate in the blogosphere would support it like would have been the case a few years ago.
So let’s move on and have a look at what art I’ve managed to fit in lately.
ART GROUP CHALLENGE 1/2022: DAILY LIFE CHALLENGE
I managed to finish the Daily Life challenge which was set by my art group. It was a 14 day challenge where we did a small and quick sketch of something depicting our daily life. I ruled up an A4 page into six which gives an idea of the size of each sketch. The size is small in order to make it achievable to do each day and they are quick in order to help us let go of perfectionism. The first 10 days of sketches can be seen in Art Chat #4. Here are the final 4 days. Please keep in mind that these were done very quickly!
Day 11 – Caricature of Min in her new glasses
In my social media I wrote the following:
Day 11 – Daily Life. Today’s sketch is a quick caricature of myself with the focus being my glasses and eyes. Today I went for some eye scans that were needed by my Ophthalmologist. In June I’m having Bilateral Cataract Extraction and Intraocular Lens Implant Surgery. No wonder I’ve been struggling to see lately! On Friday, I picked up two new pairs of cute Kylie Minogue reading glasses that I’ll now only get to enjoy for a couple of months because after the surgery I’ll have vision like I’ve not experienced in many years and they’ll no longer be of use to me!
Day 12 – This is one of our cats (Axel) on top of the box pelmet thing for a sliding timber louvred door.
Day 13 – Mid Week Wash Day!
Day 14 – Brunch with a friend at my favourite local cafe. (Good Grief you can tell it’s a quick & rough sketch by the sloping horizon!)
URBAN SKETCHING COURSE
I finished the online Urban Sketching Course that I had been doing. It had four modules. I shared my sketch from Module 1 in Art Chat #4 and here are the sketches from Modules 2-4.
Module 2 – Tanners Wine Merchants
Module 3 – Church Street
Module 4 – Wyle Cop
FREE URBANE SKETCHING COURSE
The same mob that I did the Urban Sketching Course with above offers a free course – just the one monochrome sketch of a scene in Lower Bunbury in England. If you’d like to give it a try you can find it HERE. I was not happy with my version of it. I wasn’t really in the right mood for it the day I did it and also I decided to go out on my own a bit and include shadows that I could see on the photo provided of the scene. He (Ian Fennelly) didn’t include the shadows in his sketch but I decided I would. The problem was that I chose to use my lightest grey brush pen for the shadows and that was a mistake. It is fantastic to use for small areas of shadow but for larger areas of shadow I would have been better placed using watercolour. I had also used black brush pen around windows nearby and the light grey brush pen picked some of it up which made the grey darker than I had wanted. These brush pens (Tombow) are water soluble, so great for blending but not great when that is not the affect you’re after. Also, the brush pens have a streaky effect when used over a large area and that’s not the look I wanted. Anyway – lesson learned!
Village Scene – Lower Bunbury, England.
WYNNUM JETTY
After doing all those urban sketches of scenes in England, I felt compelled to draw something closer to home. As it has been pouring rain outside for sooooo long my only option was to go from a photograph. I decided to do a sketch of Wynnum Jetty from a photograph I took a few years ago.
Wynnum Jetty, Brisbane
ART GROUP CHALLENGE 2/2022: ‘OVERGROWN’
My art group has a second challenge for the year – to design/create an artwork inspired by the theme of ‘OVERGROWN’. It’s a design challenge moreso than a drawing challenge so the opportunity is very broad. I like drawing though – so mine is a drawing/painting. I don’t know why but an abandoned Kombi in a forrest starting to rust and look derelict and overgrown is what came to mind for me. I do have another idea but am unsure if I’ll get that done in time for closing time of midday on Friday. I’ll see how I go.
‘Overgrown’: Derelict abandoned Kombi overgrown with plant life in a forrest.
That’s all for this show ‘n’ tell. Hope you’re all keeping safe and well. We’re nearly floating away here in South East Queensland. SO.MUCH.RAIN!!
Ciao for now,
Linking up with Denyse Whelan for #LifeStories
12 Comments
Thank you, Min, for sharing your artworks. They’re all beautiful. I especially like your urban sketches. I hope the weather improves in your area. Good luck with your eye surgery in June.
Hi Natalie, thank you! The weather is driving us all crazy. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced so much rain over such a long period and not usually at this time of year either. Thank you for the best wishes for the eye surgery. I’m nervous about it but also excited!
Hi Min – I always enjoy seeing your art pop up in my FB feed. Those urban watercolours of yours were really good and you must be so proud of how your talent is growing as you stretch yourself. I agree that the days of link parties that are specific to a theme are supported less. Maybe this is because most of us are blogging less and more generally, so often don’t have a post to share? I also find that a lot still drop a link and disappear – which is very disappointing to the host and those who link up.
Hi Leanne – thank you! I’m well aware all my art posts will bore some though but I can’t worry about that because art is where I’m at these days. For all those that lose interest I might gain new interest from fellow artists or art lovers. It’ll be 10 years in September that i’ve been blogging and the blogosphere now is a very different place to what it was when I started. Nothing ever stays the same forever, that’s just the way things are. That’s ok with me though because I’m changing too and I’m happy to adjust my sails to what feels comfortable and good for me. Hope you’re settling in to your new p/t job. Have a great week!
Love it – and it’s interesting how familiarity (or lack!) can help or hinder us in creative endeavours. I sometimes feel my eyeballs need a different set of world to look on.
Thanks Vanessa! I’m finding drawing is an excellent source of mindfulness and slowing down to smell the roses (so to speak). You notice details that you normally would not and I love that!
These really are great. Day 14 I like a lot – and I wouldn’t have noticed the horizon so don’t point out flaws because some of us see the world like that apparently! Ha. The English ones are great too!! #Lifethisweek
Thanks Lydia! That horizon drives me nuts – it’s the photographer in me too. We were always taught to keep that horizon straight so … ! I’m happy with the rest of that quick sketch though!
I love how much you give so many different art challenges a go Min and do incredibly well. And without good vision. Here’s the marvellous changes for you and your art. I do hope surgery goes well. It takes a lot of patience for recovery …about 6 weeks and huge number of eye drops…and arm yourself with some decent sunglasses before hand to come home in and use. Your eyes will be affected a lot by the glare. Ask me how I know!!
Thank you for joining in this Monday’s #LifesStories on Denyse Whelan Blogs. The community of bloggers here connects us wherever we are in the world. Looking forward to seeing you in two week’s time on Monday 6 June. Winter in Southern Hemisphere & getting close to Summer in the Northern part of the world. Denyse.
Thank you Denyse! I can’t wait to see how much difference it will make to my art when I can actually see clearly! I am starting to get nervous about the surgery but people I’ve spoken to that have had the same surgery say it’s fine and nothing to worry about so I will believe that to be the case so that my anxiety doesn’t get a hold of me. They told me they will provide me with some dark wrap around sunglasses to protect my eyes from light and glare and I’ll be wearing those for a while it seems. I will pleased when I’m on the other side of it all. xo
Wow Min, you really have a lovely talent. Your drawings are evocative and beautifully done and I can’t believe all the wonderful scenes 🙂 I hope your eye issues clear up afterward your treatment and wish you well.
Thank you Deb! I’ll be pleased when the surgeries are all over red rover and I’m healing well and seeing like a bionic woman! haha