Your dream doesn’t have an expiration date. Take a deep breath and try again.
KT Wittin
Meditation – 09 March 2020
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Author Archives: Dana Burrell
D’Anjou Trio
You can’t feel the feel the paper in this Hahnemühle Nostalgie art journal but it is incredibly smooth. That’s super when writing or sketching in ink. The paper, at 190 gsm (grams per square meter), is heavy enough to take water media quite well… just don’t overwork it as I have here.
I have a few layers of ink and watercolor on each of these pears and I must have been a bit too zealous with my brushes. The paper is rougher and has just started to pill along the edges of the pears.
I love the book though, it’s sturdy with a wonderful grey fabric cover. It opens totally, hardly buckles even when soaked, and watercolors remain brilliant. I even got some granulation which you can see above the rightmost pear.
Is it my favorite Hahnemühle book? Not sure… I have one of their watercolor books to try. No rush though, I still have many pages of this book to fill.
Meditation – 02 March 2020
Hard to believe it’s been five years already.
“I have been and always will be – your friend.” – Spock
A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP.
Leonard Nimoy
27 March 1931 – 26 February 2015
Take the Leap!
Channeling my inner Mary Oliver… “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”
Tomorrow’s the big day… take the leap!
Meditation – 24 February 2020
The full quote:
Coffee is the common man’s gold, and like gold, it brings to every person the feeling of luxury and nobility.
Where coffee is served, there is grace and splendor and friendship and happiness.
All cares vanish as the coffee cup is raised to the lips.
Sheikh Abd-al-Kadir
In Praise of Coffee
Panera People Portraits
Not only is Panera a great place to meet friends for lunch but there are always plenty of interesting victims subjects to sketch. I had a great time catching up on everyone’s comings and goings as I practiced with my Sailor Profit fude nib pen.
I also tried out a new charcoal pencil that works like the old style peel-away China markers. You can see that image in the top left of the next image. I usually don’t like working with charcoal or even graphite in my sketchbook as it smears too much but I couldn’t wait to give it a go.
I’ll think I’ll save the charcoal for life drawing and keep on working with ink and watercolor in my sketchbook. Both the paper and my hands stay cleaner that way.
Meditation – 17 February 2020
Try and fail, but don’t fail to try.
John Quincy Adams
A Valentine for Australia
At the height of the Australian bushfires back in January I was glued to the news and weather channels saddened at the destruction of huge swaths of land and people’s homes as they tried to cope with the worst fire season on record. I was seeing videos of people evacuated from their homes carrying nothing, people standing on the beach and in the sea to escape the flames. In the midst of all this there were still citizens rushing into the burning forests to save wildlife, especially the many koalas still clinging to the trees as their habitat succumbed to the flames. I tip my hat to those brave rescuers.
Today I read the New South Wales fires are contained thanks to the hard work of the mostly volunteer “fireys” and residents. Unfortunately now Aussies need to worry about flash flooding and mudslides. Recovery is still far away but the community and conservationists have started the hard work of restoring natural habitats.
My heart goes out to all those who have lost family, their homes and possessions, their livelihoods, and their wildlife from this catastrophe.
I stand with you Australia.
Meditation – 10 February 2020
The great lessons from the true mystics, from the Zen monks, is that the Sacred is in the ordinary, that it is to be found in one’s daily life, in one’s neighbors, friends, and family. in one’s backyard, and that travel may be a flight from confronting the Sacred. To be looking everywhere for miracles is a sure sign of ignorance that everything is miraculous.
Abraham Maslow
January, Figuary, March…
I discovered Figuary earlier this week, specifically #Figuary2020, and I am officially obsessed!
Figuary is Figure Drawing Month. Every day this February there are daily tutorials and practice sessions co-produced by Kenzo and Mayko of LoveLifeDrawing.com and Larry Withers of Croquis Cafe.
I’ve been watching the tutorials and drawing from the fast poses to improve my ability to quickly capture people’s gesture. I did say fast poses…. most are one and two minutes long with each session ending with a five minute pose. This is a real stretch for me but I’m enjoying the half an hour or so it takes to complete the day’s session.
Some drawings are more successful than others and as you can see above, five minutes isn’t long enough to prevent errors in measuring and perspective. I’ll just keep focusing on capturing what’s essential and hope my technique will improve with practice.
#Figuary2020
