“The Giraffe and the Pizza Drawing”

Tags

drawing giraffes, drawing on pizza box, giraffe, pizza box drawing, world pizza, year of the giraffe

Once upon a time there was a fairly tall giraffe named Carla.

She liked to draw and paint and make stuff, and also taught art classes. She decided to host a year-long class called Year of the Giraffe, which was described, among other things, as “a creativity experiment.”

One day she ordered a pizza from World Pizza in Seattle, Washington. When the box was handed to her, there was a really cool drawing on it.

On the way home she thought, “Wouldn’t it be cool to ask that pizza girl to draw a giraffe next time?”

Then she thought, “Nah. Too shy.”

Then she thought, “Wait a minute! This giraffe thing is a creativity EXPERIMENT. Experiments are inherently risky. Come on… DO IT!”

So she did.

The next week Carla the Giraffe ordered another pizza.

She asked the girl (whose name turned out to be Emily) to draw her a giraffe.

And she did!

Thank you, Emily Hyde!

And thank you, World Pizza, for being a cool place to eat and draw!

_____________________________

Last call! There is still a day or two to join the Giraffe Fun. It’s been a wonderful month already, and there’s 11 months to go! Details for the year-long online class/experiment here. (Come on… DO IT!!!)

Thoughts on a Wednesday

Tags

Artwork, Girls, girls design, painting of girl, redhead at the beach

• Sometimes it’s best to keep your mouth shut, so your foot doesn’t fly in and kick you on the roof of your mouth. This thought crossed my mind today AFTER I had made a comment to the art gallery lady about a certain show (the work, by the way, I loved, but whatever I said came out kind of wrong because it was met with a tight, “Looking at art is subjective.”) I gave a mumbled apology and fled, but now feel completely stupid; this is a gallery that is near my office and I go in often, and had even hoped to strike a friendship with this woman.

Now what? (Rhetorical question, btw, I’m not looking for an answer. 😀 )

• Someone ordered the above “Redhead at the Beach” print recently and I remembered how much I liked this particular one. I think I did it in 2005, when I was just beginning the Girls series that really helped solidify my art-making “career.” Around 2009 I moved on to other things, but the girls still pop up every once in awhile (kind of thinking they’ll be in a children’s book before it’s all over).

Anyway, recently I’ve come to think of drawings and paintings to be like “conversations.” Some are fun, some not so fun, but they all help us learn about ourselves and others. Some conversations end up morphing into larger projects; some perhaps are springboards for other conversations; others, most perhaps, end up stored in the back of our minds as “memories.”

The art I create is similar. Some works end up being shown; some are springboards for other art ideas; others, most perhaps, end up in a stack in my studio. (“Memories.”)

It’s helpful for me to think of it this way, that the DOING of the art is the most valuable part, just as the actual talking part of a conversation is the most valuable.

What do you think?

Abstracted Minutia

Tags

art, Artwork, draw, drawing class, Drawing Lab, online drawing class

These two drawings are “testers” when I was working on this lesson in the DRAW! workshop (it’s also Lab 42 in Drawing Lab). I had so much fun doing these, and it got me all pumped up to do a series.

This one is even “giraffe-like.”

It’s hard to believe January is almost over already. It’s been a super busy month for me, but I think that’s how I like it.

Have a great day!

Charcoal Owls

Tags

art, Artwork, charcoal owl, owl, owl drawing, side-only charcoal, side-only technique

I really love the “side-only charcoal” technique. This owl was drawn from a little knick-knack found at a thrift store. Here’s another from the same reference:

Have a great day!

Unfinished Drawings

Tags

abandoned art, art, composition issue, gesso, unfinished drawing, watercolor

Pencil, watercolor, gesso on paper, with digital enhancing.

I think I have about 100 small, unfinished drawings/watercolors in a pile on my art table. Most get abandoned because I get stuck and don’t know what to do next. I set them aside, hoping that if I revisit them later with fresh eyes, I can save them.

I’m not so very sure about that. It’s happened only a couple of times. I think the revisits don’t often work because there is something fundamentally “wrong” with them that causes me to lose interest part-way through in the first place.

(For example, in the above little painting it was a composition issue; I used Photoshop to obscure another creature that wasn’t working as well.)

What to do with all of these failed/in-process/potential pieces?

I’m not sure. I can’t seem to get rid of them, though!

“Picasso Giraffe”

Tags

colored pencil, drawing animals, drawing class, giraffe, giraffe drawing, giraffe painting, giraffes, picasso, picasso giraffe

“Picasso Giraffe,” colored pencil on handmade paper. 
***

We just did the “Picasso Dogs” exercise in the Draw! workshop and I thought it would be interesting to apply the exercise to giraffes (because of the Year of the Giraffe!). Weird, but I like it, especially because it works both ways:

I’m having so much fun with both classes!

Hope you all are great.

Animals, Faces & Flowers: Three Repeat Classes Open for Registration

Tags

Drawing and Painting Imaginary Animals, Drawing and Painting Imaginary Creatures, drawing faces, drawing flowers, faces 101, flower crazy, imaginary creatures, online art class, online art classes, painting flowers, spring online art classes, spring online classes

Hi! I’m repeating three of my favorite online classes in February and March. There are two one-week sessions, and one five-week session. I hope you can join us!

Note: If you previously signed up for Imaginary Creatures, Faces 101 or Flower Crazy, you are welcome to jump in to this session as well. Just email me and let me know! carla[at]carlasonheim.com

* * *

Imaginary Creatures

February 11-15, 2013

Find and create your own zoo of imaginary creatures from random watercolor marks, blobs of paint, sidewalk cracks, peeling paint and more. But mixed in with this nonsense is a healthy dose of “real” drawing exercises and lessons to help you imbue personality and life into your imaginary animals.

We will draw from life, from photos, and from our imaginations. Then you’ll learn my no-fail watercolor tricks to create a series of your own imaginary creatures on paper. You’ll put the finishing touches on with pen, ink, pencil, gesso, charcoal, marker, collage, or whatever else the piece “needs.” We’ll also cover line quality, shading & dimension, and composition.

One-Week Intensive; $35.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO SIGN UP.

* * *

Faces 101

February 25- March 1, 2013

In this fast-paced class we will focus solely on drawing and painting the human face. We will work through dozens of different assignments that allow you to approach your subjects fast, slow, messily, neatly, realistically, abstractly — all to help ferret out your own unique and personal style.

We will draw from live models, from photos, and our imaginations. We’ll use ink, watercolor, pencil, ballpoint pen, charcoal, pastels and more. End goal: You don’t want to draw faces like me or anyone else — you want to draw like YOU!

One-Week Intensive; $35.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO SIGN UP.

* * *

Flower Crazy

March 4 – April 6, 2013

It’s cold and rainy in my neck of the woods, but NOT here inside my studio!

If you want to take Spring into your own hands with gesso, watercolor, and a healthy dose of flower fun, join me for an extended five-week long play time — set to finish just when the REAL flowers start to come in!

This painting class (which will also include both drawing and collage assignments) builds week-by-week, so that by the end you can take your new-found tips, tricks, and flower love to your journals, paintings, altered books, and even your furniture, if you like!

Five-Week Painting Class; $100.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO SIGN UP.

Some Questions

Tags

Carla Sonheim, q&A, sketching, white ink

A few months ago I put a call out for questions, and I plan to answer all of them over time! Here’s one from Tata Roldan:

Q: What about: color? shape? size? surface to paint on? time to paint? time to dedicate to painting? creating? blogging? family? HOW CAN YOU MANAGE EVERYTHING!?!?!?? 

A: I’ll take the questions in groups:

Color?
I have a “dull” color palette; bright colors scare me! But I tend to like aged or worn fabrics better than new ones, and dried up flowers after they’ve died at least as much as when they are in full bloom. I don’t really wear bright clothes… I just try to paint in colors I like!

Shape? Size? Surface to paint on?
I tend to work small. Most drawings or watercolors are about 5″x7″. I like working in the square format as well and always have a 5.5″x5.5″ hand•book sketchbook in my purse for pencil and ink work, mostly. For watercoloring, collage, etc., my go-to paper is Fabriano Artistico #140 hot press, traditional white.

Time to Paint? Time to dedicate to painting?
This is always an issue, and one I don’t really do very well! I do have my office configured so that I can paint a little, spin around and compute a little, then paint a little more after the first layer is dry. For example, I just added the white ink to this just now:

Then, at the end of the day, when I’m “done” with computer-y things, I might take a half hour or so to finish what I started during the day.

If I want to work larger, I need to dedicate an afternoon to it, and that usually happens on odd weekends here and there.

Creating? Blogging? 
When I first started blogging in 2006, it was difficult to post regularly; I just didn’t know what to say! After about six months or so, though, it became a habit and something I “need” to do if I have missed more than a few days.

I think creating is like that also; it’s almost a habit. When I’ve gone a few days without making something new or solving some creative problem, I start to feel “itchy.”

Family?
I love my family! Besides work (which includes drawing and painting), I spend most of the rest of my time with family. My youngest son is 17 and graduating from high school this year, and my oldest son, his wife, and young son live nearby as well, so I spend as much time there as I can (Liam, 16 months, is SO CUTE!).

HOW CAN YOU MANAGE EVERYTHING!?!?!??
Barely! Since I spend most of my time at work or with family, lots of things don’t get done very well — paperwork, housework, reading — these things suffer a lot. For example, the trash only gets put out to the curb an average of 2 out of 4 times a month!

So the answer is, I don’t really! But it’s okay.

😀

Pencil Porcupine

Tags

animal drawings, drawing animals, porcupine, porcupine drawing

Have a wonderful weekend!

Drawing Class Starts Thursday!

Tags

Drawing workshop, giraffe painting, online art class, online art classes, online drawing class

Here is the little “test” video that I sent to the students signed up for the Draw! workshop today. I wanted to share it with you here at the blog to:

1) Entice a few more of you to sign up, and

2) Introduce you to this drawing game, which I “stole” from my 10-year-old niece, Brooke. Here is a giraffe I drew using the exercise in the video:

“Spotty,” Tombow marker on handmade paper, then outlined on computer.

Have a great week!