An Instagram Challenge: 100 Days of Cats (#100daysofcats)

Join me for 100 days of _______ ?

Hi Everyone!

Surfing the internet can sometimes waste oodles of time, but it also can bring just the inspiration needed!

Last week I was reading a post on a friend’s Facebook page, and followed THIS link… which led me to The 100 Day Project by Vanessa Oliver-Lloyd:

This project encourages artists (or anyone) to choose an activity to do every day for 100 days and then document it and share it on Instagram with the #The100DayProject hashtag.

Instagram challenges are great because they keep everyone accountable. The rule of posting once a day is just flexible enough to remember to do it, and structured enough to make it a habit. Hopefully!

Participants can choose their own subject; I chose cats because they have recently been littering my sketchbook in a big way. Plus, they power the internet, don’t they?

The 100 days has begun, and I’ve committed. Join me? You can choose any topic or medium you’ve ever wanted to explore. And please, comment and tell me whatever you decide! Or even if you can’t decide.

Cats have made their mark on my Instagram so far, check them out: instagram.com/carlasonheim

Happy Monday to You

Hello!

I just wanted to say “hi” and that I hope you have a wonderful week! The above is an iPhone photo of my favorite part of a failed encaustic painting… I was visiting Seattle encaustic artist Stephanie Hargrave on Friday, and she let me play around… the rest of it was disastrous, but I did like this little portion!

Have a great day!

For Cat Eyes Only

Tags

animal, animal drawings, art, Carla Sonheim, cat, Drawing, drawing tutorial, realism

This post is adapted from For Your Eyes Only (Lesson 12 in Drawing Lab)

Hello!

Even though I love drawing stylized animals the most, I believe drawing from life as much as possible makes my stylized work more “authentic.”

If you want to practice drawing realistically, eyes are a fantastic place to start.

What are some of the most fascinating eyes out there? Cat eyes! Almond-shaped, other-worldly and appearing to gaze beyond mere human experience.

Assignment: Draw 4 Variations of a Cat Eye

We are going to draw four different cat-eyes, the first one using only pencil, the second with pen and ink, the third with vine charcoal, and the fourth in color, using colored pencil.

Materials:
Your sketchbook
Pencil
Kneaded rubber eraser
Felt tip pen
Vine charcoal
Small set of colored pencils

Instructions:

1. With your pencil, draw a grid with four rectangles and lightly sketch the basic shape of the cat-eye in each box. Try to make them all the same size, and as accurate as you can (though you can adjust as you go, so there is no need to spend too much time erasing at this point)! I’ve worked small; the outer edge of the frame is about 5.5 inches.

2. In the first box, use your pencil for shading and cross-hatching and building up value (lights and darks). Keep your eraser handy and use it to pull out highlights. Reference your photo often!

3. Repeat the above step for the three other eyes, now using pen, vine charcoal, and colored pencils. Look at the all subtle variations in the iris. Be as detailed as you like.

4. This is a chance to play around with different media and let your intuition guide you. The assignment should take no more than a half hour total; try to let go of perfection and just do your best!

Taking it Further:
Once you practice drawing realistic eyes, drawing stylized ones will become even more fun:

Have a wonderful day!

Registration Open for “Elements” – A New Class by Karine Swenson

5-Week Painting Class; 10 Lessons Total
Class Dates: May 12 – June 14, 2015

Click HERE for more info!

Hello!

Registration is now open for Karine Swenson’s new online class, “Elements,” a 5-week workshop designed to help you strengthen your understanding of some of the formal elements of painting, including

Line!
Form!
Shape!
Depth!
Color!
Value!
Composition!

and . . .

We will PAINT . . . a lot!

Lessons will be geared towards abstract painting; however, the topics will be beneficial to any artist – even those pursuing more representational subject matter. (This class is meant to be a continuation of my first abstract painting class, although you do not need to have taken Intro to Abstract Painting to benefit from this class.)

Have you ever wondered how to look at abstract art with better understanding? Maybe you felt like there was something that made some paintings more appealing than others, but you couldn’t really identify what it was. This class is designed to show you some of the basic elements that come together to make a painting that really “works.”

Elements: An Online Class with Karine Swenson from Silly U on Vimeo.

Join us today!!

www.carlasonheim.com/elements-building-blocks-of-painting/

Cat Eats Bird