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Tag Archives: art

For Cat Eyes Only

23 Thursday Apr 2015

Posted by carlasonheim in Uncategorized

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

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

cateyephoto
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.

cateyes1

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.

cateyes2small

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:

yellowcatsml

Have a wonderful day!

Lynn Whipple’s “Best Ideas Ever” Jar

24 Tuesday Jun 2014

Posted by carlasonheim in Uncategorized

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

art, project, Whipple

Whipplebest

Hello! While we were in Florida shooting Lynn Whipple’s “The Joy of Collage” class, we also were able to shoot Lynn talking about this brilliant little project, a “Best Ideas Ever!” Jar. I hope you enjoy it!

(And if you make one, be sure to leave a comment with a link to an image… we want to see them!)

New Tutorial! Guest Teacher Diane Culhane

19 Wednesday Mar 2014

Posted by carlasonheim in Uncategorized

≈ 21 Comments

Tags

art, diane culhane, painting, tutorial

Diane Culhane came into our studio a few weeks ago to film this little project tutorial for you. She talks about painting using negative space… have fun with it!

And a big THANK YOU to Diane!

_____
Diane is a painter and art educator living in Seattle. She has held two online classes through us, “Between Speech & Silence” and “Table Top: Drawing & Painting.” Both are available as self-study classes now.

Moon Flowers

03 Tuesday Dec 2013

Posted by carlasonheim in Uncategorized

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

art, artstronauts club, flowers, moon

moonflowers3a

I wanted to mention a project that my friends Teesha and Tracy Moore are starting called The Artstronauts Club!

Screen shot 2013-12-03 at 12.26.33 PM

Screen shot 2013-12-03 at 12.28.27 PM

Teesha writes:

It is our goal to have this meeting place that continually has new sources of inspiration in the form of online workshops, interesting videos, relevant articles and how-to’s, downloadable art and art supplies (like collage sheets, patterns, wrapping paper, etc.), tips on new art supplies and books, random quirky stuff and a forum to share ideas and your own art.  We will delve into anything and everything that enhances your creative life.

She and Tracy will be the editors of this new subscription based site, but they have a huge network of teachers, artists, musicians, and other creatives that will contribute work to the site (including me!).

I haven’t had time this month to contribute yet (STILL working on the launch of the next “Year of…” class — sorry to make you wait!), but I did quickly create these moon flowers just for fun. Here are some details:

Moonflowers2a
(They are scanned twigs, digitally manipulated, and collage)moonflowers1a
Congratulations Teesha and Tracy — the site is wonderful and rich — and I hope you will consider peeking in and joining the fun!

Life Book 2014 – Registration Begins Today

07 Monday Oct 2013

Posted by carlasonheim in Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

art, Carla Sonheim, DIY, journaling, online class, Willowing Arts

Screen shot 2013-10-07 at 10.44.35 AM

Hello! I just wanted to give the heads up that registration opens today for “Life Book 2014,” the year-long online class I’m teaching for Willowing Arts. My lesson will be the third week of January:

Carla Sonheim • Week of 1/13/14
Main Mixed Media Video + PDF:

Creativity and Play – Hurray! Let’s play with your art materials, your thoughts, and your inner child. We’ll start with a series of seven quick and fun drawing, writing, and collage prompts/assignments, and then create a highly textured mixed-media “envelope” page to house your playful experiments using gesso, watercolor, and collage.

This is a really affordable class — only about $109 for weekly assignments/inspirations from more than 22 teachers.

For all the details, click here (affiliate link).

NEW Online Class with Diane Culhane: “Table Top Drawing & Painting”

04 Friday Oct 2013

Posted by carlasonheim in Uncategorized

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

art, culhane, Drawing, online class, painting

Tabletopclassblogbig2

Get Ready Get Ready Get Ready for this fabulous new TWO-WEEK class from Diane Culhane!

Tabletop7

Tabletop8

Tabletop2

I am pleased to announce that my friend and colleague Diane Culhane has developed a brand new two-week online class, “Table Top: Drawing & Painting,” and it is set to begin Monday, November 11, 2013. Registration begins today.

Over the past few months I’ve really enjoyed getting to know Diane better as we have worked together. A wonderful artist in every way, her “Table Top” series of paintings really inspire me. Click here to see some of Diane’s wonderful plans for us. You won’t want to miss this chance to create “live” with Diane and others and explore the traditional “still life” in a non-traditional way.

Free ‘Zine: “Ye Olde Book of Blobs”

22 Friday Feb 2013

Posted by carlasonheim in Uncategorized

≈ 33 Comments

Tags

art, blobs, book of blobs, Drawing, free magazine, free zine, ye olde book of blobs

blob-book

Here is a downloadable blob ‘zine for you! (“Blobs” are irregular shapes that you can make into imaginary animals.) It’s free!

The ‘zine comes a 6-page digital PDF file that you print out and turn into a book. Each issue will have 11 “blobs” to work from!

And you are welcome to print out as many copies as you like to share with your friends, your kids, and your students.

Click HERE to access “Ye Olde Book of Blobs”

Be sure to sign up for my monthly newsletter for new art, online classes, etc. Thank you!

Click on the button to sign up!

Dawn DeVries Sokol’s New Book: “Art, Doodle, Love”

06 Wednesday Feb 2013

Posted by carlasonheim in Uncategorized

≈ 13 Comments

Tags

Aimee Dolich, animal drawing, art, blog hop, Carissa Paige, Dina Wakley, doodle, giraffe drawing, Jane Davenport, Jill K. Berry, love, Love: A Journal of Self-Discovery, Mindy Lacefield, Pam Carriker, Samantha Kira Harding, Tamara LaPorte, Tammy Garcia, Tracie Lyn Huskamp

ADLcover0720

My friend Dawn DeVries Sokol has a new book out! I did a quick review of “Art, Doodle, Love: A Journal of Self-Discovery” in the book itself (click to enlarge):

dawn2

And the blog hop schedule!

Feb. 2: Pam Carriker, http://www.pamcarriker.com/blog/
Feb. 3: Samantha Kira Harding, http://www.journalgirl.com
Feb. 4: Aimee Dolich, http://artsyville.blogspot.com
Feb. 5: Jane Davenport,  http://www.janedavenport.com
Feb. 6: Carla Sonheim, http://www.carlasonheim.com
Feb. 7: Tracie Lyn Huskamp, http://www.thereddoor-studio.blogspot.com
Feb. 8: Tammy Garcia, http://www.daisyyellow.squarespace.com
Feb. 9: Carissa Paige, http://www.carissapaige.blogspot.com
Feb. 10: Mindy Lacefield, http://www.timssally.com
Feb. 11: Dina Wakley, http://dinastamps.typepad.com/
Feb. 12: Tamara LaPorte, http://www.willowing.org/blog/
Feb. 13: Jill K. Berry, http://jillberrydesign.com/blog/

And… don’t forget… Dawn will pick the winner of her big giveaway on February 14th! Enter before then for a chance to win: www.dawndsokol.com.

Congratulations, Dawn!

Abstracted Minutia

27 Sunday Jan 2013

Posted by carlasonheim in Uncategorized

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

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

19minutia2

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.

19minutia1

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

23 Wednesday Jan 2013

Posted by carlasonheim in Uncategorized

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

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

charcoalowl

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:

charcoalowl2

Have a great day!

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Hello! I A Seattle-based artist who works with drawing, watercolor, and mixed-media. Hosts online art classes with 15 talented teachers through Carla Sonheim Presents: carlasonheim.com. Author of three instructional art books. Grateful grandma. Read more here.

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