Boing!

Craziness for a while...been out of the loop of everything.  Now a couple of weeks off should give me just the jolt I need to sketch more and finish that friggin mural so the babe can move out of our room!
Did a sketch for a friend tonight...she's giving it as a gift to her gf.  Just need to add fixative and it'll be delivery-ready.  I think I spent maybe a total of 3-4 hours on it?  Charcoal pencil on tinted paper... 5x7.  She picked the paper... And I didn't think that graphite would show very well on the dark tint, which is why I went with charcoal..  It's been a hot minute since I've used charcoal, but I don't think it turned out too bad.

Also the only sb drawing I've done.. Blah. 

Also I finally started the outline for the mural.. It makes it look a tad more put together... But there are several touchups in the other colors I need to do before I can go back to the outline to complete it.  Such as Hobbes' hand for instance.  Heres to maybe possibly finishing this week? Maybe? 

Phew

So I did 2 sketches yesterday, one might have been while in training at work... WHAT? I didn't say that! 

More of the hub and munch, then the pooch. Still haven't gotten any black paint for the mural that will work... sigh.

Lil more here and there...

So between the seemingly endless layers of the mural, I've occasionally taken up to sketch.. Baby steps, right?  Then there was an incident at work involving a wookie in a 2piece... I do what I can.  Otherwise, beholden my recent sketches.

I start with some quick sketches of some coworkers in their webcams during training.  Admittedly enough.. I could have been paying better attention to what we were supposed to be learning... But Josh's beard was calling to me..

 And a few more of le munch.  Then le munch going after the dog.. Tee hee.

Until next time... No progress to be made on the mural right now anyway... Until I find a suitable black paint for the outline..

No sketches at the moment

This is actually quite frustrating... I've been working on my my sons mural...and of course you can't tell much of a difference in the pic.... I have added layers to many of the colors to make them flatter....tomorrow I'm going out to get black paint for the outline... Which I'm going to go ahead and complete, then finish the colors around it. Behold.

Not Part of a Sketchbook, Technically

But here is the progress thus far of the mural I am doing in the munch's room. It's Calvin&Hobbes sleeping in a tree... very simple. Unfortunately, because I did the initial outline in pencil, it's taking FOREVER to do the needed amount of layers in the yellow to cover the marks.. sigh. Once I get tired of layering, I add another color just so it feels like I'm making some kind of progress... then I go back to the yellow and layer some more...

Unbelievable!

Who's been actually opening up her sketchbook and drawing in it this year so far??!  I HAVE!! Woot for little victories.  It hasn't been every day, but I think I'm making progress...  Enough said, bear witness.  Needless to say, I draw my baby a LOT.

 And my dog...

 Creation of man pose..

 An associate at work, who shall remain nameless, since she hates pictures of herself.

 Close friend holding the babe

 And the babe passed out on the hub...

I have also been working on a mural in my son's room.  Process pics to follow.

Shall we?

Maternity leave!! This is my opportunity to get some things done, get back in the groove of my art, sketch every day, take on some projects, etc and so forth!  Or so I thought...

On Wednesday, June 26th, after what seemed like 17 months of waddling around and waiting for my much deserved time off, I delivered my beautiful son, Henry Scott Norman. He is beautiful, perfect, and a slew of other adoring adjectives.. I'm obviously smitten and biased.  I still have trouble wrapping my head around the fact that this miracle is mine.  Needless to say, however, I had NO idea what I was really getting myself into.

 I really underestimated how much time I would have to accomplish anything that I had planned to accomplish during my 'time off.' This is my first child, so I had no comprehension of what goes into caring and bonding with an infant.  I type this as he squirms and squeaks in his sleeper while audibly filling his diaper... I will be right back.

One of the goals that I wanted to accomplish while on leave was to get back into my art.  It has been inadequately absent in my life for the past year at least; my own fault as everything else just seemed more important or would get in the way (so I told myself).  In that time I think I over-romanticized working on art in my mind, subconsciously thinking that I needed to have an allotted time-frame and all chores done before I should create anything. And then there were other priorities that I needed to accomplish with any free time available. It has gotten where I don't have any hobbies, so to speak. I work, come home, cook, clean/do laundry, and hang out on the couch with my husband, playing solitaire on my phone, watching TV, or reading.  Excuses, excuses.

I feel that the best way for me to get back to where I was, would be to start working in my sketchbook regularly again. I want to get back to doing a little something daily, get in the habit of doing this for me, and build up to taking on projects again.  For additional motivation, I signed up to participate in a friend from school's summer sketchbook challenge: a challenge to sketch every day and fill up a sketchbook over the summer. Unfortunately I have been negligent, though now it hasn't been unreasonable with the new babe in my life in recent weeks, but I do want to get myself in gear.

Anyway, I got started sketching again right before delivery, and I've sketched a little after (after 2 1/2 weeks of nothing again).  OH MY.  Boy, have I LOST it.  I obviously need to work on my drawing skills again... You wouldn't think I went to art school at all... unless it was for some abstract focus. Not good abstract, either. As much as I loathed to post the sketches, it is part of the challenge I'm doing, so posted they are.  I won't even say to go easy on me... because it's my own doing.