ramblings in between » sketchbook

life + style + art: beach retro

Sharon — Sun, 29 May 2011 02:12:42 +0000

Today has been a good day. I went to Johnson’s Beach in Perdido, Florida with all of my immediate family, minus my little sis who vacation plans of her own. Still, it was a beautiful day. I actually braved the Gulf waters for the first time since the BP oil rig disaster a little over a year ago. The water was cool, yet refreshing, and there was a continuous, cool breeze blowing the entire time.

I wasn’t sure if I was going to get in the water, yet I didn’t feel like styling my hair, so before leaving, I wrapped my hair up in this yellow, patterned scarf that I purchased a few months ago from ModCloth but had yet to wear. I also wore my Favela shirt by Threadless and some olive clam diggers that I hadn’t worn in ages, cuffing the bottom to give them an different look.

And I drew something, inspired by my turban, my sister’s glasses, and general surroundings. For example, those two girls in the background were actually there.

I see a few things I want to change about this. I’m going to to retrace the lines in Photoshop with my tablet and then color it.

Here’s a handy video of how I wore my turban, except I tied it a little differently (read: crappily). My mom said I looked like Lucille Ball while my sis claimed I looked like Rosie the Riveter. Cool beans. :)

*photos edited using Instagram.

shout it from the rooftops, write it on the sky

Sharon — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 04:20:34 +0000

That awkward moment where your coworker finds out that you’re secretly a good artist and proceeds to share this newfound knowledge with everyone else in the office.

That was my day today.

It was good, as it reminded me of all the art projects I’d like to start and complete this year. I was able to network, give out a few business cards (which I need to reorder, featuring more recent art).

In light of recent tragedies, I’m participating in a few fandom auctions in with winning bids being donated to Architecture for Humanity.

I’m a little disappointed that I managed to miss both the super full moon and the Fairhope Arts & Crafts Festival this weekend. I haven’t been able to attend the Festival for over a decade because of some other more pressing engagement. This year I was actually free to attend. It’s frustrating. Anyway, Arts Alive is in a few weeks, so, hopefully I will make it downtown for that.

The pencil art from the illustration featured on the homepage of my portfolio site:

Sunday afternoon sketch

Sharon — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 21:59:04 +0000

Several weeks ago, I was eating out with my sister. It was at Macaroni Grill where the have write paper covering the tables along with a supply of crayons. While I was sketching, the waitress (Steph) commented on it, saying she was really into art but was never really good or something like that. Long story shortened, I decided to leave her the sketch along with the tip.

Like I said, that was a while ago since in an effort to save money I don’t eat out as much. Today, however, my sis and I made what was my first outing to dine at Mellow Mushroom. Crystal observed that our waitresses move like a dancer. When she came to take our order she asked her about it, and she said that she used to. I took the opportunity to incorporate this info into the sketch I would leave with our tip.

While I was drawing, Crystal was ready with the ~~unsolicited~~ critique. Anatomy issues abound without a reference. It was a good exercise though. I’ll continue to post these as I do them.

Posted from my iPhone. The updated WordPress app works pretty well.

art: natural geek

Sharon — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 19:43:18 +0000

Just something I’m working on.

Apparently half the state is frozen (people in the South can’t function with icy roads), so it’s a pretty slow day.

Merci.

Sharon — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 20:11:58 +0000

Thank God, for the beautiful, sunny day. I needed it. :)

two sketches

Sharon — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 19:47:12 +0000

I’m trying to draw more and eventually work up to doing urban sketches.

Both of these drawing were done last month while taking notes. I found that drawing and taking notes isn’t much different than writing and taking notes.

art: Penelope & Shelly

Sharon — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 04:50:33 +0000

Lately, I really gotten into the show The Big Bang Theory. I stumbled upon a fan community on livejournal. Every month they have a list of prompts for fan art and/or fic, and one stood out to me.

Prompt: Gender Swap – Penny is the geeky physicist who’s roommates with Leonard and Sheldon is the hot guy living next door.

Parts I like best: Penny’s face and hair, Sheldon’s expression and his forearm and hand.

_listening: “Unsteady Ground” . Catherine Feeny
_watching: The Big Bang Theory . Season 1
_reading: Scott Pilgrim vs. The Universe . Bryan Lee O’Malley

character evolution: Tara, Miranda & Seiahn

Sharon — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 20:49:04 +0000

Finally breaking in my new recycled paper sketchbook, I drew something for the first time in several weeks. I decided to take another crack at the main characters from my novel: Tara, Miranda, and Seiahn. The first time I drew all three of them together was—are you ready for it—4 years ago. I drew Tara and Miranda again in 2006, but wasn’t able to get the right look for Seiahn. He’s supposed to be a generally handsome guy, tall and dark (“hot” as described by Miranda). His face came out pretty well, but I love that I was able to get his hair the way I wanted. I always have a problem drawing the shaggy hair on guys. And then, as I was drawing, I was thinking he might look better with shorter hair, but then I remembered that there was a specific reason his hair was the longer length…*sigh*

Miranda is seems to be channeling a bit of Ramona Flowers with her look, but eh. I created her before ever hearing of Scott Pilgrim. Though, originally her look was decided more goth, less artsy.

Tara came off like I wanted. She’s shy and naive and quite a bit nerdy. I hope she’s a little more extroverted by the end of the book. Or at least a little braver than she ever thought she could be.

Seiahn is…well, he’s mysterious.

Now…to draw E’lari.

commission sketch

Sharon — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 07:15:25 +0000

Just a bit of art that I’m working on. I started on this drawing three different times, and finally was able to get the anatomy down acceptably. It was only after I photographed the drawing that I realized how overly long the proportions are. I think I can fix it in Photoshop, though, without having to do too much redrawing.

Erik & Xilmior

I think both guys’ shoulders could be broader, too. I’m so used to drawing girls and their curves.

Ah well. I a few minor adjustments to make, and then I will be adding inks, maybe some gray tones.

some things around me

Sharon — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 01:40:00 +0000

Well, now that all that WordPress nonsense is, for the most part, sorted out, I can finally get on with the post I had originally planned to make last night.

I got a new shirt from Old Navy.

My first slice of pumpkin loaf of the season. Yumm.

I just realized the problem with my glasses. I bought them about 2 years ago, and since I’ve lost weight, they’re not a bit too wide for my face.

It’s important to start the day with a balanced breakfast

Another pic of DeeDee