Project 365 - April 23-29

Tuesday, April 23 - Plugged in my new external harddrive and began the very long process of backing up the computer.
Wednesday, April 24 - My last day as a stay-at-home-artist, I worked on my Arabian stallion drawing. I am now working a second 20-hour a week job in addition to my 15-hour a week job, so my time of working on my art every day has come to an end.
Thursday, April 25 - After the first day at my new job and the varying stresses that brings, it was nice to  watch the antics of my dog. Here she is trying to get me to rub her belly.
Friday, April 26 - Our t-shirts for summer reading program came in - I love the design!
Saturday, April 27 - End of April, and I'm very happy to FINALLY be able to wear sandals!
Sunday, April 28 - With the weather finally warming up and all that snow melting, everything is a bit muddy, and I got in a little deep as evidenced by my work boots.
Monday, April 29 - The new (to us) tractor and planter that are being prepped for planting. Going to get busy around here!

Project 365 - April 16-22

Tuesday, April 16 - Taking photos for Etsy listings for ready-to-frame prints.
Wednesday, April 17 - This was kind of crazy - I played five letters in Words with Friends, and this was the way the new letters came up - I did not rearrange them at all!
Thursday, April 18 - Snowing again! Will it ever stop?
Friday, April 19 - Doing some applique on a colorful quilt I've been working on for a long time.
Saturday, April 20 - Got an area set up for redoing some old Etsy photos.
Sunday, April 21 - Our dog's newest trick - we taught her to "give me 5". It's so cute!
Monday, April 22 - New game we got in a silent auction at a fundraiser - can't wait to try it!

Sketchbook Sunday - April 21

Almost seven hours of work so far on the Arabian stallion, and I think I'm starting to see the end in sight. I still have some work to do on his muzzle, blaze, and forelock as well as the general all-over ending touch-ups.

My current Art Instruction Schools assignment is to drape a piece of fabric over an object and draw it. I have a swatch of shiny satin fabric draped over a trophy. The satin is quite wrinkly, so there's a lot going on, and it's going to take a while. Here's what it looks like with about half an hour of work on it.

Project 365 - April 9-15

Tuesday, April 9 - After a week of spring-like weather, we got a multi-day winter storm.
Wednesday, April 10 - The robins came too early and sat huddled in the trees throughout the storm.
Thursday, April 11 - I'm estimating 8-10 inches of snow we got. I had a better shot snowing the snowfall, but this photo of my snow-covered garden bench was much prettier.
Friday, April 12 - Extra stuff loaded up for a rummage sale (indoors!).
Saturday, April 13 - Our only Black Hereford bull calf this year. We had four heifers, and the other bull is red.
Sunday, April 14 - This morning we had an ice coating on everything.
Monday, April 15 - Doing some piano playing.

Project 365 - April 2-8

Tuesday, April 2 - My husband playing Mahjong Dimensions, a new game we've discovered and become completely addicted to.
Wednesday, April 3 - My husband took his new gun out shooting for the first time.
Thursday, April 4 - A beautiful sunset on the way home from a summer reading program kickoff and teen summit.
Friday, April 5 - My husband's niece had a leading role in a high school musical. I'm not a musical or rag music fan, but the kids put in a lot of work.
Saturday, April 6 - First blades of green grass!
Sunday, April 7 - My husband fell asleep on the couch watching The Hunger Games on Netflix.
Monday, April 8 - The records I'm keeping as the calves arrive.

Sketchbook Sunday - April 7

Art Instruction Schools - Fabric, Folds, and the Figure lesson - drew a glove and am currently working on a bunched up striped shirt.

The Arabian stallion is coming along slowly. I'm taking my time to make sure it comes out right. At this point, he's got 5.5 hours of drawing time.

Project 365 - March 26 - April 1

Tuesday, March 26 - I got an  incredible deal on a subscription to Taste of Home and got my first issue today. Love this magazine!
Wednesday, March 27 - Working on my Arabian stallion drawing.
Thursday, March 28 - Working at the library.
Friday, March 29 - Our cow/calf pairs got moved to a new, bigger pen, and the calves had a great time running around. Here's little Miracle at two weeks old, looking happy and healthy after her rough start in life.
Saturday, March 30 - My sister's dog, Beau, waiting patiently while we play a board game.
Sunday, March 31 - So I didn't take this photo, but I took all the other family Easter photos. Here's my husband and I - wish I remembered what I'm laughing about.
Monday, April 1 - Catching up on watching Survivor - hadn't had a chance to watch last week's episode until tonight.

Sketchbook Sunday - March 31

Happy Easter! Is everyone enjoying the spring weather that's finally arriving? I sure am!

I worked four days this past week, but here's what little I did.

Arabian stallion - starting to work my way down the face, starting with the area just above the eye.

Working my way through the Fabric, Folds, and the Figure lesson book. Next week, I'll have some sketching to share of the activity at the bottom of the page - set up a piece of striped fabric over some books or boxes and draw it. I'm still working on the outline, so there's nothing interesting to see right now.

And some sketching from the model horse again - studying shoulders and haunches.

Project 365 - March 19-25

Tuesday, March 19 - The little calf that had so much trouble being born is up and running around. We named her Miracle.
Wednesday, March 20 - Trying to take photos of one of our bulls - he was not very cooperative. All I got was a couple photos like this with the light spots and then a couple rear views before he ducked into the herd of cows and disappeared.
Thursday, March 21 - After the calving troubles we had, we decided to buy the calving book I'd borrowed from the library earlier so we can have it on hand at all times in case there's trouble.
Friday, March 22 - Reading the next lesson book for my Art Instruction Schools course - Fabric, Folds, and the Figure.
Saturday, March 23 - We went to a "Catan-a-Thon" day. My husband won the t-shirt for having the the least points. The winner had 28, and my husband had 13.
Sunday, March 24 - Second day this year I forgot to take a photo.
Monday, March 25 - After this extremely long winter, I was very happy to see this in the weather widget!

Sketchbook Sunday - March 24

I have nearly 4 hours of drawing time in on the Arabian stallion. This week, I worked on the mane and figuring out the arch and fade out on the neck. I feel like he's really starting to come together.

I started reading lesson 26 of my Art Instruction Schools course - Fabric, Folds, and the Figure.

And some sketching from the model horse on my desk.

Project 365 - March 12-18

Tuesday, March 12 - In bed, just before falling asleep, I remembered that I hadn't taken a photo today, so this is what you get. By the way, I hadn't set the clocks ahead yet, so it was actually 11:45, way too late to go around photo op hunting!
Wednesday, March 13 - Boot shopping with my mom and little sister.
Thursday, March 14 - Started wearing my pedometer again and got in 10,831 steps today! My previous job, I sat at a desk and was lucky to get 1200 by 5:00. Now, working at the library, I average 800-1,000 steps each hour!
Friday, March 15 - Some good produce deals at the grocery store - look at all that wonderful fruit. Fresh pineapple is an extra special treat for me!
Saturday, March 16 - Pieper usually lays by the door or on her blanket in the living room, but after working in my studio, I headed downstairs and saw her lying at the bottom. I liked how she was framed by the stairway. (Forgive the yucky steps - we're waiting on new carpet.)
Sunday, March 17 - A calf born yesterday that had a lot of trouble arriving. She got stuck at both the shoulders and the hips and took over an hour to be born. She couldn't get up, and it was bitter cold, so I made a fleece jacket for her.
Monday, March 18 - This is what Pieper typically looks like while we're trying to put our boots on - right in our faces. This time, she even came under the table trying to get in my lap. Such a cutie!

Sketchbook Sunday (on Monday) - March 18

Crazy busy week and weekend. A new calf that was having some trouble kept me from getting the post up yesterday, but I didn't forget! Here's a look at my work this week.

The Arabian stallion:

And the finished assignment for the portrait lesson for Art Instruction Schools. Next, I learn about fabric and how it folds and drapes on the human figure.

Project 365 - March 5-11

Tuesday, March 5 - The little Black Hereford heifer born yesterday. She's such a cutie!
Wednesday, March 6 - Our second calf, a red bull. He's having a hard time keeping up with his very active sister even though she's only a day older than him.
Thursday, March 7 - Girls' night out and working on scrapbooks together.
Friday, March 8 - Playing Settlers of Catan with my family. If you haven't ever played this, I highly recommend it. It's our all-time favorite game!
Saturday, March 9 - Sleet storm. My poor doggie after helping us with chores. She was completely frosted.
Sunday, March 10 - The current state of my studio workspace - lesson books, reference photos, my iPod, my current drawing, a binder of art prints, and the model horse I've been sketching from.
Monday, March 11 - I cleaned off my vanity top - look how nice it looks! Our bedroom is decorated with our wedding stuff. On the vanity is my bouquet, a few photos, our cake topper (a ranch sign with our name and date and mini hay bales and cowboy hats underneath - my mom made it, and I love it), our toasting glasses, and on top (which you can't see) one of our centerpieces.

Sketchbook Sunday - March 10

I didn't have a lot of time in my studio this week, so there's not as much progress to show as I'd like, but that's life.

The Arabian stallion - still working on the neck. Due to the roughness of this paper, it's time consuming to make sure all the dips in the paper get filled in, so they don't stay white and lighten up the whole area.

Portrait assignment - really happy with how he's coming along. Just the neck to finish, and then I'll be on to the next lesson.

Project 365 - February

Tuesday, Feb. 26 - Working on drawing with the reference photos up on the screen of a laptop - so nice!
Wednesday, Feb. 27 - Freezer cooking day with my mom. At the end of the afternoon, we each had two gallon bags of chili, chicken soup, hashbrowns, and maple pecan pancakes.
Thursday, Feb. 28 - Night out with the girls and eating blue Dum-Dum suckers.
Friday, March 1 - Pieper worn out after a long day of guarding open gates.
Saturday, March 2 - Had to come up with a way of keeping track of what is in the freezer since, besides the freezer cooking day, I've been making extra portions to freeze of some of our favorite recipes.
Sunday, March 3 - Date night with my husband who's been gone a lot of nights lately working on our planter. Our relaxing evening consisted of beef stew, mango, and watching The Avengers.
Monday, March 4 - Our first Black Hereford calf arrived! I went out to check the heifers at 3:30 a.m., and her mama was just getting up, so I missed the birth by minutes (not that I mind terribly, it's pretty gross to watch!)

Sketchbook Sunday - March 3

Wow, can you believe it's March already? This winter actually seemed to go by pretty quickly!

Let's kick Sketchbook Sunday off with some sketches from the model horse on my desk. This mostly rear-view of the head is not one of my strong points, so it's good practice.

The Arabian stallion portrait is coming along well. I turned the far ear back again since it gave him a too friendly look when it pointed forward, and I want him to look like a spirited stallion, not a pet. I adjusted the other ear as well and the lid on the eye. Now I'm starting to develop the shadows.

The portrait assignment continues to come along well. For having hardly drawn any people in my life, I'm pretty happy with how he looks. Hopefully I can finish him this week and move onto the next assignment.

Project 365 - February 19-25

Tuesday, Feb. 19 - Bitter cold day and the brightest sun dogs I have ever seen! Not long after I took this photo, they were too bright to look directly at.
Wednesday, Feb. 20 - Watching the Scottsdale Arabian show live online. Love seeing all the different classes that I've never seen before like saddleseat, native costume, liberty, and gambler's choice jumping.
Thursday, Feb. 21 - We finally had a nice warmish day (20 degrees), so I took some photos of our new Black Hereford heifers we bought last weekend.
Friday, Feb. 22 - I was lucky enough to be watching the live feed of the Scottsdale Arabian show at the right time to see a half-sister to my colt be named top ten yearling Arabian filly!
Saturday, Feb. 23 - My sweet Border Collie begging for her treat. She almost always puts one or both paws up by her face when she begs - adorable!
Sunday, Feb. 24 - Yes, I forgot to take a photo. I'd say a 54 day streak isn't bad though!
Monday, Feb. 25 - A cute summer shirt I got for $5 through my hometown's garage sale site on Facebook.

Sketchbook Sunday - February 24

The assignment for the portrait lesson for Art Instruction Schools is coming along nicely, I think. The hair is roughed in, forehead and eyebrows are in, and I'm working on the eye.

I'm making slow progress on the Arabian stallion drawing. I changed the far ear to point forward rather than sidewise, but I'm not sure I like it, so it may go back to the way it was. I fiddled with the shape of the blaze, trying to match it with photos of the real horse.

Some sketching I did this past week. I'm trying to decide how I want the neck to "end" on the Arabian stallion portrait. I think I like the first one best - with the concave shape to the neck. What do you think? Is there a different one you like better?

"Looking Back in Time" is 2nd place winner!

I was super excited to get a letter from the Art Instruction Schools yesterday notifying me that my draft horse drawing, "Looking Back in Time" was chosen as a second place winner in their annual art competition!

For those who are new to my blog, this is quite a large drawing that I did last summer/fall; I ran a contest to name it and chose the name "Looking Back in Time". I finished it just barely in time to have it shipped in for the art competition, and after I'd already sent it off, I found out that the scan taken of it didn't turn out, so this is a very poor look at it, but it's all I have at the moment:

I look forward to getting the original back soon, and with the prize money, I'm hoping to have giclee prints made of it. The original will also be for sale; you can email me if you're interested.

Celebrating 10,000 views giveaway!

To celebrate the 10,000th view of this blog, I will give away one of my art bookmarks to every person that replies to this post in the next 24 hours. You may leave your mailing address here or email it to me at black_unicorn11@yahoo.com.

Giveaway ends at 9:30 a.m. on Feb. 20!

You will receive a random bookmark of the three designs pictured.