Sketchbook Sunday - September 30

Good news! I finished the draft horse this past week in time to get him in for the contest!

Bad news - I took him in to the print shop to get scanned, and I haven't gotten the file emailed to me yet, so you don't get to see him today.

I started doing the drawing activities in my art lesson. I had to put my own hand in a foreshortened position and draw it starting with the see-through basic shapes (hence all those ugly extra lines). This was quite difficult as it's in a bound book that didn't want to lay open flat, so I was trying to hold the book open and draw with my right hand while I held my left hand perfectly still.

And a sketch from this week. Yet another of the photos I took for the county fair.

I'll post the scan of the finished draft horse as soon as I get him from the print shop. At that time, I'll announce the name I chose for him.

This may be your last chance!

As you can see, he's getting close to being finished. Suggest a title for this drawing now for a chance to win a free print! I'll choose the winner as soon as I finish the drawing, so don't wait!

2012 County Fair Photos - Special Effect and Any Other Subject

Here's the last of the fair photos.

Special effect

1st place! My first entry in the special effect category! This photo is from the water fights at Hat Daze in Canby, MN, this past June. I still cannot believe I got the combination of the wonderful sunlight on the firefighters, the rainbow resulting from the spraying water, and the reflection in the water on the street all in one photo! And this is the raw photo - nothing done to it except cropping.

Any other subject

1st place! This shot is from our vacation in Door County in July 2012. We were hiking in Peninsula State Park along Green Bay and found these carefully stacked rocks along the beach. Someone spent a lot of time putting up these creative towers.

2nd place. This photo was taken in May 2012 at my grandpa's place near Cumberland, WI. He's got a few trees in his yard that drop hundreds of pinecones. I had fun playing with aperture and manual focus on this one.

2nd place. This shot was taken last October with my Fuji FinePix S700. I was checking on the cows in our pasture just before a storm rolled in. This was the spectacular view of the clouds shortly before it started raining. I boosted the colors a tiny bit to bring out the yellow highlights.

3rd place. I actually really like this photo (a lot more than the judge apparently). I took it in January 2012 on my first outing with my Canon Rebel T3. This weed was just hanging out on the side of the back road I was driving down a few miles from where I live. This was the first time I ever played with aperture, and I was immediately hooked!


Hope you enjoyed all my fair photos. You can see the others at these links:
Animals
People
Landscape
Sport Action
Still Life

Most of them are available for $5.00 each plus shipping. They are 5x7 prints and have been matted, displayed at the fair, unmatted again and have their class and placing written on the back. There is nothing wrong with any of them, but their price reflects the fact that they aren't "new". Email me or comment here with your email if you're interested in purchasing any of them.

Sketchbook Sunday - September 23

Another busy week. I'm losing hope of getting the draft horse drawing done in time for the contest, but I'm still going to try. I finished the blinker, did the eye and that big section of his face, and am working on the bridle again.

And a sketch from this week - from another of my county fair photos. I really like how it turned out.

I'm working on my lesson on foreshortening. I've read through the lesson book but have no drawing to show of it yet... next week.

Don't forget to enter the name the drawing contest for a chance to win a print of the draft horse drawing when it's finished.

Name the drawing and win a print!

I'm still hoping to have the draft horse drawing done to enter in a contest before the end of September, and I don't have a title for it, so I need your help.

If you come up with the best name for the drawing, I'll send you a free print of it. The name will be chosen solely by what I like the best and what I think best fits the drawing.

The contest will remain open until the drawing is finished.

Here it is in its current state:

And the reference photo to give you an idea what the finished face will look like:

You can post your name ideas here or email them to me at black_unicorn11 (at) yahoo.com.

Sketchbook Sunday - September 16

Busy week. Between bottle calves, and new horses, and a show to prepare for, not a lot of time for anything else. I'll post more about the show later this week, but for now, a peek into my sketchbook.

Just the bottom buckle this week and started on the blinker.

The proportions lesson is finished. He's the final assignment. Starting now on foreshortening.

 I did a real quick sketch of a Border Collie puppy that I photographed this spring.

My new horses!

Back in May, I was offered a purebred Arabian colt because he's had surgery on his front legs and was unfit for showing. He's been weaned, and I brought him home yesterday. Just to be on the safe side, we kept him in the trailer last night, and he didn't want to be more than a couple feet from me, so this is the best photo I was able to get of him. His name is Encore, which is ironic because I was then offered another horse...

... Intrigue. He's five years old and also suffers from a cosmetic flaw as a result of an injury. The owners thought he'd be a good companion to Encore on the six hour trip home, so they offered me him as well. I am still absolutely floored!

Both of them are wonderful, level-headed horses that have been handled daily. Intrigue has had no training for riding, but he's ready to be started that way. I'm still evaluating what he does and doesn't know, so I can't say how soon I'll be riding him, but I'm hoping he'll be ready in the spring.

Can you believe it? How lucky can one girl be? I'll be sharing more about these guys occasionally as they're sure to play a big part in my life for the next 20-30 years.