Happy Fall Y'all by Leada Wood, Texas Artist

Whooo's In The Pumpkin Patch? Copyright Leada Wood 2014

Autumn is my favorite time of year...the weather is pleasant and the haverst is in. I especially love all the cheery orange pumpkins and the trees turning shades of gold and red. " Whooo's In The Pumpkin Patch" is  9x11 unmatted, transparent watercolor created lovingly with artist grade materials and is available. 

"The Dance" by Leada Wood, Texas Artist

 

"The Dance" © Leada Wood 2014
www.leadawood.com

 

 

"The Dance" was a fun painting to do. It is an imaginary painting of Bootman and me...imaginary in that we never go dancing anymore...sad isn't it? I tried to depict movement and a soft romantic feeling to the painting. The Dance is transparent watercolor 15x22 and is in my private collection but prints are available.

 

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Leada  Wood

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Forrest Friend by Leada Wood, Texas Artist

Forrest Friend

 

15x22

Leada Wood©2014

Oh! How I love mixing mediums! This wise old owl has many layers of various mediums. I started with a drawing, then did a very loose under painting, a dusting of charcoal, more paint and finished up with charcoal and pastels. "Forrest Friend" is on archival paper with professional paints and he was definitely fun to paint.
 

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Leada  Wood

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Daily Offerings by Leada Wood, Texas Artist

Daily Offerings

5x7 

 copyright Leada Wood 2014

Bootman brought in his produce from the garden and laid them on the counter. Glowing with the sun's warmth...vivid colors...begging me to paint them! So I did. The hardest part of daily sketching is not piddling too long on the paper. Trying to keep the sketch fresh and not overworked, loose.  I used contour line with an orange watercolor pencil and then began laying in the local colors. The shadows came next with just a touch of calligraphy to define some edges.
I hope you enjoyed my daily offering.

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Leada  Wood

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San Patricio, by Leada Wood, Texas Artist

                                                     

                                 La Inglesia de San Patricio by Leada Wood copyright 2014

I am still working in my sketchbook...trying to cultivate daily painting habits. This study was done from a photograph my brother took when we were visiting New Mexico. La Inglesia de San Patricio was built in 1875 and has been painted many times by artists and probably thousands of photograph have been taken there. I myself painted Plein air there several years back, and have wanted to revisit and paint the old church again.

A few tips I learned from Liz Steel, in sketchbook skool when drawing buildings:

See patterns

Spend time observing the overall shape

Look for the center line and other major divisions, important ledges, count windows, check proportions 

Look at details, draw them in the air. Then draw them on paper, individually so you know them.

All this is done in thumbnails before you sketch the building.

Then:

Do a setup of the overall shape and major divisions in watercolor pencil, are you happy with the proportions ? Correct as you go with pen and ink, make sure it is waterproof. Then paint with watercolor.

It really does help when you break it down and get to know the building. But remember it is a painting not a photograph so enjoy the wonkiness of your lines. It makes it more interesting and personal! 

I'm A Little Tea Cup by Leada Wood, Texas Artist

 I have been enjoying Liz Steel's class this final week of Sketchbook Skool. Liz is an architect and lives in Australia and has given us invaluable information on sketching fundamentals. She gets to know her subject, whether a tea cup or an amazing building, by drawing thumbnails and breaking them down into grids. Sure makes you see differently when you do this. That was what the whole skool was about...seeing. I think the more you sketch in your sketchbook, the more freeing it becomes and the better you see things. It trains your eye to take the subject in more quickly and to really look at the shapes and the lines.

I guess you might think that drawing a teacup and saucer looks fairly simple, but is in fact quite a challenge. Go ahead get yourself a pretty one out of the cupboard and give it a go! Who knows...it just might lead to a series.

copyright, Leada Wood, 2014

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Daddy's Keys, by Leada Wood, Texas Artist

Daddy's Keys

 

 

copyright2014Leada Wood

 

 

 I have been doing Sketchbook Skool the past 5 weeks and one of this week's assignments was to do a drawing of a collection. I had a bunch of antique keys for clocks from my dad laying around, so I decided I would sketch these as a tribute to my parents.

 

Their anniversary was yesterday, August the 8th and they would have been married 65 years! My mom and dad had a jewelry store and they both repaired clocks and watches. Clocks hold a dear place in my heart as I was always around the chiming and heart beats of their steadfast ticking. Their continual ticking can still be heard in our home and the chiming of the hour. It will be a sad world when they are no more. Something about them is comforting...familiar...homey. 

 

This sketch was done with a Bic Velocity Gel pen in blue because it was my dad's favorite color. I leaned a lot from drawing with only a lowly ballpoint pen and think my shading got a little better toward the end of the drawing. I plan on drawing the keys again in some way with another medium.

 

One of the things I have enjoyed the most about Sketchbook Skool is that it reminded me of my love of drawing. I have also enjoyed seeing artist's work from around the world. It's a small world after all!

  

 

 

 

 This is their wedding day photo. Don't you just love old black and whites? 

 

 

 

 

 

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Leada  Wood

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Drawing The Blues by Leada Wood, Texas Artist

I have been busy trying to absorb all the information coming at me the last five weeks in Sketchbook Skool, and keep up with all the assignments. It has been awesome! Artists from all over the globe have been sketching to their hearts content and sharing them online. It is awe inspiring to see all the wonderful work that everyone is doing.

This week I have been studying with Andrea Joseph from England. She does ezines and draws with ballpoint pens. This lesson was about drawing a page in our sketchbook of various objects all in one color ballpoint pen. Sound easy....well it is NOT! You have to learn the feel of the pen and how to make the lines so there will be value changes and shading. The humble ballpoint has a lot to teach me. It has been an interesting learning curve. This was my first go with the pen.

We also are learning to write creatively with our ballpoints. We wrote personal favorite quotes connecting each word and not lifting our pens and then embellished the words so they would pop and make the quote readable. Very tricky! You should give it a try...it's fun!

Why Make Art? By Leada Wood, Texas Artist

        

I have been busy sketching in my sketchbook these days because I am enrolled in Sketchbook Skool, along with 4500 other artists around the world! It is amazing! We have master artists instructing us and encouraging us along the way. Technology is amazing when used for good purposes.

Danny Gregory is one of the instructors and he has raised lots of questions and given some very profound answers.  One that really got my attention was with all the technology was, why make art? If you can copy and past images and compress them on a computer and make art, why pick up pen or brush and create? 

Here is what Danny said:

"So if, in one split second and with no real experience or skill, you can use the phone in your pocket to make an image that is technically superior and precise to anything you can make with pencil, why make art at all anymore?

That’s a question people have been asking themselves for almost two centuries. And the answer that Manet and Monet and Seurat and Cezanne and Van Gogh and the rest of the gang came up with over a hundred years ago is that the purpose of art is no longer to reproduce physical reality, it’s to convey how we feel about it. To capture the human condition, the way we see the world through the veils of subjectivity, experience, emotion, history and all the rest of the stuff that make us who we are.

This is something we have to think about when we draw.  Stop assessing your work based on how close it is to “reality”. Don’t bother posting a snapshot of your dog next to the drawing you did of it. Who cares if you are almost as good as that camera in your pocket. ‘Cause in fact, you’re not even close. That photo is a far better way to make that image. More efficient, more accurate.

But that image isn’t really what you want, is it? What you want is to capture your soul, your inner state, the love you feel for that dog. You want to make a picture of the inside of your mind.

Don’t worry about Xerox®ing reality with your sketchbook. Focus on capturing You instead.

So far nobody, in Silicon Valley or elsewhere, has come up with an app for that."

                                                                                                                      -Danny Gregory

I think he pretty much sums it up don't you?  I know I create because I have to...it's who I am...it completes me.   Leada Wood

Black Cats, Fireworks and the 4th of July, by Leada Wood, Texas Artist

                           

           

                                                 Black Cat by Leada Wood, copyright 2014

                                 

                                                                    AVAILABLE

I grew up in rural Texas where firecrackers were a 4th of July tradition...guess they still are. I had two older brothers who used their allowance on black cats, as they made the most noise. I didn't much care for them as I was always kind of a scardy cat. Sparklers were daring enough for me...even those would send showers of sparks up my arm causing me to drop them in the dirt.

Firework watching is still a tradition with us, whether with family, friends or as a couple. We enjoy the show from a distance and let the experts do the work. I especially enjoy watching them to music, when I have a chance to be in the city on the 4th. The bigger and more colorful they are, the better! 

As we enjoy the fireworks bursting in air let's remember the symbolism and be thankful for living in a free country. Take a moment to be grateful... and give thanks for all those who have served our country and are serving now. God Bless America!

Have a happy and safe holiday!