Draw – 40 'fore Forty

Day 254

Today started just before 6 am. Who needs sleep anyway? While this wasn’t an ideal start to the day, I was determined to stay focused anyway. That all fell apart just after hubby left for work.

Homer sat at the window looking slightly agitated. I knew that meant someone was out there. I went to check what was going on and there was a person taking things from our recycling bin. My first thought was they were going to take the bin (it wouldn’t surprise me if that happened, seeing this person had just watched hubby driving away.) I banged on the window and gave him the ‘what the?!?’ hands. This stranger indicated he was just stealing trash like it’s no big deal. IT WAS A BIG DEAL.

I then spent the next hour trembling with a mix of fear and anger. I haven’t left the house (for years) because I’m scared of people. I just want to have a place I can feel safe and stuff like that doesn’t make me feel safe. It makes me feel vulnerable and weak. So while this person went about their day (stealing trash), I got to sit around feeling terrible AND today hubby had his work Xmas party, so I had to be home alone well into the night.

Once I’d finally calmed down enough, I worked out. It was painful. I’m not sure if it was physically painful or mentally painful. It was at that point I knew the day was going to be a wasted day. I decided to do one art and then just try and… chill!

I went to Art for Kids Hub to try and find some light-hearted art. I chose “How to Draw a Funny Meatball Sub.”

The only other productive thing I did was French. I found it very hard to focus on what I was doing. Thankfully I had a lot of easier practice runs, so I still got most of them right.

I want to forget today has happened.

I hope your day was filled with smiles, friends, family and love. I’m sorry if you’re missing someone right now. I know how much it hurts to not be with the person you want. *HUGS*

Tilly

Day 253

The day started almost an hour after alarm time. I have no idea how I managed to sleep through. I guess I needed it. I didn’t feel like working out but soon as hubby had left for work, I did it. I was feeling pretty tight on my right side and at first it really hurt to do things. Eventually the workout seemed to stretch out whatever it was.

I’m glad I decided to make Art for Kids Hub my first stop of the creative day. The hardest decision is which of the 100’s of videos do I want to try today. I chose how to draw a blue bird.

Next it was time to try colouring my ‘sad girl’ sketch from yesterday. I had the same problem super quick; the paper got overworked. I definitely need paper that can handle my rough treatment better…. or I should be softer with colouring.

It’s been really hard trying to get a photo of these sketches. When I take them somewhere with bright light, you can really see how beat up the paper is. So I’ve been taking them in a spot with less light and brightening them digitally to try and hide the paper flaws.

I don’t remember when I did French but I did it. Who knows if it was a good practice though.

I hope you’ve had a wonderful day filled with smiles, special friends and success.

Tilly

Day 252

Another day started at alarm o’clock. I wasn’t feeling that excited about the day and woke up slowly over a cup of coffee. Soon as hubby had disappeared to work, I got to working out. It was the shot of energy I needed to start art-ing.

The first stop was Art for Kids Hub. Today I chose a ski boat.

I started working on a new ‘girl’ sketch. I think I have the basic shape worked out (but maybe not) and I’ll try colouring it tomorrow. I used a reference by LaLunatique from the Sad Valentine set.

There wasn’t a lot more to the day. I did some housework and I worked on French.

I hope your day has been filled with happiness and creativity.

Tilly

Day 236

Oh my! What a lazy day. Hubby and I did a little housework, I practised French and I did a coloured pencil drawing and that’s what we call, Monday.

I haven’t worked with normal colour pencils for a while now and thought I’d like to revisit it. I found a Youtube tutorial; How to Draw a Butterfly with Coloured Pencils. I enjoyed it. It was uplifting using colour after a few days of charcoal. I will have to practice each medium more frequently.

It’s been a very relaxing weekend but it’s back to being productive tomorrow. I’ve already whipped up my Happy List (a list of things that will make me feel happier if I do them.) Art is, once again, heavily featured. I’ve also decided to keep the smiling for no reason. The first couple of days I had to keep a pretty close eye on the clock, to make sure I was doing it for long enough. Now I find myself just smiling for no reason all the time. Feels good.

Workout, 5 days
Drink 2 bottles of water, 5 days
Art, 5 days
Do 3 art lesson/’how to’
French, 6 days
Smile for 10 minutes, for no reason, 5 days
Sing, 2 days
Watch 1 world movie
Start working on Penguin Project
Nap

I hope you have a productive week filled with smiles, friends and creativity.

Tilly

Day 230

When I woke up my first thought was; ‘Ugh’. Another day was starting and it was a day I didn’t want to participate in. I also knew this was completely silly and probably just my mood lingering from yesterday. I sipped coffee and waited for hubby to leave.

Soon as he’d whisked off to work, I worked out. YES! I actually did what I was supposed to. It wasn’t a particularly good workout but I felt proud that I’d got it done.

That was the motivation I needed to start a new topic in French. This is a group of ‘At Work’ words. I don’t remember any of them. I do remember that I was able to say them easily and knew what a lot of them meant without having to check first. A week of practice and I should have them.

I usually add to watch a ‘world movie’ on my Happy List. I’m not much of a movie fan in the first place but I enjoy watching something French or as I’m coming to learn, Norwegian movies. Today I watched The Ash Lad: In the Hall of the Mountain King. It was made in 2017. The landscape is breathtaking and the effects were believable. Seeing I read it, I can’t really comment on the acting. It was a nice little trip into Norwegian folklore. I really enjoyed this movie.

There were three art projects that I wanted to work on today. A watercolour, a portrait sketch and something for a friends birthday.

For my watercolour, I wanted to try something very simple and spend more time building layers of colour, so I wouldn’t feel the need to use ink. I used this opened window photo as my reference.

Yesterday I did a search on Unsplash for Ho Chi Minh City. I scrolled through pages of photos and found some amazing and inspiring cityscape shots. Then I saw this photo of an older man. His face had so much character, I knew I wanted to try and sketch it.

This was a rough sketch with one pencil. I played around with the contrast in an editing program so that it was easier to see. I have such a hard time getting the right ‘natural light’ for photos.

The last art that I worked on today was a penguin sketch for my friends birthday. I wish I could have done more for him. He has been a very shiny light in my world and I’m not sure a penguin adequately expresses just how much I appreciate him.

Today is new Happy List day. It’s mostly a to do list, with a handful of self care. I already got a few things done, so it feels like I’ve had a great start to the week.

Workout, 5 days
Drink 2 bottles of water, 5 days
Art, 5 days
Do 3 art lesson/’how to’
French, 6 days
Smile for 10 minutes, for no reason, 5 days
Sing, 2 days
Watch 1 world movie
Massage legs, 2 days
Nap

I have just spent the last 10 minutes smiling for no reason and it’s made me feel pretty good. I’m looking forward to tomorrow.

I hope you’re in good spirits and good health. Have a fantastic week.

Tilly

Day 227

I started the day on time but I don’t really remember my morning. It feels like it was years ago. I know I had another great French practice and my kitchen is sparkly clean.

When I sat down for art I thought I’d try another portrait. This time I used a man’s face photo taken by Johan De Jager. I’ve been using a ruler to get the space in between features as accurately as I can. The one thing I’ve noticed is the slightest deviation in a line, can make a face look very different from the reference. So this sketch doesn’t really look like the reference but it does look like a mans face.

Once I was done, I wondered if I could digitally colour this sketch. I opened up ‘Krita’ and being it was my first time using the program, no, I wasn’t able to digitally colour in this sketch. One day maybe.

I then spent a couple of hours working on a lake and greenery digital image. I went for this image because there are brushes that will do the job for you; ‘stamp leaves’, ‘stamp grass’, ‘stamp grass patch’, ‘stamp water’. I tested brushes, I played around with colours, I layered many layers and came up with something kinda cool.

Want to know more about Krita?
Krita is a professional FREE and open source painting program. It is made by artists that want to see affordable art tools for everyone.

While I was browsing blogs this morning, I stumbled upon a list of ’40 Odd Things About Me’ on; Quiet Water Craft. She found the post on another blog I follow; NothingButKnit. That isn’t where it started. It was found on Stitched Roots. These three blogs are worth visiting, reading and following.

1. Do you like mustard? Yes but only when used sparingly
2. Choice of carbonated beverage? Brown Cream Soda
3. Ever travelled to another country? Yes. New Zealand and Vanuatu
4. Whiskey, Tequila, Vodka? Vodka
5. Hot dogs or Cheeseburgers? Cheeseburgers
6. Favourite Type Of food? Le fromage (Cheese)
7. Do you believe in ghosts? Yes
8. What do you drink in the mornings? Le cafe avec le chocolat (Coffee with chocolate)
9. Can you do a 100 push ups? No
10. Summer, Winter, Spring, Or Fall? Winter
11. Favourite hobby? Art
12. Tattoos? None but I would love lots
13. Do you wear glasses? No but I need them
14. Phobia? Just about everything
15. Nickname? M
16. Three drinks you drink? Coffee, Water, Hot Chocolate
17. Biggest Downfall? Answering hard questions on about me lists
18. Rain or Snow? Rain (if we didn’t have a hole in the roof)
19. Piercings? None now. As a teenager, I had three in my left ear
20. Age? 38
21. Taken or Single? Taken
22. How long taken or single? 15 years with hubby, 8 years with wifey
23. Kids? One fur-child; Homer (He’s a Pomchi)
24. Favourite colour? Pink
25. Employed? No
26. Can you whistle? Kinda
27. Where were you born? Wollongong, NSW, Australia
28. Brothers or Sisters? Only child
29. Ninjas or Pirates? Pirates
30. Surgeries? One, to remove a bone tumour from my left arm
31. Religious? I believe in something
32. Shower or Bath? Shower but maybe bath if I had a nice one
33. Like gambling? If I could do it for a living, I probably would
34. Are You Loyal? To the very end
35. Broken bones? I broke my arm many times, then they discovered a tumour
36. How many TVs in your house? 3
37. Worst pain ever? When my arm was hit by a body board and the bone snapped completely
38. Do you like to dance? Love to dance
39. Are your parents still alive? Sadly, no. My mum had a heart attack, my dad passed after a short battle with cancer
40. Do you like camping? In a hotel, with room service, yes.

If you would like to take part in the ’40 Odd Things About Me’, feel free to comment a link to your answers on this page.

Well that’s a whole lot of stuff. I hope your day has been stuffed full of things that make you smile.

Tilly

Day 226

I woke just after hubby and very seriously considered going back to sleep. I brushed that thought aside and got up. Today was going to be a long day. Hubby had to work late and wasn’t due home until after 8 pm. I hate being alone for so long. I mean, I enjoy my own company but I haven’t felt safe on my own for a very long time.

A few years ago, when we were living in Melbourne, someone tried to break into the house about 3 pm, while I was there alone. That day, hubby had to work back. If he finished when he should have, he would have been home and I wouldn’t have had to go through that experience. I don’t like being alone.

When hubby raced off to work, I got straight to my workout. My arms, in particular, have really been feeling the workout this week. That didn’t stop me from pushing hard. It was another fantastic workout but after a hot day, my arms feel like jelly now.

I got in some French practice before deciding what art I should try. I haven’t been very watercolour inspired the last few days. That’s okay. There are lots of things I want to learn to do. I got out my sketch pencils and tried my version of ‘woman’s face’ by Johan De Jager found on Unsplash. It took five hours. This is the first face that I’ve finished and I learned a lot while doing it.

By about 4 pm the house was really hot and I was determined to avoid it by taking a nap in front of the fan. I can deal with heat so much better when I’m sleeping. I swear I was a penguin in a past life.

I hope your day has been filled with sunshine, happiness and laughter.

Tilly