Ink Drawing The Bunny

      This morning at 7:15 am, EST, I heard the little chirp, and my instant thought was the King of the Mountain, so I grabbed my camera and ran to the window!  I did not see the chipmunk on the rock, but right in front of the window in a clear spot was the beautiful bunny, just sitting there, posing for me.  I made sure that I did not make too much movement, because bunnies are so perceptive and nervous, it would be gone in a flash if it suspected anything, and I was able to take it's picture, which I have shown below as my reference picture.
     My mission for today, between tasks that needed doing, was to draw this bunny in ink.  It really was a

 fun project since I love animals, and especially the special ones that live in my yard, and especially bunnies, which are very sweet animals.
     Please bear in mind that I am a student of ink drawing and have learned basics only, there is so much more for me to learn and master.  I started with my pencil drawing, trying my best to get the proportions correct.  I learned from Lois Woolley at WSA that a painting can be ruined in the first fifteen minutes, and what she taught was the importance of getting everything positioned correctly and in the right proportion first.  I decided a bunny would be best done in a brown ink, and I had Walnut Ink from my

calligraphy supplies.  What I learned is walnut ink is not water resistant, so when I created a wash, some of the lines faded.  On the other hand, if I was not satisfied with the wash, I could move it around with more water, even after it dried.  I introduced a brown ink pen that I purchased for the ink drawing class and I found it darker, but I did my best to spread the darkness around so it would all blend together and, hopefully, be pleasing to the eye.  I am having so much fun doing these animals, I can understand how Beatrix Potter could love her Peter Rabbit and all of his animal friends.  My next project will be a bat!! My daughter-in-law posted pictures of a bat in her house today, and her story is so funny with all of the screaming between her and the bat, (not sure who was more scared), and she somehow managed to take some fantastic pictures of it!! Will do my best to make it creepy!!

Ink Drawing "The King Of The Mountain"

I am presently taking a class in pen and ink drawing at the Worcester Art Museum, which I am enjoying alot.  It adds further to my knowledge of art techniques to enhance my finished pieces of art work.
     My subject for today is what I call King of the Mountain.  I think chipmunks are so adorable, as long as they stay outside, and I have been observing for the past couple of years something great about them. I would hear around 7 am every morning this rhythmic chirping sound and I would find a cute chipmunk at the tippity top of the highest rock on a stack of rocks behind my house.  I imagined that this chipmunk was announcing to the world that he was King of the Mountain and his day has started.
     This morning I heard that familiar sound, which only started recently with the spring weather, and there he was, perched on the top declaring to the world that he is back!  With my new camera, with which I have great plans to capture great subjects, I was able to get a few poses of the little guy. Since the day is so beautiful here in Massachusetts today, I chose to practice ink drawing, using a quill pen and small brush, at my picnic table on the deck.  I kept zooming in on my camera screen, sketching, then applied the ink. I am very pleased with my results to day and I am enthused to keep it up.  Andy, if you are reading, I'm practicing!! Hong Nian and Lois, if you are reading, I am keeping up drawing, not every day, but frequently, and I am remembering my up, my down, my left and my right. I'm mindful of the yin and yang and also "what we're talking about".

Sketching On The Serenade Of The Seas; Poolside, Last Ones

      Once Bikini Cowgirl and her male companion left the poolside, I needed a new subject, because I was in the zone.   I noticed there was a woman sitting what was to the left of the Bikini Cowgirl, and she did not move.  She was sitting upright on the edge of the pool, her eyes were closed and there was a towel across her lap.  I wasn't sure if she was napping upright, or meditating, but she just stayed in one pose.  There I was sketching her, trying to get her in proportion, then, all of sudden she opened her eyes, looked around her and got up and left!  At that point I had mainly worked on her body and she had no head.  Then I realized, "worry not, there are alot

of other heads around here", so I picked the younger woman who was sitting on her left.  After I completed the sketch, I realized I was not correct with proportions, since the first woman's body was heavy set and the second woman's head was slender, but I realized it was all "ok".
     My last sketch was of a the man below who was just relaxing in a chair, listening to the music, or day dreaming.  For the most part he sat in this position, but every now and then he shifted, then went back into his pose.  I felt very satisfied and gratified when all was finished!  I will blog next about some artisans I met.

Sketching On The Serenade Of The Seas; Poolside Bikini Cowgirl

      On our day at sea coming home on the cruise, I spent time by the pool, watching the events: belly flop contest, sexy legs contest, salsa dance lessons, it was a lot of fun and really crowded.  From the 12th deck, I was looking down at the pool and noticed the Bikini Cowgirl sitting on the side of the pool, and realized she was like a statue, so I thought, "get the pad out quick before she moves!"  The picture on top was actually done in two phases, because she, of course, decided to move to the next pose.
     I quickly turned the page to start a whole new picture that you will see in the middle, but I did not get too far since she just decided to get up all

 together and go off somewhere.  I thought she was a great subject, she did really wonderful poses!  What happened next is that the man to her right decided to just stretch out onto the edge of the pool when she left, so, I started to draw him (see bottom sketch), and I was doing fine, until Bikini Cowgirl came back.  The man then sat back up, she went back in the original pose, which explains how I had two chances to work on the first sketch!  I was flipping between pages!  A few minutes later they both left, which will then led to the next sketch that I will blog about later.  Keep reading!

Sketching On The Catamaran, Antigua

      In Antigua we planned a snorkeling excursion on a catamaran.  That morning, when packing my bag with everything needed, I was certain to pack my sketch pad, hoping for the right moment, the right subject.  We all boarded the vessel, and took our seats on each side, and I noticed that the young man across the boat from me held this great pose.  The seas were quite choppy that day, and the boat rocked side to side, but I decided that I would give it a shot.  He didn't move at all!!  I enjoyed sketching him and was pleased with the results.  I bought along underwater cameras and decided to discreetly snap his photo before he moved when people started to
get ready for snorkeling. (If you notice the ocean in the background, that means my side was up!)
     I ended up sea sick afterwards, with the rockiness, and, now that I think about it, maybe drawing while rocking was a problem.  I just put my head down, and was waiting for it all to end, ugh! A woman came over and gave me some Bonine, and a crew member gave me gingerale and told me "to fight it, like when you fight a cold!"  When I started to feel better, people were starting to snorkel, but everyone was warned the seas were too choppy, that we needed to stay close so we would not drift way. Yikes!  I stayed on board, watching everyone, while I continued to recover.  What I found totally amazing is that when this young man came back on board, he sat in the exact same spot in the same exact pose!  Of course, I am not done showing my sketches and telling stories, keep watching!

Sketching On The Serenade Of The Seas; The Ping Pong Player

Playing Ping Pong

     On one of the outdoor decks on the cruise ship there are ping pong tables all set up and being used by kids, parents, anyone who wants to play and have fun.  The day that I sketched this father of a young boy, I was watching him play and noticed that, although there was a lot of activity of hitting the ball back and forth, whenever he waited for the ball to be returned, he always kept the same pose.  Ding, ding, ding in my brain!  "Get the sketch pad out and start drawing fast before the game is over!" This was really challenging because of the movement, and looking at him quickly while he was in his pose, then drawing quickly when he hit the ball, then looking again, maybe erasing a little, until I felt I was completed.  The game did end shortly after I was done. Whew! This sketch was fun to do.  Then, when we were both done, pencils go back into the toothbrush holder, the eraser in the plastic box and the sketch pad and everything back in my bag, and off I go to meander and observe for any more good subjects! (oh, yes, I have fun not involving art work, too!)  Of course, there's more coming!

Sketching On The Serenade Of The Seas; Home Free Vocal Band

      One great thing about a cruise is the entertainment, every night there is a special show in the theater to enjoy.  We watched an a cappella group called Home Free, made up of five guys creating beautiful music with no instruments, just using their mouths.  It was such a great concert, they were very good and fun to watch!  I was amazed to see the "drummer" do Wipe Out with his mouth!  Another amazing thing is the smallest guy had the deepest voice and the biggest guy had the highest voice.
     When not performing, they were out and about the cruise ship with all of us and one time I found two

at the Schooner Bar.  I sat myself down in one of the nice comfortable chairs and pulled out the pad and pencils.  I have to say it was not easy to sketch these two.  They were sitting on bar chairs facing me, but there were these girls standing in front, wanting to talk to them. One in particular was quite tall and slender and she kept blocking me!  When sketching the top guy, he kept turning his head to the side, so I decided to try to do a profile, if that was the best I could do.
     Finally, I was satisfied with the first guy, so I decided to hurry up and sketch the second one before they decided to get up and leave. He didn't move much, but I had the same problem with the girls!   Then, finally, the space was wide open, I'm sketching away, then a waiter was walking by and for some reason, he just stopped, blocking my view.  I finally just stood up and moved, saying to my husband, "sometimes you just have to get up!"  I was pleased with these sketches.  And my question to you is, did I show them?  Absolutely not, my secret, until now!!
I am including their web page so you can check them out and listen to their music.  Yes, there's more!!
Home Free Vocal Band Website