artist

Doodle #115, Nothing is Ever Ugly

| Whitt’s End Art

The drawing prompt for today was to draw something ugly but which you still really love. The result is my drawing “The Orange Thing.” I do not know where this object came from nor do I know if it was created by one of my children because the inscribed initials do no belong to one of them. However this object is still dear to my heart because it is a reminder to me that nothing is really ugly if you seek to look for the beauty first.

We are quick to label something or someone ugly just because they do not fit into a preconceived set of unwritten standards. In high school my friends and I were labeled as “ugly” and “inferior” simply because we did not meet the so called “in kids” set of standards for appearance, dress and behavior.  I thought things would change when I became an adult but they didn’t. I discovered that out in the world there are still all kinds of labels and if you don’t fit those labels then you are almost shunned by the so called “in crowd.”

I decided early in life,even before I accepted Jesus into my heart, to always look at a person’s heart instead of what I see. I was not going to be an imitator of past treatments. While some may see that as a weakness I however see it as a sign of strength. Proverbs 31:9 states to,” Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy.” Judging righteously means to look at the heart and not the appearance because it is in the heart where the true person lies. 

Doodle #112, What’s In Your Bowl?

| Whitt’s End Art

The drawing prompt for today is the word, “bowl.” My doodle is lovingly entitled, “A Bowl Full of Flowers.” A lot of good things come in a bowl, soup, cereal, ice cream, flower and of course life. Yes, you heard me correctly. Most who read my blog know the old phrase, “my plate is too full,” meaning they are doing so much they can’t fit one more thing into their day. Well in years past my personal life as well as my church life felt so full at times that if I didn’t put it all into a bowl instead of on a plate many things would fall off and be forgotten.

Then a friend of mine gave me some good all purpose advice, “You don’t always have to say yes.” I was one of those people who loved and still love to do things for other people. My problem was I couldn’t say no because I felt I was letting the other person down. I would always say yes which meant I would burden myself down with commitments. This led to a full bowl of a life. I finally had to step back for a moment, take a deep breath, and say no to those requests I knew I could not throw into my bowl.

In the end my life became a little less full and a lot less stressed. So my advice to you today is do not over commit. Do what you can do and be satisfied. People will respect you more if explain why you can’t do something then if you commit to something and fail to get the job done. Matthew 5:37, “ Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.”

How Do You Draw Thee, Let Me Count the Ways

| Whitt’s End Art

I still think when it comes to art I am a little ADD. I like to tinker with so many different mediums there are times I feel like I am as the proverbial saying goes, “A jack of all mediums a master of none.” I in my own opinion need to pick one or two mediums and practice with them until I get proficient in their use, but I just can’t seem to be able to differentiate as to the ones I like the best. Here is the list of the mediums I use.

Drawing pencils, which I use everyday. Drawing pencils for me offer the most simplistic way to render a picture.  I use mostly Faber pencils from HB to F. My favorite pencil to use is the standard #2 HB writing pencil. Where I work you can literally find them on the floor so they are real cheap.

Pens, I also use a lot. I like the flow of ink across the paper, especially a blue ballpoint pen. When to pens I also go cheap. I feel you don’t need to pay a fortune to get a good looking drawing.

Colored and Watercolor pencils, These are the newest additions to my stable of mediums. My colored pencil of choice is the Prismacolor colored pencil. I love the way the colors flow across the page and the ease of use. I prefer the harder colored pencils to the softer ones. The harder ones hold the point longer and need less sharpening. As for watercolor pencils right now I am using a set I get at the local craft store on sale.

Hard Chalk Pastels, use to be my favorite way to render a picture. These days I have gravitated away from chalk pastels though I still use them for highlights in some of my pictures. The problem for me with chalk pastels is not the colors. I love the color palette they pro, uce. Their only drawback is the messiness they produce with all the rubbing and the blowing off of the powder. They of course their is the fixative you have to use each time.

Acrylic and Watercolor Paints, I lumped these two together because they both can be used straight out of the tubes or diluted with water. While my use of watercolors had been limited to some of the paints which come in the pads, I have also used some colors right out of the tube. Watercolors still mystify me, especially washes, so right now I limit their use. Acrylics I love, and use them a lot in my pictures. Right now the only drawback for me is getting those fine little details in my painting so will sometimes use markers or colored pencils to fill in the details.

So you can see I dabble in a lot of mediums, there are still some I have lying around the house like crayons and oil pastels which I have yet to dabble. I still feel a little ADD but I guess being an artist is experimenting and trying a number of different ways to create an image. I have even started to use a little digital editing in my pictures.

Doodle #110, Love the Place Where You Sit

| Whitt’s End Art

In my lifetime I have sat behind desks in a few chairs at different jobs. Some of the jobs were just jobs, others I’ve loved especially the one at my art desk. I have created many paintings and drawings sitting in that chair, some which you see here each day.

My whole point to this post can be summed up in an old saying, “In order to love what you do, do what you love.” In other words don’t just get a job, get a career doing something you really enjoy, no make that something you love doing. If I had to do one thing over in my life I would not have gotten a job as an artist. I would have probably set my sights on a career as an architect.  An architect is an artist who uses his/her creativity to design building and or landscaping.

The only reason I would not choose fine arts as a career would be the fear it would take some of the joy out of creating. Then again maybe not because being a cartoonist would be a true joy. The main point of all this is again to pick a career path where you don’t feel like you’re working but you feel like are an integral part of the place where you sit.

By the way the current doodle, “Love Where You Sit,” is a loose drawing of me sitting at my current job. I hope oyu enjoy.

Doodle #108, Down By The Water

| Whitt’s End Art

The prompt word for the day was the word, “water.” Even though I am not a beach person the first thing to pop in my mind was the ocean. I grew up taking my family summer vacations in the mountains of my home state West Virginia. I can remember going to Wildwood, New Jersey once as a child. After that I never returned ocean side until I could drive myself there.

I didn’t go to the beach for the crowds, sun or sand. In fact I didn’t usually go to the beach in the summer, I went during the off season. I liked to do what my friend and I are doing in the picture above, sit and listen to the waves and marvel at the great wonder that is the ocean. Since growing up and having a family of my own I have been to the beach many times, even though it is not my favorite place to vacation. The thing I still love about the beach today is the sound of the surf and the many marvelous finds lying in the sand. Not the people, but the tumbled stones driftwood and many photo ops for art.

I encourage anyone who has the time to go an walk along the beach, on a trail, someplace. It is very relaxing and helps take your mind off of what is going on in this thing we call life. God’s creation brings comfort.

Doodle #99, Kittens-an Overview

| Whitt’s End Art

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If you haven’t guessed by now the prompt for today is the word, kittens. It seems like I just can’t get away from drawing cats and kittens. Prompt or no prompt cats are my favorite subject to render in pen, pencil or any number of creative media. Well truly there is not much advice I can give you about raising cats. If memory serves me correctly from all the cats I had growing up and the ones my son had before he moved out cats  kind of raise you.

Cats can be finicky or loving, standoffish or friendly, it all depends on what mood they are in at the moment. One thing I do love about cats is they are self cleaning, well except for the litter box once in a while. Try to get your teenagers to clean up after themselves and see how it goes. I have four children, two were clean freaks, the other two not so much. I am still finding stuff stashed in different places in my house even though my one child moved out four years ago. Thrift stores have become my frequent destinations.

Still when it comes to cleanliness I will take messy children who don’t get into trouble in and out of school any day. My children had their ups and downs but they have all turned out well having good jobs and for three of them families of their own. It is all a parent can hope for to have successful children.

Playing in Puddles, Doodle #95

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Remember all the times as a kid when we played in puddles. The rain pouring down around us as we splashed and splashed about until we were soaked. Puddles were my inspiration for my doodle, “Boy In the Puddle,” Looking back I still don’t understand the fascination with kicking and splashing in the water but it was fun at the time. Today, I am not a playing in the water kind of person, that is my wife. My wife loves the beach. Me, however I love the thrifts shops at the beach and the gathering of family.

Puddles in rain storms no longer hold the fascination for me as they did when I was a child. Like the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 13:11 as we get older we, ” put the ways of childhood behind.” Which is a little sad because in order to feel young mentally we need to hold onto part of our childhood

I look back on those times dancing in the puddles with fondness. Thinking back to those days makes me realize it was not really the puddles which were fun it was spending time with my friends. The joy came from time well spent. The same is true today. Friends and fellowship with them is still needed in life to make it more enjoyable. A life spent alone is an empty life. We were designed to spend time with each other. Proverbs 27:17 states, “Iron sharpens iron, and one man (or woman) sharpens another.” So spend some time this week with family and friends doing something fun and childlike you’ll all be better off. Till the next doodle.

April Showers Bring May Flowers, Doodle #93

| Whitt’s End Art

umbrella

Today’s prompt was the word, umbrella, which brought to mind an umbrella because of all the April showers. April is traditionally a wet month which waters the ground in order to help the beautiful flowers of May to grow.

In life we also have shower. Those times when life’s problems rain down on us so much we seem overwhelmed by what we are going through. Unfortunately in life we have no umbrella we can open to keep those rainy times away. We have to weather the storm until it passes on by and the sunny sky once more shines through the clouds. I make no apologies for mentioning the fact I am a believer and follower of Jesus. It is one of the reasons I started this blog.

My faith and my trust in Jesus is one reason I can sit here and type these words. In school I had many times of stormy weather, bullying they call it today, which left me with a shell of self esteem. It was not until I turned my life over to Jesus that I was able to have some semblance of a life where I could be me and not be ashamed. I do not tell you this because I am looking for sympathy but because I have been through many storms in my life and have persevered.  Even now putting my art work out there for all to see was not something I would have done a few years ago. I hope you like my drawing, “Boy With an Umbrella.”

Getting from Point A to Point B, Doodle #88

| Whitt’s End Art

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In our modern lives everything is all about transition, today’s prompt word.. It is figuring out before you take the first step how you’re going to get from Point A to Point B. Don’t get me wrong planning is good but there are times when we need to take off our logical caps and put on the caps of spontaneous creation. Art is one of those times.

When we art we need to be prepared to use transition not only in the creation of our drawings but also in when we apply color. My doodle for today is a tribute to Chuck Berry whose music was a true transition from the music of his early career. It is a simple outline drawing with some transition of color to give it a little pop.

Life is also filled with a lot of transitions.  I remember when I first went to high school as a ninth grader. I walked into this building filled with giant people. I had to transition from being the oldest class in the middle school to the new kids on the block. It wasn’t easy. There were a lot of freshman class pranks I had to endure, loves sought and and lost and ever changing friendships but I got through it and came out the other side a little wiser.

Life can be like those high school years. There are going to be times when we are going to go through transitions in our lives and if we are not careful we can be overcome by them. The key to working through transitions is remaining faithful and seeking help if necessary.