Daily Art

Motion Settled Down, Doodle #74

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The prompt for today is to draw motion. Well on the surface it sounds like a simple challenge after all motion is everywhere. Look around you cars speeding down the highway, people running to and from. We are a nation on the move, at times to much on the move. There is an old adage, “Stop and smell the roses.”

I’ve often wondered where the saying comes from but no matter the meaning is obvious. We all need to take the time to stop what we’re doing and sit back and enjoy life. When was the last time you did nothing? If you’re like me I don’t like to sit still. I always feel like I have to be doing something but every so often I feel the need to stop and sit back and enjoy the moment or moments. Some of my past enjoyments include watching my kids create their own little worlds from nothing, watching the ocean roll and the people rollick in the surf and sitting on my grandma’s porch and watching the world around.

The main point of this whole ramble is the fact that God created all there is for our benefit and it is high time we take the time to enjoy the world in which we live. So strap on some head phones, go to your local park (if you’re an artist take along your drawing pad) and enjoy some time alone or with family. Oh yeah, I hope you enjoy today’s doodle “Motion Settled Down,”

 

Not So Shiny After All, Doodle #71

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It might seem odd me to offer up a horse and buggy for a prompt such as shiny but it’s not really. I live near Lancaster, PA so for the last thirty plus years I have my share of the black and grey Amish horse drawn buggy’s. The Amish from what I was told when I first moved to this area do not like shiny objects. There are various reasons why but  leads me to an explanation of today’s  drawing.

Life is made up of two types of people the shiny people and the people like the Amish who try and avoid being shiny people. Shiny people are those who love to flaunt what they have every chance they get. They brag about everything shining their accomplishments in your eyes trying to blind you to what lies beneath.

On the other hand people who are not so shiny do their deeds in the background. They shy away from shining the light on themselves. These are the people who may or may not have a lot themselves but use what they have to benefit others. One of the aspects of the Amish community I love is the fact that when one member of the community is down the others rally around them in order to help them get back on their feet.

One of my favorite verses is Philippians 2:3 which reminds me as well as others to, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.”

A Monochromatic World, Doodle #69

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The doodle prompt for today was the word monochromatic. As an artist I normally like to work with vibrant colors and take days creating a piece of art. However working with one color and it’s varying shades was something I was looking forward to since I saw this prompt on the March list.

There is something bold about setting down a drawing using the barest of colors. In the back of my mind I rattled around the idea for today’s doodle of doing a simple shades of grey landscape but pushed it aside.  Instead I used a picture of the city I live in and created and abstract monochromatic picture in red.

The picture I created made me think that there are times when we view the world and the people around us in a very monochromatic way.  What we see is what we know and filter through the lens of our own biases.The problem is we don’t live in a monochromatic world.  We live in a very colorful every changing world.  As believers we are called to see the world around, the colors, the shapes as God sees the world as if we are looking at the people through His eyes. The best way to find out how we are to see the world is to go right to His word.

 

A Line at Work, Doodle #67

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Artists look at perspective two ways. The first is using a two dimensional surface to create a three dimensional picture viewed from a particular point in space. The second way an artist uses perspective is by creating pieces of art influenced by an internal point of view (perspective).

Using these two points of perspective an artist is free to create a piece as elaborate or as simple as they would like. Perspective is also a part of life where we see a few line as in my piece “A Line at Work,” and think we know what the whole picture is about. Many times we are wrong. While my doodle is obviously a man… there is still a lot missing like color,depth and where he is working.  What you see is not the whole picture only one little piece.

Since our external view of the world is influenced by our internal perspective we must be careful not to make snap judgments about what we see based on what we think we know.. The Bible says in Proverbs 25:8, “Don’t jump to conclusions-there may be a perfectly good explanation for what you just saw.”

So the next time you see something strange don’t judge the situation strictly by what you see. Take the time to find out the truth.

Rope the Night Sky, Doodle #64

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There are times as an artist when you hit a creative wall. When I saw the prompt for today was night  I thought it was going to be easy to be easy to come with a good representation of the prompt.  Boy was I wrong. I went through a number of quick drafts and then tossed them aside.

After all the fuss over the prompt I finally came to one conclusion I was trying to hard to create the perfect drawing. Art is all about spontaneity. The more we try to create the perfect  brush stroke or put down the perfect pen mark the more we stifle our creativity.

While looking for something to inspire me I was redoodling  pictures on my iPad. Today’s offering is one of them. I don’t usually put theses doodle out there but it is a reminder of what we as artists do sometimes “Rope the Sky,” in order to find inspiration for our art.

Life is a Mystery, Doodle #61

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babyOn this auspicious day of March 2nd the prompt for the daily doodle is a mystery. No I mean the prompt was to draw something based on the word mystery.  I spent quite a few hours pondering this one.

The reason I chose the baby and the puppy was because to me life is a mystery. Science seeks to explain life away as a process but to me life is more than a process. It is a miracle wrapped up in a mystery which can only be answered by a faith in God.  I know there will be those who disagree but that is okay. I hope you enjoy my picture “A Girl and Her Dog.”

Daily Timeout for Art #57

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girl-with-empty-jewelrybox

The  picture for today is lovingly entitled, “Empty Jewelry Box.” The story behind it is a simple one. The theme for today’s drawing was minerals. Since diamonds are a mineral and also a girls best friend I decided to go the opposite route of simply drawing an empty jewelry box and a worried husband or boyfriend in the background.

Daily Timeout for Art #54

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makwup-mishap

There are times when you sit down to create something for a prompt and your mind goes blank. This was one of those times even though the prompt was faces, something I draw all the time. The problem was I didn’t want to draw just another face. Instead I chose to take two faces from an old book, give them a body and create something different. The end result entitled “Makeup Mishap” is not a finished piece but a whimsical piece destined for future revisions.