Joyce Egbers

Fishin Buddy

2011-08-28T09:42:00.000-05:00

This is a portrait I titled "Fishin Buddy". It's for a client in Kentucky and from what I understand it's his first fish. I love doing portraits like this! You know it's a moment the child won't forget, not only the fact that it's his first fish, but also the fact he's spending time doing something special with someone special. Although right now he doesn't realize how special the moment really is. I'm hoping this portrait will truly be a keepsake for them and when he's older he'll have it hanging in his house. The portrait is 20" X 16" in prismacolor pencils.

Portrait & Ashes in Custom Frame

2011-07-12T09:02:00.002-05:00

This project has been in the works since I heard about adding cremation ashes to portraits. I looked into it and gave it some thought and decided adding ashes on the portrait just wasn't for me. I didn't want to disturb the ashes. I did like the general idea though, so I designed a custom frame.

The frame is 20" X 16", designed with an opening for the portrait and space for ashes or a memorial keepsake. The keepsake size urn safely holds approximately 2 - 3 tablespoons of cremation ashes, a lock of hair, flower petals or other loving memento. It is secured so it will not tip or fall against the glass when moved, but can also be removed. A collar and tags could also fit into the keepsake space on a pet portrait.

The picture here shows a pet portrait with the keepsake urn. It is also suitable for a portrait of a much loved person. The frame is designed for portraits to be hung either portrait or landscape style. It is a nice way to display a respectable remembrance of that special someone.

Finished portrait of Marine

2011-06-22T19:09:00.001-05:00

This portrait was done for my daughter, it's her boyfriend. He's out of the Marines now and looks a little different, but she loves the picture of him in uniform. Something about a man in a uniform I guess. Of course she likes his looks now too. I had a little trouble seeing the buttons and pins so I just got as close as I could. The portrait was done in prismacolor pencils and it's 20" X 16". Next up will be a new project I've been working on.

The Cheerleader

2011-06-04T07:50:00.000-05:00

The Cheerleader is finished. She is 20" X 16" and all packed and ready to be mailed. The background was an experiment. Different brands and colors of colored pencils were used and blended together. The tiny strands of her hair can be seen along the side so her hair doesn't appear to be flattened on her head. It seems there is always something different to explore with each portrait. She was fun to do, looking at her, I could almost feel all the energy she had in her. Ahh to be young again! Not that I was ever a Cheerleader, but I'm sure I wanted to be at one time. Now...on to the next portrait, that gives me my energy.

Introducing my recent work.

2011-05-15T20:07:00.000-05:00

Just finished a portrait of 3 little kids today. It is 16" X 20". I'll have it packaged and mailed tomorrow. Next up will be a portrait of a cheerleader. It shouldn't take as long being there is only one subject. I am anxious to get started on it.

When I do portraits it's usually all night long on the weekends and before and after my other job during the week when there is time. I have audio books on my Ipod. I put the earphones in and I'm in another world. I love drawing and I love books, so this way I can do both at once. It's pretty easy to concentrate on both, it just happens. I have no doubt that I could crank out more portraits if I didn't have the other job during the week. It's a step I'm considering since I have been getting more offers and I now have a waiting list. It is hard work working for yourself. I would say harder than any other job I have had. It's not all about doing the artwork, it's also about promoting and keeping up with technology and continued education. Not to mention record keeping and meeting deadlines. The difference between that and working for someone else is, I love artwork and all the things that goes with it.

Colored Pencil Portraits in Progress

2011-04-18T11:15:00.005-05:00

Creating a portrait in colored pencils is a lengthy process. In the beginning the most important step is getting a good outline that actually resembles the person you are drawing. Every line, curve and shape needs to be where it belongs. Skin tone is also important. It isn’t like you just find the colored pencil you need for skin and smash it on. It involves building layer upon light layers to get the skin tone fit for the subject being portrayed. If these two beginning steps are not followed the portrait is going to end up looking like someone you might know and recognize, or someone you wish you knew. Detail, precision and patience go into the making of a colored pencil portrait. It’s what I do. I draw portraits all night long on the weekends and before and after my other job during the week. I obviously don’t do portraits to make a living for myself since the other job is needed to pay bills. I do portraits to live. I enjoy the process, the finished artwork and maybe most importantly, showing off my work. I like it when I can do a portrait for someone and they love it. I feel a sense of accomplishment when what I do makes someone really happy. That is living. Maybe I am a work in progress too. Maybe doing portraits will be my retirement income. I believe I will be drawing portraits till the day I can no longer sit up with a pencil in my hand. As long as I can do that, I am living.

Three Young Ladies

2011-04-10T08:30:00.004-05:00

Another portrait that I truly enjoyed doing is finished. Of course I don't think I have met one I really didn't like doing. Working in colored pencils is definately a slow process and at times I have thought of switching mediums to something else. Especially since I have other employment. Then again, it's the process that I love. Well, that and portraits. It's the detail and the inch by inch process. The blending, the colors, all of it, and then it all comes together. Sometimes slowly but I wouldn't change it. To me it has nothing to do with the time it takes. It's getting a likeness and building it step by step. It's very meditative to me.

My favorite time to work on portraits is in the middle of the night. It's quite and peaceful and it gives me time to reflect. So now I'll introduce the completed portrait of the Three Young Ladies.

Cathy in black and white

2011-02-20T14:31:00.003-06:00

I finished a portrait of Cathy this weekend. I thought it was the perfect picture to try out the graphitint pencils. I'll have to experiment more with them, all I really used was the black and grey and a touch of pink. I finished it in one night up until 4 in the morning. Seems like that's when I can really get into artwork. There's no one up, no interruptions and it's peaceful. Not that I have a madhouse, but I do have time to myself then. Weekends are also the perfect time. It doesn't matter what time it is when I don't have to watch the clock.

My granddaughter took the reference photo and I've been wanting to do it for awhile. So now it's done. It's 14" X 17" on bristol vellum paper.

Three Kids Portrait

2011-02-15T08:49:00.002-06:00

Just completed a portrait of 3 kids. I thought the whole photo reference was so good. A lot of unique, cute things from the background door and steps to the bottom, laceless shoes. The plaid shirt, the red cast and little tutu, were all added attractions and of course the cute kids. I really enjoyed doing this one. I enjoy doing all my artwork but with a good clear photo reference, it makes the final portrait so much better because the detail is easily seen.

I took pictures and updated it regularly on facebook as it progressed, so that the person it was going to could see the progress. I have to admit, it was a challenge! A challenge that I loved. It took a lot of time in colored pencil, but it was worth the time. So here's the completed portrait. It's 16" X 20" Colored pencil.

A new year

2011-01-10T10:05:00.002-06:00

It's taken me awhile to get back to this blog. I have lots of irons in the fire right now and just completed one this weekend. I was looking all over for a daily planner, one that fit my needs. I couldn't find one exactly like I wanted so I made my own :) It's got a place for goals, including spiritual, self improvement, health, Artwork, and relationships. a place for steps to reach goals, a place to write graditudes, weekly plans with daily things to do to reach goals. I like it! Now just getting in the habit of using it. I really do believe in setting goals and writing them down. The problem with doing that is making sure I don't just write them down and forget about them. Therefore, the daily planner...which shall be with me at all times :)

5K race/walk

2010-11-03T11:50:00.008-05:00

I was in my first 5K race this past weekend. My daughter and granddaughter were in it too. It was a lot of fun. I have also spent time studying and working more on artwork. I have just completed portraits of my two kids which I have been meaning to do for a long time now.

Granddaughter's portrait

2010-10-11T13:15:00.004-05:00

I completed the portrait of my granddaughter this weekend. She hasn't seen it as of yet, so I hope she likes it. Guess I'll know when she gets off from school today. I really enjoyed doing this one. Her pose is great. It crossed my mind to do a portriat of Justin Bieber for her so she could hang it next to this one, since he is her heartthrob now, but with 13 year old girls those things change pretty fast.
This portait of Keely is done in prismacolor colored pencils and it's 17" X 14". Completed with love by her grandma :)

Keely's Portrait

2010-10-09T09:50:00.003-05:00

Here is the portrait of Keely that is in progress. I'm hoping to get a lot more finished on it this weekend. The last portrait I did of her she was pretty young. She's 13 now and turning into a little lady. She's in love with Justin Bieber, I know that's who she's thinking of in the picture. Oh, to be young again :) She is also a darn good basketball player and loves participating in sports. A lot like her Mama. Anyway I am enjoying doing this portrait. I'll be updating again soon.

Hibiscus

2010-09-07T20:43:00.004-05:00

I had to get back to drawing and I finished this Hibiscus last week. It's weird but drawing for me is mandatory to keep me sane. I didn't realize that before until I slacked off. I've come to the conclusion it's an outlet for me. A way to relieve stress and maybe a form of meditation. All I know for sure is...I need it. I suppose it's better than drugs :) Maybe it's Gods way of saying, look, I gave you this talent you'd better start using it! So here's my Hibiscus. It's 8" X 10" and done is colored pencil and ink.

Time and decisions

2010-07-08T17:36:00.003-05:00

I hadn't even realized it has been a couple months since I posted on here. No, Alzheimer's isn't setting in just yet. Just tons of crazy happenings.
Ed will be back at work Monday, but still with only a 4 day week. He's been keeping busy around here fixing everything that has been breaking and backing up. I don't know what's going on with that, he had to replace the water heater, then pipes kept breaking in the basement, just to name a few things. After that was all done we started getting lots of rain and the flooding began. Yesterday he was busy with the floor drain in the basement, had to rent a rooter to fix that again. The good thing is, he can do all this stuff himself. For now anyway. Eventually,he's going to have to get his ankle treated. I think one day soon it's just going to give out on him and he won't have a choice in the matter. He has been walking with a limp for a long time now.
The good news is we just had our 25th wedding anniversary. When the going gets tough, we stick together and when things are good we appreciate it. It works.

ACEO portrait

2010-05-28T20:40:00.004-05:00

Today was the last day of school and the kids and teachers were going crazy :)

I did my first ACEO portrait last week and I'm just now getting around to putting it on here. It was strange working on something that small compared to the size I usually do. It didn't turn out too bad, I guess, and I plan on doing some more. Maybe I'll make a series of them. It was fun to do. It's all colored pencil. The title is "Hope" and she's 3.5" X 2.5".

Kariann & Cloud finished

2010-04-28T07:26:00.002-05:00

I'm calling this one finished now. It's 20" X 16" and will be delivered soon. I'm pleased with the way it turned out and I'm happy she likes it :)

Going, going, gone

2010-04-27T22:10:00.004-05:00

Here's my baby Eli, going to sleep with his favorite monkey. It's a nightly ritual. He gets the monkey in a headlock, has the top of it's head in his mouth and he drifts off to sleep. I call it the sleeper hold :)

Kariann & Cloud progress

2010-04-24T08:56:00.003-05:00

I've been working on the portrait more this week. Cloud,the cat needs more work and then I'll be going over the whole portrait again. It is 20" X 16" and completely colored pencil. I don't know how much I'll get done on it today. I'm helping my daughter pack things in her duplex, she's moving next weekend. Hopefully, we can get all the things she doesn't need immediately packed and labeled in boxes and they will be somewhat organized.

So, stick around for the finished portrait. Here's where I'm at so far.

Dreams and Goals

2010-04-20T22:04:00.002-05:00

I got little more finished on the portrait I'm working on. She still doesn't know I'm doing it for her. I've been doing that along with scheduling and goal setting, getting ready for this summer. Tonight, I wrote out my dream life along with my obituary....I know ;) I'm using the book "The Artist's Guide" How to make a living doing what you love, by Jackie Battenfield. This is a couple of the exercises in the beginning of the book. The obituary thing I just changed to, "My Celebration of Life" just seemed easier to me. I know I'm starting this late in life but I don't want to think about dying yet, I'm just getting started. I spent the time writing out my dream life, which is yet to come, and turning around and writing my obituary didn't fit anywhere in my dream life. A celebration of life...I could do that. But it all makes sense really, you have to know where you want to go before you can start going. The next step is writing goals, that, I'm looking forward to. My mind gets so full of all the things I want to do that the ideas just get lost in the crowd. Writing goals down and doing things step by step only makes sense to me and after writing my dream life and the celebration thing, helps to figure out what I really want to do and the steps I need to take. So the book is kind of like a coach or mentor keeping me on track. I will follow it and do the steps along the way. I am going to be pushing it because I am so ready to get started.

Kariann Update

2010-04-17T09:46:00.003-05:00

The weekend is finally here! It's been a good week, except for the trip to the emergency room. The broken blood vessel in Ed's eye still looks scary but it's not bothering him and he should be back to normal in a couple of weeks. I try to look at the good in everything so..... it's a good thing it didn't happen to both of his eyes, he would look possessed. I can tease him about it now, before it scared the heck out of me.

The portrait of Kariann is coming along nicely. I'll be working on it more today and tomorrow, that's why I live for the weekends, lots of uninterrupted time to work on art, even if it is till wee hours of the morning. So the last update was hair and eyes, now her face is coming into view. Still needs more shaping and color but she's there. Her cat is staring at me patiently. I'm saving him/her for last.

Change of plan

2010-04-13T21:39:00.002-05:00

The plan was to work more on the portrait this evening. Well, as the saying goes, "If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans". Granddaughter needed a ride to and from softball practice. Then when I got home I had to take Ed to the emergency room. Luckily, as it turned out, it wasn't serious. It just looked really bad. A broken blood vessel in his eye. All is well now and I will have an update on the portrait soon.

Kariann progress

2010-04-13T07:08:00.002-05:00

A little bit more hair accomplished. Tonight, I'll be finishing her hair and moving on to her face, or that's the plan anyway. Her hair won't really be finished since I'll go over everything once I get further along. By the way this is my niece, as of now she doesn't know I'm doing it for her. We'll see how long it takes her to see it and if she reads my post :) I'm off to my other job now.

Red hair & cat in progress

2010-04-11T19:42:00.003-05:00

This is on my drawing table now and what I have spent the day doing. Red hair and cat eyes :) I have a thing about getting eyes on paper first, so that's what I did with the cat. Then I couldn't resist getting to work on the girl's beautiful red hair. So it may look kind of odd now but it's coming along nicely.

Central Iowa Artist Coop

2010-04-11T07:00:00.005-05:00

I spent most of the day with my granddaughter yesterday, something I really love to do. We went shopping and stopped by Central Iowa Artist Coop Gallery in Merle Hay Mall. Steve Baier and Shawn Palek were doing a live demonstration. They were painting an underwater fantasy city, the focus was a beautiful mermaid. It was looking good the last I saw it. My granddaughter described it as "sweet", and it was! I like to watch artwork come to life. It shows the time it takes to make it happen, plus it's just fun and you get to meet the artist. This was unique having two artist combine their work.

Pastel Flower

2010-04-09T18:54:00.004-05:00

As promised, I'm posting the flower I did with pastel pencils. I also added gold and silver ink around the edges. The pencils are chalk pastels, a lot different than the Prismacolor or Polychromos that I'm familiar with using for a drawing. It was an experiment, not only with the pastels, but also black paper, just to see the effects of different types of pencils on black paper. It's 12" X 12" and I'm not sure it's a dahlia, so it's just a flower for now.

Pencil trial

2010-04-07T21:17:00.005-05:00

I've been trying my hand at pastel and watercolor pencils. I bought a bunch of them last summer when an art gallery was closing and had them discounted. I'm just now getting around to using them and so far I'm kind of liking both of them. I'm doing a dahlia on black paper and the pastels are looking good. The watercolor pencils look much better on white paper, in my opinion. It's good to try different things now and then, but I'm still sold on my colored pencils, I just like the detail, especially in portraits, maybe because I've been using them for so long and I'm just use to them, or maybe, it's hard to teach an old dog new tricks.
Summer is coming up fast! School will be out in about 7 more weeks. I have been busy with artwork along with working at the school. I plan on entering more shows and exhibits this summer. It will be a nice change after being confined during the winter with all the snow. This time of the year I always start drawing flowers, it's just good to see them again. I'll post the a picture of the dahlia soon.

Mason Jar

2010-03-31T16:35:00.004-05:00

Not my typical drawing but a drawing none the less. Occasionally I do like to mix it up and throw in a still life here and there. Began and completed March 30th 2010. Titled; "Mason Jar" (pretty creative title huh?) :) It's 12" X 12" on black paper.

Time for myself

2010-03-28T22:20:00.005-05:00

I have the audio book "The Success Principles on my Ipod. I know most people use their Ipod's for music. I have some music on mine but mostly audio books. I love reading, sometimes it's just easier to listen to audio books. Anyway, I like the book "The Success Principles". I've been consumed with it actually and making notes of things I should be doing to get organized and get myself going. Since I'm that into the audio version I had to buy the book too, so as soon as Barnes & Noble opened I was on my way there. The book is much thicker that I thought it would be, about 450 pages. I thought to myself this is going to take forever to get through! I do recommend it though. I've already got a lot of helpful advice. It spells out 64 helpful principles used by successful people.
It's a good book for me. Sometimes I get so wrapped up in doing artwork that other parts of the business is ignored. I also pick up the book, "The Richest Man in Babylon". I've been wanting that book and just kind of forgot about it until I saw it at the book store. I was on my way to the checkout counter and just saw it as I was walking by, so I had to get it. I figured it was there for me to see. Nothing is a coincidence.
For the past couple of weeks that's what I have been doing, educating myself, not only in art but also other things that need my attention, including my family and the dogs of course. So I'm really not having a dry spell, I am preparing and learning :)
The memoir I'm working on has also been helpful. I'll be the first to admit I know very little about writing a book and to tell you the truth at this point it's not so good. It doesn't matter though, it's good for me. I will continue to work on it, re-writing and adding to it. I might even change the whole thing, I don't know.I do know it has been beneficial to me. The past has brought me to where I am today and now I understand that it all happened for a reason. Even the fact that I'm writing the memoir is something I'm suppose to be doing. I think everyone should write a memoir.

Portrait drawing and Patience

2010-03-24T21:15:00.004-05:00

It's been a busy week but a fun week. I've been going over plans with my artwork and learning different techniques. I had even thought about doing something else besides portraits, that thought didn't really last that long. I can't stop doing portraits. I am going to add to it though with more portraits of homes and buildings along with the people and pets.
I like doing artwork that brings up feelings. A home does that just as much as a living person or pet. A childhood home is a cool thing to do and has lots of meaning for the recipient. I guess there are a lot of things that fits in that category, like the yellow rose that my mother in law grew and pampered. My real area of interest in artwork is something that brings up a memory for a keepsake that has special meaning and I love doing expressive portraits. Portraits can be a challenge but I love doing them. The definition of "patience" is; "the ability to endure waiting, delay, or provocation without becoming annoyed or upset, or to persevere calmly when faced with difficulties." That just might be my definition of portrait drawing too, but it's so worth it and so rewarding.

Back to work

2010-03-21T22:21:00.003-05:00

It's the end of spring break for me. Back to the Kindergarten class tomorrow. Not that I haven't been keeping busy this week. The time flew by but I did get some things accomplished. I got a lot of things organized in my small studio (aka, a corner of my living room) I've reviewed my bucket list,got my hair cut,went over my schedule again being that will soon be changing when school is out. I finished my memoir and sent it to the Editor and updated my blog.
I listened to "It's Never Crowed Along the Extra Mile" audio book, by Wayne Dyer, it's pretty good. I like all of his books and usually take my ipod to bed with me and he talks in my ear as I go to sleep :) So it was good to listen while I was fully awake. I'm re-reading "I'd Rather Be in the Studio", by Alyson Stanfield.
I did not accomplish the dreaded dog bath. I guess I'm too much of a push over when it comes to him. He will be cleaned this coming week. I've called in back up :) Plus the weather will be warmer so we can bathe him outside.

The first artist in history?

2010-03-20T20:25:00.004-05:00

Wiki answers says; "Of course we do not know. The first 'artists' painted animals and sign on cave walls. They may of course be called pre-historic. Before the 12th century painters did not sign their work they were considered workers like carpenters or bricklayers. All this means that we do not know who we might call the first."
I know! I know!(waving my hand in the air frantically) The first real artist is God.

Why I'm drawn to portrait drawing

2010-03-19T21:04:00.008-05:00

It's in the eyes. When I look at a photograph of a person, pet or anything with eyes for that matter, that's the first thing that attracts me. Even in real life I'm looking into the eyes. Eyes do their own talking by showing joy, fear, excitment, sadness, confusion, peacefulness, evil, kindness, any kind of emotion.
If I get the eyes right,I've captured the personality. When I get a subject looking straight forward in a photograph, the eyes of the portrait will follow you around the room. I find that awesome.
There's no particular color I like best, it's not about the color, it goes deeper. Maybe I believe the eyes really are the windows to the soul. Don't roll your eyes now, but when I do a portrait I actually talk to the subject I'm drawing and their eyes talk back to me. Not out loud, but you know what I mean. There is something special in the twinkle of an eye. Of course I have to get the rest of the face right too otherwise it wouldn't look right. That's another thing that attracts me. The detail in the whole face has to be precise,especially in a person.
I am not a perfectionist,nor am I a professional portrait artist (although I'd like to be) but I do like to capture a good likeness. It's a feeling of accomplishment and of course I like to see the response of the client. I can tell by their eyes and of course their smile or sometimes tears when they are happy with the portrait. That makes me happy too. ;) wink

Dog Bath

2010-03-17T13:13:00.002-05:00

The dog bath didn't work. He's not going to get in the tub, not even being coaxed by a left-over pork chop in the tub. I took the doors off the shower, put a towel in the bottom of the tub, ran about 4 inches of water in the tub and laid the pork chop in the soap dish on the other side of the tub. He wanted it but not bad enough to get in and I could tell he was going to panic if I did manage to get him in it, even though I was standing in the tub showing him how nice it was. So on to plan B. The basement has a floor drain. I can take him down there and hook the hose up to warm water. That should work better. So he won that round and I gave him the pork chop anyway for putting up with me. Tomorrow is another day. I'm confident I'll be victorious.

Website and Fan page change

2010-03-16T18:06:00.006-05:00

I took down my website and the facebook fan page. It was getting too much to keep up with. I do have my blog though which covers everything I'm doing and it's free, so it just made sense to me. So I'm still around, just with less things to work on. Hence, more time for art and writing :) www.joyceegbers.blogspot.com
I'm on spring break this week. So far I've been busy with job searches since school will be out May 29th, I'm looking for employment...again. So if you know of something let me know. If it's good and I get the job, I'll do a portrait for you. :) Such a deal!
I do plan on taking a day or two to groom my dog, Kirby. He's so huge and uncooperative when it comes to grooming. I'm going to try to get him in the bath tub. Yep,that should work....I'll take before and after pictures. There probably won't be any difference with him. I'll need before and after pictures of myself.

Book in progress

2010-02-09T17:29:00.001-06:00

The book is in progress and coming along and I'm finding out it takes a lot of hours and hard work to write a book! It's funny how much you recall once you start digging in and bringing up memories. Things I haven't thought about for years are still there, never forgotten just pushed back. Exact dates are hard to figure out but to me dates aren't important really. I do have it down to time frames and that's good enough. It's turning into more of a Narrative style story anyway. It's actually been kind of good for me, I think, even though I have broke out with shingles and I'm thinking it's because of bringing up the past. I've always been told I've never had chicken pox, now I know I definitely must have had them. My art work is waiting on hold for a little bit. I do miss it though so I may try to divide my time up between the two, well three since I work too, oh and the things I need to do at home too. So between the four. It all keeps me out of trouble. I guess that's not necessarily true now that I think about it :)

Pretty Pumpkins

2010-02-01T13:44:00.004-06:00

After a goof on my part she is ready to go to Kentucky. To be honest I hate parting with her. Somehow I get attached to these portraits :) I learn with each one I do. I have another one waiting for me to do and then my Keely girl wants one of her. So, I'll be busy for a while. One of my goals this year is to take another workshop. Hopefully I can find one not too far away. I titled this one "Pretty Pumpkins" 20" X 16".

Editor

2010-01-31T18:38:00.005-06:00

The past couple weeks the past has barged back. You know how you can get a whisper to do something and if you don't listen it gets a little louder and then really loud. Well, that happened to me. Too many things have happened recently that I can't shrug off as being coincidental. I don't know the purpose of it all. I guess that answer will come later. So, I'm writing a memoir. I know a lot about the subject and nothing about writing a book. I was just going to write, and then, God sent me an Editor. I kid you not! I hadn't even thought about an Editor. A very nice lady I know informed me she was an Editor and offered to edit it for me. That's proof enough for me I need to listen.

Not a winter person

2010-01-23T10:10:00.004-06:00

I don't think I've ever been a winter person, not even as a kid. For me sledding and ice skating were OK as long as it wasn't cold outside, so of course I didn't do either of those very much. I did like waking up and seeing the first snow fall of the season, (looking out a window).

This winter so far we've had tons of snow. We had an ice storm which coated the trees and everything else including the snow already on the ground. Yesterday ice chunks were falling from the trees along with tree limbs. I was ducking my head driving home from work because of ice falling all over, like that would do any good :) The ice looks like broken glass laying on the sidewalks and streets. Today we're getting rain. But you know, with all the terrible things going on in the world stuff like this is so minor. I realize I'm actually blessed to experience the weather. Here in Iowa you never know what's coming next and even though I don't like it, I know it will change.

Finished Isaac

2009-12-19T18:11:00.004-06:00

I finished the portrait of Isaac. It's 14" X 17" in colored pencil. It was a challenge for sure. The reference photo his grandma gave me lacked detail and was very small. He was also younger than he is now. I had to do it though, no...I wanted to do it. She told me this picture of him was special to her because he looked like a little Angel. I had to agree, he does look pretty sweet. Isaac also has a health condition. This website tells a little more about Isaac http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/isaac Some things in life just aren't fair, especially when it involves a child.
His grandma is happy with the portrait and I'm happy she likes it. It would be great if they could find a cure for Isaac, perhap they will soon.

Sketching Mick Jagger

2009-11-30T10:21:00.004-06:00

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. Cathy and I did the traditional Black Friday shopping. We were at Jordon Creek at midnight and both agreed not to do that again. It was a mad house! So we left there and headed to Merle Hay Mall which was much better even though we waited in line at Kohls for an hour to check out. It's just all part of the madness. We did have fun though.

I was up late last night kind of doodling and and kind of sketching and came up with a portrait of Mick Jagger with the reference taken from my TV guide laying on the kitchen bar. No colored pencils this time. This was done with a mechanical pencil and free hand. It started out I was only going to do his face, then I put in his shoulders and then what the heck, I finished him on 8" X 10" piece of paper. He didn't turn out too bad :)

Layla Grace is finished

2009-10-26T11:42:00.004-05:00

This is little Layla. 20" X 16" in colored pencil. This portrait was fun to do. She's a cutie and apparently she likes tomatoes :) She'll be on her way soon. Hope her Grandma likes it!

New Job

2009-09-04T23:53:00.005-05:00

I started a new job a week ago. I absolutely love it! The position is a kindergarten associate at a Catholic school. It's part time 8:00 to 1:00, which is OK although I would have preferred full time. I accepted it because of the fact it is a Catholic school and it's working with kids. My faith and children are pretty special to me so this seems to be a perfect fit. One would think that it wouldn't be much different than where I worked before at the preschool that closed. It is different though, for one, I don't have to do the planning ;) The biggest difference though is the atmosphere. It's just a really good place to be.

I've also been working on a commissioned portrait of a little girl. It's not ready to be put up here yet. Since this is a 3 day weekend I'll get a lot done on it, that's my plan anyway. It is on my progress page on my website if you want to follow along. I think it's going to turn out really sweet. There's a whole lot of greens that will be in it, so I had to stock up on various green pencils. While I was doing that I saw a pad of vellum surface paper for artist trading cards. I realize I could just cut my own, but the little pad was so cute and handy I decided to pick that up too. So eventually I'll try that out to see how it goes.

Twins visit

2009-08-23T23:43:00.003-05:00

What a fun weekend! We went to the Iowa State Fair Saturday with my niece and her family who came to visit. The twins have grown so much! Talking, walking, teeth, and they are so sweet! It was a real treat to see all of them again. Today we went to Cathy's for dinner, Ed did most of the cooking since he's a BBQ expert. Well, we let him believe that anyway, that way he'll do all the cooking as long as it's on the grill. It all works out, the food really was good and he's proud of it. Cathy and I took care of opening the potato chip bag :) The rest of the time we played with the twins. They are going back home tomorrow, it's sure hard to see them leave.

Portrait finished

2009-08-20T21:41:00.006-05:00

Still don't have my car back so I called to check on it today. The guy says hopefully late tomorrow. Hmmm, I hope so too, I think I may have forgot how to drive!

I did get the portrait I was working on finished though, so that's good. It's on it's way to Illinois as I type. This weekend I'll be starting another one of a little boy. Still working on darkening up those skin tones, I'll get there. I have a plan B I'm going to try.

So far this week has been going pretty smoothly, no run away trucks, no large logs falling out of trees, it's been pretty quiet. I even got some good news today. I have an interview Tuesday. I won't say where yet, we'll see how it goes first.

Saturday I'll be heading out to the fair. My niece and her family are coming to visit. It's been so long since I've seen the twins! I'm excited.

So back to the portrait. It's my sister in law's parents who are deceased. The reference is from a photograph she wanted me to use. The difference is the photograph had a black background, I chose a light background for the portrait. It's colored pencil of course, (that's what I do) and it's 20" X 16" on vellum paper. I also mounted this one on mat board. I like the look of that plus it gives it a sturdy base. I used spay mount for the first time, that stuff sticks in a hurry! Anyway, I hope she's pleased with it.

Trouble comes is 3's

2009-08-11T21:12:00.009-05:00

It been too long since I've wrote here so I thought I'd better update. I'm still looking for work and filling my time with art work. I've been working on a portrait for my Sister-in-law. I'll have a picture of it here soon. I've decided this lay off just may be an opportunity for me to go into business for myself.

Ed's brother died July 25th, so we were in Illinois for a few days with family and attending his funeral. He was a veteran from the Navy and a retired Firefighter, the funeral was very honorable. The procession to the cemetery was led by fire engine #5, the one he drove. It was a military funeral, the 21 gun salute always gets to me. He will be missed. Ed is doing OK, I can't even imagine how much it hurts to lose a sibling. He took it pretty hard.

So we are back and trying to get back to normal. Key word "normal". Friday, I was deep into working on a portrait when a crash shook the house. A delivery truck came barreling down the street backwards, with no driver and was stopped by our neighbors tree before it could crash through my son's car and the house. I did consider myself blessed!

Until yesterday... a huge limb fell out of our tree and on my car, dented the hood up really good. We had a storm the night before, I'm assuming it must have been knocked loose and didn't fall till later. So today my car is sitting in the body shop, $2500 damage and $500 deductible. That blows the trip to Washington and workshop I wanted to attend (sigh). God is trying to get my attention. Hopefully my car will be finished soon and then things will be back to normal.

Sassy Sadie

2009-07-06T13:15:00.003-05:00

Finished Sadie, again...so now we have a "Serious Sadie" and a "Sassy Sadie". Believe it or not they are the same dog, although it sure doesn't look like it to me. I think the photo reference of Serious Sadie must have been when she was older because of all the white on her face. Either that or it was the camera flash and lighting. Sassy Sadie looks younger, peppier, sassier! Being I really didn't know Sadie this one was tough because none of the photo references were that good and we couldn't get any better ones since Sadie has past. So I just went with the best I had even though I have sworn I wouldn't do that again! But you know, if I can get it right it's worth all the effort. She looks marvelous!

Kentucky Mule

2009-06-26T22:06:00.004-05:00

The mule is finished and a nice looking mule I might add, being it's my first mule. The portrait was done in Prismacolor pencils on bristol vellum paper. It's 17" X 14". It will be on it's way to Kentucky soon. This will be my second piece of artwork hanging around Kentucky. It's kind of cool to have my work in other states! The background was different for me too, the trees were fun to do. I had the feeling of being in the woods and having a mule peeking at me through the trees. Now that's what I call getting into my work! I guess I just like the look on the mule's face. When I draw animals it's something about their eye's that attracts me. I always wonder what they were thinking at the time. I'm guessing I figure it out pretty accurately. Of course who can say for sure.

Rottweiler is finished

2009-06-12T08:36:00.007-05:00

Sadie the Rottweiler is finished. I love drawing dogs, too bad Sadie isn't
around anymore, but I hope this portrait does her justice. I'll be
delivering her to the quad cities soon. My next victim is a mule. My son's girlfriend wants me to do it for her mother. I thought she wanted a horse till I saw the photograph. I'm no expert in stuff like that, but I knew it didn't look like a horse. I thought it was a donkey, my son informed me it was a mule. To be honest...I didn't know there was a difference between a donkey and a mule. I'm a city girl see, so I've learned something new and now I'll have to study up on mules.

Update: Sadie's eye is fixed.

Drawn out drama

2009-05-25T21:52:00.003-05:00

It's been a couple months since I've posted. It's been a long drawn out drama with the other job closing and will continue for a couple more weeks. Then after 14 years, it's over, it's closing. The change is actually a blessing spiritually for me. I'm looking forward to whatever comes my way next :) The artwork will always be a part of what I do. I'm working on a rottweiler now which has been waiting patiently for me (sorry Sadie) I'm almost there. I have a horse waiting on me too! So it's back to the drawing board where I can find peace again.

Shamrock and Clover

2009-03-21T16:52:00.003-05:00

Shamrock and Clover are finally finished. Hopefully I'm over my dry spell of finding it hard to concentrate. I was ready to get back in the game today a load has been lifted! This is a 14" X 17" on bristol paper all colored pencil. Myself I love how the colors all work together and the pose is cute too. All that's left to do now is cut a mat and get the clients approval. The photograph I used had a lot of light which may have distorted the colors some. I'm not sure, we'll see. For now, here tis. I think they are adorable ;)

Congratulations Michael !

2008-12-12T16:14:00.004-06:00

He did it! My son Mike has graduated from Grand View College with a Graphic Design degree. This was his last week. He's still on the Deans List too! Well, depending on how his finals went. He brought some drawings over that he didn't have room for in his apartment. So being I am the mom that I am, I'm putting his self portrait on my blog :) Congratulations Mike, I love you and I'm so proud of you!

Didn't make the cut

2008-12-03T14:45:00.002-06:00

So I went and got my hair cut :) I like it. It's sort of like an angled bob cut. Of the 1,274 visual artist who applied to the Des Moines Arts Festival 159 were invited. So we have 159 happy people and 1,115 who are bummed. ( Just what makes that little ole ant, think he can move a rubber tree plant. Everyone knows an ant can't...move a rubber tree plant. But he has High Hopes he has...etc.) There's always the next time!

Bucket List

2008-11-29T12:45:00.003-06:00

I had Thanksgiving dinner here for our family. It turned out good, lots of food and conversation. I kind of like entertaining anymore. I can stay in the comfort of my home, clean and cook and it all works out. Plus I get odd jobs finished that need to be done before company arrives.
I can now cross shopping at 4 o'clock in the morning off my bucket list. I had to do it at least once in my lifetime on black friday. My daughter and I talked about going Thanksgiving day. I didn't think she would actually get up that early to go but she was ringing my phone at 3 a.m. I was still sleeping pretty good ;) We headed to Valley West Mall within the hour. Would I do it again? Sure! It was fun and we came back in one piece.

Clover is Finished

2008-11-24T21:59:00.003-06:00

Clover is finished and she's just an adorable little puppy! That's the one thing different about doing pets verses people. I really don't like to do portraits of people that are just sitting there posed. They need to be doing something! Something candid or interesting. Even a mischievous smile on a child's face works. Pets on the other hand can just sit there and look cute, it doesn't matter. They have that look in their eye or tilt of the head. Their personality shines in their eyes no matter what they are doing. Here's Clover, it's 14"X17" all colored pencil on paper.

Jury process

2008-11-20T20:47:00.003-06:00

Yesterday Mike and I attended the jury preview for the Des Moines Arts Festival. There was a lot of really nice artwork, including mine :) They had a nice reception area with all kinds of goodies and little bottles of wine and beer. Who could ask for more! The judges gave absolutlely no indication of what they liked and didn't like which they were suppose to do I guess. I was looking for some signs though, I did't see any.
Mike went with me. He could get extra credit for going and I have a tendency to get lost downtown. Finding the Greater Des Moines Partnership building was pretty easy and finding a parking spot was not a problem either. We got lost in the building. His sense of direction isn't any better than mine, you could tell we were related. We parked in the parking garage and got on the elevator which I didn't realize till it rose from the garage that it was a glass elevator! So I had a death grip on him on the way up. He thought it was hilarious. I didn't see the humor in it till later.

My mat cutter arrived today too! WooHoo! I've already got it set up. That will save me some money in the long run considering what it cost to have a mat cut. It's a Logan 65o and it's nice. Maybe I'll go into the mat cutting business now too ;)

Midlife ramble

2008-11-16T21:06:00.004-06:00

Tonight I feel the need to ramble about stuff. I have 2 kids. One is 31 years old, single mother, doing well in her career related to insurance and annuities and making a decent living. The other one is 22 and will be graduating college next month with a degree in graphic design. I'm very proud of both of them. I'm going to take some credit for how they turned out, which is pretty darn good.
My first one has worked her way up the ladder and continues to educate herself to go even farther. Which is good, some people start at the bottom and are content to stay there, kind of like a safety zone. The other one wants to make a bunch of money as soon as possible when he graduates and aiming right for the top. That's good too, he has the potential.
Having an education and a degree is a good start. I don't have a degree in anything. I can't say I'm not educated, I have a high school diploma and a certificate. The rest of my education came from studying on my own through books, a few night classes and just doing. What I've learned is you've got to have a plan. You have the knowledge, now what are you going to do next? I don't think they teach you that in high school or college.
What about personality, character, morals and how well do you get along with all people? I guess that's where mom's come in. If I were to hire someone of course I'd want them to know what they were doing. It would also be important to be an all around good person. I think I've taught my kids well. You need the knowledge then continue to gain knowledge in your field, it doesn't end with a degree, you need go after what you want without stepping on anyone's toes. On the other hand you have to stand up for what's right and don't let anyone push you around.
Do what you love. If you have a passion, follow it. Don't waste a talent. No I don't have a degree. I do have a talent for artwork. Well, in my humble opinion anyway. I just do it because I like to do it. It makes me happy and I've made other people happy doing it. Someday maybe a degree in art. Maybe I'll be one of those people who gets a college degree at 80 years old. You always have to be going towards some goal ya know. It keeps your brain alive.
I'll always be proud of my kids no matter where their life leads them. Hopefully not too far away from me......but not too close. They both are in the process of being who they want to be, doing what it takes and having what they want. I'm sure there will be ups and downs for both of them. That's just life and learning experiences, continued education I guess.
I'm 55 years old and both of my kids are out of the nest. They both can fly pretty well. I don't have the empty nest symdrome, this mama wants to soar and continue to live life and have fun doing it.

Art Expo

2008-11-12T21:06:00.003-06:00

I visited the two rivers art expo this weekend with my daughter and granddaughter. It was really nice. My granddaughter was kept busy making jewelry, a hat and marble painting while my daughter and I look around. I like going to exhibits to see how other artist set up there booth and meeting people. Of course the artwork was great too! I was looking at this really pretty necklace while the artist was talking with a lady. I was thinking of getting it and then....snatch! That lady bought it :) Geesh, well I'll just move right along I guess. It really was a nice event though.
I've started a new commission of a cute little dog named "Clover". It's on my in progress page if you'd like to take a peek. This has been a busy month which is good. This coming Wednesday all the artist that applied to be part of the Des Moines arts Festival are invited to attend the jury preview, it should be interesting being I have no idea how that's done. They received 1,274 applications for 158 spots. Yes, I still have faith!

Little Dancers

2008-10-12T18:06:00.004-05:00

So far the title of this colored pencil portrait is "Little Dancers" because...well because that's what it is! It's hot off the drawing table today. I like the mood it gives off, just kind of fun and fancy free. You know these 2 kids know they are looking good and enjoying every minute of it. I enjoyed drawing it too. It was kind of challenge but I liked the perspective and had to try it. It's 17" X 14".

Happy Birthday David

2008-10-08T22:25:00.002-05:00

Just wanted to wish my brother a happy birthday. I miss him a lot. If by chance you read this David, please call.

Keely...white and black

2008-10-05T16:52:00.005-05:00

A while ago I did a portrait of "Keely" on black paper. I decided to do the same portrait of her on white paper. The background of the white paper I covered totally with indigo blue and black colored pencil and blended.This is the difference. Kind of the same but different. Anyway, I've been wanting to do it and now it's done. On to the " Little Dancers", my next project.

Two boys

2008-09-27T21:36:00.003-05:00

I love getting in a zone and that's exactly what happened with this portrait. Time and space disappeared and it was pretty much finished about 3:00 this morning. Wish I could say go to my website to see a larger picture but for some reason the site is down tonight. I'll check again later tonight or in the morning to see if it's up. Anyway, here it is. One of the little boys was in my class. He's a great kid with a great personality. This portrait was fun to do. It's 11" X 14".

Time to work on goals!

2008-09-21T11:09:00.003-05:00

It's time for me to start working on goals. Past time as a matter of fact. At this point my definition of success is sticking to my goals and deadlines. My number 1 goal right now is to get ready to be juried into the art festival. Who says it can't be done? Not me! I have till October 31st, it can be done. I need to work on my artist statement, have 6 drawings ready to be judged and hire a photographer to take pictures of my artwork and booth. It's doable. So I'm going for it. The reason is I have to, if that makes sense to anyone. It's like stepping out of my box and saying, look, this is what I do, I can compete with the best of them, and this would be the best of them. My motivation is pretty simple actually, it's wanting to do my best and showing it. In return for putting in the work I'll gain experience and work towards improvement and creative ideas. Accepted or denied I'll learn from the experience. It's all about pushing forward, doing what I like to do and letting others enjoy it.

New to me Chevy HHR

2008-09-15T17:25:00.003-05:00

Wanna see our new little vehicle? It's a Chevy HHR and something about it makes it fun to drive. After having it about a week now I'm thinking it looks like a miniature hearse ;) It's kind of a cross between a car, a truck and a van. It just is what is what it is I guess. I'm liking it!

Girl & Horse is finished

2008-09-12T15:08:00.002-05:00

I just finished this last night. It could have and should have been finished sooner but a few things got in the way. Like my car breaking down! So we've been car shopping. I now have a new to me 2006 Chevy HHR. It's so cool and fun to drive! And then I've been thinking again. I'm thinking of painting a mural in my house, maybe our bedroom. I'm going to do it I just haven't decided what to paint yet. If it turns out good then I'll branch out to murals too...maybe. Amazingly Ed is agreeing to this. I think he has mellowed with age. Either that or he just know's I'm going to do it anyway ;) I'm also beginning a portrait of two little boys. So I'll be busy for a while.

This drawing is being donated to a charity in Kentuckey. It's 17" X 14" in colored pencil.

Horse and Girl portrait

2008-09-01T07:47:00.002-05:00

Good morning and happy Labor Day! I had 3 days off and this is my third day. I didn't get as much accomplished as I wanted to but I still got a lot finished. I think my biggest problem with doing this kind of work is helping others realize that this is a job for me. I have thinks to do and deadlines. Sure I enjoy doing it and I'm home, but I have to get it done! I guess the thing to do is just say I have to work, even though to me it doesn't feel like work. Maybe set regular business hours. Lets see, last night I was working til 1:30 this morning. I'll figure out something.

Anyway, this is what I've been doing this weekend, it's still in progress the horse won't be that blotchy. It will be going to Kentucky! It's 17" X 14" on bristol vellum and of course all colored pencil. Which reminds me, I tried my hand at acrylics and working at an easel...lets just say it's not the same ;) I'm not giving up though.

Happy Sweet 16 Anna!

2008-08-03T08:41:00.006-05:00

My niece, Anna, (who to my knowledge use to be called Kariann), had a sweet 16 party. Apparently she changed her name too because when I got there everyone was calling her Anna. I need to come around more often or relatives need to notify me of name changes. Anyway, yesterday I set out on a 4 hour trip to a sweet 16 party. It was a lot of fun and she was beautiful as always. I know she'll appreciate me putting her picture here. Happy Birthday Anna :)

Midnight Crystal, professional mobile DJ, Gary Septer, provided the music, DJ, and light show. They did a great job entertaining the mixture of age groups at the party. I'd recommend them for your party entertainment. I wasn't too sure if this picture of lights would turn out too well with my digital camera, but I think it turned out pretty.

Not much time

2008-08-01T16:44:00.003-05:00

I had 3 days to finish this portrait. When you count the actual time I had it figures out to about 10 hours since I only do this part time. It's my son and his girl friend. She flys back to Kentucky tomorrow so this is it. I was going to just do a regular graphite portrait, but I guess I've been working with color too long and decided to dig out the col-erase colored pencils since I could erase and blend with those too. It was different and I'm not too sure about it yet, but time is up. It's 16" X 20" on mat board.

What a wake up call!

2008-07-21T18:07:00.002-05:00

This morning I was awaken at 3:00 by a huge storm. Nothing like waking up with the wind howling and no electricity, along with the tornado sirens going off. Ed was already up, I guess he decided to let me sleep peacefully through it all. Anyway I decided it was in my best interest to get up to see what was going on. As I walked in the kitchen, through the patio doors I could see the umbrella in our patio table lift smoothly out and sail onto the deck. It looked like someone just lifted it out of there. Then I check out the front of the house. The dogwood tree was down. Completely tipped over into the front yard. It wasn't looking good.

So here's a picture of what use to be my dogwood tree. It was twisted and broken right at ground level. Ed spent his day with his handy dandy chain saw. He's been keeping busy while he's been off work ;)

What the?

2008-07-19T07:19:00.006-05:00

There comes a time, I believe, when a person, lets say me, goes a little, well.....psycho. I kept drawing saying I kind of like it and lets see what happens. And now I don't have the heart to toss it. Not only that, I'm posting it here. I haven't decided on a title. Two come to mind. " What the ?" or "What was eye thinking?" It's 12" X 12" on black art paper.

I promise to snap out of it. I have another idea :D

Interesting but not pretty

2008-07-17T18:17:00.006-05:00

After the flood waters went down I took some pictures in the area where Ed works ( or use to work). I didn't consider how bad it would smell at the time. It was nasty, something like dead fish and cow pooh, if you can imagine that! But I decided to try to find something unique anyway for a reference picture to draw. Here's what I shot.

This is the machine shop at Eagle Iron Works where Ed is a machinist. It's still closed more than a month after the flood. I don't plan to draw it. I tried to get a picture of the white chalk mark Ed put towards the top of the door of where the water level got to.

This is across the street from the plant. I thought it would be an interesting picture, but not so much after looking at it.

And this was kind of unique. It's a picture of a sewer along the curbing with a tennis shoe stuck in it. I was going to draw it and started on it. But as a drawing it was hard to tell exactly what it was and it just didn't make sense.

I have some other pictures from that area but I don't like any of them enough to draw. I think between the smell and and loss there's just nothing to get too excited over.

I am working on another drawing though, again it's different than a portrait. So I'll be posting an update soon. I'm not sure how it's going to turn out yet, but I'm liking it so far ;)

Reach Out

2008-07-13T07:34:00.005-05:00

I haven't decided what to name this drawing yet. It's a taste of my change in style and subject matter. I started it this weekend and amazingly finished this weekend. Once again one of those things where I got totally caught up in it and time vanished. So it was about 3 o'clock this morning when I finished.

The idea behind it is breaking free from old patterns and exploring bigger and better things. Not being held prisoner to the past and finding your light. That's the idea behind it anyway. Now finding a reference photo for it was my challenge. Because we all know I have to have a reference photo. I'm not one to just sit down and draw a hand, I have to see it in front of me. That's something else I have to work on I guess.

The creative thought was there, I could see the picture in my mind. All I needed was handcuffs and 2 guys ( I know it sounds pretty kinky). So in comes my family, the handcuffs were easy. I called my daughter and asked if she had any. Well, she had a set but they were pink and furry. She knew someone who had some I could borrow though. Now the hard part, convincing my husband and son to be hand models, one of them had to put the cuffs on, but only on one wrist. There was no doubt that Ed was going to be "God". My son reluctantly gave in out of respect for his dad ;) This was decided after an hour or two of convincing them to even pose for it. They both decide they would knowing I wasn't going to leave them alone and they both like the fact I cook for them. The universe of course had to be just out of my head.

So, that's the story behind this ;) It's 12" X 12" on black art paper.
I'm open for suggestions on the title.

Happy 4th of July!

2008-07-04T08:07:00.003-05:00

I guess this is officially the last day of my vacation, still have the weekend though ;) Yesterday my daughter and I celebrated our birthdays' together, that was nice. We went out to eat and the waitress gave Ed a senior menu (tee hee) I didn't get one, so that was fun. Cathy and I are considering getting matching tattoo's but can't figure out what to get yet. Something small and dainty, I'm really not into pain that much.

I've reached a goal too, I'm in a size 8 :) Who needs "the biggest loser"? I did it all by myself with no gyms or coaches. I'm not finished yet, actually I'm kind of getting into working out, it's tough getting started but once I'm into it, it feels good. Nothing like a sweaty body. I still haven't mastered "Chicometrics" though, oh my gosh that's tough. Chico and I have a love hate relationship.

I've also started "The Master Key System". So far that seems interesting. I love things like that. And the artwork is still coming along well. There's changes to come along there too.

News and this and that

2008-06-26T08:10:00.004-05:00

I've started a new drawing it's of a picture I took after the flood. It sounds kind of weird but I saw a tennis shoe in a sewer with water rushing over it and for some reason found it interesting. I'll be posting pictures once it gets a little farther along. I'll be doing that in between a private commission I'm doing of a home, it's almost finished. The house is beautiful and turning out nicely.

I'm on vacation from my other job so I'll have more time to get things done. Of course the Des Moines Arts Festival is this weekend so there's no doubt about it I'll be taking time out for that too. Ed hasn't been called back to work yet so he's still sticking with our original vacation days. We have no plans now but it still feels good to have time to do whatever. This coming Thursday, July 3rd, we have 4 birthday's. My daughter's, the twins and yours truly :) I've lost 35 pounds and still counting preparing for this event. It's swimsuit time!

Has it been 40 days yet?

2008-06-15T10:31:00.004-05:00

Rain, rain, go away! No is hasn't rained for 40 days here but it seems like it and it's starting to cloud up again. It has been 15 years since the last flood and according to calulations it wasn't suppose to happen like that again for another 100 years. What can I say, it's 85 years early. So Ed is out of a job till who knows when since Eagle Iron Works is flooded. Guess I'll have to get my "Honey Do" list ready for him. My other job is high and dry but there's a river between me and there. Wish I had a row boat or a helicoptor, either one of those would be better than the interstate. This too shall pass, so once again "Que sera sera." It could be worse.

Today I'll be organizing my Studio, it has to be done I'm running out of room, then I'll get started on the next drawing. It's also Father's Day so Cathy and Mike are coming over for dinner. Jeepers! I'd better get busy.

Update: The water is down in most places. I now have a road!

She's all framed and I'm moving on

2008-06-08T20:32:00.003-05:00

I'm calling her finished. Now all that's left to do is get prints for the family.

She looks real light here. She was fair skinned but the original drawing isn't this light. Anyway, I'm pleased with it now and I have it all framed and matted so I'm moving on.

Happy Birthday Eddie!

2008-05-26T10:28:00.002-05:00

I hosted a birthday dinner for Ed yesterday. I think it turned out pretty good. The main course was Italian beef hoagies along with kraut salad. I have to say that my Italian beef and salad are magnificent, no brag just fact. The only damper was tornado warning lurking but that's not unusual for some reason when I invite people over to my house for a party. There were tornado sirens going off at Mike's graduation open house too. I figure it just adds to the excitement of the day. "Que sera sera" translated means "what will be will be". Ed enjoyed himself and that was the whole point of the day.

I decided I'm not finished with Ed's mom's portrait, it still needs work but it's coming along. I'll have an updated picture here soon. If you want to take a peek now it's on my website at the in progress page.

Progress and update on website

2008-05-17T20:03:00.004-05:00

Mary's portrait is coming along nicely. She's starting to almost come off the page now. She still needs skin tone built up and work on details like the glasses for one. Then of course her blouse which will be light blue. I'm also not certain about the color of her eyes, they may have to be a little browner. I'll have to ask someone for certain because they don't show up much in the photograph. I've actually been using two photographs for reference and I'm still not sure.

I've also updated my website and changed it a little. Hopefully all the links and things work. If you have time check it out and let me know if you find broken links anywhere, it's at Joyce Egbers http://www.joyceegbers.com/ That should get you there ;) On the contact page I've added a comment form feel free to comment and leave feedback for me. I know that works I tried it out myself :) And don't forget to keep up to date on the progress page. I'll be working more on Mary tonight and tomorrow.

Colored Paper

2008-05-14T06:00:00.002-05:00

Good morning. I'm rarely on the computer in the mornings because I have what I call "the other job" but I had a little time this morning and decided to drop in. I've changed things a bit with Mary's portrait and trying colored paper. It's Canson Mi-Teintes, I forget the real name of the color but it's tan. So far I'm liking it better. I was thinking I should have done that in the first place then a new friend Darla Dixon verified my suspicions by suggesting it in a comment. That was all the push I needed so I appreciate her help. I don't have a progress picture ready yet but stay tuned, the outline is finished and some color down. You'll just have to trust me it'll be worth the wait. Guess I have to go to that other job now. Keep watching.

Colored pencil portrait in progress

2008-05-11T08:11:00.004-05:00

This is a hard Mother's Day there's a piece missing. I worked on Mary's portrait a lot yesterday I was up till 2:00 in the morning. That's what happens when you have an obsession I mean a passion :) Anyway, I think the beginning stage is there and I can go on with the rest. There's not much to see yet but it's getting there. I'm working on skin tone now which has to be built up with lots of layers. So far only the wash is down. I needed to do her eyes before I went any farther for some reason that just works for me with most portraits. Guess I need that spark of realism. I haven't decided on the color for the background yet but that's a decision I'm going to have to make soon before I finish her skin tone. She's wearing a light blue blouse and her hair is white to grey. Any suggestions are welcomed and feel free to critique any changes that need to be made. Stay tuned and keep your seat pulled up. Watch the progress at Joyce Egbers colored pencil website.

Mary in progress

2008-05-09T18:51:00.002-05:00

I'm beginning a portrait of my mother-in-law. The reference photo is from a snapshot which I had to blow up. The details are not real good and I promised myself I wouldn't do another portait without a good reference photo. This is a different situation though so I'm going to give it a whirl. I have the outline down but I think I need to tweak her mouth a little. There's something not quite right, I think maybe on the right corner. So pull up a chair and keep tabs on how things are progressing by going to my website on the progress page. I'll keep it updated.

Yellow Rose is finished

2008-05-05T16:58:00.005-05:00

The rose is finished. I started it before Mary passed away, not knowing she liked yellow roses. When I was told about the yellow rose she pampered by her porch I wanted to dedicate it to her. It's 14" X 17" in colored pencil.

It's been through a lot really. I moved my desk out of the studio so I could watch TV and do art work at the same time. What I forgot about was the weird shows Ed tends to watch. One day I actually listened to a documentary of some doctor in Russia who transplanted the head of an ape onto another ape. They even had a graphic video of it. That's when I decided the desk and myself had to move back to the studio. So everything went back again.

I really don't care what he watches, what bugs me is he falls asleep and I'm listening to it thinking he's awake. So, I'm very satisfied now with my little TV in the studio. By the way, the ape made it through the operation but he was very angry and mean when he woke up. Sounds kind of Frankensteiney to me :)

Yellow rose symbol

2008-04-30T21:41:00.007-05:00

I'm still hoping to get the yellow rose finished this week or at least over the weekend. I'm doing it petal by petal just because I want to get the colors to go together well and it seems to be working best that way. There's a lot of colors in a yellow rose by the way. A lot of petals too!

While I was working on it I got to wondering about the meaning of the yellow rose so my inquiring mind had to look it up. Did you know that in the Victorian era a person couldn't flirt even by love letters or eye to eye contact because it was considered in bad taste. So giving flowers took the place of flirting. It use to be that yellow roses were symbols for jealousy,infidelity and fading love. Now they are a symbol of happiness and friendship. I'm sure glad the meaning has changed. Why would you give flowers to someone expressing faded love? Maybe it was a sly way of letting the other person know you were having an affair. But then again, why bother? OK, I'm getting way off track here. The meaning of the yellow rose is friendship.

Priorities

2008-04-27T04:56:00.004-05:00

I spent the majority of the day yesterday figuring out RSS (Really Simple Syndication)... It wasn't so simple:) I got some other things accomplished too, but what I learned was it's important to allot a certain time limit. You can't get everything done in a day. That's where your routine comes in handy. When you're going through the book," I'd Rather Be In the Studio " you'll find there's a lot to do, that's a good thing! At least I know what I haven't been doing. A regular routine will help get the things done that need to be done, yet won't make you feel overloaded. What I did was started to write the things I needed to do on a large "to do" list. Then I'll check them off by putting some things in my daily routine, making sure my art work is part of the daily routine. Viola! It should work.

I might add that I didn't go to one garage sale yesterday. I saved money by doing things I needed to do and not spending money on things I didn't need anyway. Not saying I won't go to any garage sales this year. Until I get some things in order I'm just on a garage sale diet. And Oh, there was some big ones! My daughter called and asked if I was going, it felt pretty good to say, "I'll pass". We just had a garage sale last week and I got rid of a bunch of stuff, it makes no sense. That would be like losing 5 pounds then eating a whole cake :)

Great book: I'd Rather Be In the Studio

2008-04-26T07:27:00.009-05:00

I started this blog over a year ago, making art and blogging a little here and there. Today, April 26, 2008, The time has come to get down to the business of art. I purchased the book "I'd Rather Be In The Studio" by Alyson B Stanfield and I highly recommend it if you are an artist who like me, created artwork without a plan. Now I have an idea of where to begin and what it takes to get where I want to go as an Artist.

The first thing I'm doing is making a schedule for myself. I always blamed my day job for not getting artwork finished. Enough of that. There are 24 hours in a day, I only do that job 8 hours. That leaves 16 hours, of course I do have to sleep but not 16 hours! Then take out time for dressing, grooming and personal things. So the truth is I do have time. It all comes down to setting priorities. Follow along with me as I learn and do what it takes, who knows before too long that day job may be history.

Green Grapes and Crystal

2008-03-09T16:39:00.006-05:00

Looks like I'm heading in a new direction, moving on to a new chapter in my life. I still like portraits, but boy, these still lifes can be just as much of a challenge. I haven't really titled this one yet, can't come up with a name. The photo reference is from Wetcanvas user mustcreate. I just finished it and it became an obsession with me to finish it. So here it tis. It's 17" X 14" on Strathmore Bristol vellum paper, prismacolor pencils. I kind of like it myself ;)

Loose Change

2008-03-04T16:47:00.007-06:00

I know, I know. It's been almost a month since I've posted here. Not because I've just been sitting around twiddling my thumbs though, I've been making money.....see! Acutually I did this in a couple of days. It's not my usual stuff of drawing portraits, but change is good ;) Photo reference is from wetcanvas user jyvonne. It's 14" X 17" Bristol vellum paper, prismacolor pencils

Happy New Year!

2008-01-02T18:39:00.001-06:00

Yesterday, New Years day, I was ask if I would take in a puppy who needed a home. I'm not running a zoo around here! I already have 2 cats, a bird and a great big dog. I admit I do like animals and they are really good companionship and they love you unconditionally. But this was a little puppy, only 12 weeks old, weighs about 4 pound and not house trained yet. Plus I like big dogs, the puppy is a "Coton de Tulear" I've never heard of that breed before. He looks a lot like a Bishon though and they are small dogs. Very cute, very cuddly and sweet......Wanna meet my new puppy? :) I named him Eli. He captured my heart.

Merry Christmas

2007-12-25T08:23:00.003-06:00

Since moving to Iowa 22 years ago I have always made the trip to Illinois to spend Christmas with family. This year I’m staying here by choice. I’m still taking time off as if I’m going out of town. I’m just eliminating the hassle of travel and adding peaceful, stress free time together with my husband, kids and grandchild. Ed’s mom has been in town and we visited her at his sister’s house Christmas eve. She and his sisters will be heading to Illinois today. I have two more days to do whatever I want to do with apologies to none and it feels awesome! Not that I don’t miss my family in Illinois, I do, I’m just choosing to stay home this Christmas and it’s a good choice, especially since I think I gave a little bit of the flu or whatever I had to Ed. He's been sick the past couple of days.

Told you so!

2007-12-23T07:26:00.002-06:00

Merry Christmas to all! Today I'm making Christmas dinner for my family and friends. It's actually Christmas Eve for us because we usually head out of town by Christmas day since other relatives live in Illinois. This year some of us are going and some are not. The weather is a factor now. I have all my shopping done and I'm ready to celebrate. Tuesday I had to pay a visit to my Doctor, I had a case of my annual bronchitis. That was an ordeal. She jumped all over me because I hadn't had a flu shot yet and decided I should have an pneumonia shot too. After all she said people do not get sick from the flu shot......So I left there with 2 shots, one in each arm, a prescription for antibiotics and codine cough medicine. It was time to go shopping. A few hours into that and I was feeling pretty bad. One arm was really sore, not the flu shot arm though, it was the pneumonia shot arm and I had a fever. I didn't feel that bad when I went into the doctor! That's OK though, I was protected from the flu and pneumonia. But I'm here to tell you people do get sick from both shots. Admittedly, not everyone, maybe just me and my luck. The funny part is while shopping and not feeling so well I saw some pajamas that to me looked really nice at the time, and decided I should get 2 pair. One for my daughter and one for my niece. The next day I had to laugh, those are ugly pajamas, long underwear type! Good thing I got a gift reciept with them. I'll just explain to the girls that if they ever get sick those pajamas are going to look really good :)

Angel baby

2007-12-09T11:41:00.000-06:00

Just messing around this weekend and tried my hand at black paper again and came up with a baby angel. It's 12" x 12" on Strathmore black art paper. Prismacolor and Polychromo pencils. Then I got a little more carried away and added gold and silver ink. Sometimes I need to learn to quit while I'm ahead....nawwww.....not a chance that's going to happen. I've been working on that for years with my big mouth :) I tend to take things to the next level, sometimes that's good and sometimes not so good. In this case I think I should have stopped with just the colored pencils. But then again she seems to glow.

Blessings

2007-12-07T08:07:00.000-06:00

I finished the portrait and the clients loved it. I did too, actually it was kind of hard for me to pass it on to them. Somehow I get attached to these portraits I do. So on to the next one! It snowed yesterday, it's cold, it's slippery and I'm dreading going out. It's suppose to snow and sleet again tomorrow. I like snow and all, I think it's pretty, I just don't want to be out in it. I know I'm a whimp. Anyway, here's the finished portrait.

Ronald McDonald House

2007-09-08T10:36:00.003-05:00

Here's the finished drawing of the Ronald McDonald House. I'm kind of proud of this one. I find drawing perspective kind of tough, so this was a challenge, and my motto is; "If it's not difficult it isn't fun" so I guess this was right up my alley. This is the one that was auctioned at a charity auction for the Ronald McDonald House. 14" X 17" prismacolor pencils on Bristol vellum paper.

State Fair

2007-08-18T18:40:00.001-05:00

I finally made it to the Iowa State fair today and I sure don't have worry about getting my walk in today, we walked for 3 hours! Granted, the place was packed so I couldn't go the normal pace, still, my feet are tired. I really enjoy "people watching" there. I stay away from all the food, and there's tons of food, I don't think there's anything under 1,000 calories though. So I stuck with a diet root beer the whole time, why waste the walk. I got a few good pictures that I'll use for reference photos.

You should get to know....

2007-08-11T15:14:00.001-05:00

Hey! I made the news :D It's an article in the Des Moines newspaper about my studio. The funniest question was, if I could do something else, I would?...Well, everyone who really knows me knows I like to sing and can't, that doesn't stop me though. So the answer to that question was obvious, I'd sing ; ) .

Twin girls

2007-07-11T21:37:00.000-05:00

The twins are here!.....a bit early and a bit small, but they're doing fine. One was 4lbs 9oz and the other 4lbs 15oz. They were born July 3rd...my birthday and my daughters birthday :) They are so sweet! Here's a peak.

Getting back in the groove

2007-04-15T07:42:00.000-05:00

Things have been hectic but going good here. They made it in from Florida and she's doing fine and her baby belly is so cute! She's 22 weeks along now and about as big as I was when I had my kids. Of course she's carrying 2! Two little girls :o) I'm hoping I don't drive them crazy, but I'm so glad they are here! Who knows, maybe her brother will move here next! It's about time I get some relatives here in Iowa.

I have been drawing....somewhat anyway. I haven't drawn a graphite portrait in ages. I was sitting in my kitchen with the TV book in front of me, which had a picture of that Soprano guy on it, my doodle sketch book, and a pencil was there too, so the next thing I knew I drew him. I debated about posting him but what the heck....it's not the best but it's a drawing.

Grandma again...Twins!

2007-03-31T08:25:00.000-05:00

I spent hours last night updating my website, keeping busy. A lot of things have been taking place this past month. The most important thing is, I'm gonna be a grandma again, to twins! Well, a grandma by proxy anyway. Since I'm known as grandma the bestest and they have no one else, I've officially declared myself grandma. There's a whole long sad story behind this, but it's going to have a happy ending, or at least the happiest ending possible. I can tell you things happen for a reason and everyone has a purpose in life. I know, that I know, that I know, without a doubt, that life has prepared me to be the grandma to these twins. My "adopted" daughter and her husband are due the end of July and will be moving here next next week. I'm thrilled to know that I'll be able to be there for the birth!

Greater possibilities

2007-03-28T21:42:00.001-05:00

Since I don't have anything ready to show yet, I decided I'd put up this drawing that I did testing different colored pencils on black paper. I found the photograph on wetcanvas a while ago and for the life of me can't find it now so that I can tell you who posted the photograph, so if anyone knows please let me know. It puts me in mind of being open to greater possibilites and focusing on what you want out of life. You can be stuck in a hole forever or climb up to see what's out there. It could also relate to going towards the light, OR it could just be me trying to draw perspective! That's more like it.

Monarch

2007-03-12T15:40:00.000-05:00

Ahhh yessss, guess I'm getting a touch of spring fever, I've got butterflies on my mind. The reference photo I'm using is from Wetcanvas user Queen Bee. I've always thought Monarch butterflies were fasinating so being I'm in a whimsical mood, here's the beginning of a "purdy" monarch butterfly. So far I've been using polychromo colored pencils on it, I may use prismacolor colored pencils and touches of acrylic paint for other parts of the picture. It's on Bristol smooth paper 11"x14".