I Love You Today Daddy

The other day my eldest daughter sent me a text message with a recording of her expressing her love for me that day along with a photo of herself at that moment. It was the brightest point in my day. I was so taken that I made the recording into her ring tone as well. Now when I get a text message from her at work I jump at hearing the voice sound suddenly from my pocket and those around me chuckle.

I have 7 children and they are all such a blessing to me. They give my life complete meaning.

I decided to do my next drawing based off of that quick photo she took of herself. It is ebony pencil on Strathmore 500 paper.

Time gets away

Well, so much for staying accountable to producing regular art. I have been working on this chickadee for some time. I started it a year ago and got sidetracked with remodeling a home for my mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law. I had finished the bird and the buds quite some time ago and have spent the last couple of weeks doing the branch and background. I very nearly ruined the background. The Mi Tientes paper has a textured side and a smooth side. Without thinking I used the textured side. The part that drew me to the photo to begin with was the contrast between the backgound being out of focus and the roughness of the branch. It was difficult to make the background smooth with all that texture on the paper. I am happy with the end result.

I suppose my biggest tip is to keep working at it and don't give up during any "ugly" stages. Life is frequently that way.

The inspiration for the piece came from a photograph by Michael Dossett and his website is http://www.mdossettphoto.com/ His photography is very well done and I appreciate his work a great deal. I would appreciate any comments or criticisms about the piece so that I may improve.

This is colored pencil on Mi Tientes paper.