Focus

I've been drawing and practising and experimenting with pencil, acrylic paint, watercolor, ink, collage....and so much more the previous year and I still got the te very strong drive to draw and to create. Other things in my life don't seem to get going, so I'm not that happy with every aspect about how my life is right now. But I consider myself lucky with very sweet family and friends, that's what I've got!

And, something very important too: I really found the thing that makes me most happy to do: creating and drawing. This could only have happened during the period I didn't have a job and I had to find another way to keep myself busy and inspired. And this is something beautiful that happened, even though other things in life aren't going smoothly, this creative thing is really going very smooth and flawy! Even though it's been hard work too, practising, practising and even more practising.

Could it be that this is a sign? Isn't it funny that while some things in life are difficult, other things seem to get better and clearer?

At first I didn't know what to write about the subject 'Focus' for Andrea's blogchallenge (http://dreamheartsmartart.blogspot.nl/2013/02/blogchallenge-focus.html). But It's quite clear now, while I'm writing this. I found the thing I love to do most, at this moment, I would love to get some focus and clearity in which way to go with my creativity. I've discovered that what I really like to draw is little characters and make up stories for these characters. This is what I allready loved to do as a little girl. But now, after practising the last year with all kind of techniques, I feel I can now draw, as I see things in my imigination.

I think I might want to draw and write a childrensbook maybe. Could it be that here's where my focus needs to be I wonder? 

These are a few examples of characters I've been drawing recently. The last drawing is the first of a drawing for an assignment for my drawing lessons, where we had to illustrate a story and make up a character. I suppose I have to keep on following my heart, in my drawing, in my whole life actually. Don't you think so? :-)

(Thank you Andrea! Wouldn't have written this blog without your blogchallenge and now I wrote this, I feel better and things seem a little clearer by writing things down!)

Amazed

In my previous bogpost I described my interest in fairy-tale like illustrations in vintage colors.
I'm continuing experimenting with colors that I'm attracted to and with ways to achieve a kind of dramatic, fairy-tale like effect. I saw a drawing somewhere of a little figure looking at large trees. This seemed to me like a good idea to experiment with. The little woman and the giant trees give me a feeling this could be part of a story where the woman suddenly sees herself confronted with these very large trees and is standing there for a while, amazed about these giant trees/woods, wondering which way to go.

Going Home

I really love illustrations with old, vintage-like colors. These illustrations give me a feeling of days gone by in a imaginative fairy-tale like world... You could take a look at my 'Illustration' board on Pinterest to see examples of what I mean ( http://pinterest.com/estherlankhaar/illustration/).

Last weekend I've been working on an illustration like this of my own ;-).

I call it " Going Home'.

Which way to go....?

I'm working on several things these days. Results will follow. I'm thinking a lot about what I want to do with my work, which way to go...And even about my style...which of the things I've been experimenting with the last year, I want to go further with...

Several possibilities are going through my mind....For example....to start an Etsy shop where I sell some of my drawings on greeting cards...but which drawings to pick....have to find a good place to print on good  quality paper, since I don't have the money to invest in an good quality printer of my own just yet..... I want to start small and see how it goes, but where to start...and like I said, which drawings and illustrations tp pick...or should I make new ones especially for this purpose....?

Fluffy & Aki

My 4-year old nephew made up a girl named Fluffy (don't know how he came up with this name, because he doesn't speak english ;-)) and a sea-gull named Aki. Don't know where that came from either, except for the fact that we were on the beach and he saw a sea-gull, but I found it funny. This is how Fluffy and Aki look like in my imigination ;-).

Drawing in the Sun

During the last two weeks of december I was in Florida, Bonita Springs for a holiday with my family (my parents, sister, her husband and my two nephews). My parents were married 40 years last year, so to celebrate, they took us on a vacation. Florida with its sunny weather was a very wellcome change of scenery, because of the rainy and dark winterweather in the netherlands where I live. We enjoyed ourselves very much, we enjoyed the sun, went to the beach, went shopping and took a boat-tour through the Everglades. My little 4 year old nephew had two favourite things this vacation: the pool at our vacation house and the mini-golf place near our house. :-)

I brought my drawing equipment, but i didn't draw that much: too busy being lazy ;-).

I did make two drawings though. The first drawing is of a very good thing: a decent cup of coffee (empty mug in the the drawing ;-)). when I was drawing this, I went to the toilet and when I came back, my little nephew helped me a bit with the drawing. He added the line around the drawing ;-). My sister was a little mad he did this to my drawing without asking. I could hear a conversation about it when I was on the toilet and was curious what I would find my drawing like when I came back;-). It wasn't that bad as I saw it and I said: Well, that's o.k., but just ask the next time." My nephew said to his mother: "Aunt Es says that I can do it." I found this quite funny and now the drawing is a collaboration, I kind of like that. I asked my nephew to write his name on the drawing, so it's clear we made this drawing together :-). The second drawing has no story, it's just something I felt like drawing ;-).

So Lucky

I"m so lucky to be able to spent two weeks for a holiday in Florida, Bonita Springs, with my family. All these vibrant and sunny colors. I'm sure in time all the things I've experienced here will be an inspiration for my drawings!

All Food Things in Life

Isn't it true that all good things in life are free, as they say? Or cost just a little money? Today, well yesterday as I am typing this on a sleepless night, I made a Malaysian noodlesoup I suddenly felt like making as I read this recipe on Pinterest. It looked so appealing, I just had to make it. And, if one has to keep on drawing, one has to feed herself properly ;-).

Recipe:

 Veggie laksa

serves 3

Laksa is a wonderful coconut milk based noodle soup that hails from Malaysia. These days you can get commercial laska or other Thai curry pastes that take all the hard work out of it.

I’ve used Singapore noodles in this recipe which are a fine version of fresh hokkien noodles but I have eaten laksa with rice noodles and even a combination of the two so feel free to substitute.

I’ve cheated a little on the 5 ingredient rule by including ‘mixed chopped vegetables’ as a single ingredient. I actually used a carrot, a zucchini and a red pepper, all cut into little batons. Chicken laksa is also really popular. Prawn or shrimps are lovely cooked in the spicy fragrant coconut broth.

3/4lb (350g) fresh Singapore noodles
2oz (60g) Laksa paste or other Thai curry paste
1 large can (1 1/2 cups) coconut cream
2 cups mixed chopped vegetables (see note above)
handful fresh basil leaves

Place noodles in a heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water. Allow to stand for 1 minute then massage to loosen into individual strands. Drain.

Meanwhile heat 2 tablespoons of peanut or other vegetable oil in a large saucepan over high heat. Add curry paste and stir fry for 30 seconds. Quickly add coconut cream and 2 cups boiling water. Bring to the boil and add vegetables. Simmer for 2 minutes or until vegetables are cooked to your liking.

To serve, divide noodles between 3 bowls. Pour over soup and vegetables and top with basil leaves.

I used french beans and yellow and red pepper as vegetables in my soup and a green curry paste. Next time I will add some extra chopped red pepper to make it a bit more spicy and maybe carrot instead of the french beans.

Playfulness

This is my entry for Andrea Hiltbrunners blogchallenge (http://dreamheartsmartart.blogspot.ch/2012/12/blogchallenge-playfulness.html) The theme for today was 'Playfulness'. My little penguin feels like having fun today, and just wants to play around :-).

Sunday Drawing

I'm in my pencil and coloured pencil phase. :-)

Drawing and determination

Faces always seem to keep inspiring me. I still feel that I am in my practicing and experimenting phase with my drawing. I've always loved drawing since I a was a little girl. You could always find me drawing or reading ;-). It's only since the beginning of this year that I really got the drawing-craziness, I have to do it all the time, where in the years I grew up and was grown up, it was just something I did ocassionally. Somehow, I always had the idea that people who could draw, just did it, put a few lines on paper, and voila, there was a perfect drawing. Now I know it takes a lot of practise and determination to get better at it. Except maybe for the real great artists like Rembrandt, maybe he could really capture something in just one try. But still, he practised, by drawing too.

I look at other peoples work that inspires me a lot and I try to draw similar things myself. I always keep Leonardo Da Vinci quote in mind:

"If one knows how to copy, one knows how to do it."

I only begin to get the feeling right now, that experimenting and practising is becoming to pay off. When I draw I start to be able to "nail it"  in a drawing directly, where before I liked the drawings I made, but it was still a coincidence when a dawing was right and there where always things I saw, that I could become better at, and I thought about: well, this or that you could do better in a next drawing. Now, I start to get lucky more often and get it right in one time. Still, I want to develop my own style, that's my next wish! :-) and become much better in all kind of techniques, because there's still so much to learn. I'm also following very inspiring drawing and concept lessons at a studio in the town I live in.

When I was working on this drawing, I was amazed that I really did it in this one, and the drawing just happened, without much 'sweat' and erasing, it's just there and I like it!

The first picture is a photo, the second one a scan. My scanner isn't quite big enough for a drawing on A3 size,  I discovered and my photographing and photoshop skills could be much better. This is what I don't like, I want to quickly be able to post a drawing on my blog, but it takes time and adjustments to get it about right, but still, the presentation could be better. I have to find a way to fix this problem because I don't like to spend a lot of time figuring all these things out, adusting etc etc. I just want to draw, not photograph, photoshop, scan etc etc! :-)

Deer

Drawing a Deer. A Deer, for me symbolic for innocence, pureness and vulnerability. And writer Emily Dickinsons said the smartest and most beautiful, true things.

It's been a while

It's been a while since I've been around, blogging. I haven't been drawing for a while, but last week I started this drawing as an assignment for my drawing lessons. We had to find work and images that inspired us and create something, using the chosen images as an inspiration.

The drawing is still work in progress, I'm planning to add some details. I"ll take it to my drawing lessons and ask my teacher for advice.

The photo of the drawing of the girl seems a little bit skew (don't know if this is the right English word to use in this context?) but that's because the paper crinkled a bit because of the water and ink. The drawing itself is less skew in reality ;-).

Visual Storytelling

I am following drawing lessons once a week. I'm following these lessons at Studio Kolectiv: http://cargocollective.com/studiokolectiv. The past few weeks I've been working on what has to become a three-piece. We had to think of a way to tell a visual story in three pieces. Old, sepia coloured photographs and stories taking place a few centuries ago, always speak to me. The kind of victorian stories, Charles Dickens style...I feel attracted to this kind of darker, melancholic period in history. Old, dampy, foggy streets in London.....

For this assignment for my drawing lessons, I came up with a story (really happened) I found on the internet about an orphan girl and her brother who were left by their mother at an orphanage after their father died. All this taking place around about the year 1800.

In these first two drawings I tried to visualize the loneliness surrounding this story about two children left by their mother. I did some research on the internet, looking for an image of an old chair and looked for old childrens-pictures to use as a reference.

The third piece of this what is now still is a two-piece ;-), I'm still thinking about. This will follow hopefully. It's done in ink and faber-castell fineliners.

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