How To Draw Cool Stuff

 

Happy Friday, Y'all!  Have you had a nice week so far?  It's been very hot here in Central Alabama: We've been under a heat advisory for most of the week.  When it's too hot to play outside, your children or grandchildren might enjoy learning how to draw cool stuff, which happens to be the title of the book I'm reviewing today!

According to Goodreads:

How to Draw Cool Stuff shows simple step-by-step illustrations that make it easy for anyone to draw cool stuff with precision and confidence. These pages will guide you through the basic principles of illustration by concentrating on easy-to-learn shapes that build into complex drawings.

With the step-by-step guidelines provided, anything can become easy to draw. This book contains a series of fun, hands-on exercises that will help you see line, shape, space and other elements in everyday objects and turn them into detailed works of art in just a few simple steps.

The exercises in this book will help train your brain so you can visualize ordinary objects in a different manner, allowing you to see through the eyes of an artist.

From photorealistic faces to holiday themes and tattoo drawings, How to Draw Cool Stuff makes drawing easier than you would think and more fun than you ever imagined! Now is the time to learn how to draw the subjects and scenes you've always dreamt of drawing. How to Draw Cool Stuff is suitable for artists of any age benefiting everyone from teachers and students to self-learners and hobbyists.

How to Draw Cool Stuff will help you realize your artistic potential and expose you to the pure joy of drawing!

My Review:

This book does a pretty good job teaching some of the basics, from mark making to perspective.  Each lesson has a brief outline including objectives, vocabulary, and activities.  Catherine V. Holmes, the author, has included a variety of subjects for the lessons that would appeal to both girls and boys.  Kids can decide what they'd like to draw once the basics are covered in the beginning of the book.  I like the step by step illustrations because it teaches young artists one of the most important lessons that an artist can learn: Drawing should be approached from general shapes to specific details.

I think this book is appropriate for upper elementary children and up.  All you really need to complete the lessons are a number 2 pencil, a good eraser, and a drawing or sketch pad.  It would be great to take on a trip in case of inclement weather, and I think all homeschool classrooms would benefit from having this book or one of the books in the series (there are five total).

I completed a couple of lessons for y'all to see.

The human eye lesson is from Chapter Two: Human Face Parts.

This chapter is a little more difficult than the rest.

The lesson above is typical of most of the lessons in the book.  

This lesson's focus is shading, and it includes the objectives and vocabulary.

This lesson is from Chapter Four: Holidays and Seasons.

You can see a little bit of the book on the left.  

This shows the step-by-step for drawing a rose and a banner.

I only used a number 2 pencil for this drawing.  

One of the books in the series is How to Draw Cool Stuff: The 5 Minute Workbook.  It looks like it would be fun and (maybe) provide drawing prompts for art journaling.  

I received a copy of How to Draw Cool Stuff from the publisher (Library Tales Publishing) via TLC Book Tours in exchange for a fair and honest review.  Thank-you, TLC, for inviting me to be a part of the tour!

NOTE:  I wrote this post before the shootings at my church yesterday.  I had a commitment to read and review this book and post my review on this date.  Please pray for our church community.  Thank-you.

Until next time...

Create more art, and happy reading!
Ricki Jill

How To Draw Cool Stuff

Friday, June 17, 2022

Healing

This has been one of the prettiest springs here in Central Alabama.  Our hydrangeas are so pretty!

June!  I can't believe that it's June already.  I haven't been around much because life has been getting in the way of blogging.  Let me explain...

In February, I became ill with a nasty flu, which led to some other awful discoveries that entailed surgery.  But our eldest daughter had to have surgery first, so I helped her once she finished her first year of grad school in early May.  Then it was my turn for surgery last week.  I'm so happy that so far all my pathology has come back negative for cancer.  It has been a scary time around here!


Most of you know that I've been homeschooling Shelley for the past couple of years, and this is her senior year of high school.  Her favorite subject this year has been art history, so I decided to take her and the rest of the family on a field trip to Chicago to see the van Gogh bedrooms exhibit.  We had an amazing time, and I hope to share our trip with you soon in a future post.

We're Cubbies fans so one of the highlights of our trip to Chicago was watching the Cubs play in Wrigley Field.  

We went on a second field trip to the Alabama Shakespeare Festival to see my favorite comedy, A Midsummer Night's Dream.  Shelley studied many of his tragedies and sonnets this semester, and she was a real trooper to add another play not included in her curriculum.  We had a great time, and I'm always blown away by the talent in Montgomery at the festival.

The young man who played Puck was amazing!

We worked very hard to finish her schooling by May 20th because I had surgery the following Wednesday.  I am proud of Shelley's hard work in school, by the way.  She also had to complete paperwork and a tryout video for her college's equestrian team.  She mailed everything in before May 20th, and I completed all of her academic paperwork on the 20th.  We celebrated that night with a barbecue with family and friends.

Just a quick photo of prepping for Shelley's graduation party

I need time to heal, and I think for the first time in many years I actually have the time to take care of myself.  I have no other plans outside of art classes:  Take.  Care.  Of.  Me.......


But....I might also tackle a few small projects, like this one:

I love how these bookshelves are styled with the art and mirror hanging on the outside.  I found this project on the One King's Lane blog.

I will return Friday with a special Literary Friday post, but I probably won't host a link party until I'm better.

Until next time...

Blessings!
Ricki Jill

Healing

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Random Garden Ramblings

Happy Tuesday, My Lovelies!  Are you enjoying spring so far?  We are although we are very busy finishing-up Shelley's senior year.

I don't know about you, but I can't wait to plant.  I don't plant until after April 15th because I've lost so many plants in the past.  But this year we'll have to put off planting for a week or two due to school activities.

One of our patio roses is blooming.  It is really looking good with tons of foliage:

You can see our garden gate in the background

Our fairy roses are also popping out in our front yard

I am so thrilled with our patio roses that I'm tempted to plant more in pots for our deck and patio:

This lovely is from Star Roses and Plants

Here are two videos showing how to plant roses in pots:

How to plant a rose garden in a pot

How to plant a double knock-out rose in a pot

I love floral design, and while I was out shopping I saw these beauties:

Sorry for the dark photo...this display is in a chop window.

This might be my next craft.  These are galvanized buckets decoupaged with vintage wallpaper scraps.  I would love to blend wallpaper and pretty 7 Gypsies craft paper for a one of a kind floral container.  French flower buckets would work well, too.

Speaking of gardens, Shelley and I will be attending the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, and one of this year's productions is my favorite play, A Midsummer Night's Dream.  Shelley is almost finished with her King Lear unit, and once she completes a few sonnet reading and writing assignments, she will have finished with her Shakespeare Tragedies and Sonnets curriculum.  So proud of her hard work and dedication to complete an entire unit in only one semester!  (We're reading A Midsummer Night's Dream just for fun....it's a comedy and not part of her curriculum.)

Shakespeare wrote A Midsummer Night's Dream as a response to Romeo and Juliet's lukewarm reception.  Shakespeare certainly had a sense of humor!

This performance also looks like fun!

Shelley has worked so hard this year, and she has written so many papers.  She's facing a super-massive art history exam, so I think her final grade for Shakespeare will be to memorize Puck's epilogue in A Midsummer Night's Dream:

” If we shadows have offended,

Think but this, and all is mended

That you have but slumber’d here

While these visions did appear.

And this weak and idle theme,

No more yielding but a dream,

Gentles, do not reprehend:

if you pardon, we will mend:

And, as I am an honest Puck,

If we have unearned luck

Now to ‘scape the serpent’s tongue,

We will make amends ere long;

Else the Puck a liar call;

So, good night unto you all.

Give me your hands, if we be friends,

And Robin shall restore amends.”

I doubt the groundlings gave Shakespeare's Puck "the serpent's tongue."  He knew how good this play was when he wrote it.  It's a call for well-deserved applause and accolades.  

Until next time...

Blessings!

Ricki Jill

Random Garden Ramblings

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Art History Favorite Paintings

Shelley is taking art history this year, and she's loving it.  She finished her units on the Italian Renaissance and the Northern European Masters, and I thought I'd share with you her favorite paintings she's studied so far.

Botticelli 

The Birth of Venus

Botticelli

Primavera

Michelangelo

Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel

(close-up of The Creation of Adam)

Rembrandt

The Night Watch

Rembrandt

A Girl at a Window

Shelley's curriculum didn't cover Vermeer, so I supplemented (it only covered Van Eyck, Dürer, Rubens, and Rembrandt).  

Vermeer

Girl With a Pearl Earring

In addition to her curricula, Shelley enjoys watching Dr. Beth Harris's and Dr. Steven Zucker's Khan Academy videos.  They are wonderful!  Khan Academy isn't *just* about STEM.  Check it out:

Johannes Vermeer, Girl with a Pearl Earring: Johannes Vermeer, Girl with a Pearl Earring, c. 1665, oil on canvas, 44.5 x 39 inches (Mauritshuis, The Hague).  A conversation with Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris.




Today we begin studying three Spanish masters and mannerism.  Yay!
Until next time...
Blessings!
Ricki Jill

Art History Favorite Paintings

Monday, October 12, 2015

Sumi-e: Japanese Art

Happy Random Tuesday, My Lovelies!  If Japanese Sumi-e Art isn't random enough for you, then I don't know what is!

A couple of weeks go, Shelley and I took a class in Sumi-e.  Sumi-e literally means "the way of the ink," and according to the Sumi-e Society, SUMI-E is the Japanese word for Black Ink Painting. East Asian Painting and writing developed together in ancient China using the same materials —brush and ink on paper. Emphasis is placed on the beauty of each individual stroke of the brush.

Below are the Four Treasures used in Sumi-e:

Fude:  brush  (made from bamboo)

Sumi:  ink (comes in a block form)

Suzumi:  ink stone (Made from slate.  Ink block is rubbed vigorously on stone, and there's water in the bowl part to mix with the ink.)

Washi:  Paper (traditionally mulberry paper is used)

Sumi-e is a very difficult art form to perfect.  The reason it's called "the way of the ink" is because the ink finds a path of its own and it is almost impossible to control it. The ink oftentimes takes a random path.   The artist must build on where the ink leads.

The first subject an artist must master is bamboo.

My bamboo painting on newsprint

We practiced on newsprint in class before we were allowed to use the mulberry paper.  Newsprint was super easy compared to the traditional paper.  The ink truly had a mind of its own on the mulberry paper!

Shelley's painting on the traditional mulberry paper.  She used more water than ink.

My painting on traditional mulberry paper.  I used more ink than Shelley.

We took the class at the Birmingham Museum of Art along with other students and parents in Shelley's homeschool cover school.  Before the class started, a docent took us on a museum tour of art from the Silk Road.  The tour was wonderful, and I fell in love with Korean pottery.
Below is a horse painted with the sumi-e technique.  I would love to take more classes and move beyond bamboo one day!

via

Until next time…

Blessings!

Ricki Jill

Sumi-e: Japanese Art

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Random Chores and Activities

Happy Tuesday and September, My Lovelies!  We are so excited about two art field trips this week and next week. I'm so blessed to have a daughter who's growing as an artist while learning about art history.  I think it's going to be a great year!

In between teaching, art lessons, riding lessons, and reading for school, I've had many chores and projects around the house.  One that really needed my attention: our planters.  The petunias and a few of the other plants were looking leggy and tired.  I wanted something to plant that would tide us over until pansy season...but I don't like planting mums because I never have good luck with them. So I decided to add (mostly) lantana, vinca, and plumbago to our planters until the first frost.  After the first frost, it's time to plant pansies here in the South.

Pink strawflowers are wonderful late summer flowers, too.

Plumbago, vinca, and marigolds

Of course Finlay must check out anything new!

I love tuna.  I love tuna salad.  I love tuna casserole.  Ask me if anyone else in my family likes tuna. Go on.  Ask.  The answer is heck no.  But too bad so sad because Stacey @ Poofing the Pillows posted a recipe that looked so delish I had to try it anyway.  *so happy* I did!

Called A Tuna Recipe for Fish Haters, you can find this wonderful recipe on Stacey's blog HERE.

For realsies it's called Tuna and Rice Salad with Avocado Dressing.  The dressing is one of the best I've ever tried!

Look at our roses!!!  I love how they open up all the way like this:

I haven't done much house fluffing this summer....it's al been about our patio and garden!

I have a large section of hydrangeas out front with awful black spots.  I'm so sad!  Usually I have trouble with roses in Alabama, but this summer, the hydrangeas are rotting.  I just don't get it, although we have had tons of rain.  Usually the rain makes my roses get black spots and powdery mildew....

And now it's time for a shameless plug for my art journal blog.  You can find it by clicking on the link on my sidebar.  Shelley is doing a lot of art journaling for school and working on her art portfolio for college.  I have a couple of art journals, and one is actually a prayer journal.  Here are two of my latest pages:

The word "keys" was the prompt for last week's Journal52 challenge.  

I used Derwent Inktense watercolor pencils for the keys 

from my prayer journal

It rained and stormed at the lake over the weekend, so we were without internet for several hours. We didn't even put the boat in the water, and Mr. Art @ Home broke his jet ski.  Again.  And had to be towed back to the marina.  ;P  Since I had all my work done (school and chores) I read two romance novels.  I liked them especially the second one.  The heroine in it was so strong, and she actually becomes laird of her clan (so cool) AND she is a very skilled archer.  No more spoilers, I promise! There was actually more action/adventure/intrigue in these than romance, but that's okay.  GREAT stories about two families, the Montgomerys and the Armstrongs.  Here's a trailer:

 The Highlander Most Wanted is probably more about the heroine.  She's a Bad @$$!The first book in the series is Never Seduce a Scot.  I can't wait for the third!

Tomorrow I'll share some of my favorites from Pinterest and other pretty things for autumn.  
What chores are you checking off your list this week?
Until next time…
Blessings!
Ricki Jill

Random Chores and Activities

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

School Supplies/Crafts

Happy Monday!  I want to share with you some fun school supply crafts Shelley and I made last week. We were inspired by a recent article in Romantic Homes Magazine.  Shelley says it makes school more fun using girly supplies.

We covered the glue labels with pretty craft paper.

We like pretty ribbons on paper clips

Shelley has tons of washi tape, so we covered her pencils.  Aren't they fun!

Shelley embellished a 7Gypsies crate with washi tape and craft paper.  The little file folders will help her organize her French II vocabulary notecards.

Cute printables for her binders...  We even downloaded spine labels and backs (you can see the yellow one for her français cahier above).

School supplies on her work table in the classroom

The tiny latte bowls were purchased on sale from Anthropologie for about $1.50 each.  They hold glue sticks, binder clips, paper clips, and push pins.

Until next time...

Blessings!

Ricki Jill

School Supplies/Crafts

Monday, August 17, 2015