This piece is inspired by Mental Health Awareness Week that’s just left us.
Belated and as cryptic as things might be (as usual) here in Bleu’s world, better late to the party than never right?
Narwhals it seems, and I’m sure I’ve said this before, are a perfect remedy for art blocks I'd say. Wasn’t going anywhere last night, that is until I gave things another go and this fellow here saved the day!
Have no fear! I haven't lost my head-
I have it right here.
And my neck has a hole where you can pour the beer.
So do me a favor, dear.
Pour it in with a cheer.
I had something bum me out a little bit today. Nobody’s fault but it is what it is. So I decided to draw this up. I’m ready for fall and fall beers! I love to sit out under the moon once the temperature drops a bit and have some marzen lagers and other fall drinks. I felt like this captured the moment perfectly. I am excited for music fest in @havertownlife havertown tomorrow. I heard @levantebrewing will be pouring at brick and brew so I’ll be there sucking back some suds. I’m glad I forced myself to learn #adobeillustrator I’ve come a long way. Since then I have been able to help other artists that don’t use Illustrator or vectors and I am pretty proud of that, because when I was in their place it always felt like a huge struggle.
Drawn with a Sailor/Wancher Turquoise 1911L. The M nib on this pen comes to a sharp point which allows for some line variation not from flex but based on how deep the firm nib digs into the watercolor paper. The Noodlers Black ink is a little dry and that contributes to this effect.
It's casual Friday with scientists in jeans,
With half of them relaxing and the others breaking things.
Sweeping robots with a broom is taxing (work's not any fun!)
But they're leaving for the weekend soon and all work must be done!
Something very different(ish) for me… a touch of life drawing! It’s been near enough eight years since I last had a go at this sort of thing. Pleased to see I’m not too bad at it… definitely giving it another go when I can :-)
Sunday morning, more than a decade ago.
Music, fellowship, and reports about what God was doing here and there.
Some things are worth remembering. We learn from looking back—
but we must live forward.
The tables were covered in white paper. Crayons, pastels, and smooth sticks waited quietly. Then came Lucy’s glittery purse—her 8-year-old hands had filled it with stones to pass along, one by one, to the strangers around the table.
We traced them. Pushed them. Held them.
Then we let the colors lead:
-Red for emotion.
-Yellow for curiosity.
-Blue for memory.
Each color came with music, with story, with space.
At the Museum of Wisconsin Art, we made marks not for meaning but for presence.
Thank you to Ann Marie and MOWA for the invitation and trust. And thank you to the participants—some new friends, some old students—for showing up and making lines that listened before they spoke.
My only niece's 1st birthday was a few days ago. I decided to start a tradition of drawing her every year for her birthday as special uncle presents. Here is her first one. Her favorite movie right now is Monsters University
Watercolour painting of a Prickly Hakea. I started drawing different plants last month from the area where I live. This month I am turning them into watercolours, with the Hakea being one of the first.
My first attempt at a concertina birthday card. While simple to make, it can be a bit fiddly and getting the proportions and placement of objects right for each layer is important so that everything can be seen once the layers are overlapped. It reminds me of printing processes, where each layer is gradually added. It was quite an enjoyable process.
This quick sketch of an impressionist painting is a reminder to me of how we cannot see anything until we are taught to see it. I was enjoying the painting because of the way Tarbell captured light, when a man and his wife joined me. The man said to his wife: "This is a wonderful painting, but I wonder whose lap the baby is on.". I was shocked because I was not able to see the baby till he mentioned that there was one. I noticed that it was indeed difficult to tell whose lap it was on. It was a transformative and humbling experience.
