A marsh resists firm boundaries: water becomes ground, branches become reflections, and distance dissolves into light. The task was not to explain the place, but to remain attentive while it refused to become clear.
4 year old Henry engaged fully with thick applications of watercolor and oil pastels. He said it was a stormy sea with a small boat. This was at the onset of the pandemic, when we were all a bit uncertain and confined to our homes. I was reminded of an insight by Kierkegaard written in the early 1800s: “When the sailor is out on the sea and everything is changing around him, as the waves are continually being born and dying, he does not stare into the depths of these, since they vary. He looks up at the stars. And why? Because they are faithful – as they stand now, they stood for the patriarchs, and will stand for coming generations. By what means then does he conquer changing conditions? Through the eternal: By means of the eternal, one can conquer the future, because the eternal is the foundation of the future.”
Drawing of leaves and nuts from the Marri tree, found in the Southwest region of Western Australia. This majority of trees that surround my property are the Marri from the Myrtaceae family is endemic to this area. They grow upwards of 40 metres and are a favourite food to the protected Red-tailed Black Cockatoo.
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.
The nearby pine tree has dropped quite a few pine cones, all in different states of decay. I enjoy looking at the different shapes, sizes and colours of each cone, each with its unknown story.
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.
Shes served her best Christmas with an enormous train led by Brain Tanaka. I used charcoal and pastel brushes in Rebelle 6. I wanted a really simple composition so I could focus on her dress and their pose together. Happy Holidays everyone.
Phoenix or Wyvern? Avian or Dragon? It doesn't matter anymore when Ido seems to hold characteristics of both. On a prompt, I tried reverting a very important feature: the eyes, back in a light cyan / blue colour. Suddenly with this step backwards, he was a step closer to life again.
Here is a really weird jellyfish I drew. I cannot even count all the jellyfish I've drawn over the years. I don't know what to say really other than the fact that I love them. :D Created with Ink Pen and Procreate. www.janelledimmett.com
I made a Floral Deer Skull with some mushrooms. I didn't really have a plan when I made this, so it kind of progressed on a whim. Not a bad way really. Anyway, I used mixed media on this one. A combination of pen and ink and procreate. Artwork by Janelle Dimmett. www.janelledimmett.com
A child stands on the boardwalk holding a helium balloon, depicting Donald Trump’s turkey neck tied to a string. The child stares up, contemplating the ugly balloon.
I kept my eyes on it the whole time. Now it was moving so slowly that you couldn't really see whether it was coming towards you or not. Occasionally its shape changed just slightly and its black tummy swept over the concrete floor. I could hardly breathe. I knew that I ought to run away and hide bur I just couldn't. Now it moved diagonally again towards the wall and wasn't to be seen any longer. It was in the pile of junk behind the modelling stand, it was somewhere behind the sacks of plaster and might appear again just anywhere.
It was getting dark in the studio. I knew that it was me who had let the creature out and I couldn't capture it and lock it up again.
- Sculptor's Daughter by Tove Jansson
Theo Von, is an American stand-up comedian and podcaster. He hosts the This Past Weekend podcast. He has appeared on MTV and Comedy Central shows. Pencil illustration colored digitally in Procreate.
I crawled right up to Daddy's modelling mirror which stands on the floor by the box of plaster. A great big black creature was creeping towards me.
I got cautious and stood still. The creature was shapeless. It was one of those creatures that can spread itself out and creep under the furniture or turn into a black fog that gets thicker and thicker until it is quite sticky and gets all around you and fastens itself to you.
I let the creature get a little closer and put its hand out.
The hand crept along the floor and then was pulled back suddenly. The creature came even closer. Suddenly it got scared and ran quickly in an oblique direction and stopped still. Now I was scared.
- Sculptor's Daughter by Tove Jansson
#dailydrawing #tovejansson
I stared and stared at her until I had stared her into little pieces and I thought, you're big and scraggy like a carthorse and nobody can hunt for you in the grass and you couldn't hide anywhere because you can be seen the whole time and you can't surprise anybody and make them feel good! You have completely spoilt our games for no reason because you can't play games yourself! O alas and alack! No one wants your presents. He doesn't want them! You're nobody's surprise, and you can't understand because you're not an artist! And so I went a little closer and humiliated her by saying the most terrible thing of all : amateur! You're an amateur! You're not a real artist!
- Sculptor's Daughter by Tove Jansson
#dailydrawing #tovejansson
Pressurized Patience
16x20 canvas
sealed interior, a distant promise, and time marked in scratches and routines.
Pressurized Patience explores endurance, isolation, and the quiet humor found while waiting under pressure.
The house is grey, the sky and the sea are grey, and the field is grey with dew. It's four o'clock in the morning and I have saved three important hours which can be counted as extra. Or perhaps three and a half.
I have learned to tell the time, although I'm not yet quite sure about the minutes.
Sculptor's daughter by Tove Jansson.
#dailydrawing #toveJansson
