Carol Ottaway

Owl Finished…

carolottaway — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 16:46:30 +0000

“Owl”

Mixed media on gray card

As I was uploading this I noticed that the owl looked like he was in the middle of a dance step…“You want it, you got it baby, you want it, baby you got it ..Just bust a move” Phahahaha.

In my last post, I had said that I didn’t really know if I would be able to finish this owl. I don’t know how, but I managed to…..somewhat. I wanted and planned to put in a background which was supposed to be skies and blurred trees. Fear won out, and I ditched the background for a little limb and scratched in a little blue. I think next time I will do the back ground first.

Have a great weekend!

Owl W.I.P.

carolottaway — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 22:29:53 +0000

“Owl”

Mixed Media on 65lb. gray card

I don’t post many W.I.P.’s because I don’t know if I will end up messing the work up or at times even finish them. It may be the case with this one too, although I’m hoping not, but you never know. I couldn’t wait to post the early stages of my Owl! AND IT’S COLORED PENCIL….well mostly anyway. I have been really frustrated trying to work in color. Acrylics, watercolor, colored pencil, watercolor pencil and pastel, I’ve been playing with them all (along with my tutorial books) with cheap and expensive paper. The only thing I’ve been managing to do was provide job security for waste management ’cause I’ve been filling my trash cans to the rim with my attempts! About a week ago, I spent the whole afternoon on one colored pencil exercise and I followed it to the letter and it looked nothing like the sample…NOTHING! I thought it was me until I did the background in the required French greys (which has a creamy look) and the sample background was blue. So I put away the 24.00 book of lies grabbed a piece of cheap card stock (acid free), the smallest set of colored pencils I had and started my owl. I have to admit that it is a little adventurous for my skill level and I fully admit when I’m finished with the head, I will probably be completely lost when I do the body. But I’m tickled that I got this far. This isn’t a total triumph in stubbornness. I made the mistake of putting down my brown first and when I tried to put down my white it got contaminated..so I had to use acrylic white. Overall I think using a small set of pencils and using a paper that could only handle 4 or 5 layers of pencil really helped me from being overwhelmed. I could have picked an easier subject, but I can’t stand the thought of drawing another piece of fruit!

So, if you are like me and frustrated try: Limiting your colors and limiting your layers and see if it works for you. Also, please do your lights first LOL…

Moxie Girl…

carolottaway — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 19:22:12 +0000

Moxie

Graphite on Bristol Smooth

I guess it’s safe to start posting my commissions that finally found their new home over the holidays.

This precious girl is a King Charles Cavalier Spaniel and her name is Moxie. The gentleman that commissioned me to do this drawing was very sweet, very easy to work with and loved the portrait:)

I have never drawn portraits for clients that were strangers and I found it terrifying. What if I can’t please them? What if they think my work is garbage? What if they get ugly with me? and on and on and on…

Then, I got to thinking. Every artist has their own style. I mean, I’m sure you can copy people, you know like replicate master works or the master artist’s technique, but make no mistake you’ll leave your own style. And mine is no different. I like realism BUT my strokes are not. If you look at my art from a distance it looks detailed and refined, but as you move closer to the piece it’s anything but. It’s mostly valued smudges… If it’s good or bad, I don’t know, but if the client sees your portfolio, 9 times out of 10 they know what they are getting and most importantly they love the way you draw.

Make no mistake, I was still terrified. But with the above way of thinking gave me the courage to take the portraits on. So if you are a newbie (like myself) find an avenue for potential clients to see your work ahead of time…like brochures or even carry your portfolio. Don’t leave it to a blog or website. It will take the sting out accepting that pet portrait!

Be Well and Happy!

Happy New Year!

carolottaway — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 19:49:05 +0000

I hope this post finds everyone geared up for the new year. So far, mine isn’t off to a good start. I’ve been a little under the weather. I’m feeling much better now except for the stupid cough that wants to hang around.

Christmas was busy! It was full of family, fun and FOOD. We had such a good time and I really hated to see it end. But I guess it’s time to get back to our normal schedule. BUMMER! I did manage to finish knitting this scarf. I used one of those loom thingies. Although, I think the scarf is beautiful I did find the process a tad boring.

I was reading over last year’s resolutions. I did everything but use the polymer, make a collage and I didn’t refashion any clothes, but I did a little sewing. Not too shabby huh?

I have been thinking about my new year’s resolutions for this year. I really don’t have any. So, I guess my new year’s resolutions is that I don’t have a resolution:)

Be Well and Happy!

My Wreath…

carolottaway — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 04:52:34 +0000

I use to have a beautiful, fat, glittery Christmas wreath. But with all the moving and stacking over the years she didn’t survive. (Yes, wreaths are girls). I found a blank wreath at Michael’s and decided to throw caution to the wind and make my own. How hard could it be, right? I have lots of Christmas thingies at home and I could just hot glue them on…easy peasy! As it turned out I didn’t have too much of anything that would look good on a wreath and I was just too lazy to go back to Michael’s. So, I went up in the attic and found some old poinsettias and I walked up and down the street grabbing pine cones. I tried to pull some tiny pine cones off of the trees. But the little babies are in there pretty good and all I got from the tree is cut. I came home, got my glue gun out and I came up with this. It’s simple, and I kinda like it but in hindsight, it would have been a lot faster just to get off my rear and just drive to the store.

Be Well and Happy!

Lights..

carolottaway — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 20:12:24 +0000

Like a lot of patterns that I have done, I’m not sure if this is a “real” Zentangle pattern. But I can certainly see how this pattern could be useful for christmas cards and holiday designs. I’ll let you be the judge:)

UPDATE: uh-oh! This pattern has already been done! My apologies to Lori from http://lace.lacefairy.com Lori was very sweet about it and didn’t demand that I remove the pattern. Our patterns were very similar, too similar for me to keep this pattern as my own.

LaceFairy’s pattern is called Litz and this is the link: http://lace.lacefairy.com

ENJOY!

Be Well and Happy!

Where you goin’ with my lopers…

carolottaway — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 18:37:06 +0000

EDM# 324 Draw a garden tool

I haven’t posted a challenge in a long time. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed these challenges. When this challenge came up only one thought came to mind, my Grandma and her lopers. My dad’s girlfriend was trimming the hedges for my Grandma. After she was finished she was putting the “lopers” in the car and Grandma ran out of the house screaming, “Where you goin’ with my lopers!” It caught the g.f. off guard and she said stuttering, “No, these are my Dad’s lopers and I have to return them.” By the end of the conversation my Grandma ended up with the lopers and my Dad had to sneak them out of the house because they weren’t Grandma’s lopers:) As I re read this story it doesn’t sound very funny but in real life it was hilarious and has provided many years of laughs. Lord, How I miss my Granny!

Be Well and Happy!

The other one:(…

carolottaway — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 20:37:18 +0000

Here is the other necklace that I made a while back and I think that I don’t care for this much. You can’t really tell, but the beads on this necklace are so small that it took me days to string and vary from the lightest to the darkest of colors. This necklace would match my whole wardrobe. So why don’t I like it? Well, the toggle clasp is way too bulky and it’s made to look even more bulky by the cone findings. I don’t like the layering of the 4 strands either. I wasn’t going to post this, but I really like the look of the beads and I believe it would make a beautiful necklace, but there is something that I’m missing that would make this necklace really pretty! Right now, it’s boring, bulky and looks just thrown together. I welcome any ideas.

On a better note, I finished my last commission..yay! I just need to sit with it a few days to make sure that nothing needs tweaking. This one has three dogs on a 14 x 17 sheet. I’m also still working on mini me’s blanklet…it will probably be ready sometime after 2017 and with my luck it will be the summer of 2017, lol

I guess that’s about it for me, and I hope everyone is keeping warm.

Be Well and Happy!

I didn’t forget…

carolottaway — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 12:32:08 +0000

But I bet you thought I would:)

I really like these two new tangles. I think they have an elegant feel to them and were alot of fun to draw. There are probably (by now) thousands of tangle patterns scattered through the wide world web. So if I post something that’s already been done, it is not intentional and please let me know and I will remove the pattern. This is for fun and for sharing and cutting someone off to the knees defeats the purpose. Alot of the patterns on this Zentangle you will recognize..actually they are some of my favorites.

This Zentangle was especially fun and although it may be squarish (Is that a word?) It is not just filling in a square or a circle that can be pretty tiresome at times. Don’t get me wrong, creating a Zentangle is NEVER tiresome, but sometimes looking at it afterwards is… I admire the Zentanglist that can make Zentangles look like something out of a fairyland…Unfortunately, I am not of those Yet!

Posted below is the Fanz and blowin’ leaf patterns. The Fanz is pretty easy and I put in variations in my Zentangle. For the Blowin’ leaf pattern I only put in one leaf so it wouldn’t be confusing. All you have to do is just overlap the same design in different directions in pencil and just erase what you don’t need and redraw with a micron. Then shade the leaves that are under the leaves on top. That’s it.

By gaps I mean the double line please note the Zentangle above

ENJOY!

Be Well and Happy!

Another Barn…

carolottaway — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 01:59:36 +0000

Barn

Graphite on Bristol Smooth

Well, I finally finished my Barn. I played it safe and just added bushes. Also, I finished that big commission. One more to go and I will have plenty to post….well…If I split it up and show you one doggie at a time.

I have had a lot of stuff going on lately. All good though. Here’s a breakdown:

~David and I joined the Band Boosters and we’ve been doing a lot of chaperoning and fund raising stuff, which led to a bunch of football games and competitions. I felt like a teenager again, hahaha! It’s been a lot of fun watching Alana perform and seeing her in her uniform. She looks adorable.

~ I finished my Excel class and got a certificate! It wasn’t that hard and I already knew a lot of what they were teaching, but it helped a lot. They will probably have a class that goes in more depth in January and I will hopefully take that class. I have one more Powerpoint class and I will be done with that one too. Yeehaw!

~I was able to figure out how to crochet a flat granny square. Now I’m working on a hot pink blanket .

~And I joined in the Not A Fan series at Church. This has been a great class so far, and I’m really learning a lot. I have also started studying independently. I’m thinking about writing an online journal…I still have a lot to ponder. The reason I want to do it separately is because well, this is an art blog, but I would post a link in case you would like to read it. It may be a little amibitious..heehee

~I don’t have a picture but I finished my last set of curtains for the bedroom.

If my posts have seemed a little sporadic ….well, that’s the reason. I have to admit though, its felt good to get out and to be busy doing something different.

This post ran a little long…As a reward for boring you to tears, I will be posting not one, but two Zentangle patterns early next week:) So until then, have a great weekend!

Be Well and Happy!