Flashback Friday: July 4, 2014

If you would like to see the impetus behind why I created Flashback Friday please go HERE.

Woo Hoo!  Two months in a row I have managed to come out with my Flashback Friday post.  But before I get to it I wanted to share what I was doing between 4:30 am and 5:30 am yesterday morning.  So, I got up to go to the bathroom, and unfortunately like it always seems to happen, I wasn't able to get back to sleep (keep in mind that I have only had about an hour and a half of sleep by this point).  So, with a thousand thoughts of everything I have to accomplish in the next couple weeks racing through my head, I started another 'to do' list, adding to it every few minutes over the course of the hour.  I thought I'd share it with you.

It is written on the back of a library book loan receipt and once I decipher my writing, I'm going to be rather busy trying to accomplish all these tasks.  The worst part is there are still about five other things I still need to add!  Oh and that reminds me, I need to order some more books as soon as I'm done here.

Anyway...on to the subject of today's post...

This month I've decided to showcase a light hearted image from my teenhood.  I've got a few like this.  Of course, I've based them on existing comics.  I wish I had the talent to come with this kind of stuff on my own.  Unfortunately, since it was sketched lightly, the scan is pretty light as well.  Hopefully you'll get the gist of the drawing...

Hee, hee.  I think every cat we have ever owned has felt exactly this way each and every time the vacuum cleaner was pulled out.  In case you can't read it, the piece is entitled 'The Alien'.  There is also a little mousehole under the electric socket with a sign outside of it that says, 'quiet please'.

This one is dated on the back so I would have been 16 or 17 at the time I drew it.

Okay peeps, well that is it for today. I am wishing you all well on this lovely Friday evening!  For those of you in the States celebrating this weekend, stay safe and have a great one!

Until next time,

Flashback Friday: June 6, 2014

If you would like to see the impetus behind why I created Flashback Friday please go HERE.

OH MY GOODNESS!  First off, I cannot believe that we are already at the first week of June.  This year is going by even faster than than last one, and it flew by at rocket speed!  Secondly, I cannot believe that I have been so busy that this is the first Flashback Friday I've posted this year.  Sheesh.  This is ridiculous.

So without further ado, here is another piece of artwork from my sketchbook...


I don't have a date on the back of it but I signed it with my maiden name initals so I was definitely younger than 22.  I have a feeling it would have been created somewhere between the ages of 14 and 20 because I'm almost positive this is a scene I drew when I was camping with my parents in the Miller Lake/Tobermory area of Ontario.  I can't say it with 100% sincerity but I'm pretty sure.  

I used to love and go down by the lake and take my sketchbook out and just sit there and draw what was around me.  It isn't a great drawing but it does bring back the peaceful memories of those moments. 

Okay peeps, well that is it for today. Wishing you all well on this lovely Friday afternoon!

Flashback Friday: August 2, 2013

Can you believe that the summer is half-way over already?  I'm having a hard time figuring out where all the time has gone.

It is the first Friday of the month and that means a trip down memory lane to visit one of my past artistic endeavours.    Now, if you are new to my blog and would like to see the impetus behind the creation of Flashback Friday please go HERE.

Today, I'm showing you all something a little bit different.  I'd like to present to you all a copy of one of my oil paintings.

My parents put me in my very first art lessons when I was around 12 or 13, if I remember correctly.  They knew how much I loved to draw and wanted to allow me to develop those skills. 

I grew up (from the ages of 7 -19) in a small town in central Ontario.  There were only about 1000 people living there when we moved there and about 1300 when we left.  So there weren't a lot of opportunities for artistic development.  Thankfully, when I was still in grade school, I had the opportunity to take some lessons from a local teacher.  I don't remember too much from that class except for the fact that I loved it.  I do remember there being only a handful of students so we got a lot of individual attention.  It was in this class that I first learned about colour theory and oil painting.

Well, a couple years later, unfortunately my brain isn't remembering when, I painted this picture for my momma and poppa.  Our living room had similar colour tones so it matched beautifully.  This painting now sits on the wall in my own living room as I am now the one who has the rich reddish browns on my walls.  

This remains one of my favourite pieces of work.  I love the monochromatic look and rich warm tones.  It is kind of hard to really see any of the texture but you might be able to see it better if you click on it.  

So there you have it.  Another little glimpse into my artistic self.  I hope you have enjoyed my latest trip into the past.

May each of your days always be filled with colour!

Flashback Friday: July 5, 2013

While I may not celebrate Independence Day being Canadian and all (I had to add this just in case someone thought I was American which has happened before, and thought I was being unpatriotic), I do make it a yearly tradition to watch Independence Day as it is often on TV during this 4th of July weekend.  I am a sci-fi geek after all. 

It is just a little before one am on Friday morning and I just finished watching one of my favourite scenes of the movie where Vivica A. Fox's character, Jasmine, has dragged her son from the car, runs into the tunnel and is the ONLY smart cookie to know that unless she finds an off-shoot they are  goners.  She kicks in the door while holding on to her son and gigantic purse--pure girl power--takes cover and yells for their dog Boomer who just happens to fly across the tops of the cars into the little room, just as the explosion rips through the remainder of the tunnel <<<dramatic sigh>>>.

Now that that is out of the way, I can leave it on in the background behind me and continue on with my work for the day.

It is time for this month's Flashback Friday.  Yes indeedy, it is that time of the month where we take a little trip down memory lane.  Now, if are new to my blog and would like to see the impetus behind the creation of Flashback Friday please go HERE.

Today, I'm heading back into the '90's.  It seems that I stopped drawing sometime in the early 90's.  I hope that one day, I'll find the time and creative flow to pick up the pencil or paint brush again.  The encouragement I have received from you guys regarding my artwork is incredible.  Please know how much you have touched me with your sweet comments on my drawings.

(not that anyone would want this picture but I still need to include this line...)
Please take note that the images posted in 'Flashback Fridays' are for REFERENCE ONLY.  They are not meant for download they are just to show you another glimpse of my creative self.

Since it is the summer, I figured a trip to the sea shore was in order....well, these shells used to be on a sea shore somewhere I'm sure.  Of course, I probably copied them from some sort of existing picture (note copied--not traced). I've never professed to be any great artist--a half decent copier maybe but certainly not a true artist like many of you guys are.

1992 had a number of stressors for me and drawing was where I was able to spend some of my time trying to release them.  I could easily get lost for hours among my pencils, charcoal and ink.  The feel, the smell, the places they would take me--it all helped the bad stuff to melt away for a little while.

I hope that when YOU are faced with the difficulties that life has to offer you have some place to turn to help you deal.  Whether it is taking a walk, spending a little time alone, chatting with a good friend or locked up in your craft room, we all need a way to deal with our stress in productive ways that are non-threatening to our health and wellness.  If you are in a situation where the stress is too much, before you turn to self-destructive habits, please try and reach out for a little extra help.  The phone book and help-phone hotlines along with your doctor or local Mental Health organizations are all good places to start.

Wishing you all wellness on this beautiful first Friday of the month,

Flashback Friday: June 7, 2013

Before I start, I have a few apologies to make.

First off, I would like to apologize to those of you who receive my posts by email.  On Tuesday when I published my Congratulatory Considerations post, a mess of stuff from the last month had been left at the bottom if you scrolled down a ways.  Even though I had proofed the thing three times, I didn't scroll down and therefore didn't see it until it was published.  While I was able to go in and update the post with an apology, for those of you who receive my posts by email, you will not have received the update.  The only excuse I have is that it was very, very late and I wasn't paying enough attention.  Unfortunately, I can't even guarantee it won't happen again.  

The second thing I want to apologize for is the fact that the Wonderful Wednesday post never went out.  Any of you who read my Wednesday post know I was battling a migraine at the same time that I was trying to get a post done for one of the DTs I am on.  As soon as I completed the post, I had to go lay down for a few hours.  It was my intention when I got up to go and make something for this week's kit but I just didn't have the fortitude to get it done.  Therefore, I will be doubling up next week's kit.

Finally, and for the same reason, there will not be a Saturday showcase this week.  I still have three new posts to get ready this Saturday, two for this blog and a third for another in my new role as the Promotional Coordinator for Creative Bug Digitals, plus a whole whack of stuff I have no chance of getting through.  Unfortunately, I just lost too much time dealing with the migraine.

Now that that is out of the way, it is time to move on to this month's Flashback Friday.  Yes indeedy, the time you get to laugh at me tour down memory lane with me.  Actually, this month you are almost going to get a two for one kind of post since the story I am going to share with you has a moral to it and would have made a great 'Lisa's Lessons Learned' post as well.  Now, if are new to my blog and would like to see the impetus behind the creation of Flashback Friday please go HERE.

This month I am going to share with you a piece that I worked on during a flight to England and then finished while on the flight home.  It was July 1984 and I was 16 years old.  Remember, I don't draw faces AT ALL so please, no falling off your chairs with laughter.

(not that anyone would want this picture but I still need to include this line...)

Please take note that the images posted in 'Flashback Fridays' are for REFERENCE ONLY.  They are not meant for download they are just to show you another glimpse of my creative self.

At the age of 16, I was lucky enough to accompany my grandparents on a trip to England for three weeks.  The stories I could share about that adventure, boy.  Lots of memories there and thankfully most of them are still intact.  This particular story took place during the flight there and home.  There was enough detail to do in this picture that it actually took me the duration of both flights to complete.

This is a lesson in 'never judge a book by a cover'.  On the flight over, I was fawned over by all the stewardesses in my section.  For some reason they were drawn to my charismatic personality ability to draw I guess.  Every so often, they'd check on me and the status of the drawing, ask me if I wanted or needed anything.  It was great, I felt like a rock star that there was so much interest in what I was creating. I was sent off with well wishes and hugs.  It was awesome.

Flash forward to my flight home.  Now I wanted to do something that would freak my parents out.  They were waiting at the airport to pick the three of us up.  So I decided I was going to dress a bit like a punk rocker.  It was the 80's after all.  While in England I had picked up this one piece blue camouflage overall set and these really cute blue boots that I called my puddle jumpers for years to come.   When I hatched my devious plan I went to one of the local drugstores and picked up a blue hair band that I could tie into a bow at the top of my head and also some of that hairspray that turns your hair colours in, you guessed it --blue.  Decked out completely in blue with hair to match we head for the airport and our trip home.

What a completely different experience.  Not one stewardess stopped to talk to me.  The only attention I got was stares and hushed whispers.  I was still the same person inside.  I took out my sketch book and continued the same drawing but you would have thought I had leprosy for the way people reacted to me.

That experience taught me a very valuable lesson at an early age and while it was extremely uncomfortable at the time I went through it, it was one of those pivotal experiences that has stuck with me throughout my life.

Oh and in case you were interested in how my mother reacted?  Well let's just say I learned afterwards the first words out of her mouth as she saw me come up the escalator were, "Oh dear God, what has she done to her hair??!!!".  Oddly enough I heard those exact same words six years later at my surprise engagement party where I....ah...but that is another story.

Wishing you all well on this lovely Friday afternoon,

Flashback Friday: April 6, 2013

If you are here for the San Design blog hop click HERE.

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If you would like to see the impetus behind creating Flashback Friday please go HERE.

It is the first Friday of April and time for me to share another one my drawings from so long ago. When flipping through my stuff trying to decide what to share this month, I came across this drawing and thought that it would be a great one to display.

(not that anyone would want this picture but I still need to include this line...)

Please take note that the images posted in 'Flashback Fridays' are for REFERENCE ONLY.  They are not meant for download they are just to show you another glimpse of my creative self.

 Now, I can clearly recall the circumstances surrounding the drawing of this picture.  It was in combination with the very first job I ever had.  During the summer between grade twelve and grade thirteen, I was hired on by my highschool art department as one of two people responsible for creating murals for all the walls in our library.  This was a sketch that I did up for one small area of the wall.  The person that I worked with primarily did all of the large, broader work, like creating the skyline and trees within the forest and I took care of the smaller detail work like adding forest dwellers and such.  This was such a fun experience.  Too bad all of my employment opportunities couldn't have been about doing artwork.  I'm sure that throughout the year I'll be sharing more of the artwork associated with this job.  One of these days, I'll also have to dig out the pictures of the finished product and scan them to brag about humbly display.

See ya tomorrow when I hope you will come back for this week's showcase.  There will be a special treat that you won't want to miss.

Until then,

Flashback Friday: March 1, 2013

If you would like to see the impetus behind creating Flashback Friday please go HERE.

Oh my gosh, we are already into the third month of the year.  Just crazy!

This month I thought it would be fun to share one of my earlier pieces from a sketchbook that I had as a teenager.  

You can see just how ratty the page has become.  I never signed it but apparently I wrote the year on the back so this is from 1984 making me either 16 or 17 when I drew this.  I believe it was my first ever attempt at drawing a person.  I remember that the original picture I based this off of came from one of those learn how to draw series of books that you can get.  It certainly isn't anything special but then all art is a work in progress right?  At least that is what I keep telling myself.  However, I never really did improve on drawing the human body or faces, especially faces, so maybe that theory is out the window.  Hmmmm..... 

(not that anyone would want this picture but I still need to include this line...)
Please take note that the images posted in 'Flashback Fridays' are for REFERENCE ONLY.  They are not meant for download they are just to show you another glimpse of my creative self.

See ya tomorrow when I hope you will come back for this week's showcase.  It's a special one that you won't want to miss.

Until then,

Flashback Friday: February 1, 2013

If you would like to see the impetus behind creating Flashback Fridays please go HERE.

Can you believe it is February already?  I certainly can't.  

This month I'm sharing another image from my sketchbook that I created the same year as the last one, 1992.  

 

 This image was actually based on a coaster set we had.  Eleven years later and I am still not happy with that kitten's eyes.  The poor thing looks like he has been shocked, or is waiting for the dog to eat him or something else equally unpleasant.  I remember working and reworking them at the time but just couldn't get them right.  I think I finally gave up.  I decided to post this particular image this month because it seems I'm having a run on cat related ideas.  Between the sentiments and cat digi images I've used in a couple of my last cards, it seemed the perfect time to show it.  

Please take note that the images posted in 'Flashback Fridays' are for REFERENCE ONLY.  They are not meant for download they are just to show you another glimpse of my creative self.

TaTa 'til next time,

Flashback Friday: January 4, 2013

Yes I admit it.  I have a problem.

It appears I have a serious addiction to alliteration--Showcase Saturday, Spotlight Sunday, Motivational Monday, Follower Freebies, Thursdays are for giving Thanks and now Flashback Friday.  If you can recommend any treatment programs for this problem I'm officially open to observing any options.  He-He, I just can't help myself... : o )

In an effort to share more of my creative past with you and give myself an opportunity to reflect on artistic days gone by, I am creating a 'Flashback Friday' post that will probably happen the first Friday of each month until I get bogged down in DT duties in which case it might not take place on consistent Fridays.

The majority of what you will see will be art that I created between 12 and 30 years ago.  Oy Vey!  Am I really that old?  Eeek. 

I hope you enjoy my trip down memory lane.  This particular picture was drawn with a set of sketching pencils that I bought in England on a trip there when I was 16 years old.  Ah, those were the days...but that is a whole other kind of flashback.  The image itself was drawn in 1992.  A time in my life when I was recently married (about 3 years), had moved far away from parents, we had just purchased our first home and I had just started working at our local college.  A time when life was shiny and the world was filled with possibility.  I'm afraid I don't remember the actual inspiration behind the picuture.

Reference only.  Not for download.

Now, I'm sure that I'm creating some sort of copywrite violation here.  I've never been much for being able to draw out of my head with no reference.  That is why I'm struggling so much with digital creation.  I could probably do a great job recreating everyone else's digi stamps but coming up with my own?  Not so easy.  I'm not very original when it comes to actual drawing.  85% of my old drawings are based on existing images that I've just interpreted into pencil, chalk, ink and/or other mediums.  The other 15% are landscapes or posed items.  So that being said, if anyone can prove to me that I have indeed infringed on another artist's rights, I will be happy to investigate and remove my old artwork. 

At times I feel I'm no longer the artist I was.  I miss that.  Now, I'm certainly not saying that I was great artist by any means, those of you who know me know that I'm not one to 'toot my own horn' as the saying goes, but I generally had the ability to capture the likeness of what I was drawing.  Unless of course it was faces, I couldn't draw a face properly to save my life.  For a laugh or two I'll post some of my attempts for you.  Yes, I know, I'm a sadist ;o).  It has been awhile since I picked up penci and paper.  Depending on how this goes over, maybe through my artistic journey this year I'll pull out my sketch book and start creating again sometime in the near future.  Then, I could create a post and call it 'Modern Mondays'.  No!  JUST KIDDING.  Really.  Probably.

Please take note that the images posted in 'Flashback Fridays' are for REFERENCE ONLY.  They are not meant for download they are just to show you another glimpse of my creative self.

TaTa 'til next time,