Sashaying through...365 Days of Drawing

I love movement and I love shimmery gowns. I think I am going to draw this again tonight for a close-up of back.

This is 18 x 24", and was fast off the charcoal and wash brush.

Love it when that happens.

Old and Worn? 365 Days of Drawing

Some guy has spent his whole life collecting up and shipping these old Western buildings to recreate Trail Town in Cody, Wyoming, the subject of today's drawing.

Then apparently he fell on difficult times in his life and sold the whole lot. The day I visited the re-created town looked sad and oddly abandoned.

Hope that changes soon. We all get old and worn but no-one wants to be unloved.

125th Drawing! 365 Days of Drawing 2010

Today's drawing marks my 125th sketch this year in my challenge for 2010 to draw every day NO matter what. NO matter where I am.

No cheating. No stockpiling of drawings. No excuses. Posting publicly every day except when I travel. The good, the bad and the ugly.

I am pleased to say there is now quite a large group watching it on Facebook and posting graciously with interesting feedback which has been stimulating.

When I first started this challenge I had no idea if I would get past week two. There have been moments when I really wanted to quit. But now I know, the repeated daily discipline is kind of an art miracle for me. But it has to be daily to count.

People have asked me would I do the challenge again in 2011. The answer is a definite no. It seems like a simple thing to draw every day and post it publicly but it is not. It has brought up some issues.

How are you all doing with your New Year resolutions?

Cowboys and Indians...365 Days of Drawing

No-one can go to Cowboy Country for the first time and not draw an Indian or a Cowboy. My time ran out so I had to settle on just a solitary Indian sketched before morning coffee was even served. A hectic day was ahead with no further time for drawing. Forgive me cowboys; there are plenty of you in my future I have a feeling.

BIG FAT WOW...365 Days of Drawing

I returned to the same spot the next day to see if I could organize my drawing thoughts and shapes a little better. The light was very flat so I had to make it up. In the end, I preferred the drawing the previous day. I was shown and treated to some INCREDIBLE Western art by some very kind and gracious hosts in Cody. A big fat WOW to those amazing Western Artists is all I have to say.

God's Country...365 Days of Drawing

How on earth do you tackle God's Country? Cody, Wyoming, took my breath away. A 30 minute sketch, at the end of a very long lovely sightseeing day, from the kitchen window. Humbling landscape...I vowed to do better the next day less tired.

Back and Forth...365 Days of Drawing...

These are two airport 'quick sketch' sessions to and from Cody, Wyoming. The first is the return journey home to LA when I was in "the mood" to draw. The second was outbound when I missed my connecting flight (boo to Delta) and, it seemed, the big art event I was flying especially in for. I was not in the "mood", let me tell ya, but the challenge continues no matter what. Some days it sure is a helluva discipline.

The good news is I made the event just in time with a quick switch of travel plans flying to a different airport, a hasty 100 mile drive, changing into my glamor frocks in a cowboy bar restroom. Yeeha!