Lunch Time Portrait Drawing

I feel like such a lurker, this young man didn't know he posed for a portrait.

He was drawn with a Micron pen. You don't get nice line variation but Micron pens travel well and don't smudge

2012 July 3 Artist Journal Page Itasca State Park

We went to Itasca State Park the day after a lively storm; about half of the park roads were closed due to fallen trees.

The temp in the parked Jeep said it was 114 degrees but the actual temperature was significantly less. The reading corrected after we drove it away from the baking sun in front of the cabin.

A man in Osage was using a chainsaw as a weed whacker.

A snake landed on Nissa when she opened the cabin door. He slithered into the cabin and attacked the broom when we tried to encourage his departure. We were very brave while under attack.

Ice Cream Is The Cure To A Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day Poster

The healing power of ice cream. This is an original art journal drawing that I colored digitally.

Available on Etsy

Paper Birch Trees By A Lake And Mountain Chalk Art

The autumn landscape drawing was done in chalk on lightly textured paper. Paper Birch is one of my favorite trees and they are even more striking in the fall.

Available on Etsy

Hats At The Uptown DIner

I tried sketching a man at the Uptown Diner while there with my daughter but he had better radar than most. I decided to draw all the hats I saw.

I hadn't realized that they were all somewhat similar until the Chicago Rams knit cap came in.

Drawing Idea List

Here is a drawing idea list. These ideas were slowly assembled in my
journals from things I saw, read, or random thoughts late at night after
too much spicy food.

1.    Draw a jar and fill it with something that would not normally be in jar.
2.    Draw an upside down light bulb and fill it with a bright idea.
3.    Draw the view from a hammock.
4.    What would your pet draw a picture of?
5.    Design a box for an unlikely product. i.e. goldfish taxidermy
6.    Draw a necktie, bow tie or scarf and design an interesting pattern on it.
7.    Draw a city on another planet. What is the view from your window?
8.    Draw a landscape and redraw it how you’d imagine it in other 3 seasons.
9.    Draw a logo and design a business card for a favorite TV Show or book.
10.   Draw a movie poster for an imaginary movie.
11.    Draw your view from an airplane window.
12.    Draw from the viewpoint of an insect or bird.
13.    Draw an amazing sandcastle.
14.    Draw what a spaceship cadet would see on the viewing screen.
15.    Draw a portrait but make the person a robot.
16. Draw what you see through a magnifying glass and include the magnifying glass. (my daughter did this in grade school with conte crayons and watercolors)
17.    Draw the view through binoculars and include the circles of the binoculars.
18.    Draw a mad scientist’s project.
19.    Draw a sculpture or whirly gig for a garden.
20.    Pick a repeating shape such as a square and see how many drawings you can do incorporating the shape.
21.    Combine a plant and an animal to create a new species
22.    Draw a modern device as though it existed in Victorian times—steam driven?
23.    Illustrate a favorite word or quote.
24.    Draw from the point of view of a fish. What would the Loch Nest Monster see?
25.    Draw a how to poster; ie. how to make trees grow upside down.
26.    Draw a map for a journey to the center of the Earth.
27.    Draw a CD cover for your favorite sing in the shower song.
28.    Draw a pop art poster
29.    Do a cubist portrait.
30.    Draw an object from 4 different points of view and have it all exist in one drawing
31.    Draw a bubble and what is reflected in it.
32.    Draw a magic mirror and what is reflected in it.
33.    Draw the contents Elvis’s trashcan
34.    Draw a holiday window display.
35.    Draw a picture of a word or feeling.
36.    Draw the view through a keyhole
37.    Draw the world upside down.
38.    Create a mythical creature, what does a Bandersnatch look like?
39.    Draw a bad idea
40.    Dreams vs. Nightmare
41.    What does Atlantis look like?
42.    Draw a force of nature
43.    Draw a cyborg.
44.    If you found a lost city what would the artifacts look like?
45.    What would your view be it you were an amoeba?
46.    Draw the Seven Deadly sins
47.    Draw the monster under your bed or in your closet.
48.    Draw a well known product but make it a silly variety—Campbell’s Elephant Toe Nail soup (Warhol style)
49.    Draw tea leaves in the bottom of a cup, what do you see there?
50.    Draw an x-ray of a suitcase or purse filled with objects that you couldn't take on a plane.
51.    Draw an elaborate mousetrap.
52.    You’ve been chosen to colonize Mars and you have 5 minutes to pack; what are you bringing?
53. Draw your neighborhood in a Dr Seuss style
54. Draw you surroundings if you lived underground, what does a mole's world look like?
55. What's living in the bottom of a spooky old well?
56. What was your favorite childhood story? Illustrate it.
57. Make a poster of something people do every day i.e. tying shoelaces but make it look interesting.
58. Illustrate a favorite recipe and mail it to friends and family.
59. Do a cave drawing as though you you are a prehistoric caveman.
60. Flip through a magazine and design a logo for something that doesn't have one.
61. Make a card to use for Christmas, Valentines Day, Birthday or a Thank You card.
62. Design a T-shirt
63. Draw caricatures of people in a magazine.
64. Illustrate a cliche
65. Turn your name into a piece of art
66. Draw a pirate's treasure map
67. Design signs for silly things, I saw Bigfoot crossing signs last summer.
68. Draw a cartoon strip of the travels of an escaped helium filled balloon
69. Stuck what to fill a page with, doodle a border around the page.
70. Write someone a real letter and illustrate it.
71. Draw the negative space around an object, make it the focus.
72. Draw something in extreme closeup
73. Draw a sound, i.e. car crash, running water, gargling.
74. Pick an object and see how many ways you can reinterpret it or incorporate it in a drawing.
75. Draw a silly or impossible world record
76. Design a postage stamp.
77. Design a tarot card
78. Draw impossible track and field events, i.e. pole vaulting over the moon.
79. Draw a spooky cemetery at night
80. You are king or queen, design a flag or crest for your new country.
81. Design alphabet cards
82. Where do socks go when they are lost?
83. Draw a smell. i.e. cheese
84. Design a candy bar wrapper, tasty or gross is fine.

My Blackboard Jungle

I recently painted my closet doors with blackboard paint. The kids and I had fun drawing on the doors.

They actually looked nicer black so I may just leave them that way and wash off the chalk. Washing the doors will remove the gray color which is from the chalkboard being seasoned with a coating of chalk. I think they will look better after I change the door hardware.

The dogs keep waging the chalk off the bottom and the inside of the closet fills with chalk dust. I need to resolve these problems before I use colored chalk since I know the dogs would spread it to the upholstered furniture and some shades of colored chalk are difficult to wash off.

84 Sketchbook Drawing Ideas List To Jumpstart Your Creative Spirit

I've been writing drawing ideas in sketchbooks for years and these are some of my favorites.
1. Draw a jar and fill it with something that would not normally be in jar.
2. Draw an upside down light bulb and fill it with a bright idea.
3. Draw the view from a hammock.
4. What would your pet draw a picture of?
5. Design a box for an unlikely product. i.e. goldfish taxidermy
6. Draw a necktie, bow tie or scarf and design an interesting pattern on it.
7. Draw a city on another planet. What is the view from your window?
8. Draw a landscape and redraw it how you’d imagine it in other 3 seasons.
9. Draw a logo and design a business card for a favorite TV Show or book.
10. Draw a movie poster for an imaginary movie.
11. Draw your view from an airplane window.
12. Draw from the viewpoint of an insect or bird.
13. Draw an amazing sandcastle.
14. Draw what a spaceship cadet would see on the viewing screen.
15. Draw a portrait but make the person a robot.
16. Draw what you see through a magnifying glass and include the magnifying glass. (my daughter did this in grade school with conte crayons and watercolors)
17. Draw the view through binoculars and include the circles of the binoculars.
18. Draw a mad scientist’s project.
19. Draw a sculpture or whirly gig for a garden.
20. Pick a repeating shape such as a square and see how many drawings you can do incorporating the shape.
21. Combine a plant and an animal to create a new species
22. Draw a modern device as though it existed in Victorian times—steam driven?
23. Illustrate a favorite word or quote.
24. Draw from the point of view of a fish. What would the Loch Nest Monster see?
25. Draw a how to poster; ie. how to make trees grow upside down.
26. Draw a map for a journey to the center of the Earth.
27. Draw a CD cover for your favorite sing in the shower song.
28. Draw a pop art poster
29. Do a cubist portrait.
30. Draw an object from 4 different points of view and have it all exist in one drawing
31. Draw a bubble and what is reflected in it.
32. Draw a magic mirror and what is reflected in it.
33. Draw the contents Elvis’s trashcan
34. Draw a holiday window display.
35. Draw a picture of a word or feeling.
36. Draw the view through a keyhole
37. Draw the world upside down.
38. Create a mythical creature, what does a Bandersnatch look like?
39. Draw a bad idea
40. Dreams vs. Nightmare
41. What does Atlantis look like?
42. Draw a force of nature
43. Draw a cyborg.
44. If you found a lost city what would the artifacts look like?
45. What would your view be it you were an amoeba?
46. Draw the Seven Deadly sins
47. Draw the monster under your bed or in your closet.
48. Draw a well known product but make it a silly variety—Campbell’s Elephant Toe Nail soup (Warhol style)
49. Draw tea leaves in the bottom of a cup, what do you see there?
50. Draw an x-ray of a suitcase or purse filled with objects that you couldn't take on a plane.
51. Draw an elaborate mousetrap.
52. You’ve been chosen to colonize Mars and you have 5 minutes to pack; what are you bringing?
53. Draw your neighborhood in a Dr Seuss style
54. Draw you surroundings if you lived underground, what does a mole's world look like?
55. What's living in the bottom of a spooky old well?
56. What was your favorite childhood story? Illustrate it.
57. Make a poster of something people do every day i.e. tying shoelaces but make it look interesting.
58. Illustrate a favorite recipe and mail it to friends and family.
59. Do a cave drawing as though you you are a prehistoric caveman.
60. Flip through a magazine and design a logo for something that doesn't have one.
61. Make a card to use for Christmas, Valentines Day, Birthday or a Thank You card.
62. Design a T-shirt
63. Draw caricatures of people in a magazine.
64. Illustrate a cliche
65. Turn your name into a piece of art
66. Draw a pirate's treasure map
67. Design signs for silly things, I saw Bigfoot crossing signs last summer.
68. Draw a cartoon strip of the travels of an escaped helium filled balloon
69. Stuck what to fill a page with, doodle a border around the page.
70. Write someone a real letter and illustrate it.
71. Draw the negative space around an object, make it the focus.
72. Draw something in extreme closeup
73. Draw a sound, i.e. car crash, running water, gargling.
74. Pick an object and see how many ways you can reinterpret it or incorporate it in a drawing.
75. Draw a silly or impossible world record
76. Design a postage stamp.
77. Design a tarot card
78. Draw impossible track and field events, i.e. pole vaulting over the moon.
79. Draw a spooky cemetery at night
80. You are king or queen, design a flag or crest for your new country.
81. Design alphabet cards
82. Where do socks go when they are lost?
83. Draw a smell. i.e. cheese
84. Design a candy bar wrapper, tasty or gross is fine.