Wondering where I've been

Halloween Night

Due to a few health setbacks I haven't been able to post as I originally planned. However, Halloween has always been my favorite holiday and I just had to post something. This drawing was done in Prismacolor a few years back.

Thank you for taking the time to vist, Caren

To color or not?

I appreciate everyone’s comments, support and help. Thank you very much. Spinneretta asked if I would be adding color to my last post or keeping it black and white. I wish I could make up my mind. I love the detail of pen and ink, but I tend to carry it to the point of a pointillism representation which is very time consuming. If I were to color it it would be by colored pencil. My cat, Maverick, here is an example of a prismacolor drawing I did for another book of mine (not yet finished as well, but I am finally working on it). I love prismacolors but they also can be time consuming. I've tried watercolor, but haven't cared for my results. Gouache could be an option.

So far I have written three picture books. One has several completed illustrations done but I'm no longer happy with the text. For a picture book, it is just too wordy. To rectify that I've cut the manuscript up into paragraphs (sometimes down to sentences) and am deleting the words I think the illustrations can and should tell. I'm fairly happy with the text of the other two, short and snappy, but am behind with the illustrations. Maverick is the only illustration I have for that story and that was intended as part of the cover.

My goal is edit the manuscripts to where I am at peace with them and then complete at least three illustrations per book, along with a dummy of each book. And then . . .well, I need to get there first.

In between, I plan on getting outside more and sketching. I am so amazed at the blogs I've looked at that I actually thought of deleting my own. I felt so inferior, but then-- thankfully, I got inspired. I appreciate everyone's blog and the work they showcase. Fantastic stuff!

Have a great day!

Ouch!

I broke a couple of my toes this past weekend and though I don't consider myself a wimp, I am still confounded by the pain two little toes can drum up.

Thus, my little foray into silence.
Wanting to get back on track, I am posting one of the drawings I'm working on for a children's book I wrote, and still hope to publish. It is about a little girl who lives in the forest and her excursion into the wilderness to help an animal friend.

This is one of several "unfinished" projects that I plan to see to its completion. Thank you for taking the time to look,
Have a great day!

My Sanctuary

I was sitting outside last night downing the last of my 64 ounces of water for the day when I realized something had been nagging me all day. It took me a couple of moments, but I figured it out.

Now that I had a blog, what was I going to do with it?
I had over the last several days viewed other blogs and sensed that each one had its own common thread that held them together, despite how diverse the artist might be. What was mine? What did I want from this blog? Where did I want it to go? It reminded me of a favorite book I once had, ‘What’s it all about Charlie Brown?’
Indeed, what is this all about?
I thought about the name of my blog and started there.

Sanctuary: refuge: a safe place, especially for people being persecuted.
A place where wildlife is protected: a place or area of land where wildlife is protected
from predators and from being destroyed or hunted by human beings. A bird sanctuary.

I had grown up on the rim of a bird sanctuary. It was my home away from home. My retreat. Where I went and sketched for hours.

Sketches: Pictures done quickly and roughly, without concern for detail.
May be done to capture the general mood of a scene, or to help the artist work out an idea for a finished composition.

The sanctuary of my youth was a brief 3/10 of a mile from my front door. All I needed were pen, paper and good hiking boots. So easy, so simple.

Over the years I’ve watched debilitating diseases careen through lives, destroying personal and family sanctuaries, then hurrying on to other victims.
Like many. I’ve had nights of despair fearing that morning would never come, and then nights when I prayed it wouldn’t.
Last night when I walked through my studio, I saw a life in mid stroke. Projects of the heart I hadn’t followed through on. A crisis here, a tragedy there. I could just as well write my bio from what I failed to finish as to write it from those things I did. Many wonderful projects set aside for better days . . .
So, I want Sanctuary sketches to be about re-finding my sanctuary. A place of retreat when the hazards of life come barreling through. To be able to finish the projects I once started and still believe in; and also to have the courage to follow new dreams.

I want to be the person God intended me to be.

To keep this foremost in my thoughts I plan to post my projects as I finish them along with new ones I create. I commit to myself-- to be myself. Please wish me luck!

No earth shattering discoveries tonight just the realization that my sanctuary is still where it always was- within me. I just have to enter.

Thanks to those who took the time to read this lengthy post, I wish you well.

My tent

I would like to thank everyone for their support and for taking their time to visit my blog. I am truly enjoying this new adventure. My heart goes out to all those who have been affected by Gustav.
Caren

Hi.
I'm new to blogging so please bear with me as I set forth on this new adventure.
This is a sketch I did many years ago while vacationing in Florida. I have a special fascination with trees, so it seemed a fitting place to start.
Many thanks to Danny Gregory, who started EDM, and all who have taken the time to be a part of it.
Comments and suggestions are warmly appreciated.
Have a great day!