The Lute Player Collage, Page for Alphabet Book

It seems like it took forever.  I've been working on this Lute Player page for months.  It never seemed to be finished because I kept seeing things that I just didn't like or that looked like they could be improved.  The background needed something; her face wasn't shaped right; her hands bothered me; and on and on. Finally I think it is ready and here is the video to prove it.  Enjoy.

Charcoal Drawing Tutorial of a Young Boy

Each time I upload one of these tutorials I get excited, like teaching a baby how to walk.  I'm still new at this YouTube channel stuff but I'm learning more everyday.  This little guy is my latest upload and my latest drawing for my 100 days of drawing children's faces challenge.  I'm pretty happy with it.

Boy of the Red Twilight Collage tutorial

I taped this video before I created the art extender for my tripod so I could film from directly above.  The angle was unavoidable but the placing of the hair on the dog and fur on the parka is cool.  Worth watching.

Charcoal Drawing Tutorial of My Daughter

I had to fix this one at the end.  It's really difficult to erase charcoal even with a kneaded gum eraser.  But I realized at the end the eyes were too small and the ear was too far forward.  Here is my drawing and fix.  I hope you enjoy it.

Neighbor Girl Posing in Charcoal

I have enjoyed this series of drawing children in charcoal.  It hones my skills of drawing children and drawing in charcoal in general.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it.

Profile of Noah for YouTube

I've been creating videos of my charcoal drawings lately.  I wanted to start the YouTube channel back in January and worked toward that end but didn't really get started until July.  Oh well.  At least I'm doing what I wanted to do.  Here is a link to the YouTube channel:  

www.youtube.com/DPaintbrush

One of the first of my charcoal process videos was this one of the profile of Noah.  Please watch it and let me know what you think.   

https://youtu.be/TYFTtX3p4bc

The Value of Vision

 

Collage of my granddaughter Jassy

None of us are getting any younger.  This has never been clearer to me than this year when my husband’s vision has been threatened by a chronic condition triggered by high blood pressure.  Even though his blood pressure is under control the vision condition has continued to grow troubling.

Work in progress on Ivy Collage

About two years ago he suffered a Retinal Branch Vein Occlusion (RBVO), which basically means that a blood vessel in his right eye burst and stopped supplying that part of his retina with necessary oxygen and nutrients.  A large portion of his retina died in the right eye.  He now sees a large black area in the middle of his vision with only sight in the upper quarter and side right quadrant.  Over half his vision is obstructed.  This has caused him to loose some depth perception and he often has to close that eye just to use the computer keyboard or risk hitting the wrong key.  He began looking like Popeye, with one squinty eye.

Work in progress #2 on Ivy Collage

The problem didn’t stop there.  Because our bodies are so wonderfully made, his eye sent signals that there was a lack of blood flow in that eye and the brain sent back signals to “replace” or grow new blood vessels to replace the ones that were missing.  That sounds great only the new ones were malformed and actually obstructive in themselves.  They look like cauliflower rather than smooth veins and they tend to burst and cause more blood floating in the vitreous of the eye, which causes more obstruction and cloudiness.  

Work in progress #3 on Ivy Collage

This happened again a couple weeks ago and he had to have surgery to vacuum out the cloudy blood from the vitreous in his eye, as well as cleaning up and cauterizing the new vessels.  Just when my honey gets used to the small amount of vision in that eye, even that is taken away.  He is having trouble gauging something as small as a curb and nearly tripped stepping into the parking lot.

All this has made me look at my art differently this week.  I’m so grateful for my vision, for my work and my ability to continue working.  No one knows how long they have on this earth or how long they even have the strength or vision to do that which makes them most happy.  I’m grateful for each day I have, and each day I have with my dear husband.

Work in progress #4 on Ivy and the Chicken Collage