Florida Wildlife Encounter

Shorebird (Ibis)  / Boogie Board Drawing with color pencil.

 Living in Florida is a sensate experience. There are exotic flowers of every color and fragrance, along with tropical palms and shrubbery in every hue of green. There are plenty of critters, too—from black bears, alligators, lizards, and chameleons to pelicans, hawks, sandhill cranes, and great blue herons. With the plethora of lakes, rivers, and waterways, wildlife encounters within the urban area are common.

Back in May, while painting with the local plein air group, I photographed a white ibis strutting along the shore, with waterlilies and reeds in the background. I rarely do animals, but there was something arresting about being so close to wildlife that day.

Over the past two weeks, I've been working from that photo of the ibis, starting with the drawing done on the Boogie Board. When it was finished, I photographed it and uploaded the image to my computer. With Photoshop I added the white and orange colors, and printed it out on rice paper. To give the image a bit more dimension and color variation, I added some hand coloring with color pencils. I guess you could call this piece of work a "digital mixed media drawing."

Available at www.ArtByCarolAdamec.ETSY.com 

Since my last post, I also acquired a Boogie Board RIP, another Kent Displays / iMPROV Electronics product that I mentioned back on July 10. It's a bit larger, has the save feature, and connects to the computer for direct upload. I've done a bit of scribbling on it, just to get acquainted with how it operates. I'll be posting more information about that e-Writer tablet in upcoming post.

Thank you for taking a moment to read this post. Have a great Monday!
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Text and image ©2012 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Boogie Board Drawing #7

Garden Varieties #7

Original Drawing • Boogie Board Tablet

Here it is, the end of the week already; and I have another Boogie Board drawing to share with you.

This drawing is a bit different from the previous ones, as I added a few new tools to work with on the Boogie Board—in particular, a set of rubber tipped paint erasers—tools I usually use for painting!

Using these implements allowed me to more quickly fill in areas than just using the Boogie Board stylus and gives the drawing a different texture, which I like.

Along with many nice comments about the new Boogie Board drawings I posted over the past week, I've received a few questions, too. In my next blog entry, I'll post answers and a few photos to answer those inquiries.

Thank you for your interest. Have a great weekend!
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Text and image ©2012 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

The Power of Art

Garden Varieties #6

Original Drawing, Boogie Board Tablet

 

"I believe our memories have a much better idea

about what is art than our eyes do...."  

 —William F. Reese

Many thanks to those readers who left nice comments or emailed me kind remarks about the Boogie Board tablet drawings posted last week. I appreciate your enthusiasm and encouragement!

Today I would like to share one email in particular. It's from my sister, writing about my drawing and connecting it to memories of her daughter Emily, who is all grown up now and will be married next Saturday. 

"When Emily was little, there were no houses at the end of our block—it was all woods and weeds. We used to take a walk in the early mornings during warm weather to see a cluster of morning glories in full bloom. We would go to "see the colors" and count how many there were altogether and how many of each color.

"A few years ago sewer lines were put in and the land at the end of the block was "developed". There are now several homes lining the cul de sac. The other morning I took a walk and looked for the morning glories, but they were gone. Yet in my mind's eye I saw a little girl with a head of wild yellow curls bending over a thicket of blooms, marveling at the beauty of the colors and carefully counting, "1, 2, 3 blue ones, Mama!" (the blue ones were her favorite).

"Your drawing reminds me of those sweet moments shared so very long ago. There is a certain irony that your drawing, like the morning glories, is only temporary. I find that sad somehow, but I am thankful you shared it with me, if only for moment."

Thanks for taking a look. Have a wonderful day.

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Text and image ©2012 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

I'm still Boogie Boarding...

Garden Varieties #5

Original Drawing • Boogie Board Tablet

Did I mention that I am having FUN drawing on my new Boogie Board Tablet? Here's today's drawing. Have a great weekend, and thanks for taking a look.

Boogie Board Drawing #4

Garden Varieties #4 • Original Drawing, Boogie Board Tablet

A friend sent me an email, asking me what prompted my interest in using the Boogie Board tablet to make drawings.

Well, I love to draw and have been wanting to do some drawing for awhile, just to loosen up and indulge in creative "play." However, while preparing for the April show in Albuquerque, I had neither the time nor space to do so, and lacked enthusiasm for "traditional" methods and materials.

A few weeks ago I came across an electronic writing/drawing tablet called a Boogie Board on eBay, and bid on it. Since its arrival, I've been doing a drawing a day, enjoying the process immensely, and excited about the possibilities.

I also like that the Boogie Board Tablet is a "green" alternative to paper. After finishing the drawing, you just press the erase button to clear the image, which brings up a new blank "page" (screen). The Boogie Board will erase 50,000 times, so it replaces quite a few traditional paper sketchpads!

The Boogie Board Tablet comes in colors (bright pretty ones) and retails for about $40. I bought mine on eBay for $29 and a few dollars for shipping. Of course, you can purchase one on Amazon, too.

Thanks for taking a look. Have a great day!

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Text and image ©2012 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Rainy Day in Florida

Garden Varieties #2 • Original Drawing, Boogie Board Tablet

After a rainy weekend, it rained again, all day, here in Florida today. I wish I could send some of this moisture to my friends out west in New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah. They could use some relief from the fires.

Meanwhile, back in Orlando, it was a good day for reading and doing another Boogie Board drawing. So that's just what I did.

Thanks for taking a look. Have a great day.
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Text and image ©2012 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Boogie Board Drawing

Garden Varieties #1 • Original Drawing, Boogie Board Tablet

Hello, Dear Readers,

No, I haven't abandoned my blog...just took a little vacation from the studio and painting over the past several weeks.

I did acquire a new "toy" called a Boogie Board tablet. It's pretty cool and loads of fun to work on. The picture on today's post is my first Boogie Board drawing. I can see all kinds of possibilities.

Instead of a lengthy explanation from me, here's a link to more information about the Boogie Board tablet, designed by Kent Displays and distributed by iMPROV Electronics:

http://www.improvelectronics.com/us/en/boogie-board-LCD-writing-tablet/boogie-board-8-LCD-writing-tablet.html

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Text and image ©2012 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.