Art by Jeane Nevarez

dogs

2012-01-29T22:21:00.001-05:00

mule in harness

2012-01-28T14:15:00.000-05:00

Impala

2012-01-27T09:58:00.000-05:00

more antelope

2012-01-26T10:45:00.000-05:00

more little antelope sketches. I think these were female Thompson's gazelle, but the horns are missing- usually the females have thinner, short horns like this one.

horns

2012-01-25T11:18:00.000-05:00

I have slacked off on drawing again. Just too busy with the baby and gardening. But I like having something up here, so I'll keep on posting old sketches until something new is produced. Here then, is a group of gazelle, and a study of impala heads (most of the interest being the twisty horns).

croc

2012-01-22T00:30:00.003-05:00

one of my lame attempts to draw a crocodile (or is it an alligator?)

lessons three: tropical birds

2012-01-19T11:18:00.000-05:00

from the art book. Again, there was a picture to follow, with step-by-step instructions on how to draw the first bird, then encouragement to follow similar steps in creating the rest. We both arranged our birds differently than in the example. Isabel further asked if she could add stuff to her picture after I scanned it into the computer; she duplicated a few of the leaves. I think it was a nice result!

young male lions

2012-01-17T13:56:00.000-05:00

at about the teenage stage

just beginning to grow their manes

this one annoyed by a younger cub

lesson two: lion

2012-01-14T23:49:00.000-05:00

From the art book I'm doing lessons out of with my daughter. We drew from a picture of a lion embroidery, following step-by-step instructions.

part of the lesson was about finding ways to fix things when you're unhappy with your drawing. The suggestions were to repeat the mistake into a pattern that obscures it, transform that part of the drawing into something else, or trace on a new paper the parts you like, discarding the parts you don't. With this lion, my daughter made the chin too big so I suggested she fix it somehow and she made it his tongue sticking out.

blue kitty

2012-01-12T09:08:00.001-05:00

a little doodled cat I drew while demonstrating shapes to my kid- the exercise was just to draw a simple cat face using curves and triangles, but I kept going.

lesson one: bird

2012-01-11T09:52:00.000-05:00

As part of a christmas gift I promised my older daughter I would do a series of drawing lessons for her found in this book Drawing with Children by Mona Brooks. We completed the first lessons a few days ago, and I thought I'd show our progress. Following the directions I find that my style reverts to its simplicity. In this case, we followed step-by-step instructions to draw a bird: make a dot with a small circle around it for the eye, draw a line near it for the middle of the beak, make an angle line going back from the beak to the first line, draw a curve around the top for the head, etc. It's all about putting different shapes on the paper in a certain size, order and relationship to make a recognizable picture. Here's our results, mine and kiddo's:

baby 5

2012-01-09T11:29:00.000-05:00

My first current drawing in a while. The baby is so mobile now it's hard to sketch her except when she's sleeping. So I tried to do a drawing off one of my favorite photographs of her. The first attempt in blue ink was pretty awkward, when I showed it to my seven-year-old she grimaced and said "I don't want to say what I think!" I went over it again in black ink trying to fix some areas and here's the result.

Hopefully I can do better next time!

cheetah face

2012-01-08T10:36:00.001-05:00

and here's a cheetah head forward-facing, looks much better, doesn't it?

cheetah heads

2012-01-07T20:32:00.000-05:00

Two of the most awkward cheetah heads I've ever drawn- because they were unusual viewpoints and gestures. The first was a snarling cheetah that had its mouth drawn wide baring all the teeth- the grimace looks too large for the head. The second sketch was from a film where the cheetah had climbed on top of a car and was being filmed from below (through the opening in the roof). I wanted to try sketching it at that very different angle- looking up from below.

zebra

2012-01-06T09:58:00.000-05:00

young leopard

2012-01-05T09:28:00.000-05:00

Leopard cub, I think it was six months old in the film? I don't usually concentrate long enough to draw all the spots and you can see this time I lost interest in rendering all that detail when I got to the rear legs. My husband doesn't like this drawing, he thinks the face looks strange. It is a little akward- the nose skewed, the eyes not quite looking in the same direction. But I still think he's a cute little leopard, regardless.

caracal

2012-01-04T20:51:00.000-05:00

small african wildcat named the caracal, front and back. Russet brown with dark ear tips and golden eyes. The face reminds me of an abbyssinian cat.

bird

2012-01-03T10:38:00.000-05:00

some kind of bird that walks across the tops of lily pads

I have not been drawing lately, plus the baby has been sick so that's why no posts for a while. These are all drawings I did back in 2010 but didn't post then. Will notify when they become current.

eagle

2011-12-23T00:00:00.000-05:00

It looks cliche, but this eagle really was stretching his wings in this very pose. Sketched from film, rollerball pen. Use of this drawing, or a print, available for sale here.

stuffed fowl

2011-12-21T14:01:00.003-05:00

little sketch of two small stuffed toys- chicken and a mallard duck
this drawing available here

gecko

2011-12-16T16:46:00.000-05:00

baboon

2011-12-15T13:01:00.001-05:00

downcast face

being fierce

yawning- another way to show off those long canines!

shadow lion

2011-12-14T12:49:00.000-05:00

I saw this figure of a lion's head in the shadows on a stack of folded cloth diapers, and took a moment to sketch it out.

myself

2011-12-13T14:03:00.000-05:00

It's been eight years or more since I did a self-portrait. Today I just decided to stand in front of the mirror with a pen, and this is the result. Hm. I've made my eyebrows too low, my eyes too big and my nose too short... but still I think it's recognizable. When I held the open sketchbook up to the baby she crowed and patted my picture, ignoring totally the awkward sketch of herself on the facing page.

annoyed lion

2011-12-13T10:13:00.000-05:00

I thought this goofy little sketch was fun. The male lion looks rather irritated at that cub flipping its tail in his face.

male lions

2011-12-12T10:37:00.000-05:00

the first lions was sketched at the Museum of Natural History; other two off the TV
the first two are rollerball pen; last one is ballpoint

jackal

2011-12-09T11:56:00.000-05:00

barking at something

lion cubs

2011-12-08T14:11:00.001-05:00

this last little guy was coughing

topi calf

2011-12-07T12:33:00.000-05:00

or are they called fawns?

a few topi

2011-12-06T12:29:00.006-05:00

also called the hartbeest

wildebeest

2011-12-05T15:19:00.000-05:00

wildebeest sketches from various days last month

baby 4

2011-12-04T15:11:00.005-05:00

attempt to draw my baby while she was playing on the floor

snooze

2011-12-03T15:17:00.000-05:00

quick line sketch of my sleeping cat

some wild pigs

2011-12-02T20:53:00.000-05:00

sketched on different days

peccary

bush pig

wild boar

warthog

young tiger

2011-12-01T10:47:00.002-05:00

trotting along- I tried to use shading to indicate where the orange hue of his coat is, against the white paws and belly

jack russell

2011-11-30T11:31:00.000-05:00

two sketches of a Jack Russell terrier in motion

possum

2011-11-29T19:32:00.000-05:00

arctic fox

2011-11-28T15:48:00.000-05:00

this little guy follows yesterday's polar bear around hoping for some leftovers
he was sketched the same day as these foxes

polar bear

2011-11-27T14:12:00.000-05:00

they do have small heads, but I think I drew his head too small

chipmunk

2011-11-26T14:19:00.001-05:00

sketched from a photo I took (several years ago) of a chipmunk who approached us for handouts on a trail rest when we were hiking up to Mutlnomah Falls

chipmunk drawings available here

bison

2011-11-24T23:15:00.002-05:00

maribou stork

2011-11-23T13:06:00.000-05:00

young baboons

2011-11-22T11:51:00.000-05:00

foxes

2011-11-21T13:47:00.000-05:00

I have actually done very little drawing these past few weeks; the pics I'm sharing now are from last month. These foxes were sketched on different days, the third one with rollerball pen, others all ballpoint.

jeroba

2011-11-20T11:27:00.000-05:00

sketched at the Museum of Natural History (some time ago)

leopard

2011-11-19T13:57:00.000-05:00

more tommies

2011-11-18T20:26:00.009-05:00

a version of this drawing available for sale here

this drawing available here

fawn

lion

2011-11-17T11:22:00.000-05:00

windblown lion

axis deer

2011-11-16T11:39:00.001-05:00

african serval

2011-11-15T15:37:00.000-05:00

ballpoint pen sketch of an african serval, a small wildcat with big ears and a wide, leathery nose.

the hunt

2011-11-14T01:02:00.002-05:00

cheetah dodging a wildebeest

chasing a thompson's gazelle

the final stranglehold

moose

2011-11-13T00:50:00.000-05:00

brown colored pencil; after a photograph in a book

puma

2011-11-12T01:00:00.007-05:00

puma portrait

snow leopard

2011-11-11T00:58:00.002-05:00

two sketches of a snow leopard climbing down a rocky slope
the second one is better

leap

2011-11-10T00:50:00.003-05:00

serval leaping over tall grass- sketched from a nature film

goats

2011-11-09T00:54:00.005-05:00

sketches from a nature film; some kind of wild goats

two little goats leaping down a hillside

here I was interested in drawing the head from different angles to study the way the horns curve

red mother

2011-11-08T00:52:00.000-05:00

fox hovering over her den with two young cubs
quick sketch from a photo

fat seal

2011-11-07T13:38:00.002-05:00

I sketched this guy on a sticky-note while reading The Year of the Seal; I had in mind a fat bull fur-seal but never really looked at a picture of one so I'm sure it's not quite right. As you can tell, I couldn't quite decide which way the flippers should go.

hyena

2011-11-06T13:37:00.002-05:00

another little figure I saw in some shadows; baby hyena

dolphin

2011-11-05T13:35:00.001-04:00

it was probably trying to catch yesterday's cod; I don't remember now

fish 2

2011-11-04T13:33:00.004-04:00

this cod I sketched off the television; I'm not much good at drawing fish but trying to improve that the only way possible- through practice!

this drawing available here

fish

2011-11-03T13:32:00.000-04:00

sometimes I draw figures I see in objects around me (like seeing pictures in the clouds)
this little fish I saw in the shadows of folds on some clothing thrown over a chair

sea angel

2011-11-02T13:29:00.001-04:00

this tiny microscopic sea-creature is a kind of pteropod called a "sea angel" (when I wrote the note in my sketchbook it was from listening to the TV narration, thus the spelling confusion) It flaps the little fins to swim and you can see through its sides to the interior organs

this drawing available here

squids

2011-11-01T20:11:00.001-04:00

and related creatures; another new subject attempt for me

These small ones I drew at the Museum of Natural History. It was a large diorama featuring prehistoric sea life. I looked for something telling me the names of the creatures but couldn't find the info.

sharks

2011-10-31T20:03:00.001-04:00

haven't hardly ever drawn one

shark drawings available here

walrus face

2011-10-30T10:05:00.000-04:00

from TV program

ostrich

2011-10-29T10:02:00.004-04:00

They were standing in the wind, so the feathers blown down and flat, no fluffy plumes.

lion

2011-10-28T14:10:00.001-04:00

this drawing available here

zebra

2011-10-27T19:20:00.000-04:00

I tried to really focus on observing and drawing the shapes and directions of the stripes accurately, this time. Didn't quite work out- there should be a few more on the body just behind the shoulder and more on the neck. So either I made the neck and head too small, or the stripes there too big.

lions

2011-10-27T13:44:00.001-04:00

not very good lions, but here they are
the first one is okay

this drawing available here

the second one the posture is awkward; it looks as if his head is set too far back; the neck (or mane) should be bigger and I just got the legs all wrong...

also my pen was a bit leaky so it left black blotches sometimes where I didn't want them. But still fun to draw!

hyena

2011-10-26T16:31:00.001-04:00

sketched from watching Be the Creature, hyenas were stealing food form the cheetahs

this drawing available here

this drawing available here

the first one his head is too big and back too short, the last one the neck is probably too long, but I'm just pleased they all came out looking like hyenas!

seated cheetah

2011-10-25T12:25:00.001-04:00

can you tell I've been stuck watching a film on cheetahs lately?
this drawing available here

whales

2011-10-24T11:31:00.000-04:00

Beluga, the only whale that can bend its neck!

and a little sketch of belgua next to a Narwhal

cheetah lesson

2011-10-23T22:01:00.000-04:00

with my daughter again; my sketch:

and hers (she got tired of drawing spots):

She got to see here the advantages/drawbacks of the different media firsthand. She noticed right away when opened her sketchbook that her zebra drawing of the day before had gotten a little smudged and faded (some of the graphite on the stripes rubbed off). On the other hand, she does lots of erasing when trying to get the angles of the legs and proportions right, so that's a plus for pencils. Then she saw what happened to my drawing: a cheetah with a forked tail! ha ha. I sketched the tail too short at first so simply redrew it but there's no erasing ink. I think I've convinced her to stay with pencil for a while; it will be less frustrating.

tommy lesson

2011-10-22T23:35:00.002-04:00

Kiddo and I did another little drawing lesson. This one she pretty much finished on her own; I got interrupted by the baby and left her when she'd just drawn the body shape and neck. She added the legs and started shading in values all by herself:

My drawing (quite a bit unfinished compared to hers!)

zebra lesson

2011-10-21T23:28:00.010-04:00

My daughter asked me to teach her how to draw. So we sat in front of a nature program, paused it on some zebra, and drew side by side. I really just showed her how to look for shapes and use her pencil to measure angles, that's it. She watched each step I took and drew this all on her own:

I think she did fantastic! (She's seven years old).
My drawing:

pronghorn

2011-10-20T13:20:00.001-04:00

this drawing available here

little antelope

2011-10-20T12:25:00.003-04:00

I think this guy is a Steinbok

Kudu

2011-10-19T13:17:00.002-04:00

from the last few pages of my sketchbook:

this drawing available here

sable antelope

2011-10-19T12:25:00.001-04:00

this drawing available here

Impala

2011-10-19T12:20:00.003-04:00

this drawing available here

baby 3

2011-10-18T12:11:00.002-04:00

giraffe

2011-10-17T12:06:00.006-04:00

giraffe artwork available here

thompson's gazelle

2011-10-17T12:04:00.010-04:00

this drawing available here

the ears are too small on this one

cheetah

2011-10-16T12:01:00.005-04:00

this drawing available here

cat nap 2

2011-10-16T11:59:00.004-04:00

this drawing available here

rabbit 2

2011-10-15T12:00:00.005-04:00

this drawing available here

baby 2

2011-10-15T11:57:00.003-04:00

more attempts to draw the baby

wombat

2011-10-14T22:16:00.001-04:00

I think this is the first time I ever drew a wombat; from tv show where they were rescuing, rehabilitating and releasing the animals. They are cute in a way, but don't have much shape so actually hard to draw.

studies of the face and feet

warthog

2011-10-13T11:29:00.003-04:00

loose, quick gesture

lions

2011-10-12T11:38:00.002-04:00

the male looks rather anemic, his waist too skinny but I like his face anyways

baby

2011-10-11T11:07:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I did my first drawings ever, since february. Of my five-month baby!

It doesn't really look like her, and there are plenty of proportional errors- the body is too long, the head too small, the arms awkward. Just remember I haven't done any sketching at all for eight months previous, and I never was too good at drawing people, especially babies. I think the last one, although lacking detail, is best in terms of proportions and gesture.

cow trot

2011-10-10T06:50:00.002-04:00

elephant

2011-10-09T10:50:00.001-04:00

more rhino

2011-10-08T18:55:00.002-04:00

this drawing available here

camel

2011-10-06T19:46:00.006-04:00

rhinos

2011-09-30T10:49:00.002-04:00

such ancient-looking beasts

young rhino, a yearling?

mother rhino with small calf

elephant

2011-09-29T10:47:00.003-04:00

they're hard to draw

isn't the baby elephant cute?

kob

2011-09-28T10:44:00.003-04:00

I think this antelope is the uganda kob

water buffalo

2011-09-27T10:43:00.001-04:00