At Last...TIME!

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE! It was a beautiful day here - warm and sunny (sorry to those of you in other parts of the country). I was a able to finally get some rest and feel a lot better than I have been the last couple days. And, my kids spent the afternoon with friends at the park down the street. Quite unexpectedly, I ended up with a big block of free time - time that I was able to spend in the studio!

No games or warm-ups today; I went right into a project I'd already started. It was a redo of a doodle that had been in my sketchbook. The thing about doodles is that sometimes lines, shapes, gestures, and values get sealed into the drawing before you determine what it is you're actually making. There's no going back and simply altering.

That was the case here. I had done the first drawing of the "Spectator Ant," but I wasn't happy with the way parts of it had turned out. I really haven't worked with ink very much, so I was out of my comfort zone - I didn't get the amount of contrast I'd wanted, and I was overly rigid with my cross-hatching.

So, on this redo, I was able to loosen up and do more of a "scribble" type of shading (like I do when sketching with pencil). I think it brings more energy to the image. Also, I fixed some things I didn't like - the eye and some general shapes and sizes. I added a little pizzazz to the flower and "super-sized" the ant's beverage. Note: the original doodle-drawing and details are all shown on the left - new improved "redo" details are all on the right (Complete "redo" is down on the bottom).

Overall, I'm much more pleased, although I don't know how much of a difference can be seen on the computer. Many of the changes were just technical, gestural, or cosmetic, but even a few small changes can still make a big difference. Now, I'm deciding whether or not to add some color - probably watercolor washes.

I think I will...