Bird Squares Continued

Progress, so far:

Sketch on Paper Copy of Painted Background

Tracing the Sketch

Applying Charcoal to the Back of the Tracing

Transferred Sketches to the Canvases

The Painting!

One down; 3 to go!

Bird Squares Part II

It's been a few weeks of typical day-to-day busyness. As such there has not been much in the way of art production of late.

But here are the next steps in developing the Bird Squares:

Each square was traced and "sized" for the canvas-

Next, charcoal was applied to the back of the tracing-

Lastly, the image is traced directly to the canvasses-

Simple as an elementary school exercise, but effective in order to comfortably design such a small composition!

With some luck, I hope to have the chance to take them to the next level some time this week!

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This past week, I was fortunate enough to be able to contribute to a new blog, Paper, Paint, Pencils & Pens, hosted by Lynn Cohen. Check it out some time; it's a very diverse, themed collection of artwork, across the boards! 

There are quite a  lot of fun challenges and showcases out in Blogger Land. And there is a lot of work that goes into so many of them. Thank you to all of our wonderful hosts!

Ah, Autumn!

Vermont View
5x8 Water Soluble Pencil
©BEDeuel/Bronson Hill Arts



Autumn is here, officially and literally. It is a very wonderful time of the year in this part of the world, upstate New York.

While Earth’s outdoor residents are scurrying to prepare for cold, nasty weather and snow galore, it seems that this is the season that gives the rest of us the right to unwind and relax.

The yard is as trimmed and prettied as best it will be for the year. The weather breaks in such a way that pleasant activities are easier to enjoy without the heat and humidity. The colors are startlingly beautiful. The holidays haven’t started their demands on our time or finances yet.

Yep, it is a wonderful time of the year.

Autumn inspires creativity of the mind and the hands. It can be needlework, photography, artwork, writing letters, kitchen magic, anything! It can also simply invite you to curl up next to loved ones and dive into a book or ten.

The hope is as always that everyone takes the time to indulge their bliss. My hope is that this is the season that makes it possible for you!

Happy Autumn!

Monday Artday "Tiny Things" and Fascination

Fascination with Tiny Things
Graphite Sketch/Computer "Paint"
©2012 BEDeuel/Bronson Hill Arts

While doing some minor reorganizing in the livingroom, I came across a sketch journal I had started about 2 years ago. This drawing was in it. I only had 3 sketches in the journal that, I suspect, were all done on the same day. That's me, though: dive in headfirst at full speed only to lose momentum quickly.

It's never a question of just stopping. It's generally a question of distraction. I'm like a bird attracted to shiny objects. I am constantly pursuing more activities that catch my eye, that fascinate me.

You might think that by a certain point in life, i.e., solid middle-age, the desire to try new things or try doing old things in different ways would wane. But, it really hasn't. That desire has actually increased.

I'm not sure why it is that way. I think when we're kids, we're always seeing something new as the whole world is new to us. However, I also think that, when we're established in our lives- careers, housing and families are mostly settled- we are looking to reconnect with all the things we'd put on hold during those years we took to establish ourselves.

So, now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go and dabble in something else that's just peaked my interest! Oh, look! a shiny thing! Wonder what I can do with it...

Check out the Monday Artday Challenge for "Tiny Things"!

IF Puzzle

Man's Greatest Puzzle
Graphite on 6x9 60# Paper
©2012 BEDeuel/Bronson Hill Arts

The topic for this week's Illustration Friday is "Puzzle". It strikes a nerve for me this week: the puzzle of human nature is a neverending challenge.

So many people throw away a good situation reaching for the recreation of a glorified past relationship. A lot of us take for granted a wonderful person in our lives because "something" is "missing". As for men and women, well, John Gray's made a fortune trying to reconcile the male/female conundrum! And, many more authors will continue to make money this way.

But, the puzzle will never be solved.

Because, people always want more than they perceive that they possess. This is an important and positive trait that has made man alter his environment, always looking to improve his lot. It's a destructive and negative tendency in that it blinds us to what we do possess that does make us happy.

I guess all I really want to say today is this: Take a look at your life and do whatever you can to enhance the presence of the good things in your world and expand on them. Don't toss them in pursuit of something different; work to make your life better with what you already have.

You have the pieces to the puzzle. Just take the time and effort to put them in the right places!

Monday Artday Miscalculate

Mis-cat-ulate
Soft Colored Pencil 6x9 80# Paper
©2012 BEDeuel/Bronson Hill Arts

I have never been considered a graceful person. Klutz, spastic, downright dangerous are most likely to be used to describe my movements.

That being said, why, oh, why do I choose to keep cats in the house?

Maybe it's the challenge of attempting to sense whether the cat will be under my feet as I'm carrying a basket of laundry down the staircase. Maybe it's a need to prove I can land on my feet just like a cat from an unnatural height. And not break an ankle. So far at least.

And for all of cats being a self-serving species, it puzzles me as to what motive they have in trying to put me out of commission. Hubby is not going to feed them 4 times a day like I do. They'll get food in the morning only because they annoy him until he gives in. But, no treats, no afternoon snack, and certainly no smelly, fishy soft food at bedtime will be given.

Yet, they persist in trying to trip me!

I doubt that I'll ever know what motive moves them, but be careful when you step blindly  in a downward direction: it's very easy to miscalculate!

IF Suspense

Watercolor Paint on 4x6 Cold Press Paper
©2012 BEDeuel/Bronson Hill Arts

Illustration Friday's topic this week is "Suspense". This illustration may look more like "Peek-a-Boo", but it really represents suspense and mystery for me.

The suspense is, "How will my hair behave today?" and the mystery often is, "What did I do to make it look this good and how will I do it again?".

In my lifetime, I don't know that I've ever known a woman who's been consistently happy about her hair. This phenomenon can be demonstrated simply by wandering the hair care aisle in any store. Between the cleaning, conditioning and coloring products available to the sprays, styling gels and mousses, it takes an entire aisle to hold it all. And if you want a tool to curl your hair, you can choose from small, medium or large curls, spiral curls, crimped waves, etc. Straightening tools offer broad irons for longer needs and 1" or less irons for just a light, wispy effect. It's a great business in which to have stock! Go Conair!

I'm no different in regards to being dissatisfied with my hair. I have 3 things working against me: thin, wavy hair, allergies to stay-in hair products and, mostly, that I'm just plain lazy when it comes to working with it. I've had wonderful hair stylists do great cuts to no avail. It's too fickle to try to anticipate what momentous steps I'll have to take to tame it on any given day.

However, one advantage to age, or, preferably, aging with a certain amount of grace, is that it seems to matter less and less. I don't like the days when my hair goes completely and wildly bad, but the normal, mediocre days are fine.

Think I'll try to avoid the suspense and mystery and just let it go. I'd rather be doing a lot of other things with my time anyway!

Imperfect for IF

Belmont Bridges
5x7 Graphite on 130# Paper
©2011 BEDeuel

This sketch of a photograph taken last October represents one of about 3 artpieces that vex me. All of the pieces have the same 2 elements that elude me in any medium: leaves and water.


Belmont Bridges
4x6 Water Soluble Pencil on 140# Paper
The First Completed Attempt:
An Imperfect Attempt

So, how does this represent "Imperfect"? As long as my attempts at representing the original scene are "imperfect", I will keep pushing for "perfection" of the subject.

If everything was always perfect, what would we strive for in our lives?

The Perfect Original

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For whatever reason (and the reasons seem to be varied), the last few times I've tried to post to Illustration Friday, it won't take my file. I thought I had it figured out, but then other problems started to arise. Any suggestions would be helpful regarding reducing DPI (without PhotoShop), "Save as" options (like web?), and, now, a message of "wrong file type" even though I'm uploading a jpeg file.

So, in a round-about way, this post hasn't made it to IF. But, the topic was interesting nonetheless! Thanks for the idea!