Smelly Rhino Studio
  • aceo
  • Jun10

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    “Waiting for a scoobie snack”
    Graphite on Bristol smooth paper
    Sunday was Drawing Day!
    Here was my little drawing.
    I hope they got to 1 million worldwide!
    What a fun goal, and to see the drawings everywhere, on facebook, flickr, youtube, imagekind, deviantart, you name it, they were everywhere!

    Join in the fun next year! Until then, check out the results of the day here!
    drawingday.org

  • May29

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    Buddy Giraffe
    Colored pencil on bristol smooth

    Tonight, I read my friend Alexia’s regular newsletter, full of daily wisdom, funny and familiar. She that she was writing her morning pages, and made note of the vital 2500 word a day challenge that is out there. She also mentioned having hurt her knee while attempting to train with the couch to 5k program.

    She reminded me of a story. Well, 2 stories, really. My knee was defiled by a fucktard snowboarder in Tahoe 4 years ago. But more recently, my hip is suddenly WHACK! It’s so tight even bending over can be a problem. (probably also the fault of the snowboarder). All this physiological self-discovery came to pass when I started my own couch to 10k program a few weeks ago so a bunch of us could do the Peachtree Road Race (the largest 10k in the country, I’ve been told). My hip is so tight the chiropractor said, “NO running!” Find a swimming pool instead. and YOGA; do some of those sunrise poses.” So, now I have to nurse this aging hip, instead of just running on a whim, with no prior training or exercise, like I did when I was 25. I don’t understand why Maker’s Mark and TV can’t prepare me for that kind of thing.

    Back to the snowboarder, briefly. Whoever the hell invented snowboarding should have his own damned mountain to board on, and bring the rest of the boarders with him, because they don’t belong with skiers. I don’t say this to be mean, I say this to keep skiers safe and to keep the slopes uncluttered from the discourteous, etiquette thrashing, malevolent effing teenagers who just stop for no other apparent reason right in the middle of a downhill slope than to ‘take a break’ as skiers are actually attempting to use the slope for SKIING! But maybe worse still are the wobbly snowboarders who grab people and drag them down when exiting the ski lift because they can’t control their own balance, and have to completely destroy the cartilage of totally innocent skiers because they are too fracking clumsy and self-absorbed to just fall on their own off to the side somewhere!

    Soooo, the other story…yea, this is gonna chew off a few people, but here goes, (and this is the really demonstrative part): The fracking morning pages. That book, specifically. I stopped reading the stupid book on chapter 4 or 5 when it said, “don’t read this book for a week!”…I never went back. Then, like 4 months later, I decided to start again. whatever! Stopped again after the second night falling asleep thinking, ‘yea, see, now I’m bored.’

    Hello? What book says, “Stop reading me for a week, now that I am sure I have your attention!”
    I seriously think the writer or editor should change that part. New Editions are good, mkay?
    Anyway, had a yard sale with a girlfriend a couple months later, and her book was in the yard. (I chuckled under my breath).

    I liked a lot of ideas in that book, though. I have always journaled, and I liked the suggestion that you always do your morning pages, just get up and get it out right away. I rarely do first thing in the morning, but I do write, and I think that was more the point for me than getting out my expletives before my second cup of coffee. I thanked Alexia and said, “Now I am going to go put this in my blog. Thanks for making me write tonight. he he.”

    Have a great safe holiday weekend!
    Rebecca
    Ps. I really do still write the pages, just not every morning.

    Alexia is a terrific person, has a great site and is a very intuitive and helpful observer, and coach. Read more about Alexia Petrakos.

  • May25

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    “Fat and Happy” ; Colored pencil on Bristol smooth

    I have often felt that I would never be taken seriously if I created only cartoon-ish-y art. In fact, that has been true, as I have been rejected at times as a serious artist. I have even canceled listings because when I looked back, I felt it just wasn’t good enough. But, there is plenty of “serious” art that doesn’t make me feel good, so what good is it after all?

    Eh, who cares anymore?!!! I think the goal here is to do what makes you happy, and what you seem to be good at performing. I’m still not sure what I am best at performing, but I’m turning a new leaf and I am no longer going to pout that I haven’t really painted a still life since college, (and I’m not upset about it.)

    I’ve been afraid to say I would begin my painting a day challenge just because I know I’d be bound to miss some days. Screw that charade as well!

    So, to start small, I will create an aceo a day! Maybe I’ll work up to the oswoa size for the Daily Painter’s site! I will post some and throw in some more Rhinos and history lessons! yay! I hope you will follow my blog for a little fun now and then!

    For all of you who are illustrators and whimsical artists, power on!

    Have an inspired day!

  • Feb23

    5 Comments

    So, I was in a mood the other night. I really felt the energy to stay up late and work. And you know when you have that good vibe, you just can’t go to bed, because that’s when good things happen.

    I sat at my extra large drafting desk, which always lays flat for the utility of the monstrous table top, (but mostly because I inherited it from a local glass studio and one of the incline knobs is missing!) I cut up some Bristol Smooth because I am working with pencil on these next couple of projects, and went to work. As the first hour passed, I was struggling with my proportions, but I hadn’t begun to swear yet. My drawing was looking very juvenile and I thought, “Well, it’ll come together as I continue. At 1:00 am, I finally went to bed, and I had exhausted all the expletives that George Carlin ever used. Time lost; can’t get it back. That piece is in the trash.

    Anyway, the next morning, I got up and started again, and finished this little portrait of an 11 year old Pomeranian named Zoe Bear. She apparently knows 200 different toys. I can’t imagine having that many toys, but I do know this: When Zoe goes, she wins!

    The very first media I remember using was a pencil. We didn’t have much growing up, but there always seemed to be a pencil and paper lying around. My Dad would give me those flat construction pencils to draw with and tell me they were special!

    I started babysitting at the young age of 8, (believe it or not), and I found my thrill copying photographs out of Time or Life Magazine to pass the time. (No, not the naked tribal pics!) These were my humble art beginnings. The first person I drew was a beautiful woman with a scarf or hood framing her face and her brilliant green eyes! I don’t think it was the “Time’s” pent ultimate photo, you know the one I’m talking about, but it may have been, it was the mid 70’s!

    I remember that my brother, who was 3 years older than I, was already drawing well! I wanted to emulate him. I would take his drawings and finished them or try to do what he was doing so I could be good, too! He was a great person to have for a big brother, because it didn’t seem to bother him that I always hung around! We are still inseparable in spirit and behavior, even with 3000 miles between us.

    I used 12 different grades of graphite for this piece, so I wouldn’t have to apply any pressure. What a joy it was, and how different from my early days of just pressing really hard to get the dark lines, which would emboss my paper with lots of shiny dents! It was nice to remember back, anyway.

    On to make a French press pot for the last of the afternoon splendor!