Day 21: Something I Want – A Dishwasher!
I’ve skipped Day 20: Something Orange for lack on inspiration (I’ll come back to that one in the next few days) and gone straight on to Day 21: Something I Want…
Detail of Pots n Pans
I really would have much more time if I had a dishwasher but can’t fit one into our tiny kitchen so in my next house I’m definitely having one!
What could be better than new shoes?! Over half way through now on the 30 Day Drawing Challenge – tune in tomorrow for ‘Something Orange’.
I wonder if anyone else has the habit of drawing miniature versions of their clothing before any trip or holiday? I always did this when I was younger, as a way of organising what to pack and what outfits to wear on which days. Yes I was super-organised! It was quicker for me to ‘see’ the item of clothing in my minds eye and draw it, deciding which pieces it matched to make up an outfit, than it was to write lists. Most designers think visually in this way – it’s a useful skill we never lose!
A couple of very quick sketches/paintings of some Australian native plants. These remind me of a family holiday in Western Australia a couple of years ago.
Day 16: My Inspiration – The Sea by Lili Cabena
Acrylic, mixed media and collage on canvas.
The week I started this blog and the Drawing Challenge, was the week I happened to be moving house. I moved to the little beachside suburb of Bronte, so I like to think my work has been inspired somewhat by living by the sea again: from the bright sparkling turquoise ocean on a hot day to the faded pale grey sea on a rainy day like today, the sea and the beach are the inspiration for my colour palette. I enjoyed playing with perspective in this piece and like how the collaged strips of paper cast shadows on the canvas and add a 3D effect to the landscape.
O’Connor Kids – Lisa, Alan, Glenda and Gemma
Some time I might decide to colour this sketch but for now I’m leaving it monochrome. It’s not often myself, my brother Alan and sisters Gemma and Glenda are together in the same country in order to get a portrait together which makes this all the more special to me. I’ve said I love drawing faces but drawing likeneses of family (and smiles) is HARD! I’ve got to say I’m pretty happy with the progress of this line drawing though.
Gerda & the Reindeer. The Snow Queen lllustration by Lili Cabena
Mixed Media
I wanted to create a drawing that evoked that other worldliness depicted in the fairytale books I had growing up. At least that’s how I remember them – marvellous and magical – children can get so much more from the illustrations in a book than an adult can, and sometimes years later, just seeing that illustration again can take you back to how you felt when you first read that story.
My favourite fairytale was The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Anderson. This is one of Hans Christian Anderson’s longest tales, unusual in that almost all of it’s main characters are female. It’s a story that has been illustrated beautifully many times by Dulac, Rackham, Milo Winter, Eleanor Vere Boyle etc. Those are some of my favourites. But who were the illustrators of the humble fairytale books we read growing up… they probably weren’t well known at all and yet would have approached this subject in their own way despite the many great artists having covered it already in their own style. The Snow Queen is topical at the moment with the release of Disney’s Frozen, which I am excited to see.
Today I thought I’d do a few quick portraits in a ‘comic’ style… (well, I’m not big on comics!). When I was a child I would doodle faces all day long. One day I had a thought – what if all the faces I had ever drawn had their own little world and personalities, and in drawing each one, I had made these creatures come to life?! Scary stuff for an 8 year old!
Next up is Day 14: Favourite Faitytale
That was the idea behind this project, which began as a Pinterest pin which led to a ‘why don’t we’ from an illustrator pal. And the Draw Something project was born! The brief is to draw something different every day for 30 days. These can be quick 5 minute sketches…I seem to be alot more time poor than I was in my art college days! I had been working as a graphic designer for some time and hadn’t illustrated anything by hand in a number of years. This was one sure-fire way get back in practice!
Half way through now – keep tuning in for daily drawings and doodles!
This is the latest painting I’ve been working on. I’m really enjoying working with the geometric trend at the moment and thought I’d mix this with some summer bright hues, earth tones and neons that would work well in any room as a piece of wall art.
There are so many digital prints around of this type of thing but I loved the challenge of starting out from scratch with pencil and compass, getting the geometry right and then working out the colour hue combinations, adding metallic copper as a final touch.
Option 1: Green Base
I painted this with the intention of it hanging on a wall in portrait format with the green hues at the base. Until my boyfriend commented that obviously it was meant to be hung horizontally as it looked better that way right?! Well now I’m confused…which way up does this painting look best? Please vote for option 1, 2 or 3! Thanks for voting!
Option 2: Red Base
Option 3: Landscape
Tomorrow, Day 13: ‘Comic’… coming soon!
Lili Cabena 