you complete me.

soooooooooooooo.
xmas break.
is a... yeah almost over. sorta. halfway finito.
christmas isnt what it's cracked up to be. all this time preppin' for it to come and gifts to get and food to make and fights to get into with the family for "not helping" even though they yell at you for trying...

but im kinda glad we have the week of chill time.
and you know what that meanssssss :)
DARK KNIGHT TIME :)

haha by far the best xmas gift i recieved.
if any of you havent seen it.... you havent lived at all. the past 17 ++++ years of your life... pointless until you've seen this masterpiece.

anyhooo.
i hope you all are having fun doing god knows what on your break time. (brauer probably is wishing some art pieces)
i'll try to check in again, but if not, ttyl.

OMG!!! I wonder what happened???!!!

Well, so I checked in on December 19th, the day school ended.  I was promised some company.  I thought someone would come in, sit down and chat with me for a little bit about their work, their holiday, or maybe even what Santa brought them.  But NOOOOOOOOOOOO.

That's interesting though because this time it wasn't my idea to get back onto the blog.  I wasn't the one who said "Please Mrs. Brauer, could we start the blog again?  Can we post things and have you check in and give us some advice?"

And despite the fact that I don't have internet in Columbus, I still agreed to make the loooooooong drive to Panera to be able to check the postings and give you feedback.  *Scratches her head...  Hmm I wonder what happened?  wink, wink*

...feels like deja vu...weird

Well it's been a while since anyone ventured into these "waters" but here I am again.

Seems we don't need this as much as I thought we would during the regular school year.  

Now that it's Christmas break though, it may be useful to keep in touch.

I will check in everyday.  You check in whenever the need arises.

Post whatever you like.  I will be happy to give you some feedback on your work, or suggestions for your next piece.

Don't let the time go by without using this opportunity well.

I have a couple of things I need to do too so I may be posting my progress as well.

My grades are finalized.  They are posted to "Edline".  No one in any of  my classes earned a failing grade for either the quarter or the semester.  I am pleased about that.

I hope you all take time to enjoy the holidays.  After all that's why we are off.  But don't blow this chance to get a bunch of work done either.  If you need to work, then I will definitely be here to cheer you on to reach your goal.  The image (above) is of my home the year we decided to not put up a tree.  We got a reindeer instead and put our presents under that!  It freaked out the dog at first, but she got used to it.

Interestingly enough, the tree is not up yet this year.  Don't worry, I'm getting to that.  I have most of my presents bought and most years I can't say that at this stage of the game, so I guess I'm just doing things in a different order this year.  "Change is good...."

I also changed some of the colors to Christmas colors.  I thought it might be more appropriate.  :-}

Day Off

Yosh, it makes me so happy! I was wondering what everyone planned on doing... I began doodling tonight and attempted to try something new in Photoshop. I (attempted) to turn an anime character into a realistic person. Hmm, it's a boy actually and I picked him for two reasons. One, he has the emo bang going on so I was able to get tons of reference pictures. Two, I have issues drawing men and he's fairly feminine. So I hope you enjoy looking at my progress so far and I'll update once I've finished his clothes. ^^

just needed to post something

i got an email saying that i havn't been using the blog and they were going to boot me off. i figured i just had to post something to stay on board.

Absent

Hey Mama B! I just wanted to check up on what we did in class today, if I had make-up work or anything. I've got my animal piece done and will try to upload it to my computer. My scanner has been a bit bi-polar since the blackout so I'll do my best.
Alrighty so I had to edit this because I haven't been back to school yet. (The doctor doesn't know what's wrong with me so he took blood and I had to leave for that.) I was wondering about what I should do for portfolio day. I'll be at MND beforehand so should I ask someone to open the art room for me? I don't know what to do. =[

What To Print

I was wondering if you thought these would be good pieces to make prints of. My Mandala, Yuki, Flower Girl, and possibly the edited version of my Faery painting. I'm not too sure about the Faery because the only difference between the digital version and the tradition version is the digital has a whiter background. Also, I'm planning (hopefully) to have my second Faery painting done by the same due date as the animal picture. If not it will be done later that week, so I'm asking if I should get a print of that as well if I get one done of the first version.
Other than that I'm posting the animal I would like to draw for the next project so you can approve it. ^^ My favorite animals are squirrels so I decided to incorporate one into my art. Also, how do you blow it up without making the image pixely? I kept trying, but it wasn't working.

Here's My Decision on Work Due

Because during this last week we haven't even met, I am asking you to:
* Finish your acrylic painting and have that ready for this next week
* Get as many of your late pieces finished as possible

This week to come, we will be doing 2 pieces instead of one. I will do presentations on the first day of the week. I will look at the syllabus and decide which 2 assignments would be most manageable. I will talk about all the revisions next week.
In the meantime, get yourself caught up, please!

You Never Know When You Wake Up In The Morning...

I've said it before and this is one good example of it.  "You never know when you wake up in the morning what your day will be."  Not even the wonders of the Doppler Radar knew this was coming.  But it has and now we have a new appreciation for the small things in life; things we usually take for granted.  And through all of this, life goes on, and the clock keeps ticking. 

I know this week has been chaotic for many of you.  I too have had my share of inconveniences to tolerate and people to contact to see if they are safe!  

I really hope all of you are safe and have been cared for in this unlikely situation.  And I hope that you have had the privilege of caring for others who needed your help as well.  Taking care of those who need your help is your first priority.  

I also hope all of you have your power back by now, but I know that some of you still may not.  

 

And yet in the midst of this chaos there's this thing looming over us.  And it's almost midnight, Cinderella!  Portfolio Day will be here very soon!  

  If you are able , please try to do some work.  If not, I understand and we'll just pick up where we left off.  We may have to make an extra effort to get caught up.  So at least (AT THE VERY LEAST) try to have your paintings finished and ready to share and discuss.  We'll make a revised plan when we all get together again.  Cross your fingers that it won't be too much longer.  

Say a prayer of thanks for all the blessings we have in our lives. 

 

Hey everyone....ok so this one is for mamma b.
I will be going on a college visit to OSU this Friday. I will also be seeing their art department and meeting the teachers, or advisors of that department.
My mom and I was wondering, do you think I should bring any art up with me or not? and if so, could you help me decide what to bring up?

I hope everyone is safe!
Workbig

OMG im finally on! hahaha thanks mama b!.....okay so this is my picture representing my summer.. its glow sticks! i had so many crazy dance parties on top of random parking garages and other random locations. they were absolutely amazing! we would dress totally crazy and dance around my car which was BLARING all kinds of awesome music from techno to oldies. it was so fun. basically i had one of the most fun filled craziest summers of my life... i miss it

"check" this out

today in class we looked at different styles of painting. one of the pieces that stood out to me was the perscription form painting.

i found this painting in Art in America, it's by Richard Prince. he does many types of painting but what he's known for is his huge paintings with checks and jokes written on them.

it's kinda hard to see... sorry

Aha, I figured it out! Thank you mamma b for all your help! Well this is a picture of my 3 month old brother and my 7 year old sister, they were what my summer was all about. Finding out really who they are and what personalities they have. I spent every chance I could this simmer with them since I will be going away to college soon. I have many adorable stories to tell and this blog could go on forever if I typed even a couple of them out for everyone to read. So if anyone wants to hear any silly sister or adorable brother stories just ask me and I will gladly brag about them =] I am sorry if anyone is getting tired of hearing about these two from me but they just hold such a big part of my heart, its hard not to talk about them all the time.
In the picture, Alexander Nicholas is wearing his Dallas Cowboy's jersey. This is his favorite football team, he just hasn't realized it yet but with his dad's loyalty to this team, I am sure he will be cheering them on too as soon as he can talk. Brooke Louise is wearing her snow white nightgown, which is her favorite princess.
Well I hope everyone enjoys this picture of my little sleepy prince and snow white angel as much as I do, it really reflects who they are.

<3ley

summer pic

This summer the fam and I went out west for vacation. We ended up going ATVing; it was pretty freakin sweet! This is a picture of me and my awesomeness dominating ATVing. It was probably the most fun thing I did all summer, lol although that's not saying much...

so long sweet summer continued..

This is my family and I at kiawah island, south carolina :) my parents have been goin since before we were born and i've gone every single year of my life. This was our last year going because next year we're going to explore the world. I'm gonna miss going there so much because every year I meet up with the same people and we've all become such great friends and next year i'll be the only one missing :( so long sweet summer..

so long sweet summer

Smmer

The spot that I did most my work during the summer. It's the corner in my backyard right in front of the pool that gets the most sunlight. The flowers it's focused on are the ones I planted at the beginning of the summer. They're so colorful. ^^

everything i've asked for and so much more

this summer I went to a lot of concerts. perhaps more than I've had in the past. this picture is of my best friend and I at the boys like girls/ good charlotte concert, my personal favorite. I feel I get a great deal of my inspiration from the music I listen to. many of the song's lyrics describe my life at this very moment and also my past and all the forks in the road. the past few years I've been trying to find myself and figure out the real me. I feel that over this past summer I realized who I am inside.

summer!

so this summer i feel as if all i did was work. well one day at work i saw these awesome hibiscus plants and decided to buy one! so here is one of the blooms that finally opened. its not that good of a picture but these plants are amazing and happen to be the subject of one of my pieces. so yea. summer...where did it go?

Picture for the summaaaaaa

heres the picture i took today, on my day of laying out out :). our backyard is absolutely huge and its covered in plants and flowers galore. its pretty much a butterfly heaven too throughout the day. its really kinda cool to see the different butterflies that pass through all day long. i mean its usually the same ones ( or so i think, they all look the same lol) but anyways heres my picture for the summer it summarizes my being lazy by the pool and observing the bee-you-tee-full wildlife all around my backyard. ( oh and if you notice the butterflies wing is damaged which is even cooler and adds a better effect! i think atleast!!!)

my summer

alrite, so here's a pic of me taking a pic in downtown cincy with artworks. hillary cutter actually took this pic- she was in my group which was really cool bc i think she's the only other person in artworks who's ever heard of mnd haha bc most of the kids are from other parts of the area. this is from when we all got to go on "fieldtrips" around cincy. we literally walked ALL over the downtown area. it was a bad choice to wear flip flops that day. but artworks was practically my life for a big chunk of the summer, so that's why i choose a pic of that. i can't wait to show you what i did there and stuff bc it really was such a cool exerience! i got so much out of it and i think i've grown a lot as an artist bc of it.

Vacation

Ok so this summer my family and I, along with maria, traveled the east coast for like two weeks. First we went to N. Carolina, then South Carolina, then we stopped in Georgia before we went to St. Augustine, FL. Then FINALLY we got the Englewood, FL were my family owns a beach house. (We painted two rooms in the house. So it was like, beach time from afternoon till dinner, then eat, then sunset, and work at night) But anyway this is a picture of the Biltmore Estate which is in N. Carolina. It's the largest home in America, and it like took us like 5 hours to tour the house and some of the floors weren't even open yet. unfortunately we weren't able to take any pictures because apparently the flash from cameras can damage the artifacts. But good news is...if you want to see parts of the inside just watch Richie Rich or the new movie that came out...The Mummy (3)....they were filmed there. It was awesome!

My Summer Memory

Well this is a picture of one of the many chickens at Parky's Farm.
Throughout the whole summer we had around 23 chickens to catch before we got to go home at the end of our day.
Believe me, chickens are a lot smarter than we think they are. Plus they're very good at hiding. One day when I was helping get the chickens into their coop, one of the chickens got scared and flew up ontop of this fenced in pool (for the ducks). So I came at it on the other side and I guess I scared it again so it flew ontop of the bunnies cages. Then it finally flew up into the tree! Can you imagine! A chicken in a tree? Neither could I. So after many attempts of trying to get it down, we had to leave it out for the night. But the next day it was safe and sound. But that is my picture of my summer memory. :)

In Remembrance...

Let us bow our heads and take a moment for silence, in recognition of the passing of our good friend,

Summer,

and all she has given us.

We will miss her.

We have loved her dearly.

*... reflecting... reflecting... reflecting...*

NOW LET THE GAMES BEGIN!!!

Finishing up before school starts

I have to say my tablet is the best investment I've ever made. I get about a piece done per day and they all make me giddy with joy. So here's the three I've done lately and I still have two more commissions to finish. They're in order of when they were made (oldest -> newest.)

More Pictures = YAY :)

Okay. Here's some more pictures :)

• The first is the complete mandala of AIDA.

I finished the text which says "Every Story is a Love Story" which was one of the songs in the show.

• I'm having some trouble with the sunflower.. I didn't use any paintbrushes. I used napkins and string for the green background and rice for the yellow petals and buttons for the middle. While painting the rice and buttons, I put paint in a ziplock bag and added in the stuff and shook it. Never once did I use a paint brush :) But it looks incomplete to me... HELP!
  

• This is one i just now did. (more text mrs. brauer! lol)
• i used old colored paper for all of it. It took some time to get all the mosaic shapes done in the moon. But i love it. It looks like something I could hang up in my room because everything thing is moons, suns, and stars. :)
  

COMMENTS & ADVICE WELCOME :)

In case you were wondering

Here's a picture of the steps I took in different drawings to product the style I use on my tablet. Also, I'm putting a picture of what Celessy looks like on GaiaOnline and my first attempt at making a flob of her.
P.S. I know my Gaia character is weird looking. Oh and yes I did mean to make her hair brown, my coloring style for hair is to use whatever the line color is to shade it in.

Gahh Question

So.. I noticed that everyone is pretty much sticking to what we had to do in the handout that you gave us at the end of the year. Erm, well the only thing I've really done from that is the mandala.. everything else was because I was just drawing. Is this going to effect my grade at all?
Oh and I have my entire porfolio on a usb drive. So do you still want me to bring my physical one into school or just the drive? Most of my drawings are either computer enhanced or computer based anyway so they look way different on the drive than in real life.


P.S. I made a flob! (The little thing next to my post.) Please critique her because I used my tablet, she's completely done on the computer!

AH WE WILL BE SENIORS IN 11 DAYS !

okay so i am kind of looking forward to school! actually i really am, i mean its senior year its going to be a lot of fun! the only sad part about summer ending is the cold weather that starts up soon :(


( im really bad at blogging like posting things because i just tend to ramble on and on and my stories are all out of contex so bear with me!)

but ANYWAYS so 11 days! its kinda crunch time for me i have 6 peices completely and i have started on 2, but im still stuck on ideas. i tried to take some of the ideas from the packet and then i added my own twist to them. so i decided since its crunch time i am going to try and get a peice done every 2 days, work on something for 2 days straight and devote my time to it. i love to lay out in the sun and the weather this weekend was so nice like actually NICEEE so i sat in a chair in my backyard and got things done it was really awesome. i know it kind of sounds bad that i have 6 things done. but my mom and i have been going to yard sales and even rummaging through trash ( it might sound gross to some! but i dont care :] ) and finding old chairs, antique chairs, any sort of chair that we can paint on. we get them and my step dad sands them down, then we decide what color to paint the base. and after that its time to just go completely CRAZY. we do designs allllllll over it, different patterns, colors, sketches! they turn out really neat! and we have 5 done. we put them in my backyard in my moms garden because on 2 my mom has cut out the "butt" of the chair and we put a flower pot in it. so they really turn out cool i will post the chairs on here when were done with all of them. but thats pretty much of what my summer has consisted of!

i went to the worlds largest yard sale friday saturday and today! we ended up going all the way down to kentucky it was a lot of fun and i found little treasures everywhere that im going to be working with i just have no idea what for yet though!

welllllllllllllll i hope everyones summer finishes out great and cant wait to actually start class with you all :) :)

Silly me. I forgot this one. This is a t-shirt design i did for MNDT's Theatre Camp. We did The Jungle Book. This is my first design to actually be on a shirt so i feel pretty cool :)

Pictures! (finally :] )

Okay. The Map is of Chicago, Illinos. It's one place I'd love to go see. I rolled up some paper towels and taped them to cardboard then glued the map down then added my bits n pieces to it.
The Girl with the guitar is a 3 piecer (im not sure if it counts as 1 or 3?????) I used oil pastels for this one. I'm not finished with the last one but it shouldnt take too long. The girl with the purple/blue hair is one i like. I started by picking my favorite book (Guitar Girl) and finding a page to copy the text. I did this with permanent marker. Then I used watercolor pencils and plain watercolors to do her face/hair/head whichever you wanna call it.

Over here we have a book I'm re-doing. This one is taking a lot of time because you have to prime pages then paint then add stuff... ext. But this is the cover and back of it which i love :) Finally we have a mandala that i might turn into an envelope. I used colored pencils for this one but im not done with it. i just need to add in some text and shade a bit more.


So this is what i have so far. I'd love some feedback :)

Wait! It's still summer! Why are we back in school?

OK! So we aren't actually back yet - but SOON! The gears are grinding so to speak.
I didn't require you to actually get on the blog this summer. It was optional. It was summer and I thought I'd go easy on you. (Yes I know! Ten pieces over the summer is not exactly going easy on you. I never promised you a "free pass". This IS level four after all. Some teachers assign even more than that!)
But, HEAR THIS!!
During the school year, the blog will be a regular part of your work. It will be as important an activity as doing a sketch, reading an article or meeting a deadline.
I want you to be thinking about your work. I want you to be writing about your work in an intelligent way. I want you to become very comfortable with the technology that is going to be expected of you when you get into college. All of this (plus your art making) require you to take an active role. You can't just rely on others in the group to fill in the gaps. I will be keeping tabs.
Everyone is a vital part of the group! Vital implies living. (Look it up if you don't believe me.) Living implies doing. (That's right. You'll notice, I didn't choose the word existing.) Doing is self-explanatory and will be a requirement for everyone!
I will be asking you to participate in this blog in a regular and meaningful way. A portion of your grade will be based on it!
When school begins I will make sure everyone is signed on and that you have access to the site. You should be able to get in from school as well as from home - no excuses. There will be cameras available for you to use to photograph your work so that you can post it if you like. You will be expected to create a digital portfolio of all that you do in your "My Documents" folder. We will be burning CDs of your work.
I know this sounds like a lot of work, but heck, you will need to know it for next year anyway. And, if you don't, think how much better off you will be!
Don't get overwhelmed. We will be doing it step by step. Get a notebook, or better still a big, fat, empty journal that you can start taking notes in as well as for doing your sketching.
Keep everything together then you will know where it is when you need it.
Yep! There is slightly more than a week left. Enjoy the time you have left!

Watercolor Is My Friend

Why? Well, because whenever I use only watercolor on a piece it turns out much better. Maybe that's a sign that I should just focus on honing my watercolor skills. Ah well who knows. Lets see, what to say about this piece. In all honesty has been one of my favorites to create and the end result is, I think, the best I've gotten out of any of my projects this summer. She's a faery, I think I may name her sometime because I just love her oh so much! Oh and if anyone has any problems with partial nudity don't fully open the image. I wanted the whole forest creature effect so she's wearing little clothing, actually none at all it's just a bunch of strategically placed leaves. Anywho, I hope everyone enjoys her as much as I do. o(^_^)o

hey guys sorry i havn't been on in awhile.
my computer has been down and i couldnt get on this site at my friends house whenever i would use her computer?
i have no clue why but either way i hope everyone is having a great summer, i know i have even if its been busy but that is the fun part it seems. art is the best summer assignment i have ever had bc i actually want to do it! i wish i could scan some of my pics and upload them for opinions but my house doesn't have a scanner, it seems we are technologicallt impaired
only problem that i have had with my work is that my brian is thinking of ideas faster then i can draw them and then they are forgotten as soon as they are thought of.
everyone is doing amazing work and i really like the art tshirt design
btw if anyone has any tips for me on other supplies to use bc it seems like i keep using colored pencils, oil pastels, paint, ebony and charcol over and over again
idk about anyone else but i am pretty excited for school to start even though it seems too soon! if i dont get on here before august 21 i will see you all then.
enjoy the rest of your summer!!!
<3 ley

"What I Did On My Summer Vacation" ...(part of it)

"On my summer vacation I took a drawing class."
I chose to post this drawing because it was so unlike most of my previous work. It testifies to the fact that I did a lot of risk-taking in the class this summer. It was not about showing what we already knew. It was about learning and trying new things. I was really outside of my comfort zone!
We drew with ballpoint pens! * I don't use those for drawing.* We worked for a great deal of the time from our imagination. * I typically work from observation.* Our mark making was supposed to be light and loose; *neither of those is my style either.*
But oh did I learn a lot! And was I exhausted! And my work changed a bit too! I expect it to continue changing. I expect I will continue to try to incorporate these new concepts (and many more that we were taught) into my work.
What made it all work for me? Having an open mind I think, and being willing to try (and yes sometimes "fail") what I was being asked to do. I drove too far for that class to not try!
So this drawing was supposed to be a creature, made in the general likeness of a figure. It was supposed to be fun, a fantasy image, and mine had to be made using only spheres, or parts of spheres - using a ballpoint pen! It is about 10 x 12 inches, on white drawing paper. (Other people had different forms to use: cubes, ellipses etc.) We had an hour to create them. I did not finish in that time so I had to put in some extra work to finish. Is it my "best" work from the class? No. But did it challenge me? Heck yeah!
For those of you who have not yet gotten my point... for those who need to have it clearly written out for you: "Be open to new ideas and ways of working. Be willing to try new things."
I have more to show you but most of that will come in class. I don't want to influence your ideas too much before we begin.
Come into class ready to work. Have your mind open and ready to go. Be ready to work, but be ready to PLAY also. A playful mind can come up with some pretty interesting things.
Someone once said (something like) "We're all about as happy as we make up our minds to be."
Something else I read this summer said that if we are fully engaged in the present, what we are doing at this moment, becomes our purpose for being. Both of these ideas can work well together.
You may have to change your ideas about a few things, but change is good; it's a constant in life.

It's been awhile...

Hey guys...

Sorry I haven't gotten on here in awhile...
Life's been pretty crazy this summer with 2 jobs, a show, art homework, and having fun.

• The Wiz went very well for how crazy hard it was to put together. (I was the Tinman) (pictures are on facebook)

• Parky's Farm has been an interesting job, getting to know new people and new animals. My favorite is the white baby goat because she'll sit in your lap all day.

• Angelo's (not the pizza place) is fun because I see a lot of people from my parish and neighborhood.

• Art has been a struggle. It seems like I have tons of ideas but no time to get finished. I started around 4 pieces. I'm not completely done with them but i'd like some advice. I would put pictures up but my mother has the camera at the moment.

So that's what i've been up to. I'll post some pictures up later.
----LOUDMOUTHDANCER

T-shirt back finished

Yay finally some decent shading! *does happy dance* So I've found that cell shading is my new best friend, the only particularly difficult thing is finding the right colors and making sure the lines are crisp. I changed the lines to brown because I thought the black looked a bit too drastic in the end. Ah the lines were annoying to do. I ended up having to re-scan the image and trace over all the lines (which took forever) because they had all faded during the coloring process. I have a feeling I'll be adding more to this, but I'm not sure. Now I just need to finish the front and sleeve design.

This would be the sleeve design. I'm not sure what to do for the front yet.. maybe something with the explosion to tie everything together. Hmm well, I'll have to get started on that next.

New Inks

I just finished both of these and will be using Photoshop to color them both. The first one is of the same character that I did my first Photoshop image of, I just changed her hair. The second is the back design for the art club T-shirt. There will be more to it, but I'm waiting to add that in once I've finished coloring. Oh and that brown red spot on the first drawing is blood. Yes, I'm so hard core that my finger spontaneously started to bleed. Anywho, I hope you all enjoy getting to see them before I ruin them at an attempt at coloring. Okey dokey bye bye now! ^^

Quick Design

Mhmm here's what boredom does to you. Also, I just had to take a break from the summer work I've been doing and just do a piece for fun. I was looking around DeviantArt and saw someone was having a contest to design an outfit for a boy that had the colors grey, black, and red in it. Also he had to have duel guns (I can't draw guns so I just put in a belt with holders eh heh heh) and a head shot was provided. So if you're thinking 'Why's his hair weird' or something like that it's not my fault, I didn't design that part. So yeah IT'S DONE COMPLETELY ON THE COMPUTER! YAY! Second time using Photoshop and I have to say it worked a ton better this time, I think I'm starting to catch on to the whole layers fiasco. Oh, and before anyone says anything about the background, I'm sorry! I know it's lazy, but I couldn't think of any other way to not take away from the outfit.