OO.. I like this. I love knotwork, and this is no exception. The 'grafting' of the stem is indeed a nice touch, as it almost seems to grow out of the picture. Beautiful shading. Almost inspires me to take up still life drawing again (I haven't attempted in years since art class... after which they threw out my portfolio by accident containing at least 100 hours of work...*sigh). Now I probably suck at it though ^^ heh.
Anyway, I rather enjoy this one. Thus it gets a

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~*~*~Carpe noctem*~*~*

That is simply beautiful

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Catty

Peter: That "golden" scepter is just an old hunk of wood
JMBarrie: Ah, yes, well... we dream on a budget here

Exceptionally pretty. Great job!

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http://www.lunarsoft.net

Cool! Thanks! hee hee -- after all that suspense I didn't know if you'd be disappointed! Boy was I grateful that my housemate Salli got her scanner set up! Whew. The wait for mine has dropped to "inconvenience" from "stark raving frustration."

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Robert A. Sloan, writer and artist
Visit Explore-Oil-Pastels-with-Robert-Sloan.com, my oil pastels site!

Thank you! It was fun to do, I've tried to do roses all my life and until recently, the results were something less than cool -- and sometimes less than recognizable.

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Robert A. Sloan, writer and artist
Visit Explore-Oil-Pastels-with-Robert-Sloan.com, my oil pastels site!

You probably don't suck at it after 100 hours of work! You should! Some of these things I do because I had some artworks in the past that I either had to sell to survive, or lost in moving -- I had a great dinosaur Prismacolor piece that I even framed, but that got stolen in a move. I'd love to see what you do with still lifes. They sit still, or you have photo references, they're a lot easier than moving cats or people... shading is fun, especially with Prismacolors. I feel this burning need to use every pencil in the case...

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Robert A. Sloan, writer and artist
Visit Explore-Oil-Pastels-with-Robert-Sloan.com, my oil pastels site!

I have some random charcoal pencils round here somewhere..I'll take a stab at it and if anything useful comes out of it I'll let you know

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~*~*~Carpe noctem*~*~*

Yeah, post it! Charcoal pencils are fun. Next time I do a big art supply order I'll have to pick up some, maybe if I get a windfall, even a set of pastel pencils too -- same texture and a little easier to handle than regular pastels, especially for details.

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Robert A. Sloan, writer and artist
Visit Explore-Oil-Pastels-with-Robert-Sloan.com, my oil pastels site!

It's really beautiful. I dunno, maybe I'm just a weird guy, but I can see and appreciate the value and beauty of so many things it seems people take for granted.

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Lunarsoft | Everything you need this side of the moon
http://www.lunarsoft.net

That is more the "weird" of being awake and creative in a world where most people put their attention on other things than beauty. It resonates for me with my experience. It took me decades to realize that other people are finding joy in something completely different, like the to-me meaningless scores of baseball games that took place before I was born.

There is a lot in this culture that discourages the arts. In "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain," the author pointed out that most people learn NOT to draw, stop drawing entirely at some point in their childhood -- and she can judge exactly what stage of development they gave up on it and thought they had "no talent" by what types of childlike errors their drawings have. It's hard to break out of that and go back to the process of learning for some adults. Things get settled and many people look not at what's there but the labels and symbols, life gets experienced in shorthand.

That kind of weird is good. Seeing and appreciating the beauty that's always there in the world, including everyone's creative efforts and your own, your life is richer. More people focus just on money, at one point I got shocked at a high school friend who was choosing what career to follow just on what would make the most money. Without a thought to what that money would be good for after working hard with driving competition to get it, without actually enjoying much of it.

There's a philosophy left over from the Puritans that life just isn't supposed to be enjoyed at all, that it's supposed to be hard work and grim self-denial all the way till you're dead and then judged. That slopped out of religion into some very nonreligious areas of life, like the whole "chocolate is sinful" thing or the idea that fat people are evil or sinful for being fat and that everyone's supposed to be joylessly sexy. It's a philosophy that makes for a bitter life, as opposed to opening your senses to everything beautiful in the world and enjoying everything from morning toast to the sight of an artwork or a tree blowing in the wind. I think with your type of weird, you'll live long and be happier than most who turn their backs on what isn't cash.

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Robert A. Sloan, writer and artist
Visit Explore-Oil-Pastels-with-Robert-Sloan.com, my oil pastels site!