Robin Arnold Art

Sketching and painting from my photos hasn't been going well lately so after disgustedly  throwing another one in the waste basket I decided to try sketching without any reference material. I figure I'm almost 60 years old so there should there be something floating around in my head that I can pull out. The first one I sketched was this Teddy bear sitting on a rug drinking a beer and eating snacks.  I went to bed thoroughly  bummed out after spending the evening trying to sketch an animal from one of my photos . While I was swearing  I would never try this crazy stuff again I picked up my sketchpad to do who knows what. I had no reference photo and I wasn't interested in drawing a blob of fur from one of our two dogs who were already curled up in a ball and fast asleep. In around 15 minutes I had drawn this very simple Teddy bear and the following morning I added the watercolor which really made it pop. Is it perfect?...not by a long shot. Teddy lo...

I took a break from mowing grass and putting up wood duck nest boxes to finally finish my "frog on a driftwood box". I made one of these for a custom order a few weeks ago and it turned out fairly well so I decided to make another for my Etsy store. The box is made from a piece of driftwood that I found along the shoreline of Lake Erie near where I live. Driftwood has become a hot commodity so anytime I can find a good looking, usable piece I consider myself lucky. The frog is carved from basswood and painted with acrylic paints. The inside of the box is drilled out with a large bit on a drill press,  and the lid swivels on a dowel. To see more details check froggy out at my Etsy store. https://www.etsy.com/listing/230687315/hand-carved-frog-on-driftwood-box-rustic

"The very chemical composition of our blood alters slightly in spring; we sense the coming of the season in our life-stream." Edwin Way Teale Well, I feel something in my blood but it might be because I have ice running through my veins. Two more nights this week with temps in the single digits or below zero. The highway is buckling up in front of our house, our driveway and porch are falling apart and who knows what is happening with our three year old cistern. We also lost one of our sweetest hens due to the stress of this awful cold weather. Her name was Pearl and she was rescued from an egg factory in CA. She had reached the two year old mark and was slated to be gassed because she had outlived her usefulness. She was a sweet and curious little hen and she truly acted grateful that she finally had a chance to experience the life of a free-range chicken. I hadn't intended on having a chicken in the following photo but Pearl tagged along with me that morning to the...

Bear on a Box This is my latest addition to my "critter on a box" series! The possibilities for these little boxes is only limited by my imagination  and unfortunately, my skill level. I have some neat ideas in my head but they will have to be placed on the back burner until I become a Master Carver. In the meantime I'm happy doing my cute folk art carvings. If they make someone smile I've done my job. The box is made from a piece of driftwood I picked up along the Lake Erie shoreline. There are a lot of neat things-- besides burning it in a campfire-- that you can do with driftwood so it's a  hot commodity in this area.  Anytime I can find a weathered  piece of wood that's usable I'm happy. This particular piece was perfect. It has a nice weathered look but it's not so far gone that it's falling apart. Inside of Box The hole in the box is drilled out with a forstner bit and the lid swivels on a dowel. For more details click on the fo...