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...

It got pretty interesting in the marsh last night! I saw frogs, turtles and our resident Bigfoot flying around on brooms. It was too dark for photos so I tried to sketch it but the action was so fast and furious it was tough to get on paper. It should be even better tonight....stay tuned!

This has been a tough spring here. Unlike other parts of the country that are having severe droughts it has done nothing but rain where I live and trying to keep up with the mowing has severely cut into my carving time. As you can see in the following photo I have a few that need to be finished. We are supposed to get up to 3" of rain tomorrow which means our place will most likely be flooded. I can't mow through standing water so maybe I'll get some carving time in this weekend. I've also had to cut back on  my carving because of two additions to our small flock of chickens. Last Sunday we were given two black silkies...a rooster--we swore we would never have a rooster again--and a hen. Black Silkie Rooster Meet Thor the rooster. Thor loves to protect his kingdom by hanging out in front of the coop which  is not good because the hens are terrified of him and can't get into the coop to lay eggs. Meanwhile, Thor is terrified of Keetie, our guinea, so he ...

Like most of you, time flies by for me. I'm a part-time medical courier and every April in the same doctor's parking lot I look at the date on my route sheet and feel relieved I won't be driving in snow and ice for a few months. In November I'm sitting in the same parking lot and wondering where the time went and  how can I possibly do this job for another winter. Spring bird migration, sitting on the deck carving, mowing tons of grass,  swearing at the mosquitoes and deer flies; it's all over in a flash. What can make the time seem to go even faster? Designing and carving holiday items. It's tough to think about Halloween or Christmas  in February, June or August  but I've learned the hard way I need to work on Santa Clauses and pumpkins year round. An added twist is you never really know when they will sell. In 2013 I didn't sell one Halloween carving but in the summer of 2014 I sold three. A serious collector is always on the lookout for something new...