Robertson Studios online drawing board

Hunter Valley Vineyards

2009-05-04T17:37:00.002+10:00

We spent the weekend up in the Hunter Valley without the kids...I got to draw in the car on the way home..not the ideal place to draw...but drawing none the less....which was a wonderful after not having picked up a pen in sooo long!

Hot Salsa

2009-03-11T22:53:00.004+11:00

When the boys were off riding water slides and doing various dare devil boy things, I relaxed and took the time to breathe deeply.......and draw part of what we had for lunch :)

Anabelle Joy series

2009-02-12T18:02:00.004+11:00

For the past month and a half I have been working on a set of baby portraits for a friend of mine who commissioned the drawings as a gift for his wife's birthday. The birthday is past and I can finally show you all!

You can see the whole with WIPs here.

At the car wash baby

2009-01-12T12:09:00.003+11:00

Have I said how much I hate not having my scanner? Grrr

I did this little doodle while I was in the carwash being smacked around by hundreds of strips of rubber. I think I need to start carrying a finer pen if I'm going to do the lettering on dockets more often :) Any excuse for a trip to the art store!

ten minute scribble

2009-01-07T08:51:00.003+11:00

I had 10 minutes to kill while I waited for Al to meet me in town for dinner, so I drew the fountain. My scanner has died, so you're getting icky photos for the time being. Sorry :)

Looking forward to next year

2008-12-22T08:57:00.004+11:00

At this time of year...I start to think about what I want next year to be like. Serendipitously, I'm starting a new Moleskine now too. I don't normally draw a title page, but this one just kind of happened. I have no idea what the significance of the phone is. :)

Tidbinbilla // I don't like it

2008-12-10T15:28:00.007+11:00

The other weekend we took the boys out to the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve.

While the boys climbed the rocks and went rabbit hunting with their pocket knives I drew the park around me. I don't like what I ended up with. It ended up looking cheesy. Never have been good at landscapes LOL. I guess I just need to practice some more.

In the spirit of authenticity...here it is.

Happy birthday Dad!

2008-11-11T09:20:00.001+11:00

dem bones dem bones

2008-11-09T10:06:00.003+11:00

We took a day trip to Bathurst yesterday and stumbled upon a fossil and mineral museum. I had a go at drawing this Albertosaurus while the boys explored the museum. This little guy was standing in the shadow of the only complete Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton in the southern hemisphere. I decided the TRex was far too intimidating to draw :)

art therapy

2008-11-07T16:33:00.003+11:00

I had two wisdom teeth extracted today...hurts like mad. I decided to watch some You Tube videos to learn how to do watercolour paintings and got inspired. As it turns out painting in a loose, relaxed style like this was good therapy for me :)

My Broken Foot

2008-11-06T08:01:00.002+11:00

I broke my foot a week and a bit ago. I am frustrated with how slowly it is healing...drawing therapy takes the edge off :)

Thank you card for my team

2008-11-06T08:00:00.002+11:00

Happy birthday Bridie!

2008-10-29T13:59:00.001+11:00

Sketchnotes - Global Leadership Summit

2008-10-27T11:46:00.005+11:00

This past weekend I attended a Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit here in town. I decided to have a go at Mike Rohde - style sketchnotes. I was happy with my first attempt, and I had fun...but I think I need a whole lot more practice before mine look as awesome as Mike's :)

Here's a Flickr Slideshow for you...

Should I finish it?

2008-10-23T11:50:00.003+11:00

I found this half finished drawing of a capsicum that I had originally intended to be part of a triptych to go in my kitchen (it was the first one to be started...the others were going to be garlic and an apple if I remember correctly). It was tucked away under my desk. I have no idea why.

Should I bother finishing it do you think? Or should I bin it? You choose.

Twin cards for twin boys

2008-10-23T09:57:00.002+11:00

My two boys are going to a birthday party for twin boys this weekend. So I made twin cards :)

In memory of...

2008-10-22T14:12:00.003+11:00

This beautiful blue heeler belonged to close friends of ours. I did this piece as a memorial gift for them when she passed suddenly not long ago.
This is the first graphite piece I've finished in ages. Feels good to be back. :)
Michelle

Welcome Elijah!

2008-10-20T11:27:00.002+11:00

I seem to be doing lots of cards lately....

Lots of bithdays this month...

2008-10-16T17:39:00.004+11:00

Inspired by Mark Crilley's fabulous manga work.

Hastings Point holiday

2008-09-30T20:59:00.001+10:00

My first attempt at water colour and ink. I did the ink drawing while i was sitting on the beach and then added the watercolour when I got back to my room. I'm not particularly happy with it, but I guess I have to start somewhere.

Ink Magnolia

2008-09-19T07:26:00.003+10:00

This is my first ever attampt at a freehand ink drawing that attempts to look vaguely realistic. I did pencil it in first, but I was really pleased with how little I had to correct my lines.

I have had one of those stressful and stupid-busy weeks...drawing is fast becoming my therapy during those times in my week where I have no choice but to sit and wait for something else to happen. Drawing slows me down. Drawing gives me time to breathe. It's cathatric in a similar way to journal writing, but it takes it that next step further. It's like a meditation.

Raining babies

2008-09-15T09:58:00.002+10:00

I've always wondered about where the term "baby shower" came from...I don't have time to look right now...but it seems right that it has something to do with showering the expectant mum with pressies. This card is for my friend Jayne (who I used to baby sit when she was young!) :)

Twenty years!!

2008-09-12T16:42:00.004+10:00

I don't feel old enough that it's twenty years since Al and I shared our first kiss. Doesn't seem that long ago. He was the bad-boy older guy on the motorbike that completely freaked my parents out, and I was getting close to the end of year 12.

It has been quite a ride :)

(I did this one in 20 minutes while the boys had their swimming lesson...I cheated and sketched in pencil first :) )

Watched by strangers....creeeeepy!

2008-09-11T11:53:00.004+10:00

The boys wanted to see Clone Wars the other night...I didn't want to waste two hours of my life, so I dropped them at the cinema and grabbed a coffee and waited..and drew...and read (Danny Gregory's Creative Licence) ...and wrote a bit. I was sitting in the food court at the mall, and there were tons of people there (d'uh it was Friday night) and it was funny to see them trying not to watch what I was doing. That was a weird feeling...being watched by strangers. Not a wonderful drawing by any stretch of the imagination, but it's a start :)

Family fun at the footy

2008-09-11T11:49:00.003+10:00

I forgot to take the camera to the footy the other day...so I sketched instead :) I'm getting bold drawing in public!

Tied up with ribbons

2008-09-05T16:14:00.000+10:00

I'm not a phoney

2008-09-05T08:24:00.003+10:00

I read Danny Gregory's Everyday Matters over the weekend...I'm going to have a go at drawing stuff around the house...did this one while I was watching telly last night.

Happy Birthday Cody!

2008-08-28T09:16:00.001+10:00

A quick (late) card for mu nephew Cody.

Stupid Boy

2008-08-15T11:37:00.003+10:00

Yesterday I was procrastinating about writing a report and checking out some Moleskine art sites where I stumbled on a technique that I hadn't come across before. It's called solvent transfer and it involves applying a solvent like acetone or xylene to the back of a laser print or a photocopy and rubbing it down onto another page. I gave it a go with this pic of the gorgeous Keith Urban in my Moleskine and then did a bit of doodling around the transfer. It's not bad for a first go, but I'd like to play with the technique some more..it's a lot of fun :)

M

Happy birthday Rachelle!

2008-08-05T13:59:00.002+10:00

Do grey hairs count?

2008-07-13T14:05:00.003+10:00

This is a drawing I did to help illustrate a sermon I'll be giving next weekend, and to connect with the kiddos since it will still be school holidays.

Welcome Sophie!

2008-07-12T14:38:00.001+10:00

Congratulations Steve and Yolanda!

So many questions....

2008-07-11T17:23:00.003+10:00

Shel asks me soooo many questions, especially when his big brother is not around. Aaand I wanted to play with watercolours and schwirleys. I had fun! :o)

Queen of Punk

2008-07-11T08:37:00.001+10:00

I was procrastinating about work the other day and came across a magnificent journal doodle on Flickr (for the life of me I can't find the link now grrr) that combined collage with doodling...so I decided to have a go. I'm pleased with the result...I think it looks pretty cool. But the flowers aren't very punk...perhaps I should have gone with stars :o).

Work Doodle

2008-06-30T17:24:00.001+10:00

Today was my last day on my current writing contract......I had a bit of time on my hands while I waited for documentation to be returned..so I doodled....

Brand Loyalty

2008-06-29T22:02:00.000+10:00

What can I say....I LOVE my Honda! :)

Hand drawn cards

2008-06-28T14:38:00.000+10:00

A good friend of ours turned forty this week. I decided to take a leaf out of Mike Rohde's book and made a card myself. I'm not nearly as talented as he is, but hey...I had fun :)

Waiting in the doctor's office....

2008-04-05T15:15:00.001+11:00

Had to take Shel to the doctor this morning witha suspected fractured wrist and had to wait for a couple of hours to be seen etc...so I got busy with my pen. As it turns out the injury was a soft tissue sprain that will heal up within a week or two. Yay!

2008-03-25T09:12:00.000+11:00

We watched an anime movie on telly the other night and I got all inspired...so I cruised around on You Tube for awhile and found the Mark Crilley channel...he is amazingly generous about sharing his skills. My first attempts are here for all the world to see...nothing spectacular LOL but I had fun doing them :o)

Frustrated Artist...life gets in the way

2008-03-22T10:36:00.000+11:00

I have barely touched a pencil in the last couple of months! I haven't finished a single drawing in I don't know how long...I've started a couple (which I'll share at some stage once they're past outline stage) ...I ended up ditching the slef-portrait I started because I've lost 10 kilos and with another 15 or o to go, I want to wait and draw the skinny me and not the chubby one..... :o) Anyway...to stop myself from going completely nuts without my drawing to act as therapy, I've started drawing a bit more in my journal....some little sketches and some more involved pieces relating to the day...so I'll post some of those from time to time. I have been inspired by the blog of Suzanne Buchannan ...she is an amazingly prolific sketch blogger with gorgeous line drawings covering all sorts of stuff. When I grow up I want to be like her :o)

Here's my first effort...I hope I get better over time.

NOOOO!

2007-08-17T13:25:00.000+10:00

Oh man! I stuffed it! I was so close to being finished and then I decided, for some unknown reason, to try blending with a tissue. Unfortunately for me it must have had some kind of moisturising additive in it, because it made an unholy mess of my drawing....I haven't had the motivation to pick it up since LOL.

I did do a baby portrait in the meantime though, and I have started on a self portrait. I'll include a scan of the baby pic with this post, and then I'll post the SP a bit later on when it's looking a bit more presentable.

The baby portrait is approximately 5x7", graphite on bristol board.

2007-03-05T17:37:00.000+11:00

The background is now finished and I've started to add tone to the woman's body and started to model the arm and leg. This is probably about 6 hours in...about double that still to go I think.

Nude Montage part 3

2007-02-28T12:02:00.000+11:00

Part three of the nude montage is underway... not sure which paper I pulled out this time..it was a partial sheet and the watermark had been cut off LOL Could be the Windsor and Newton stuff or it could be Fabriano. This one is a bit bigger than the last two... 6 x 9 inches.

Thanks for looking.

Nude Montage Part 2

2007-02-23T17:06:00.000+11:00

This is nudie number two out of the series of four that I plan to do as a geometric montage. Graphite on Fabriano Artistico ... its the same size as the last one I did...can't be bothered measuring...probably about 3 inches wide and 7 or so high.

FRAMED!!

2007-01-17T16:15:00.000+11:00

And this is what it looks like framed up. All of the drawings are 3 inches square...but the apperture of the frames are 2.5 inches square...

Happy Birthday Sis

All finished!

2007-01-17T16:13:00.000+11:00

Here's the last groover :o)

Sneaky Peek #3

2007-01-14T15:17:00.000+11:00

Sneaky Peek #2

2007-01-10T15:03:00.000+11:00

Here's the next little cherub ;o)

Sneaky Peek ;o)

2007-01-09T15:46:00.000+11:00

Here's a sneaky peak of a montage portrait I'm doing for my cousin's birthday...it's not going to be done on time..but that's the way it goes at the moment LOL. I'm not going to say my more than that so the game is not entirely given away hehehehe. Size: 3 inches square. Graphite on Windsor and Newton 2 ply bristol board.

Happy birthday sis :o)

2006-12-14T13:04:00.000+11:00

Almost there! I'm at the stage where I am starting to tweak bits and pieces...at the moment I'm fiddling with her teeth and hair...not completely happy with either of these areas just yet. I'll be delivering the dude in the next couple of days...so I'll post a final pic veeery shortly :o)

Half way there...

2006-12-06T14:37:00.000+11:00

Another bad PDA photo I'm afraid :( It's all a bit wishy washy...but you can see where I'm up to at least.

Rob is pretty much done except for some final tweaking at the end...there is a fair bit more detail in his hair than can be seen in this shot.

Hmm now that I am looking at this photo... I need to soften the shadow that defines his cheek and comes down to the corner of his mouth....looks a little Scarface-ish LOL ...will be fixed for next installment. ;)

Movin right along!

2006-11-21T13:08:00.000+11:00

I got lots of drawing done this past weeked because the DH was away :o)

The eyes are about 90% done...I'll go back and push the darks a bit at the end to balance the whole pic and refine it a bit.

I also did his shirt..and a bit of hers, and started to fiddle with his hair.

Back to the drawing board!

M

One Eyeball muwahahaha!

2006-11-18T15:14:00.000+11:00

Started on the eyes. Sorry the photo is bad...DH took off with my good camera for the weekend, so I took this with my pda phone's dinky little camera. :(

2006-11-13T09:29:00.000+11:00

A couple of hours in and I've got the background ninety percent done, and have started on Rob's hair...I will probably move to working on his eyes next I think.

I love surprises!

2006-11-08T18:20:00.000+11:00

This one is going to be fun! The young guy in this portrait has commissioned the drawing for his girlfriend for Christmas. It's a great pose...very different to the usual portraits I get to do...but the photo was taken at close range with a flash, so some of the features have been flattened somewhat... my challenge this time will be to have good modelling and a good range of tones in the facial features.

I'm doing this one on Fabriano Artistico (ya..I finally got my hands on my favourite paper again YAY!) ...size is 8x10" with a nice tight crop so the whole of the image area will be covered in graphite. The Fabriano allows me to make some really nice rich darks without too much shine as is common with graphite...so that background will be solid black...I think I'll start there to set the overall tone of the piece...........off to the drawing board!

M

2006-09-22T16:11:00.000+10:00

Baby BJ Finished!

2006-09-21T12:28:00.000+10:00

Finished! This little cutie has turned out much better than I had anticipated and I am quite chuffed with the texture I was able to create for her jumpsuit...in the past I usually rushed to finish the clothing on a subject without giving it the same attention as the face and hair, but this time I forced myself to slow down and work at getting a realistic fluffy texture...I'm not sure that it shows up particularly well on the scan, but I am REALLY happy with it :o) Now all I need to do is matt and frame it ready for delivery...if I remember I'll take a piccy and post it so you can see the finished product.

M

Two Cheeks! :o)

2006-09-12T17:55:00.000+10:00

The face is basically done for the moment. I may need to go back and darken the right side of the face a little more, but I'll decide that later on. The digital photo has dropped out some of the mid tones along BJ's jaw line...so the line is a little harsh, but it is a nice soft gradation IRL.

Next step....hair!

Cheeky Baby BJ

2006-09-07T22:15:00.000+10:00

I've started to darken the right side of the forehead that is in shadow, and I've started to model the nose , left cheek and upper lip, and already baby BJ is starting to look a little more smiley. :o)

Don't you just love baby cheeks?? I just want to pinch 'em!

Baby BJ finding the darks

2006-09-05T23:26:00.000+10:00

Okay...now I've started to establish the darkest areas of the portrait so that I can use them as a guage for the rest of the tones in the portrait and keep things balanced as I go along.

Baby BJ is looking a little stunned at the moment :o) but that will turn into a gorgeous smile as I begin to render the upper lip and chubby cheeks. You may also notice that she doesn't have eye lashes yet...I like to wait until very close to the end in case I need to adjust any of the tones around her eyes.

I think I've probaby put 5 or 6 hours into this so far.

Baby BJ

2006-09-05T22:56:00.000+10:00

I love drawing babies! All that smooth skin and wonderful big eyes! This is a project that I am doing as a baby gift for a good friend of mine of her beautiful little girl. I think its always more fun drawing people I know...there seems to be more of a connection...that and I can have fun deciding which of her parents BJ got her features from :o).

So..here goes...I'm using 2b and H graphite on Strathmore Bristol 300 series smooth.

I always start by rendering the eyes...if I can't good a good likeness in the eyes, it's useless trying to complete the portrait.

Next I'll start to establish some of the darkest areas of the portrait so that I can keep the tone balanced as I go along.

Nude Montage

2006-08-25T08:25:00.000+10:00

Thought I'd share my current personal project with you as I go. I hae never drawn a nude before, so I have embarked on a journey to draw the curves of a woman's body. I have laid out a geometric montage consisting of three small drawings and one large drawing that will be matted together in the one frame. The picture to the right here is the first of the small ones...it is small enough to carry around in my portable drawing board in my purse...so its about 10cm x 15cm.

To add another dimension of fun to the project I am using a new paper. I had committed myself to using Fabriano Uno for the rest of my drawing days...but I can't get it here any more...bummer! So...I am trying out a Watermans hotpress watercolour paper. Seems to behave similarly to the Arches hotpress wc paper unfortunately ... not quite as hardwearing as the Fabriano. oh well...still...it has enough tooth that I am able to get nice rich blacks without too much shine from the graphite if I build them slowly.

I started on the second of the small ones the other night...got two and a half hours into it and like a complete moron blew on it to remove some graphite artefacts and completely ruined it. SIGH. I haven't been bothered starting again yet. LOL I'm off on holidays for a couple of days and my time will be occupied with recording some music and when I get back I'll be starting on a baby commission....oh...and I have an ATC on my portable board at the moment. :o) so...the next nudie may have to wait a little while.

M

The husband is finished!

2006-07-14T10:27:00.000+10:00

I have been so slack! I finished this portrait of my husband a couple of weeks ago, but haven't managed to post it yet! :o) Sooo...here it is. I am reasonably pleased with it...even if he is looking way too serious! LOL The good thing is that he is happy with it...no mean feat I can assure you... and it now hangs in our hallway, as well as gracing the cover of his resume. The next one I do of him will, I hope, show more of his wonderful comic personality... :o)

Small Pleasures

2006-03-22T16:14:00.000+11:00

Through a fantastic little online art community that I belong to I have discovered the joys of creating Artist Trading Cards....a type of miniature artwork that is traded between artists and sometimes sold as originals or limited editions. Normally my full sized pieces can take up to 60 hours or so to complete...so to be able to finish something in an hour or two is very satisfying, and I can slip them in my handbag and work on them wherever I am. Here are my first three attempts.

The Husband continues....

2006-03-22T10:07:00.000+11:00

Finally! I have had a bit of time to work on this portrait of my husband! It seems like my art has taken a bit of a backseat lately..oh well..that's life I suppose. The portrait is coming along nicely...I'm trying to work a bit darker, but I am not enjoying this paper (Arches) I am really wishing I had used the Fabriano instead. Oh well...maybe I'll redo it down the track sometime.

Husband

2006-01-24T17:20:00.000+11:00

Here is my handsome husband :o) He has asked me to do a corporate style portrait to include in his resume.

I am working on Arches hot press watercolour paper in graphite. This piece is approximately A4 size. This is about 4 hours in...so things are still looking pretty sketchy because I tend to work all over the piece, gradually refining the drawing as I go along rather than completing a particular area before moving on.

2006-01-24T16:53:00.000+11:00

Well! I haven't kept up with this as much as I had hoped...but I promise I'll try...after all...it is a new year :o)

I am currently working on a couple of projects...one of which is a corporate style portrait of my husband...I'll get around to posting the first of the WIPs in the next day or so. The other project is a memorial portrait of a friend's dog...I'll post that once it's finished.

Ciao
M

Something new!

2005-07-12T17:26:00.000+10:00

Thank you for checking out my art blog! I am going to be using this blog to post my artwork in WIP format. What's a WIP? A WIP is a work in progress...you can see my drawings as they develop.

It may take me a little while to get myself organised, but hang in there...it will happen! :-) Feel free to leave a comment.

thanks

Michelle