Running Away: Purple Skirt Edition

What?

If you know Elora, then you know every photo shoot has to have a running away episode. Or two. She's a free spirit, you know.

See me mom? I'm just innocently kicking dirt! Wait, whats that over there behind you?

(And she's off!)
They'll never notice I'm gone. I can live in the mountains, and be raised by wolfs, and smell flowers and pick up leaves all day!

No one will notice I'm gone. Wait a minute. Who will read me stories and give me cookies? Grandma will be so worried!

Don't worry grandma. Oh, and mom. I'm right over here. You can come get me if you want. But I'm goin' this way. Lets go!

Portrait #13 Baby boy

I think I liked this little boy because he was as bald as my little boy. But probably younger by quite a bit. Because I didn't have hair or detailed clothes to draw, this portrait went suprisingly fast. Of course he has blue eyes:



The photo had a bright flash, so his face was pretty washed out and white in the reference. But it wasn't too hard to guess the color scheme of a blue eyed baby. I went with rosy cheeks of course. Its a little darkened here to show up in the scan:



In this next scan, I was messing with the color balance in addition to the contrast, and I think I went a little too far into the yellow field...obviously. It did help more of the color spectrum show up on the drawing though. He had some subtle wrinkles just below the hair line on the right side of the picture. I wanted to make sure I included these to get the expression right, but not make them too dark or they'd look odd on a little baby:



This last scan does have a lot more color variations in the face, though its hard to tell. I almost left out the snaps on the right hand side on the shirt, but I decided to include them to make the shirt more interesting. I made the lips and tounge darker too, to add more color:


This is the 13th portrait, and the last grandchild for this client. I still have the one I am re-doing, after which I will post a review of the whole series together.

Random Conversations

• I used the phrase "willy-nilly" in a sentence the other day. Out of nowhere, Joseph confided that if he were a horse, his name would be "Willy-Nilly". Then he neighed jauntily to illustrate his point. I later decided that if I were a horse, my name would be Tertsy Beth and I'd live in the next stall over.

We were made for each other.

• This week, Elora and I were discussing how Grandma calls her "Sweetheart", and she asked me what it meant. I told her it meant a nice little girl. She said, "But I'm not a nice little girl, I'm a naughty girl!" I laughed and told her she wasn't, she was a nice girl.She shook her head and replied, "But I don't want to be a nice girl, I want to be a naughty girl!"Later that night, I was angry that she'd messed up her blankets that I'd just fixed for bedtime. When I finished expressing how upset I was, Elora said in a shrewd voice, "I'm not such a sweetheart now, am I?"

I dread her teenage years.

• My sister (who shall remain nameless) and I, were discussing the Disney Cartoon, Mulan, which Elora had been watching that day. Somehow, we got onto the "Hot Cartoon Guy" Shang, the Captain over the troops. We started laughing hysterically as we discussed all the hot cartoon guys on Disney flicks, and I mentioned that when I came to visit we shouldn't talk about it because Joseph would be jealous. Later that day, I was recounting the conversation to Joseph. As I spoke, his face fell and he said plaintively, "You think the cartoon guys are hotter than me!?"
  

I knew he'd be jealous.

Halloween 2008

Every year, I see some awesome Halloween pictures. Cool carved pumpkins on doorsteps, kids running through the street, or posing in their scary costumes surrounded by autumn leaves.
But every year, I do the same thing.

(2006)

I take a picture or two of our costumes, but we're not trick-or-treating.



and we're not outside in the seasonal flora and fauna.

(2007)

Nope, I always do just what my mom did before me.


Take a snapshot in the livingroom after we've gone out....




or more typically, before we go out.


And every time, I vow next year I will remember to take the camera outside! I will capture the beautiful leaves, the setting sun, and the excited kids!


Instead of the solemn faced children that have already crashed

(2008)

from their sugar high.


*note: I have the cutest picture of Elora at two weeks old laying by some pumpkins in 2005. But I'm too lazy to scan it in. Sorry.