Another September...

Usually by September, I've had enough of the heat. Thankfully, we've been blessed by a milder August and storms to cool things off.  Therefore, I'm not chomping at the bit like I usually am by this time. 

However, today is an example of a cruddy September hot day that is not welcome. 

But it is what it is here in hell.

Here is the last Sunday Doodle for August 2014. I've found that smaller pieces of paper and larger subject matters help the doodle progress a little quicker. That's important if the Sunday nap is imperative too.  

And it is. 

Third pumpkin for 2014 Scary Season completed

As for the third pumpkin, I'm not as happy with it, but it's finished. However, the larger one I'm working on now is coming together even better than I expected. That's the way it goes sometimes.  Art can be as unpredictable as a tornado. Why a twister takes out a whole street, skips over two houses and then does another five house is a mystery. The same goes with art. It's usually less disastrous. Usually.

There are two large custom drawing pieces in progress now as well. So I find I fare better if I take the pumpkins with me to pick up the kids from school and just work on them as I'm parked there waiting and Alexander is hopefully asleep in the back. The pumpkins do not block the air conditioner vents like my huge drawing board does with the larger pieces. 

 Still, I have 3-4 different projects in tandem. The large drawing board with the air conditioning issue might have to be tackled a couple of times this week. 

Sure, I always wish Alexander is asleep in the back, and about 75% of the time he is. However, often he wants to draw too. It all depends on his mood. But he does draw a lot at home as well. He's really impressive with his skills and if I kept every single drawing, I'd have a huge box full by now. Therefore, I keep highlights and try to scan them in, such as these examples below. 

Here are some highlights just from the last couple of days:

Alexander drew around this clip art of a collar, tie and tag...the little head cracks me up...!

Someone Riding a Horsie

Alexander and Daddy!

Ship of Pirates...Spongebob, Patrick and Squidward under the sea...

Mr. Krabs from Spongebob

One thing that was hit hard in my Art Education studies in college was the drawing stages of children and the ages they generally hit these drawing stages as their motor skills are developed. It begins as scribbling, then they start to make shapes, and it goes from there (as vaguely outlined). I do not like this particular example below, however, because it kind of skips over key areas in the pre-schematic stage with how they start to develop the body as they draw. 

But I'm also being picky.

I noticed early on that Alexander blew past the scribbling stage and went into the pre-schematic and schematic stages almost immediately. I just wish he would not do it on the walls. I'd even prefer books being drawn in over the walls.

Mikelle has inherited artistic skills as well. I saw her develop it differently, but she does have it. Now at age 14, she doesn't seem to have as much interest in developing it further.  But I know when I was in high school, I had different ideas in how I wanted to draw and explore art. Sometimes I wanted to draw on my own time and not explore art in an academic form at all (especially 9th and 12th grades) or be pushed in directions my stubborn teenage mind was not interested in.  That was very different than how it progressed in college and even today. Therefore, I do hope Mikelle finds her way with it and eventually develops it further. 

Even Christian's art skills can be impressive. But with him, he is easily becoming frustrated at the technical aspects of it, as his possible Aspergers suggests. His creative energy and outlet is better served in the IT and Engineering areas. In fact, when there was an issue at his school last week and the computer lab wasn't available to the class as it was originally supposed to be, his teacher said, "Christian, please build us a computer in the back of the room that we can use!" Too funny. 

Well, now I've effectively tooted my children's' horns, time to move on to multi-tasking and other royal duties of the Queen.

 Until next time...