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Gosh, this is so amazing when seen in the larger, clicked-on format! Wonderful, Andrea--I really like your quirky yet classical style ;D.

I love your attention to detail, especially when drawing little things! :o)

you have way more patience than the average artist. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G-!

OMG!!! Who would have thought of drawing something like except you!! Fabulous!!

Oh, you have captured my favorite spice here! Favorite not because of their taste, but because of how pretty they are. Fantastic drawing, I never thought to draw ALL the star anises in the package... Beautiful!

very cool! i wouldn't think that there was so much variety in the details!

I so enjoy your drawings! As others already said, fun to see it in it's larger format - so much detail - amazing :)

Holy smoke! I don't know which is more surprising, your attention to detail, or HOW FEW STAR ANISESESES there are in a jar!! I bet they smelled good, too. Here's a miniature rendering of a jar of cinnamon: ^

aka Moomstex on EDM

Aaaahhhhh SOOOOOO lovely!!!! Would so use that as a kitchen wallpaper or wrapping paper for bread or something ....

I love the fact that you were up drawing these in the wee hours of the morning...I adore your gentle, delicate touch...and...I am flabbergasted by your exceptional level of patience! Another masterpiece! ;)

Beautiful piece. I would love this framed in my kitchen. Great choice for the Illustration Friday theme.

Patience! I love this drawing.

Lovely as always. Loved the red and green boxes, are we going to get other colours..hope so.

Thanks folks,

Yeah, the star anise is the prettiest of all the spices, and it was the sweetest smelling subject.

I think this one looks better in 'real life'. A bit disappointing on screen. Oh well.

Cheers, gang.

Andrea this is amazing. this has to be one of my favorites! Your patience and talent are insane.

This is lovely. Again, your eye for composition is fantastic.

O my gosh!! I feel like I've stumbled upon the most wonderful treasure. Wow! Impressive & beautiful.

Looks like an illustration out of a book. Thanks for using your gift and sharing it with the world.

Mark

This is great.

I also wanted to thank you for all of your comments on my blog. It is still a bit of a fresh blog and any comment is awesome. Thanks

Andrea,
This EDM challenge was well worth waiting for. Your ability to construct depth and layers - as well as the muted colors always "blows me away."
Shirley
http://www.paperandthreads.com

I am *green* with envy Andrea! I love your little, color coordinated collections!

Another beauty Andrea! So little and yet a big punch.

your compositions are so engaging, they make me want to spend hours looking at all the details. awesome work!

Absolutely wonderful! I love it and especially the little gnome inside the bottle :)

Stunning!

LOvely like always!

Beautiful! Such an wonderful way to express the EDM challenge of drawing something green. I would probably do lettuce or broccoli, or I am sure I have some green shoes somewhere in that closet.

Since this was "my" EDM challenge, I went back and looked at my entry for it, and remembered that I had dedicated it to you. The interesting thing was that in your comment, you mentioned that green was your favourite colour ... so I'm sort of hoping that there will be more drawings like this one, where green plays a major role ... It's lovely.

Please can I send you a couple of Moos?

This is like looking at clouds. I'm sure I see that little button smiling. How adorable.

Thanks everyone.

Glad you like this one, I like it too.

EJ, I remember your post, and it had the same title I believe? I'd love you to send me some Moos - we can do a swap.

Cheers folks.

Andrea,
I discovered your blog today and it jumped to the top of my favorites list! Your art is amazing and I am really enjoying browsing through all your older posts.
Colleen

I have given you an award on my blog for your inspirational blog and artwork. I just love stopping by and exploring your work!

Trying to work back as to how I found you. Started with Anita giving me an award and reading blogs of the others she chose. Then reading their choices and THEN WHAM there I was looking at your beautiful creative pieces. Where do you get such lovely ideas? Your profile says you live in the UK but where????You seem to know EJ from the Fens and I'm in Norfolk. You've been quickly added to my favourites.

This one is great, the colour is wonderful.

Oh, I feel like I've found a real gem by stumbling into your blog. You have such a delightful style and outlook on the world around you.

Andrea, I have give you an award too! Check my blog if you want to participate :)

Andrea,

OOOH..Sorry about the deletion above...I tried to correct a typo...and "poof" it was gone!

You INSPIRE ME! The tender, delicate interpretation of daily life in your drawings makes my heart smile.

Beautiful! Your drawings always have such a beautiful 3d feel to them, like you can pick them right up

Thanks, everyone.

And, welcome to all the new visitors. I'm not sure how you found me but it's nice to 'see' you. Thanks for all the awards too.(Actually, come to think of it, that's probabaly where all the new visitors have come from).

Joan, I'm from Wales but I live in the Peak district. The other side of the country from you, EJ, Anita etc.

Cheers folks, I'm touched.

Andrea, you knock my socks right off again. You brought me right back to the days of mixed tapes (especially Stones mix tapes, trying to convert all my friends...) -- what a brilliant drawing.

"At least, it's not the end of the world..."

Wow oh wow, what a wonderful drawing. I love your commentary also. lol

Ah, that takes me back - a lovely drawing and a reminder of many happy hours spent splicing music together,

At least you're not coming home with your reel to reel! ;) Tapes! I haven't seen those in years - are you a hoarder perchance?! Super drawing!

Oh I hear you, do I ever hear you. It's so hard to say goodbye to times past. I think it also reveals we're getting older...

Beautiful, beautiful drawing.

As ususal, your choice of subject matter and its treatment is funny, magical and unique. More like this one, please!

Wow, this certainly takes me back too! I made loads of mix tapes (who didn´t, those days?) and I found a lot of them this summer when my mom sold our old house. So cool to hear them all again, some brought nice memories or at least a good laugh, while others brought nausea...;)
I didn´t throw them away, though, I took them to our summer house where we still have a tape recorder - that we use! :)

such a nice drawing.
mixtapes... i was a mixtape person, i enjoyed nothing more. the last person i made an actual mixtape for was the woman who is now my wife. I remember witting there for a few hours with the headphones on, carefully choosing stuff that i thought she would like but that would also make me look cool. There is still the compilation CD, of course, but even that has had a relatively short-lived existence with everyone going mp3. It's all playlists now. The fun has been sucked out of it, but i still have a few excellent mixtapes i will take with me to the grave.

That's great that you can make such an interesting picture from a collection of tapes. Liked the post too :-)

As amazing as always. I'm always anxious to see your fabulous interpretations of our challenges.

how do you do it? come up with something more amazing than the last amazing drawing? one always follows that fascinates me more. you come up with the most interesting collections of things. and cassettes no less. turning them into little wonders of drawings and provoking such trips down memory lane. thank you yet again.

Simply brilliant drawing, and I have to say you are much braver than I. I don't even own a cassette player that works anymore, yet I still can't bear to get rid of all those old mix tapes...

Thanks everyone!

I just love it when I hit on a subject that seems to strike a chord with people. I've found, since blogging, that people seem to get fired up by the most unusual of subjects from beetroots to Birkenstocks. I just LOVE it, especially when you share your tales and experiences. I guess that I had a feeling that the good old cassette may resonate. The hours, days, spent choosing the most perfect compilation. Lining up each track and then writing them down on that card. That was my favourite bit actually writing the tracks down in my best handwriting.

Pete, I loved to make them as gifts too. And you are SO right - it was getting that mix of favourite tracks that would also make you look cool.

Felicity, very good, I like your style!! And, yes as soon as I read those words I just had to dig out Hejira. Playing it RIGHT now in fact. I think that Amelia is in my top 3 Joni songs and would definately make my JM compilation.

Tracy, I' blushing from your very kind comment. Thanks

Cheers everybody. You made my day...again!

Yes, great commentary and drawing. How long do you spend on one drawing like this one, Andrea?
w.

Ah yes, I was once very proud of my vast and beloved tape collection. Now, music is on the ipod - not a bad replacement, I must say.

Great drawing, as always.

Along with a new lover you might want to consider some cd, dvd, mp3 players.

Thanks guys,

Wendy, this took about four hours, solid. No looking up! I was wiped out after it.

Yeah, the Ipod is not a bad alternative but, as WR says, I guess they'll all go the same way as good old tape soon enough. It's a little depressing in a way...

Cheers!

waaaaaahh!!! was the response that burst forth from me when i saw this drawing! i just love how supremely kool this drawing is! (yes, cool with K! its that good!)

im not too young to remember mix tape days.. ipods just aren't the same are they?

oh and I like beetroot too :P

WOW - An excellent drawing! Bravo!

I'm blown away - this is excellent! Right down to the wood grain! Brava!

I'll take one or two to draw the lines ;)

Fabulous piece of work Andrea. Amazing detail and beautifully done, as always.
Eileen

You are fabulous!
Great energy, great work!

Fabulous drawing and perfect for the challenge.

Fantastic work!

o-mi-gosh
wonderful.
the supplies are amazing and that wood grain - OH!

Thank you all, lovely peeps!

You are amazing Andrea - I love how you can change ordinary items into a piece of art work that you can go back and look at time after time. Your detail is extroudinary. (Yes I know I cant spell!!!)

Such awesome detail! It looks like you have used the instruments to get the beautiful straight edges.

I find it so ironic that (I know) not one of those geometric tools was used to create this work of geometric perfection.

Simply stunning.

As always, you've taken a challenge and "kicked it up a notch!" I can absolutely get lost in your drawings just studying all those details!!

Holy crapola Andrea! O-M-G! I love this ... the lines, the penwork, the instruments, the wood grain! In your words, totally "Bril"!

Andrea this is great. I am always floored by the detail of your drawings. The way you've illustrated the grain of the wood is fantastic!

great stuff, so warm and textured, blimey i haven't seen those instruments in years. i only just started using a ruler again last week. protractors! those triangle things! compasses that don't point north! and those things with two points on, well. i think they are for maps, but in my school they were for protection.
bien fait!

As always, Stunning! You are such a talent!!

fantastic drawing!!!

Thanks folks,

I was in two minds about posting this one - or even carrying on with it. I'm glad i did now!

Brenda, thanks for that, I'm very flattered.

Jo, love the 'holy crapola' and will HAVE to use that at some point!

Pete, as soon as I saw that tin I had to buy it - to draw of course It is a long time since I've used any of those instruments and I really don't even know what you do with most of them!

Cheers everyone, I'm really touched.

Oh,and nobody noticed the 170 degree semi circle on the protractor. Phew, I got away with it!

Can you tell me if you use a sepia pencil or a sepia pen? Please forgive my ignorance. Your drawings are amazing.

I've enjoyed looking over your work before. Thank you for posting such beautiful drawings for us to savor. Susn R.

Oh wow. Look at all that. Just wonderful! :)

I'm glad you decided to post this drawing, too, Andrea, as it really is totally awesome!!
And thanks for cluing us in to the 170 degrees, I never would have noticed!

Thank you all,

Churchmouse, I actually used both a sepia pen and pencil in this one. I drew it all with the pen and then put a little shading in with the pencil. I think it's the additional pencil that gives it that blended look.

Cheers!

I used to use exactly this set at school!! Wow you've done a brilliant job as usual Andrea.

Thank you! I joined the EDM group a while back but, besides being frantically busy, can never find the list of things to draw!! I know of a lady in Oregon who is desperately trying to think of what to draw next... this should keep her busy ;-)

wonderful job Andrea, as usual! You always leave with my mouth open when looking at your drawings.

I'm with Martin: jaw hanging open again.

like the weller reference!
incredible drawing.

Cheers guys.

Hey Pete, this blog is littered with Weller references, I tell ya! I adore him. I fell in love with him about 30 years ago...and never fell out! Are you a fan?

Thank you.

Absolutely beautiful!! They look so soft and fluffy! I can almost feel the fresh out of the dryer warm.

Soft and fuzzy! Exquisite work, Andrea.

Andrea you sure caught the softness here, they are wonderful!

Wow, softest things I ever saw... Wonderful!

Totally beautiful and oh so soft looking. Good for snuggling.

So soft-looking as others have said, and you are so so neat. Come to my house and do something with the chaos - please!
Actually we don't wear 'jamas - we wear sulus - Pacific Island style.
w.

These are so beautiful - all little boy scrumptious and soft.

Thanks you, guys!

Gorgeous Andrea...I'm without words...the colours, the touch, everything...it is just beautiful.
Ronell

OMG, awesome! I want to reach out and touch them. What an incredible rendering and beautiful title to some ordinary items. Thank you for being an inspiration.

Is it just me or could you draw the 'hardest' thing in the world...and it would still be beautifully soft-looking...a testament to your inherent style.

Oh Andrea - words fail me. This is incredible - how do you convey softness like that? It's true you just want to touch them....Brilliant!

Lovely! Underfull colors!

Thanks guys,

I really didn't expect much of a response to this drawing. I wondered whether it was a little bland. So I'm pleased and surprised by your kind words.

Cheers!

very soft indeed, makes me want to go to sleep now, but it's 9 in the morning

Oh Andrea - this is fabulous. I love the muted pallete, and it does indeed look very soft.

Beautiful.
MD

Oh, so it was Paul Weller, uh?
I know i said it on Flickr -- but i love this one too.

Wow! Brilliant colour! Gorgeous work!

very beautiful and would be perfect for IF challenge this week!

Thanks guys,

Val, yes I know. Actually these are greeny-blues and I do have more purpley-blue pjs. I may draw those before the week is out.

Cheers!

so beautifull smoth.

hfm
http://tcores.blogspot.com

so pretty and soft and i love the colors. i just adore your drawings

Truly soft and so comfy. I love your little details, so perfectly done.

Awesome drawings! Love the wood grain under the bag! The hat is great!!

More great drawings! I am always amazed at the shading effects you achieve with your pens.

Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. The pen I used on Camera Guy was a Koh-I-Noor Rapidograph 4x0. I keep trying the Microns and Prizmacolor pens and still come back to the Rapidographs.

Zeke

I love them! I love your drawings! It's always great to stopping by to appreciate your work.
You are very talented!

Amazing penwork!

Both drawings are great. You just make everday objects look so good. My favourite is the baseball cap, fantastic penwork.
Eileen

The floor near the bag, which in itself is already sooo well executed, is insane. So beautiful, Andrea.
And about sketching around the house: i can relate.

Another Mockingbird fan! I re-read it about every 5 years, and it grows richer with age and understanding.
mistress of longears

now see i love them both. the hat is beautiful. and that floor under the bag - well that is something else.

I love both drawings, I don't think any of your work lacks soul! Love the woodgrain floor and oooh I want to have a good browse in Atticus Boo!

Oh, every time I look at what you can do with a pen, I'm just green with jealousy - these are wonderful, and no, the first one doesn't lack soul.

Oustanding drawing - the way the shadow obscures the wood grain to the right - brilliant.

Harper Lee, Rufus Wainright, and Clarice Bean all in one place - sounds like my version of heaven....

I just love the softness to the shading; you are able to gradate the media so well. Looking forward to seeing more great work of yours.

I like the bag a n d the hat!

Thank you guys,

It's a real boost to the confidence when you respond so well to something I've had such doubt about posting. I appreciate your support and encouragemnet so much. Thanks.

Juj, I am mad about Clarice Bean! I often re-read her novels - they are such damn fun! If I could have written any book it would have been any one of hers. I didn't know whether she had travelled to the States. They are the best books to take on holiday.

Cheers all.

I love these Andrea! Something so refreshing about both.

I'm sorry, but I love even the cap. (Hope you get better!)

As always absolutly amazing drawings Andrea! The wood floor and bag are outstanding.

I prefer the hat aswell, rather than the bag. I notice most people seem to like the floor over the bag also! I know what you mean about the hat, altho i adore the shading you've put into it, there's something not quite right in maybe the composition..? Lacks a little focus perhaps.

Thought a teensy bit of criticism might have been a refreshing change for you :P

still amazing work, hope you're feeling better!! =]

Cheers guys!

Fricka, I do appreciate all comments - and constructive criticism as much as the complimentary ones. I agree completely about the hat. I think the actual hat is just wrong. Like the peak doesn't look like it's joined to the hat, perhaps? The shape, to me, seems wrong.

I thought I'd post a picture that I was really unhappy with - you know to put it out there and to move on from it. I'm such a perfectionist. I hope that posting some things that I don't like may challenge that mindset.

Thank you all.

Andrea - Your work is amazingly wonderful, as always. And thanks for the Clarice Bean link. I've added a couple books to my Amazon cart for my granddaughter.

Love them all. Oh, Charlie and Lola. I love me some Lauren Child, too!

I absolutely love the picture of one of our little bags Andrea and now I know why you like atticusboo so much - we have lots of shared passions: Rufus, Orla Kiely, Clarice Bean, Moleskine notebooks... I only like unearthing gorgeous things though, you can create them and I'm pretty awe inspired by your work. The shop is actually named after my son Alfie whose middle name is Atticus which was, in part, because I thought Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird was a cool role model for a little boy and partly because of my Greek connection. The Boo bit was because I thought it sounded good but maybe my subconscious mind was thinking of Boo Radley I don't know...

Thanks guys,

Linda, glad you find my site, and yes that is exactly why I love your shop - SO many of my favourite things. Also I've come across some stuff that I didn't know about including Petra Boase (I did a little post about her which you'd find in the May archives)and the Rosie Flo books. I thought, for sure, that your shop name must have been straight out of To Kill A Mockingbird - that must have been your subconcious wiorking! Anyway, it does sound great and Atticus is really a wonderful role model for a little boy. Thanks for visiting.

Cheers everyone.

Hi Jenny, thanks for the report. I missed the event, but your report has enough for me to feel I didn't completely lose out.

...and it has some source of light (great in your case)

Thanks for the reply and I have visited the site and now understand about the challenges.I kept seeing it on blogs, and its a great idea , will join soon.
Love the drawing , really like your little bees too , wonderful detail.

Really great job on those shadows Andrea. The drawing overall is fantastic. It seems to me you have moved up a level in your skills. :-) What do you think?

oh yes - a cat toy. we have several 'round here. the lines are just as lovely as ever -so many to create such wonderful detail. the shadow though- that is lovely too. it add so much to the overall weight of the object if you kwim. just wonderful.

Well that is the most interesting cat toy I have seen! Fun!

Your cat has the best toys (the one over the doorknnob is still one of my favorite pictures you've done). I've always liked your shadowless drawings and I would never have said I thought something was missing, but the shadow makes the composition of this piece very compelling. Great drawing.

The shadow really does add something doesn't it? It's not missed when it isn't there, but when it's drawn in it really does change the whole feel ... and you've done a beautiful job as always. I have tons of cat and dog toys but they're usually very "dead" long before I can draw them! I should do one new BEFORE my menagerie get to it :)

I never felt anything was missing with the shadowless drawings, but now it's there, like Marana says, it just adds something. Another very beautiful drawing.

Andrea, If one wants to go about buying some of your artwork, how does one do it? It's so simple yet so beautiful...

I adore the simplicity of your subject matter. Real life in exquisite detail.
The bell looks like a tiny face to me. LOL. Fabulous work, as always.

Wow, the shadow really makes this one pop. I never missed the shadows before, but this, wow, this is good.

Well, from my point of view, you can call this all three EDM challenges! How else will you ever get through the list?? (I speak from experience . . .).
Great job, Andrea!!

I can imagine this being irresistable to cats - best not analyse cat's brains! Super drawing, the shadow gives it a whole different feel.

Very obvious .. your drawing skills leave little to the imagination ... awesome.

Cheers guys, I really appreciate your visits and kind comments.

Bill, it's now 200+ drawings since I started this blog (not all of them made it onto the blog but a lot have). I think that amount of drawing has definately improved my technique. It's really hard to be subjective though, isn't it? Thank you anyway - I takethat a s a compliment.

Amy, you could email me if there is anything you are interested in (andreajoseph24[at]btinternet[dot]com).

I do think that the shadow has added something to this drawing. I need not be frightened of the shadow anymore!

Thank you all.

I recognized your last "guess what this is" right away, but I don't think I would have ever guessed this one was a cat toy. Blame it on my lack of cat toy experience, no the drawing! : )

I totally agree with juj and Andrea -- i had never missed the shadows before, the lack thereof was always more or less part of your trademark, but you really added something bold with this one, and i think it works really well. I LOVE the close up on the toy, it looks like a tired buffoon. Another beautiful one, Andrea.

Again I agree with what others have said, I never missed that shadows from your other work, but now that you mention it you notice they weren't there. I just think it brings another dimension to your work, or growing in your work, or however you want to look at it. It;s just good we can share your journey with you.
Keep up the FANTASTIC work, and by the way, that shoe is just OOOOH! it looks so real

Well thanks for your lovely comments.Yes I live on the edge of the Lake District, nearest to Coniston Lake. Thats where I my oak leaves.Eileen

Thanks guys,

France, somebody said (on Flickr)that it looks like a sheep that has drunk too much and fallen over - I can see that!! It does have a mouses face on the otherside; this is his backside. Not sure if mouses is the correct word but I like it!!

Eileen, what a stunning part of the country to live - the Peaks are gorgeous too.

Cheers guys!

this is gorgeous. at first, seeing the small one, i'd thought it was a monkey, could see his eyes, mouth, hahaha. It's so neatly done. PERFECT DRAWING! never would've guessed waht it really is.

Did you hear me say wow out loud? This is so great! You drew all those threads in the twine! And you're right about shadows. This is wonderful.

Thanks Martin and Phthaloblu!

wow. this one looks almost like a photograph!

Really elegant, the shoe and the way it's drawn.

Your blog is delightful. Is there some way I can get automatically updated using atom/feeds? I might have overlooked it, but I think it must be turned off on your blog.

Cheers guys, I am pleased with this one and glad you like it too.

drb, I've just had a look at my settings but to be honest I'm not sure what I'm looking for (would it be 'Pings'??) If you have any advice I'd be grateful for it - as you may tell I'm not much of a techie!

Ta!

Another beauty!! So photorealistic. I have a daughter with a shoe fetish. Hmm, sounds a lot like you :)

BEAUTiful shoe andrea - I love the way you captured the softness and the folds. You always manage to strike that delicate balance between photoreal and drawing. Nothing is ever overworked. It's just lovely to see.

* drb (and Andrea) - I keep updated with Andrea's blog thru blogarithm.com. Sign up (it's free) type in the addresses you want and viola! Updates appear in your mailbox.

Fantastic, as always! I´m so amazed at your drawings, they are all so soft and yummy and lovely! Lucky thing you have a blog so I can check them out! :)

Another beauty! You get such an incredibly soft shading with your crosshatching! Thanks for sharing your drawings and inspiring us!

what they said :-) its the crosshatching of those tiny little lines - just produces such a soft drawing - you can feel that shoe. just lovely

Now you know what Freud said- There are NO accidents. :-) I've been in shoe-buying mode myself lately.
By the way, the language divide has finally struck. In American English we call this a flat or ballet slipper. A pump is a high heel. You know what they say about you and us - divided by a common language!
jeanette

I am constantly in awe of your incredibly detailed work. This one is just amazing.

I was going to say this looked like a cross between a ballet slipper and a flat to me, but Jeanette beat me to it. Not what I know of as a pump, anyway. What I do know, is that this is a gorgeous drawing!!

AWESOME!! Beautiful rendering!

How the heck do you do this!! Your cross hatching ... so perfect ... colors delicately laid ... always senstively drawn! So cool.

Just found your wonderful drawings.I am curious about the EDM , wonder if you could explain.
Thanks Milly

Aaaw thanks guys.

Cheers Juj for the info That's useful and something I did not know either.

So pumps are high heels in the US?? That just sounds wrong! These are actually ballet pumps here. Maybe I'll change the title on Flickr!

Milly, EDM stands for Everyday Matters which is on online drawing group (you can find the link on my blogroll). They set weekly challenges (eg, draw a shoe, chair, something green etc)to memebers. There is a list of the challenges on the 'links' page on the site. It also has folders for each challenge so that you can see the drawings people have made in response to the challenges set. I kind of do them randomly - every now and again. You can see my set so far if you go to the yellow pencils and click on the link there. Hope that helps.

Thanks everybody for the kind words. Love, Andrea.

Love, love love....gosh, you got the fabric down perfectly! This looks awesome and I wish I had these shoes!!!

Beautifully drawn! And they look so comfy too, looks like you enjoyed this one Andrea!

And you have, with many apologies, been tagged ... please check my blog.

Cheers Suzanne and Mariana.
I did enjoy this drawing a lot - it's actually one of my own personal favourites.

This is one of my favorites of all times of yours. I love the way it looks soft and stretchy and lived in.

Ha I did an in denial thing like that on ebay. SOB

Cheers Jana, it has become one of my own personal faves too. So thanks for that.

DD, Ebay is lethal for that! Something takes over you and you just have to keep on bidding.

Cheers!

You've caught the shine so beautifully

Beautiful job. Your style is really very intriguing. Love your smooth even shading.

I love this little shoe! It's got such personality and nerve!

Cheers!

Wow! I love your style - and this one is just such a happy drawing! You're so detailed and interesting in your art!

Beautifully soft!

Andrea! Absolutely gorgeous!!! The textures are so real I could use those pencils right thru the screen!!!

beautiful!

Like I could reach out and pick them up!!!

I also love this drawing. Your refer to sepia ink often. I'd like to know more about that. Do you use a bottle of ink and a nib, a Micron pen, or what? And then is it finished off with colored pencil? Do you have a preference for brands of colored pencil? Your style is very appealing to me.

Oh Andrea! These are just beautiful, and they are so 'you'. It's wonderful to see you feeling like yourself again. Welcome back *smile*

Wonderful composition.

I love your beautifully soft style!

Ya coulda painted a jar of honey! Pencil points are certainly right in front of us, but it takes only you to notice!
w.

Ummm, I think you already do, with a pen or a pencil, give people that feeling. Those who love your work recognize you in each new piece they see, the same way you recognize James Taylor's voice in each song he sings... and they get that feeling! It's because you have your own authentic style, don't you know?

I'd love to be able to thumb thru your sketchbooks, the pages are beautiful.

Beautifully done! And, a belated happy birthday!

Just simply gorgeous Andrea!!!! WOWEE!!

Well they're just beautiful Andrea. I really like the way you have just drawn the tips. Fantastic work.

beautiful- yellow never looked so good.
and thank you for the flickr link - now that was a huge treat.

Wonderful drawing, Andrea!

Wonderful work, as always. It's great to see how you use different colours, and interesting that you're drawn to sepia more than black.
Please would you share which pens you like using?
PS, it was my birthday this week too. Cancerians unite!

Well Andrea, this is absolutely GORGEOUS! SO delicate and detailed and soft ... how did you get such sharp points on those pencils, I wish mine got that sharp! Beautiful, I'm so glad you're as happy with it -- as I always am with all of your drawings!

I love your pencils, they are such nice,subtle colors. It's weird, I love a lot of bright colors, just not bright yellow. It's good to know you're feeling happier with your drawings, but I loved a lot of the recent ones. Especially that room of Toby's house.
Back in the college days, a bunch of us went to a James Taylor concert, but wound up being totally wowed by someone we hadn't heard of till then, Carole King. Hate to give away my ancient age, but that waS 1871, Both of their voices sounded like warm honey in the sun. It was unforgettable.

Aaaw thanks everyone.
I am really happy with this - which is such a relief as I'm struggling to draw anything I like at the moment.

Sherry and Gillian - I use Pilot G-Tec pens. They come in black, blue and brown(sepia). I am really not that fussy about the products I use. I use just about anything that feels right. I use lots of different colour pencils - Karisma and Derwent in this picture. And of course I LOVE ballpoint which are probably the cheapest of products on the market.

Mariana - it took some time to get them that sharp! There is nothing more frustrating than doing all the sharpening to find the point has snapped off again.

Good with Colours - I am so jealous! I've never seen James Taylor live but Carole King too! Now that sounds like my kind of gig. Tapestry has to be one of the greatest albums of all time IMO. The song writing on it is just unbelievable. Almost every track is a classic.

Thanks everyone for the lovely compliments. I'm glad you like this one.

I continue to enjoy all of your artwork. The pencils are very nice.

Your drawings give me that feeling...

The anwers are always so near us! they look gorgeous!

Your drawing looks like honey too! I love the way music gets embedded in the art. These just glow.

I really love this! (and it's always great to find people who love sketching, handwriting and JT)

Superb illo!

Wow! This one is beautiful. You really did something yellow!

Oh this is wonderful! Absolutely fantastic!
With your permission i would love to link to this from my blog...please let me know how you feel.

Thanks
Dxx

Brilliant!

Thank you all for the kind comments.

MrsNesbitt I'dbe more than happy for the link. Thank you.

You sure know how to make something so mundane sparkle. This is beautiful! Golden and spectacular.

Andrea, this is so nice!!! I love it!!! Very well done!!!

r word for this not being as good as the original, but in that case the original must be gorgeous a this is ... BRILLIANT! The detail on the embroidery and that fringe are wonderful.

Somehow I managed to chop off the beginning of the previous paragraph ... It's supposed to say: I'll take your word ... :)

OMG!!! I thought it was a photo. That fringe in incredible!!!

Now, Andrea, this bell is gorgeous, so the scan doesn't do it justice, but we love it! The yarn and mebroidery are superb, and the colour is wonderful, so good job all around!

doesnt it drive you crazy how it dulls the colors..you are right the second looks AWESOME...great job...ALOT of fine work...

This color drawing is exquisite. In the close-up, the bronze body of the bell is so finely wrought...so dimensional.
I can here it ring from here.

Thank you all.

I am happy with the yarn but it's just the rest of it that I have my doubts about - especially the bell!

Cheers for visiting and your kind words guys.

Andrea, it looks gorgeous from here, but I can see the first one, the close up, being much better in showing the fine textures. I lovely rendition of a beautiful object.
I find the same problem with scans losing so much.I've had better luck taking photos of the drawings, then using photoshop to crop and orient. Of course the pixel count too makes such a difference.

I really love your art. Thank you for sharing.

~Ashleigh

oops! I meant to say the second one, the enlarged. "slaps head"

You prove to us how all kinds of articles can be used for super pictures.
How large are your pics?
Re the scanning - I find that the program I use brightens the colours when I want to make them soft and subtle!
w.

Is that yarn around the top? That is so fantastically detailed it looks photorealistic. Beautiful work!

WOW! It looks pretty darned good on my monitor screen, Andrea ~ exquisite job!

No matter what way I look at it, it is just plain GORGEOUS!!!!

Toothbrush, totally! And very well done, too. This would be great on a dentist's wall.

I saw the toothbrush immediately - good work!

As always, gorgeous. Now brush those teeth before you go to sleep...

Great job! I hope you did this well on your pearly whites!

Lovely cropped composition and another brilliant sketch!

i have to confess that i guessed too :P great sketch.

Yes it's obvious - to me anyway!. Looks great, love the close up and cropping.

Thanks guys.

I did think it looked like a toothbrush but sometmes you do wonder!

The cropping was due to a mistake I made - but you knew that anyway didn't you??!

Cheers.

Oh my goodness ..this is so cool...looks like MY toothbrush...lol

your blog and your drawings are very very good! congratulations.

You did that with a ballpoint pen? That's brilliant!

WOW, what an interesting viewpoint! Greaet job on this fun one.

I think it´s the same kind I have! Great job, as usual. I am so impressed with your drawings, they are so inspiring!

Actually, I recognized the squiggle of toothpaste before I noticed the toothbrush - weird huh? What a fantastic job you've done--as always!! I think I'm going to start calling you the "Ink Master."

Oh, very cool!!!

Thank you all for visiting and your kind comments.
I really appreciate them. Thank you.

:-D GREAT viewpoint of the toothbrush!

I could tell it was a monkey wrench right away!

Just kidding... ; )

Once again your prowess with ball point pen amazes me. The cropping may have been a mistake, but it was quite serendipitous. Beautiful sketch.

looks exactly like my own toothbrush.

Thanks guys.

I am amazed that this ballpoint sketch has created so much response. It's funny how that happens!!

Cheers.

At first I thought it was a worm.

Then a bit of a small intestine.

THEN a toothbrush.

LOL!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for the journey!

Toothbrush - without a doubt! Lovely drawing and I like how you cropped the image too.

Great job on the toothbrush. Yes, I saw it right away!

No question in my mind about the toothbrush. I love your drawing style. This toothbrush is beautiful, and so are those beets. I wouldn't eat a beet for any amount of cash, but I adore your drawing.

Like all your drawings this is absolutely charming. I saw the toothbrush instantaneously. But your unusual crop made me notice something I'd never seen before in that toothbrush style--the design seems to incorporate a squiggle of toothpaste!