Sunday, Oct 25

Just finished the 'studio'! What used to be the garage now feels like a cozy room that I will actually want to work in...new carpet, wall space to draw on, storage space, lighting, drapery, you name it~

I'm lining up more models! If you know anyone...I can't pay much (can do a trade, too) but am looking for female models (over 18 of course). They do not have to be professional art models, anyone will do if they are NOT shy and willing to work with me!

Sept model session

A fast 15 minute pose from a live model

Professional Website is LIVE!

I have finally gotten my professional art website up and running. It is NOT in it's final form - I am constantly reworking it and adding...for example, there is no image on the homepage yet. Peter got a new computer and we haven't hooked everything up/gotten all of the programs running yet. I need to get on Photoshop and work with a few things.

So please go explore, email me with comments and suggestions OR leave a comment in my guestbook!

www.racheledwardsart.com

End of August

School is starting soon! I have been spending a bit of time on the wheel, making some ceramic pieces and getting ready for my new batch of kiddies. Planning is always time consuming, so no new drawings have been done.

The goal is that this blog turns into a place to see my work-in-progress and other things I'm working on....not sure there will be too many more drawings-a-day for the time being!

Thanks for following - come back soon!

13 - 17 August 2009 VACATION!

This was my annual trip with the girls I went to school in Italy with. They were nice enough to go somewhere local this year, since I can't fly on planes due to the back right now....so we went to Santa Barbara! I've never spent that much time there, and it was FUN! Did a little wine tasting in Santa Ynez, some shopping, beer sampling, LOTS of relaxing, napping and sleeping in, and some great food with the girls!

I'll put a few pics up on here when I get them (no camera right now...Peter has it in Mexico!)

10, 11, 12 August 2009

Spent 3 days on 2 drawings.....just got pics of them....one of me and my sis and one of my Mom and Pop!
Done in pencil.....hard to look back at now that I've sent them off! It's always hard to send a drawing away and then see it again with fresh eyes - little mistakes are blatantly clear.

9 August 2009, Sunday

Wow - another packed day! Julie, her friend Kelly and I went up to Pasadena for the Rose Bowl Swap Meet today.....got up really early and made it there before the crowd. It was pretty cool - lots of different stuff for sale; some old, some new. We had a great time trying vintage stuff on, picking out old cowboy boots, and digging around for deals. HOT day though....the crowd DID show up, en force, in all of their L.A. regalia....some super fun people watching. We were told celebrities would be there, but everyone else looked like they THOUGHT they were a celebrity! fun......

Too tired though.....went to see a movie to chill out in some AC and to bed...no drawing time. :(

8 August 2009, Saturday

Peter left for Mex super early this morning; it was a hard time for me since he won't be around for almost 2 weeks, but at the same time, I think this time for myself is just what the doctor ordered. I will be more able to focus on what I need to do for me to get prepped for school starting - I need to keep working on getting myself into that 'good place' where school starting won't be a 'bother' but will just be worked into my routine of life and art.

Angela had her Belgium party tonite, and I always miss it since I'm usually in Mex with Peter, but I got to go this time! Fun! GOOOOOD food too....thanks Ang!

Also, Julie and I hit up a local art/shop opening in Cardiff - the Ando store - for half hour or so. It was a fun scene, nice ocean breeze, free beer, GREAT music by the Mattson 2 and Ray Barbee...it just felt like what a summer evening is supposed to!

Ray was GREAT on guitar, and just looked so darned happy while he was playing it....

7 August 2009, Friday

Last day before Peter leaves! We did lots of errands today - took us down to Rosecrantz and someone must've hit a fire hydrant....there was the BIGGEST geyser of water I have ever seen stopping traffic and flooding some poor businesses. It was pretty cool though to see the power of water, and how much pressure was behind that one fire hydrant.

Trying to capture cascading water is pretty hard

6 August 2009, Thursday

Recooperation day. I honestly did nothing today except help Peter pack a bit....
No drawing.

5 August 2009, Wednesday

Day 2 - LA

A bit hungover (esp me), we went to the Farmer's Market for breakfast and then to Bergamot Station to see some galleries. Not much there that was noteworthy, but there was a nice retrospective of Barkley Hendricks that we all liked. Some shopping followed in Santa Monica and Venice as well as a walk through (over?) the Venice canals. A bit of a slower day, but we needed it that way! We also got to see the Gehry Disney Hall (really cool!).

A little drawing of Julie when we stopped to breathe for a bit - once again (and I know better) I did it flat on the table and the proportions are all enlongated. Oh well...

4 August 2009, Tuesday

YAY! Finally, after talking about it for a year or so, we three art teachers took our trip to LA!

First stop as LACMA. AMAZING! I have been there before, but it's a bit hard to navigate around, so it was nice to have Angela (who used to work there) to tell us where to go. We saw all of these pieces that we talk about to the kids all the time - it was nice to see them in person. Art is SO different in person...images do them such disservice. There was this GREAT installation piece when walked up -a Korean artist strung together all of these crazy containers from the 99cent store...and it's a maze of these cool strings of color. We loved it!

Saw some Jeff Koons too - have never seen it in person and it was fun! Also, the Richard Serra pieces - GIANT steel structures you can walk thru - were amazing. Loved the interaction with the art. Also got the see them breaking down an exhibit and stuffing all of these priceless pieces into big wooded crates. Fun times.

We tried to go to some galleries, but they were mostly in between shows. No luck there. Went up to the Griffith Observatory and looked out over LA, saw the Hollywood sign...and a fire starting (yikes! Hope they got that put out!). Then had dinner and a VERY interesting night with some of Angela's family and friends.

3 August 2009, Monday

I got my new issue of Juxtapoz today....and spent most of the time drooling over these two new artists in there. I haven't been so sure about that magazine since they put SO much graffiti and random stuff - but every now and then they really hit it and this was one of those times for me.

Natalia Fabia and a graffiti artist who goes by MAC...I'm attaching images of their work since I am very inspired by them today and my mind is thinking....more than drawing.

MAC (top 2 images) seems really versatile - very skilled and perfectionistic but able to freehand large-scale murals at the same time! I don't know how he does it - his murals use this crazy hatching technique to get value and a blend from color to color...they are beautiful.

Natalia (3rd & 4th images) looks JUST like Paris Hilton, but she is an amazingly skilled painter. After looking up her past work, I really think she's gotten better. Her new work is amazing....they almost look like photos, and she really concentrates on setting up the scene and capturing the lighting. I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE her models - I want them. I want those girls in my drawings. Find them for me!

2 August 2009, Sunday

Made it home today....unpacked and chilled out. The little crabbies finally made it into the pot - they are this amazing purple and orange.....but became this bright red in the pot. YUMMMMMMY dinner.

A fast contour line drawing...

1 August 2009, Saturday

Last walk around town...decided to buy some fresh, local live crabs to take home - yummy! They packed them in ice for us so we just kept checking on them...

Heading back south now, still on the coast. Stopped in SLO to walk around town since we skipped it before and had lunch at one of their local breweries, Creekside Brewing. It was great - a very cute little place actually on a creek. GREAT food, and some more safe/mellow beers. I wasn't ecstatic over any of them, but they were easy to drink.

Then drove on to Avila Beach, just south of SLO. There is a super long pier there that we walked out on....sea lions everywhere (sucks for trying to fish off the pier but great to watch!) One little guy was trying to find a spot to jump up to lay out in the sun but the area was full with big bull sea lions, so just kinda perched there on this small piece of wood for a few and then fell back in the water.....

Drove south more, through Shell Beach and Pismo Beach (overrun with ATVers and RVers), and stopped at a restaurant on a bluff to have a rest/drink and watch the ocean...saw whales!! And a wedding was going on next door at the hotel...it was out on the bluff, and was beautiful, but it was NOT warm and the wind was whipping the poor bride and bridesmaids hair everywhichway!

Ended up stopping in Lompoc for the night (weekends are MUCH more expensive so we didn't want to be near a big town, and campgrounds were booked up for the weekend).

Last day of July (31, Friday)

Did a nice walk this morning out to the rock to keep from getting stiff...then Peter and I explored the town. We'd already decided to stay another nite since we liked it here so much. Ended up having a GREAT day that just kind of opened up for us - started by looking for the local brewery that was supposed to be there a block from our inn but was closed. So we literally stumbled into the local bar from the 1930s that had just opened for the day....the guy that owns it RAD, letting us try a bunch of the beers he had on tap and talking to us about the town, its history, and the controversies surrounding the power plant there (it's just like the one we have in Carlsbad) but big and ugly and imposing right in the middle of this cute town. We were there for quite a while, and luckily there was this little window by the bar that connected to the pizza place next door - perfect!

Then we went to see the movie "Up" which was the only thing playing in town (which is an EXCELLENT movie, even if you don't like animated features). Back to the bar for a nitecap and then some more pizza in the room for din. It was a GREAT day - we just kind of indulged our whims and whatever we wanted to do at the moment, and it turned out great!

Got some ideas for pottery/ceramic shapes while walking around today...

30 July 2009, Thursday

Got up today and went to the local brewery (Downtown Brewing) in P Robles to check it out....pretty safe/mellow selection, but there were some standouts in the Blueberry Beer (yea, sounds weird but it was good - not too fruity, more spicy) and the Reggae Red (guess what Peter ordered...).

Then back to the coast to Morro Bay - I have been to Nor Cal and LOVED it and to Bodega Bay, which is much smaller than Morro, but Morro is still a REALLY cool little town. The weather was immediately different (not 90 degrees!) - super cloudy and cool...we had to put sweatshirts on! We parked to take a walk out to the big rock, got out of the car, and immediately saw Sea Otters! I have never seen them outside of an aquarium or zoo, so I was pretty excited. They were munching on something that was pretty loud and kept pulling the kelp over themselves, I'm guessing to help them stay put. cute...

The town was awesome and laidback (during the week, at least) with little docks, fishing boats, and we got some super good seafood for dinner.

29 July 2009, Wednesday

This morning we got up and decided to head north to Paso Robles....we heard it was great for nice red wines and thought it would be fun to add wine tasting to the brewery tour! Another short drive (nice, since I was never sitting in the car for very long, so the back was alright!) and we started passing vineyard after vineyard....and we weren't even to town yet! I ended up recognizing one of the names from good ol' Trader Joes and so we stopped and learned we were in the perfect area we wanted to be in! So we hit a few places, one in particular that was SUPER fun - Castoro.

Then we headed into town, which is really little and cute, like Sonoma, but without the TONS of people. It was nice to taste wine and not have to wait in line! First stop was at the Firestone Brewery....lots of really strong, hoppy beers. Not my favorite...just not as flavorful as Stone.

Then we stopped to eat lunch and were getting something out of the back of the truck, and opened the gate without thinking.....the big box of wines came crashing out and 3 of the 5 in there broke all over the pavement (and they were all my favorites from Castoro too). I was bummed. So Peter put us back in the car and we went back there to go more....luckily, the lady that had helped us was REALLY cool and gave us 50% off. WHew!

We stayed at this Mineral Spa Hotel, and the room was rad, and weirdly the cheapest in town....we had a fireplace and a balcony with a jacuzzi tub on it that the spring waters came up to! It was on the balcony so that they sulfur smelling water didn't stink up the room.....yum. So Peter and I mainly hung out there, aside from getting some yummy Thai takeout.

Busy day, lots of alcohol, no drawing. :(

28 July 2009, Tuesday

We ended up in Ventura last night, taking the coast as far as we could (it took a while!). There was a brewery there that we wanted to check out (Anacapa Brewery) - good beer! As much as I NEVER have ordered an IPA in my life, I ended up loving their DOUBLE IPA..weird.

Today we checked out downtown Ventura, and then headed up north more....to SLO. Didn't feel like dealing with town at the moment, so we went north to this little campground just off the road. It was nice and quiet, and I haven't camped in over a year (due to the good ol' back), so I was REALLY wanting to. We brought the tent and camping box and....an AIR MATTRESS! I love that thing!!! It was so fun, and I was so comfortable and all went well - I honestly think I felt BETTER as we went along throughout the trip!

Some great wildlife - there were these super bright blur birds there, some type of jay that hung out by camp and ate our leftovers. I have never drawn a bird before....

27 July 2009, Monday

First day of the trip - went on the coast the entire way to the Long Beach Aquarium! I have been wanting to go here for a while now, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. It is a huge building, but there isn't as much aquarium/display space, so I had a hard time figuring that one out. It is VERY much geared towards little kids, of which there were a TON running around, so it's a cool place for families. Lots of touch tanks with rays and harmless sharks and starfish (fun!) but some of the other exhibit spaces aren't as neat. I liked it, but honestly like our dear own Birch better. And if you've ever been to the Baltimore Aquarium, you KNOW it can't be beat - maybe I'm spoiled from having been there a lot when I was a kid!

I LOVED the jellies - they are rad - like this slow-mo conceptual art exhibit instead of living sea creatures. I don't know how they don't just get all tangled up in each other! I sat and tried to draw without little ones looking over my shoulder....

26 July 2009, Sunday

Packed today...heading out on a weeklong spontaneous trip with Peter tomorrow. All we know is that we are getting in the car, heading north and we'll figure it out day to day! Super excited....

no drawing today

25 July 2009, Saturday

My friend and fellow teacher Justin Moodie had a farewell party today - he is heading up to SF for a new job. We'll miss him -

I also went to yoga this morning at the Y. It kicked my butt - I just cannot straighten out my right leg and I got a little down on myself. At least the teacher was cool and helped me out a lot, but I guess this was my first time back in the saddle and I could at least DO IT! I should start there and keep going...be positive!

24 July 2009, Friday

Happy Hour at the Beach House - fun times! Have been thinking about tattoos for myself and places to put them and about tattoos in general...which led (of course) to how I could incorporate them into my art.....just a fast sketch (she has a tattoo on her ribcage - text). I want my drawn girls to have personality - and art drawn on a person who is then, in turn, drawn seems pretty neat to me.

23 July 2009, Thursday

Didn't do much today. Peter and I went to see "The Hangover" - super funny. I liked that...it was creatively done. Have been brainstorming on art ideas, and how to include more motion and movement into drawings. I really liked how my last big piece (Lola) had movement, with the girl flinging her hair around. I'd ideally like to show movement from one position to the next.....here is just some playing around with that.

22 July 2009, Wednesday - Opening Day!

Opening day at the races - went with Julie, Angela, Jessi and Peter. What a crowd - SOOO many dressed up girls in hats stumbling around, and boy was it HOT. Peter and I joke and call it Boobs on Display. Here is my interpretation of the perfect Trifecta pick of the day.....what racing is all about. (jk)

21 July 2009, Tuesday

Went shopping with Angela and Moodie - yea...he wanted to go! :) Trying to find hats for Opening Day at the Races.....success! Did these 2 drawings while waiting for lunch on my paper placemat. Ended up being a bit elongated proportionately since I did them flat on the table. DOH - I know better.

HELP!

I am trying to decide on a domain name for my art website.

I am deciding between racheledwardsart.com OR
rachel-edwards.net

That's ALL that's available....which do you like? Comment please!

20 July 2009, Monday

Just realllly needed something fun to draw today. ;)

19 July 2009, Sunday

I did the unthinkable - went all the way to Imperial Beach on a WEEKEND in the middle of JULY - for an event. Yup. The sandcastle building thingie - I think all of San Diego was there. I remember going years ago, and I pulled up, parked right by the beach, and strolled around looking at these great sculptures.

it was a little different this time, let's just put it that way!

On the bright side (not to be all negative!) I got to hang out with my oldest friend from college, her boyfriend and daughter, Stella. Stella caught a crab and they (well, Dustan and Greg) dug some serious holes for the crab's new 'home'.

unfinished drawing of Stell in the hole with Greg still digging. Not sure where the crab is......

18 July 2009, Saturday

I'm trying really hard to keep up with this technology stuff - very proud of me for this blog! AND I'm working on my art website. BUT, man oh man, the peer pressure to get a Facebook - I am literally the only one of my friends who doesn't have one. Shall i jump in the boat too.....?

My friend Nena has GREAT uses for all of her multiple sites and has actually gotten me pretty excited about it all, but i still feel like I wouldn't be able to stay on top of it all.

Argh - too many things to keep up with. And yes, that is my head exploding

17 July 2009, Friday

Today is my little sis' birthday! Happy 30th AJ!!

Angela and I spent a little time at the beach today....here are some sketches before the sun got to us too bad and we had to head out. Scorcher!

Later, Julie and I went to the local bars - it's been WAY too long since I've been out like that! It was a fun night - I ran into my 1st ever student in a bar who was OF AGE to be in there! Crazy! He was a cool kid though, it just weirded me out at first! Then, I saw a friend (the bouncer at Beach Side, Al) who I haven't seen in over 7-8 years. THEN, I ran into a friend from college who I haven't seen since LAST summer! GREAT night.......

16 July 2009, Thursday

My, how this week has flown by. I went into school yesterday to borrow a throwing wheel, and saw Julie teaching summer school. Then Angela called to tell me about AP scores and it all got me into a bit of a bad mood. Just BEING at school for 15 minutes and talking about school-related things set me off a bit - I guess the REAL challenge of what I'm working on now it to be ok with school and my place in/with it....and to NOT let it affect me! THEN I will be in a better place since I will be content with my choices and able to enjoy the moment I am in instead of freaking out about things that are far far away still....

Anyways...didn't do a drawing today. (above is my excuse) :)

15 July 2009, Wednesday

Today is my mom's birthday - Happy 60th Mom!!!!!

I had lunch with my friend Justin today and my fortune cookie was veeeery interesting. The scan came out kinda bad on this one though....

Also got to see the new Harry Potter. Not as great as the others, but then i remember this book being a little slow. The end was great though.

14 July 2009, Tuesday

S J Capistrano is a very small, quiet town and there's not a whole lot going on, even less than I expected. BUT it IS a great place to relax, have some good food, chill by the pool, and check out the WONDERFUL Mission.

The Mission is huge! There are flowers blooming everywhere, lots of neat historic things to see, and butterflies, birds, and bugs everywhere. No swallows though.

I did a fast sketch and took some pictures.

13 July 2009, Monday

We decided to take a mini-vacation right in our own area....took the train up to San Juan Capistrano and stayed overnight.

I felt like a little kid on the train - I haven't taken an extended train ride in a while, and yes, this was still a pretty short one, but the train goes RIGHT on the beach for a good portion of the trip and it's really pretty.

12 July 2009, Sunday

No drawing today, BUT we did spend about 5 hours tearing through the garage, cleaning, rearranging and making space for ME TO DRAW! BIG, that is....

So I found this roll of vinyl flooring and the back of it is totally smooth, so we cleared stuff out, hung it on the wall (it blends in, it's gray) and got all of my art stuff out and accessible. The most recent drawing I've been working on is hung up already and just waiting for me.

11 July 2009, Saturday

it is HOT - 'nuff said.............

10 July 2009, Friday

Peter and I went to the beach today. I had a very interesting experience that helped me to deal with something that I've been holding in for the past few years, not to be cryptic or anything. It was a huge relief, and gave me that 'weight off of the shoulders' feeling. Translated into drawing, I guess it felt like letting something go.........

9 July 2009, Thursday

I spent today making some fun compilation photos in Photoshop for my pop to put up at my mom's party. He is going to have a slideshow of the 'many faces of Kathy' (my mom) and they are RAD pics...all from when she was my age up til now. Some of the pics had me and my sis in them when we were really little, so it was SUPER fun to see them. A lot of people have always said my mom and I look alike, but when Peter and I sat down to look through the pictures there were quite a few that we tripped out on with how much she looked like me! So I put a few back to back.....just for fun. What do YOU think?

8 July 2009, Wednesday

My pop is having a big surprise 60th birthday party for my mom this weekend, and I spent today finishing up the "welcome" poster for when people walk in. My pop wanted it to be a 'caricature' of her, which for those of you that know me and know I draw more realistically, was REALLY hard to do. I think her mouth was the hardest, but other than that, it didn't come out too bad!

7 July 2009, Tuesday

** I CANNOT figure out why this loaded up as ORANGE! It's a great blue....sigh...I do not get computers.**

I know these are not 'drawings' persay, but I have been working really hard to learn Photoshop so I can help out family/friends with logos and designs, esp Peter with his new businesses. So I count them in as my drawings....

This one is a full page (8x10) ad for Peter's SDFA (San Diego Fishing Adventures) fishing charter business. He is going to post it in local tackle shops.

Check out the website - you're bound to see pics of someone you know! I recommend you check out the Fish Reports/Videos section.....some cool footage there!

http://www.sdfishingadventures.com/

6 July 2009, Monday

I worked on the logo for a new part of my sister's restaurant, A Toute Heure. She planted these great gardens (Jack's Run Garden) in her yard (named after her puppy, Jack) and is using them as a teaching place for children and to supply her restaurant with some great organic produce. If you haven't checked out her website, I highly recommend it. Unfortunately for us, she is in Jersey, but if you are every out there you HAVE to go and tell her hi and eat some of the yumminess. I recommend the mussels, anything with lardons (french for BIG chuncks of bacon- how could that NOT be good?), a bicherin (a drink with coffee and chocolate - sigh...), and well, anything the pastry chef William makes. Luv you AJ!

www.atouteheure.com

5 July 2009, Sunday

I had lunch with 4 beautiful people, some old students who graduated LAST year and are now feeling the satisfaction of finishing their 1st year of college. It was so great to listen to their stories and see them enjoying the present but so looking forward to their futures. I was proud....

My drawing symbolizes growth, of which as a teacher, I see so much. I think it's one of my favorite parts of the job.

4th of July!!!! Saturday

A VERY relaxing day at home - we all know to stay FAR from the beach on a day like this - but we did manage to escape out to the Brig with Julie and Grant. We got to see the Fair fireworks up close! Great night....and yes, the drawing looks a bit like dahlias...still getting down the technique of how to draw exploding pyrotechnics.

3 July 2009, Friday

As I said below, FUN day.....ending with a roundabout with the hookah (NO illegal substances were present, all of you snickering right now!). It was a warm night, there was great company, and it was a great way to kickoff the holiday weekend.