Day 8: Tree of Life

"I never saw a discontented tree. They grip the ground as though they liked it, and though fast rooted they travel about as far as we do. They do wandering forth in all directions with every wind, going and coming like ourselves, traveling with us around the sun two million miles a day, and through space heaven knows how fast and far!"

-John Muir

This week's theme: Nature

Most people that know me probably have heard about my love for trees. They're probably my favorite things on the planet. That's not an exaggeration. I especially love the symbolism of the Tree of Life, a tree with many branches that symbolizes how all of life is created. (Bear with me as I get philosophical for a second) Because when you think about it, the quote above is right. Compared to the universe, everyone and everything on Earth is flying through space all together at an unimaginable speed, and when you think about things on that scale, we really are closely connected. So really, we should all love everything on this planet, including trees which supply us with the oxygen we need to survive (and are just plain beautiful) because we're not going to escape from it, and every time we destroy a forest or clear a field to construct something that's not necessary in the first place, we're destroying something that we'll have to live without for the rest of our lives.

Sorry for ranting. I'm really not a tree-hugger or anything, but I do think we should take more care of the beautiful things on this planet sometimes. 

Anyways, trees are symbols of life, antiquity, strength, immortality, fertility, and other aspects pertaining to the longevity and vitality of life. That's why they're my favorite forms of symbolism

Day 7: Ke$ha

"We are who we are."

-Ke$ha

Although I generally hate pop music, I am rather a Ke$ha fan. I'm not sure what makes me like her and not other similar pop artists. I guess it's because her music is just so fun!

I would give a list of quotes that I like by Ke$ha as I have been doing for the last few days, but she's really not a very profound person, so I don't really think that's necessary. However, there is one quote by her that I find slightly amusing:

"Somebody sent me their tooth, which I now wear as an earring. It's a molar, I think. I love it when people send me body parts."

Oh Ke$ha....

Day 6: Ellen Degeneres

"Procrastination isn't the problem, it's the solution. So procrastinate now, don't put it off."

-Ellen Degeneres

Who doesn't love Ellen? This drawing was a request from my Mom (I'm not sure that there are many bigger Ellen fans out there than my mom and her sisters), but I was planning on drawing her eventually anyways, so that worked out well. I actually tried starting to draw her once and it was just turning out horribly so I stopped. I think the problem is that Ellen always shows a full set of teeth when she smiles, which is a good thing except for the fact that I find them impossible to draw. Impossible. Teeth and ears...yuck! I think they eventually turned out okay, but it's definately something I need to work on.

There were plenty of Ellen quotes to choose from (she is a talk show host afterall), but I think that the quote that I chose is applicable to blogging (there is probably some studying that I could have accomplished while writing this post). It's from her standup routene Here and Now which is just fantastic, from start to end. But, becuase this seems to have become a trend this week, here are some more great Ellen quotes:

• People always ask me, 'Were you funny as a child?' Well, no, I was an accountant.
• I ask people why they have deer heads on their walls. They always say because it's such a beautiful animal. There you go. I think my mother is attractive, but I have photographs of her.
• Don't you hate when people are late to work. And they always have the worst excuses. "Oh, I'm sorry I'm late, traffic." "Traffic, huh? How do you think I got here; helicoptered in!?"
• If we don't want to define ourselves by things as superficial as our appearances, we're stuck with the revolting alternative of being judged by our actions, by what we do.
• Yes, we're lazy. Yet we also can't seem to sit still. So we've started making things like GO-GURT. That's yogurt for people on the go. Let me ask you, was there a big mobility problem with yogurt before? How time-consuming was it, really? "Hello?...Oh, hi, Tom...oh, I've been dying to see that movie...Umm, no...I just opened up some yogurt...Yeah, I'm in for the night...No, not even later-it's the kind with fruit on the bottom. Well, have fun. Thanks anyway."
• Now we have hands-free phones, so you can focus on the thing you're really supposed to be doing ... chances are, if you need both of your hands to do something, your brain should be in on it too.
• I'm a godmother, that's a great thing to be, a godmother. She calls me god for short, that's cute, I taught her that.
• I learned compassion from being discriminated against. Everything bad that's ever happened to me has taught me compassion.

Well, I suppose I should stop procrastinating now, even though Ellen says I shouldn't..

Day 5: Dwight K. Schrute

I am fast. To give you a reference point, I am somewhere between a snake and a mongoose...and a panther."

-Dwight K. Schrute

Dwight K. Schrute...one of the greatest television characters ever created. And now that Michael's gone, he's probably the most famous character on the show. Well, maybe Dwight and Jim, but Dwight is just so much more interesting than Jim (who has never been one of my favorite characters, although I know plenty of people disagree with this). I guess I judge the characters on that show by the number of great, memorable (hilarious) lines on the show, and after Michael, Dwight is definately number 1. However, if we're going to go with greatest percentage of the character's lines that are memorable/hilarious, Creed definately wins. (He is my favorite character of them all...I think I'll have to draw him eventually. The opening scene of the episode where Creed was the boss is arguably one of the greatest Office scenes ever).

And just becuase I can't resist, here is a list of some other amazing Dwight lines. Enjoy!

• I don't have a lot of experience with vampires, but I have hunted werewolves. I shot one once, but by the time I got to it, it had turned back into my neighbor's dog.
• I am faster than 80% of all snakes.
• Reject a woman, and she will never let it go. One of the many defects of their kind. Also, weak arms.
• 
  
• When I die. I want to be frozen. And if they have to freeze me in pieces, so be it. I will wake up stronger than ever, because I will have used that time, to figure out exactly why I died. And what moves I could have used to defend myself better now that I know what hold he had me in.
• The eyes are the groin of the head.
• My feelings regenerate at twice the speed of a normal man.
• Before I do anything I ask myself  “Would an idiot do that?” And if the answer is yes, I do not do that thing.
• How would I describe myself? Three words: hard working, alpha male, jackhammer…merciless…insatiable…
• Security in this office park is a joke. Last year I came to work with my spud-gun in a duffel bag. I sat at my desk all day with a rifle that shoots potatoes at 60 pounds per square inch. Can you imagine if I was deranged?
• I come from a long line of fighters. My maternal grandfather was the toughest guy I ever knew. World War Two veteran killed twenty men and spent the rest of the war in an Allied prison camp. My father battled blood pressure and obesity all his life. Different kind of fight.
• As a volunteer Sheriff’s Deputy I’ve been doing surveillance for years. One time I suspected an ex-girlfriend of mine of cheating on me, so I tailed her for six nights straight. Turns out . . . she was. With a couple of guys, actually. . . so . Mystery solved.
• I like the people that I work with, generally. With four exceptions.
• D.W.I.G.H.T – Determined, Worker, Intense, Good worker, Hard worker, Terrific
• People say, oh it’s dangerous to keep weapons in the home, or the workplace. Well I say, it’s better to be hurt by someone you know, accidentally, than by a stranger, on purpose
• In the wild, there is no healthcare. Healthcare is “Oh, I broke my leg!” A lion comes and eats you, your dead. Well, I’m not dead, I’m the lion, your dead!

Day 4: Einstein

I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.
-Albert Einstein

I was at first having trouble choosing a quote to go with this sketch. Einstiein definitely said a lot of interesting and meaningful things. However, I felt that this quote really applied to this blog and my purposes in creating it. I started drawing on a whim a few months ago. I had no reason to try drawing other than that I wanted to learn a new skill. In the last year/year and a half I have also learned to knit, play guitar (still in progress), and am taking a writing fiction class here at school (which, as it turns out, I am pretty terrible at). And, of course, I am learning about blogging. I do not plan on pursuing any of these hobbies professionally; these endeavors have been for the purpse of learning new skills. Because learning new things is fun, even though it's sometimes frustrating (creative writing...grrrrr)!

Anyways, here are a few other quotes by Albert Einstein that I love:

Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited.

The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.

Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.

There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Most people say that is it is the intellect which makes a great scientist. They are wrong: it is character.

The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science.

Only one who devotes himself to a cause with his whole strength and soul can be a true master. For this reason mastery demands all of a person.

Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.

Joy in looking and comprehending is nature's most beautiful gift.

Once we accept our limits, we go beyond them.

Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.

Our task must be to free ourselves by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty.

Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited.

Keep on sowing your seed, for you never know which will grow - perhaps it all will.

Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.

These are just a few of the many wise things said by Einstein. I never realized he was such a philosopher!

On another note, I think I'm already beginning to feel drawing become easier for me! I finished this drawing in less than an hour, and was able to finish it between my morning class and afternoon lab, which is nice. And, in my opinion, it still came out well relative to other drawings I've done. It's nice to feel like I'm making progress.

Day 3: Larger than Lifetime

"Larger than life-size we become, great in the eyes of someone"

-A Fine Frenzy

This drawing is of a photograph I found online of A Fine Frenzy, who is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful people ever (as is her music). There are definitely some things I'd like to fix in this drawing, but seeing as I have plenty of studying to be keeping up with, that's not going to happen right now. But I'm still happy with the way this one came out overall.

Day 2: Small People

"Sometimes I'll imagine as many as six impossible things before breakfast."

Lewis Carroll

It's Day 2 (this weeks' theme: people) of my blogging adventure, and I'm realizing what a task I've taken on. Basically, I'm realizing that in order to stick to the challenge (1 drawing every day for a year), I'm going to end up posting some embarrassingly bad drawings online. But, hey, there's a reason people practice, and it's not to so that they can be perfect while they are practicing, it's so they can achieve perfection (or at least get closer to it) later on, right? 

Moral of the story: if you actually follow this blog, you can expect some absolute doo-doo ahead. 

I've been looking at a lot of drawing blogs lately (I figured if I'm starting one I should probably know what else is out there) and it really astounds me what some people can do with just some graphite or charcoal! Sometimes I find it hard to believe that the drawing is indeed a drawing, and not a legit photograph. It's really amazing. 

My drawing today may not be the greatest thing I've ever done, but I was proud of myself that I didn't just stare at a photograph and draw that. For the face of the kid, I looked at a photo I found online of a screaming child, but I really only used it pretty loosely (I'm working on that goal of being able to draw things that aren't in a printed out picture right next to the paper that I'm drawing on). I'm not sure why I decided to draw what I did...but it has people in it (this week's theme) so that's good. I kind of just wanted to try drawing a child, and this is just how it ended up.

I suppose tomorrow's drawing may be "large people"to be consistant? I'm not sure yet...who knows what tomorrow may hold? 

DUN DUN DUUUUNNNNN