Wildlife Abounds

Here are some of Bella's latest dabblings. The middle one was a book project for school. She had to design her own cover for a book of her choice along with writing her own back cover. Bella also did a portrait of Cora, one of our "outdoor" cats, and this great one of a bear.

Models Abound

Of course, one reason Bella draws lots of cats is because we have many "models" to choose from in and out of our house. Bella has been using her photography to study their anatomy. Her painting below, "Witches' Cat", takes it to another place altogether, however.

A Fascination with Feathers

Bella has been developing an extremely elaborate process which begins with her drawing onto paper, photographing it, downloading it onto the computer, retracing her own drawings in a computer program, then "spraying" on dots of color which she blends using GIMP to create various effects. She is readng "Guardians of Gahoole" and is now fascinated with owls and other fowl.

Tawny Pelt and Tiny Mouse

Bella continues to experiment with painterly computer techniques with "Tawny Pelt". She is recently obsessed with drawing rats and mice, though they are on paper mainly and we do not have a scanner.

Halos and Shadows

I think "Inferno", Bella's blazing orange kitty, is perhaps Bella's best computer drawing yet! I just love the way she shaded the tongue and body in the background.

Watership Down

Bella as on an artistic "bunny" kick yesterday... She created the illustrations below of Kehaar and "Meester 'Azel", Fiver with his vision of the field of blood, and the dog rushing up to General Woundwort from Efrafa. She also made my birthday present; a necklace pendant of "Frith", or the sun based on the one in the animated movie. She also made one of the Black Rabbit of Inle one for herself. Photos later of those.

Mmarkings

The two imaginary creatures show consistency in style and approach in Bella's work, which is exciting to see. I also like the middle drawing because it is not her typical subject matter and is partially abstract/rhythmic, which is a departure.

Just Blending In

I'm sure you're thinking, "What does could Max mean when she says Bella is just blending in? Surely she means, 'standing out'?!" Bella has been playing with a blendng tool on Gimp for her artisitic expression of fur. I like it...

Fuzz Face Strikes Again

Bella continues to be inspired by the fur-coated "Warriors" that dominate our household!

Creative Kitten

Cats are definitely the prodominate subject matter of Bella's art, but that's not all she draws. I believe the little black kitty and the lightning bolt character are pure products of her imagination. The running kitty is one where she began by looking at the torso of a lackadaisy and then improvised the legs. I told her that the viewer would probably see the foot of the folded-back leg, but she did not care to alter her drawing.

Lackadaisical!

Bella recently came across a online comic about these characters called "Lackadaisies". Their story is set during the 1920's, and her fascination led her to ask me if we could make a flapper dress for her! Anytime she discovers a new passion, especially for a drawn character, she has to re-express it in her own way. Below and in a previous post in a re-drawing of a Lackadaisy along with a couple of unicorns, each drawn in different styles (obviously) using a new online drawing program called "GIMP".

Burgeoning Photographer

Bella was busy today oustide in the rain with MY camera... but when the photos are this good who's complaining? She's not your average 10-year old, so I feel fairly confident she won't break my camera. There were a lot of good ones, but here are three for your viewing pleasure.

Classic to Comic

As some of you may know, my daughter has been using her laptop to create art. It is a recent obsession tht I hope leads to a lifetime passion! While this blog may seem as random as the thoughts of a 10-year old child, I would like to share some of her recent work with you. She is using MS Paint, a free design software anyone can download from the internet.

The first drawing is a homework assignment illustrating a story she read in class.