How to NOT have a boring summer

          This summer has been one of my favorites. While many previous summers have had their fair share of boredom, this time I've rarely had a day with nothing to do. I will admit there is something to be said about lazy days. Every now and then, it is really nice to just relax all day, but too many of those in a row can be real downers. A good way to lift your spirits and have some fun is to leave the house and go on an adventure! I'll give three of my favorite days this summer as an example.

          The first day included an art museum, some grilled cheese, and a great friend. She and I are both artists, so we knew the art museum was a must. We visited the Orlando Museum of Art for an hour or two, then ate lunch at Toasted, a little restaurant that focuses on everything "cheese." I was feeling adventurous (there's that word again) that day and ordered a grilled fig and goat cheese sandwich. Let me tell you, "amazing" doesn't even begin to describe it.

          While we ate lunch, we tried a little art challenge (you can find my blog from this day on my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/thatoneartist). After a while, it started raining, so we decided to leave. We didn't get very far, however, and made an unexpected stop at a small tea house called Krungthep. Though we only thought we'd go in only to take a peek, we were seated and ordered some tea. The day ended at her house, watching cartoons on the television. All in all, it was a great day with great memories.

          The second day was spent with a different friend a couple weeks later. We drove to downtown Mt. Dora, a cute place with many little shops, restaurants, art museums, and a lake. We walked around much of the town, talking and taking photos, ending up in an abandoned and overgrown courtyard.

We talked, braided hair, and took more photos there, then ate supper at One Flight Up Cafe. Our dinner was interrupted by a thunder clap and a race for the car, but our day ended happily with a trip to an Italian ice place for dessert.

          Finally, the third day was spent with the same friend as the previous day. It began with some thrift shopping. Don't knock it 'til you've tried it - thrift shops are treasure troves. Amidst the many too tight, too large, and too "scandalous" clothes we tried on, we both ended up with some "new" clothes. Then, yes, it started raining. After a stop at Krungthep where we devoured their delicious dessert, "Battle" - ice cream, waffle cone, whipped topping various chocolate candies, and chocolate syrup - and two iced teas, it was off to the beach! 

          The car rides there and back were filled with us jamming out to old songs and just being weird. At the beach, we took photos, ate lunch, jumped in the slightly-too-cold water, and took a walk. I even painted on myself, amidst the curious onlookers, for some nice YouTube intro footage (the intro is coming later, but check out the footage on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_thatoneartist_). Our last act was to stuff ourselves with sushi at Hatsuhana. 

          These three adventure-filled days will certainly not be forgotten. I urge anyone reading this to take a day off from your normal life. Go out and have some fun. Hang out with a friend and get to know them better, be impulsive, experience new things. It will add a little more flavor to your life and leave you with great memories.

- Darcie

Drawing the Human Hand

I have always been intrigued by the human hand - especially just from observing my own. The many veins, creases, and marks add so much character, and they can bend and flex into seemingly endless positions. They can translate friendliness, calmness, aggression, tension, desperation. They can be elegant or harsh, weathered and calloused, or soft and clean. Hands are an incredible creation.

How does an artist capture their simple elegance?

Hands were the bane of my existence (and I am sure many other artists can relate). I would create a drawing I was so proud of, but once I got to the hands, it usually took a turn for the worst. Overtime, I can say hands do not scare me anymore, though they can still be frustrating. While I may breeze through sketching other parts of the body (except for the eyes...but that will have to be a topic for another time), I usually have to work on the hands a bit more, maybe redoing them once or twice.

A couple weeks ago, I took a few pictures of my own hands in various positions and began drawing. I was such using a small sketchbook and placing the hand in random places on the paper as I had no plan for any sort of masterpiece. I was just drawing - practicing, and enjoying myself. I paid close attention to every detail, every bit of color, and was in no rush. Upon finishing the three hands, I must say I was quite proud of the outcome (and still am).

Focusing on any one part of the body, whether it be hands or not, and drawing that one thing to the best of your ability is such a great practice exercise. For anyone who may be struggling to draw this unique, human feature, spend some time on them. Look up pictures or study your own hands, observing the usual creases, where the knuckles bend, how the veins bump the skin ever so slightly. While not everyone wants to draw realistically, studying hands and other real life objects always helps. Cartoonists, for example, are very familiar with human anatomy, and it gives them more freedom when drawing characters in action.

While I do plan to create a YouTube tutorial on drawing hands in the near future, here are just a few tips for the time being:

1. When draw cartoon hands, I would suggest always drawing a "skeleton" first. Just get a few basic shapes to make up the shape and position of the hand before actually outlining the hand.

2. This may go without saying, but when drawing realistic hands, always do an outline first before going in with color. Pay close attention to how the outline of the hand really looks instead of how you may think it looks. Then, if you are going to color, be sure to erase everything until it's just a faint line. Otherwise, the pencil lead will get smudged in the coloring, leaving marks that are hard to cover up.

3. This last one has to do with coloring and can be applied to coloring many things besides hands. There are so many more colors than what meets the eye. Every skin tone - peach, tan, brown, dark brown, et cetera - has a lot more color to it than variations of that one tone. For example, in my own skin tone (pictured in the first image) I have red, pink, a bit of green, yellow, brown and purple (mostly for shadows), and many more. I use them all to give the picture much more depth and a more realistic appearance. But I don't just make them up. When I study the reference picture, I can see all these colors. It just takes practice to be able to pick up on all the colors in a picture.

I hope these tips and pictures helped you at least a little bit! When I post the video (my channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/thatoneartist), I will let you guys know on Instagram. Hopefully it will be soon! The video this week is a blog from an art museum AND a little art challenge, and that is going up on Wednesday, so keep an eye out!

- Darcie