GOLDEN GINKGO AWARD for w/e Dec 8, 2007. Congratulations!

I did not name it..it is not mine but an image borrowed from a fashion class...That it looks nothing like, I might add. lol. In the picture i have, the woman is soft, has a sophisticated air about her, and beautiful. hmmm..may go to the vast waste land of many before her..I'll have to see. ha! :)

Oh, Opi..Here's a HUGEEE thank you. THANK YOU! You know I just discovered....yes, just, how opacity works. How dense am I??! So I think about my last 4 or 5 are the ones I used it on. It makes such a difference. :)

This is reaaaallly gorgeous. I think my favorite of yours!

When I saw the thumbnail on the Portal page I tried to guess who did this and couldn't. I thought maybe Bakenius but I know he's away in Prague until the 30th (which is why the Golden Ginkgo Award will be late this week. I told him we'd wait for him to return to pick one.) To me it's like a character from one of those exquisitely costumed British period piece productions-Masterpiece Theatre or a Merchant Ivory film. She looks like a tragic 1920's heroine--maybe from a Henry James story or Edith Wharton. And she's got Grace Kelly magical golden hair, too. Love it all.

i'd pick this as a GGA

OH YOU GUYS!! =D Flattery will get you everywhere!!...or at the very least not a victim of the delete button. hehee.

Seriously, thank you very very much. It such fun to see all your individual thoughts about her. My thought is..of course.. there is plenty i am not happy with. (am I EVER going to be happy about my work???!) I mean look at her neck! Last weekend I watched "MODIGLIANI" with Andy Garcia and I am not over it. Please see it if you can, it's so good. Beautiful, dark, sad (crying!!)...and somehow, I ended up with such a long neck on this. hmmm, i wonder why.

I have my movie finder expert on the lookout for that movie, Suntan, since you mentioned it before. Sounds like something I'd really enjoy, too. Thanks for the heads up.

There is something so special about this picture. It works, as an entire composition, there are elements of it that are technically masterful and places where I think I can see that you were struggling with it. But something transcends the technical aspects and just shines out of it. Congratulations, Suntan. I'm so glad Swan 'broke the rules' to draw attention to this picture and give it the credit it deserves. (yes, I know it was not drawn during last week but I decided to make an exception here. I don't think it's even written anywhere, is it? that the GGA must come from the previous week only, although that has been the tradition. I think that I'd like, in general for that to be what we do for picking the GGA but I also think that if someone wants to honour an earlier work of art that's okay with me. Anyone have thoughts on this?)

I agree, Grace. I've seen excellent pieces of art go by that I thought should have gotten more recognition, because a different one was chosen that week. (I didn't realize i chose outside of my week, incidentally)

No need to feel badly at all, Suzie. I've always asked people to pick from between certain dates as well and would have reminded Swan except that we went away for a couple days on a whim and I didn't get a chance to address it. There isn't really an archive section, as such. It's just that when we, as admin, mark a picture as archived, the site programming doesn't automatically delete it. This site is programmed to delete work after it reaches a certain number (I think it's 1000 pictures) UNLESS it is marked 'archived'. I think we have enough voting with the Jam contest. And the percentage of our membership who bother with that (maybe 10% ?) is so small that I don't think it merits asking Noel to do another big chunk of programming. I know I have been remiss about archiving--I forget all about it sometimes. If anyone wants a picture of theirs or someone else's to be in the permanent Ginkgo Collection I am happy to mark it archived. Just ask in the comments.

OOooOOMY!! ...and OOooGosh!! lol...First, thank you, swan, for picking this piece for the GGA! I was delighted and so surprised. I worked myself on this one, I think you can tell, even if not from the piece itself, but also from my time spent on it. As you all know, (i think) I'm not one that is able to spend a hunk of time on a work...it's my patience, you know, as well as my skill level. All is a struggle. So I'm VERY grateful for the recognition from swan and you all. Thank you again, swan. Your explanation of why you chose this was very appreciated. I gained much from reading your reasons. I wish I could find this piece from the original artist and show you just how lovely it REALLY is. I've given the handout back to the art teacher and who knows what hands have it now....those fashion drawing classes have many students in them and it could be on a collage somewhere...but I will try. :)

Secondly, let me say, that should there be further discussion between the admins and the admins decide that swan should go back and choose within the time frame, I would in no way be upset...on the contrary, I would understand fully. Just as I understand, Suzie, that your feelings do not reflect on this piece of work of mine. :)

That all said, this, too, will be figured out...and in the end, I will remain very happy. Thank you. :D

ohhhh, Kute! I see you up there, ;)...but twice is nice....and so I double the thanks I'm sending to you!! ;D

Thanks, Opi....and I was thinking the same thing? I wonder if I still have any to save? ^^

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oh whew, it saved. I have to shut everything off to be sure. Well, thank you...just doodling and this evolved. needed to draw before I go to bed. I'm so tired. Good night, everyone. :)

Thanks a lot,girls, I'm happy it lends itself to thought, my mind was wandering when I did it..it just evolved :)
*jp, I didn't think anything about balance, but I see what you mean. (the wingspan, the width of the dress) It wasn't planned, believe me. Thanks for mentioning that, was an interesting comment for me. hmmmm :)

Oh good. Now there are at least two of us at work to get Sunny to believe what a special vision and imagination she has. The posture of this figure screams things to me: The tension in her shoulders says 'confusion, insecurity, anxiety'. The loose, relaxed position of her legs and hips says 'self acceptance, confidence, well-being'. This seems to incorporate, in a physical sense, what it's like to be a young, female human; difficult and confusing and wonderful and exciting. To me, the crow represents the ever-present spectre of mortality and death over youth and beauty.

YIIIIKES!! You see!! ^^ You got ALL THAT out of this!!?..the voices of experience! This is what happens when I draw out of myself, i try not, but they become pieces of me, even though they, it, them, those, that, whatever the case may be, is nothing like me, it's still a personal piece! ARG!!..Thank you for everything you two had to say. It's all, for the most part, spot on and that is damn scary! The original title for this was The Maker of Regular Confusion..but I changed it because I thought it too clairvoyant. >< The end. ^^

ha, i don't believe you, but yah, you're right.

:P <--NOT comical one!

I don't think the girls had a problem with simultaneous. haha!

Ok, I'm seeing a girl finding pleasure with herself and the crow representing her imagination flying away with thoughts of her excitement. Maybe that isn't what this is, but that is what I see. I've looked at this a few times before commenting. I thought, maybe I'm not seeing what this is supposed to be, but keep seeing the same thing. Whatever it represents, it is lovely. I love her face, eyes and lips and the black dress with the beads draping down are very nice here. Love the strap of her dress falling down her shoulder too.

LOL! hahahHAHA! lmao!

It wasn't really meant for you to see anything in particular, other than maybe an abstract thought. LOL! or not so abstract!
Art IS about emotional response, right?

lol! That was great, REE.

Thanks, hf, happy you like it!! :D

I dont think horsefeather would copy your style if it was rubbish. Your draws are like a comfy pair of slippers to me , i dont really comment about my slippers much but i do enjoy wearing them :p

Wellll.. wadda.. know. hmmmm, comfy slippers, i have to give it to ya, never heard THAT before... and I think I see..YUP! There's a warm fuzzy in there somewhere. Maybe sometime, you'll shuffle over to something I draw and say hey. ;)

Great one Suntan.

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As always, the hair is great Sun. The contrast between the bright warmth of the hair and the cool pale of the skin is nice too. I hope that a little time in the sun will give her skin a little warmer tone to it! I see she has some color on her bottom lip, so I guess there is hope yet! ;)

It makes me think of maybe Tahitian olive-coloured skin tones in the shade so that the colour looks desaturated. And I love how it looks like a brilliant ray of sun is hitting the top of her head, the angle and cropping but my favourite thing is that wonderful, internal happiness in her smile. The way that vivid orange is slightly edged with yellow is so yummy.

Thanks to you both! The hair actually started out as a sun with reds, oranges and yellow rays, but as I went, my mind wandered and ended up here. I'm not thrilled with the more shadowed side of the face, but I couldn't get it and played enough for this time.

See you soon! :)

She is so pretty, I love her green skin and hair is out of this world. I love it too. Makes me almost wish I was green.

Thanks, Kute :)

Wow Sun, this has so much going on. I think my favourite part of this is the tips of the hair over her right eye and then the shadows (either the eyelashes or shadows from the hair) on her right eye. I also think you did anawesome job on the tip of the nose, so cute!

The shading is top notch work! Love the firey light effect of her air.

Thanks very much, gillie and Jester!...and Jester, great seeing you here! Hope to see you drawing sometime soon! :)

Not too long ago people believed that swans spent their winter on the moon. In trying to think of how the moon would appear to someone from that time, I had the idea that the moon would be a giant luminescent lightsource, so anything on it would be lit from below. The craters that we see would seem to be lakes. inspiration has struck.

What a fantastic picture!! You have a great imagination!! I love this picture....and the swan is beautiful!!! :)

Oh Swan, I got goosebumps (...should that be 'swanbumps' I wonder...) all up and down my body looking at this. Inspired is exactly the right adjective for the lighting. What a wonderful surprise to see something from you here. I've missed you and your work so much.

Its an awesome drawing with such movement and light and even the smooth texture of the swan and eventhe sketchy look of all that : its beautiful !! bravo :)

Yes! The return of "Swan" and another of her beautiful birds. This is beautiful, swan..a very magical and dreamy quality to it. :D

Thanks guys... ! I'd been in a sort of artistic recession but that's about to change. A good ol' visit to the Detroit Institute of Arts helps, and also been reading Pilgrim at Tinker Creek which is an amazing book chock full of inspiration. And I also just bought 8 antique books (about 90 years old) of old fairy tales, literature, and poetry-- one of them I found an old love letter from 1938 in. This is really the easiest format for me to get my ideas out on, with color and all.

Oh gosh. I read Pilgrim At Tinker Creek in the mid-1980's. She asks some difficult questions and tries so hard to answer them for herself, not always successfully, as I recall. I do remember Annie Dillard's writing skill and ability to describe was breathtaking. I've always meant to read it again. I'm glad you've found some things to shake you up and get you going. We all need that from time to time, I think. Who wrote the fairy tales you bought? Are they illustrated?

all the old books are compilations-- seem to be classroom literature books with selections from various authors. I even picked up an old biology book from 1909. Then the old fairy tales have a bunch of names I don't recognize. I don't see any Grimm or Hans Christian Anderson! (which is good,, after a while all their stuff tends to sound the same, to me) And yup, they have a few illustrations. The classroom 'music and the arts' book surprisingly doesn't however. Then there's something like "essentials of english" which has fun stuff like directions on how to tell jokes, and different speeches and poems that you can 'recite'... I used to have a book like that, I don't know where it went off to. I read it all the time 'cause I always thought it was fun to recite the "give me liberty or give me death" speech vehemently.

Hey, that's really interesting. This summer, while away, I found an odd shop of junk and bought two "Love Letter" books with facsimilies of real love letters from long ago. Nathaniel Hawthorne to Sophia Peabody 1839, Robert Browning to Elizabeth Barret, 1845, Abigail Adams to John Adams...I could go on and on. I found two volumes of them and they are beautiful. Not old, 1994, but they were meant to look old and are in perfect condition. They wanted $3.00 for both. I also found a "discard" of poems illustrated by an artist named Joan Walsh Anglund. This one was beat up from 1940's I think and was free. Cool stuff.

Beautiful, just beautiful and so graceful this one is. I love how you have done this. The wings are glowing with light so lovely. There is something magical about this.

Beautiful swan and so mystical! I really like the shades of blue and the white wings. Nice work!

Lovely drawing Swan!

Ouu Ouu Ouu....it is a swan by a great swan herself. Sooooo nice to see you draw here. Welcome, welcome welcome.!!!!:) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) Oh, and PS> this is an awesome draw. I love the size, and the painterly style. Very nice to view.

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This is a really fascinating painting....I like the way the highway winds around the "garden". I agree with "meno"....it sorta "pulls you in"!! Great job!! :)

Wow, talk about a hair-pin turn. Sort of like the "Rockies." Great job, emi, you've taken me there again! :D

Wonderful texture on those rocks Emi, a great draw :)

Now that's what we used to call a 'hairpin' curve! Wonderful rock formation and colours. I love how the sun in shining brightly on the road in the distance. It really draws you into this landscape.

Very nice painting Emi! :)

This looks like one of those roads you take your foot off the brake and you'll hit 90 miles an hour in seconds. I love how this carries my eyes around the circle and back down at a fast speed. Beautiful mountain sides in great rock coloring.

thank you :) George, my dad use to drive to close to the borders too ;) i was scared in muntains roads ;)

Now there is a ski run that would be a blast! very coooool..would love to see the alps, wow, what a sight, great draw Emi, love the mountains, especially in the thumbnail version they look so real.

Hi Guys!

It's been a while since I posted... lots of stuff was going on. But I like to try and be more active again. I missed oekaki drawing a lot the past year!

Well Alrighty now!
I've missed you stopping by here and have occasionally looked at your website and around hoping to see new work, so it's great to see this!! It's a delightful piece full of imagination, skill and the wonder of it's meaning...is it possibly the start of another story? :)

this is very delightful. The colours and all of the playfull things in the sky. The figure is also very intriguing.

wheww, that felt good. ;P

Nice to see you drawing here again Sun. As always, the hair is great! But my one question is...."Do you actually own a pair of earrings like that?" ;)

Looks good too sunny..loving the green tones, and your hair its fantabulously making me jealous..lol Nice work! :D

Ohh, Merci, MIW and Suzieeee! How are you both doing? I actually wish my hair was cut like this, Suz, no one knows what they are doing around here..i hate my hair..and noo, MIW, I do not own these earrings, though I do have very large yellow fish! Hope to see you both drawing soon!!..anyone know what is wrong with her nose? Too broad maybe? tc xo :D

Very yummy painty-watercoloury style. I like how you've drawn her eye with a bit of white beneath the iris and those golden lights in the iris. Excellent job of painting the shimmery lipstick. I can't see anything wrong with her nose. I guess the bridge could be a little narrower between the eyes but...nah, leave it alone. Nice shading under the nose and I really like the hairstyle, too. Just noticing that you've done what I always do...made the top of her head too short according to how high up in her face her eyes are. The 'eyes halfway down the face' rule never looks right to me when I'm drawing.

oh, thanks. yea, I think the nose is wide, I may tweek it a bit but might now, too. I've heard that face rule from you before, grace, but I have trouble following it. I suppose I really should try to do it occasionally at least, but it sort of takes my freedom away. ANyhow, thanks again. :)

this is great sun....I love the eyes and the hair. Earrings?? not so sure. Those eyes are mezmorizing.

Looking at this again and noticing what a lovely job you did with the philtrum; both the shading and highlights are so nice. Also, the slight shading underneath the eye to indicate shape--it's subtle but so effective to show the rounded contour of the eye beneath the skin.

Thanks, I learned that philtrum detail from you and the eye is something I am working on. I remember about the plains of the face, but don't have the know-how to do it. So..little by little I stumble along.

my sister looked like this. Now she is 69 and I have no idea what she looks like.

Wow, that really does look like your sister, especially the nose and mouth. The eyes are too dark, though.

Happy New Year! :)

Simply beautiful. I love this one, very peaceful and serene.

I haven't seen the moon for awhile because it's been so rainy here but we did have some gorgeous ones about two months ago. Giant golden late harvest moons, I guess. This is lovely, Sunny. *waves to the Man in the Moon*

Thanks you two! See you here soon :)

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Sunny! This is wonderful! The shading, the expression, the cohesiveness of style...all terrific. Who is she? Looks like a wican/witch. For Hallowe'en perhaps? Congrats on a great drawing. I'm sad there is no animation.

Thanks! I think she just realize Halloween is quickly approaching and needs a new broom! ;P