I said I'd post a portrait everyday, except Sunday. Okay, I have to clarify something. What does a day mean? This is tricky. There's the calendar date that changes every midnight. But, for most of us the day starts when we get up and ends when we go to bed. And most people do that around a general time in the morning and at night. Except crazy artists. Well, at least this artist. 

I too judge my day by the time I get up until I go to bed. I just don't go to bed at the normally accepted time. So, while you are thinking that this is Friday since you're waking up, I'm still on Thursday because I haven't gone to bed yet. Technically in my mind I am posting the painting on Thursday. Make sense?

I had appointments and meetings yesterday that took me away from home most of the day. Then I didn't actually get home until 10 and didn't start painting until midnight. I finished the first portrait at around 3. I'm thinking you shouldn't wait up to see the painting because some days will be like this for me. Well, quite a few days actually. I finally quit when I started to fall asleep with my paint brush in hand.

Honestly, there were 3 adorable photos that I wanted to paint. (I got a couple of emails that the blog or FB didn't see.) I don't know how I'm going to deal with wanting to paint so many. Anyway, here's the portrait I started with. It's terrible lighting and not straight so I'll put up another one when I can take a daylight photo. I'm going to end my Thursday and go to sleep now for a few hours. Hope you enjoy the painting.

7/13/12 Update: Painting in the morning and after a couple of paint touch ups

Do you have to be an artist to have a sketchbook? Absolutely not! 
Most of the reasons an artist uses a sketchbook are applicable to anyone. 
Here are 5 purposes to your sketchbook.

PRACTICE
repeated effort, proficient exercises, habitual execution

do an exhaustive study of some subject matter, try new mediums, see if you can draw something, experiment, develop skills, make mistakes, challenge yourself,   

PERSONALITY
character, qualities & behavior, style

visual reflections of your character, qualities and behavoir, record of you and your progress, your dreams, fears, 

POINT OF VIEW
personal opinion, attitude, appraisal or judgements 

life, living, world inside and outside of your head, write text, shows development of ideas

POSSIBILITIES
ideas that don't seem feasible, items that may not exist yet, imaginings that haven't taken place yet, 
information that hasn't been thought yet

imagination, fantasy, experiment, explore ideas, 
example - Leonardo diVinci's drawings of machines and new ideas

PURSUIT
quest and conquest of what's engaging, searching and securing inclinations, there are no rules

it's personal passion on paper

• take it with you everywhere
• use a page a day
• don't be inhibited in what you record,

• sketches
• cartoons
• drawing from observation
• rough drafts
• found objects
• clippings
• textiles
• pen and ink
• colored pencil

zhahn-ruh; Fr. zhahn-r

A distinct kind or type of artwork
A similar feature creating a unifying category
A particular class of artistic pursuit by one or more artists
Groupings can be divided by 
form, content, technique, style, geographic, time

FORM
miniatures
small works
murals
large scale
similar subsurfaces 

CONTENT
figures
children
flowers
fruit
marine

TECHNIQUE
oils
watercolor
impasto
alla prima
grisialle

STYLE
realism
abstract
impressionism
minimalist 
surrealism 

GEOGRAPHIC
south american
europe
russian
chinese
american

TIME
early christian
great depression
civil war
western
gothic

These are just some of the art genres to give you an idea.