Awesome Music!

I just re-discovered some awesome Tenth Avenue North songs :) I love their music!

 

Duck Analogy

I am doing a book study on Mere Christianity by CS Lewis with a bunch of other homeschooled students at a co-op we go to, and we are doing a project to present at the last class of this year. The project can be pretty much whatever we want, as long as it relates back to the book. My project is... yep, a drawing. :o) Here is the drawing and how it relates to Mere Christianity.

(I like the way the x-ray effect makes the water look :))

One of the things Lewis talks about is the kind of life Jesus and God have, and the kind of life we have. The kind of life Jesus and God have never runs down or decays, and is completely real and everlasting. Lewis calls this kind of life, "Zoe." The kind of life we have is like a shadow or a reflection of Zoe. It has some resemblance, but after a certain amount of time, it runs down. He calls this kind of life, "Bios." Lewis also talks about us being able to become more and more like Christ, the closer we get to him. although we will not be able to become completely perfect and like Christ while we are on earth, we will once we get to heaven.
In my drawing, the reflection is sort of like Bios. It has a resemblance to the real duck, (which symbolizes Zoe) but although it looks somewhat like a real duck, it is not. The calmer the water gets, the more the reflection will resemble the real duck, just as the closer we are to Jesus, the more we will be like him. Now here is the part where this analogy doesn't really work anymore. There is nothing that can actually turn the reflection in the water into a real duck. We, on the other hand, if we get close enough to Christ in this life, can be given Zoe by Jesus. If what we see now is only the bottom half of the picture, (the relfection) than when we get to heaven, it would be like being able to see the top half of the picture, which is the real thing.

starbucks gift card givaway!

Emma-lee is having a starbucks givaway on her blog in real life. click the link to check it out! :)

LOL...

 

These are just too funny! ;D

 

Here are a couple I made of Dukey :)

 

 

Love,
Melanie

keep calm and...

These pics are awesome :D

and even though you have probably seen this one a million times, i have to post it, cuz its awesome...

Love,
Melanie :)

 

a new arival!

As you have probably already guessed by the title of this post, number seven has arrived! And... its a boy! On Sunday, September 16th, Spencer Darren James Reid was born! He weighed 8 lbs 3 oz. he is soooo cute! More pics coming soon!

photo contest entry

This is my entry for emma-lee's photo contest on her blog two things. Sorry its not all that creative... :/

I just realized I havent posted a link to my other blog yet... so here it is! :)
www.melaniemyphotographyblog.blogspot.com

Drawing Daisy

I found these pictures of a drawing I did a while ago for a friend. I thought I would tell you guys how I made it, since I have some pictures :) sorry there aren't pictures of each step.... I wasn't really planning on doing a tutorial when I drew it. :)

Materials:
Mechanical pencil with hb lead(I used one for the whole drawing)
9x12 smooth bristol 100 lb paper
reference photo
regular eraser
kneaded eraser
ruler (for making grid)
and of course, my stumpies!

this is my reference picture...

I put a grid on... the squares are 1 inch.

I didn't have to change the size of the squares because the paper was about the same size as the reference picture.

Okay here are the steps I don't have pictures of:
I started with the nose. First the nostrils,  then drawing tiny circles to create the texture of the nose, while avoiding the highlights. (the top of the nose and around each nostril)
Then I did the eyes. Since they are closed, I just had to darken them a little.
Then I started drawing the fur around the nose and eyes in very short strokes, making sure to follow the way it grows in the picture and pressing a bit harder in the darker areas: just above the nose and eyes, and where it looks like the dog has "eyebrows" :)
for the ears, since the hair is longer than on the head, I used longer strokes, (obviously) but I started with the hair on the bottom first (only drawing it in some places), making it darker than the ear is supposed to be. Then I use lighter strokes to draw the hair on top and fill in the rest of the ear. For the little bit of the body in the picture, I just followed the way the fur grows in the picture.
Then I used my small stumpie to blend the whole thing, still following the direction of the fur. then I blended the highlights just enough to make thema bit softer. Then I used my kneaded eraser to make some of the long fur on the ears lighter. Then, after a few more touch ups with the pencil and kneaded eraser, I signed it. :)

blogging....

I know, I know. Everything I post is pictures... pictures of drawings, pictures of Moo... and random pictures of other stuff. :) I AM going to start doing tutorials and more exiting posts... soon... I just have to figure out what to post about. lol :) I will probably post again after the weekend. I just have to remember to take pictures of what I want to blog about! I am thinking about doing a tutorial of a drawing soon... well as soon as I can decide what to draw. I can tell you it will be a dog though! :DBut, while you are waiting... here are some MORE pictures!! 



Wesley :)







Picmonkey!

Lately I have really started taking a LOT of pictures... And since Emma-lee showed me the website, http://www.picmonkey.com/ I have been going CRAZY with picture editing! You might have noticed the new blog header I put up. I used picmonkey.com for that! Picmonkey is so awesome! :D So here are some other pictures I edited.... I am not all that good at it yet, but I am practicing! :D

Emma-lee's dog, Pepper (Yes it's really the same dog as in one of my other posts!)

Katie and Pepper

Pepper...

Dukey and Pepper

I like this pic for some reason... :)

And a couple pics of Moo :)

More coming soon!

Moo

Here are some better pictures of Moo. :D