A-Z Challenge

#AprilA2Z Art Sketching Through the Alphabet “A” + #BoTB

April 1, 2017 /

Hello, y’all! I’m delighted you joined me. Let me being by saying if you ever land on my homepage, then you’ll notice in my side menu a list of my recent blog posts and you’ll easily spot the A2Z entries because I’ve included the hashtag at the beginning of the post title like today’s followed with the daily alphabet prompt.

Okay now that’s out-of-the-way, let me say, I am not an artist. What I mean is I did not study art other than two years in high school. I do not teach art.  In fact, I have done very little art sketches since 1980. I like to doodle. I have some artist ability.  Ever since I started blogging I’ve glimpsed at other people’s work. Sometimes people will share their poetry with their doodling and others have art journals where they get really creative.  I always felt inspired to do this but never got around to doing it and that’s where the April A to Z challenge comes in.  I decided it’s time to stop putting this off and get started, so that’s when the challenge theme was born to try my hand at art sketching through the alphabet.

For the “A” alphabet prompt, I decided to drawn an angel because I believe angels are all around us, heavenly and earthly angels.

This is my first sketch.

I titled this sketch, “Weeping Angel” Why does she weep? She weeps for the pure of heart, whose love is unconditional and their good intentions scorned by vexed words and no gratitude for the love extended.

I did two others many days later (see below) but the above sketch is my favorite. Here are the other two.

Warrior Angel

I used online images to model my angels after. Sometimes sites offered step-by-step instructions and other times I just saw a picture to go by.

Reflective Angel

**All art sketched in Mead Academie Sketch Diary with Tombow H, 3B, & 6B high-quality charcoal pencils**

I’m not sure if I’ll be able to share more than one sketch per day but I’m just drawing whatever I want as the mood moves me. I plan to draw more angels after the challenge and at which time I will share my newest sketches with you.

Hopefully, what I share every day will encourage you to do something that interests you that you put off for a long time. Maybe you feel like I did (notice past tense), that you can’t do it. My advice is, just do it because you’ll surprise yourself at what you CAN do! 🙂

I play with a group of mewsic junkies twice a month in Battle of the Bands which happens to coincide today and I invite you to weigh in with your vote. There’s not wrong way here, except if you don’t vote. *smile* Normally, I pick two artists singing the same cover song then I ask for you to pick your favorite but today I’m picking two different songs with two different artists to match my alphabet theme – Angels.

 

 

 

Which “Angel” song did you like best?

 

You can leave your answer in comments and if you feel like it, you can tell me why you liked your pick the best! Next Saturday, I’ll share the results of this showdown! If you like the idea of BoTB, then I encourage you to check with Stephen who manages the BoTB participation list on his site for more cool battles!

How many times have you participated in the A-Z Challenge? Are you a fun doodler or serious artist? Any suggestions to offer a novice? What inspirational “A” subject(s) should I sketch next?

[tweetthis]Join me for #AprilA2Z Art Sketching Through the Alphabet “A” + #BoTB! #art #sketching #charcoal #music #angel[/tweetthis]

Now, I’m heading off to link up with other fellow AtoZers and you’re invited to come along.  On the weekends I unplug from the Internet to spend time with DH but I will respond to comments and do return visits ASAP. Thanks for including me in your day and I’ll see you on Monday for the next installment of Art Sketching through the Alphabet!

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57 Comments

  • Anne M Bray

    April 24, 2017 at 10:53 am

    Hi Cathy!
    I found your A-Z through one of those convoluted paths that happens on the web, your comment on Pat Holloway’s Photography A-Z, her A post.
    This is my third year of A-Z. I always do something visual, usually also involving another April challenge of making a visual journal by a fake persona. It’s my fourth year of being “Enid”, who this year is drawing Fluevog shoes for her new career as a freelance surface designer. (My sneaky way of tricking myself into getting some personal pattern art accomplished).
    https://repeatsamb.blogspot.com/search/label/A-Z%202017
    You might like looking into the fake journal challenge for next year, it’s very liberating! It’s called International Fake Journal Month,. Link: http://officialinternationalfakejournalblog.blogspot.com/

    Now, your angels. Gotta admit, your Weeping Angel reminded me of the Weeping Angels on Dr. Who!

    • Cathy Kennedy

      May 12, 2017 at 2:57 pm

      Anne,

      Thank you for the heads up on the fake journal event. I will look into more and maybe next year to give it a try. Somehow, I managed to over look this comment. I reckon it too stretched causing this oversight on my part. Many apologies for the slip-up. Thanks for visiting! 🙂

  • Gossip GrL

    April 21, 2017 at 12:54 pm

    Stopping by to visit your Alphabet sketches. Nice work. I recently picked up the brush and canvas again after reading an article about how calming painting is. Lord knows I need calm in my life right now. Thank you for stopping by my blog as well.

    • Cathy Kennedy

      April 21, 2017 at 5:46 pm

      Thanks, Gossip Grl! Sketching gives me a sense of calm. It definitely takes my mind of bad situations. It doesn’t do any good to make myself sick over stuff that’s out of my control. I just want focus on good vibes and trusting God to help those I love who need special attention. I want to give painting a try down the line so for now, I’m enjoying illustrating. Thank you for visiting today!

  • Suzanne Gunter McClendon

    April 4, 2017 at 12:17 am

    Your sketches are great, Cathy. I especially love the weeping angel. We bought me a sketch book awhile back. I’m trying to get brave enough to actually use it. I have the series of sketches in my head, but can’t make myself pick up the pencil and just do it. Fear of failure and all that. I’m working on it!

    You’re doing great! “A” words…what about arches, archways? Apples, apes, antiques?

    Have a blessed week!

  • Robin

    April 3, 2017 at 11:38 am

    Lovely sketches! You are an artist!!!

    I can’t say I loved either of these, but they weren’t as bad as I thought they might be. I am voting for BB. It’s harder than I like, but I liked the singer’s voice better.

    Happy A to Z!

  • Yvonne Lewis

    April 3, 2017 at 6:40 am

    A most refreshing and interesting post Cathy. I loved the cat photo. very fond of cats I am.
    Good luck with the challenge.
    Yvonne.

    • Cathy Kennedy

      April 2, 2017 at 4:31 pm

      Tonja, I’m glad you like my favorite, too. Her sorrow expresses some of what I’ve felt for the past couple of weeks with the situation at hand with my son and am doing a lot of trusting in God. Have a good Sunday afternoon and an excellent new work!

  • Birgit

    April 2, 2017 at 3:22 pm

    I am loving that first angel….such sweeteners and sorrow. I also really like the other. 2 and have different styles which works well with your BOTB post. I have to give it to Benjamin because his voice and passion see,s to work more with the song and its message

    • Cathy Kennedy

      April 2, 2017 at 4:25 pm

      Birgit, I agree Angel #1 has a sweetness about her but her sorrow really pulls at ya. It looks like Breaking Benjamin is running away with this battle. Thanks for popping over for a visit!

      Great White – 3
      Breaking Benjamin – 8

  • D-FensDogG

    April 2, 2017 at 1:25 pm

    Howdy, CATHY ~
    Nice sketches. I especially liked that second angel. Is she single?
    :o)

    BOTB: I liked the piano in the Great White song, and the guitar was nice too, even if that kind of riffing and the tone of it has been done to death. I didn’t really care for the high-pitched vocals though. Men should sound like men.

    However, B.B.’s standard Heavy Metal sound just ain’t my thing at all.

    So, I side with the Shark.

    ~ D-FensDogG
    Check out my new blog @
    (Link:] Stephen T. McCarthy Reviews…

    • Cathy Kennedy

      April 2, 2017 at 2:00 pm

      Stephen,

      I think I got a bit zealous with my second angel. She is attractive and has a nice form that’s bound to get any red-blooded male excited. Who knows, maybe your earthly angel looks just like her and she’s just waiting in the wing for you. Keep looking, you’ll find her! 🙂

      I’m like you I think men should sound like men. I hate the falsetto that’s overdone in pop mewsic. GW’s vocals are a bit high but I actually like their song overall and I wouldn’t let this one factor stand in my way of enjoying it. Heavy Metal isn’t my thing, but I can tolerate some measures of it and BB’s song is good, too. This is going to be a difficult call for me to make. I have your vote recorded and I’m off to see you!

      Great White – 3
      Breaking Benjamin – 7

    • Cathy Kennedy

      April 2, 2017 at 1:46 pm

      Pat, Ah, that’s awesome to know you’re a painter! That’s something I’d like to pursue in the near future. I always dreamed about painting beautiful landscapes. It’s great meeting you and I’ll be over to see you in a sec. Thanks for joining in on this round of BoTB! Have a good afternoon and happy A2Zing this week!

      Great White – 2
      Breaking Benjamin – 7

  • XmasDolly

    April 1, 2017 at 11:00 pm

    I can tell sketches are from the heart. Way ta go Kat!!! As far as your tunes I’m liking the first one better. The second one was kind of freaky. As far as AtoZ I played it once last year & made it all the way through, but I believe I signed a list or something somewhere & that’s where I got the list of people to visit, but I don’t know where that’s at. Can you send me the link please??? Thanks… I chose music for my theme… hope you like it.

    • Cathy Kennedy

      April 1, 2017 at 11:13 pm

      Marie, I am sketching from my heart and had a blast doing it, too. There is not a main linky for the A2Z this year. A few weeks ago they did the theme reveal where we just left our themes in comments on the A2Z blog and that’s how they are handling each alpha letter prompt. There is no linky period. It’s kinda strange and I’m not sure how well this will work but I’m committed to the challenge. 🙂 Thanks for keeping my battle from being a shut out. It was beginning to look that way. Have a good evening, dear!

      Great White – 1
      Breaking Benjamin – 5

    • Cathy Kennedy

      April 2, 2017 at 11:21 am

      Clicks, Hmm, I like that you see a story in my first sketch and this might make a good future post. I’d like to incorporate more creative writing on my blog again and with your gentle nudge perhaps I’m on my way in a new direction. Thanks for popping in and have a good day!

    • Cathy Kennedy

      April 1, 2017 at 8:35 pm

      Patricia, my weeping angel seems to be everyone’s favorite and that makes me happy because I love her! I find using various step by step instructions very helpful with developing my sketches. You might want to consider Googling some to try! I’ll be by to see you soon. Have a good weekend, my friend!

  • Holly Jahangiri

    April 1, 2017 at 3:24 pm

    Being contrary, I’m going to add a write-in vote for a different angel – a One-Winged Angel: https://youtu.be/sh6V1zMmbuU

    My son took me to a Distant Worlds concert, years ago. I thought he couldn’t be serious – he couldn’t realize it was going to be a symphony concert! He did. I took him back for the next one, and did not wait so long to buy tickets as I did the first time. It was wonderful, and I appreciate his introducing me to some awesome soundtracks from the world of video gaming.

    And NOW, I’m sitting here trying hard not to blink… DON’T BLINK…

  • scr4pl80

    April 1, 2017 at 12:10 pm

    Great drawings! That is one of the things I don’t do very well. My vote goes to Breaking Benjamin too, although it was close and I don’t know either of the bands. Good luck on the rest of the A to Z.

    Janet
    A is for Adele

    • Cathy Kennedy

      April 2, 2017 at 1:36 pm

      Janet, I never considered myself very good at drawing but in recent weeks as I pushed myself to begin my art journal I discovered I could do more than I first thought. All it took is picking up the pencil and applying the little talent I had and I bet many are just like me. If art interests you, then pursue it! 😉 Thanks for voting in this round of BoTB. I gotcha down and I’m heading over to see you now!

      Great White – 1
      Breaking Benjamin – 7

    • Cathy Kennedy

      April 1, 2017 at 4:37 pm

      Tamara, sketching the human form is hard, especially if you try to make your artwork lifelike. I hope one day to be able to sketch real people. I’ve always admired artists who can do real life drawings. That takes real talent! Thanks for visiting and I’m glad you liked my weeping angel. 🙂 Now to visit you!

  • 15andmeowing

    April 1, 2017 at 10:29 am

    You are an amazing artist, beautiful angel sketches. You are off to a great start for the challenge. I definitely like Breaking Benjamin better, I like his voice better and their sound in general.

    • Cathy Kennedy

      April 2, 2017 at 1:29 pm

      Ellen, you’re much too kind. My head is going to burst with all these nice words from fellow bloggers. I’ll be over to see you soon. Thanks for voting in my BoTB. Gotcha down for BB!

      Great White – 1
      Breaking Benjamin – 6

  • bethinil

    April 1, 2017 at 7:27 am

    Great job sketching! I think the idea of sketching through the alphabet is a great idea. Maybe for next year….

    • Cathy Kennedy

      April 2, 2017 at 1:25 pm

      I’m excited to share my art sketches for the first time with the A2Z gang as well as all of my readers. This is gonna be a fun month with some interesting challenges ahead. I hope you’ll make return visits in the coming days and weeks. God bless!

  • Thomas Anderson

    April 1, 2017 at 5:47 am

    Hi, Cathy!

    Congratulations on accepting the A TO Z Challenge again this year, dear friend. With hundreds or even thousands of people participating, it is impossible to visit everyone, and therefore I am utilizing a triage system to determine who gets my time during this busy month of April. In recent weeks and months you have proven yourself to be my most faithful blog friend in every way that matters to me, and therefore I am making CAAC my first stop of the day, my first stop of the month and my top priority for the A TO Z.

    Gosh darn, Cathy – that first sketch, “Weeping Angel,” is magnificent! You surely do have artistic ability. I’m going to show the sketch to Mrs. Shady. She is an artist, went to art school in Baltimore, and her oil paintings and chalk/pencil sketches have appeared at exhibitions. Portraiture is her specialty and she is particularly fond of female subjects of the Victorian Age. I know she will admire your work.

    Whenever I see or hear the name Great White my thoughts jump back to 2003 and that horrendous Rhode Island fire disaster touched off by the band’s pyrotechnics display. My thoughts then travel back to 1989 when their hit single “Once Bitten,” was riding the chart and the video ran frequently on the MTV station at which I worked at the time. Great White visited our TV studio at one point and were interviewed by our hard rock/heavy metal veejay.

    You know that I prefer mewsic with a beat, and in your BOTB, while I enjoyed the smooth power ballad performed by Great White, I am giving my vote to the second Angel song, “Angels Fall,” by Breaking Benjamin, because it packs more of a punch.

    Thank you very much for the art and mewsical entertainment, dear friend Cathy, and have a great weekend!

    • Cathy Kennedy

      April 1, 2017 at 3:10 pm

      Tom,

      Ah, you’re so kind to put me at the top of your visiting list. It’s going to be a wild ride this month but then again anytime I participate in this challenge it always is. The good news is I managed to get all of my posts done ahead with only minor tweaking needed. I’m proud of my accomplishment and this is the first year I was able to do this, too. I appreciate your wonderful words of encouragement and I look forward to knowing how Mrs. Shady reacts to my sketches with her trained hand & eye for art. Let her know I welcome any suggestions and my feelings are not easily bruised. 🙂 I do believe I remember that fire event but I couldn’t tell you where or who it involved. I’m not too familiar with Great White other than they do not fall in my normal mewsical taste. I’m normally like you where I prefer mewsic with a beat and this is gonna be a tough call for me to make because I like both songs quite a bit. Okay, BB gets another vote and they’re really stealing the show!

      Great White – 0
      Breaking Benjamin – 5

  • Mary B

    April 1, 2017 at 3:22 am

    I can see that you have spent quite a bit of time sketching, as your drawn hands look really good. (and now that I read that sentence out loud, it sounds like a dumb statement). You definitely draw better than I do.

    Both songs are good. While I am drawn to classic rock, one would think that I would prefer Great White. But I’ve known about Breaking Benjamin for some time now and I have come to really enjoy some of their music as well. Of these two choices, my vote will be for Breaking Benjamin.

    Great choice for today. Looking forward to what your next post brings!

    ~Mary
    #AtoZChallenge #BOTB 1970’s Billboard Hits – A is for…

    • Cathy Kennedy

      April 1, 2017 at 1:45 pm

      Mary, hands are tricky but I sorta have an idea. I hope after the challenge to devote more time to specific areas, like hands, eyes, nose, lips…to purrfect my technique. I wish I had more confidence in my youth and ventured into art in college. At least I’m stretching my wings now and getting back into something I’ve always enjoyed doing. Thanks for voting and I’m off to visit you!

      Great White – 0
      Breaking Benjamin – 4

  • Mike

    April 1, 2017 at 2:47 am

    Your sketching is much better than mine. I really liked the tears on the first one. Breaking Benjamin gets my vote.

    • Cathy Kennedy

      April 1, 2017 at 1:13 pm

      Mike, thank you! I thought the first angel needed tears with her head tilted forward. It just set the mood. I got your vote recorded and now, I’m off to see you!

      Great White – 0
      Breaking Benjamin – 3

    • Cathy Kennedy

      April 1, 2017 at 1:00 pm

      Debbie, What a delight to see you visiting today to share in my art sketching venture and to play along in this round of BoTB, my friend! This should be interesting to see who actually takes the “Golden Mic” award. 🙂 I’m coming to see you now. 😉

      Great White – 0
      Breaking Benjamin – 2

  • Arlee Bird

    April 1, 2017 at 12:39 am

    Not bad with the sketches. I wish I was more artistic like that. Two of my daughters are very good with sketching, but they didn’t take after me.

    The Great White song was much different than I was expecting. I figured it would be like heavy metal. Nice and mellow.

    Another surprise with Breaking Benjamin. I’d never heard of them, but they started out more like I expected Great White to sound like.

    Between the two I prefer the style of Breaking Benjamin better. I like the melodic turn of their song better as well.

    A vote for Breaking Benjamin. But it’s a fairly close vote.

    Arlee Bird
    Tossing It Out

    • Cathy Kennedy

      April 1, 2017 at 11:26 am

      Lee, thanks! I guess DD#2 is rubbing off on me. She’s our little artist. Every since she was very young, she loved to doodle and I thought for sure she would look to incorporate her God-given talents in her higher education or beyond but that didn’t happen. She continues to draw but not like she did while at home. You know that ole thing life gets in the way happened, which by the way I warned all of our children would happen and for them to make the most of their time at home. I hope she doesn’t let her abilities get rusty. I never felt I had a lot of artistic talent but I believe now I didn’t apply myself properly because of low self-esteem. At this point in the game, I’m confident with who I am and am not afraid to conquer my fears head on. Now to my BoTB, like you, Great White surprised me with their tender ballad. I only knew them by name and couldn’t think of any of their mewsic so it was nice to hear their song. Breaking Benjamin was introduced to me when our kids were at home. I think it was DD#2 who shared them with me the first time and they have a great sound. Thanks for stopping by. Now, it’s time to visit you!

      Great White – 0
      Breaking Benjamin – 1

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