A-Z Challenge

AprilA2Z Art Sketching through the Alphabet “G” + BoTB results

April 8, 2017 /

Hello, Kitten & Dawgs!  I’m delighted you joined me for the next A2Z alphabet prompt. Daddy’s Little Girl always gets to me every. single. time I hear it. Having two little girls…okay they aren’t too little anymore bring more happiness than sorrow.  My lovely little girls grew up and became lovely young ladies but they’ll always be little girls in my heart and if you’re daddy well then…I don’t need to tell you how special little girls are, right?  I’m going with girls as in little girls for my inspiration in art sketching through the alphabet with the letter “G”.

My little girls were the best of friends with only 23 months separating them and as they grew up they kept that sense of closeness most of the time but like all sisters, they have their ups and down. In their hearts, they know the other is still her best friend and that’s the way it should be.

I think little girls like being a girl at heart no matter what her age. Heck, I still refer to myself as a girl! It makes me feel gleeful.  Ladies, do you like thinking of yourself as a girl? What about you guys, do you call your lady a girl? Does she like being referenced to as a girl?

Drawing a human likeness is tricky. I need a lot of practice, especially with children.  I took a second stab at sketching little girls.  This time at school on the playground.

Playground accidents happen. I took my share of tumbles when I was in playing tag or jumping rope and I remember in those early years always wearing dresses, too.  I don’t think I started wearing pants to school until about grade six.  I know public schools used to have a strict dress code.

Hopefully, what I share with you every day will encourage you to do something that interests you that you’ve long put off because like me you just don’t think you can. My advice is, just do it! Maybe, you’ll be surprised. I know I was! 🙂

Do you have any great “G” sketching ideas? Make this gal giddy leave your suggestions in comments!  😀

Before I go, I need to share the results in Apr. 1st BoTB.  I enjoyed both angel songs but I loved the soft more mellow tone of Great White. Any other time or any other song between these two bands, then I’d probably side with the other.  For those who voted or just visited, then it probably was clear from the get-go that my listeners favored one band a great deal and won’t be a giant surprise that Breaking Benjamin gets the glory in this round with a 8 to 4 victory.

I’m heading off to link up with other fellow AtoZers and you’re invited to come along.  I’ll see you Monday on the dance floor with Monday Mewsic Moves Me (theme: Grammy Hits the year you turned 18)  as well as my next installment of Art Sketching through the Alphabet!

Have a good weekend!

A2Z Art Sketching Through the  Alphabet post recap:

  1. “A” for Angels
  2. “B” for Boys, little
  3. “C” is for Cows, Chicken & Chicks, and Big Cats
  4. “D” for Dog
  5. “E” is for Elephant, Eagle, & Elk
  6. “F” is for Fence, Fox, & Frog

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32 Comments

  • Shilpa Arya

    April 11, 2017 at 9:53 pm

    Girls are always special Cathy.. and girls as sibling is like a jackpot ?. Love your illustrations .. sorry I m not that regular to your blog to checkout A to Z

  • Birgit

    April 9, 2017 at 7:50 pm

    This is a sweet post and you captured the girl’s faces well. The first picture reminds me of my friend’s girls who are also close…16 months apart…they get into scrapes but love each other and that shows in the first picture. The second picture captures what does happen on a playground…the one kid feels bad but unsure what to do while the other one is crying. So well done. I sometimes think I’m a girl when I need my mom…and I am 52! When I think of G, I think of glitter, gold, green. Now let’s see what you will do for H…maybe horses or Hollywood ?

    • Cathy Kennedy

      April 10, 2017 at 6:20 am

      Birgit, I’m 55 and think of myself as a girl. It reinforces the youthfulness within and that’s something I never want to lose even when I’m 80. 🙂

  • tattoo fonts

    April 9, 2017 at 5:56 pm

    Awww, that first sketch is so cute and that second has great emotion. Your human figures are better than mine at any rate. xD I have a lot of trouble with hands, but also gender clues. People are just so instinctively familiar with the human figure that any small mistake sticks out more than it otherwise would..

  • Alex

    April 9, 2017 at 11:59 am

    Awww, that first sketch is so cute and that second has great emotion. Your human figures are better than mine at any rate. xD I have a lot of trouble with hands, but also gender clues. People are just so instinctively familiar with the human figure that any small mistake sticks out more than it otherwise would.

  • pempispalace

    April 9, 2017 at 11:47 am

    I like being referred to as girl rather than lady – sounds far too grand and far too old!! What about G for giant goat??? At the moment I’m working on a piece for someone which is a pygmy goat drawing – I really haven’t got very far and she might be coming next week so I’d better get a move on – see you again soon 🙂 Special Teaching at Pempi’s Palace

    • Cathy Kennedy

      April 10, 2017 at 6:19 am

      Pempi, I hadn’t thought about being called lady as too grand or too old before but I can this now. I made myself a note to try sketching a goat after the challenge. Thanks for the suggestion!

  • lexacain

    April 8, 2017 at 8:43 pm

    I really liked both your pictures, Cathy, along with your personal explanations of what both meant to you. I didn’t have too many spills as a kid. I remember falling off the jungle-gym once. It hurt like the dickens, but at least I didn’t break anything. Have a good weekend!

    • Cathy Kennedy

      April 10, 2017 at 5:37 am

      Lexa, We didn’t have a jungle gym on the playground but we did have monkey bars which seemed high off the ground. I didn’t have the strength to play on it like most kids. I was so skinny when I was little. It’s funny how you make up for those skinny years, huh? lol I didn’t break anything, but I did sprain my ankle and got a lot of scrapes and bruises. Thanks for stopping by, my friend!

  • XmasDolly

    April 8, 2017 at 8:21 pm

    Lovin’ your sketches my friend. Hey, is one of those you & me??? ~hehehe~ Love it! I had no idea you were so good! Great! Your tunes I haven’t heard in forever too! Have a great weekend! BIG HUGS!

    • Cathy Kennedy

      April 10, 2017 at 5:05 am

      Marie, Sure that’s you and me holding hands coz we’re the best rocking buds on the face of the planet, right? Thank you for the sweet compliments on my art ability. I’m giving it my absolute all and am lovin’ every minute of it. 🙂

  • scr4pl80

    April 8, 2017 at 3:17 pm

    I have two girls, 10 years apart, with a boy in between. The girls were not too friendly during the teen years but now that the youngest is 20 and the oldest 30 it seems they have more to relate with. In my own family, there were four girls, no boys. We had a big age difference between the oldest two and the youngest two as well. How about a G for goat?
    Janet
    G is for Genesis

  • lorigg

    April 8, 2017 at 2:06 pm

    As a mother of 2 girls who are close in age these drawings remind me of their younger years. They also remind me of my younger years with 2 sisters except you would not catch me in a dress. I am enjoying your art sketching through the alphabet.

  • 15andmeowing

    April 8, 2017 at 12:50 pm

    I danced with my Dad to Daddy’s Little Girl at my wedding in 1992. Most brides go with I Loved Her First Now, either one makes me cry now that my Dad is no longer with us. Excellent drawing.

    • Cathy Kennedy

      April 8, 2017 at 5:58 pm

      Ellen, I remember reading, Martino’s “Daddy’s Little Girl” is a popular daddy/daughter dance song for weddings. It really is a tender song always bringing me to tears each time I hear it. I can imagine just how much these songs mean to you since your daddy is no longer with you. Thanks for sharing your memories with me and for your kind compliment.

  • Arlee Bird

    April 8, 2017 at 12:50 pm

    My three daughters were also very close. So close that when one moved to NJ, they all went leaving me here in CA. Now I need to get closer to them. I think they’d be happy about that since they didn’t move to get away from me, but in pursuit of jobs.

    Good Battle outcome because the winner was the one I chose. Both were worth being a winner though.

    Arlee Bird
    Tossing It Out: BOTB Results

    • Cathy Kennedy

      April 8, 2017 at 5:29 pm

      Lee, I’m sure your daughters would love it if y’all moved closer to them. I shutter thinking about the very real possibility of DD#2 and her husband moving to Portland, Maine next year. For as long as I can remember, she’s always wanted to live in Maine and it looks like she might get her wish. Of course, we’ll be horribly sad to see them move. I’m hoping if they do move that after the newness wears off of living in Maine, they’ll want to come back home to Tennessee after a short period. Maine is a wonderful place to visit but I don’t want to live there unless I’m filthy rich and can have a summer home along the coastline. 🙂

  • moondustwriter

    April 8, 2017 at 12:35 pm

    The second sketch with the fall is very good and poignant as it tells a story. I think thats what is important is that art tells us something. Sweet young ladies – you are blessed.
    I am out of the area visiting family so trying to bit of catch up before we run off.
    Happy weekend!
    A Piece of Uganda

    • Cathy Kennedy

      April 8, 2017 at 5:20 pm

      MoonDustWriter, When I began this challenge, I sketched out my main subject but soon after I realized it needed something more and I began adding elements to the picture to do just that tell a story. I also tried capturing the subtleties to convey a mood to evoke an emotional charge in the viewer and I’m delighted that giving attention detail is paying off. Thank you for stopping by for a visit & I’m heading your way next!

  • Claudia Willison| ImagesByCW

    April 8, 2017 at 11:10 am

    Isn’t it amazing the things you may (re)discover if you give them a chance and a little time? Until a little while back I never knew that you liked sketching. Now I am amazed at your progress. Thanks for sharing it with us and encouraging others to do the same

  • Thomas Anderson

    April 8, 2017 at 6:43 am

    Happy Saturday, Cathy!

    I’m sipping coffee and enjoying your song posts and artwork. It doesn’t surprise me that Breaking Benjamin reaped twice as many votes in your BOTB, but I want to emphasize that I enjoyed Great White’s “The Angel Song” too. I also like “Give Me a SIgn,” the bonus BB song you posted this morning. From the soundtrack of my teenage years, I remember Italian American pop crooner Al Martino and his hit singles of the early to mid 60s which included “I Love You Because, “Painted, Tainted Rose,” “Living a Lie, “”I Love You More and More Every Day,” “Tears and Roses” and “Spanish Eyes.” Al’s 1967 single “Daddy’s Little Girl” brushed the top 40 and reached #2 on the Adult Contemporary chart. Remember the song with a similar theme, “The Men In My Little Girl’s Life,” which became a top 40 hit a year earlier for TV talk show host Mike Douglas?

    The little girls you drew for G day are endearing, Cathy. In the first sketch, the girls take a break from playing hopscotch long enough to pose in front of their rural home. Both girls have a friendly gaze, and I like the swing hanging from the tree branch and the rolling hills and clouds behind their house. The second drawing, the playground mishap, is also a great one. One of the girls took a tumble and skinned her knees, and the other girl’s reaction to her friend’s sobbing is nicely captured in her facial expression which displays anxiety and concern. I also like the way her feet are positioned and how she clutched the ball to her chest. In body language, covering the chest area is a defensive gesture.

    Thank you for entertaining my eyes and ears this morning, dear friend Cathy. I wish you a safe and happy weekend!

    • Cathy Kennedy

      April 8, 2017 at 2:43 pm

      Tom,

      The weekends I’m usually unplugged. We normally sleep in a bit on Saturdays and Sundays, too. Getting up at 4am during the week sorta wears one out by the time Friday rolls around. I wasn’t too familiar with who Al Martino mewsic until DH shared this song with me and I believe sometime after that we began watching the Godfather series where we saw Martino playing “Johnny Fontane”. We thought that was such a weird coincidence. I will have to listen to some of the mewsic selections you mentioned. I don’t recognize any by name, so I’m sure these will all be newbies for me to hear. I actually goofed in with the tally. It should be 8 to 5 because I gave my vote to GW.

      I’m giddy to learn you liked the sweet, innocence of my little girls. I have much to learn and a whole lot of practice to do yet to feel totally comfortable sketching human forms and facial expressions. Thank you for continuing to support me with your daily visits, dear friend. I can’t tell you how much this means to me. Have a great weekend and I’ll see you soon!

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