The Nativity in Colored Pencil

 The Nativity

Merry Christmas! I know it may seem early, as Thanksgiving merely ended on Thursday, the 28th, but Advent has begun and leaves us with four weeks til Christmas Day...even a little less than that. Another Podcast Portrait for you to take in - This one comes with a video as well - I know many of you anticipate, even look forward to the time lapse videos.

This one is done in colored pencils in a byzantine/eastern style icon. I have never done an icon before, so I decided to try it out. Obviously icons are not traditionally done in colored pencil.

Nativity Time Lapse Video

A little different style post, as this one comes with a poem I wrote a while back. Let me know your thoughts on it. It is called, "The Bright Star" It is about the Magi and Christmas time. If you like this poem, I have a few more to showcase.

The Bright Star

Not long after the birth of Christ,

By a bright star three Magi were enticed.

Now Herod was king of Judea,

Hearing of the Messiah, in him came an idea.

For his heart became very jealous,

He feared a threat to his rule they tell us.

So he sought the new babe's way by,

Sending the three Magi.

These three men traveled from the east.

With every step, their love increased.

For the one they came to seek.

They ever increased for the King's mystique.

And entering into the city,

They sang a small ditty,

For above a small house, stood a great star.

The Magi did ponder, and thought it bizarre.

But they knew it would be Him that would be within.

Entering they found both the Child, 

And Mary, his mother undefiled.

And then giving gifts to her,

For the Child: gold, frankincense, and myhrr.

Now being unladen with gifts for Him,

And Herod's heart was still very grim.

To the Magi was sent word,

Go to Herod not, so another way they deffered.

And to Joseph and angel appeared.

To Egypt he should fly,

With the Child and Mary he did comply

Until Herod should die.

And from the twenty-fifth of December,

Until Epiphany, we must remember,

The twelve days of Christmastide,

For in our hearts the Lord must reside.

Thank you for reading, until next time! 

And yes, there will be more...or will there?😉

Nephew's Sweet Turtle Surprise

Turtle Cake Adventure: Celebrating My Nephew's Birthday

This past weekend, we gathered to celebrate my nephew's birthday, which is just a day after mine. It was a special occasion filled with family, laughter, and, of course, cake! My sister took the reins in the kitchen, crafting a delightful turtle-shaped cake using sourdough—a unique twist that turned out to be a hit.

As I reminisced about the Bundt cake turtle I made for my own birthday, I was excited to see how my sister would interpret this fun theme. The sourdough added a rustic touch, with its tangy flavor perfectly complementing the sweetness of the frosting. My sister shaped the cake creatively, capturing the essence of a turtle while keeping it delicious. But of course, she forgot the turtle's body and created only one round cake...not to blame her on her limited turtle knowledge. But we made it work. As you see the crumbly side of the cake we used what we had a slit the round cake in two, one for the body (something for the shell to sit on) and the second for use to cut the legs and tail out. In the end it all worked out well!

Unfrosted Aerial

Let's frost this puppy!

I'm all gooped up!

Aerial view of the turtle frosted

The cake was adorned with vibrant green frosting for the shell, complete with chocolate accents for the eyes and feet. Watching my nephew’s eyes light up as we unveiled the cake was priceless. He couldn't wait to dig into the delicious creation!

This turtle cake brought us all together—sharing memories, stories, and laughter around the table. It reminded me that whether it’s my birthday or my nephew’s, the joy of celebration comes from the people we love and the creativity we share in the kitchen.

I can't wait to try more cake designs in the future. Here’s to more family gatherings and delicious adventures in baking!

What are you looking at?

Ready to eat?

Thank you to all my readers, also to the people who just scroll to the bottom to view the art photos. I hope you laugh...or even if you just break into a smile when you read the descriptions and background story. Thank you! I hope you have a great day/night. Let me know what you want to see in the future...More cake designs, paintings, drawings?

To Bundt or not to Bundt...

Bundt Cake Pans?

What can you do with them?

Cake. Birthdays. Frosting. What more? Did you ask? Um…not sure, I couldn’t hear you. But if you did you will soon see the newest creation of Sketched Drawn and Painted.

So it goes like this… The nephew of Esteban, that would be me, it is Esteban who writes this. Well, of course, Esteban is his brush name. Anyway, his nephew has a birthday the day after, so he planned to make a cake for him. His nephew somehow got into loving turtles (not to mention Tiny Tim, that’s a whole other story). So Esteban scavenged the kitchen for pans that would work for a turtle cake. He found some, one being a Bundt cake pan. When his sister found out—his sister is the mother of Esteban’s nephew—she went ballistic! A Bundt cake pan? Of course, not her exact words… just making stuff up as I go here… a Bundt cake pan! It’s got a hole in the top, besides it’s got ridges down the sides! It’s got to be smooth. But Esteban, again, that’s me, goes, well, turtles’ shells are not exactly smooth… and that’s that. Esteban set out to prove a Bundt cake pan would work to make a turtle cake! And that’s just what he did. And now on the art gallery page, you can see there is a new button for cakes!

Turtle Bundt Cake Gallery

To prove Bundt Cake pans are useful...Even if there is a hole in the middle.

The bundt cake devised as a turtle shell

Cake pieces were cut, turtle was formed.

Aerial view of the turtle unfrosted

Aerial view of the turtle unfrosted

The turtle was then frosted...oh no! Frosting was runny...

Details added to face and shell. Used up the black frosting. Almost ran out...

And now you see, a bundt cake pan works perfect! I hope you enjoyed my first cake post! Should I say that was a piece of cake? If I did this again...I think I will for my Nephew's Birthday...I would like less runny frosting...the runnyness was difficult to control, nevertheless I made do with what I had.

Thanks for sticking around till the end! If you thought this cake was wild, wait until you see what I come up with next. Maybe a sculpture made entirely of gummy bears? Or a portrait using only sprinkles? Who knows! Stay tuned for more of my creative escapades. And remember, life is what you bake of it. See you next time!

Just kidding about the last paragraph...AI made that up about gummy bear sculptures and such. He was helping me edit.

Votes: 0

Saint Michael...

Shall we say another stab... 

I've finished Saint Michael...again! This time in color. This was a lot of fun to draw, lots of colors and shading. Your eye really gets to move around with this piece.

I decided to replace the first Saint Michael drawing in the Saints A - Z series with this one. Those can be found here: Click this Link! I now have 14 done! And am continuously working to finish the series. FYI - Saint Philomena is on deck to be drawn and then most likely, Saint Peter to polish off the P's.

As I looked back on the videos I took, yes I forgot to mention, this is also a time-lapse piece! 12 hours of videos. That really surprised me. I didn't think it was that long...but I drew a little bit at a time...I guess it all adds up. Little by little!

Progress Photos

Guess What?

Yes, you'll have to watch the time-lapse to see the final drawing. That's how I get you...

Time Lapse Video

You can also watch it here: Saint Michael Video - YouTube

Thanks for viewing the Saint Michael Post. Hopefully you watched the video and saw the final drawing. Until the next drawing...

The Assumption, plus...

 The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

It's the middle of August and the final drawing of the Podcast Portraits is finally here! This month is another colored pencil drawing, this time of Mary and her Assumption into heaven.

You are probably wondering what the plus means...well...Should I tell you? Yes, yes...you'll see it anyway. It just means that in addition to this post there is also, finally another time lapse video.

I know many people have asked...okay just one, when the next time lapse will be. So here you have it.

Here is the final drawing. It is a nine by twelve colored pencil drawing. And since there is a video to go along with it, I've eliminated the need to scroll for progress photos. It's just a video. Watch it here or go to the YouTube channel to view. Enjoy.

Thank you for viewing today's art work of the Assumption.

 The Most Precious Blood

Below you will see another Podcast Portrait, this time of The Most Precious Blood of Jesus. The medium is colored pencil on paper.

We started off with a blank piece of paper, a reference photo, and some pencils. From there it kept getting refined with pigment from a colored pencil and the guidance of my hand. As you see from the above photo I started with the skin and figure of Jesus on the cross.

Above here we have a more detailed view of the subject at hand. If you look close you can even see the sketches I had done prior to adding color.

Here is a close up.

Another close up.

And also another close up.

And from here on will be zoomed out showing the details as they progress. This one would have been fun to do a timelapse with.

Over half of the drawing is completed in this photo!

I was unsure of how the background would workout, but as we started I was happy with out it ended up.

And here we have it... the finalized drawing - zoomed out!

And a more direct photo...not so angled.

Hopefully you enjoyed viewing this piece of artwork done for the Feast of The Most Precious Blood of Jesus...and also reading my little excerpts on each image (those are always fun...I hope people actually laugh or smile, but they are not always intended to get a laugh - but usually...)

Until next time - which'll be next month (which'll is a contraction for which will)

Next month's drawing is projected to be a drawing for the Assumption of Mary.

The Annunciation...

 Pencil & Colored Pencil

I finished another drawing. I drew the Annunciation of Mary. Usually it is celebrated on the 25th of the third month, but since Easter and Holy Week were during that time it moved to the week after, which is the 8th of the 4th month.

Below are some progress photos. I chose to draw this one with graphite pencils and to make the subject pop out I used colored pencils.

Thank you for Viewing!

Another Drawing...

 Happy Birthday...

I just finished another drawing! An 18 x 24 pen and ink drawing of the church for a priest's birthday. Below are the progress photos. Enjoy... I started this back in July.

And below is the photo I took as my reference.

Thank You For Viewing!

Crucifixion

 A Little Late...

I drew another Podcast Portrait last month for lent. I chose the crucifixion of our Lord. Below are some progress photos.

Thank you for viewing! Have a Great Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

 February 14th 2023

Happy Valentine's Day yet again...it happens every year, doesn't it? Well anyway, last year at this time I wanted to have a Saint Valentine drawing done for the series, so I had started on it a few months or weeks before...can't remember exactly. But funny story, I only got his face drawn.

So this year I decided to finish it, he was actually still taped to my drawing desk (my dresser)  with a bunch of papers and what not piled on top of him. So I cleaned up, dusted the drawing off, and finished in the month of September of two thousand and twenty-three.

This is actually a unique drawing of him, not the typical image you see of Saint Valentine because I have combined a couple of references together. 

The first one being that of a computer generated image thought to be what he actually looked like. You can see that below. They took is skull and mapped it out using 3d imagery software to create an image of is actual face.

And the second reference I used was that of a statue of St Valentine to get his traditional looking vestments added in.

And here is the final drawing of saint Valentine.

Thank you for viewing my art! Happy feast of Saint Valentine!