Today is Monster Monday. AI art that I have created using NightCafe It's fun, it's free and it allows some interesting creative time.

I have lots of new monsters on NightCafe that I can't show all of them here so head over to my gallery to see all of the AI art.

If you have read any T.S. Elliot, or have seen the movie, "The Gorge", then you know of the Hollow Men. 

 I have created Hollow Men.

 

Of course, I know this poem. In the movie, "The Gorge", the Hollow Men are a result of a secret military facility that, naturally, went a miss, thus creating Hollow Men.

The best known line in the poem,

"This is the way the world ends. This is the way the world ends. Not with a bang but a whimper. Shape without form, shade without colour."

 

You know I can't leave you with this so here are some fantasy places that are pretty.

Hope you enjoyed Monster Monday.

Have a good week.

Nicole 

 

Sunday in the Art Room

 Hi Everyone!

Thank you for all the nice compliments on my very first colored pencil drawing on FFO. I have also received several emails from people telling me how difficult colored pencil is for them. In my opinion, I want to share the best youtube instructor for colored pencil. If you want an understanding in colored pencils and a host of free ebooks and worksheets this is where you want to be.

Her name is Kirsty Partridge. This is where  you should start if you are a beginner like me.

I have down loaded and printed several of the ebooks and a work sheet. 

This has 18 pages of total teachings. 

this has 13 pages of easy to draw skin. 

here are 8 pages, 

of ya know my fave, hair.

One of the worksheets. 

This is a 2 page check list.

She offers a lot more. I don't normally do this, download teachings, but these are so good and I really want to excel in colored pencils, so I did.

Yesterday I received a package from my kids. OMG!!! They are so good to me.

If you want to learn or just want to reunite yourself with colored pencil art check out Kirsty.

Have a great day today.

Nicole 
 
 

 

 

Friday Face OFF FFO 11/14/25

 

 Welcome To Friday Face OFF (FFO)

This is the place to show off your face art.

You know, ANY type of face, nature, the face of a flower, Photography, drawings, paintings. There just needs to be a face in your blog post.

 

As you know a week or so ago I decided to teach myself how to create with colored pencils. Quite a learning curve for sure. However, I absolutely love it!

My piece today is not finished by any means, but I wanted to show you how it's coming along.

Mixing and blending colored pencil is a real trick. Bringing features out is also somewhat of a challenge. With graphite it seems so easy. This face is a bit tipped forward and getting that just right is taking me a lot of time. I still have to place the ears, bring out the nose and tapper down her lips. Oh yeah and hair. Ya know my fave. Ha ha ha. If any of you have any suggestions for me please leave them in the comments.

I want to take some time to talk about the Self Portrait Challenge. (S.P.)

The basic rules are it has to be you. It can be at any age, it can also be a S.P. that you previously created. It can be drawn from life or a photo with any medium, except a photograph. You can't just put a photo up as your S.P. However, you must put a photo of you with your creation.

The other subject for S.P. is tracing. 

Yes, you may trace your face. 

I'm excited to see how all of you do. 

Also this is not mandatory. FFO will run like always. Since I wrote this I got her ears in and fixed her nose a bit. The lips will have to stay and I will leave the hair. LOL. I do like her. 

Now for some new AI.

There is a challenge going on at NightCafe and it's about magical plants and creatures. Here are some I made up.

 

Then today I won some credits for this

NightCafe is so much fun. Click on the link to join in.
It's time to see some features.

Essentially Ash 

She writes, "I'm a homeschooling mama fueled by RedBull, chaos and love." 

You will have to click on the link to find out about this young lady. 

Rostrose
If you have never been to this site you are missing out. 

Curious as a Cathy

Cathy has such a unique way of creating. All the detail is amazing. 

That's it for me. Now it's time to show me your face.

Nicole  

 

Monster Monday

 Hi Everyone!

 

Today is Monster Monday. AI art that I have created using NightCafe It's fun, it's free and it allows some interesting creative time.

I've been entering quite a few challenges on NightCafe. Mainly to get the credits. 

It's interesting to see what people vote on. I come in close.

Not only do you win credits but a few of the Pro engines can be won as well. This image was created by taking two images and merging them together with a Pro engine.

I love this. 
 

 

From surreal to Horror. 

Mean Face

 The Bird

Skeletons  

I do love the detail on his face.

Now to end with something cute. This was for a challenge. Not my normal at all.

I have hundreds of AI art on NightCafe come over and check out my gallery.

Have a great day today.

Nicole 

Sunday in the Art Room

 Hi Everyone!

Ohhh my poor art room is now partly storage for my yearly yard sale that I didn't have this year. BOO HOO HOO. It is truly a mess in there.

  So, I have been drawing in the TV room where my PC is. I have a 3 ft folding table that fits an easel and my pencils are on a TV tray table next to me. It sounds nuts but it actually is working quite well.

 

Which goes to show, you can create art anywhere.

I watch a lot of art shows, youtube, videos on blogs and websites. I do this to glean what I can from professional artists. One thing I have found is just how many professional artist trace their subject. I know that there are several types of tracings from the 1500s. However, Art historians such as David Hockney and Charles Falco, have theorized that certain artists, maybe as early as the 1420s, used optical devices like concave mirrors and lenses to project images onto a surface to trace their outlines, enabling high levels of realism and accuracy. Leonardo Da Vinci used a grid method, Johannes Vermeer is said to have used camera obscura to  traced the outline onto a transparent sheet, and then transferred the tracing to the canvas. 

 

 Artist such as Lance Richlin, Andy Warhol, Chuck Close, Edgar Degas, Norman Rockwell, and Kandisky who traced before he started creating abstract. Picasso traced in his earlier career. The list goes on and on. Today, there are several projector type devices that artists use to trace their art. Is this cheating to get a realistic portrait, landscape, or still life? The answer is NO. Artist use all kinds of tools to create with. I do however believe that one should know the basics and how to draw free hand.

My point to all of this is.... if you are finding it difficult to create your self portrait tracing first is perfectly acceptable. 

Nicole  

Friday Face Off 11/7/25

 

 Welcome To Friday Face OFF (FFO)

This is the place to show off your face art.

You know, ANY type of face, nature, the face of a flower, Photography, drawings, paintings. There just needs to be a face in your blog post.

 

Last week I mentioned that I found two sketches while I was going through some art paper. I showed the first one last week on FFO. Here is the second one.

I kind of remember sketching these but it must have been a very long time ago. I don't have the image of them. So, here is what this one looked like when I found him.

Then this. 

Close up 

 

Then this, as I was working, I hated it and didn't think it was very good. His eyebrows are too high, his eyes are flat and his mouth is dull. 

Close up. I don't know what I was doing. All of these dark lines around the eyes and mouth art not right.

 

When creating portraits some lines should be indicated. Shading should do the work. With that said, lines do need to be in place for the deep parts of a face, then shaded out. Anyway, that's how I do it. 

 This is what I love about art, you can change anything you want. Art allows us to be in control, to be free to make changes, improve and love what we create. Here is what he looks like now.

Eyebrows brought down, no hard lines around the eyes, and mouth.  

 I'm not sure I'm finished with him but I like him better now. 

 

It's time for some AI art.

Life for so many is pretty grim right now so I thought some happy AI is called for.

 

 

Let's see some features. 

The best part of FFO

Granny Annie

She creates portraits with her own flare.

Dixie

Even though Halloween is over, Dixie has a fine display. 

Kimberly Ann Decker 

Visit this bright and wonderful blog. It's filled with beautiful Art images.

Before I go, just a reminder of the Self Portrait Challenge. 

I ask that it is really you from any age. Please include the photo you worked from. If you are creating from life, like looking in a mirror, just show any photo of you now. 

Any medium can be used except a photograph. Ya know, you can't just put a photo of yourself. However, it can be realism, character, surreal, abstract as long as we can see you in the art. 

 Any kind of expression. Create you as you see yourself.  November 28, 2025 to show your face on FFO. That gives you 3 weeks to work on it. All Self Portraits will be featured the following week on FFO. I hope you join in.

Now it's time to show me face art.

Nicole