Question For You

Hi everyone. First, this is a picture I made for Jane Davenport's class Supplies Me
. I enjoyed drawing this as she represents my granddaughter who is really skinny like this, loves purple and is taking ballet. (Her mother told me in LB's saturday class they were told to kick their legs behind them and try to reach the back of their head. When she saw LB she exclaimed "OMG (long version), she's really doing it"! And my LB said she kicked her head pretty hard with her right leg but only touched it lightly with her left. Now can you do that? I can't even kick past knee-height!

The second thing and the point of this post is a question. Do you have an Ipad or an Android tablet? I am looking at these and have read that on the Android tablets some of the web sites come up in cellphone version rather than a PC version and some find that annoying. Since I don't get sites on my cellphone I don't know how annoying that would be so I am hoping someone can tell me! If you have an Ipad, do the sites come up regular version or cellular version on it? Maybe this is the real reason people love the Ipad over the Android tablets?

Happy Sunday

I'm taking a class with Jane Davenport from Australia. The second picture here is my interpretation of her in a teaching video she made from Bali. She's teaching how to use various tools from colored pencil to watercolors and markers. We are also learning how to draw faces and some basic figures. I'm learning quite a bit. The other picture here is one of my lessons in putting it together in my journal.

The picture of Jane was done with regular graphite pencil on a gesso covered puzzle page in a re-purposed journal. I went over the pencil with watercolor pencils and then water.

The girl with kite was done with no drawing for the background. I just took gouache (opaque watercolor) and started in. Then I drew the girl on a separate piece of paper, colored it in with colored pencil, cut her out and glued her on the page. I'm really happy with her and my whole page!

I hope these pictures add some color to your day. Hope you have a great Fall Sunday!

If you are interested in Jane's classes check out this link: http://www.janedavenport.com/workshops/ . You'll learn a lot and have fun too. This is the beginning workshop; she's planning more to help us with drawing people!

Odds and Ends

 I've finished this house picture I've worked on at times over the last two years.  I started it before I began using watercolor.  It's in my moleskine journal and I used watercolor pencils which work in that book unlike watercolor.  This is purely imaginary; a fun escape when I wasn't feeling so cheerful. 

The bluish faced creature is me!  This was done as an exercise suggested in the group The Sketchbook Challenge.    This is a blind contour drawing done in white crayon on white paper so you can't see it even if you peek.  I stood in front of a mirror and drew what I saw, then painted over it all with aqua.  The outline showed up but I went back and wiped out as much blue in the face as possible and added more realistic colors.  One person who saw it on flickr

said it looked like I was looking up from under some water

which I think fits.  My eye got a little off to the side and it's

not any great piece but it was fun and I plan to try it again.

The next piece is a bookmark I made after the bigger picture that looks similar.  I did these in Jane Lafazio's style with the bigger one made for a class of hers I am currently taking at Joggles.  This is ink without using pencil first and then adding watercolor.  I got the pink too dark on the large picture so really went lighter on the bookmark.  It looks better.  I'm having fun in this class and if you are wanting a beginner's course in watercolor journaling this might be the ticket for you.  It's fun even if you aren't a total beginner.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Ficus carica - Say What?

A while back I read a neat post on Jacqueline Newbold's blog Art in My Heart, Jacqueline Newbold titled Watercolor Vignettes from Ponet; a Peek inside my Watercolor Journal.  You can find it on the sidebar (I couldn't copy the post address itself).  Anyhow, she showed how to precolor the background.  I did it but I made one big block of color and then didn't quite know what to do with it.  Until the other day that is, when I wanted to draw my poor, new fig tree. 

I got the fig tree for my birthday back in November from my son.  It is a plant that will only grow about 3 feet and can live and produce fruit indoors.  That's important because the animals will kill the tree outdoors and/or steal all the fruit.  I got it potted and placed it in a sunny window - right at cat level!  I had no idea my cat would chew on all the leaves.  I didn't think the tree would survive but it finally sent out some new leaves and I wanted to draw it to commemorate the occasion (by the way, the plant is in another window now on a tall stool the cat can't share).  I remembered this page and thought I'd give the sketching and overpainting a try.  I am real happy with how it turned out.  The paper is not my favorite but I have it in one of my sketchbooks so need to use it up.  It soaks up moisture like a sponge and doesn't warp but it doesn't always allow for detail to show either so some penwork helped out a lot here. 

If the idea of an indoor fruiting fig sounds good to you the link to buying one of your own is here.  It was under $20 when I got it, not a bad deal.

Mandala Done

Well I made my mandala following the direction of that video I posted here. Now I realize they did it a bit differently. Oh boy, that shows how well I follow instructions! They changed pen color as they went along. I'll have to try that on the next one. This one is made with a Pitt pen and watercolor pencil. It was fun. Have you tried one yet?

Some Pages from Christmas

I've been busy as everyone else has been, with Christmas. I travelled to California to be with the grandkids to I made this first page to have ideas to show them for things we could make while I was there. It was done with Pitt pen and watercolor pencil.

The second picture shows the stars and snowflakes we made.

The third picture is a drawing I made before the last of four socks were finished. I drew it lightly in pencil which was really hard to see on the colored background and then moved to colored pencils.

Now to get ready for the new year and everything it will bring.

Note: I just amended this to add that I found that my knitting page fits EDM challenge #253: Draw your socks. Well this one was for my son but while I was knitting it it was still mine technically or close enough, lol.

In a workshop I am in over at A.R.T., a yahoo group, our lesson this week was to make a page using a page out of the book we are using Artist's Journal's and Sketchbooks by Lynn Perrella. I chose page number 26 that had a hand on it. Mine came out quite differently I think but I am glad of that really.

This has acrylic paints for the background with white butterflies embossed with clear powder. I don't know why they turned color. Anyone have an idea? Did it suck up color from the paint with the heat of the gun? I don't know. Anyhow, the rest of the page was done with Pitt pens and watercolor pencils except for a few cutouts from my own photos.

A is for ....

I've finished a spread in my journal for the letter A. I hope to do the whole alphabet. I also hope to find things I like to fit the different letters. Some of them might be rather hard like Q and Z. Maybe I'll just buy some more pets and give them weird names so I have something I will like for every letter! No way! I really wouldn't do that.

I used pencil to draw with and then drew over that with Pitt pens. Then I used watercolor pencils which I wet down with a water brush.

And Another One So Soon?

Wow, I've posted twice in a week's span. I sure wish I could keep this up. This journal page was done for an online workshop I am in at the Yahoo group A.R.T. We are using the book by Gwen Diehn, The Decorated Page. This is my version of one of the lessons. I don't always post lessons from classes as they tend to be just that - lessons. But, this one is really just a depiction of where I want to be some day and I keep it in mind in several ways with it cropping up in my journal rather often. I also realized this is all drawn and painted. I stamped the word Treasure and the frog but the rest is my work so I feel like it fits this blog and am posting it.

I used Pitt pen over a pink acrylic wash edging with beige acrylic paint as the base for the map. I sponged on a little golden color for texture in the parchment and added some quick shading. Some of this is water color pencil (most of the color on the map). Once I got started I had fun with this.

Hey, A New Post!

I have finally done another drawing. I know, I know it's about time! Goodness where does the time go? This probably fits one of the EDM challenges but I haven't looked it up yet. This is a drawing of a box. My grandson knew I liked small boxes so for my birthday several years ago he painted a box for me and glued pompons and sequins to the lid. I love it. It's somewhat faded over time but I still have it and it sits where I can see it everyday - on my art table.

I saw a picture of some bottles sketched over a pre-painted background over at Genine's blog Broadhurst Street which led me to doing some background pages in my journal. Then it was time to sketch on them. That's when I realized I would have to work in pen and skip all my erasures. That got scary. So I picked this box which is really colorful and went for the penwork without pencil but I started on a plain white page. I didn't want to mess up my prepared backgrounds! Now I have to get up the nerve to just do a sketch on a background. The worst that can happen is I do a lousy job, right?

So this picture was drawn with a Micron pigment ink pen and then filled in with water color pencil. I'm quite happy with it especially since I couldn't erase. I really find shadows hard to do and almost worked my way through the paper to the other side. Thank goodness I didn't as I have a sketch of my cat on the other side. Being absent minded, I drew and painted in my box and THEN checked to see if it would bleed through. It didn't thank goodness.

Journal Page

I had a good time playing with a prompt given today in a group I am in called Blissfully Art Journaling . I haven't figured out yet if the prompt really should have been what it said (Yahoo was sure messed up today and messages and entries into group sites weren't working well) but this was my take on what I read.

This was done with watercolor pencil except where I messed up and grabbed a regular colored pencil by mistake. I also used Pitt pens and did the drawing first in pencil.

Inchies

I am part of a group of people who like to make
inchies and some of us more or less gather round at Inchybyinch blog where we get a new challenge weekly. This week's challenge was shells. I knew just what I wanted to do and it's probably because of Kate's Watercolor Pencil Workshop I am in currently.

I took a one inch square piece of watercolor paper and drew in a very basic beach scene. I wetted it down and voila! There it is - the seaside! Then I took a shell and glued it on over my little scene and added some words. One inchy done!

I had fun with this one. I hope you enjoy seeing it. Maybe you'd like to give an inch a try. If so, drop on by Inchybyinch where you'll see the week's theme. You make your inchy and leave the link in the comments section. We'd love to have some more people join in.

Where Eagles Tempt

In Kate Johnson's watercolor pencil workshop, she asks us to try out colored papers. I haven't really used colored paper much for any drawing but after seeing some other people do so very successfully, I thought I'd give it a shot with an eagle feather I found in our yard this morning. It was just fluttering in the breeze teasing me that I haven't been able to get an eagle where I can take a photo of one now that I have a camera that can zoom in pretty well. Ah well, at least I got in some drawing practice if not photography shots.

EDM # 11

I just went through some of the EDM list and realized I had drawn my glasses in March. These had the lenses removed as I was going to give them to charity since I wouldn't be needing them anymore. I was so happy to be without glasses or contacts. I hadn't been free of them since I was 15 months old! When I was that little they sometimes had to be strapped on but I got used to them quickly. When the alternative is not being able to see, you appreciate glasses. (The big E on the eye chart was a blur to me)

This is in my moleskine journal. It's drawn with Pitt pen and filled in with watercolor pencil.

I've Got a New Post!

EDM 164, that's what I've drawn! I just did front views as it fit for my journal page that way but I drew THREE of them.

After drawing nothing for a long time, it feels good to do so again. Not only that but I have a new spread in my journal. Everytime I visit my grandkids they go through my journals but lately I haven't had much to show. Hopefully I can get more done than just one spread but at least I got this one done.

I used Pitt pens and watercolor pencils. These pencils are from a new set of Faber Castell pencils and I just found one drawback to them - they don't fit in my electric pencil sharpener! Otherwise I love them. They draw so smoothly.

Hope you have a picture worthy spring day!

Color Test

I bought the new set of Derwent Inktense pencils. They now have 72 colors! I've heard at least some of the colors, are pretty poor in light-fastness so I am conducting my own test. I am putting down a fairly thick layer of each color onto notebook paper using the lines to help guide me (notebook paper will only accept so much of the lead -hmmm, what should I call it - it's not lead and it's not pigment - any help here??). Then I am cutting each page lengthwise into three strips. One goes onto a sunny window ledge, one out in good room light but no direct sunlight, and one strip into a closed book. At the end of a month I will put the three strips back together and we'll see if there is any fading and how much. I will be testing all 72 colors. Stay tuned!

New Post!

Hi Everyone. I want to thank everyone with all the well-wishes you sent. It sure is nice to know you are thought of! I'll have to start getting around to everyone's blogs again to see what you've all been up to.

This is an ATC sized watercolor pencil painting (actually Inktense pencils) in which I did everything wrong: even number of hills, even number of trees and bushes, no fading of the hills as they receded into the background and too dark an edge on the hills. So why did I post it and why do I hang on to it? Because I believe in posting some of my bad with some of my good work (no, don't tell me they are ALL bad, please - leave me some dignity, ; ) ,please) and because everytime I look at it I am taken right back to the Simi Valley, CA winter-time hills which were my inspiration! In that regard the picture does its job so I'll hang on to it until I do a better one.

What do you all do with your less than wonderful pictures and drawings?

A New Inchy

This week's theme from Inchy by Inch is Trees. I can do trees. I didn't have a tree stamp and especially not one small enough to do an inchy but I did have a tiny 3-leaf sprig stamp so I stamped it all over the top of my inchy for the tree top. Then I took a fine tip pen and added a few more leaves and a trunk. Colored the whole picture with watercolor pencils and wet it down. I edged the square with a wet watercolor pencil and felt it was done.
Hope you enjoy this little tidbit and wish some more people would join in. You can draw, stamp, paint, quilt, embroider or bead an inchy. They cover all the art stuff you can think of so don't be shy - come on!

I would really like to see some of you drawers and painters do one. I see so much beautiful work out there and wonder how you'd do on a really small scale.

Red and Black

Maybe it was in the air on the eleventh but I just came over from Margaret Ann's blog where she did a great sketch on the eleventh on a Trader Joe's grocery sack. She made it in red and black.

On the eleventh, I finished a trio of pages in my journal about fairies. It started as a challenge from my granddaughter to "draw a fairy". It ended with this last page when my daughter sent me a photo of the two youngest being fairies for the day (this is breakfast and they wore their wings till bedtime even having to pick the right jammies to fit their fairy "personality"). I used red and black which is a very unusual color combo for me so when I saw Margaret Ann's drawing I thought I'd show my same color - same day drawing.

Nina's Challenge

Nina Johansson decided to fill a two page spread of her journal with drawings she does daily for each week. She asked if anyone wanted to join her in doing this. I thought it might be a good way to get myself to do a bit more drawing. As you can see I did a "bit" more but didn't quite get an object drawn each day. Still, I did better than I have been doing.

The word "pear" and the flowers were done in ink and watercolor pencils while the other pictures were drawn in pencil and then colored in with Prismacolor pencils. I used fluorescent colors for my canary as he really is that color but the colors didn't come out at all with a scan and even with this photo look washed out.

These are probably the most realistic drawings I have ever done. It was challenging to say the least and I am not sure I will do the same kind of colorwork every week but we'll see how it all goes. Maybe I'll even learn to do better on my layout so my kitty won't get speared through her head with a branch again!!

Thank you Nina for a great idea.