Tuesday, August 28, 2018

More Doodling Fun

Here are two more I've worked over the last couple of days.

This first one started out with the three dark blobs that look like brain cells.  Next thing I knew, it was taking on the look of a face and not just any face but my little dog.  With Florida in the midst of rainy/stormy season, our dog has a horrible time of it.  And to me it's reflected in the results of this.  Another look and it says flower petals like those in the bouquet my husband got me the same day.


Last night as I was watching Criminal Minds, I worked on this next one starting at the wheel looking shape to the left.  From there I just slowly worked the shapes and this is what I ended up with.

This one is one of my favorites so far.  So much fun!!!!!


Sunday, August 26, 2018

Doodling with a Theme in Mind

This was a lot of fun.  With the doodling, I'm trying to tap into any small trace of creativity I might have hiding in this brain of mine.  Normally it's have to see in order to put onto paper. 

Digital sketching using the technical pen brush tool.


August Challenge - Indirect Spouse Portrait

This month the challenge was set to use the same concept of an indirect self portrait to work one of our spouse.  This is what I came up with for my husband..........


This represents Terry's love for reading (speed reader), fishing, kayaking, boating, and beading.  He is also an Iphone person preferring Apple over Android.  And the brain cell is a joke between us (of his making) due to his forgetting things all the time (he's ALWAYS been that way even as a kid) and having trouble doing more than one thing at the same time.  Or easily getting side-tracked when working on a project.  Then there's the mustache.  Anytime he's in serious thought mode, he strokes his mustache (fingers are there too).

True Doodling

The last few days I've been just putting pen to paper to see what marks I could make and ending results.  True doodling. 

I stumbled across an artist who makes a living from 'just' doodling and amazes me the results this guy ends up with.  I like his method...........no patterns to have to remember but instead just making marks.  YouTube Channel - Peter Draws

Fabriano Venezia sketchbook and Micron 02 pen.  LOVE how this paper takes pen and ink!




This little 3 x 3 inch square took listening to/watching several episodes of a TV show to complete...............ALL those tiny dots with the Micron 02 pen.........lol.   I had nothing in mind...just started stippling and as I worked, the shapes started forming.


Monday, August 20, 2018

Curcuma in Watercolor

This one I decided not to add pen and ink.  A journal recording of three new curcumas we purchased this year.  Our first (four years ago) was light pink.  Love the darker pink or rose color of these.  Also love the lavendar flowers poking out along the little cup like areas.

Strathmore Visual WC Journal


Playing with a Carbon Pencil

I have various pencils but wasn't familiar with a carbon pencil (at least not to my knowledge).  A dear friend from our sketching group was working a sketch using her carbon B pencil and gave it to me to play with.

I'm trying it on various papers..............

Handbook by Global Arts (Mixed Media).  The man and the bear were sprayed with a fixative.  Then learned the carbon pencil is water soluble so I tested it at the bottom of the page.





This quick little sketch was worked on Strathmore Visual WC paper.  The pencil picks up the tooth design of the paper surface as noticeable in the tail feathers.

Before and after taking a damp brush to sketch.....




This one was worked on a piece of Stonehenge 90lb paper.  Also sprayed with fixative.





Wednesday, August 15, 2018

New Toy - Scan N Cut 2 - Making Stencils

For over a year I've been considering a Cricut machine for making stencils.  I tried using a stencil burning tool but to me was too slow and too tedious with less than desirable results.  As I was ready to take the plunge, I wrote a dear friend (very knowledgeable with various crafts and gizmos) telling her what I was hoping to do and asking which machine I should get.  One of the main things I hoped to achieve was to be able to use shapes of some of my own drawings (like bears or people).  She recommended instead of the Cricut, to get the Scan N Cut machine because that way I could scan in my own artwork.

The stencils I want to make are for my journaling.  My goal is to make stencils the size of a journal page with all the shapes repetitively laid to fit on that page..........like squares or circles for making color or ink charts. etc.   This would save me time compared to taking ruler and pen drawing all the lines and shapes needed or using a single stencil shape and having to repeat it over and over until I achieved the number I needed on the page.

Other shapes I want to make, like my bears, are so I can quickly get them sketched on a page in order to play with wet in wet colors and then go back and add details (as shown below).

I spent hours using photoshop elements to create my originals to scan of repeated shapes and a few of my bears and people.  Then yesterday I spent the entire day getting them into the Scan N Cut and finally cutting my stencils.  I think once I have the mechanics down with steps necessary, it won't take as long.  I'm still learning my machine and the menu structure.


How I've used a couple of the stencils so far:

The stencil with squares helped me to work exercises I'm doing with pen and ink.  The left page was worked first using a stencil I had with a single square.  I had to make each square one at a time lining them up to each other.  Took quite a bit of time to get all my squares down on the page.

The page on the right was using my created stencil making it so much easier and quicker so I could get right to my pen stroke practice.



This next shows how I can use shapes from my own sketches.  I located my digital scanned files of my mini bear I've sketched and/or painted in various poses.

Next I created this page group changing to black and white by using the threshold adjustment in Photoshop Elements.   I printed these off and then took a black magic marker to outline each shape to make it easier for the Scan N Cut to determine a nice smooth outline for cutting.



I had to then split these up into two files to fit on the size template material I'd be using as you can see in the photo of stencils above showing the templates I created.

This evening I thought I would try one of my bear template shapes to play with color wet in wet.  This page was worked in the Strathmore Visual WC journal using my Sharpie Pen (F).  The first bear I worked is to the far right.  I worked the softer looking bear second and find I really like the triad combination I chose.


Steps photographed (cell phone) along the way (forgot to photograph the initial pencil outline from stencil....ooops).


Sketching In Town - Simon Seed

Yesterday, three of us met up at Simon Seed in Leesburg to visit and do some sketching.  Another friend and member of our FAST group also came by to say hello but couldn't stay because she had another obligation.

This is what I chose to sketch.  I had never seen one of these before and had to look up information about them.  They look somewhat like a Bird of Paradise and yet not.  In researching this, it IS known as a False Bird of Paradise.  Proper name being Heliconia.  Someone shared with me that they are also called the Parrot Flower.

Morning was hot and humid with an occasion breeze.  After a couple of hours, I was more than ready to return home in the comfort of air conditioning :-)

Strathmore Visual WC journal / Lamy Safari with Lexy Gray Ink


Monday, August 6, 2018

Calusa Hummingbird Bush

Yesterday, Terry went to Lowes and picked up a few plants.  He found Curcuma being sold again with darker pink flowers than the one we bought four years ago (and still going strong).  Plus he found another beauty called an Orange Torch Ginger. 

One of the plants he actually went after was a Firebush and picked one up to place outside the front window where I sit and where we have a pole with three hummingbird feeders hanging.  We're having good luck this year with the hummers. 

I sat outside under a beach umbrella to sketch these two areas of the Firebush.  The umbrella was just below the hummingbird feeders and as I was sitting under neath, I could see the shadow and hear the hum as one was brave enough to come to the feeders while I was there sketching.

Sketched with a Micron 005 in the Fabriano Venezia journal

Writing was done with a Micron 02 pen. 

Sunday, August 5, 2018

Discovery Gardens

This is from the Thursday quick trip after breakfast when Shari and I met up.  It was unfortunate that it decided to rain when we made it over to Discovery Gardens.  I did, however, manage a few photos before having to leave.

Worked in the Fabriano Venezia journal with Sharpie pen.

One of the plants that caught my eye was the Yellow Mussaenda.  Besides the yellow star shaped flowers, this plant had white floral sepals that really stood out against the dark green leaves.

We plan to get our sketching group back out here as we noticed one of the gardeners there was putting in their spiral gardens.  Can't wait to get back to see what they chose to plant there.


Wednesday, August 1, 2018

Japanese Yew

This shrub is growing as a natural fence along the border between us and our neighbor.  Our neighbor calls them Japanese Plum Yews.  He told Terry that all parts of the shrub are poisonous except the actual fruit.  That there is a lady who collects them and makes jam out of the fruit.  However, according to Floridata, even the fruit is mildly toxic and should not be eaten.

The shrub has long flat needle like leaves but soft to the touch.  Not so prickly as other yews/pines can be.

Worked in the Stillman & Birn Beta journal using W&N Indigo and New Gamboge for the greens; DS Cerulean Blue and Sap Green for the seed; and W&N Scarlet Red, Aliz Crimson, and Indigo for the fruit bulb

With this one I decided not to use pen and ink.