A Break from Drawing - Something Totally Different

Darlene (sister-in-law) shared with me one of her latest adventures in Diamond Painting.  Because Terry likes to work pictures out of beads, she thought he might be interested in this.  He was intrigued and decided to get a couple of kits. 

After watching his "painting" develop, I thought I would give it a try as well and ordered a kit.  His two kits consists of round beads or diamonds or whatever they are called and mine ended up being the square ones.

This is the first one Terry completed:

And here is the one I just completed tonight.  The thing I really like about the square beads is the fact it reminds me of cross stitch......something I've always loved but didn't have the patience with the tedious change of colored threads.  Sticking these plastic bits to canvas is sooooooo much easier!!!

 

When you can't sleep....Draw....Lani at a Year Old

Last night I was lucky to sleep an hour so rather than tossing and turning, I got up and started drawing.

Lani (Alani) - turned a year old as of May 29th.  One of the sweetest dogs we've ever had and she's a Momma's girl.  

She's considered a Teddy Bear (Shih Tzu and Bichon Frise) with a rare genetic issue in this breed mix and for a small dog....hip dysplasia.  Her hips click as she walks/runs but so far it doesn't seem to bother her in the least.  Our vet said she could go a lifetime as she is now or we may be facing one of two surgeries, which we hope we don't have to put her through.  I guess time will tell.

This to me captures her overall demeanor.......a happy, playful, and loving little bundle of joy!

Still Playing Following Instructor Nathan Brown

So far this is what I've done as I go through course material and play with the various new brushes and techniques covered. 

I'm going back to previous drawing/illustrations I've created and seeing what I can do to give them a little artistic uplift.  The course also covers rules I tend to avoid like the plague like composition (why I prefer illustrating and journaling) but it's good to face them now and then.............I suppose...ha ha.   I did need something different as I was feeling rather stuck.  This offers a new challenge that may keep me busy for awhile practicing and experimenting, which I should do more of.

Course I'm taking:

Introducing the Procreate Watercolor Masterclass by Nathan Brown through DesignCut.

Brush Pack also purchased:

Master Watercolor Brushes Ultimate Edition by Nathan Brown also through DesignCut.

There are videos on Youtube under both the instructor's name and DesignCut for additional information.

New Course and Experimenting

At present, I am taking a new Procreate digital watercolor course and playing with some of what I'm learning from it.  The course is by Nathan Brown through DesignCuts.com.

Taking a previous digital pencil drawing done back in February, I've worked it two different ways. 

Original drawing:

Experiment #1:  Blending part of the bird into the background forcing the eyes to go to the head and adding just a touch of color to part if the bird only.  I'm not real crazy about this one but was fun to play and experiment a bit.

Experiment #2:  Full color to look more like a painting.  The results with this one I really like.  

1st Attempt - Sadie Sketch

This was a dual challenge for me ... Dealing with semi-curly fur AND depicting white fur.  

Sadie is a Maltipoo we picked up mid June.  We got her as a playmate for Lani since Miya is too old to be bothered by younger dogs.  It was a great move on our part as the two pups love one another.

We will put them in the kitchen to romp and play.  In the kitchen sits a large bowl we use when keeping Lola for Travis.  Sadie loves this bowl and will sit in it.  We're not sure if she finds this to be a fortress for brief timeouts from Lani's play or what.  Would love to know what goes on in the minds of animals sometimes.

2B pencil brush tool

Camphor Tree - Leaves and Berries

Earlier this year we had to remove a large Camphor tree we had growing in the backyard.  It provided a lot of shade which helped block the south-western sun from higher temperatures in the sunroom and kitchen.  Unfortunately, the roots of this tree and a Magnolia in the back have caused damage to our septic drain field so we had to have both taken down.  

The one major drawback to the Camphor tree was the leaves that would come down with storms as well as the berries being toxic to humans and pets.  Lani was notorious for mouthing or picking up everything from stones to mulch, which made us nervous every time we took her out back.  Now we have Sadie and like Lani, wants to pick everything up.  

We do miss the shade though as well as lower electric bills.

I worked this illustration first in my sketchbook.  Then worked it on the Ipad without blending and with blending just for the practice and variation.