February 2020 Challenge Between Friends - Take for Granted

This month was my turn to set the monthly challenge that Clare (from the UK) and I work together.  I chose the theme "Things We Often Take for Granted."  The challenge is to choose any medium and work three to six items we personally or people in general may take for granted.

At first I thought about using watercolors but chose color pencil since it's my least favorite medium to use.  I find it tedious taking too long to fill in color often leaving me feeling bored and wanting to rush to finish.  I love graphite and you'd think it would affect me the same way but it doesn't.  I don't think using graphite takes nearly as long to work compared to color pencil.  Anyways, being a challenge, I chose to use a medium I avoid using.

Sketching a Friend Sketching

I've been working on this the last couple of days after receiving a picture from a dear friend here where I live and who's part of our sketching group.

He and his wife made a trip to India and while there, shared a few photos..........one of which was him doing what he loves doing..............sketching.

As soon as I saw the photo, it just called out to be sketched.  It was late at night when I started it by sketching with an HB pencil on Stonehenge 90 lb paper.

The next day I had a hard time deciding on what medium I wanted to use........pen and ink with watercolor, color pencil (watercolor pencil dry), pen and ink only, or graphite.  I did the next best thing..............saving the original pencil sketch on paper for watercolor, I scanned the pencil sketch and uploaded to my Ipad.  Using Procreate (sketching App), I can work this in multiple ways emulating the other mediums.

I started out using the pencil tool 6B using color rather than just black, which has a really nice texture looking like color pencil.  I left the top area behind his head for writing a paragraph about Lee being in India.  At first I just wanted to color Lee sketching rather than adding anything more to the background.

After I worked the color version and debating on if I wanted to take it further with color, I worked him again in pen and ink only using the Fine and Technical pen tools.  I decided I didn't want to add any description to this one.  For me this was great practice with hatching and cross hatching.

Once I was finished with the pen and ink sketch, I decided to go back to the color version and finish the rest off in color.

At first I had written out above his head about his trip but didn't care for how it looked so I erased it.  I chose to keep the area behind his head plain with no structural detail and only a short single line description of who this is.  I also darkened his hat since I added color behind him and the hat appeared to get somewhat lost even with the light wall shading.  The wall and ground were done using the charcoal pencil tool.

Eventually, I will work the original pencil sketch using pen and ink plus watercolor giving me several different versions that took care of my indecisiveness about what medium I wanted to use or the look I was hoping for.  :-)

November 2018 Monthly Challenge - Creepy Crawlies

This month's challenge between friends is illustrating creepy crawlies. 

We are to end up with six illustrations.  We can choose six different "models" or if less than six, we have to sketch in different positions to reach our six quota.

Each illustration has to be done in a different medium.

Worked in Stillman & Birn Beta - large sketchbook

Sketches July 10 through July 18

Sketching several of my favorite dust collectors :-D

July 1 through July 9 Sketches

These are several pages I've worked in various journals so far in July.  With June being the way it was for our family with two family members in the hospital, I have fallen out of the habit of posting as I work the pages.  Seems all I'm doing anymore is "catching up".  Hopefully I can get back into the routine I had going for a long while.

The first page of spiders was worked in the Fabriano Venezia journal. 

The little bear is one of many miniatures I have here at home.  It's fairly simple sitting on the page as I may use it for a card idea for the grandkids.  This was worked on Stonehenge 90lb paper added to my Fabric Traveler's journal.

The tree (worked in S&B Beta journal)  is what I sketched the other day when I joined two of my friends checking out a place called Crazy Critters.  Their camera club was meeting out there to take pictures of wildlife and also succulents the establishment offers for sale to the public.  While others were standing and walking around, I went back to where the car was parked and sat under a tree in the shade.  It was quite hot and muggy that day and it was getting to me.  I grabbed my sketchbook and a pen I happened to have on me and sketched until my friends returned to the car.

The page of poppies is practice between watercolor pencils and Derwent Colorsoft pencils.   They were worked in a small Stillman & Birn Beta journal. 

The cranes (also in the S&B Beta journal) was practice and comparison of my trying to sketch with a brush only versus using pencil first.  I much rather use pencil first than jumping straight in sketching with a brush and color.......lol. 

        

MEMTEXTs Color Carbon Leads 2mm / 2B

I'm such a sucker for art supplies buying new things to try out.  Yesterday I received an order of the MEMTEXTs Color Carbon Leads for a 2mm Mechanical Pencil.  These color leads are 2B.

On Amazon it's stated these are best used for Adult Coloring Books, which may very well be the case.  The paper that makes up these coloring books may have a toothier paper surface the lead adheres to better than, let's say, smooth like I tested.  I wouldn't know because I don't have a coloring book to try these out on.

One review that stood out to me was the fact they are light in color value and was not satisfactory to that person.  I don't recall if that individual shared what paper they tried their pencil leads on.

Being the person I am......curious and liking to experiment, I purchased a set.

That person is indeed right, although you can go dark if enough force is applied when laying down color.  That would quickly become cumbersome though, I'm sure, for most people.

This little example was done in a PaperBlank's journal which has a slick/smooth paper surface.
I've included on the example my own thoughts and personal findings.  Personally they are nothing more than colored pencils in a format to fit a mechanical pencil.  Great for making up a small sketch kit without having to take a tin of regular sized color pencils; BUT, definitely too much work would have to go into obtaining darker values for my liking.

I've been on the hunt for tinted "graphite" that behaves like regular graphite one can smudge and blend with a tortillion or paper stump.  These definitely do not fit that bill.

I have a set of Koh-I-Noor Gioconda 5.6mm Artists Drawing leads on order and can't wait to try them out.  They come in a set of six (browns/sepias, black, and white).  Will share my findings once I've received and had a chance to try them out :-)

Jade Plants - Two Different Varieties

It's been a super long time since I attempted to grow Jades........mainly due to the fact I never had decent locations in the house that provided the sunlight needed.   Now that I live in Florida and the house we are in has a Sun or Florida room, I'm giving them a try again. 

I purchased these through the local Lowe's and each is a little different......one with the larger leaves and muted greens and the other has smaller and lighter green leaves.

As noted on the pages, I'm playing with Daniel Smith tube greens.  These pages are side by side in the Stillman & Birn Delta journals.

Catching Up - Post 3

August - Graphite and Polychromo Pencil - As you can see, I was not productive at all with my art.

When unpacking, I came across this pendant that belonged to my Mom when I was just a toddler.

Worked in the Cartridge Paper sketchbook.

Last Pages in the Moleskine Sketchbook

These finish off another journal that had only a few pages left.  Now I'm down to 12 unfinished (that I am aware of). 

Pen and Ink - Gas Can

Tonight's little sketch worked in my small Moleskine Watercolor sketchbook.

First illustration is using the Pilot Prera and Lexy Gray ink only. 

The second is after adding a touch of color using a Blue Gray wc pencil and Bt Sienna Polychromos color pencil. Went back over in just a few areas with a Micron 005.

Pen and Ink shading on the can was first done using the dot method and then went back over the area with very short light hatch and cross hatch marks using the Pilot Prera (with my dry feed nib) for a bit more volume.

Source from Paint my Photo / Lillian Bell / Gas Can Collection. I chose one can (in the box in the photo) as my model.

Graphite Sketches

These were worked in my small Moleskine Watercolor sketchbook but using graphite and blending with a tortillion.

The little bottle of lens cleaner I worked from an actual subject.  The door knocker from one of my photos.

Decided to add a little color using color pencils.....

Trying Out New Color Pencils

Not too long ago I purchased a few Faber Castell Polochromos color pencils to try out.  These are oil based pencils and I really like how they felt applying color to this paper. 

Worked in a small Moleskine Sketchbook.