Breakfast and Quick Outing last Thursday

A friend and I met up Thursday morning for breakfast at a place called Billy's Cafe in Tavares.   Shari tries her best to get me out of the house so we are going to try to meet up once a week now while the sketcher's group is taking a summer break (due to the heat and other activities going on).

After we ate breakfast, we compared two type of water soluble markers brushes.  I brought a few Zig Real Brush markers and she brought Jane Davenport's MM Mermaid marker brushes.  We compared on Stillman & Birn Beta paper.

After we played a bit with the markers, we drove across the street to Discovery Gardens to see what might be blooming now.  We started walking around when it started to rain.  So that visit was short lived and Shari went to get her hair cut and I made my way back home.

Worked in the Fabriano Venezia sketchbook with a Platinum Carbon desk pen with Lexington Gray ink.

Selfie Practice

This is not something I really feel comfortable doing and especially sharing.....sketching myself; however, I thought......what the hay? 

This first is not the most flattering for sure!!!   It's a quick photo I took of myself to send to mom one day she was in the hospital.   I hadn't combed my hair but instead just pulled it back.  The likeness is off but it's close.

This next one is from a photo my husband took of me several years back (almost 10 years ago).  A little better, I think....back when I could actually do something with my hair before it thinned out and went mostly gray and scraggly.  Plus I actually had eyebrows which hardly shows today due to the gray.......lol

Re-visiting Gridding

It took a long time for me to be interested in learning how to use the grid method to capture a subject.  The reason for my lack of interest was the long drawn out process of lightly drawing the grid on my paper and then trying to erase the lines without disturbing the drawing.  I find with digital sketching, I can use the grid method without the grid prep each time and having to erase.  All I have to do is include a pre-made grid layer (1 inch is what I like to work with), work on another layer and then just turn the grid off when done.  A great tool when you want something to be more precise rather than freely executed by eye and hand.

On computer screen I want to sketch on ipad........

Working the sketch......

Process on Ipad using HB and 6B pencil tools......

Ending Results.....

Spontaneous Painting Following Steve Mitchell (Mind of Watercolor)

As one who needs to see something in front of her to sketch or paint, I decided to step outside my comfort zone using some imagination to produce this.   This exercise is following Steve Mitchell - Mind of Watercolor - video tutorial on YouTube.

This was fun but also a bit of a strain on my brain as I tried to work through seeing and producing the shapes with pen and ink.  Reminds me of looking to the sky and visualizing shapes in clouds or shapes seen in wood grain and floor tiles.   I need to do more of this :-) 

With kind permission from Steve Mitchell, I'm sharing my results. 

Worked in the Strathmore Visual WC journal.  I used an American Painter 4400 - 5/8" angular flat to lay down the color (Daniel Smith watercolors), 01 and 05 Micron pens, and a small round for a few areas.

Sketching a Gift

This sketch is of a trinket gifted to us by our neighbor after his trip to Taiwan this year.

Digital 6B pencil

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. 

        

This Morning's Sketch

This one is worked in the Strathmore Visual WC journal.  Used pencil first, painted in watercolor, and then with pen and ink. 

Stippling

This is what I worked on last night as I watched TV.  Worked in the Fabriano Venezia with pen and ink only.  Still practicing with challenging plant structures.

Daisy Practice

Practicing multi-petal flowers....which I find difficult at times as I tend to get lost when doing the line work.

Global Handbook journal

Showing the steps as I work through these flowers.  Pencil first followed by a rolled kneaded eraser.  I roll that across the pencil lines to pick up extra graphite to lighten before taking pen and ink to it.  Then watercolor.

These were worked on Stonehenge 90 lb paper.

Just Playing With Color and Wet in Wet

Using a scrap piece of Strathmore Imperial 500 watercolor paper, I worked these examples comparing watercolor, Zig Real Brush, and Albrecht Durer Watercolor pencils (wet).

This too was worked on Strathmore Imperial 500 watercolor paper.

Worked in the Fabriano Venezia sketchbook.

Strathmore Visual WC journal.

This next page, worked in the Fabriano Venezia journal, is part of a flower pattern on one of my night gowns.

Trying to Regain Motivation to Sketch and Paint

It's been a trying month for family so haven't had much motivation to do a great deal of sketching or painting.  This post basically catches me up with what I've managed to do in the last few days.  I'm trying to push forward even though my heart's still not quite into it yet.

After several weeks and finally getting the inks and fountain pens I wanted to fill with my new inks, I worked this page in the Fabriano Venezia sketchbook.  I figured stippling was a good way to start back into sketching.

 This is of a flycatcher I've seen for the first time outside our living room window.  He and a female showed up the end of May and continue showing up in our palm and our feeders.  Worked in the Fabriano Venezia sketchbook with a .7 mechanical pencil.

Testing out the new inks and making a more formal chart in the Strathmore Visual WC journal.

Color coordinating color of inks to color of pen barrels the best I could.  Ended up getting four Lamy Vistas with the clear bodies for some of he colors plus one Al Astar for the gray ink.

This is finally getting my May Challenge completed that a friend of mine and I set for each other each month.  May was tools of some kind.  Worked in the Stillman & Birn Beta journal.

Rohrer & Klingner Sketch Inks

Playing with Sketch Inks on different paper surfaces.

These two pages are Fabriano Artistico 140 lb Soft Press paper.   The inks are being applied either with Lamy Safari EF fountain pens, a dip pen, or a glass pen.  Large areas of color washes are created by scribbling the ink on white plexiglass and using a waterbrush to pick up ink to paint with.

This next example is using the Stillman & Birn Beta journal using different pens for application testing drying times for each.

These next two pages are worked in the Strathmore Visual WC journal.  After playing with these inks, I've decided to get the remaining three colors in the near future.  I want to load each in their own pen for general sketching when I don't need the ink to dry slow.  If I want to work a line and wash effect, I'll use the glass pen.  But even with that, depending on paper surface, the ink dries almost immediately as happened with the barn.  At least I can create pools of ink color and apply with a waterbrush if nothing else :-)

Testing Watercolor Papers

Recently I ordered sheets of Fabriano Artistico Soft, Strathmore 500, and Stonehenge Aqua to do some experimenting for future handmade journals.

I've learned that Fabriano Artistico Cold Press has changed and my feelings for it have changed as well.  It used to be my #1 favorite.  Now I'm trying to find another paper that comes close to the characteristics I loved about the FA Cold Press of years ago.

Here are examples of my playing.  Way too soon to say a whole lot about the papers and my feelings.

Strathmore 500 Series 140lb:

Fabriano Artistico Soft 140lb (haven't worked too much with this paper yet......more to come)

Trying to Get Back into the Swing of Things

I haven't managed to do a whole lot of sketching since my last post.  We ended up making a trip to West Virginia on May 17th and talk about a rough trip!  Stormy weather topped with accidents made for a very long drawn out trip but we made it safely.

During our time there visiting Mom in the hospital, I only managed a partial sketch.

We made our way back home a few days later and that trip wasn't as bad.  We chose to drive at night and except for a few spots of light rain, the weather was clear.  We're learning driving straight through between Florida and WV is getting more and more difficult to do.

Now that I'm home, I'm trying to get back into the swing of things.

For a few days we are keeping my youngest son's dog, Lola while he and my middle son make the trip to WV for their dad's 65th birthday and to visit their grandmother who's been moved from the hospital to a rehab center in Huntington.

This puppy is so full of life..........a play monster for sure.  Our 9 year old dog is not crazy about  her being around either.  She sees Lola as a bull in a china shop and just wants to be left alone.  Lola on the other hand wants desperately to play.

There's an overpass in Charleston that we traveled each day to and from the hospital.  Each time we drove over this overpass, I was drawn to all the rooftops one sees and took several photos.  This sketch is from one of those photos.

Catching Up with Latest Sketches

I've fallen behind again posting what I've done.  A lot going on between starting the new project mentioned in post prior to this one and a family member in the hospital that's struggling.

This is the monthly sketch I chose to put in my Fabric Journal/Planner for May.  I worked this when our sketch group went out last Saturday and a young man (about 8 or 9 years old) sat next to me watching what I was doing.  His mom was interviewing us about keeping sketch journals and our sketch outings that we plan.

This next one is worked in the Fabriano Venezia sketchbook.  It's one of the flowers growing where we went on Saturday.

Also from Saturday's outing, I worked a quick sketch using the Ipad.

This too is a sketch on the Ipad of my Mom in the hospital.  What a way to spend Mother's Day :-(

Mom was checking her message from me that I sent via Facebook Messenger sending hugs from all of us for Mother's Day.  My brother took the picture this is from to share with me that she was reading what I sent her.