My eldest granddaughter decided to go in with me working a challenge through the month and we agreed on sketching bees. So far I have worked four different types in four different mediums.
This has not only been fun but very educational as well....even at my age :-)
Last week we picked up a new puppy which is classified as a "Teddy Bear" designer pup. The mix is Bichon Friese and Shih Tzu. They go by other names as well but the breeder we purchased from calls them Zuchons.
We chose to go with the name Alani after bringing her home. It's a name that means precious in Hawaiian.
She was advertised as sweet and loves to cuddle, which turned out exactly right for several days. She is still very sweet but is turning into quite a live-wire.
Using Procreate and the Gouache brush tool, I worked the left side using a single dark brown color. I was after a monochrome drawing but then decided to add black in areas.
"Lani" is more brown than white but I chose to work her the way I did as I like the contrast with lighter face against her dark ears.
After I finished that, I added another layer adding more brown in the face and paws.
My objective was more in rendering a likeness with facial features and shape of head rather than worrying about correct coloring. Plus I was after her soft look as she's a huge soft fur ball.......softer than Miya who is a Yorkipoo.
We are now waiting for a litter of Maltipoos. A Maltipoo was the breed mix we were initially after but fell in love with this puppy. Decided we'd go with two being closer in age hoping they will play together leaving our older dog in peace. Miya is a senior dog who's not interested in the antics of a lively puppy. She loves people.......not other animals even though she was raised with three other dogs and two cats.
UPDATED:
Added yet another layer with a touch more darker brown and a little black.
Info sheet I've created for myself as reference.
Starting July off, I've been on a flower/plant kick starting with this pencil drawing of a new Orchid Terry picked up for me from Lowes.
Stillman and Birn Alpha 9x12 sketchbook using .7 mechanical pencil.
With this one I chose to work on my Ipad. I worked it using black only and the HB pencil brush tool. The color is from using another layer over top the drawing layer and painting on color where I needed it and changing the layer bland mode to "Color."
After working the first one in graphite (posted a day or so ago), I wanted to draw another using Procreate and in color. At first I was dragging my feet picking up the Ipad but my granddaughter, Morgan, shared a digital drawing she had done yesterday and that was all the motivation I needed.
Not only did I work baby Groot, I also helped Morgan with a drawing this morning where she was a little stuck. I was able to use the video feature of Procreate to share with her how I would go about what she wanted to draw and let her take it from there. We spent hours messaging back and forth and that was so much fun!!!
Anyways, after I finished helping Morgan, I went back to work on this drawing. Although still waiting to receive the Air Plants I want to place in these pots, I took out a stem of artificial daisies placing on top for this drawing.
Procreate Brushes Used: BJD's Streamline Inker, his Standard Inker, and Gouache.
For this one, I chose to use the line drawing as part of the ending results.
Was in the mood to sketch some flowers and I chose the sketch what's blooming right outside our kitchen window.
We have several hibiscus, most of which have the orange flowers. Also have a Hawaiian Hibiscus my youngest son gifted me with and also a double peach hibiscus. What I love is the fact these flowers basically bloom all year long.
Fabriano old stock Hot Press watercolor paper with TWSBI 580 (EF) and #41 Brown ink. QoR watercolors.
Lately I have been craving fruit and fortunately, it's the time of the year when some of our favorites are in season.
Rainier Cherries are a favorite and they show up in Publix for only a very limited time. I limit myself to only five a day.
Another favorite is the Golden Kiss Melon. It's the sweetest of the cantaloupe type melons. Then there is the Watermelon and fortunately the season lasts for awhile. Both of these I weigh in at around 50 gr each a day however, I will eat up to 100 gr of watermelon if that is all we have on hand.
Normally I would get Strawberries about now but we haven't had a lot of luck purchasing sweet strawberries or with any real flavor to them. We feel we waste money on them more often than not. This is one fruit I can eat more of when I do get lucky enough to purchase a good batch.
Gala Apples are my go to apple variety and I get them regularly throughout the year. I only eat a quarter of an apple each day with just a little peanut butter for added flavor. They are normally an evening snack for me.
Taking notice of the low amounts I eat, I have to watch my sugar and carb intake so rather than do without, I allow myself small quantities just so I don't feel deprived.
And besides zucchini, kale, cauliflower, and broccoli, which I eat regularly, I've been in the mood for tomatoes. Our favorite being the ones sold still on the vine. Even though technically tomatoes are considered fruit, I view them as vegetables.
I like eating sliced tomato in a wrap or between bread with salt and pepper with a little mayo as it mixes wonderfully with the juice making a wonderful dressing.
Page worked in the handsewn journal made with old stock of Fabriano Hot Press watercolor paper using the TWSBI 580 fountain pen with #41 Brown ink.
For ink and watercolor this month, I chose to do these two pages first showing the initial buds and early fruit on our grapefruit tree.
Worked in handsewn journal using old stock of Fabriano Hot Press 140 watercolor paper, TWSBI 580 with new EF nib and #41 Brown. I decided to use other than Sap Green for my greens...all Daniel Smith pigments.
Note about the TWSBI 580: After working with the 580 and a F nib for a while, I purchased the EF replacement nib and definitely prefer the EF nib. The TWSBIs I have all feed wet compared to other pens and the F nibs were feeding ink that took too long to dry. With one sketch I worked even after 20 minutes smudged when I went to erase the pencil lines.
This digital drawing has taken me quite a bit of time as I played trying to decide what to include and what not to include. I would upload to my computer to analyze on a larger screen and from there would add or remove as I saw fit on my Ipad using Procreate.
It was originally sketched as seen to include a weed stalk with thorns growing to one side (not showing as I removed it). Point of view was looking down with only the ground showing and not the fence that stands behind the tree.
Originally the greens I was using were too much the same (to my eyes) so I made some subtle changes for a little variation but trying to stay close to how they truly look.
After I worked the progress sheet (I can refer back to), I made a couple more subtle changes to include adding a hint of a reddish tone to the ground and lightening the front grapefruit just a bit on the right side as I thought the color saturation was too strong hiding some of the texture I wanted to show.
Size of the fruit at this point are larger than a golf ball but smaller than a baseball. They will continue to grow changing color and be ripe around the end of Fall into Winter. The longer these stay on the tree, the sweeter they will be. Once picked, they do not continue to ripen.
Continuing with the theme of what foods I like and try to incorporate into my day to day eating habits, I worked this page of vegetable doodles.
Many of the dishes I create use cauliflower and sometimes broccoli. I love garlic and adding a touch of jalapeno for a little extra flavor and heat with most foods I eat. Green Beans with onion and bacon is one of my favorites along side of the Kale soup we make. For healthy snacking, I like sliced cucumber and tomato as I can't handle celery and prefer carrots (not shown) either grated in a salad or steamed. Another major vegetable (not included on page) that I eat a lot of is Zucchini either grated or spiralized.
Worked in 5.5x7 Fab Hotpress journal using TWSBI Eco with EF nib and Lexy Ink.
Tonight I was in the mood to start my theme also using graphite. Instead of a mechanical pencil, I chose to grab a regular 4B drawing pencil after a friend of mine shared his pencil sketches with me earlier in the day. One of the things I love more about a regular pencil is being able to use the side of the lead. The two big drawbacks, however, is the smudging using a softer grade pencil and the fact the lead wears down requiring sharpening.
Monthly theme for June is "My diet" sketching/painting a minimum of three to six items that might fit the theme. Not to mistaken "dieting" but instead foods I am eating at this point.....good or bad. I'm TRYING to get back to eating healthier foods as I've been on a very long binge of eating comfort foods causing some health issues I'd rather not be dealing with. It's difficult when one can't sleep and all those extra hours of being awake results in my wanting to eat....normally sweets or high carb foods such as bread and other highly processed foods.
One of the dishes I like to eat that is actually healthy is Kale...minus the bacon we use for flavoring. Although it's actually not too bad with the number of slices used in the size pot of Kale we make. We like making what some might consider a soup.
A very simple recipe using a bunch (as packaged at the store) of Kale, three to four slices of bacon, onion, and jalapeno pepper (just to add a slight kick but not too much heat) sautéed in the pan and then simmered together in about three to four cups of water. I could sit and just drink the broth.
With this latest batch, I decided to add grilled diced chicken giving the "soup" some extra protein and body. Next time we want to try using chicken broth instead of just water for extra flavoring to see which way we like best. We may also add spinach which we've done in the past and really liked.
9 x 12" Alpha sketchbook using Mars Lumograph 4B pencil.
It's been a couple of weeks since I've done any sketching. Instead I have been taking a little break I evidently needed until the desire hit to pick up my sketchbook.
Terry had brought in a premature grapefruit he had to pull as it was putting too much stress on a limb causing fear it might snap from the weight. We were supposed to remove ALL fruit this year allowing the energy to go into the tree itself. He pulled all but about 12. As I was sitting here looking at this particular one, I had the itch to sketch it...showing the size relative to my hand.
Alpha sketchbook with mechanical pencil and .7 lead.
After the big disappointment with the Magnolia, I decided to redirect my interest in other things to sketch.
One of the days I went out to check on the Magnolia, these Ibis were in the back near the tree. I was able to move around a bit without scaring them taking pictures. These guys seldom come to the back yard so it was a surprise to me to see them there.
Terry went to get some ice cream for us and knowing I'm trying to watch my calorie intake, he found these mini cones. Nestles makes mini drumsticks and I have always loved their large cones but Publix was out of them. So he decided to get these from Blue Bunny for me to try.
Last month I worked a watercolor sketch and a digital sketch of my orchid at the bud stage. I wanted to work another digital with it in full bloom and got a bit carried away. This took me hours starting yesterday morning at 10 a.m. and worked it off and on until 4:30 this morning. Then I picked back up on it at around noon and finished this afternoon. Today's work was fine tuning after a few hours of sleep and fresh eyes adding deeper values, blending and smoothing edges.
So far I have seen and monitored two buds that opened and went through the stages up to all petals turning brown. There was another bud ready to open as of last night I was so looking forward to seeing as there were no limbs or bunches of leaves to hinder the flower from opening completely.
When I woke up, I went outside and took a picture of that bud and knew that sometime through the day, it would definitely open. And I was right. UNFORTUNATELY, sometime during the day, something attacked this flower leaving petals on the ground exposing an entire side of the center. Chances are it may have been squirrels as we have an over-abundance of them this year eating up our growing avocados and causing havoc at our bird feeders. Neighbors are also complaining about how bad the squirrels are this year. One neighbor in particular has already trapped over two dozen (just from his yard) relocating them to the National Forest near us.
Last page in journal from Fay. TWSBI 580ALR w/#41 Brown / QoR and DS watercolors.
When we moved into the house we first rented and then purchased, we cut down all but about 6 feet of trunk of a scraggly looking magnolia we didn't think was doing well. Our plan was to place a bird house on top hoping to attract Blue Birds. We never got around to building the bird house and the next thing we knew, we had new growth growing from this trunk to include side branches. Here a few years later we have a nicely shaped magnolia tree.
The type we have is an evergreen variety (Southern Magnolia??) that is showy with dark green leaves on the front or top surface and a gold/bronze color underneath. The leaves are large and waxy.
We noticed the last two years the tree had actually produced a few flowers only because we saw the seed pods. We kept missing the flowers themselves. This year I was determined to see them and starting around mid April, I started locating a few flower buds. At first I could only find three but have since noticed several others...mainly up higher.
At first it was hard to distinguish between leaf buds and flower buds but didn't take long to notice the difference. The flower buds are fuller at the base looking like a bulb compared to the leaf buds.
Over the weekend we saw our first flower open in a cup shape. Come evening I noticed the flower closed up. Next morning I found the flower was wide open spilling stamens that would catch on the cup shaped petals. By evening, the petals were turning a Burnt Sienna like color of brown. My understanding is that the flower life is basically two full days before turning brown and petals finally dropping leaving a cone shape that continues to develop into seed pods.
As of yesterday we had two fully opened flowers - both at the point of petals turning brown. There is one bud that is getting close to opening and have found several others at the point in this first sketch.
First two using sketchbook with Fabriano Hotpress paper. TWSBI 580ALR (F) w/#41 Brown ink. QoR and DS watercolors.
Continuing with the monthly theme of "Items I tend to Collect," I worked this pencil sketch of three gnomes. I have two sets of miniature gnomes done up in Gnome Gardens. One garden has gardening gnomes while the other one has four camping gnomes.
Outside we have a set made of resin that light up automatically at night. And one other I have is a plush gnome I have inside one of our curio cabinets.
Gnomes are special to me because they remind me of the child's TV show of years past called "David the Gnome." I used to sit with Travis watching this show and loved the moral lessons the show centered around like sharing, etc.
Stillman and Birn Alpha sketchbook / Mechanical pencil .7
For my minimum of one digital for the month, I decided to play with different styles using my miniature dog and bear as models.
Using a digital pencil sketch of Opal and Jake, I loaded into a separate Procreate file and worked as follows:
The first is trying to follow how BeeJayDel works his cartoon characters. He has his ink line sketch and then creates a layer for a flat base color where he drags and drops a color. Then he works a layer for shadows and a layer for highlights. His shadows and highlights are hard-edged. One of the problems I find myself facing is where and how to place these hard-edged shadows. He's big in shadows and conservative with his highlights.
The second is using the exact same colors but softening those hard edges of both shadows and highlights.
The third version is painting the colors in (using gouache brush tool) rather than dragging and dropping a flat base color. That way the illustration has texture simply by the brush strokes saving a step and additional layer using a texture brush over top of a flat base color. I also changed the colors used in Jake (dog).
I prefer the soft edges in shadows/highlights so the middle is my favorite of the first two. Overall, however, I prefer to paint my colors in instead of using a flat base color.
For my goal to work at least one straight pen and ink sketch for the month, I started sketching these simple flowers. I started in one of the hand-sewn books I made year before last using up old stock of Fabriano Hotpress paper. I've not had issues before but I sure did with this page.
Using my TWSBI 580ALR with fine nib, I felt this drag like I would imagine trying to sketch on waxed paper. The ink went down very light almost like it had been watered down. Going back over those lines, the paper then grabbed the ink making areas super dark.
Not real happy with the results but then I really didn't feel like putting much more effort into this due to the way my pens were behaving on this particular page. The following two pages didn't give me trouble so I'm keeping my fingers crossed I won't run into this again with the remaining pages in my sketchbook.
No idea what prompted me to look into family crests but I spent awhile looking at those, wedding crests, and mono crests. I was intrigued by those not traditional with shield and armor and started thinking about what I could come up with that fits me. And rather than designing all new content, I decided to go through my previous sketches and paintings and use some of my favorites.
This would be classified probably as mixed media digital since I used both digital and watercolor sketches to make this up and designed it in photoshop elements.
This represents my favorite bird which is the hummingbird. It includes my favorite colors which are greens and golds. Green represents nature and life and golds represent warmth and comfort. This "crest" represents my love for art, fishing, gardening, and includes my favorite sketching model, Opal. And the quote is how I live.
