Uncategorized – Page 61 – ThreeSixFiveArt

Day 23: a study in cobalt

January 23, 2017Posted in UncategorizedTagged basics, Day 23, gum arabic, miscellaneous, paint, reflection, study, water, watercolor3 Comments

While looking for something for a drawing class I’m taking, I found a tiny little unopened pot of powdered gum arabic. I knew it was used in painting but didn’t know how, so I watched some videos and found that one way it is used is to slow the movement of watercolor. The video shows how to create the impression of a reflection of plants and trees at a river’s edge. The gum arabic used in the video, however is liquid. The powdered pot I have came with a small delicate fountain pen and pot of ink, so I’m fairly certain I’m expected to mix it with the ink (?) but decided to see how it would work in the water reflection test. This probably interests no one but me, sorry.

So, the first sample I tried. I painted a rectangle of water onto the paper… maybe 2×4 inches. I mixed a small amount of the powder into a small amount of water (like… a ‘brushfull’ of the G.A. to six or so brushfulls of water.) Then I dragged a bead of blue paint along the edge to see what would happen. Didn’t do much. Nothing I didn’t expect, anyway. Second sample… another rectangle. This time adding no gum arabic. (my ‘control’ sample… I don’t know why I did it second… my mind doesn’t think scientifically.) Pretty similar results. I could see a difference, but not much.

So I doubled the gum arabic in the solution and tried again, producing an interesting effect, but not really what I’d hoped for. I scribbled some tree shapes in to see how it would look. .

One more try. Tired of playing, I painted my rectangle, and this time dipped my damp brush right into the gum arabic powder, and brushed it over the top edge of my rectangle of water. Then ran the bead of color along the top. Ah! There! Pretty cool, really. Except for that blob of white powder in the center. Sometime soon, I’ll invest in the liquid, and figure out how to really use the powder. Until then, I have this if I need it.

Day 22: three painted images

January 22, 2017Posted in UncategorizedTagged art, bird, dandelion, day 22, flower, iris, miscellaneous, painting, pen & ink, project, robin, salt, watercolor3 Comments

I saved the best for last (in my opinion.) So read all the way through.

I colored in one of Day 21’s drawings. It wasn’t my favorite drawing, and I think it does look better with color. Maybe? I learned today that the pink salt in my grinder doesn’t lift paint the same as our regular table salt. Because of the type of salt? I doubt it. I suspect it was just ground too fine. Hard to remove once dried. I had to scrape it off. But I still like what it did in the background. Also, I tried the masking fluid and really liked it. Dipped my brush in soap first, and had no trouble removing the fluid from the brush afterwards.

I did this dandelion a few days ago and didn’t like it enough to post it. But that’s the wrong attitude!

And the bird was yesterday. I copied a page from my devotional (thanks, Rachael!!) but mine ended up bloodied looking, and his beak, oh poor guy. But even with his faults, I love him. He’s better than I thought I’d do. I gotta learn to do it without COPYING.

PS: I’ve now finished two full art journals!!! (well, sketch books) A huge accomplishment for me. I generally do a few pages, and put it aside. To fill up two (even small) books makes me feel really good.

Day 21: four more ink drawings

January 21, 2017January 21, 2017Posted in UncategorizedTagged daisies, day 21, drawing, flowers, poppies, project, sketch2 Comments

Flowers are nice to sketch… mistakes are easily hidden, and no pencil necessary. Still thinking about painting these.. yes? No? I’m afraid to. I could try out my masking fluid on the daisy petals and stems…Yes. Agreed?

Day 20:pen and ink sketch. With cat.

January 20, 2017January 20, 2017Posted in UncategorizedTagged cats, dandelions, day 20, drawing, pen and ink, project, sketch, threesixfive, threesixfive.art4 Comments

Just an ink sketch of dandelions. But they are one of my favorite things. And Slightly was being a real attention hound. 🙂 Which means I took like 20 pics of one sketch because I thought he was full of cuteness.

Actual drawing, no cat:

(but there is a little cat hair on the left side, I noticed later.)

Another day I think I’ll color it in.

Day 19: inky doodle cowboy

January 19, 2017Posted in UncategorizedTagged art, cowboy, day 19, doodles, drawing, miscellaneous, pen & ink, project2 Comments

Grabbed an idea from a safari search, and added doodles. Don’t even ask. I don’t know. But it’s my art for today. He has a rather Audrey Hepburnesque neck. Actually… now that I look at him… It may be HER! I like him better now.

Day 18: Acrylic painting

January 18, 2017January 18, 2017Posted in UncategorizedTagged acrylic painting, day 18, painting, project, stuff to work on6 Comments

So I thought this was my strength, kinda, as far as painting goes, but so far this is the submission I have enjoyed the least. My daughter asked me to try my hand at this poster, and make my own version. I like the way the painting looks here, but in person I kind of want to burn it. And I definitely like more mountain/less sky like the original.

What I learned:

Wet palette better than dry palette. It DOES make a difference. A big one. At least now I KNOW. (note to self: buy the refill paper already. It’s worth it)
Brush choice matters. And I need more choices.
Cheap acrylics paint differently than expensive acrylics.
I like taped edges.
I need to do a nicer signature. Work on that this year.
Better lighting is really important. I need to make that a priority.
The newest New Girl season (6) isn’t their best. And I probably shouldn’t have my computer on while I’m trying to paint. Unless I’m following a tutorial.

(edited: Season six got better as I got further in)

Day 17:A Slightly Favorite

January 17, 2017January 17, 2017Posted in UncategorizedTagged cats, day 17, doodles, drawing, pen and ink, projectLeave a comment

NOT “slightly a favorite”, you read it correctly. My cat’s name is Slightly, and he loves this chair. It doesn’t seem particularly inviting for a cat, to me, but maybe it’s because he wants to sit with me in my ‘studio’ the hours I spend in there, just being my cat… or more likely it’s because I don’t allow the 95 pound puppy in that room. The one that really believes Slightly loves being in his mouth. I’m babysitting today, so just a quick sketch, Slightly’s chair. Sans Slights himself. Who is perfectly safe, and not inside a mouth at all.

Day 16: watercolor practice (flowers)

January 16, 2017January 16, 2017Posted in UncategorizedTagged art, day 16, flowers, painting, project, watercolorLeave a comment

Comparing my prima watercolors to the winsor & newton, I decided to try a few youtube “easy flower” tutorials, and a few of my own doodles. I love both sets of watercolors, but the prima are brighter and bolder, and easier to pick up color. Flowers will take more practice. 🙂

Day 15: watercolor coloring book page?

January 15, 2017Posted in UncategorizedTagged coloring book, day 15, doodles, pen and ink, prima, project, quotes, watercolorLeave a comment

So I thought today I’d start coming up with ideas for a watercolor coloring book, a real need in the crafters/amateur artists market as far as I can tell. I can only find one, put out by prima, that’s on real watercolor paper. It has a few nice designs, but is mostly short quotes, a few words with a little graphic and lots of space. I am thinking of some designs that might be more fun to paint.

Still, I started simple, with… yeah, a sketch with just words, (by the way LOOK AT THAT! I finally designed a font of my own instead of copying someone’s!) and then thought I’d go ahead and color it in, too, with the paints that arrived yesterday…Prima Watercolor Confections.(the Tropical set) I LOVE them. They are SO bold and beautiful. I’ve never used really high end watercolor paints, so don’t have much to compare with right now, but these are very fun for an average person to play with. (Prima, I love them so much, I should be your spokesperson!!! Just ask!)

I hope to figure out a way to design and publish a watercolor coloring book over the course of the year, so stay tuned with that. If you have suggestions or experience with a project like this PLEASE leave advice. My daughter suggested I need a drawing tablet for this project, so last night I unsuccessfully tried to load the wacom tablet my nephew had left here for me to play with a few years ago. It seems so much simpler to DRAW, on PAPER. Technology frightens me. So many options. But I’m figuring out the blog thing so I can figure out the tablet thing, too.