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Day 13: miscellaneous

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I actually thought I’d do a quick nothing doodle today because I was going out… but I ended up trying a new brush pen and spent more time than I’d imagined. I like it more than the kuretake marker I’ve tried the past couple of days. It’s a thin plastic tube full of ink, with a brush tip… like if a soft bodied fountain pen and a paint brush had a baby. It’s probably for Japanese writing, actually. (the blue pen in the photo) Found out the hard way the ink stays wet a LONG time and still smears even after it is dry if you erase around it. So… I worked the smears into the design and liked the end result MORE than without the smears! Tried three other new pens as well, micron and comic… Fun doodles! More time than I meant to invest, and certainly doesn’t look like it. But day 13 is finished.

 

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Day 12: more watercolor (practice!

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New prima paints! Online artists seem biased against these paints because they are inexpensive (KIND OF… not to me) and are less translucent, and don’t have pigment info included, but I’m more of a crafter, and I really had fun with them. I tend to like acrylic painting better than watercolor, so maybe more opaque watercolors appeal to me. Today I worked on a practice piece… a mini version of something my daughter asked for. Easier than anticipated. But I left off a few necessary details, and did make some mistakes. A good learning project.

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Day 11: watercolor

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If you follow my other blog, all the crazy world, you know I got some mail today!! I’ve been feeling grumpy with this little fever and cough, not at all like creating, but decided to just look at the paint colors. I got them wet, put the brush to the paper a bit, and  then thought maybe just a quick simple beginners youtube tutorial. Four hours and 1/2 a snickers bar later… plus one hot chocolate with a touch of vodka FOR MY COUGH, because we are out of peppermint schnapps… yeah. That’s the way this ‘artist’ rolls. Here’s what I learned:

 

  • Plastic wrap, spray bottles, tissues, cotton balls, salt, knives, water itself… all kinds of things work in an interesting manner with watercolors.
  • don’t try to spend time painting with a large bored puppy in the house (fatality: one tv remote finder. NOT the remote, just the thing I had attached to it to find it when he has it hidden. One crunch, dead)
  • I like this set of watercolors, winsor newton cotman, and I think I got a fair price
  • I need an orangier red. Less pink. (but I like this pink one, too)
  • I can’t keep them all clean and pretty like I’d hoped. They are already messy
  • watercolor is hard to learn
  • but fun
  • not crazy about hot pressed watercolor paper, so far
  • and finally, if you don’t feel like doing something, just start, and it gets better.

I’m embarrassed to show you the tutorial (but here it is)I used to make my painting, because his is much better than mine, but mine’s not awful. I’m learning! And if you are just starting out, this is a nice one to follow. Dry a bit between layers.

Day 10: (sick) quick lettering

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I still have that nagging little cold, and I don’t feel like being creative, but I did SOMETHING. And I even learned something. (I learned that I don’t love writing with the kuretake brush marker, although I liked drawing the angel with it two days ago. I do love the idea of it, so I’ll keep trying it and other brands of brush markers. I also learned don’t think so much about the letter while writing. Just write) Usually I’d try both of these again until I liked them, but I’m too tired today. And maybe less if better anyway.

Artists and crafters… what do you do about pen smears? Ideas for avoiding them? Brands that dry quickest? Definitely plaguing me. Weigh in with opinions, PLEASE. And thank you all for helping me get started with my 2017 project! New watercolor paints coming in a few days, just got slowed down by the blizzard, so I’m really looking forward to that!

I’m hoping to add a drawing/drafting table to my studio soon. I don’t NEED one, but I do WANT one. Let me know if you see a fabulous deal somewhere!!

Day 9: Sick Day Doodle

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Just slightly sick… nothing bad, but I took it easy with a simple little doodle… and watched movies and worked on cleaning up my studio full of after-Christmas messes. (and turned my little space heater up, and drank hot cocoa, and puppy even behaved himself… actually a very nice day!)

 

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Day 8: sketching?

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Today I decided to try the line drawings again. It’s the end of the Christmas season (Friday was Twelfth Night), so all the decorations must come down. I tried some of my Willow Tree nativity scene, one of my very favorite things. (I hate putting it away!) The creator has already done all of the art, I just have to copy it in pen. The first couple things I sketched in pencil first, thinking I could capture the shape better, but truthfully that made it more difficult and stilted. I think maybe looking less perfect but more instinctual might be better in some cases. Even if it isn’t quite “right.” That’s art, right??
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I got a little better as I practiced, and the last one is my favorite. Less is more. A lesson I’m seeing over and over, everywhere. I used a different pen as well, an inexpensive Japanese  kuretake brush pen. The others were Staedtler pigment liners. Great pens. But the brush pen brought a nice organic feel.

 

 

 

I tried the angel several times. (the truly ugly ones aren’t even here, even though I probably should post them all.) D0ing the pencil sketch helped me see her lines more clearly I think, but I really only liked my last attempt, although I like the line of the skirt on the one before that.

 

Day 6: Single Line Drawings

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Today I didn’t have time or inclination to get supplies out, so I decided to try some Single Line Drawings. As you can see from the featured image, some of them used more than a single line.

I started out by copying some I googled… some are famous pieces are some are things people have posted. Because I was trying to figure it out, and copy others, I really wasn’t as free with my pen as I should have been.

Turns out, the female form really is kind of fun to draw. I just copied these from actual “art”.

The only ones I did myself are the cats and the jingle bells. Still, I was happy with my results, and am going to try this again. I’m looking forward to it, actually!

 

What I learned:

  • move quickly for better results
  • see the shapes and lines, not the item
  • copying line placement doesn’t really work for this
  • line drawings aren’t scary at all. Even famous ones look like scribbles, and they are beautiful.

Day 5: lettersets, kind of

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A little watercolor, some tiny notecards from Target’s dollar bin, and poof! Adorable mini lettersets. I plan to use these painted cards for a swap I’m mailing out tomorrow.

I got the idea for the design here, although I didn’t actually use the same method she used, instead adapting her idea to the supplies I wanted to use.

I kept the masking pieces, which are about 1 1/2″x 2″…. must be something they’ll be good for?

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(I often keep interesting-things-which-should-be-trash, and I feel good about repurposing them. But I tend to forget about them once they are out of sight, so I end up with a studio full of actual trash. I’m trying to break this habit… I’ll really need to find a project quickly for these, or decide to ditch them!

 

I wish I had worked more carefully with my lettering, but they are cute. I’m happy.

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Here’s the finished product… happy mail off to Costa Rica! (it’s cheaper to send two letter sized envelopes than sending one fatter one. Maria will be receiving the notecards, the cherry tree from Day 3, and some Christmas ornaments I should have photographed before I packaged, which I made from the weathered pages of an 1806 Bible) And look- I already found a use for some of the extra pieces, covering the address so InternetWorld can’t see it!

 

Day 4: Inchies

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Today’s submission: “Inchies”. This miniature tradable art form gets its name from… have you guessed? The canvas size. Yep, those are 1 inch by 1 inch teensy pieces of “art”, for a swap I’m in. Three inchies, any medium, any subject. Frequently inchies, I think, like ATCs, have a combination of art media… painting, drawing, collage, 3-D elements. I often add charms, or ribbon, scraps of a printed phrase from a book, fortune cookie fortunes to my ATCs (Artist Trading Cards, 2 1/2″x 3 1/2″)… really anything. But today I’m being an acrylic purist. My inchies are already a little busy for their size… I think adding any embellishment may overwhelm them.

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Acrylic paint on watercolor paper, each 1″x 1″. (Some of my squares don’t look actually square. A problem I’ve only noticed now, as I look at these photos.)

I followed this tutorial for the tiny trees (more or less). Very fun to paint. I’ll try a larger version sometime.

And this, because my swap partner loves cats:

I didn’t create the kitties on my own either. I got the idea here. I’m keeping a set of three trees and the lone kitty on the right.

What I learned:

-painting doesn’t have to be scary.

-inchies are an incredibly small work space.

-small spaces are (potentially) less forgiving.

-my current paper trimmer doesn’t cut a one inch square neatly. Two inches is its minimum. Hand cut future inchies, or purchase a better-for-inchies trimmer.

-simple curvy lines can make a cat.

-one inch paintings can take longer than you’d guess.

What I’m hoping:

-before the year is out, I’ll be able to paint things without following a tutorial and without stealing (ahem, borrowing) someone else’s idea.

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