Tag: art journal

Thirty Days of Everyday Life, Day 10: Work and Watercolors

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Today I started prepping supplies for Monday’s Pre Cow Day Story time craft, cow headbands the kids can wear for Chick-fil-A’s Cow Appreciation Day event Tuesday. (Free food!)

Pardon my strange looking kid. That’s what I get for quick sketching without a pencil. The reference photo was pretty adorable…

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I also received some more paints in the mail from Marlette Art on Etsy… Hunter Marlette makes lovely paints, bold and easy to rewet. (look how dark that dioxazine violet is?!!) I talked about these paints a week or two ago… if you like shimmery colors, I highly recommend his Mica Set,  if you can get your hands on it. They are very sparkly, much more than my others, even my finetec set. Large bits of mica in them, it seems to me. I’m having a lot of fun with them!

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Hunter is in North Carolina and makes his own paints. You have to catch them as they are available, but I don’t think you will regret the purchase. In fact, he offers quin gold made from the original pigment quinacridone gold, not available any more for purchase, and THE most gorgeous sap green I’ve seen, made with that pigment as well. His quin gold is an ‘earthier’ version of quin gold when compared to Daniel Smith’s, which is a brighter yellow, but I like it very much. I don’t know if you can really see the colors here, but I’ll try to show you what I mean.

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I have several brands of handmade watercolor paints I love, and occasionally recommend here, but I think these are my favorite. ( SO FAR. I do love them ALL, and have favorite colors in each which I can’t find elsewhere.)

Any day I open my mailbox and find a parcel of paint inside is a good day, as far as I’m concerned.

Thirty Days of Everyday Life, Day 9: the Fourth of July!

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I miss the way we celebrated July Fourth 20 years ago. But things have to change. In twenty years, I’ll miss the way we celebrate now, I guess!

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A lovely day, really. 🙂

Thirty Days of Everyday Life: Day 8

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I was lucky enough to accompany a friend to her citizenship test and interview in Norfolk. Then we relaxed at the restaurant (and ate!), and later spent some time sketching at MacArthur Center. MacArthur has brought in some giant games: chess, checkers, connect 4, a litebrite-like thing… all the kids seemed drawn to them. (Can’t blame them, I was too!) But I focused on the mermaid again, and she does seem improved, except perhaps a slightly shortened torso causing one arm to be shorter. Or maybe just a slightly too long arm? Either way, the GoDiva mermaid is one of my favorites in Norfolk, a city full of mermaids.

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Thirty Days of Everyday Life: Day 7 (grocery shopping!)

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Grocery shopping at Kroger has turned into a video game. It’s pretty cool. I hope all grocery stores try this. It saves loading the cart, unloading onto the belt, loading into bags (generally yucky plastic bags), loading into the car. At least, saves PART of it. Just load items into reusable bags in the cart after scanning, pay at the kiosk (without unloading. It’s already scanned), and load into the car. Ok, mostly it’s just fun.

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Thirty Days of Everyday Life: Day 6 (watercolor practice)

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No, I did not go up in three beautiful hot air balloons. Not in my REAL life, anyway. I watched several youtube videos. The Mind of Watercolor  explained how to create simple clouds, just painting a wet wash and lifting with a crumpled paper towel, smoothing a bit with a clean wet round brush:

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I am already comfortable with this technique, but to be honest am still learning which pigments stain and which lift (lifting being crucial to the success of this technique) so tried it with both A. Gallo’s Lapis Lazuli and Daniel Smith’s Cerulean. (both non staining, very liftable) The Lapis Lazuli is basically ultramarine, but a very light, fragile color. Cerulean is also light, although can be laid down a little heavier than the Lapis. They both worked fine, just slightly different colors. Then I watched several videos by CreationsCeecee  … Her art is fun and her videos inspire me to play.

I tried a fun prickly flower, on the left, using colored pencil and watercolor. Colored pencils can provide a very nice accent:

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and balloons on the right, with watercolor and ink:

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I love artists showing me HOW to do what they do, and not minding if I copy to learn. Go try some!

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I wasn’t trying to make the full page a picture, but was working in 4 quadrants. However, the right side kinda turned into one cohesive sketch, so I should have done that on the left as well!

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Thirty Days of Everyday Life: Day 5, Blueberry pancakes

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Sundays rock. The scent of maple syrup and bacon spreading through the house is just The Best AM gift. It lured me out of the studio and began a day of both work and relaxation. We spent the day at a team meeting, dinner with some of our kids, then home, and I forgot to journal until just before bed! So, a quick pancake sketch.

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Thirty Days of Everyday life: Day 4, sketching at MacArthur Center

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I met with the Norfolk Urban Sketching group for the first time Saturday at MacArthur Center in downtown Norfolk. We were asked to try to tell a story with our page… I found the sculpture of the herons, being both ‘art’ and ‘nature’, a sharp contrast with the merchants and shoppers surrounding it, capitalism at its height. Plus, I really wanted a pretzel dog.

Indoor sketching is very difficult for me. So many lines, and all of them in 3D! When sketching outside, for example drawing the building across the street, my mind quickly converts the scene to 2D. When I am in the center of all of these lines and vanishing points I find it confusing.

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Everyone in attendance was quite skilled. It was a nice couple of quiet hours, and I may have learned a thing or two as well. (Plus, the pretzel dog…)

Thirty Days of Everyday Life (Day 1)

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The challenge: to fill 30 days of art journal. (one full book)

Using this watercolor journal:

(I have spoiled myself recently using heavy 100% cotton paper. I gotta admit it does make a huge difference. The paper in this journal is fine for the way I sketch, and the journal is quality… but I’m finding I have to readjust the way I’m painting because the paint dries so quickly, and I’ve gotten used to the cotton paper, which stays wet and can take so much water.) If you haven’t tried cotton paper… do.

The title page:

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*That interesting light blue background is lapis lazuli from A. Gallo in Italy. A really soft gorgeous color. She sells out almost immediately when she posts colors, but I love all of them. If you can find some available I do recommend you grab them.

PS Those are lightning bugs (fireflies!) and pussy willows in the “f” and “e”… you just can’t really tell.

What fun sketches will my boring life inspire over the next month???

The Vet… And urban sketching set up.

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To be honest, Emmett and Clara like going here. They just don’t like getting weighed (!?)

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Travel palette I used:

(although I’ve created one I like even more since this sketch, which I will show you soon)

My colors here are all daniel smith: lemon yellow, perylene red, ultramarine (which I rarely use), cerulean blue chromium, phthalo turquoise, green apatite genuine, and lunar red rock. I really enjoy playing with phthalo turquoise and lunar red rock together! And the case is a pill box I found on ebay for about a dollar, using little empty makeup pans with magnets beneath them, for mixing areas. (Wait till you see my next palette, though! Stay tuned!)

I clipped the journal to a dollar tree clipboard for sketching and painting, and attached a heavy magnetic clip to the board, which held the paint palette and a water cup (also with magnets)

and I used this little bag, made for a mini iPad and its cords etc, to carry everything.

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It is $15 right now on Amazon. I love it. I got the next size up, too, which was on sale that day for $9!! I love the color, it holds what I need, and I attached a shoulder strap from another bag to it (it comes with a wrist strap) If it held my clip board too it would be PERFECT. I’m working on that. It has two separate zippered compartments… the front has elastic and pockets, and one larger zippered mesh area. PERFECT for holding my water brushes, pen, ruler, clips, and even a thin palette. The back has a pocket that exactly holds my moleskin or pentalic journal, then two mesh pouches in which I put my two large magnets. Here I show it with the palette and my terry wristband (I use this like a paper towel) but the day I was out painting I actually had those in the front zippered mesh section,  and this bottom pouch held my water cup.

This is NOT a great bag if you want to take a ton of stuff, but it is perfect if you need pen or pencil, eraser, sharpener, travel or water brush, clips, phone or charger, and medium sized journal. The shoulder strap I added from my own collection really makes it convenient.

(Disclosure: I’ve included an Amazon Affiliate link to the bag… if you purchase through the link, it supports this blog, but costs you the same amount.  However always shop around for deals. I generally find my best prices on Amazon and buy many of my supplies through them, however their prices can fluctuate daily.)

(I’m going to add one more link because it is (Currently!) such a good price…this set of 6 Daniel Smith Primatek paints… The primates are made out of minerals ground into paint, and most of those I’ve tried I really love. This set is $23.98 right now… Even at $30+ to me it would be a good deal for 6 -5ml Primatek tubes! It contains Mayan Blue Genuine, Rhodonite Genuine, Hematite Genuine, Jadeite Genuine, Piemontite Genuine, and Amethyst Genuine (which has the sweetest little glittery sparkle to it!) I haven’t tried some of these, but just added Piemontite and Rhodonite to my newest travel palette, I love them so. Good luck, if you try them! Let us know what you think!)

So… what suggestions do you have for an urban sketching kit?

Happy St Patrick’s Day! 3/17/19

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A. Gallo and Daniel Smith watercolor, moleskin watercolor journal… sketch idea from this“Drawing Wiff Waffles” Youtube Video… well, I borrowed the basic figure pose from the idea she discarded…

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You can’t see it here, but the purple is DS Amethyst Genuine, and has actual amethyst sparkles in it. Pretty! Maybe I’ll add a streak or two of sparkly copper to her hair as well. I think she’s dancing.