Tag: Thirty Days of Everyday Life

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

Posted in UncategorizedTagged , , , , , , Leave a comment

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…

IMG_0987

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!

IMG_0989

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.

IMG_0988

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!

Posted in UncategorizedTagged , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

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!

IMG_0977

A lovely day, really. 🙂

Thirty Days of Everyday Life: Day 8

Posted in UncategorizedTagged , , , , , 1 Comment

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.

IMG_0931

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

Posted in UncategorizedTagged , , , , , Leave a comment

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.

IMG_0855

IMG_0856

IMG_0854

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

Posted in UncategorizedTagged , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

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:

IMG_0825

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:

IMG_0826

and balloons on the right, with watercolor and ink:

IMG_0827

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

IMG_0823

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!

IMG_0824

Thirty Days of Everyday Life: Day 5, Blueberry pancakes

Posted in UncategorizedTagged , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

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.

IMG_0816

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

Posted in UncategorizedTagged , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

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.

IMG_0791

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 3

Posted in UncategorizedTagged , , , , , Leave a comment

A stool from the dining room at work. Proportionally challenged. No… perspectively challenged. Maybe both, I guess, but that’s what I get for sketching in ink. (Either way, I filled the time which I should have spent interviewing someone with a journal sketch, because they did not show up) In real life, the stool is nice and straight.

IMG_0751

Salt shaker, also from work. Dinner (salmon, green beans, salad) made by nice husband! Neighbor’s dog, Barkley.

IMG_0752

IMG_0754

My life is pretty boring. But honestly, I enjoy drawing the mundane, so I suppose it suits me rather well!

Thirty Days of Everyday Life (Day 2) MarletteArt on Etsy

Posted in UncategorizedTagged , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Received paint in the mail today… woohoo!!

IMG_0739

Check out the etsy store here, MarletteArt The owner, Hunter Marlette is “taking a short break” according to the etsy site, but this paint will be worth the wait, I think. The colors rewet immediately, and are lovely. The pans are filled to the brim, and have nice strong magnets attached (the neodyne type I use, not those wimpy self adhesive strips) He adds the store name, color name, and pigment information to the pans, and packages them nicely. The paints are milled with honey, which gives them a lovely texture, but they aren’t as sticky as M Grahams.

The paint comes nicely wrapped and labelled.

IMG_0735

One thing that attracted me was the quinacridone gold he offers, which is made from the original pigment, PO49, no longer available. (I think he could get more money for this paint, and told him so. 🙂 The sap green he makes from this color is GORGEOUS Oh-My-Gosh-I-love-it-gorgeous. Gorgeous. Yeah. Probably my favorite sap green ever. (and I feel like I’ve tried them all??)

IMG_0737

His metallics are VERY metallic. Very shimmery and pretty. And the sample dots he included are generous enough to really see if you like using the color.

I really enjoyed the fun envie it was all shipped in as well, so included that in my journal 🙂

IMG_0738

Hunter has the same initials I have and I remember off and on for years trying to come up with a fun logo with my initials, HM. Well, he’s done it, and puts it on his packaging. I’m a little envious of that logo.

IMG_0742

IMG_0741