Day 234 – Cross Hatching

February 24, 2015Leave a comment

And other fun ways to draw!!

I have an extensive button collection. How many cans of them do I have? You don’t want to know. This is a few of them.

It took three or four hours to draw and cross hatch them all. I was really pleased I didn’t have any ink smears like I usually do. For once I worked left to right. No pencil was used drawing the buttons. I did pencil I the letters so I could get them spaced out correctly.

All that clean background paper demanded zero messes on the letters. I frequently get into trouble when I start scribbling all over the drawings like I am prone to do. Then I collage over the words. If you see a sketch collaged you can just about be sure theres a mess under the paper.

Done with my Noodler Creaper Ahab on Strathmore 500 mixed Media journal paper.

A Sbs assignment was to practice continuous writing. I think I did that.

A quote from a funny friend on a blank page in my Handprint journal with a pink Varsity Pilot pen. This is the third attempt.

The others follow. I learned that paper and pen does matter when writing these quotes. The handprint journal did not bleed like the Strathmore did when using a fountain pen.

Varsity pilot pens again on another blank page in the old handprint journal. There were two blank pages because I really hate using watercolor in this journal though it is supposed to be watercolor paper.

Another Noodler on the Strathmore 500. It seemed to catch on the paper. This looked to be an easy exercise but it wasn’t. Just trying to space the writing out wasn’t easy.

This is a great pen I got last week from Goulet so I really think half the problem was the Strathmore 500. Not smooth enough for calligraphy. The rest was this was harder than it looks!! Spacing the words out is hard when you have been programmed for years to quit writing after each word.

The fly page of a Moleskine watercolor journal. The paper was terrible to write on. But don’t you love the quote!? This is not done on the regular Wc paper in the journal but the back of the page that you wrote your name on.

Kilimanjaro paper with a Varsity Pilot Pen. Not bad. The pen liked the paper and didn’t stick to it like some of the others.

I guess you could conclude that the paper has a lot to do with how easy it is to do calligraphy. If your assignment didn’t turn out well try another paper.

Thanks for looking!!

Day 233 – Madly Sketching

February 23, 2015February 23, 20152 Comments

Nothing unusual about that is there?

Both of these are on Strathmore 500 Mixed Media and done with my beloved Noodler Creaper Ahab.

grantchesterbw

I drew this last nite while I was watching Grantchester on PBS Mystery. Mystery is my favorite show on PBS. I just love Grantchester, and of course it doesn’t hurt that the hero James Norton is such a cutie.I wasnt wild about him in Murder at Pemberly….too foppish for me. BUT in Grantchester he plays a wounded but sweet guy.I looked at his face and though as square as his face is its NOT hard to draw and I was right. His partner Robson aka Geordie was NOT as easy to draw though I think it looks like him. His face is too wide. I did draw him off the tv.

His side kick Robson Green is not bad either. He’s been a favorite of mine since his show Wired in the Blood where he’s a profiler. Wired in the Blood is A VERY creepy show set in Scotland. Even my sons love it!

I don’t seem to be able to leave them in black and white. I finally threw in the towel and colored it with my Caran d’ache watersoluble crayons. Was nice curled up on the sofa coloring and them painting with the water brushes.

Some of the lettering in this version was done with the Kuretake- the heavier lettering. I have five of Kuretakes and rarely use them. I was so surprised because I kept adding words and the Kuretakes dried INSTANTLY. I painted over the lettering at the top immediately after writing it…usually a guaranteed bleed with my Pentel Brush Marker especially when its heavy like the word Grantchester.

I think it got a little cluttered…I kept adding words to it as I thought more about the characters…I could have done a better job organizing it!!

My faithful companion Zoe snuggling on the sofa while Mom aka me messes with the computer. I think I am drawing a dog everyday lately. Well most days!! Zoe is helpful laying next to me on the sofa.!! This one is still in black and white. I had just watched Andrea Joseph’s video in SBS…maybe where I got the idea for all the crosshatching?? Or maybe its because I drew her with the brush marker yesterday. I wanted to see what the Noodler would do with her fur…MUCH easier to draw and get good results. I dont know why people complain about their Creapers. I LOVE mine…had it four months without a problem.

Thanks for looking!!

Day 232 Sunday Experiments

February 23, 2015February 23, 20152 Comments

A grey rainy Sunday makes for a good day to draw the birds at the feeder. Two double page spreads and two single pages later I think I am done. One page of Zoe too.

I was trying to get the hang of drawing with the Pentel brush pen making those fine lines Roz Stendahl gets with hers. Not easy. I drew two pages in the Strathmore 500 Mixed Media journal then changed to the Stillman and Birn Zeta hoping it’s smooth paper would make drawing with the pen easier.

I even changed to a Kuretake brush pen by the page labeled p. 3 to see if it made it easier to draw fine lines. Kuretake pens, another Japanese pen, seemed to dry much quicker than my beloved Pentel brush pen which never fails to run when I hit it with water when I paint. The Kuretake did NOT run even if I got water on it right after drawing with it…VERY quick drying.

FYI I bought my Kuretakes at Binders in Atlanta -the only Atlanta art store I have ever seen them in. The Pentel Brish Pen which is supposed to be permant is at all three Atlanta art stores but cheapest at Sam Flaxs in Midtown.

Not being able to leave the drawings alone I colored all the pages in the Stillman and Birn Zeta but not the Strathmore 500 Mixed Media journal. All the pages were colored with Caran D’Ache watersoluble crayons which are such fun. Drawings were done with ink only…no pencil used.

These are the birds done with the Pentel pen on Strathmore 500. It did seem to do a great job on the sketches of Zoe down in the right corner.

First page in the Stillman and Birn Zeta still with Pentel brush pen.

Some of this was done with the Kuretake pen. The chickadee with the smear is the Pentel brush pen …even an hour later it was still NOT dry.

The doves stuck around for quite a while today. Like the gobbling finches and squirrels I am sure they were hungry. I have been going thru the bird seed this week – 10 lb so far.

Drawing Zoe was so much fun with the brush pens that I decided to draw a bigger pic of her. I used both pens on her fur. I think it was easier to make the fine lines with the Kuretake. Whichever you use it really takes a very light touch to get a fine line. I DONT have a light touch whether it’s pen or pencil. MORE practice required!!

Not as full as the other pages. I needed a nap after I did this one. It was beginning to pour and only the bravest animals were at the feeders by then.

Did the pen make a difference?? THe Kuretake was definitely faster drying and much more waterproof than the Pentel. I hate to tell you how many times I have had the Pentel bleed HOURS after I drew with it. Try the Kuretake pen, a disposable pen, if your Pentel brushes are giving you trouble. Maybe the bristles are a little stiffer?! As one of my first graders Dresean once told me That’s all I got Miz Hunt!!

Did the papers make a difference?? I really couldn’t tell that it was easier to draw with the brush markers on the S&B or the Strathmore 500. Maybe I need that Japanese journal Roz raves about on Roz all wound up?! HMMMM.

Thanks for looking!

Day 230 – Finishing Up

February 21, 2015Leave a comment

Day 228 – A Bit of Fun

February 18, 2015February 18, 20154 Comments

Squirrels are the bane of bird feeders. Pesky things. Ours are so bold. They leap and attack it or they climb upside down on the chain to gorge at the suspended feeder. They even use the screens on the nearby porch as a get away.

One of them was posing on the deck outside the window. I caught him actually behaving. Later on when one of them was hanging off the feeder upside down I decided to turn it into a Wanted poster after all they are thieves aren’t they?! So naughty.

He was drawn with Tombow Markers. I have four or five of them and used the range of greys to shade and sculpt him. Then I wet him down to let the colors mix on the Strathmore 500 mixed Media Paper. I don’t know why I use the Tombows because according to Roz Stendahl they are not archival. The colors are fugitive. So sad because they are such fun to use and give such a neat effects when wet.

Since I don’t have a brown Tombow I used caran d’ache watercolor crayons for the browns and yellows.

I also used a big white Pitt matker to make him look more fluffy especially on his tail. Love that pen!!!

I used a scrap of old yellow ledger paper because I didn’t like the original layout. If you can’t fix it glue over it and try again. And then it becomes mixed media, right?!

Stay warm. Thanks for looking.

Day 225 – A Bit of this and that!!

February 15, 2015Leave a comment

Decided I would post some of the sketches that for one reason or another I never quite got around to posting. These were done at Whiole Foods in the last few weeks. I really liked the guys green shirt!!

A spirited one sided conversation. I think she was interviewing but she did all the talking. I thought you let the interviewee talk occasionally?!

This guy fascinated me. Everything about him was very square. His shoulders his head his forehead. And mile long fingers. Read a running magazine as he ravenously ate pizza. Drove a car with DeKalb Co tags. No wanted to ask him if he knew my kids but I restrained myself. You learn a lot about people when you sit and sketch them aka observe them.

Thanks for looking.

Day 222 – Now that’s a NumBeR I never thought

February 13, 2015February 13, 20152 Comments

I would get too. Why is 222 days of consecutive blogging more impressive than 221?!

I was in pursuit of more birds today. Looking for some geese but couldn’t find any near the edge of water. All were swimming out in the middle of any pond. Too far to see. Then I remembered the seagulls we drove through yesterday. I stopped and sure enough they were still in their parking lot.
I started drawing. They tried to stay away. I remembered I had a couple of biscuits from Cracker Barrel in my purse. They got nearer and nearer as I threw bits to them. Hard to sketch hold the book and throw them snacks. But I managed 8 pages.

Colors Piemonite mixed with cerulean and ultramarine. Greys are Quin Sienna and cerulean as well as burnt umber and ultramarine blue for darks and black. Background is a very watery piemonite and cobalt.

I really should slap an envelope over the bird on the right because I think the two on the right are super. Same colors as above just not as much water in background. Beaks and legs are Quin gold and nickel Azo with Quin Sienna.

I have gotten bored with cerulean backgrounds. Wait til you see the backgrounds I am planning for tomorrow’s gulls. I think I will feed then crackers. Trying to go gluten free.

Thanks for looking!!

Day 220 -A nice round number

February 11, 2015February 11, 20153 Comments

To have reached. Been a busy day. Sketching people at the Bean. Lunch at Raes Coastal Cafe which looks like a great place to sketch and Browns Feed and Seed with Chickens. Been looking for chickens to sketch.

A commission. ExCitEmEnT!!

Last nite one of the best watercolor sketches I have done. Life is good!!

The teapot was made by local potter Shishir At Tirecity.com. I coveted his teapots for a long time before I got one.
I will try to describe how I painted this. I washed the pot w a pale mix of cerulean and burnt sienna. Shadows were done with more cerulean. The hard part was the blue lines. And making the pot look rusty.

I actually painted with two paint brushes. One to paint the dark blue line and a watery smaller brush to paint the edges so it bled. The same thing with the rust. Spots of rust aka burnt Sienna were dotted around and I smudged them. I think it would have been easier to splatter this but I was afraid to get my background dirty with splatters.

Then I discovered I was suppose to use a water soluble pen. OPPS. I at least drew the block around it.

I did a contour drawing of it first with my noodler creaper Ahab.

This is what it looked like without the pen square. Which one is your favorite?!

Thanks for looking!!

Day 219 More Caran d’Arches Experiments

February 9, 2015Leave a comment

This is a sketch using Caran d’Arches Neocolor II looks
pretty lame until you wet the colors.

Then it looks like this. All of these sketches were done with the Caran d’Arches and then sprayed. The bottle I use does a very fine mist. The paper is Strathmore 500 Mixed media.

Zoe
I love the way it will run a bit. Sometimes less sometimes more depending on how much I spray it.

Zoe

Tufted Titmouse – the grey stuff below the bird is not where I messed up but where it ran. I love runny stuff.

Cardinal. Love the drippy stuff on this one. I did highlight the eyes with a gel pen.

My secret weapon. An old spray bottle that makes a fine mist!!

Thanks for looking!!

Day 216 – So many days!!!

February 6, 20152 Comments

Amazing that I am at 216 days of consecutive blogging. Onward. Hoping for 365 days!!

Last night I discovered one of Roz’s assignments was draw your pets everyday. Oopps!!

I did four last nite. I thought three were done. This is Zoe peering at me around her favorite feather pillows hoping I was done messing and could now pay attention to her. Done with Caran d’Arches Neocolor II on Strathmore 500 paper. They loved each other.

Here’s another one of Zoe done w watercolor on Strathmore 500. I used the water brush. Lots of blotchy washes. Not a good look!! I really think it was the watercolor brush. Hard to get a big wash going with drips of water.

After looking at this photo decided it wasn’t done. No background and some more color on that green and brown and blue pillow. Or maybe it just looks not done when you compare it to the first one?!