Day 235 – Buttons

February 25, 20152 Comments

making me cross eyed. More homework. Love the brown De Artremos document ink. Delicious. On Strathmore 500 Mixed Media paper.

This took about 6 hours and is about 8×11 “. There are about 115 buttons. It’s almost impossible to count them.

A friend asked me how do you do it? I told her one button at a time. I probably should not have drawn it I. Two three hour sessions. It could literally been drawn one button at a time whenever I had time.

After about three hours.

After an hour or so.

Fun exercise. Give it a try!!!

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!!