Something from nothing

Watercolour is so hard to work with, and the best advice I've received so far in working with it is to let the paints do their own thing, not to mess with them too much. So as I was experimenting the other night I decided to do the whole process backwards.

I wetted the paper, splodged watercolours and Indian inks onto the paper randomly, let it dry and worked with the shapes created. I know, it's a bit left-field, most likely been done before, but I'm pleasantly surprised with the results!

Here are a few before and afters, and some smaller little pieces: 

 

 

Just doodling

Lots of doodles going on... pattern, repetition.
Not sure where I'm going with all this.

In other news I seem to be prolifically producing Greetings Card ideas. 

The freedom to fail, prolifically

Summer has been full of beauty.

In among the squabbles and the exhausted bits, we've crammed a lot in...

 

 And while we were away I got my watercolour Tombows out every night, and wallowed in the freedom to fail in my experimenting.

It was bliss.

 

 

And now I have reached a point, a pinnacle, a place I knew I'd been scrabbling to,

the reason sketch-booking really does work...

 

Yet this is just another beginning...
Onwards!

Lines on Paper

Bought myself an Aqua Brush/Pen today (yes, grown-ups can have them too!) This'll be really handy on holiday, and in lazy moments when the whole water/brush/glass/tap thing is too much effort.  

Both done with Tombow Dual Brush no 559

 

I've been playing with lines like this for a while, playing with the balance of order and chaos, looking at the negative space. It's the start of something. And it's good to just be playing and enjoying that at the moment. x

Aged 15

I apologise for the randomness of this blog... still experimenting... having fun... flitting.

Last night I read up more about Sarah McIntyre's work (she has illustrated the lovely Mythical Maze Summer Reading Challenge 2014 for the libraries) and I happened upon a challenge she did a while back for her own personal progress: 'Draw yourself aged 16'

So I thought why not take up the challenge, see what happens. Here's me at 15 (memory going in old age... this is a mixture of me at 14,15,16...)

I outlined in waterproof pen, then filled with the Tombow pens. I still have to practice mixing them, some areas got a bit saturated, but it was fun x

Water and blooms

So I took myself off to see Jackie Trinder's work during Open Studios, and ended up doing a painting workshop with her this week - highly recommended!

She left me to finish the piece at home - dangerous! - and I have managed to drain most of the colour from the centre of the left-hand flower trying some water effects BUT overall it's better than I suspected I could do (for a first time ever sitting to do a proper watercolour study!).

Here's my favourite section of the piece:

The dull leaves actually have a ghostly soft feel, and good shape.

 

So I had a bit of courage to do something using colours I prefer, and managed the paint, and background wash etc much better than before the workshop:

 

I'm also going to try some 'negative painting' next.

All good fun! (and the sound of cleaning my brushes while painting is very soothing and therapeutic...)

 

Invisible

 

Still experimenting - this uses a real photo for the main image. Very different from my usual, more editorial. I meant to make it more colourful [you know my usual style!] but it just didn't fit the sadness of the piece.

I'll be posting it on Illustration Friday. 'Invisible' is their theme this week. 

Beavering away... in a sketchy way

Next year, the local Scout group [my daughter is a Beaver there] will mark 90 years since they were established...

so I thought I'd practice people and mess around with a poster/illustrated idea.

In other news, I'm on a steep learning curve with Adobe Illustrator. It is so different from Photoshop [which I've known since about 1999!] so I'm being pleasantly challenged [hmm] in that area... watch this space. YouTube is my friend.

Happy Wednesday!

Enjoying the process

I had the privilege this week of visiting some of the open studios around my area of Medway as part of the Medway Open Studios and Art Festival

There are so many creative people enjoying working in lots of different media here, and it's been so exciting to be a spectator of a growing art scene right here in my own little town - and one day I hope to move from spectator to participant!

(Wouldn't that be fun?).

I saw paintings, found objects, moulds, prints, wire work, textile pieces, and every person I spoke to was so friendly and welcoming.

One such artist is the lovely Jenni Burrows and when I popped into her studio we ended up nattering for quite a while. I told her how impatient I am with the process of working on my pieces. I just want to get to the end, see the finished thing and move on. We talked about the 'journey' of creating, working on things over time and holding on to an idea. She uses sketchbooks to really explore all the things that pop into her head. I know that I do sketch, I do write ideas down, but I don't like to leave them or experiment too much.

 

My kids have taught me a lot about slowing down. This week my youngest had chicken pox so we spent a lot of time sitting on the carpet doing puzzles very sloooowly.

 

I pulled every ounce of patience out of me to wait and see how my daughter wants to tackle the puzzle. And I realised that, for her, the process of doing the puzzle is far more fun than seeing the completed image. Finding pieces, seeing what fits and what doesn't - that's 'doing a puzzle'.

 

So here's a sneak peek at something I am in the 'process' of working on. I'm not sure what will happen with it, not really sure where it came from [although I know he's called 'Macaroni Cheese', as named by my youngest!] but the process for me is deciding on colours and layout, looking at contrast and shade, tone and opacity.

 

Below is the pony in colour and the pony in red. 

 

 

 Which do you prefer?

I'm really not sure... let me know what you think!

The Crochet Cat

I have been busy, busy attempting new things - some are frustrating, some come easily...

Pen and digital

 

I actually forgot that I did this piece a week or so ago - played with the colours, not sure about the black background but I wanted to move on. I wanted to do a bit of pattern and repetition, but I get bored soooo quickly. So here it stays, the cat sleeps in the dark...



Shadows

 

(Pen and digital)

 

It happens to us all...

Toes

After a few dull days the sun has finally popped out again.

Hoorah!

My daughters and I painted our toenails bright pink this week, so I was inspired...

 

 

Pen and Digital

Sweet, sweet summer

 

Happy Birthday to MEEEEEE!!

These are just some of the lovely gifts I've received today.

And I was spoilt by Steve who took the day off work so I could stay in my pjs until 2pm.

Here's one of the pieces I worked on today:

 

I'm a little bit digi-obsessed this week, but I promise I have also started a lovely little watercolour painting with my new paints.

And there are other bits too - all to come eventually.

Such fun!

Oh, and I'm surrounded by birthday flowers!

Houses, houses, everywhere!

Ok, so I couldn't keep away, and I have MISSED posting each day.

What a shock on Saturday when I was allowed to do nothing at all

and I really, really got twitchy!

So this is what I've been working on this week so far:

 

Pen and digital colour

 

Where we live it is so hilly - not in a 'hills and dales' lovely way, just in a 'can't push this pushchair any longer' kind of way. But as it is quite built up, I am always reaching the top of a hill for a breather and looking down onto a valley of houses; rows and rows of inter-war and post-war houses and I actually really love how that looks.



#30 of 30-Day Art Challenge

Day 30

 

I did it!!

Woop woop!

Challenge completed.

 

Seahorse - watercolour and brush pens

 

So on reflection, what have I achieved?

What have I learnt?

What will I change?

 

• I have discovered many different artists whose work has inspired me (inc. Marion Smith, Sam Toft, Angie Lewin, Emily Gravett, David Roberts, Clare Mackie, Sarah Dyer among others.)
• I put more value on 'creative time', and this has enabled me to produce one or more new pieces every day of this challenge
• I can work with watercolour much more confidently, and have discovered more about pencil work, and where I might wish to use digital manipulation
• I have actually produced more than 30 pieces in 30 days - big achievement! I've come a long way from that pen-pot drawing on day #1.
• I learnt when to pick up my tools and when to put them down - as I said yesterday, prioritising and balancing with all the other 'jobs' on my to-do list
• I realised it's ok to give yourself permission to get on and do something you love, that feels part of you, and really brings you joy. It's ok, it really is. As long as the sacrifice is not too painful for those around you (who are gradually being buried under piles of laundry)
• My family really support me in this, and that has been really good to learn. My husband shared this blog with others, encouraged me at the start, and my daughter wants me to draw her now, and has even made other suggestions for me to 'do that and put it on your computer mummy'.
• I truly didn't consider whether or not I could fulfil this challenge. It was totally personal and private at the start. I told my husband on day #4 and after that I gradually mentioned it to others as I grew confident. It remains fun. It remains motivational. It remains creative. That was the criteria laid out and it still is.
• There is a difference between blogging my progress just for me and sharing this with others. As I read somewhere this week, we are all encouraged to make marks on paper as little children, but then somewhere along the way the unconscious experimental freedom of 'creativity' becomes conscious. Someone comments, has an opinion, shares their view, offers ideas on improvement. And suddenly we are self-conscious, aware of how our creations look to others. And the fear of 'not being good enough' comes in. I've produced a variety of images during this challenge, some I am proud of, others much less so. I have my own standards, others will have theirs. All I know is what is good enough for me.
• I need to now think less about this for a while, so I will set myself the challenge of producing one new piece each week (or posting at least once with some new development), and will try to post on the same day every week. I do leave things to the last minute though, so who knows if this will work.

Let's see where it takes me!!

 

“Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun.” — Mary Lou Cook



#29 of 30-Day Art Challenge

More with the Tombow Brush Pens. I love them, and have just ordered more colours for my birthday! Yey!

With a day ahead of me and no real ties on my time I could have spent it all drawing/painting BUT I was very good and instead I decided to get all my jobs done first. 

 

 This challenge has made me prioritise my art more - which is great! but it means the ironing and other little jobs are left until I feel guilty about not doing that stuff SO now I have to find that balance. Now it's a case of setting time aside and making it precious, around which I do all the other 'chores'. All through this month I have found what I produce is very much affected by whether I know I need to sit and 'create' first (or else it won't get done), or knowing that with a pressing job that needs doing I should get that out of the way before working on a creative idea with a clear conscience. That will always be the balance and so with all this I need to remain self-aware.

 

(Creating time as 'precious' is something many of us are bad at - which is why a 30-Day Challenge could work for anyone in any area...reading, exercise, even ring-fencing time with their partner or kids. I certainly need to do it more in lots of areas. I wish it was as easy as writing about it!) x

#28 of 30-Day Art Challenge

It's not stopped raining all day, so this is Mrs Hippo waiting at the bus stop.

 

I discovered the 3 Tombow Dual Brush Pens I own and for the first time ever I used water with them and they are lovely! Such a great watercolour effect, but with much more control and vibrant colours. And I love the strong line left round the edge - I'll be doing some more experiments with these. Although the limited palette may be tricky: Bright Pink, Dark Pink and Purple

#27 of 30-Day Art Challenge

Feeling a bit grumpy and uninspired today - sorry!

Again, a little pen sketch will have to do while little one sleeps.

 

Not sure what to do with this blog, now the end of the challenge gets closer.

I want to carry on somehow, so I'll have to decide on my commitment, and what I want to do with my work.

Hmm, any ideas?



#26 of 30-Day Art Challenge

'Breakfast by the Seine'

This morning I was eating brioche for breakfast with the kids, and the smell of toasting them made my brain wish to be overlooking Paris eating real French croissants! Ha! However, I had a whole day ahead of me with both kids at home and a poor weather forecast. The idea for this drawing hovered in the back of my brain all day. I hoped to colour it too, but I am shattered...

 

(Beginning to wonder what to do after day 30 of this challenge...

Option A - stop
Option B - continue the same

Option C - change the challenge ie one image a week, or one theme a week)

#25 of 30-Day Art Challenge

Continuing some drawings from yesterday.

3B pencil, watercolour paints and watercolour pencils for detail/shading.

I forgot to give him anything to stand on - woops! - the floating golfer.

(Although I really want to call it 'Tee-ed off')

 

The detail and concentration needed sort of got me down. I wanted to use my pencil freely with more movement...

 

...so this lovely lady sprung into my head and onto the paper...

'The Beautiful Joyous Dancer'

2H pencil (contrast increased in Photoshop)

Funny how I draw with ease when the subject matter is closer to home.