Mixing it up

I'm continuing to challenge myself, and feel very privileged to have the time to keep this up.
The brilliant Illustration Friday website posts a theme each week so I'm attempting to do a piece for that (if I'm inspired by the theme! The challenge is to do something even when uninspired...). This has really helped me to continue to experiment, try new things and get a bit competitive have fun!

 

Here's what I came up with for the topic of 'Sleep'.

 

 

Here I've placed pen drawing over watercolour for the first time, something I've been intending to try for a while. Mixing it up was great, and I really like the result.

 

Also I've posted more pieces on my tumblr page.

 

Working through it

I had a bit of a disaster week. I gave a lot of time and energy to a couple of pieces that really may end up in the bin. Grrr. It's a little soul-destroying to put in so much effort and not feel as though you have made much progress.

But then last night I took the pressure off myself, and went back to doing what I love - brush pens and ink.

Pushing yourself is great and a vital part of achieving those goals or learning new things. But then I'm trying to cultivate, remember? And part of that is saying 'okay, this is not working - but I know what does.'

Taking the easier route is sometimes okay. Sitting where we know we can find rest is not always lazy, or cheating. It's being honest about who we are and what we need.

 

So here's the piece that took flipping ages, and I am really NOT happy with:

 

Here's some sketchbook practice for the upcoming wedding fair I'm showing at (more of that soon):

 

And here's the beginning of something I am quietly confident about... can't wait to see how it turns out!...

 

Practicing people

Sorry for the long absence! I tried another blog set-up but I missed this one.

So I'm back, with a history of messy.

Messy is good. It's part of getting there - so I keep telling myself!!

 

 

Among a million other things, I've been practicing people.

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.