re-visiting EDM

My drawing adventures in my ’hair’ journal (see previous post) has inspired me to draw more lately, but I was looking for some variation in subject matter.  It prompted me to dig out my everyday matters books (weekly drawing challenges on various topics) & I have done a few entries.   When I opened my book – I saw that the topic I was up to was BUTTONS – I LEAPED at the chance to draw some - vintage buttons being on of my ‘can’t live withouts’  The pic above is of some absolutely divine ones gifted to me by my precious art friend Connie – they are just about the best gift I have ever recieved!   AND they are green!! WOOO HOOO.  I haven’t been able to take them off the card to use one, as I love them so much as a unit, but they will either end up on the front of a book – or as a focal point of a piece of art – they are TREASURE to be sure! Then there’s the view from my kitchen window – as moving gets more inevidable – I am feeling a bit more sentimental about all things related to this home, so it was nice to draw my neighbours appartment – and THEN on to another great love – I have, over many years had the children buy me artist pencils as they were growing up – no manky half dead chrysanthymns for me for mother’s day – my bunch of flowers was always a bunch of pencils!  Consequently, I have all of the Albrcht Durer watercolour pencils (still favs. for travelling & small projects) & some lovely other pencils.  Through doing workshops & classes with international teachers, I have been introduced to a whole other raft of products that aren’t widely available here.  Misty introduced me to the Stabilo Marks All black  (which we struggle to get here in Oz) – I use it in just about every piece of work I do – I have literally gone to our art shops and drawn line after line with all of the aquarble black pencils – but NOTHING compares to these.  The black is like SUMI ink (luv it)   DJ introduced me to the divine Caran d Ache LUMINANCE coloured pencils OH MY GOODNESS – it’s like drawing with butter - I only have a hand ful (precious gift from darlings Beks & Connie for Christmas) & they are like gold!  I have also included my fav. ‘drawing’ as opposed to rendering pencil – the Col-erase pencils by  PRISMACOLOR – I use these instead of a graphite pencil when drawing – mostly only the black, brown & blue – because they don’t smudge on the page.  You know that ‘grey haze’ you get over a drawing when you work back & forth over it with your hand?  You don’t have any of that with these pencils – AND they rub out!  Which is comforting for fledglings!  I threw in the Derwent Inktense - as they are nice too. 

The snake looks TOTALLY dodgy - it was ok – until I did the NEXT page & then it needed MAJOR repairs, when the marker from the pencil page, bled through, & I had raspberry mottled all over my lovely snake!

a little more art

here's a couple of bits 'n' bobs that didn't make last night's post – iE was being a BEAST & kept dropping out – URGHHHH!  Very frustrating – in re-reading my post – it does seem a little 'point form' & truncated – sorry about that - the POINT was – I kept loosing it every time I'd insert an image……….so here's a couple more that I didn't get to last night. this is a LONG over due tip in page - for LONG – suffering Hermine……..
   These are quite little & cute – 5 or 6 inches square – the words, which are both typed & written on the wings are -  you shall write peace on my wings and I will fly all over the world……..written actually of the 'peace crane' by a 13yo girl who contracted Lukemia as a legacy of the bombing of Hiroshima.

this is my latest EDM drawing after Van Gogh….the topic was supposed to be the view from under your bed – well considering my bed is only about 3in off the ground – I couldn't really imagine much else than the lines of the bottom of our robe doors on the adjacent wall – which wasn't very inspiring…..so I deferred to Vincent….I am studying him at the moment a little at college – & I am working up a 4 colour lino cut of Van Gogh's Starry night – I can't wait to see how it works out – as it is only 15cm square, I have cut the pic a little - I hope it's ok – I am in excellent hands I have a great tutor this year for Printmaking workshops.

the next EDM challenge was something from your first aid kit – when I looked, the bandage seemed appropriate – the leaf was a hitchiker – I must have found it at some point and put it in there because I liked it's colour or texture or shape – SOMETHING like that – I probably picked it up on some job site & liked the look of it and put it in there for safe keeping – oh – and FYI - the first aid kit is where I keep all of my interesting 'found pieces' LOL!!   Enjoy your week – speak soon! x

changing medium with the weather

I have GENUINELY been a MIXED MEDIA artist lately….changing medium with the weather & accomodating what ever my pain level of the day is…….
We have been having wild extremes of weather – at the end of last week there were parts of our state in 'Catastrophic' Bushfire conditions and today – it has snowed!  We have had so much hail it has been like snow!…& of course this has provided us with a spectacular vista, night after night from our front verandah as the sun sets……last week it was a golden haze that almost hovered from the heat….tonight it is an ominous stormy sky, with smatterings of the purest white…… .. I am continuing my 'learning to draw' journey, done some collage work in a journal, made up a few ATCs, and continued with my 'love quilt'.  Here's a few pics of my recent work: 
I was incredibly fortunate lately to spend a little time sitting beside this lovely river recently.  A friend & I had caught up for coffee & she had to leave me & get off to work.  As it was so far from home I allowed a little time to explore & had come prepared to art!  I got down enough visual info (as well as photos) to capture what I needed to complete the drawing & then finished it off at home using watercolours, markers & tech pens.

I've had the priviledge of having a 'play' in Jenene's gorgeous 'Affectionately Yours' Round Robin Journal from Paper Traders…..the journal is based around correspondence, notes & letters, to create the topic for your pages……I have used a whole lot of vintage bits & bobs to create a story around the garment & fabric industry.   I hope Jenene likes what I have created as the last entry in her book.

This is one of my latest ATC's called 'Fish Garden' inspired by the ads we are seeing at the moment on TV about our City Aquarium.  It has large sharks swimming through the air overhead.  The Princess LOVEs these ads & has put in a special request for Poppa to take her to see the fish swimming in the air!  (they have an overhead viewing tank)  

I have also been creating a Valentines Token to participate in a swap at Paper Traders.  For those from Oz – it seems that in USA the tradition of Valentine's Day has retained some of it's original glamour & extends to friends & aquaintances as well as members of the opposite gender you may have designs on.  (or have re-designed LOL!)  I dithered & dalied with this so much – it was on my studio table for a week and it NEARLY ended up in the bin in frustration.  I have really gotten out of the altered art process & I just couldn't seem to bring this to a happy conclusion.  It is made on 640gsm Fabriano cotton watercolour, so it was a dream to work on & then I decided I wanted to stitch it, which of course was a little bit of a hassle as it's NOT that bendy!  I also created an ATC to add to the Paper Traders' Winner Takes All pot (one artist is randomly drawn to win all the cards entered for that month)  I thought that February's should be one for LOVE!

As I said I have also been doing a little patchwork, continuing with my 'love quilt' & incorporating some of my Nan's linens (as well as some found vintage treasures) as I said last time, these blocks are 15in square – so they are quite large.  It's a nice size to work with actually.

actually, in reviewing this post, it may not have been entirely a bad thing being without my computer, it's certainly been a productive few weeks.  The thing that I didn't add is that The Princess has been for a 'little holiday' at Nonna's and we have had some fun times playing.  She has started on her FIRST mixed media journal and I am convinced (in typical Proud Nonna style) that she has the makings of a fine artist!

OH, and BTW – I have FINALLY joined into Facebook – if you are out there and want to touch base via facebook – here's the link to my facebook page.  I haven't worked out how to link my blogs & pages all up yet – I will get on to that shortly! 

back to EDM challenges

I bet your flat out right now, hurrying your way to a Christmas meltdown!  Me too!  Now that study is FINALLY done for the year (YAY!) I thought I'd have time to play, but alas, artistic time  is 'squeezzed' in between babysitting grandies, baking, cooking, babysitting, appointments & other preparations for christmas.  (did I say babysitting???) It's just how it is – but I am still keen to fit something in!  SO, I have returned to my EDM challenges I began last year.  It's was tricky trying to keep this up when I was studying, but it's an easy thing to pick up and put down……..and I have.  I am now working in Book 2 – which continues challenges from 71 thru to about 140, and working in Book 4, which began at 192, and was originally intented to keep up with the current challenges, while using the archived challenges for additional drawing practice.  NOW BOTH of them are 'catch up' books! LOL!!!  So this is progress to date…..I will update the slide show as I go along.  If you'd like to see a slide show of the finished book 1 it's here.  On reflection, I am not sure that there is really a great deal of difference between my drawing from a year ago and now – but as a wise little person said to me, it's practise, every day, just getting in the habit of doing it!  Here's a couple of lovely images to help with any last minute Christmas things you HAVE to do, double click the image & it will take you to a high res. download.  PLEASE do not repost, but cut & paste this permalink back to here -

http://thecolourguru.typepad.com/the_colourguru/2009/12/back-to-edm-challenges.html

thanks for your integrity in this, us artists have to look after each other! 

 

AND DON'T FORGET my 12 days of christmas give aways………commencing 26th December!  there will be a give away, every day for 12 days!

Secrets & Journals

Losses from last week and HOT HOT weather have left me a bit listless and flat…… grasping for my muse………I CANNOT believe how many people I have spoken to recently that have embarrasingly confessed that they are or have been struggling with depression…….I am sure it is the modern day PLAGUE…….it seems that many people are suffering days when hope is hard to find and the future seems too bleak to contemplate………

What creativity have managed to summon has been directed to finishing off some work that is not due for release yet for Alpha Stamps – I will be able to show you soon – it's an exciting project & one that I have loved doing…….. last weekend I finished off these two projects.  I created these pages for a tip in journal about cats…….

and these pages for an RR journal about Water & the Sea

…..I have done a little drawing…. but nothing remarkable……… these are a couple of my more recent ones……….

 

Lucky if found Accidentally

These are a couple more of my Christmas drawings, another ‘Rubenesque’ – I have titled ‘Queen of the May’ – just because of her neck ruffle.  The next Every day matters drawing challenge – something Lucky…of course I couldn’t go past a 4 leaved clover, which I read is only considered lucky if found accidentally (I am not sure how many people hunt for them!)……. I am practising underpainting my watercolour faces at the moment, which is producing some interesting results….. I have underpainted ‘Queen of the May’ with an olive wash, & created the shadowing with Graphite – I had to be careful not to give her a ’5 o’clock shadow’ but I like the appearance of the graphite over the watercolour.  Interesting & worth exploring a bit more.

Noodles, Feet, Onions & Mysteries of the Deep

     More Christmas – I can show you this one as it has already been recieved – & a recent Face of the Day…..Miss Sunshine & Happiness.  These are some more of my every day drawings – 2 current challenges – Noodles and Toes & 2 catch up challenges – Vegetables and a Book. (I am up to #30 – so only 160 to go!) I have just completed the current challenge for this week titled – 'Lucky', but it is still drying & you will have to wait until tomorrow to see that.  The Vegetables – onions & garlic I did with coloured pencils, however the book I did with watercolour paint to get some better movement & flow in it.  The best thing about coloured pencils is the control you can achieve, although as I have mentioned before, once they are wet, you do end up with the striation marks from the lead.  This didn't matter for the onions & garlic, in fact it suited it quite well.  The idea for the book worked out better in my head than it did on paper & IF this were a canvas or in an art journal that I had some flexibility with thickness – I would certainly cover this over…..I love my book – but the additions were a bit much – I should have left well enough alone! 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

I have often regreted that Australia doesn't have a day just to be thankful.  We have a harsh land, one that is unforgiving, is tolerant of the 'battlers' (those a bit down on their luck) and intolerant of 'tall poppies' (sad but true)  This has been a difficult year for us and I have to say that at times it is difficult to see past the black.  This year is a year when things are really stripped back to 'bare bones' as we would say in Oz – down to what's really important to your whole being.  This year I am thankful for:

1. TRUE friends (which everyone knows are only revealled in tough times)
2. simple pleasures (every night the sun paints me a new canvas viewed from my front verandah – it is NEVER the same, and I have watched for 17 years)
3. my faith (I KNOW in whom I have believed – 2 Tim 1:12)

 

moving on a little from there – I am a little behind with my drawing, getting caught up with Christmas favours & gifts at the moment.  These are a couple of recent every day challenges…..a rope and a remote (as I remarked when I posted it – it was the longest time that I have ever spent with the remote as DH believes they are divinely ordained for the man of the house!)

 

 

catching up on drawing challenges

            these are some of my catch up challenge drawings (for those that don't know the story – I have joined a drawing challenge group that had already posted 190 challenges when I joined – I am both playing catch up creating an archive of the past challenges, and keeping up with the current ones – so I am working in two books at once)  The book size that I am using is the small watercolour moleskine, & as I have so many to catch up, I am limiting myself to a 1/2 page spread for each challenge.  Consequently, a big part of the challenge is thinking of a different way to produce your 'capture' of your topic within a landscape orientation of approx 5in tall x 8in wide.  As it is a bound book that I am using – I don't want to add much texture or collage elements as I want to keep the book 'together' (ie not bulging from odds & sods I have added to pages)  I have also found in some of my hand bound journals that adding lots of texture throughout the book makes it a beast to work in as you get through the pages as you always have something misshappen underneath the surface you are working on.

My first self portrait

I am still painting & drawing – but not much collage at the moment.  This is what I am 'into' right now & I am really enjoying the cathartic benefit of the soft watercolours & tone on tone graphite.  'THEY' say that you don't become serious about art until you have painted a self portrait.  I thought it was about time that I tried and apart from my messy hair & prominent wrinkles – this doesn't really look like me at all.  THIS girl looks like she has had a broken nose at some point!  I haven't – and she has a pounchy mouth/nose combo, which I don't & I don't quite know how to rectify.  When I showed it to my DH, I had to TELL him it was a self portrait – so there's obviously not much resemblance – he is SO over me showing him drawings & him feeling obliged to make comments! I might add that to my Face of the Day challenge & every now & then draw a self portrait, to try & judge my progress.  It's easier drawing no one specific, because if they turn out with a 'pounchy mouth' for example – well that's who they become, you work with that character…….but if you are drawing from life or from a photo, it's either right or wrong - a MUCH bigger challenge. I have also done a small painting of an owl for a little artist friend who likes owls.  I have been collecting bit's & pieces for her for a while & wanted to make her a piece of my own art to send off with the parcel.  There is a lot of skill with keeping watercolour 'loose' and not 'overworking it' and I have a bit of a blot in my background from trying to 'fix' a little problem……hmmm…lots of practice needed…… to be sure, to be sure!  I have done the same thing with the writing behind the next drawing challenge.  Some of the writing turned out a bit light – so SILLY ME – tries to fix it!  I should have left it alone!  The inspiration from this was taken from a FABULOUS book I have called 'The English Archive'.  This book is like an old catalogue of all kinds of design items from chairs to wallpaper, & obviously – tableware – you should see the cup page – it's fabulous. (I'll be using THAT – sometime soon – but that's a whole other story!) I frequently refer to it for shape & ornamental reference when I am creating something & want some pattening or shape reference.  It's a firm fav.