MORE SKTCHY PORTRAITS

 A few more done.  I am behind but okay with that - don’t need to do them all in a week or so…

The old sailor (looks that way to me) was done on mineral paper with a mix of Deep Mayan Blue + Lunar Earth (just a touch).  I was okay with it but wanted to try it on rough paper (which is what the teacher did).  Not crazy about it.  She used a Canadian brand of watercolor - Rockwell Lapis Brown and it was gorgeous.  Can I get that?  Will it cost a fortune now that we are having ridiculous tariffs imposed on Canada daily??

The first one of the old sailor I traced because I didn’t feel comfortable drawing it on the mineral paper (which probably don’t take much erasing).  The second one I drew - can you see how I ALWAYS draw the figure upright even though it is obviously tilted or has a strong head turn?  Why?  Why do I do this?  

SKTCHY IS DOING THE 30 DAYS/30 PORTRAITS CLASS AGAIN

 I am doing the 30 Days/30 Portraits class again - different teachers, different muses.  Here are the first three - don’t know why they downloaded in the wrong order - little girl is the 3rd, woman reminding me of a Marilyn Monroe pose is the first one done.  

Since I’m having issues with Blogger and Facebook and who knows what, I’ll leave them as is.  

LITTLES

 These are small - placed on a black matboard substrate at 3.5 x 3.5 inches.  Who knew I had so many interesting little bits in bags all around?  And I have matboard I can cut down - most are black or white but some colored ones.

I MAY NEED TWO BIGGER ROOMS!

 Some more collages from the Collage Makers Summit classes - so much information that I can only pick and choose which ones I really want to try right now.  One video released every day with a different collage artist and I have loved all but one so will try more later.

This was a larger collage that went everywhere at once - just didn’t like it and kept adding to it so…decided to just take my little 3 x 5 inche mat and “find” interesting pieces at about that size.  

I NEED A BIGGER ROOM!

 If I’m going to do these collage lessons (Drew Steinbrecher’s Collage Makers Summit) I’m going to need more space.  It seems, over the years, that my little art room is shrinking inwards due to all the bins and boxes of things around the edges of the room!

Here’s the first thing I made, Day 1 and 2.  

This was done after watching the first video lesson by the artist, Tara Axford.  She called her lessons: Remove from Cart, Using Recyled Materials in Collage.

So pulled out some of the packing boxes I’d broken down and put in the recycle bin to use, cut some pieces, did as she said to prep them and then painted and added embellishments.

I like it but not sure how archival/lasting the piece will be  since it’s using cardboard box material.  Perhaps if we sealed it with acrylic matte medium or something else (clear gesso), it might hold up for a few years…but it was fun trying it out and it resonated with me so that I had an idea what the design would be right away and then added the broken earring (center off the circle), the little gemstones (glued on) and the string (I found in with my needlepoint/embroidery stuff).  You just never know what you have lying around!

SLOW DRAWING NATURE SKETCHBOOK AGAIN

 For this first one (which is really the last one I’ve done), you just paint some watercolor blobs of color and then draw over them, whatever takes your fancy).

The last two are more realistic versions of the items I found lying around.  Soon there will be flowers - or at least buds - on the trees and in the gardens. 

THE TRUE SIGN OF AN AMATEUR ARTIST

 I read someone online who critiques artwork say the true sign of an amateur is one who jumps around from subject to subject (or maybe from medium to medium) so I’m am amateur.  And I never said I wasn’t so I’m okay with still learning and keeping things spicey…

Signed up for a collage workshop (Collage Makers Summit) through the artist (Drew Steinbrecher)  who hosted the printmaking workshop last year.  I have all these printed papers so why not learn how to use them well?

Here’s Drew’s bonus lesson (prior to the class starting Monday).

Collage a sheet of paper (I used a heavy piece of mineral paper - like Yupo but not as slick).

Then turn that collage over and cut the paper into pieces - same sizes or different, doesn’t matter.

Then see what you have and work with those, either adding more collage work, rice paper, etc., or acrylic markers, etc., to embellish the smaller collages and make them more interesting.

I liked the outcomes on all of them, but Sweetie says the lower right one looks better with the blue on top and I think he’s right.  Another thing about this is that you can turn in however you want and see what looks best to you.

DRAWING CLOSER TO ART ONLINE COURSE

 Just some more in my little square sketchbook of things until spring starts popping.  We are having a couple of warm, sunny days, which does get one in the mood for spring.  

JUMP AROUND

 While waiting for spring and things to put into my Drawing Closer to Nature sketchbook, I signed up for a week-long freebie course on Art2Life.  I knew when it was over, the instructor would pitch his 14 weeks lessons - but had no idea they would be over $2,000.  So I didn’t sign up.  I wouldn’t have done so, anyway, because it really seems more suited for abstracted art (which I have never really gotten the hang of)

But I did do a few little exercises in a Moleskine sketchbook I’ve had forever (and never filled up)…

I even tried my hand at a larger abstract one painted with watercolor on mineral paper (kind of like YUPO but not as slick).

The first one is in real life, the second I desaturated it to see if the composition was working…needs something more and perhaps to put back whites in areas?

SLOW DRAWING NATURE JOURNAL

 I purchased an online workshop from Amy Maricle at Slow Drawing Art…it’s about reconnecting to nature and I thought it would be a good thing to get me back into things for spring - when it comes.

I have done a few prelims (sketchy doodles and then colored in with watercolor bits) and then started the journal (a little square one that has really textured paper so not high end watercolor paper but interesting texture).  

Hoping March and April will bring me some more inspiration as I’ve just been working with things I have lying around the little art room until things start blooming again.  

MORE ORANGE AND BLUE

This time, I took the oranges and blues I used in the previous painting and did this work on top of a print I’d made and drawn on with waterproof ink.  Painting in watercolor over the printed paper with color on it was interesting - it did not cover completely so made some nice texture in the paper.

ORANGE AND BLUE

 I felt like I needed some color in my life so used a photo from Free Reference Photos for Artists (a FB group).  I liked the warm oranges and changed the colors to browns and Manganese Blues for the complimentary colors.

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY

 I hope you get chocolate or flowers or a big hug today from someone you love!

REWORKING A COUPLE MORE PRINTS - AND INCHIES THAT AREN’T INCHIES

 Two prints reworked using some irridescent (silver and gold) markers.

And an “inchie” that started with the word prompt “Braided”

 

PLAYING ON TOP OF PRINTS

 I had a lot of prints - most small 1/4 sheet sizes.  Never sure what to do with them as printing them seems to be the end of my inspiration for printmaking! Ha ha. 

But figured I could always keep them out in a box where I could see them occasionally…and try to do more with them besides just collage work.  So I am playing with adding things with drawing over them to see what I come up with.

The last one is from the Inchie Challenge from Amy Maricle I signed up for - she gives us a word prompt every day and we do something in a small format (supposed to be 2 x 2 inches but I often go bigger than that and then glue the resulting piece in my sketchbook).  This has been fun to do and keeps me working toward something - you never know what those little pieces will become in the future.  Hope you all are being creative.

We got more snow and a coating of crunchy ice over top - it’s beautiful but cold and I’m ready for spring but it will come…until then, I’ll stay in my little art room and do something, or listen to music (I have rediscovered K.D. Lang and if you have not heard her version of the Roy Orbison song, Crying, you need to do it now - but have a tissue handy.)

NUMBER 9 + NUMBER 10 STRANGE ART

STRANGE ART #8?

 I think it’s #8…

Octavia 

STRANGE ART FOR MORE STRANGE DAYS

 The tech bros and the overcompensating and down-right criminal men are telling us we need more “masculine energy” in corporate America.  I say no, we don’t.  We’ve had that all our lives and whenever we get a foothold in the patriarchy, the little men start whining and banging their fists on things, showing what big boys they can be.  

Strange Art #7 - Shelly

It probably doesn’t show well here, but the hair and the shell-like bits on the sides of her head are irridescent and so is the lighter color in her top.

STRANGE ART #6

 Not a combination of animal and woman…but a sad little clown woman.  

From a photo found on the Sktchy Museum app (lots of free to use photos there, mostly portraits).

DIGGING OUT BUT GETTING THERE

 Sweetie and I are still taking shifts in digging out his car (mine is a lost cause, sitting in a very slanted driveway covered in snow and with a dead battery).  We limit ourselves to 1/2 hour shifts so we don’t injure ourselves.  We still have about an hour or more to go.

But after the shoveling yesterday I hadn’t started feeling much pain in my back (yet!) so went down to my little art room to clear my head and thought I’d try to rework this bizarre sheep girl with gouache over the wool.  So I did.  I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea but I guess I need to make something strange right now…and maybe all month.  

I have a lovely amaryllis blooming and another that will be blooming in a week or so saying, “Why don’t you paint us?” But, like I said, need to make strange things right now.  I don’t hate the little sheep girl.  

I TRULY, MADLY, DEEPLY HATE WINTER

 So…my aunt died December 25th (Sweetie and I went over to see her December 24th and were shocked that she was failing so quickly).  This was the last sister my mother had (she had 3 sisters and 3 brothers).

Then Sweetie got an awful cold (from family gatherings Christmas Eve, we think).  It lasted 6 days before easing up but by then I had the awful cold (from Sweetie, of course).  That lasted 6 days before easing up.  I am feeling better but Sweetie now is having a set-back and feeling worse.

Then we had a monster of a winter storm that brought about 9-10 inches of snow to our area and I went out to start my car (which had been sitting there since I was not going anywhere with a rotten cold) and it was dead - would not turn over at all so I couldn’t move it out of the very sharply slanted driveway…so it will be a bear to get AAA to come jump start it and shovel it out enough to be able to move it onto the street…which is covered in snow and ice and…

Everything is closed.  Was closed today and will be closed tomorrow.  Not sure about Wednesday and I had an appointment to get a hair cut in time for my aunt’s visitation and memorial mass, but doesn’t look like that is going to happen.

Sweetie and I will try to shovel out tomorrow and Wednesday without making ourselves sicker or throwing out our backs.  No one else is going to do it.  

It is not fun getting old and realizing you are really on your own when you could use a younger person around to help.  And realizing that all of your relatives are dying.  

IN MY SLOW-DRAWING SKETCHBOOK

Some of these are drawn in the sketchbook and others are done on small bits of paper and glued in later.