Tuesday, April 24, 2018

Quirky Doodle Sketch Painting- Koi Bouquet or Confusion

Another quirky sketch that I did several months ago, which happened to be the facing page to the Koi painting in my last post. I was waiting for it to dry, so I started painting on this one yesterday and finished it this morning.


It started out as a little sleeping Stablio pencil sketched Koi fish with no fins or tail, which I loved, but it quickly morphed into...


This colorful little ocean bouquet of fish, shapes, and patterns in Chinese pan watercolors, acrylics, inktense pencils, black gel pen, acrylic ink, and Posca paint markers.


I tried it in a landscape format, but didn't really like it. The water patterns were in ultramarine blue crossing like this, so I took viridian watercolor and made patterns across the blue to make it look more watery and rotated it back to a vertical format to finish it. Actually, this one should be before the one above, but that's okay.


I tried making it a pastel painting in the photo editing app, and I liked it, but, in the end, returned to the brighter colors.


I like the brighter colors, but I see that the color and texture in the lower fin didn't show up enough in the photo, which just proves to you that I'm a lousy photographer. Not making excuses, but I'm also dealing with brown cataracts on my eyes, which makes me feel like I always need more light and I'm sure colors what I'm looking at. That means that the colors may actually be brighter than I'm seeing them. If that's the case, sorry! Hoping I can get them off before too long. They are bothering me a lot by making my eyes feel tired and strained. So thankful that I can still see as well as I can!

Feed your creativity! It will bless your soul, as well as others' souls that you share it with! 💖

Quirky Doodle Painting-Koi, Bird, Egg Landscape

I've been painting this quirky doodle sketch off and on for a few days. I loved the sketch that emerged out of my stablio pencil marks on the journal page, which was done several months ago. I call these journals my "coloring books" of original sketches, and when I need a break from class work or more "correct" painting where I pay attention to the rules, I turn to a page and start coloring with paint and don't even think about the rules. I just go where the materials take me! So much more fun and relaxing!


The sketch that emerged from my random marks...


First layer of Chinese pan watercolor paint, just playing...


More layers of Chinese watercolor, plus a little salt sprinkled on the eggs for texture...


I thought I would like the pencil lines showing in the background. I didn't, but couldn't erase them after I had painted over them. I tried making the two egg outlines behind the pink egg black, but didn't like that either, so I played with gold leafing and made a golden egg. I went over the pencil lines in the water with a fine line paint applicator and titanium white fluid acrylic, which I also used to touch up and add texture in other places. A little touching up with a black gel pen was also added, and I thought it was done. I wasn't!


The salt texture wasn't showing up enough on the pink egg, so I added some spattering texture to it and the sand with shimmering gold and raw umber acrylic inks. NOW I'm calling it done, and I like it!

I tend to do these quirky sketches/paintings with no references; just imagination and memory, which doesn't always equal realism, or even close to it. I did look at pictures of Koi on Pinterest for some idea of where to put the fins. If you notice in the original sketch, the Koi has no fins or tail at all. I love Koi, but had never really studied their shapes and fins. My goal is not true realism, but enjoyment of the process. However it turns out, it's been good for my soul and well being, and it evokes emotion for me. If it does for someone else, that's frosting on the cake!

Don't give up! Keep doing what you love! 💖

Sunday, April 22, 2018

Class 9 PYH&S 2018-"Joyful Journey" Mixed Media Storytelling

This class in storytelling with art was a lot of fun, and was inspired by Pia Rom's class in Paint Your Heart and Soul (link on sidebar). It is mixed media on paper in my journal (hers was on canvas or board) and involves painting, collage, and imagination, as well as other media, whatever was handy


First layer of black and white collage elements includes a few magazine images, a printed off pinterest image from another project, torn music pages from a piano book, a circle punched out, some book text, a value scale from another project, an original photo reversed and printed, and two recycled teabags that I experimented with prints and gold leaf on, basically whatever was laying around my workspace. 


I didn't necessarily follow the teacher's instructions in telling this story. I watched all the videos, then did the piece from what I could remember of her techniques, which means I might have left out some of hers and added in some of mine. 😳 Anyway, I added a layer of drawing and paint to tie the images together.



Added more drawing with a black stabilo pencil and acrylic paints, covering some images and bringing out others..


I added a wooden fabric stamp with black paint and tried to make the figures on the left look like one is pulling the other out of water, not very successfully, but I tried. I kept fiddling with the overall piece until...


it looked like this and I could live with it. There could be several stories going on here! I deliberately left the name of our town's old theatre backwards, and the seal represents the river running by our town, although we actually have no seals here in the south. It's kind of like a "fish out of water" thing, because I have always felt like a fish out of water.

When I look at this piece, it brings up all sorts of emotional stuff for me, even though the first layer of collage images were picked up and glued on randomly. It tells a story of me!

Perhaps one day I will write text to go with my art, because when I look back at older pieces, I can relate to when and what was going on with me when I created the drawings and paintings! I look forward to doing that.

Keep creating whatever you love! It's good for your soul! 💝

Quirky Doodle Sketches-Two Birds and a Goat

More quirky doodle sketching with the Lyra water-soluble crayon in my mixed media journal with a water brush pen!




Doing these is so relaxing!

Thursday, April 19, 2018

Quirky Doodle Girls

Female characters who emerged from the random doodling marks in my mixed media journal with a Lyra water-soluble crayon, no water...yet!









Class 8 PYH&S 2018-"She Wore Flowers in her Hair"

Mixed media painting on paper in 9"x12"  journal inspired by Tracy Verdugo in class 8 of the PYH&S 2018 (link on sidebar)-No collage. Tracy painted on a canvas, which would work much better. I just don't have room for so many canvases, so I'm doing mine on mixed media paper. I gessoed it, but it's still kind of slick.


First layer of acrylic paint and marks and stenciling. I like it this way and hated to cover it up!


Kept adding paint and marks until the face and bird started emerging and kind of blocked them in.


More layers of paint, runs, and marks, and started bringing features out. I see that one eye is quite a bit lower than the other and the bird body is too long to suit me.


Evened up the eyes and added more layers of paint...


More adjusting and layering, plus added some flowers in her hair...


Continued to layer and refine, shortened the bird's body and like it much better. Used citra solve on a rag to remove some of the background paint between the iridescent pink runs. Needed something for the left upper corner, so instead of painting, I used a circle punch to cut circle landscapes out of a paper that I used to clean my brushes off on and collaged them onto the painting. She looks nothing like Tracy's, and I did some stuff that she didn't, but I'm pretty happy with her like she is, plus, I learned a lot, which is the object of the class! Fun stuff!

Keep learning and keep creating! It's good for you! :)

Wednesday, April 18, 2018

Class 7 PYH&S 2018-Journey into Graphite

Graphite self portrait inspired by Natalie Mecham's class in Paint Your Heart and Soul 2018 (see link on sidebar). I used an 8" x10" photo printed off with graphite rubbed on the back to transfer to mixed media paper in my journal. Natalee used hot press watercolor paper, which would work much better. I will use that next time! The graphite pencils, tortillions, and erasers would work better on smooth hot press paper, easier to work with and smoother portrait.




I have never really enjoyed pencil drawing, but I have to say I did enjoy this lesson and practice, even if I couldn't find my tiny eraser pen to do the fine highlights! Who knew that I would actually look forward to doing more drawings!

Quirky Sketch and Painting-Calla Lily Pink

This quirky doodle sketch was fun to paint! It started out as a bunch of Lyra water-soluble crayon marks randomly made on mixed media paper in my journal. I used a water brush pen, which I love, on the lines to pull the calla lily and background flowers out.


Just to experiment I applied pink pan pastel to the calla lily with my finger, but it's too bright for my liking...


I applied several layers of acrylic paint in different shapes in the background, some colored pencils, black and white stablio marks all pencils, glazes, and some other things I'm sure I forgot about, until it got to this point, at which point I thought I better stop. I had no references, so it is all from memory and imagination, or intuitive, as they call it these days.  Anyway, it is what it is, and I like it! 😊

Quirky Doodle Sketch-Girl with Muff

Water-soluble Lyra graphite crayon on mixed media paper quirky doodle sketch in journal...


My Desk Right Now



I literally have no room to paint! Both sides and behind me are piled up the same way. I barely have room for a chair. There are numerous paintings started in the journal, which is hanging halfway off the desk, plus other works in progress and materials stacked all around me. Also, I can not find anything anymore! Even Mr. Moose has no room to sit down. 😲

Looks like I'm going to be forced to clean out and do some organizing to have room to paint anything, no matter how small the painting is!

Quirky Sketches- Dog in Flowers & Crow in Tree

Water-soluble Lyra graphite crayon on mixed media paper and a water brush pen.