Some Collage Play-Aust Piano Hinge SB

 When I had time, I got sidetracked onto playing with paper and mixed media the last few days. The days go by in the blink of an eye anymore! I can't believe October is almost gone and Christmas is just a few blinks away, but here we are!

I don't know if I can remember how I did some of these pages, still in my Australian Piano Hinge sketchbook, because I didn't write it down, but I'll give it a try!

This one started with an imaginary girl with a decorated face sketch that I had done a while back and printed off. I cut her out and used gel medium to glue her to a copy of some wrapping paper I had printed off (white with pink dots) and glued to the sketchbook page. She was all black/white, so I added color with Posca paint pens and Micron pens. I added metallic gold pen to her neck and around the pink dots in the background. I tore up one of my original gelli plate prints to make her dress, and I tore up an original rubbing with a crayon, paper, and a doily to make her wings. The background had too much white left in it, so I used a micron pen to scribble across the background to add interest and contrast to her head. I love her!

This page started out with torn pieces of an original gelli print paper, paper that I had cleaned excess paint off my brush and stenciled on. There is a piece of single layer paper towel with excess paint on it glued down the middle. I added some markers and posca paint pens. I didn't like it, and eventually the robes appeared to me, so I used a large black posca pen to make it look like three women and a child with a frame around them. I think it looks like I'm looking through them to see what they're looking at. I like it...

This page started with a single layer of a paper towel that I had cleaned my brushes/pens off on multiple times. I glued it to the page with gel medium and let it dry. Meanwhile, I cut the vase shape out of white printer paper, because it was handy, then glued it down. I painted it with light pink heavy acrylic paint, which looked very flat and blah when it dried, so I went over it with a layer of orange Prismacolor colored pencil. It still looked blah, so I cut the snowflake shape out of printer paper and glued it to the middle and added the striped washi tape across the bottom. I thought about adding a sequin to the center, but I came across this girl from a Toni Burt collage that she had gifted us to print off, so I cut her out and glued her to the center. Then I added a gold metallic pen to the vase bottom and cap and for other accents, after using a micron pen to outline the vase and snowflake. I also used the gold pen on the already there heart and rose shapes in the background. I'm still not sure I like it, but it is what it is. It's been fun and it's growing on me...

This one started out with a half sheet of scrap printer paper, which I did a whole lot of mark making with markers and posca paint pens on. I glued it onto the page with a UHU glue stick and thought it needed something else. I had sketched these birds and printed them off several months ago, so I cut them out separately and glued them down with the glue stick. I added some more marks with posca pens and some scribbling with a blue posca pen and called it done. I like it!

 

This page is actually brighter than my scanner scanned it. It's not this dusty looking. I couldn't even bring it out with photo editing. :( Anyway, it started with a brush and India ink and the black shapes. Then I painted a purple top, a blue middle, and an orange bottom around the black with Posca paint pens. I love impressionism, although I'm not good at doing it, so I decided, why not? I started with blue dashes over the purple and orange, then purple dashes over the blue and orange, then orange over the blue and purple. It needed more variety, so I added pink and yellow over all three colors which, to me, kind of tied it all together. The black shapes looked pale next to the colors, so I went over them with a large black Posca Paint pen. So it's basically not a collage or mixed media either, but more of a Posca pen painting! 

Of course, they all look better in person, but my blog is a good way to keep record of what I create during the year. Good, bad, or ugly, it's all a learning experience, and I'm thankful to have it as an outlet for mental health reasons!

The rest of the year has a full to do list for me, and I'm not sure I'm up to all of it this year, but we'll see. Besides my holiday list, I have a dental appointment with a new dentist next week, because a big filling fell out of a jaw tooth, which I apparently swallowed, because I didn't know when it fell out. We had our six month check ups and lab work last week and our PA wants me to see a Hematologist (blood doctor) and is making me an appointment. Not looking forward to either appointment. I'm already nervous for both. I completed my 77th year around the sun a few days ago, and I'm no spring chicken, but, with God's help, I'll keep putting one foot in front of the other. I'm thankful we're doing as well as we are at our ages, but we do get tired sometimes...

Keep on keeping on! And do something good for yourself! :)

More Boudoir Doll Sketches-Aust. Piano Hinge SB

A few more days of sketching Boudoir dolls in my Australian Piano Hinge sketchbook, from photos I found on Pinterest before I got sidetracked onto some fun collages (next post)!

Girl with head scarf, long curls, and cigarette-Lyra water-soluble graphite stick and graphite pencil

Girl in riding coat and hat, long loose hair, with cigarette-Lyra water-soluble graphite stick, graphite pencil, and Stabilo pencil

Girl with flapper hat, fur collared coat, short wavy hair, and cigarette-Lyra water-soluble graphite stick, Micron pen, and watercolor

Poirot clown outfit with short hair sitting on high back chair-Pencil, Micro pen, gel pen, and Posca paint pen, sketched on printer paper and glued onto sketchbook page

  

Girl in clown suit, black cap with fur balls over ears-Lyra water-soluble graphite stick, pencil, Stabilo pencil

I am sketching on both sides of the pages, so, unfortunately, the darker backside bled through the fronts of a few of them, but I don't think it looks too bad. Also, the LYRA graphite stick is water-soluble, but I didn't use water with it. This one is very light, so I did the beginning lines with it, then layered the other pencils and pens on top. I know they aren't perfect, but I'm proud of myself for trying, and, as always, they taught me a lot.

Now, I'm taking a break for a few days to play with some collage and paint!

Hubby's eye is doing good now, thank goodness! He's still having to use pressure drops 2x a day in both eyes for now, and unless he has trouble, he doesn't have to go back until May to be checked for pressure and cataracts.

I've been back to the retina specialist October 1, and got a good report. I didn't have to have a shot in my eye again, and he said if it's still good in six months, he might let me wait a year the next time. That's if something doesn't happen before then with my eye. Sometimes the vein starts bleeding again. Thankful it's okay for now!

Anyway, we've had quite a bit going on lately, between doctors appointments, company, naps, etc. We're just grateful that we can still take ourselves where we need to go...

We are having beautiful weather, which helps everybody's feelings! Take care and keep creating!

Still Playing in the Australian Piano Hinge Book...

 After multiple trips to the eye doctor and one to our regular doctor hubby is okay now from his eye injury, food poisoning, and shingles, and my visit to my retina specialist this week went well also. So thankful for both!

So, after completing my last Winsor Newton sketchbook, I've been doing a bit of sketching and a couple of collages, still in my handmade Australian Piano Hinge Book. For some reason I'm still sketching boudoir (bed) dolls. I love these dolls, and was gifted one from a Facebook friend a few years ago. 

These doll sketches are all inspired by Pinterest photos, and I'm having so much fun with them. They are sketched with various graphite, stablio, LYRA water-soluble pencils/stick, with a bit of India ink thrown in.

This one is a collage that started with an old brown paper bag with mixed media marks  and stenciling on it, a bit of newsprint with words circled, a piece of spattered teabag, a LOVE stamp, a printed photo of my grandpa's old homeplace, also where I live, just in a different house, a printed photo of my maternal grandparents when they were young, and some India ink applied with a stick. I wrote their initials on the brown paper beside them. I like it, and I miss them very much!

This one is just kind of random pieces glued around a brown stablio pencil sketch from my imagination, plus one of my favorite quotes/poems. The LOVE paper was the cover of a book of stamps several years ago that I couldn't throw away. The little envelope contained some spare buttons for a garment I had purchased, and it now contains a mini print of one of Toni Burt's drawing/collages. I love her work, and this print was a free gift from a class I took from her. The affirmation quote is from a free page of affirmations from Tamara Laporte. I have added a strip of black and white striped washi tape down the left side of the page since this picture was scanned in, which added a lot to it. Just a fun random page!

Just a work in progress that I may, or may not, ever finish. I made a selfie that I liked, which is rare. I'm not good at selfies, but I decided to try sketching from it. I don't have much of a likeness, but it's good practice. I used a couple of different graphite pencils, so far.

That's it for this post! It's almost 5:00 a.m., and I've been awake since before 3:00 a.m. It's one of those nights where I wake up with stuff on my mind that won't let me sleep, so I get up, fix me a cup of chamomile tea, turn the music video channel on without sound, and try to relax enough to go back to bed. This morning I decided to finish this blog post, so I accomplished something while I am up anyway. Plus, I'm enjoying the quiet and stillness, but I'm feeling a little drowsy, so I'm going to sign off and try to get some more sleep in before hubby gets up and brings the house to life. Ha!

Take care of you and make something you enjoy making!  

Latest Sketches in My Australian Piano Hinge Sketchbook

 I finished my last W/N sketchbook a couple of weeks ago with the acrylic sketch in my last post, and life's been happening, so I hadn't sketched much until the last few days, and these are all in my handmade sketchbook. They got a little messy, because I can't remember to put a paper under my hand when I'm sketching. Therefore, I smudge what I've already sketched, plus the clean sheet of paper on the opposite side. Also, because the paper is thin, sometimes when I sketch on the back of a page the other side shows through some. Oh, well! They aren't meant to be masterpieces, and every one teaches me something!

This one is from some paper that I had painted black acrylic onto and cut out some shapes for something else. Days later I picked the paper with the holes in it up and saw a vase and leaf shapes, so I glued it into my book and added some details with a micron ink pen and a white gel pen. The vase shape and leaves are actually the book page. The black part is where I scrubbed the black paint onto the paper that I glued onto the page. I thought it was interesting...

This was a paper that I cleaned the paint off my palette/brush while I was painting in acrylics. It resembled a tree with fall leaves to me, so I gave it a black trunk and a frame and glued it into my book. I like it!

I saw this photo on Pinterest and found her interesting, so I tried to sketch her using a large  LYRA water-soluble graphite stick, although I didn't use any water with it. It did help loosen up my sketching some though.

I experimented with different media and elements on a large sheet of paper while I was making pages for my Magpie's Nest Journal, then tore it into smaller pieces. Some I used in the Magpie's Nest, but I liked this one as is, so I glued it into this book. The quote is from Ivy Newport. For some reason I couldn't get this paragraph to align left. Sorry!

Another sketch from a Pinterest photo that I found interesting, also with the large LYRA graphite stick.

Also from a Pinterest photo reference with the large LYRA graphite stick...

And another interesting face from Pinterest with the LYRA graphite stick...

I switched gears and, since I love the old boudoir (bedroom) dolls, I decided to try a group sketch with the LYRA graphite stick. I've had these sticks for years, but have rarely tried to sketch with them. They do force you to sketch looser and not fiddle with the details!

I've discovered that spraying them with matte sealer gives them a softer fuzzier look, which I'm not crazy about, but my clear sealer wasn't handy.

There are also some pages in between these that I'm still working on, so I didn't include them in this post. Maybe they'll be finished by the next post! 

Thanks for visiting!

Glenkirk Landing/Bluff

 A sketch from memory of the scene down the river, as you come out of our local town. It's also home, as I happen to live a little further back on top of that bluff. When I was very little my dad worked at the rock crusher that made those caves to drive trucks back through. The red dot is the house roof of a neighbor that lives between us and the river. We can walk to the river in just a few minutes, but can't see it from our house. There are some mistakes that I didn't notice until it was done, but since it's just a sketch in my book, I decided to quit fiddling with it and maybe do one for real later!

7" x 10" 135 lb mixed media paper in W/N sketchbook from memory- I never get tired of this scene and the river.

Can't Decide Which Abstract I Like Best!

 Another abstract created by spritzing the paper in my sketchbook with water, then adding Pebeo India ink, Marine blue and metallic copper acrylic inks, more spritzed water, paper towel dabbing, and salt. I wound up getting too much water, and some of the ink didn't want to dissolve without more spritzing. Also, the metallic copper isn't showing up in the photos, but there is a copper shimmer over most of the piece, which is gorgeous in the light. I don't know how to get the metallics to show up on here. :(

Anyway, this is the format that I painted it in, and I like it...

but I also like it flipped upside down, where the dark spots resemble people...

but I also like it horizontal like this, where it reminds me of water and rocks...

but I also like it flipped over horizontally to remind me of sky and land. 

I don't know which is my favorite, but I'm thinking that all four of them would be great as a set of greeting cards with a message. I just might try that!

This experimental thing is fun, plus it's in my sketchbook, so I don't have to worry about it being right or wrong, which makes it double fun! Try it! You'll like it! :)

Experiments with Alcohol and a Buffalo

 I have practiced my art sporadically over the last two, or three, weeks. Hubby nearly put his eye out while weed eating, then got food poisoning on top of it, then the shingles jumped on his head and face around the injured eye. The shingles have almost dried up, the stomach is better, and, hopefully, the eye is almost well. At least, it looks much better than a couple of weeks ago. He's on steroid drops for the eye now and has to go back to the eye Dr. September 1.

During multiple trips to doctors with him, I had to go to the dermatologist to get some places on my face checked out. The one that was most concerning to me, they said is ok, but they froze fourteen possible skin cancer cells off my face and hairline. They are almost healed now. All but one doctor was out of town by several miles, so they weren't quick trips. 

I hadn't driven in over a year, so I found out I can still drive, although I'm not that comfortable in our current car. We've had it almost six years, but hubby does the driving most of the time, so I haven't driven it enough for it to be second nature to me. Thankful I can still drive though!

These are what I've managed to do between trips, all in my 7 x 10" W/N 135 lb sketchbook...

This one is a watercolor from an original photo I took on our road trip out west in 2019, with just a touch of a colored pencil.

This one is acrylic inks (darker and more vibrant in reality). I spritzed alcohol on the paper, dropped the inks, spritzed alcohol again, and tilted the paper in different directions, then let dry. I added a micron pen and Pebeo India ink with a stick on top of the inks.

These two are on the same page, and are also acrylic inks dropped onto alcohol damp paper then spritzed with alcohol again and tilted around, salts added, and left to dry. The metallic copper is not showing up as pretty as it really is. 

The same two as above, but separated...

A page of experiments with alcohol, acrylic paint, ink, and watercolor.

This one is an experiment with gouache and water, which didn't work very well. I didn't like it, so I added parchment colored acrylic paint strokes for sort of an impressionistic effect (below). I'm still not happy with it, but I'm leaving it for now. I can't say that gouache has won me over yet.

Anyway, that's it for this post! Some days I didn't get to paint at all, but when I did, my soul sung, and I felt at peace! I hope you have something that makes your soul sing.