There's a group on flickr that posts a photo to use as reference for you to paint. The 1st one was a photo of Michelle Obama, so I thought I'd give it a shot. I did this pretty quickly, so I like the loosness of it. I don't know how much it really looks like her, but i still like it, either way! ; )
watercolor and ink in my hand*book journal.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Pin-Up Study #15
Mixed Media in my Pin-Up Moleskine. I got a little grungier with the background on this one, and I really like how that came out! I'd like a little bit more realism in the facial features, but i rather like this loose style. These little studies are really helping me learn the human figure and helping me figure out a painting style.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Wine & Cheese
Decided to paint my lunch today....I've seen so many cool journal pages about food that inspire me, I thought i'd try my hand at it.
Swan
page 3....one of the lovely swans. They move around a lot, so it was bit tricky to catch this one, but i do like the looseness of the sketch! For a 1st timer to sketching "live" i learned a lot, and I am completely hooked. I will still take my photographs to use for reference for some other artwork, but I will definitely be a sketcher outdoors from now on! I probably would have sketched over by this lake a little longer, but this really hateful little goose kept running and snapping at everyone out there. He did that last time, too. He's like a crotchety hateful old man...stupid goose! I have photos of him...he will get a full spread at some point, but maybe not from life....i don't want that mean thing to bite me. LOL!
City Park, NOLA
City Park, NOLA
Lord and Taylor Rose Garden
page 2 of the "New Orleans" journal. This is my 1st journal where i have actually sketched and painted on site.
The rose garden is really amazing. 2 fountains in the path, and then another hige fountain and statue off to the side. The amount of different roses is really astounding! And the colors.....breathtaking, to say the least!
City Park Botanical Gardens, NOLA
The rose garden is really amazing. 2 fountains in the path, and then another hige fountain and statue off to the side. The amount of different roses is really astounding! And the colors.....breathtaking, to say the least!
City Park Botanical Gardens, NOLA
Covered Walkway
page 1 of the new "New Orleans" journal I started today. This is my 1st journal where I have actually sketched and painted on site, so i really enjoyed my day!
City Park Botanical Gardens, NOLA
City Park Botanical Gardens, NOLA
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Ceramic Palette
i almost got all the shadows right to make it look like it has depth, so i'm pretty stoked about that, because the shadows were a lot harder to paint than expected. this is my fave-o gouache ceramic palette....awesome Talen's gold in the center, with some Daler-Rowney, W&N, and M. Graham pinks, oranges and reds all around. i need to get another one for my blues greens and purples i guess. this is my nifty little square hand*book journal....maybe my favorite one....maybe
Friday, April 17, 2009
Take Flight...
i'll probably add some sort of quote to this later, but for now i can't decide which one. i also like it for a possible tattoo design...hmmmm....
watercolor, gouache and ink in my hand*book journal
watercolor, gouache and ink in my hand*book journal
Monday, April 13, 2009
Pin-Up Study #14-Peter Driben
i went back to pencil for this one...wasn't quite sure if i could pull off that cute little wink in straight pen-not yet anyway! ; )
I love these Moleskines, however, the watercolor does bleed through, which it does not do in my hand*book journals, so that'll be a thought for my next one. I haven't tried out the watercolor Moleskines with any regularity yet, so that may be an option over the sketchbook. The pantyhose looked like a much warmer toned black in the book, so i'm thinking i should have mixed some umber watercolor in with the black? hmmm... haven't quite grasped the warms and cools of watercolors yet, or how much lighter they dry...but i am learning, so it's all a matter of time.
I love these Moleskines, however, the watercolor does bleed through, which it does not do in my hand*book journals, so that'll be a thought for my next one. I haven't tried out the watercolor Moleskines with any regularity yet, so that may be an option over the sketchbook. The pantyhose looked like a much warmer toned black in the book, so i'm thinking i should have mixed some umber watercolor in with the black? hmmm... haven't quite grasped the warms and cools of watercolors yet, or how much lighter they dry...but i am learning, so it's all a matter of time.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Pin-Up Study 13(a & b)
The Smith's sang a song called "Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others" ...well, some pages are better than others. but you have to make a lot of junk to learn how to make something good, so i don't mind my junk pages. (too much)
this is 2 attempts at drawing the same picture in pen...realllyyy missing my pencil and ERASER! ; ) but , indeed there are bits on each that i like, and i see where the big mistakes are, so i learned, and that's what counts.
the good thing about messing up is that you can just let go completely and try things you wouldn't normally, since "it's already messed up anywho", and then sometimes your boo-boo, no matter how badly misproportioned, still makes you say "cool!" ; )
this is 2 attempts at drawing the same picture in pen...realllyyy missing my pencil and ERASER! ; ) but , indeed there are bits on each that i like, and i see where the big mistakes are, so i learned, and that's what counts.
the good thing about messing up is that you can just let go completely and try things you wouldn't normally, since "it's already messed up anywho", and then sometimes your boo-boo, no matter how badly misproportioned, still makes you say "cool!" ; )
Pin-Up Studies 11 & 12
another sketch of Dita Von Teese and one from Playboy Blondes.
i am trying to sketch in pen rather than pencil. it's hard to break pencil-drawing habits! i know the correct proportions will come the more i draw, so i'm not worried so much about that. i like the looseness of the marks i make with the pen. this pin-up moley is all about playing and learning, so i do no expect "perfect" pages. i expect lerning and new ideas and fun. still trying to figure out the watercolor, but i am enjoying playing, good color combinations or no! ; )
i like the rapidograph a little more than i like the micron 005...i don't know why. they pretty much the same. i felt like the micron was a little more fragile though.(probably because i wore it out so quickly!)
even though it's messy, i like the addition of the lettering in this page, and i'll probably add more of that to future pages.
i am trying to sketch in pen rather than pencil. it's hard to break pencil-drawing habits! i know the correct proportions will come the more i draw, so i'm not worried so much about that. i like the looseness of the marks i make with the pen. this pin-up moley is all about playing and learning, so i do no expect "perfect" pages. i expect lerning and new ideas and fun. still trying to figure out the watercolor, but i am enjoying playing, good color combinations or no! ; )
i like the rapidograph a little more than i like the micron 005...i don't know why. they pretty much the same. i felt like the micron was a little more fragile though.(probably because i wore it out so quickly!)
even though it's messy, i like the addition of the lettering in this page, and i'll probably add more of that to future pages.
Thursday, April 09, 2009
Pin-Up Study #10
April's issue of Inked magazine had some great photos of Dita Von Teese in it that i couldn't resist trying to draw in pen. ahhhh, pen....with no eraser. It's quick and sorta messy, but i like the colors, and it has loads of possibilities for something a bit more refined later...
I got a new rapidograph pen today, and wanted to try that out. I used to draw with one years ago, but my barrel on it cracked, and for some reason i just never bothered to replace it. it sketches quite nicely in the moleskine sketchbook...it drags a little on my other sketchbooks. Instead of gouache, I used watercolors on this one...a mix of my DS and my Holbeins. they bleed through the pages a little more than the gouache, but i think that's just me using too much water.
the left side of the spread started as an attempt to draw one of the other photographs, but it was super craptastic, so i did a little boo-boo fixer upper with some crazy flowers! i don't mind them so much...it adds to the circusy bordello flair of the colors! ; )
I got a new rapidograph pen today, and wanted to try that out. I used to draw with one years ago, but my barrel on it cracked, and for some reason i just never bothered to replace it. it sketches quite nicely in the moleskine sketchbook...it drags a little on my other sketchbooks. Instead of gouache, I used watercolors on this one...a mix of my DS and my Holbeins. they bleed through the pages a little more than the gouache, but i think that's just me using too much water.
the left side of the spread started as an attempt to draw one of the other photographs, but it was super craptastic, so i did a little boo-boo fixer upper with some crazy flowers! i don't mind them so much...it adds to the circusy bordello flair of the colors! ; )
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
Coffee Bar...
a sketch in my art journal...having lots of fun with my watercolors. the DS Kyanite that i used in parts of the coffee pot are VERY sparkly...awesome!
in a side note...i had used all the memory on my computer(it's super old) and so, being the rocket scientist i am, decided to clear me up some space by deleting programs i never use....apparently somehow how i deleted the crappy but workable editing program for my pictures. awesome. now i can't crop or chage the file size...nothing. yayyyyy me! LOL anywho, so for now it all will be posted from flicker, so that at least the picture will fit on the screen.
in a side note...i had used all the memory on my computer(it's super old) and so, being the rocket scientist i am, decided to clear me up some space by deleting programs i never use....apparently somehow how i deleted the crappy but workable editing program for my pictures. awesome. now i can't crop or chage the file size...nothing. yayyyyy me! LOL anywho, so for now it all will be posted from flicker, so that at least the picture will fit on the screen.
Friday, April 03, 2009
Dream....
playing around with my watercolors, i just started looking at the shapes the puddles of color made, and i traced around this cute little cloud, and then used white gouache to highlight it....
square hand*book journal
square hand*book journal
Sculptures in NOMA, City Park
The 3rd floor of NOMA is the Asian, Oceanic, African, and Native American Art....it might be my favorite part of the museum. Some of the walls are painted the most gorgeous shade of aqua blue, so it's very peaceful up there. SOOOOOO much cool stuff to look at!
This is done with my cool NEXUS pens. I've had them for a bit, but never really put them to use, so I thought i'd give them a try...plus, i found an aqua one at Dixie the other day, and had to have it. It may be my new favorite pen! AND they don't bleed when you put a watercolor wash over them...good stuff! I really enjoyed sketching in just ink without doing a pencil sketch 1st. It makes you draw a bit differently though....i'll definitely be doing more pen-only sketches! ; )
square hand*book journal
This is done with my cool NEXUS pens. I've had them for a bit, but never really put them to use, so I thought i'd give them a try...plus, i found an aqua one at Dixie the other day, and had to have it. It may be my new favorite pen! AND they don't bleed when you put a watercolor wash over them...good stuff! I really enjoyed sketching in just ink without doing a pencil sketch 1st. It makes you draw a bit differently though....i'll definitely be doing more pen-only sketches! ; )
square hand*book journal
Spider, City Park Sculpture Garden
this giant spider is in the sculpture garden in City Park. It's all spindly and crazy looking...I did get a photo, so I'll have to upload it. There were a ton of other cool sculptures in there that I can't wait to go back and sketch.....would have sketched all day, but the rain forced us inside. That's ok, though...there was plenty to sketch in there, too! ; ) I used my very cool NEXUS pens for this one. I don't think it shows up very well in this scan, but i found a very cool aqua one the other day at Dixie...I should have bought like 3 more of that one, because I'll use all the ink out of that in a quick minute! I love it!
square hand*book journal
square hand*book journal
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