Hearts and Swirls...

I'm still playing with the tube watercolours. I did some red and white blending here. This still isn't the look I'm trying for. I think I may have to run out this morning and get new paints. I want to be working on something every day but since I'm a little time strapped today, I decided to keep it simple... a fluffy piece of clip art.

I've been watching Zentangle videos on YouTube and I think that's what I want to work on next. It's a little intimidating, especially when you watch the video in timelapse. The overall look though, thrills me. Feeling very excited.

I tried for whimsy and got this...

Ok, I knew it had a bit of a Hitchcock feel to it, but liked the whole musical note thing that someone photoshopped in. (again I have no idea who's original this was because the Pinterest link only gave me the picture)

I don't really feel like I'm getting the hang of watercolours. This time I used the squeeze tubes but it still feels heavy. Do I just need to add a lot more water? Use a larger brush? I see all these beautiful pics where the watercolour is so even or it just looks like a pretty puddle of vibrant colour, like a tie-dye circle. I'm obviously not getting that. The sky here just looks too streaky and the clouds don't really have the fluffiness I was looking for. I'll keep trying but I may have to run out and get one of those pan sets of watercolours.

Something Old/ Something New

Not really as romantic as the title suggests. The old is the hippie bus and the new is the style of art.

So in my quest to be a bit more adventurous with my art I've tried something else that I've seen in other's works that I love. (This idea is based on a piece by Danny Phillips that I found on Pinterest)  The idea of just blocks of colour depicting different landscapes is something I've wanted to try and now I can say I have. This is supposed to be an old VW hippie bus in a parking lot on a beach. So I have asphalt, beach sand, water and sky. 

My thoughts on this... I think it could have been better if I used watercolour paints instead of pencils, mind you the water part looks ok. I also think I need more colour selection. I only have 12 pencils (though I guess I could have blended some). I'm also thinking a rail separating parking lot and beach might give more definition but I was trying just to use the blocks...I may still draw this in later. I think the sky is a total wash out but I love the van. :) Again more coloured pencil choices might have made it pop more. I have nothing to use for the white area or the metal so I relied on a regular pencil and the plain white paper. This was fun to do though and I may try another colour block picture with actual watercolour paints.

I Love Snow...

at Christmas. All other times, I'm all about green grass and flowers. beach sand and sunshine.

Now don't get me wrong, I do see the beauty in snow... well fresh snow anyway. To be honest, I think snowflakes are one of the most beautiful and fascinating things I've ever seen. There is actually a study here talking about how different snowflakes are formed. It's interesting but I mostly love looking at the photos...lol.

My kids are home from school today because it's too icy for buses. Seems this year, we've had more 'extreme weather' school cancelations than I remember ever having when I grew up. (and I've lived in Newfoundland and Northern Quebec, where snow is plentiful). Needless to say the boys are thrilled... I'm still working on seeing the bright side here.

Segueing into art now... I've been trying a lot of different styles because I don't want to fall into the rut I got into last year, where I drew nothing for the latter half of the year. So yesterday I decided that I'd try animation. Simple lines and textures...quick, easy and fun, right? Actually, it's a little more work than I realized. It was fun though. Ironically, when I sat down to think of what I wanted to draw, I realized that the two characters that I found most gorgeous in the movies I've seen, were Jack Frost from Rise of the Guardians and Elsa from Frozen... the Winter characters....go figure. And yeah, my snowflakes are not even remotely symmetrical...my 7 year old just wanted to make sure I knew that.

Black & White and Colour

So we are back to dreary here today. The weather forecast says rain (and flood warnings), then ice pellets... :(

I'm craving colour (and oranges...lol) and thankfully I've got art to provide that. I'm not a person that can think something up in my head and put it on paper. I'm hoping with time this is something that will come to me. Right now though, I need to see the physical picture to draw. Pinterest has become a great source of inspiration for me. There are so many different ideas and styles in the pictures. Unfortunately, sometimes, even when I've clicked on the link, it doesn't source me back to who had the original idea. I'm hoping that if someone ever sees I've redone their photo, craft or drawing that they are flattered and not ticked. I will always try to credit the original if I can.

This arrow pic is one of those pictures. I used the watercolour pencils on it. It didn't turn out quite as vibrant as I would have liked but there are parts of it I really love like the leaves and the feathers.

The b/w profile on the top is totally a new style for me. It was a lot of shading and blending with harsher lines and tones. I'm kind of loving it. Feeling happily creative.

Spring is coming...

I don't care what the weatherman says, I believe... lol. We had sunshine yesterday (though it was still cold) and today it's going to be +1. I'm just going to ignore the windchill temperature and the fact that we are supposed to be getting freezing rain in a day or two. I just feel so much better embracing the sunshine. This tree I painted yesterday makes me think of spring, even if a couple of leaves have fallen...I'm blaming the butterflies. The watercolour pencils are so vibrant, which helps with my happy feelings too.

I finished the tree and decided to colour it using my watercolour pencils. I love the colour they produce. Unfortunately, this wasn't the original plan so I only used regular paper. It rippled a bit with the water but I'm still pretty happy with it. I also need new paintbrushes. I made the mistake of grabbing one of my son's and it was terrible quality, so I had some problems where it separated and dragged the colour. There are also some shedded brush hairs on it, if you look close enough.

Excited to start a new drawing today. It's a detailed one so it may take a couple of days OR I may not get any other work done today. :)

FINALLY...

It's been months and months (July 2013) but I finally picked up my pencil yesterday and did, not one, but 2 sketches. Just simple sketches without a lot of details (meaning they took about an hour or so each instead of the regular 5-6) but I'm just so glad that I did something. Even better, I've already started a 3rd one that I'll hopefully finish today. I would like to thank Ginny, from Special Moments in Time, for taking the time and sending me a lovely email when I was feeling very uncreative and down about procrastinating.

**Update- I finished the tree I was drawing. If it looks familiar, it's because I drew it from a craft I found on Pinterest. (where I get a lot of the pictures I draw)  The quality isn't great because it's too large for my scanner and I had to take a photo. Hoping to get it coloured today and posted tomorrow. Hopefully, with something new. From creative block to not wanting to do anything but art...need to find the balance.