This is a crazy time of year for me as I'm sure it is for many of you so, needless to say, I'm late with my entry this week for Scribble Picnic.
Michael chose the theme - Finland/Scandinavian. I did a little research and discovered the Finland invented the Sauna as well as Ice-skates...who knew? Well I knew they were big into saunas as my brother-in-law was Finnish. My neighbours in a previous house were also Finnish and they had a sauna specially built as an add-on to their home. I was going to go with sketching ice-skates but opted for Finland's National flower instead - Lily of the Valley.
This was done with a mix of graphite, Prismacolor pencils, and watercolours...even a wee touch of black ink too. I sketched it in a Strathmore Tan-toned sketchbook.
First layer
Final layer
To see what my fellow Scribblers have done for this week, click HERE.
Next week, the theme is DREDEL/SPINNING TOP/TEETOTUM...that will be an interesting one! Why not come along and join us?
To find out how, click HERE.
I hope you've all been enjoying a lovely week. My son and I have been busy with choir practise for our upcoming performance at one of our major hospitals. This is our fourth year participating in the hospital choir. SO much fun!
THIS WEEKEND is the final Moment Sketchers, previously known as Moment Catchers, of 2017.
I didn't get a chance to sketch yesterday but today we put up our only Christmas tree...a cute little table top tree. I just had to sketch it!
Here is the first Prismacolor pencil layer after a light graphite sketch.
I laid in the highlights first with a Prismacolour white pencil.
Then I started placing the greenery around the highlights going from light to dark.
The end result.
More Prismacolour pencil work.
Then I used a Posca paint marker in white to brighten some of the highlights.
The Christmas tree was sketched in a Strathmore sketchbook with tan-toned paper.
I REMEMBERED that I didn't do a blog post showing my Moment Sketchers efforts for last month so here 'tis. Bradley and I had watched the documentary titled - A Street Cat named Bob. I had read the book before and the documentary was great too. It's about a street cat in England who bonds with a young homeless man who then turns his life around.
We also tried out the vegan doughnuts from the new Doughnut Time shop which recently opened in our area. The Rocky Road doughnuts were delicious!
First the pen sketch
Then a layer of watercolour
The end result.
I used some Prismacolor pencils to give the watercolour more depth.
THIS AFTERNOON we had a storm move in which thankfully turned out to be a bit of a fizzer, however, it left behind this very eerie, bright yellow glow to the atmosphere around us. It was very hard to capture on camera as it was so much more intense and golden than what you see in the image. Last time we had something like that happen was just before a severe dust storm moved in but that is not on the cards this time...as far as I know.
As mentioned in a previous post, I didn't finish INKtober all the way to the end but I did get to #27 which I'm very happy about as I beat my efforts of 24 sketches last year.
So here is the final wrap up...
INKtober 21/31 - Aussie Magpie - I sketched this beauty with Sumi ink in a Strathmore grey toned sketchbook. The highlights are done with white gouache.
I have a huge soft spot for magpies as, apart from being very clever birds, I adore how their babies are so loud and demanding when it comes to wanting food. They certainly keep their parents busy. Even now, as I type this post, I can hear a young magpie badgering their parents for food in a neighbour's yard. An interesting note is that the Aussie magpie is actually an entirely different bird species to the European magpie so they are quite different in nature. They were only called magpies due to their black and white markings.
I found a video on YouTube of our Aussie magpies and butcher birds looking for a feed. Not my video but it shows exactly what I mean about the magpies' loud and demanding babies. Too funny! We have had magpies fly into our kitchen waiting on us to put out some food, just like you see in the video. Please watch it all the way to the end as there is more than one baby.
Click HERE if the video below does not play for you. If an advertisement pops up on the video, just click the little 'x' on the top right corner of the ad to close it off.
INKtober 22/31 - Country Church. This time sketched with Speedball India ink in my Moleskine watercolour notebook. I sketched this from a photo I took when we went on a country drive out past Beaudesert earlier this year.
INKtober 23/31 - Pineapple - I started with a loose pen sketch in my Moleskine watercolour notebook.
Then added some Kuretake artist quality watercolours
As a child, my favourite fruit juice was fresh pineapple juice...still is. Pineapple is so refreshing diced up on a hot summer's day. Sometimes, I will spoil myself even further by adding a large dollop of either vegan coconut or soy ice-cream. SO delicious!
INKtober 24/31 - Bat - I used the official INKtober prompt for that date which was BLIND. I thought of the saying 'Blind as a bat'. But, funnily enough, bats aren't blind and their vision isn't all that bad...just better suited to night time. I sketched this fruit bat, also known as Flying Foxes here, in my Moleskine watercolour notebook using Sumi ink.
INKtober 25/31 - Boo! - My Scribble Picnic pals would have seen this one already. Sketched with a Platinum Carbon fountain pen then inked in with a Pentel Pocket brush pen. The green shoes were done with a Tombow brush pen.
INKtober 26/31 - Mouse - I used the official INKtober prompt for the date which was SQUEAK. This little cutie was sketched with a mix of ballpoint pen, Dr Ph. Martins Bombay ink, and Speedball India ink. The pinks and yellow tones were done with a touch of watercolour with white gouache to highlight.
INKtober 27/31 - Climb - which was the official prompt for the date. My final INKtober for 2017 sketched with Speedball India ink in my Moleskine watercolour notebook.
Even though INKtober is now done and dusted, I hope you will continue to follow my posts as there will be lots more sketches to come...
Thank you for all the wonderful and encouraging comments. I plan to catch up with your blogs very soon.
It's already Thursday Down-Under so I'm running very late for Scribble Picnic. I had a very bad pain day with my back yesterday after doing some housework for house inspection. We passed inspection with flying colours but my back grumbled and groaned for the rest of the day and evening. I took painkillers and went off to bed even though I did have ideas for my take on the theme floating around in my head. I just couldn't focus on anything due to the pain. Thankfully, it wasn't as bad when I woke this morning so I decided to quickly sketch something.
There is more to add...and I will definitely be adding watercolours so will post the results later.
Finished the colour version in the afternoon
To see what my fellow Scribblers have been up to for this week, click HERE.
To find out how to join our merry clan, click HERE.
If you follow me on Instagram you would have seen these already although I don't always share my process stages on Instagram so you get lucky there.
Sorry I'm late in posting all the INKtober sketches I did but life just gets busy at times.
So here goes...
INKtober 17/31 - Official prompt was GRACEFUL so I went with a swan.
I sketched it in a Strathmore Grey-toned sketchbook - approx. A5 in size
Starting out with a loose ballpoint pen sketch
First pass of ink
More layers
And the end result
I wasn't overly happy with how the water turned out. I could have dabbled more on it but I tried not to spend too much time on the INKtober sketches.
INKtober 18 - You would have seen on Scribble Picnic - Castle
INKtober 19/31 - I went with an ink-toned sketch of daisies from a negative space aspect using SUMI ink. This was sketched in a Moleskine watercolour notebook - approx. A5 in size. The Sumi ink behaved a little differently on the watercolour paper so it took a bit of wrestling.
I used an acrylic painting I did years ago as my inspiration for the inked piece above
INKtober 20/31 - Egret. Keeping with the ink and negative space aspect but, this time, using Speedball India ink. I think it behaved a little better than the Sumi ink on the watercolour paper.
Done in Moleskine watercolour notebook approx. A5 in size.
I will leave it at that for today...tune in tomorrow for the last lot of INKtober sketches.
Another busy week has passed by and it's Scribble Picnic time again. This week, Michael chose 'COOKIE' for the prompt.
I decided to create a cartoon-type skit done very quickly. I may redo it at some point and refine a few things.
These two little mice are carrying a large sultana cookie back to the mouse hole but they run into a problem when they get there...
YIKES!!! Me thinks that their Mum won't be too happy with them when she sees what they did.
The whole skit was done over two pages in my Moleskine sketchbook which doesn't take watercolour too well. Next time, I will use the Moleskine watercolour notebook.
To see what my fellow Picnickers have done for this week, click HERE.
Next week, the prompt is 'GIFT WRAP'....come along and join us. To find out how, click HERE.
On another note, I'd like to thank you all for the well wishes last week. I had the cortisone injection on Monday...yes, it hurt, but it was bearable. I was told to rest the hip for a few days and that the cortisone would kick in after three days. The pain seems to have eased somewhat....YAY!
I will post the rest of my INKtober sketches over the coming days. Time got away from me last week.
I had an image in my head which I roughly sketched with pencil in my Moleskine sketchbook. Don't you just love his over-sized socks?
I then refined it with a new sketch...all finished below.
Will was absolutely over the moon with his birthday present...a T-rex Dinosaur! T-Rex looks quite happy with his new owner too. hehe
To see what my fellow Picnickers did for this week's prompt, click HERE.
Next week, the prompt is 'COOKIE'. Do come along and join in on the fun...to find out how, click HERE. Re. INKtober - I got as far as Day 27 then came down with a severe migraine which happened to be the side effect from dealing with very bad hip and back pain all week. The medication knocked me out so I had to call it quits on the inking. Last year I got to Day 25 so at least I beat that.
I am now booked in for an Ultrasound-guided cortisone injection directly into my hip joint on Monday. It won't help my back but, hopefully, it will help with the hip pain.
I will post the rest of my INKtober sketches soon so stay tuned...
I didn't realise Michael had put up the prompt for this week until an hour or so back so I quickly sketched out the following in my Moleskine A5 sketchbook.
Little Tommy is all set for Trick-orTreating on Halloween night
Click HERE to see what my fellow Picnickers have done for this week's prompt.
I'm enjoying the INKtober challenge and managing to keep up with the sketching daily even though I am a day behind in posting them on Instagram.
For this one, I used the official INKtober prompt for Day 13/31 - TEEMING. As we were getting torrential rain that week, it was only fitting that I sketched it. I used Strathmore Grey-toned paper with Sumi ink and a wee touch of gouache for highlights.
I did this next one on Strathmore Tan-toned paper using Bombay and Sumi inks with some gouache to highlight. The Cheetah was one of my favourite animals as a child....I loved that they could run a mile a minute. I guess this one suited the official INKtober prompt for the day too - FIERCE although I see them as quite a graceful animal - Day 14/31.
Day 15/31 - A Siamese Fighting fish A.K.A. Betta fish. This one is my son's fish which I took a photo of. I love his colours...sketched with Platinum carbon fountain pen, PITT pen, plus Sumi and Bombay inks.
Day 16/31 - A rabbit. I took some process photos for this one...starting with a loose pen sketch on Strathmore tan-toned paper
First layer which is a mix of Bombay and Sumi inks
Second layer with inks
And the end result....more detail and layering. White gouache for highlights.
I've had a pretty rough day...feeling unwell and having to take medication to ward off a pending migraine. I'm a little foggy-headed as I type this so please forgive any errors.
This week's prompt was a 'fill in the blank' —
I've enjoyed working with the tan-toned paper for INKtober so thought I'd use it for today's sketch as well. Castles kept coming to mind so that's what I went with. Sketched with a Platinum Carbon fountain pen and coloured with a mix of INKtense and Prismacolor pencils. I was channeling well known Urban Sketcher - Pat Southern Pearce.
To see what my Picnic pals have done for this week's prompt, click HERE.
To find out how to join us each week, click HERE.
And a laugh for today —
Those who follow my blog regularly will know that Jack, our Jack Russell/Shihtzu, detests having a camera or smart phone pointed in his direction. Well, yesterday, I caught him watching me, and he looked so darned cute that I had to try. Poor little man is blind in his left eye (cataracts and age) so he didn't realise what I was up to at first and I managed to actually get a fairly decent shot of him.
Within literally two seconds, he spotted my phone and was on the move...a blur! THIS is what most of Jack's photos are like. haha
I will post more INKtober sketches tomorrow so stay tuned...
I'm taking a break from portraits for the moment so here is a bit of variety for you...
Day 8/31 - I have been using these Dr Ph. Martins inks along with some Sumi ink in a few of the following sketches. I like the range of tones I can get with them.
Day 9/31 - A penguin sketched on Strathmore Tan toned paper with Sumi ink, a Pentel pocket brush pen and a few prismacolor pencils
Day 10/31 - A rat sketched on Strathmore Tan toned paper with Sumi ink, Bombay ink, and Faber-castell Polychromos white pencil
Day 11/31 - Why a frog in meditation? Well firstly, I had decided I wanted to sketch a cute, illustrative frog. Then, after watching a documentary on George Harrison the night before with my son, and I noted that George Harrison was big into meditation and the Hindu faith so, I thought...why not sketch a meditating frog. Note the 'Peace' sign necklace she's wearing? Sketched on Strathmore Tan toned paper using ink, watercolours, and Pentel pocket brush pen for stripes.
Day 12/31 - A teddybear sketched on Strathmore Tan toned paper using Bombay and Sumi inks, a brown ballpoint pen, and gouache for highlights. The bow is done with watercolours.
That's it for now until the next INKtober post.
Scribble Picnic is tomorrow and I still haven't a clue what I'm going to do for the challenge. YIKES!
