Saturday 18 June 2022

friday face off

    I'm behind by a day yet again with it now being Saturday, not Friday. Oh well, better late than never I guess. For this week's Friday Face Off, I did some work on my weekly journal spread which involved finishing up the giraffe sketch I did a couple of weeks back plus another portrait. This Week 24 spread is not finished yet but getting there. I'm thinking of adding a couple more portraits in the blank area.

    A close up

    
    Brad and I have been watching Stranger Things together. I re-watched the first 3 seasons with him because he hadn't watched them yet so we are now on Season 4. Eleven is drawn with graphite pencils. I decided to ink the giraffe sketch. I signed up to the Creativity Matters Podcast on Instagram and we receive weekly prompts for illustrating our week. 

    To see what other FFO participants have done for this week, click HERE.

    Have a wonderful weekend! 

Love, Light and Peace

Saturday 11 June 2022

friday face off

Hi everyone, 

    It's been a very busy week so I'm running late with the art challenges this week but only by a day. This week for Friday Face Off, hosted by Nicole, I only managed a pencil sketch of what is to be a watercolour portrait. That's the plan for now anyway. I might have her finished for next week. 

    So this is as far as I've managed so far. She is actually very faint in my sketchbook but I've darkened the image so you can see the lines more easily.

    I thought you might also like to see some more of my older portraits. 

    The following portraits are all done freehand using ink for an INKtober challenge I did back in 2017. I do love working directly with ink.  I've learned to love the mistakes if they can't be rectified but, most times, I manage to blend them in. I usually draw with a .005 ink liner pen which is very, very fine, then I paint in shading and darks with liquid ink (usually Sumi ink) using a paintbrush. Then I often use a .01 or .03 liner pen to redefine certain lines more.The liquid ink gives you a wide variety of lights and darks depending on how much water you add.

    I also did an ink portrait of Selena. I don't know if you've heard of her but she was a very popular singer back in the 90's until she was callously gunned down by the woman who ran her fan club. Such a tragedy. She was known as the Queen of Tejano music and many said she could have been the next Gloria Estefan. There is a movie titled Selena where Jennifer Lopez plays the role of the popular singer. A lovely movie on Selena's life and highlights the close bond she had with her family. I'd highly recommend watching it if you haven't already. If the video trailer below doesn't work, you can watch it on YouTube HERE.

    So I thought you might like to see my process when working with ink. There is always an ugly stage in most paintings which is why you shouldn't give up and press on until you are happy.

    First the fine ink pen drawing. The ink liner pen is fine enough where I can cover mistakes and redefine areas later. Bear in mind, the line drawing is darkened so you can see the lines more clearly.

    The first pass with liquid ink and not too attractive. You'll notice the ink bled too far into her face...

    ... but, not giving up, I was able to use acrylic gouache to blend it out. And then achieved an end result where I was happy with it. I sometimes use a white ink pen for some highlights and fine white lines though not always. Sometimes I will use white gouache to block or blend areas too.


    Remember to pop on over to Nicole's blog to see the work of other participants. Click HERE.  

    Note — I'm running a little behind catching up with everyone's blogs but I hope to remedy that over the next couple of days.

    Til next time...

Love, Light and Peace

Friday 10 June 2022

rain's thursday art date - yellow

    I'm running late (Aussie time, it's Friday) for Rain's Thursday Art Date this week so it will be a post and run. I was going to let this week slide as I haven't had much of a chance to do any art. BUT when I glanced at the theme of 'yellow' this morning, it nudged my creativity. A 'yellow submarine' immediately came to mind. So that's what I did. Of course, Yellow Submarine by The Beatles is playing in my head too. lol

    YIKES! This little yellow sub has found itself in a precarious position after the tide went out and now, it must wait for it to come back in. 

    To see what others have done for this week's challenge, check HERE.

    I have been a huge fan of 'tiny houses' for years and my yellow sub reminded me of a YouTube video I watched a year or so back where a couple in New Zealand actually created a Yellow Submarine Tiny House. If the video below doesn't work, you can find it HERE.

Love, Light, and Peace

Friday 3 June 2022

friday face off

    Another Friday Face Off is here! I still haven't completed the page spread for my ballpoint pen mermaid but I did get some more work done on her. She is pretty much completed but I've yet to add more elements to do with the sea around her. 

    This is where I left her last Friday. 


    And this is where she's at today


    To see what other Friday Face Off participants have done for this week, click HERE. Feel free to come join us each Friday over at Nicole's blog

    And here are a few more older ballpoint sketches. If I've done them any justice, you may even recognise a few of them. All done freehand with a BIC blue ballpoint pen.

 

    The one below was done with a Staedtler brown ballpoint pen

    And that ends my post for today. I hope you have a nice and relaxing weekend. 

Love, Light and Peace

Thursday 2 June 2022

rain's thursday art date

Hi everyone, 

I hope you've been enjoying a lovely week.

I think this may be my first time participating in Rain's Thursday Art Date.  The theme for this week is 'Pink'. I hope the pink Easter egg in my finally completed Easter spread will do. I know Easter was back in April but I've gradually been adding elements to the pages and only completed it last week.

The eggs, chick, and bunny were done with watercolours and ink. I collaged some stamps and the packaging from the vegan chocolate my son and I tried for the first time over Easter — it was delicious! The Carrie's Coconut bars remind me so much of the Bounty bars I used to love — I actually like the vegan ones better which is saying something because I've always been very picky when it comes to chocolate and the English-recipe Cadbury's was always my favourite. 

To see the work of other TAD participants for this week, click HERE.

Temperatures have dropped a bit here with Winter officially arriving on the first of June. I do love our winters despite the fact that the cold, dry air brings on frequent asthma attacks. I have to remember to wear a mask if I go outside in the mornings or evenings. If I forget, like I did the other morning, I suffer with violent fits of coughing followed almost immediately by chest congestion which makes breathing difficult. I end up feeling quite ill and weak for two to three days. Not fun at all especially when I'm still dealing with neck issues from the fall. I'll battle on regardless.

Before I close off this post, I thought you might like to see a picture of my studio muse. If Kya isn't draped across my art desk, she will sometimes lie on the rug directly behind my chair, mostly because I've kept putting her down after her failed attempts to lie on top of my work — while I'm actually trying to work. I'm fine if she lies on the desk right beside me but that isn't always the case. Instead of an art muse, I should call her an art block because she hates me working at my desk and constantly tries to stop me. Crazy cat! 

I hope you enjoy the rest of your week and the upcoming weekend. Stay safe and well. 

Love, Light and Peace