Bootcamp Begins

Its January so a new session of Sketchbook Skool has started.  Since I have taken all three courses I was invited to take Bootcamp.  It s free course open to those who have taken all three courses.  They plan on covering aspects of all three previous lessons. We have 3 sessions a week.

This first exercise involved fruit and drawing at various steps.  It was quite a fun little exercise. I drew it in ink and then painted it in watercolor.  It was fun stopping and eating between each drawing.

This one I drew on Saturday while watching football. I drew it from some images on Pinterest.  I combine two different ideas.  I made the nose way to short but kept going anyways. I colored her in with InkTense pencils and a waterbrush. Simple but fun.

What did you do to express your creativity today?

Working On Re-Entry

Its taking me a while to get back to blogging.  I have been home since Monday but I had a lot of writing to do. Re-entry is always a process for me and this time has not been any different.  After the laundry and the clean up and catch up I really had no desire to add blogging to the mix. I was up till midnight finishing some writing for my coach so this morning I am dragging a bit.

I drew this on and off yesterday while watching TV.  I have been using my Lamy Safari fountain pen a lot lately.  I love how the ink flows out of it. Pure pleasure to work with.

Then I added color with InkTense Pencils and a waterbrush.

This is a silly car I drew when I was stuck in a construction zone. It gave me something to do while I waited.

Here is Dave cooking out in the campground. Thats corn on the grill not fish. I did this for Sketchbook Skool. A drawing that tells a story.

Drawing My Kitchen

My kitchen, oh my there are so many mistakes in this drawing.  Nothing is the right size or shape but I kept hearing Tommy Kane's voice in my head saying "finish the drawing" so I kept plugging away. The handles on the cupboard are different for a reason. I when I made the error on the left I was dismayed but decided to make the other side correct. I learned a lot with this drawing. Its always encouraging to realize that the next drawing is going to be better.

I got my Derwent Pencil Bag in the mail yesterday.  I love it.  It will hold 130 pencils, a sketchbook, watercolor box and more. There are three sleeves to hold pencils and you can add more.  Right now I added all my Inktense pencils and my Graphitint pencils.  Whenever I get to the zoo to do animal drawing I'll take it for a real test run.  Just using it at home has been great because everything is right there in the bag.  I don't have to go looking for anything.

Poppies For AEDM

Poppies are on the menu today.  I did the one on the left in colored pencil awhile ago but it was lonesome on the page.  The two to the right were started with a hand carved stamp. Then I used Inktense pencils and Faber-Castell gelatos and a water brush. The background was also made with gelatos. I like the result.

Check out what other are doing today for art every day month.

Link Love July 26

I am off on an adventure but will offer a few links to keep you entertained.

1. Here is a video on using InkTense pencils on fabric Inktense on Fabric

2. In this tutorial you will learn to make a coptic stitch sketchbook.  This one of the best I have seen for this technique and makes an awesome journal.

3. In this tutorial you can turn a hardcover book into a wallhanging.  tutorial

4. This tutorial will have you making gelli prints with masking stencils  She gets some pretty cool effects with this technique.

5. I posted about my friend Jessie the other day but will include her for link love so that more people get to see her awesome work.  She is a pet portraiture artist and blogs as Stray Dog Arts. Make sure to check out the gallery.

My Poor Foot

On Sunday I slipped in a store. Mostly my dignity was bruised. I did get a bruise on my shin and had a sore foot. They foot just got worse. It may be broken or not. I  had an xray yesterday and I am waiting to hear the radiologists report.

So on my early morning times when I couldn't sleep because of the pain. I pulled out the journal and drew my foot. It was pretty cathartic. I was able to sleep afterwards.



Today I decided it was time to sharpen the pencils I have been using.  This led to sharpening all my pencils. Look at all the color in those shavings.

Here are just a few of my beautifully sharpened pencils.  I know I am going to be happy I took the time to do this the next time I sit down to draw.

I am off to have a Christmas lunch with a friend, what fun thing are you doing today?

A Completed Project and a Gift

I finished this blanket a little while ago. I like how it turned out. I have another project ready to go on the loom which I will talk about in another post.

Quite awhile ago I won a giveaway on my friend Lisa's blog.  It took awhile for her to mail it to me so she included this lovely piece of art with the package.

This big prize included a set of inktense pencils. I love using these, they are so vibrant when water is added to them.

Then there was this bound journal which is really a ledger.

The inside has pages of ledger paper that I will have fun uses for.  Its not old looking of course but it will still be great to use. I could even dye it with tea to age it a bit.

and last but not least a little paper mache' book thats is all set for decorating. Thank you Lisa for being so generous. I sure feel blessed to receive all these goodies.