This afternoon, I finished my sketchbook for The Sketchbook Project. There were not plans to do one this year. The blank book is often a stressful deterrent. Usually more time is spent staring at it and wondering where to start than actually working in it...too much pressure. However, they were offering a discount on it via Facebook over the summer, so I caved. It arrived in mid-July and sat on the table collecting dust while I worked in a sketchbook that wasn't getting sent in for others to see. Then August came. With school starting it got buried underneath other books and projects. Then a few weekends ago with work being over-the-top busy and my mom being in town (since the middle of August by the way) I went into the art room, closed the door, and tried to find some semblance of serenity.
I was inspired by some patterns I had seen recently and just started playing around with my watercolors. The paper in these books is terrible - it buckled and didn't hold water very well. I was limited to mostly drawing with the brush instead of using washes and had to skip every other page due to bleed through. But it didn't matter. The time spent mindlessly creating these patterns made me so very happy. In fact, I think I'd like to quietly draw watercolor patterns in the art room with the door closed as my full-time job.
Christmas Countdown
2 hours ago
I see you are beginning to use negative space far more than you were. And the patterns are far far fresher. And I still think you could scanning them and selling them as wrapping paper or wall paper designs for they would scale.
ReplyDeleteYou might stick a copyright notice on this blog BTW.
And Bwahahahaha. There really are times when I wish I was far nearer to you. There are certain times when face to face is really needed to see the expression in the eyes be that for sympathy of here when a big spoilt princess who has a nose out of joint 'cause her kingdom has been invaded by the bigger princess who bred her. I expect neither of you were all that happy. But that mom daughter passive aggressiveness with hints of martyrdom and it's capacity to time travel back to the teen years would've been priceless. Albeit, at a distance. :-)
Ha ha ha! I know, such brat! The funny thing is is that I really wish my mom lived closer than 3,000 miles away. We are great friends, and I'd even be ok if she lived in the same city, on the same block, or even next door! But there is something about living in the same house. This long stay was thankfully broken up by many small 2-5 day trips so at least there was a break to recuperate. :) She's actually been in Italy for the last 2 weeks and still has 5 more days before returning to CA. Two days later she goes back to her house. A week from today I'll have my house back.
DeleteThank you. I can't seem to figure out how hand drawn stuff is turned into something useable for a surface design. Scanning shows all the wrinkles and buckles in the paper. When you look at someone's hand drawn work that has been produced into other things those flaws aren't visible. I'm missing a step or two somewhere and I'm stumped on what it is. It's probably in the editing program but I've not been able to clean it up well enough in what I have. Or maybe the scanner needs to be better.
Photograph it. then import it into photoshop. The you can mask all the white bits. Actually you could put a warming to it that would hold the ink. Anything white, blown out, will not cause any ink to flow from the printer so all you'll have is the paper.
DeleteBut in PS you could multiply the file into a A1 sheet or any other size you like.
Is there something going on in Rome that's drawing so many Americans to the eternal city ?. Your mom is the about the 30th I've heard going this month.
DeleteWhen using the eraser or masking tools there's still some coloration that I can't seem to get to. It doesn't look clean is what I mean. It's probably practice, or lack there of. There's not that much time to play around with it so when I do it doesn't work like I want it to.
DeleteNot that I know of, as far as Rome goes. She's been in Chianciano Terme for the last two weeks and then is spending the last week in Sorrento. I think the timing just happened to be they were available and found a good deal. I wonder what it could be. It's probably a nice time of year to go - all the kids are back in school and the weather is still pleasant.
While I've been to Italy twice, for a little over two weeks both time, I've not been south of Rome. She texted me pictures of the Amalfi Coast today, and they are just breathtaking.
DeleteThis is amazing. Your last post inspired me to go out and get a sketch book AND do some sketching. True story.
ReplyDeleteDid you really?!?!? I hope you share sometime soon.
DeleteLove your art! I have a sketchbook sitting here too...not even what year it is from...I have done two and seen them on the tours to S.F.
ReplyDeleteI just had my class make pumpkins with patterns. We drew large pumpkins with Sharpie. Then in each line on the pumpkin we drew in some lines from the 7 types of line...we will water color them this week. I think they will look great.
Happy Sunday!
Oh that art project sounds wonderful! Will you please post pictures?!?! That sounds like a fun thing to do on Halloween Friday next week...I might add it to my plans since they're useless on that day anyhow.
DeletePretty.. I too would love do to that all day.. Painting even coloring is just so soothing
ReplyDeleteYah, I find all of it terribly relaxing. If I let it, time would pass and I wouldn't even know it when I'm working on that kind of thing.
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