Thinking out Acrylic paints vs. Gouache paints

Twilight Zone

I've been feeling deep and dark recently.  It is though I am in a twilight zone.  This mood is being reflected in my current artwork.  I am not depressed but I am pensive.  

I keep thinking about all the people and creatures in the world  that will never know me or me them.  As William Butler Yeats was to have said 'There are no strangers here, just friends you haven't met yet.'  I feel sad when I think of all the potential friendships and connections I could have made and yet haven't been able to do so.  

Even when I am with people I feel isolated.  I feel a bit like the hollow eyed creature sitting up there on a tree branch in my collage above.  Always on the periphery.  Always on the outside looking in.

Thankfully I enjoy my own company but am occasionally curious to know what it would be like to be with people who truly 'get me'. 

Eight Paintings in Four Weeks Goal

I'm on track to have completed 8 pieces of artwork before 28 June.  My target is to get this done and then review what I have and the next steps I need to take.  What I have produced is not perfect but at least it is done.  I am fulfilling this part of the exercise.

In the past I have given up when a project hasn't gone to plan.  Years have passed when I haven't picked up a paintbrush.

I am beginning to feel happy drawing and painting again.  I enjoy creating characters and bringing them to life.  Two more to do! 

Sneaky Peek

After years of procrastinating I have now set times of day to practice my art.  It is so freeing to know that the allocated time is to concentrate on that one thing rather than getting distracted by other things that need attention.

Above is a little portion of a larger painting.  I have set myself a target of producing eight pieces of work before the end of the month.  We'll have to see how that goes!

Painting with Gouache

I thought I would give collage a miss today and try out some gouache paints.

This is my first attempt at trying to reproduce a painting inspired by Dutch flower paintings of the 17th century.

I think it is the first time I have painted straight to paper without having penciled a sketch in before hand.

 It's OK.  It's a bit raw. I just have to practice now.

I may even try to make a collage one!

Painting Paper

I've wasted an awful lot of January so far.  When I finally have time for 'creativity' I am either too tired or not in the mood.  I got up at 6.30 this morning and it took until 10.00am  before I could finally set aside time to paint some papers for a project I want to do.   I spent about one hour on this from preparation to clear up and then the guilt set in.  I have a pile of ironing yet to do and I never catch up with household chores.  Nothing ever seems to get completed.  I am frustrated to say the least.

Anyway.  I will continue to set aside time for 'wasteful' activities because I need time away from the monotonous and mundane life I am currently living.  I need to experiment and practise with different paints and paper if I am ever to progress in the field of art and craft.  I will find a way to slot it into my daily activities and just accept that I am going to feel guilty. 

Multiple Landscapes

I've been trying out something different today - painting multiple landscapes at one time.  I painted straight onto paper without sketching first which is new for me.  I am the world's biggest critic when I look at what I have produced but know that many artists have a lot of work that they reject before putting their best work forward.  I am hoping that the more hours of practice I put in, the better my work will be.

I enjoyed the process of painting today - despite the outcome and time completely ran away from me.  Time to make tonight's evening meal now and put the paints away for another day.

Art Tags

I have been watching art videos and creating intensely this week.  I am trying to cram each day with learning and making.  Most of the time I hate what I produce but I think that most 'arty' people know they have an inner critic - the trick is to pay no attention.  I long for the day when I am proud of a painting or drawing that I have done rather than finding all its faults.  I am hoping that experimenting and going through the motion of 'doing' rather than passively watching tutorials will eventually pay off.

The watercolour tags above where fun to make but straight after I made them, I disliked them! They are loud and colourful and I am not!  Maybe I was expressing a side of my personality yet to emerge? 

Anyway, as I said, I did enjoy the process of making them even if I am not in love with the end result.  I will make them again but in a toned down colour palette.  After all, practice makes progress.

More Sketchbook Work

I am getting into the flow of using my sketchbook now.  This book suits me just fine. I bought two of them half price in a sale. It is a ring bound hardback book A5 in size.  Perfect for the job.  So me.

I know that I have written crookedly on the bottom of the paper and it irritates me and some of the design was rushed, but hopefully the sketchbook is just a springboard for ideas to be generated elsewhere and I shouldn't let the imperfections eat me up!

There are not enough hours in the day to sketch but I am making sure that I allocate time to do just that.

Wishing you all a lovely weekend where you can 'allocate' time to do whatever makes you happy.

Painting Blossoms

I felt like painting today so I went out and bought some cheap acrylic paints and canvas boards.  I have been eager to start to learn how to paint flowers from the book Painted Blossoms by Carrie Schmitt since receiving her book as a Christmas present last year.  I do feel a bit vulnerable putting my first attempt here on the blog but it will be a good reference for me in the months/years ahead to see how (or if!) I improve over time.

I can say that I really went in the 'zone' whilst painting and enjoyed the process if not the overall result.  I shall paint over the bits I don't like once it has fully dried and redo them. 

How to Find Your Art Style, Voice and Signature Style

Since announcing to the World that I was going to sketch everyday - I produced  just one sketch.  I know that in order to get better at what I do I need to practice, practice, practice.  I am held back by; not being interested in the subject matter, not being in the right frame of mind or the right kind of environment and generally making excuses for reasons why I am unable to do it. 

I have such a strong urge to be creative but don't want to waste time going down a path that I am not passionate about.  For a long time I have been bothered by the fact that I don't seem to have a 'style' and don't really know how to develop the limited skills that I have into something that speaks 'my voice'.  Anyway I thought I would probe deeper into this and have found some very interesting vlogs on YouTube about how to find your art style and listed some of the suggestions below.


Be aware of the stimulus that is around you that attracts you every day.

Take pictures of everything that draws your attention – without judging.

Rearrange the photos into families; colour, weird objects etc.

Broaden your research to ask why does a particular artist draw your attention, what is it I really like about him/her?  What do you have in common with the artist?  

Group your photos into folders such as movies I like, such as Tim Burton or Alice in Wonderland and find a commonality in what it is you like about them.  Do the same for books etc.  Don’t hurry the process in trying to find ‘your style’.  It could take a couple of years.

Allow time to find your voice.

Artists emulate artists – find other styles you like – copy to learn.

Create your own rules – how long an arm should be or how big the eyes etc.  Manga or Anime has a set look – you don’t have to follow the rules to create your own style.

Know what people like and produce it.

Self-doubt is part of being an artist – style is always evolving.

Borrow/steal from multiple sources.

Style is built into you on how you see the World.

Analyse your work.  Bad habits can become your style.  Keep re-defining your style to hone and craft your art.

Change your tools or materials – change from a round brush to a flat.

Choose 3 colours to do all your paintings with or put constraints on your materials to encourage creativity.

Take a pencil and pad everywhere you go.

Style can be found by having physical restrictions.

I hope that any aspiring artists will find the above list useful.   I am going to start to keep folders of things that attract me and write down the reason why.  Hopefully, over time a pattern will form identifying what 'styles' I like.  Pulling from multiple resources my art style should evolve from the influences I expose myself to.

Have a great weekend!

Dutch Boy Salt Shaker

I have a Dutch boy ceramic salt shaker on my kitchen shelf.  He always brings a smile to my face with his over sized 'pants' and clogs.  I decided to colour him with pastel pencils.  They didn't behave at all well and were scratchy on my sketch book paper.  Nevertheless, I think I have captured him well.  A few of my bloggy friends have suggested that I do a daily sketch and that is what I plan to do.  I won't be showing them all on here though so don't worry that I am going to continually bombard you with my drawings!

It may be a psychological thing, but since I tided my craft space I seem to have a new lease of life for my arty pursuits once more.

Blue Kitty

I sketched this kitty on white paper but when I photographed it in failing light the paper came out blue!  So, here we have a blue on blue kitty!  I did take some more photos where the paper came out white but there was a dark shadow in the corner of the paper and I don't know how to photo shop or edit photos (something for my 'to do' list I think.)

It has been an interesting exercise to draw with a coloured pencil as there is no place for errors or the ability to erase the bits I don't like.  The pencils have not been the best I have used because they seem to lack pigment and constantly need sharpening.  I do have some other brands of pencils to try and may even use watercolour pencils.

This kitty was a pleasure to sketch.  I think that liking the subject matter helps the outcome enormously.

Fuschia Pink Girl

 

 On my #300in30 days blog comment challenge I found a wonderful blog called Wens paint.  Something that caught my eye on Wens blog was where she had sketched  a girl without using graphite pencil first and only using a coloured pencil, so no erasers allowed!  You can find the post here but will have to scroll down the post to find the pencilled girls.

In my newly tidied up craft room, I found a book of plain paper (pity it had been hole punched!) and a box of coloured pencils.  I then took an image of a young woman in a Sunday supplement magazine and used her as my inspiration for a sketch.  This was quite difficult as the pencil was a non blending kind and I couldn't really build up layers.  Anyway, I persevered and am quite pleased with the result.  The girl is Korean and I like to think I have captured her ethnicity.

Craftmania

At the moment I feel like I can't create quick enough.  Before I have finished one project I want to get my hands on another for fear of never having the chance to do so.  I am trying to fit in making things around the more mundane matters in life and can never devote enough time to making things without having interruptions.

Having a family helps keep me sane.  I'd imagine that if I lived alone I would spend days on end making and creating things locked away and fully immersed in my projects.  Maybe I would even create my 'magnum opus'.  I am though, getting increasingly frustrated that I can't spend more time engaging in creative pursuits; reading, writing, painting, drawing, embroidery, sewing, making jewellery etc.  I don't even think that all the hours in the day would be enough time.

I started to create the ATC (Artists Trading Card) above quietly and mindfully and then 'ruined' it by rushing it through to completion.  This seems the way that lots of projects are going lately.  If only I could dedicate myself to just one craft genre instead of wanting to conquer all!

edited: off topic:  This afternoon it looks like Gizmo has a burst abscess and what looks like puncture wounds on his ear.   I just hope he hasn't been bitten by another cat again - but it is looking that way.  I thought that trips to the vets were done for this year but not so.

Arty Crafty Continued

In my previous post the backgrounds look very harsh and much too dark for my liking.  The colour palette above is much more me.  Soft and muted colours are where I am happiest although I admire strong colour in the work of others.  I still have not perfected the art of brayering (using a roller and ink pad) but I am sure my technique will progress with practice.

Arty Crafty

I don't define myself as an artist but don't really fit into the craft camp either.  Is there such thing as a craftist?  By that I mean someone who combines art and craft together. If so then that is what I am!

The above photos (I don't define myself as a photographer either!) were made using various techniques such as :

• brayering
• rubber stamping
• masking
• doodling
• paper piecing

I really do enjoy combining various techniques to reach the desired outcome.  I know the detail of the balloon is obscured by the flash in the picture on the left but it made me think of the sun shining down onto it.  The sun has been in short supply for most of June so it is a nice reminder of carefree sunny days watching the balloons up in the sky and sharing a picnic under the shade of a tree.  The leaves rustling in the warm breeze.

A Creative Need

A few posts back I mentioned that I found a dead rose head in my garden that I felt the need to paint.  Well, I didn't paint it but decided to sketch it in coloured pencils.  The colour palette was limited so the rose doesn't look quite as I had envisaged.  A few years ago I would have torn up the paper and been most upset that I couldn't replicate the rose exactly.  I am neither happy or unhappy at how the picture turned out.  I feel I have captured the essence of the rose but I could have taken more time over the drawing.  I didn't use an eraser or spend too much time over the detail.  I wish I could be the type of person that deliberates for hours, days, weeks over a painting/drawing until they get it 'right' - but I am not.  My drawing had to be instantaneous.  Observe.  Draw.  Move on.  Sometimes I feel overwhelmed with the amount of projects that I want to do such as my cross-stitching, rubber stamping, painting, drawing, beading, sewing, crochet, gardening, baking etc.  It is so difficult to fit in all these pastimes with a family and make sure their needs are met and that they are well cared for as well as Gizmo and the hens. 

Although I show you parts of my garden and occasional glimpses of my home, I can assure you that both are as cluttered as my mind.  I find it hard to settle on one subject, topic, interest.  I want to explore them all!  I am gradually de-cluttering my home and garden and eventually my mind so that I am not floundering in a sea of ideas and projects.  Watch this space!

Edited: A close up of the picture can be found on my Mutant Trees blog.

Coming Back

Slowly, very slowly I feel my creativity returning. Back in August a friend suggested that three of us should put together a mini scrapbook of ideas and techniques for card making/scrap booking and other creative projects so that we could inspire each other.

I have had the book for over a month and just used to stare at my blank page with not a clue of what to put onto it. A couple of days ago I had a breakthrough and managed to get something down into the book. It is not perfect. In my eyes whatever I do will never be perfect - but it is a start. Now that I have got that out of the way I feel I can move on to other creative pursuits.

Just to mention the door. I deliberately left off the handle/doorknob. It is a doorway to the imagination and therefore a handle is not necessary!

Dragon Fruit

Whilst walking around the supermarket today I was on the look out for some exotic looking fruit and vegetables. I then saw these delightful looking cerise pink and lime green dragon fruits and immediately put them in the basket.

When I reached the checkout the assistant informed me that she had to hurry up otherwise she might have an accident and end up sitting in a puddle of water! She then noticed the dragon fruit.

'What are they?' She asked.

'They are called dragon fruit' I replied. '

Hey Mary! have you seen these?' She shouted across to a supervisor several aisles away.

'Yes! What is she going to do with them?'

'What are you going to do with them?' the checkout lady asked me.

'I am going to paint them'.

There was stunned silence.

'She's going to paint them Mary'.

'What for?' said Mary.

'That's what I wanted to know' replied the checkout lady.

'What do you want to paint them for?' asked Mary.

'Because I want to. Because I paint.'


I felt such a fool because I couldn't find the words to explain to them or justify why I wanted to paint them.

This conversation went on for quite a while longer with them both interrogating me about how long had I been painting for, was I good at painting at school, how did I display my paintings, did I find painting relaxing etc etc.,

The conversation eventually dried up once I had paid the bill and informed the checkout lady that she had better hurry up in case she didn't make it to the toilet! Mary then came over, shut the aisle off with a chain across it and we went our separate ways.