I brought my small art kit with me while on a road trip to the Sterling Renaissance Festival in Sterling NY. , of course I wasn’t the driver! I experimented with drawing with my new graphitint watersoluble graphite pencils, They are colored but not as intense as watercolor pencils. I did the drawing then wet it with my waterbrush, this brings out the intensity of the colors. You can manipulate the values this way and if you like, work back into the drawing wet or dry. They’re very interesting and I am looking forward to trying them for more drawings. I took a couple pictures of them with my tiny digital camera, since I’m nowhere near my scanner, forgive the not so great color and clarity! The “Barn Owl” measures a wee 2″x2″! It was a bit challenging to do with the bumpy road.
This little landscape measures aproximately 4″x5″ and is of the road we traveled. It was a great day for clouds, the only problem I had was making the line on the road. The set of pencils I bought has no yellow. You can notice that I made little color tests along the margins of the drawing.
This is a little oil pastel I did while eating breakfast on my back deck, I started it the other day and finished it today. Done on canvas paper, I laid down the first layer by drawing sky color and grass and then scrubbing lightly with a bristle brush and mineral spirits. I then sketched in the tree trunks as thinly as I could in greys and light browns. I added clumps of light green for the leaves and then added darker green under to make them stand out. I put the grass colors on, and the dry grass color, which I then used the rubber pastel blender to drag the grass up into the green. I also used the rubber blender to smooth over the tree trunks, this helped to get rid of the canvas texture.
The sky was laid in darker colors at the top and lighter towards the bottom, I put white very heavy where the clouds would be, then I was able to blend into the cloud with sky color a bit. This was all a very ‘back and forth’ process, I thought it was finished then picked up another color and added leaves, then added back to the sky, and so on. I used a paper clip to scratch grass into the field, and then my initials into the painting.
I used my tiny Olympus camera to take pictures of this so I could upload it with my laptop. This is to test how I can update my blog while I’m traveling, so far so good!
Hope you enjoyed todays updates!
Sometimes it’s hard to be an artist. Let me explain, I have been thinking about how much I want to try to paint the moon at night, in the dark using a tiny light. I’ve never done it before so the other night when the moon was streaming through my window, I had to get back out of bed and go to the studio to get my paints!! Yes…it’s difficult to be an artist, but fun!! For the above painting I used liquid mask to block the moon, which I don’t use much but wanted to play with. Then I worked wet into wet with the colors. Now keep in mind I said before I wanted to work in the dark so I could see the moon still, so I took a tiny reading light and clipped it onto my neck collar of my t-shirt. (Um…did anyone ever tell you artists were kind of nuts? haha) I pointed the light down at my painting, it was a neat experiment. Above you can see my tiny watercolor kit I put together. On the left is a pack of assorted brushes that I cut the handles down on so they are smaller and fit in my field bag, above that is the reading light. In the center is my field kit of watercolors that I have tucked into a tiny Altoids tin, I use the lid for mixing my colors. Above the kit is a plastic vitamin bottle that I use for water; I like this container because I can get my brushes down into it for swishing around, but it also fits in my waterbottle holder that I can put around my waist for field work. And next to all that, on the far right is a new little invention of mine, it’s a tiny cigar case my friend Mark gave me. I told him I like little containers to play around with for field stuff….I know, I sound like a little kid! Well….if you don’t think creatively and play, you don’t think of great ideas! I cut up little squares of watercolor paper to fit inside the cigar case, it holds about 14 sheets of paper, I also put in some bristol board to play with. The sheets measure only 3 1/2″ x 3″….kind of fun to work on if you keep it simple. I then took two paper clips and bent them so they go over the edge and hold down the paper while you work. You can see how tiny the kit is as it fits right into my hand! Below is the tiny moon painting I did, I like it!! For this one I didn’t use liquid mask and it show the moon for how it really was, it wasn’t full like I showed above.I hope you enjoyed my post about my experimental moon painting! Remember I did it in the dark, it was fun! I will bring this kit with me when I travel to England and Ireland and play around with it. Please let me know what you think and leave me a comment!
It was a very hot day when I decided to scoot outside to do a quick little painting. I used my a square sketchpad because it’s a fun change. The painting is only 5″x5″ big. I first sketched with a micron pen then I used my tiny watercolor kit. Because the day was so hot, it dried very quickly as I worked. I like the stroked look of the sky, it gives it movement. Of course Ginger had to be right next to me! She was smart and hide from the hot sun under the table! I stood at the picnic table and put one foot up on the seat, resting my sketchbook and arm on my knee. This little painting is of Birds Foot Trefoil, it grows wild here and there in my, ahem…kind of wild yard! It has lovely little yellow flowers and it’s called ‘bird’s foot’ because the pod cluster that grows looks like a bird foot. This flower grows in Europe and that’s where it came from, now quite common here. The painting is a bit pale because I painted it in full sun, it got hard to look at the white paper after awhile. I used a little trick to make it go faster, I held the flower so the shadow fell onto my paper and then drew the stem lightly with a pencil. Then I was able to just look at the flower and work on my drawing, fixing the details and proportions.
This is a 5″ x 5″ little sketch I did with oil pastels from a magazine cover about Northumberland, England. My friend in Northumberland sent me these great magazines so I could get to know the area a little better, as I’ll be visiting it in Sept this year. The difficulty in the sketch was just that it was so small, but I want to do more on a 5″x5″ format so I can get a collection that would look nice hanging together. To do details I used a razorblade to cut angles on the ends of some of my crayons…and used it also to scratch off details on the house. You can especially see it where I signed my initials.
Hope you like it, I can’t wait to get there personally and so lots of nature studies and landscapes!
It’s a gorgeous day! 65-70 degrees, sunny and breezy. The first journal page is done with watercolor pencils and a waterbrush…I found it hard to get the greens I wanted. A gorgeous bird, the Black Tern; I took so many pictures of them swooping over the water, with their very elegant coloring. The other picture is a bit more sad but shows the real life of nature, it’s a Red Tailed Hawk being chased by Red Winged Black-Birds because he’s stolen a youngster from the nest! I saw him land into the tall grasses on the marsh, and noted the huge commotion of the Black Birds. When he took off I figured something was up, and sure enough he was carrying a chick.
I spotted this little butterfly in the field as we walked and I’ve narrowed it down to two butterflies-either the Pearl Crescent or Gorgone Checkerspot…anyone help me with an ID?
This painting was done with watercolors. I used my little watercolor kit that’s tucked into a tiny “Altoids” tin if you can believe it! I’ll have to post a picture of that soon.
Some bird photos I took, two of a male Tree Swallow that was sitting by it’s nest box. A picture of a Song Sparrow on the left, and a Swamp Sparrow on the right.
This flower was drawn with a micron pen then colored with watercolor. I had to wait till I was at the Allegany Nature Pilgrimage (more on that later!) to indentify it, showing it to some wildflower experts…they told me it’s a Evening Lychnis. Click here for the link to Iroqouis Nature Refuge.
Well I’m finally getting some pictures up from my day of exploring at Evangola State Park, in Brandt NY. (it’s near Angola) My photographer friend Mark Baker and I are picking areas around Buffalo to go explore, he concentrates on photography while I grab some pictures and then try to sketch. It is nice to spend time with a friend this way but it is a little harder for me to settle down and draw things. I guess as we explore more together I’ll get more comfortable with just saying, “I’ll be sitting here for awhile while you go shooting”. He got some neat shots of me working and I took the ones of my hand holding the palette in the creek bed and the cool “hanging by a root” photo.
It was a very overcast day, windy but pleasant enough. Sometimes that’s a great kind of lighting for photography or drawing, no glaring sun to deal with. I sketched the covered bridge and wanted to work on it more at home, but never got time. That’s why I waited so long to post this!, ah, the best laid plans of mice and women….ahem.
The picture of me standing in the stream, I’m sketching the scene very quickly using a permanent ink pen, then the close up of my hand holding the palette and pad shows how I hold it to use the watercolors. I just kept bending down to rinse my brush in the water flowing past me, no watercup necessary!
Then I sat down on the bank to do a quick watercolor of the lake using my Chinese brush, the colors were really dull because of the type of day it was. But I wanted to experiment and practice painting outdoors. You can see in the picture that Mark took looking over my shoulder that I’ve spread my bag out in front of me, but all within quick reach in case I have to pack up suddenly and go. Um…rain, creepy men …you ladies know what I mean! haha…another good reason to have a male friend on the exploration trip with you. A side note here to my painting, drawing, exploring lady friends, ALWAYS pay attention to what’s going on around you!! Don’t be naive, believe me you don’t want to run into trouble out by yourself, better to be paying attention to who’s around you.
Ok, back to more pleasant thoughts! I’ve also included an OK clip of the lakes waves. It was my intention to get a clip of the sound, but my friend Mark was diddling around next to me with his camera…made some noises. I’ll shoot a better one next time!
Here’s a link to Mark’s phenomenal website www.mhbaker.com and Evangola State Park link: http://www.evangolastatepark.com/
Late last night I decided to play with my oil pastels while watching 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Well between scenes of Captain Nemo and Kirk Douglas I did a painting 9×12″ on canvas paper. I worked from a photo I took just the other morning when I did the Sunrise, Coffee and PJ’s post. So you’ll see a similarity between the sunrise paintings, but in this one the sun is UP now, more contrast in the clouds and color in the sky.
The canvas paper is something I’ve never used oil pastels on, but it’s supposed to be good because it’s coated with gesso to protect the paper from the oils in the pastels. I liked how easy it was to smear or blend BUT…I did not like how soon everything got too slippery to add more color. I will try the Fredrix brand of canvas paper next to see how that behaves, it’s real canvas in a tablet form. The one I used for my ‘sunrise’ painting is Daler-Rowney oil painting paper. Besides trying out the Fredrix brand I’ll also try gessoing some illustration board and see how that works. I have a feeling I’ll like it without the weave and still be able to play around with linseed oil or turpintine if I want. This isn’t something I have ever used with my oil pastel paintings, but I would like to try it more and you can’t use these mediums if you are working on regular paper. I hope you liked my Sunrise!
This morning, what can I say? It’s really cold outside and I’m not looking forward to going out to feed the chickens! Last night it dipped to -18 or -20 wind chill, now the sun is coming up to a cold but very clear morning. I did a quick little impression of the sunrise, again by my coffee pot at the window. I used the Inktense color pencils so I could practice with them. If you click the pictures, you’ll be able to read the actual thoughts I had.
In the second picture I’m showing you how I held two pencils at a time to recreate how I sketched in the land area. I stroked side to side then did some zigzag marks up and down for quick tree impressions. When you wet it, it’s hard to control what happens, that’s why I’m practicing! The Inktense colors are very saturated, it takes a tiny bit to make a mark.
I also show the waterbrush (in the last picture) that I often talk about using in the field. I don’t watercolor with it, I prefer to carry a cup of water and use my own brushes for that. But for wetting watercolor pencils it’s great!
At around 7:30 this morning I was making my coffee in the studio. My studio looks out over fields and faces east, so I usually get great views of the sunrise. I grabbed an 8×10″ sketchbook and my oil pastels and did a quick little landscape while still in my pajamas! Hey you gotta do it when you can and gorgeous sunrises don’t stick around!
I first quickly laid on light greys for the clouds shapes because the wind moved them so fast. Then I built up the greys and blues and added light blue for the light parts of the sky. With oil pastels it’s hard to get a very light blue so you have to add lots of white. I put the blue on very light then rub white on top and smear it with my fingertips. The heavier you put oil pastels on, the nicer it is to blend, but you have to plan ahead. It’s not like blending paints, you can’t really go back and alter colors very much. After the sun broke through the clouds it was too hard to look at, so I worked on the ground and trees to finish it.
I scanned the colors I used for you to see them alone.
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The “Barn Owl” measures a wee 2″x2″! It was a bit challenging to do with the bumpy road.
This little landscape measures aproximately 4″x5″ and is of the road we traveled. It was a great day for clouds, the only problem I had was making the line on the road. The set of pencils I bought has no yellow. You can notice that I made little color tests along the margins of the drawing.
