Well today there were the most beautiful high clouds, and the sun, making an appearance for the afternoon, gave nice shadows and light to them. I used my square format journal that I made and opened it fully to take advantage of the great sky-scape.
Cloud study done with water soluble crayons
This view is from my studio window, I stood by the old sink finding room near the coffee pot! I worked very quickly to sketch the clouds as they were moving fast with the wind. I used a plain old “Crayola” black crayon to sketch and very lightly put some lines in for the field below. Then I scumbled on the watersoluble crayon starting with the sky. This is only the second time I’ve used these crayons; when I first bought them I hated them! They were bright in color and garish to me. But I’m going lightly and trying some layering of colors to see how it looks.
Water soluble crayons in a tin
Here’s my little black crayon and an “Altoids” tin filled with watersoluble crayons that I broke in half to fit them in. I keep a folded up piece of “Viva” paper towel in it with them.
Using the lid of the tin for watering down colors
Being that the colors ARE so vivid and strong I found it helpful to get my brush loaded with water then touch the tip of the crayon to pick up color and mix it into the wet brush on the lid. First I directly laid color on the paper and wet it, then I used this ‘brush to tip’ method (that’s what I call it!) to add more color.
Cloud studies and round brush I used
This is showing you the brush I used, just a simple round. (The sketch is unfinished here). I used it instead of the waterbrush because I wanted to get lots of water quickly and just scrub freely with the brush tip.
I’m still getting used to the crayons but I think I’m starting to like them more! I like how you can cover large areas quickly and when you wet them they really get juicy. I actually got some color on my hands (it got kind of messy!) so I was picking color up from my fingers with the brush! I think I’ll look for some other colors for landscapes in other name brands. Most of the crayons I have are Caran D’Ache.
Give them a try and let me know how you like them too!
Well my “Creative Journaling Spring 2011” class has ended after 4 weeks; it passed very quickly! Some of my students had never drawn anything before and others were used to doing some art or crafts. What I found the most interesting was how certain areas of what I taught really suited different students or ‘caught’ their imaginations. (Please CLICK on pictures to see them enlarged)
Great job Helen!
I’m happy to say Helen, who has never drawn before but is an EXCELLENT quilter, tried drawing and did quite well. I went over comparative measurements and gesture sketching with her and I think she’s getting the hang of it! She said she loved using the watercolor pencils. I can see her love of color in her quilts and could see she loved using color with the watercolor pencils.
Helen used her love of fabric and made a cover for her journal.
This of course, is Helen’s journal…she couldn’t help but get creative with fabric and cover her sketchbook journal that we made. She glued it on with rubber cement.
Linda and Paula working on poems and painting.
These ladies are very involved with their pages. Linda created some beautiful twig letters when we did creative lettering. I showed how to start with a simple outline then embellish your lines. Paula was inspired to write a poem during class after I introduced using poetry in your journal and gave a little talk about how I write a poem. Paula already liked writing poems so it really caught her interest and here is the wonderful poem she penned about our class!
“Challenges”
Painting what I see,
Seeing sky through the tree,
Climbing the incline,
Writing poetry with rhyme.
Enjoying Nature:
Through art and poetry,
With experimentation and camaraderie,
Is easy, fun, natural and free!
by Paula Minklai 2011
Paula followed just what I was encouraging by doing a little painting in her journal and incorporated the poem on the page. Her little painting was of an incline with trees on it and she likened learning to going up the incline, enjoying what we experience as we go. Great job Paula!
I showed the class how to use the twig look for letters, Linda did a great job!
I love the blue color of the twigs Linda used.
Please enjoy the rest of the photos taken over the last few weeks.
Linda working on watercolor pencil landscape in a circle.
Helen used the watercolor pencils so nicely here for the first time ever!
Creative Journaling class 2 - making coffee stained paper
Creative Journaling class 3 - drawing
I hope someday you’ll take a class with me! Sign up your email in the subscribe box to see when I’ll be teaching near you or just follow my posts about my journaling adventures!
As my page describes, it was overcast, wet and dreary. I did the small landscape sketch while standing up, just a small little thing but it reminds me exactly of the time and place. At the bottom I wrote words I associated with where I was sat, this is a great way to begin creative writing. When I got back to the house I added the background colors behind the words and around the landscape to perk the page up. Without it it was quite plain looking! Then I outlined the leaf shapes under the crocuses to give it more ‘umph’.
Wet Walk in March (2011)
I was sitting on a small pile of dead trees that I stacked as I could during the winter, right in the middle of “Aspen Hall”, a favorite place on my land. It’s just a clump of Aspen trees that sticks out into my field and can be seen from the house. As you walk up the lane, lined with bushes and some trees, you come to a place where there are thick trees on both sides and it forms a sort of shady canopy, so we named it “Aspen Hall”. When my boys were just two and four (when we first moved here) we found it to be just the right distance to hike from the house and have a picnic. I then planted daffodils, crocuses and maybe some tulips some seventeen years ago! When I went out the other day I was excited to see shoots coming up! Today there were crocuses ready to open, I can’t wait to see what will be out next time I visit.
Mud Boots and Paint
This picture and those that follow I took with my cell phone! I guess I was glad I had it, sometimes it is great to get some pictures. Had to add this photo! The mud boots or “Wellies” are standard fare around here; if you want dry feet you practically live in your mud boots! I just reached down to use the colors but it wasn’t the most comfortable after awhile for my lower back, even though I was on a low seat.
My Watercolor Paints and Watersoluble Crayons
Here’s a closer look at my watercolors and crayons. I didn’t use the crayons but put them out just in case; they’re new to me so I want to play around with them more while out in the field. I also used just a tiny round watercolor brush with a small container of water I had, not my usual waterbrush.
Ginger's Big Nose
My little companion Ginger, she loves to walk with me and waits patiently (though she whimpers when she wants to keep going) as I stop often to sketch or paint. She’s getting older now though so it’s probably good for her to stop.
Water Droplets on Seed Heads
On my return to the house I noticed something glimmering like diamonds in a rather dreary landscape; it was water droplets hanging on the seed heads of the plants.
The World Upside Down in a Drop of Water
Did you know that water droplets hanging like this reflect the world upside down? It reminds me of the drawing I did of a crystal ball reflecting the woods around it (Ravensphere), everything is upside down. I think someone poetic could think of ways to use this imagery of the world being caught like this. (This picture is a bit dark but it shows the glimmering of the droplets quite well).
Well I hope you enjoyed coming on this walk with me today! There’s always something to discover outside your door and you don’t have to go that far. I hope you will go out today and see and hear what you can!
Four Saturdays in April (2nd, 9th, 16th, 30th, no class on the 23rd) Time: 1 – 3 pm
At the Burchfield Nature and Art Center in West Seneca, NY.
Explore nature as we work indoors and out when the weather is nice, from real subjects and photos. Share my field sketchbooks from England and New York. Learn how to make your own easy field sketch journal! Learn ‘drawing from life’ techniques that will help you next time you are out in nature and want to capture something on paper. Work in your field sketchbook using real nature objects as we learn how to draw and paint them. Learn how to use pencil, watercolor pencil and watercolor in creative ways to embellish your sketchbook pages. Adults and mature young students are welcome. We will sketch and learn in the park if weather permits.
"Springtime Path in the Maze" watercolor crayon + wax crayon
$75 for 4 classes, a $6 materials fee payable to the instructor the first day covers the cost of various papers and a water brush to keep.
•This class follows the Creative Journaling class also offered on Saturdays. Both would compliment each other. If taken together get a $5 discount on each.
•A complete materials list will be emailed to you after registering. Contact me with any questions. For your convenience several varieties of water brushes will be available in class to purchase.
•Read more about my sketching adventures in England and New York here on the blog, click on categories in right column. You can sign your email to receive automatic updates when there are new posts.
Me drawing and writing in my journal along the coast of England
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Spring Fuzzy Buds on "Long Lane Farm"
Today is the “Equilux”, that is the day of the Equinox, where day is the same length as night. I heard that it’s also “World Storytelling Day“; now this interests me greatly as I love to tell stories and love to hear and read them. I’ll have to look into that further. For me today was like a story of Spring coming. The sun was out, though the air was still very cold, and the birds are all vying for attention, not from me but they were certainly getting it! I did some sketches and wrote notes and a poem while I was walking so I’ll re-type what I penned on my pages for you to read. So I tell a story today. (Please click pictures to see enlarged).
"Step Out Your Back Door" notes, poem and Hawthorn needle.
Journal: “March 20, 2011 Just had to pop outside. It’s sunny but cold; I am wearing a wooly cap + wool fingerless mittens. Though the sun shines + the birds are all singing, it’s COLD! Daffodils by the back door are getting ready for their entrance into Spring.”
Then I walked out into the pasture, totally flooded and squishy; so lucky I wore my ‘barn boots’ or Wellies as they call them in England. Here’s a little poem I wrote while standing and listening to the birds:
Journal:
“Step Outside Your Door Today”
“Step outside your door today, walk in your backyard.
Watch the Blackbirds sing and play, smiling is not hard.
The woodpecker laughs from his high perch,
As signs of Spring you do search.
Cardinals red and grasses of brown,
You smell the earth deep beneath the ground.
A stirring of creatures above and below,
Spring’s arrival defeats Winter’s foe!”
Mary McAndrew
Hawthorne needle
Then I walked on and around “Aspen Hall”, a favorite area of my land where the boys and I used to picnic, I found a branch from the Hawthorne tree on the ground. I plucked many of the long sharp spines off it, then poked one through my paper like a needle. This looks really cool if you click the picture to see it enlarged!
As I walked it was so cold I had to keep my hat and scarf on. When I found a sunny spot in the “Maze”, it actually felt better to sit down out of the breeze. I was able to pull my wooly hat off and stretch my legs out; I put a plastic kitchen garbage bag on the ground to keep the wet where it belonged! Just make sure you don’t put it on any pokey stubs of things, you’ll get a hole and be surprised later!
Black Crayola Crayon Sketch
Here’s a page in my sketch journal that I worked on, a view of the path I had just walked on. I started with a little border line around the edges to add a neat design element. Then sketched in black ‘Crayola’ wax crayon that I had sharpened with my knife. Using this crayon was SO MUCH FUN! I can’t wait to try it some more, I loved the feel of the crayon on the slightly rough paper, you could see the texture too. You can press harder for darker lines and very lightly to make it light of course.
Using the flat tipped waterbrush to wet the watercolor crayons
Then I tested my colors by making a tiny dot at the bottom of the next page and wet it. Make sure you test your colors before you scrawl all over a drawing, watercolor pencils and crayons can surprise you at how different they look wet! I very lightly, using the side of the point of each crayon, added color to the areas. I saw the bushes and trees in front of me as more of a mass of value with some standing out in the foreground; so I massed it in as brownish reds then added heavier marks for trees and branches. Experiment with adding lines onto your wet paper, they will be very distinct and bold; this is good for adding branches.
I’m using the flat waterbrush, I really like this brush for studies that need large washed areas and it’s great for making grass marks! PS. yes it was cold still, I did the sketch with the mittens on, the flipped back the finger cover to use my brush!
Sketch in the Maze done with watercolor crayons on black wax crayon
Here’s a picture of my crayons, (each is broken in half to make them fit and weigh less in my pack) I have them tucked into an “Altoids” tin with some paper towel. The ones in the lid on the left are what I used for this sketch. Another thing you can see is how in the foreground I used more lines from the crayons going back and forth to add texture. Then the flat waterbrush with tip sort of dry, it spreads apart and makes good grass type marks. Touch it to your crayon tip to get color and brush it on the paper. Click on the finished sketch below.
"Springtime Path in the Maze" watercolor crayon + wax crayon
Here’s the finished sketch done in wax and water soluble crayons. I rather like it! Oh and the three bigger trees on the left are the “Sister Trees”, they are a group of huge trees I’ve painted before.
You may like to read my notes on this page that I wrote as I did the little painting. They are here at full size so you don’t have to click it and I typed out the notes below the picture!
Notes from my walk with colors for sketch at bottom.
Journal: “I’ve found a sunny spot to sit in a clearing on one of the paths in the “Maze”, an overgrown field on my property that I cut paths and tracks all around. This is an area I cleared more into an open, private spot along one path. I put a clean plastic garbage bag upon the ground and that’s where I’m sat; legs stretched out and wooly hat off! Sun warming me nicely now! 🙂 I did the little sketch with Black Crayola crayon and it was wonderful to see the fine texture of the paper under my hand; pressing hard or light to get variety of lines. Then I lightly scumbled over it all with watercolor crayons by Caran d’ Ache. I never used these before as I thought the colors too garish- but if you go light the browns + the golden yellow were great over the black wax crayon! I love how the black crayon just stays. I used the big, flat waterbrush and it blended all nicely, then made perfect marks for texture on the ground in front.
Just sitting here quietly feels wonderful. I hear birds + distant sound of cars. The Chickadees are so curious they keep coming closer and closer. One just looked down on me from a small bush. Something else interesting, I can hear the ground making sound! There is a barely audible sound like “ticking” here and there all about me. I’m sure it’s the sound of air bubbles coming to the surface of this very wet ground…the earth breaths as the ice melts…the peepers awake.
12:10 pm 3/20/2011 Mary McAndrew”
Ginger on Long Lane, listening to the Peepers singing.
Now, go get your dog, your children or just yourself, grab that sketchbook and some crayons and get out there!! Good days don’t wait for anyone, go enjoy what’s around you no matter where you live. I’d love to hear from you if you’ve been out and noticed signs of Spring, leave me some comments.
I started putting lots of my sketches on “Flickr” if you want to stop by and see them, I may use it as a place to show all my sketch pages? We’ll see. Don’t forget to stop by my ‘SHOP’ to see the new Easter and Spring cards.
Me drawing and writing in my journal along the coast of England
Meeting each Saturday in March (5th, 12th, 19th, 26th) 10 am – 12 noon
Get Creative with Journaling! A class for all ages. We’ll combine sketching, painting and writing with experienced guidance from our instructor to create a journal of experiences and special days. Learn drawing skills, how to add decorative borders, creative designs and lettering to your journal. Learn creative writing tips; dabble in poetry writing and techniques for creating a very personal record. You’ll also be introduced to the use of watercolor pencils, watercolors, permanent ink pens, and water brushes to create images and illustrations to share. We’ll even make our own all media journal! Creative Journaling is becoming increasingly popular; it complements internet blogs or conventional diaries and provides a highly visual and descriptive book to treasure for years to come.
$75 for 4 classes, a $6 materials fee payable to the instructor the first day covers the cost of a journal and water brush.
•Following this class (after a lunch break) is “Nature Sketching”, a two-hour class that ties in beautifully with Creative Journaling. Sign up for both and save $5 on both classes!
•Sign up now for a second Creative Journaling class in April with another version of the journal, learn more ways to enhance it and make a feather pen and save $5 on each class!
•A complete materials list will be emailed to you after registering. Contact Mary with any questions.
•Read more on my blog about my sketching adventures in England and New York, just click links in the right hand column. You can sign your email to receive automatic updates when there are new posts.
(A late entry that I wanted to add photos to before sharing, it’s from a tiny field sketchbook I made that’s handy to take in my pocket or a small bag when it’s wintry weather like this.)
Dead Weed heads Covered with Snow
What a cold day today, but Ginger and I ventured forth into the frozen whiteness and found some pretty things. I liked looking at the heads of dead flowers way out in my field, the snow was cupped upon the tops like cotton waiting to be picked. I did the two sketches today using a small sharpie marker in my tiny field sketchbook I created.
"Shadows on Fox Lane" 2
This photo is of “Fox Lane”, one of the ways I can walk out to my fields. I love the blue winter shadows cast here.
Tracks in the Snow Up Long Lane
The drawing above is of “Long Lane”, a VERY quick, simple sketch done with mittens on while Ginger and I paused on our walk. I at least wanted to show the perspective of the lane and the trees, the tracks in the snow help with that too. Long Lane is the prettiest, trees much closer and thicker along the lane, it’s so beautiful in springtime.
Furry Fronds of Ice
These furry branches are weeds growing just under my back deck, just where the exhaust from the furnace comes out the moisture in the air has created these pretty stems.
"Shadows on Fox Lane" 1
Another photo of Fox Lane. Hope you enjoyed this chilly walk with me!
Not much to add here, the sketch says it all. I guess I was feeling down because my back was still hurting a lot and there’s just something about looking at the glowing moon at night when I’m alone that sort of depresses me. But doing a little poem and sketch really changes my mood, can’t help but think about good things when you start to paint.
A fun thing to do in your journal is sketch the moon and clouds then add colors. I added these colors the next day after studying how the darks and lights looked. Sometimes it’s nice to paint (color) something later, you can be more expressive with color or design.
Here’s the small poem in case it’s hard for you to read:
“The moon rises up
through the black fingers
of clouds,
stretched across the frozen
Deep
Night sky.”
Mary McAndrew
ps. I keep trying to do my physical therapy exercises everyday, sometimes I miss a day but I do try to get out for walks with Ginger and she really likes that! I believe you just have to keep moving!
It is a cold and dreary day here in Western New York, I guess it is in many places around the world. But the drippy dreariness also shows me spring is coming; snow melting on soggy but still frozen ground, dripping of ice from the trees and an almost silent occasional gurgle of air from under the ice as I worked quietly.
Oil sketch field kit, ready to be tested.
I created this lightweight kit to take outside with me, just for oil painting sketches. I mostly want to focus on practicing mixing colors for landscapes from the real thing. I’m not concerned about finished paintings, though as the weather is warmer I may work longer on them.
It’s a plastic box that I bought at an office supply store. I used a metal pencil box for my paint and as a palette; it’s held on with blue sticky tack. I also have a pill box that has colors in it, though I want to buy a long one so it will fit better. I have canvas paper cut to standard sizes and tape it in and also created a place for brushes with loops of masking tape.
My mineral spirits container slots over a strap I made out of masking tape.
I had a tiny plastic bottle of mineral spirits with me but didn’t need to pull it out, I had a tiny bit in this metal medium cup. It’s got a screw on lid and I created a strap with masking tape that it could slip over to hold it in place. Then I stuck a blob of blue sticky tack behind it to keep it from slipping off. (Just love that sticky tack!)
Here's how I held the kit and painted while standing.
It was very lightweight as I worked. As all tests should do, it helped me find what was ‘not’ working great; I need to make a little holder for dirty brushes on the left and both need a holder with some kind of bottom, like a pouch. My brushes were sliding out the bottom too easily and may get dropped.
A view of the painting and the subject.
Here’s the whole thing in progress. Note the paper towel with red paint all over it!! Ok, I admit it, the very first thing, when I lifted the lid of the metal pan (with my very cumbersome mittens on) I inadvertently got Cadmium Red paint on my mitten thumb, WITHOUT KNOWING IT! It suddenly showed up in three to four places, probably on my face too and I didn’t know it! Ok, those who paint with oils know that sometimes this just happens, oil paint likes to migrate. Cad Red is one of the worse to get on stuff! You see traces of where I had to scrub off the second canvas paper there, sigh. Nobody’s perfect.
Ginger is waiting patiently, telling me her tootsies are cold!
Ginger loves to go out on walks, but gets bored when I stop to paint or sketch. Today was worse because her feet were cold! But a good sign, when I was ready to leave, she didn’t turn towards home, she wanted to go further.
Cleaning my brushes, stand them up in the snow as you go.
When I’m done, I set the kit on the snow and stuck my dirty brushes in the snow (bottom down) and just dipped the tip of each one in mineral spirits and pushed on the lid/palette to work much of the paint out. Wipe it really well on paper towel, it won’t be clean but well enough to travel home for cleaning. Most of my brushes I used were bristle brushes for scumbly strokes and one small, flat, soft but firm nylon brush for the thin line strokes.
The field study for today.
Here’s the quicky field sketch fresh from the icy field. I know my colors look brighter than the photo, but that’s the beauty of painting from life, the colors were more vivid and beautiful to my eyes, a photo will lose a lot of true color and atmosphere. If I want I can let this dry and work more on it or do it while it’s still wet. Ideally, touch up what you want right when you return and it’s fresh in your mind. I don’t want to fuss too much over these sketches unless I do one that I feel is worthy of fussing. My main goal is to just get out and get quick color studies and not complicate things too much.
Hope you enjoyed, I’ll be trying out my field kit more and will keep you ‘posted’ as they say! haha.
Happy New Year everyone! I’m looking forward to a year filled with tons of new paintings by me and look forward to getting back to England for more adventures! Please share my blog with those you think would enjoy it.
Just a quick little post to share a sketch I did the other morning while in Alnwick, (Northumberland England). While I was waiting for Gary I had about 30 minutes to walk to St. Paul’s Church to see if I could find something interesting to sketch. I was first drawn to the architectural feature that is over the door, like a large chimney pot with a crown. (Not sure what it is)
I walked around the church, pea gravel crunching beneath my feet on this cold October morning, and I met the grounds-woman Dorothy. She talked to me about the church and the plants, then I found a spot at the very entrance where I first entered and caught sight of the view I liked. I only had a short bit of time left to sketch and my hands were freezing and stiff, but I held my sketchbook with one hand while I stood there. I used a permanent ink pen so any lines I made were there to stay.
As I drew the biulding, I realized my eyes were fooling me and after reviewing the horizontal alignments I saw the roof was pitched much more dramatically than I thought. This is what I love about drawing buildings, you must draw what you see and take real measurements and alignments to check it.
When I got home I just touched up a tiny bit by adding more lines to indicate stones and darkened in the areas of the windows a bit. I hope you enjoyed this sketch, more coming soon!
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