Humble Beginnings

Winter is the season of decluttering around here, and as I was culling through papers, I found a tiny book -- my first nature journal, dated 1981, when I was in high school.

I can see how tentatively I painted each scene, afraid to dip into the paint too heavily, to make my marks too bold.

I can appreciate how sensitive that earlier version of me was to the beauty around her young eyes and spirit.

I carefully labeled each painting on the reverse with the name of the place, plant or animal.

At the time, I was a counselor at a summer camp called Nature Camp in Vesuvius, Virginia.  My days were filled with teaching children how to draw and paint from nature, leading nature hikes, and working with other nature nerd counselors.  It was a summer of discovery and adventure for me.

I lived with the other counselors, and campers, immersed in nature, focused on studying the plants, animals and ecosystem around us.

I can see how very much I wanted to capture the plants and animals around me with accuracy and a sense of beauty. 

That summer led to a lifelong pursuit of nature journaling.  

Beginnings can often look humble, simple, even clumsy.  Yet they get us started learning and exploring.

 And though I feel I am always falling short of my goal, I delight in pursuing it regardless.

Begin. Pursue. Develop.

What new art projects would you like to begin? I hope you jump right in and start your explorations!

Copyright Betsy Bangley 2023.  All rights reserved. 

Care December: Coldness

I love the idea of tuning into the coolness of the color blue in this prompt.  

Blue looks cooler when you put it next to warm colors like spots of yellow and orange 

by the candles' glow.

This morning, I set up in my studio at dawn with a hot pot of tea and my art supplies to take on the Care December prompt:Coldness.

I had prepared a page spread of vellum paper with clear gesso, so that I could easily draw with Inktense colored pencils and NeocolorII crayons.

A wet brush moved the pigment and brought the colors to life.

I love how the vellum looks like stained glass when held up to window light.

I hope you get some time to create -- this project took me about 15 minutes.  Even a little time spent creating can be great self care.

Happy Holly Holidays!

I took these photos of American Holly sprigs earlier in the autumn, and knew they'd be great reference photos for future drawings.

I invite you to use them to create from -- sketch, draw, paint, collage or whatever you like.

Happy Creating & Happy Holidays!

Campari Tomatoes in Watercolor

It's funny how inspiration & serendipity work together. You have dinner at a friend's home, and while enjoying the lively conversation and delicious food, her paintings catch your eye.  The way she captured the late summer in a watercolor of three small, homegrown apples makes you feel the September sunshine from the light reflecting off the apples.

The next day, a handful of salad tomatoes in the kitchen call out to be painted.  You pull out your paints and brushes, and while away a Sunday afternoon exploring, imagining summer, even though it's rainy and drab outside.

If you get swept away by a handful of ripe tomatoes, a good place to start is taking a reference photo of your still life.  In the hours ahead, while you paint, the lighting will change, & the tomatoes will eventually wilt. Having that reference photo captures the scene that sparked your painting.

A reference photo helps you decide on your composition.  You see your scene laid out inside a frame. You can see the negative space shape, the areas of high contrast in light and shadow, and the proportions of one object compared to another.

I began this painting with a pencil drawing of the scene, then lightened my pencil lines by rolling a kneaded eraser over the drawing to pick up some of the graphite.  Watercolor paints are transparent, and bold graphite lines will show through the finished painting.

I painted the tomatoes first. They were most important -- and most interesting -- to me.  I've learned to find the part of the scene that is most interesting and give that the most attention. It becomes the focal point of the painting.

After the tomatoes were complete, I painted the brown paper foreground, noticing the highlights and midtones, and the dark shadows under the tomatoes.  

I added the wooden box behind the fruits, and worked a little on the wood grain and old nails.  I had to be careful not to get too detailed. I love wood grain, but I don't want it to compete for attention with the tomatoes!

I decided that my shadows were too dense under the trio of tomatoes on the right, so I lightened them up, and unfortunately overdid it. That happens.

I fixed the shadows.  Here's the finished painting, 

with a few other minor tweaks to the tomato on the right.

My biggest challenge in this painting was to control the edges of areas I had painted.  Each time I laid down paint, I had to decide whether I wanted a hard edge or a soft edge.  Soft edges had to be feathered out quickly and gently with a damp, clean brush. Otherwise, defined lines, like the edge between the bottom of the tomato and its shadow, would show everywhere I touched with a wet brush.

I got so absorbed in this painting, I forgot to eat lunch!  That's the power of art to sweep you away.

I post this with gratitude to my friend Beth for a lovely dinner and the inspiration of her vibrant paintings.

Wishing you many happy art explorations that sweep you away!

Copyright Betsy Bangley 2023. All rights reserved.

Walnut Ink Update

I've been testing out my homemade Walnut Ink to discover its properties.  

I'm finding that I can use it like watercolor paint, watering it down to lighten it, or adding layers to darken it.  If I want to lighten a spot, I can even scrub out dried ink spots with a clean, damp brush.  

I added white colored pencil marks to show the window light reflecting on these salad tomatoes.

This combination of supplies reminds me of Rembrandt van Rijn's ink and white chalk drawings.

Above: Rembrandt's Three Studies of a Child and One of a Woman from the Harvard Art Museums

Rembrandt's fluid lines and masterful portraiture show the possibilities of such simple materials as ink & chalk on brown paper.  Inspiring!

Testing out an art supply just to become familiar with it is a great way to trick your brain into not judging any artworks you create.  Because you are merely exploring and experimenting, you are freed from expectations.

What material would you like to test out and explore today?

Happy Creating!

Update: Walnut Ink

I've been having a play with my new, homemade Black Walnut ink.  

It flows smoothly, dries a rich, dark brown, and works surprisingly well for writing and drawing.  I just have to give it a little more time to dry than my other fountain pen inks to prevent smudging.  

When I write with it in my journal, I put a blotter page -- an absorbent piece of paper like newsprint -- between pages when I turn to a fresh page.

Above is a sample from my nature journal this morning.  I took 5 minutes while drinking my morning tea to watch the birds outside at the feeder, and it made me feel happy.

I love the fact that my ink came from nearby nature, that the squirrels helped me to make it, and that I have an abundance to share with friends and family.  Turns out, the more I'm involved with the creation of my supplies, the closer I feel to them and the more satisfying they are to use.

What's your favorite art supply right now?

I hope you can take a little time for yourself to play with your art supplies purely for your own joy this weekend.  It's a lovely form of self care.

Copyright Betsy Bangley 2023. All rights reserved.

Making Black Walnut Ink

I have read of making a lovely, brown ink purely from the nuts of the Black Walnut tree, and have been curious to try it.  I recently found a mature Black Walnut tree whose nuts had been pilfered by squirrels.  

The hungry squirrels sat at the base of the tree to peel off the outer hull of the walnuts in search of the nut within.  They left behind a big stockpile of the part I needed -- the hulls.

All I had to do was don some latex gloves to keep my hands from getting stained, and collect a bucket full of the dark dye stuff.

It's also a good idea to wear gloves to protect your skin as some people get a rash.  I didn't have any ill effects. 

I found an old pot that I use only for art projects and filled it with the hull pieces, topped them off with water and set it to simmer for an hour or so.

I stirred the pot with a wooden paint stirring stick, and had to be careful to keep the pot from boiling over and splattering the kitchen with dark goo.  I kept the vent fan running and the room ventilated.  

If you try this, keep an eye on your pot to keep the water from boiling off and burning the walnut hulls or the ink.

I tested the ink on watercolor paper (first photo) and pulled the concoction off the stove when I was happy with the color.  Using an old pillowcase, I strained the ink from the Black Walnut hulls, and collected the liquid in a bucket.

I strained the ink outdoors to keep from staining my kitchen counters and floors.

You can see the earthy, brown color of the ink here in the bottom of the pot.

I cleaned out the pot and returned the liquid to it to cook it down a bit, and condense the liquid into a darker ink.

As you can see, Black Walnut ink also dyes cloth!  If you try this project, make sure to wear old clothes and protect your carpet, counter, floor, etc. from being stained.  Also take care not to discard the hulls in your garden as they can kill grass and other plants.  

Here's a test of the ink after I cooked it down a bit.  I like the darker, richer colors of the ink after it was condensed.

I used the ink right away to write a letter to a friend.  A simple dip calligraphy pen worked beautifully.

The ink darkens as it dries.

After the ink cooled, I poured the ink into jars, and added a capful of vodka to each half pint to keep mold from growing in the ink.

I have a few artist friends I plan on giving some ink to.  A simple, inexpensive gift that invites creativity.

If this sounds like an exciting project to you, 

I recommend you read The Organic Artist, by Nick Neddo. He provides instructions and inspiration for making Black Walnut ink and a variety of other art supplies for free directly from nature.

Wishing you many happy art adventures!

Copyright 2023 Betsy Bangley

Care December: Gratitude

Today's Care December prompt involved thinking of the people that make us feel loved and the places that make us feel at home, and feeling gratitude for them. 

I began with this page spread, and picked out some paper bits that made me think of my best friend.  Just the thought of her makes me feel loved and grateful.

I collaged on a stamp -- my BFF and I write lots of letters -- and some tea-stained papers because we love drinking tea and chatting for hours.

A variety of acrylic paint colors added their brilliance.

After the acrylic dried, I painted on a layer of clear gesso so I could easily draw with colored pencils.

A heart with two teacups finished the pages for me.

I hope you'll join Kasia Avery's Care December, too,

and take some self care art time this week to create something just for your own joy.

Happy Creating!

Copyright 2023 Betsy Bangley. All rights reserved.

Care December: What Makes You Feel Joyful & Fluid?

I've been taking Kasia Avery's online art journaling course, Care December, at my own pace.  I love that I can have days that I jump right in and follow the prompt, 

and days that I take time off and save the session until I can savor it. 

Today's prompt invited us to think about what makes us feel relaxed, fluid and joyful.  

We used string and blue ink, and I luckily had some of both, 

from the Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse.

We dunked the string in the ink bottle, then flopped the inky string on the page, closed the journal and pulled the string slowly out.

I love the wispy, swirly lines that this technique creates.

The designs looked like the engraved drawings of seashells found in vintage science books. 

Relaxing by the ocean is one of the things that makes me feel fluid and joyful, so I kept the "seashell" marks and added ink washes & colored pencil lines around them.

  

The blue, Serendipity ink ($2 at PCCR) has lovely, shimmery qualities when it dries, 

and looks red in the photo.

Interestingly, I bought the white Prismacolor pencil at the PCCR, too. 

If you haven't joined in Care December yet, there's still time to participate!

Even if you read this post long after December 2023, you can still find the course on Kasia's website.

I hope you take some time to make some art just for joy, just for yourself -- For self-care!

Copyright 2023 Betsy Bangley. All rights reserved.

 

Care December: Setting an Intention

I have been participating in Kasia Avery's Care December art journaling project.  If you'd like to join this free online class, you can find out more here:

https://www.everything-art.com/p/care-december-23

The first day of Care December involves tuning into your own heart about what you want to focus this self care art journaling time on.

I wrote out my thoughts on a sheet of paper, decorated it with some watercolor paint and paper bits, and then jumped into painting the pages of my journal with acrylic paint.

After the paint dried, I added clear gesso.  

Acrylic paint is smooth & slick when dry, so it's hard to draw or write on top of it as is.  

Clear gesso goes on looking milky, but dries clear and adds grit.  

A layer of (dried) clear gesso over top of acrylic allows you to draw with colored pencils, add pastels and makes ink "stick" better.  

I added colored pencil lines, collage bits, and penned a shortened version of my intention statement:

Hear my Intuition & 

Follow Her

Create for Joy

Celebrate & reflect on my art

I have found that when I focus on the tiny voice of my Intuition while creating, I worry less about what other people will think of my art, and less about making "perfect" art.  Of course, we all know that there's no such thing as "Perfect."  Humans are by nature messy beings -- delightfully imperfect.

When I create out of my Intuition, I feel joyful, curious, and playful.

I feel happy, calm, and as a side effect, I usually like what I create.

Something I've recently begun to do is to reflect on my art.  I have always propped up my journals and paintings where I could see them after completing a particularly satisfying project, but recently, I've begun poring over art journals and handmade books, looking over what I created and reflecting.

This reflective practice magnifies my self-care art.  I get the boost of creating it in the first place, and then an extra boost every time I look over and consider how good it made me feel while I made it.

In effect, reflecting on my art creates a positive upwards spiral, and makes me want to create more art for self care.  Life feels more sparkly.

And isn't that what we want out of our art practice?!

Wishing you many happy hours of creating and reflecting!

Copyright 2023 Betsy Bangley

 

Painted Collage Papers for Care December!

I recently discovered artist, teacher and art journaler Kasia Avery on YouTube.  She has a delightfully enthusiastic teaching style that makes creating easy & fun.

If you haven't seen Care December, her free art journaling class yet, you can check it out here:

https://www.everything-art.com/p/care-december-23

In preparation for participating in Care December, I followed two of Kasia's YouTube videos on making papers of your own design and colors for art journaling. These are the videos I followed to create all of these painted papers. 

Video 1: https://youtu.be/78hXnnl8fdU?si=DGuh25Km8VmQNK7D

Video 2: https://youtu.be/ki9E6mQPxgw?si=sXCrQRdX24cF23hh

 Kasia uses a lot of different supplies, but a person can just use what they have on hand and have success.

I used office papers and forms from The Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse, my favorite thrift store in Pittsburgh.  They sell everything from fine art materials to vintage items, photography equipment, fabric, jewelry & scrapbooking supplies and lots more.

I spent a lovely afternoon splashing acrylic & watercolor paint on a variety of book pages, magazine pages, pieces of graph paper, used gift wrap tissue paper, music sheeting, old maps, etc., and turning them into colorful papers for art journaling.

I worked on a big piece of kraft paper on the floor to give myself lots of room to paint.  I turned on some inspiring music, brewed up a hot tea, and experimented with lots of different techniques and materials.

 The beauty of this approach is that I didn't have to drive to a store and purchase anything new.  I used what I had, and the items I had found secondhand at PCCR.

Each piece of brightly-painted paper was made in my own intuitive style, so it will match my art journal. And, I got to spend an afternoon playing with paint, listening to music, lost in the hum of creativity and joy.

I hope you'll join me in doing some creative self care this December!

Copyright 2023 Betsy Bangley.