Working Small to Make Discoveries

When you're drawing or painting the landscape, the vast amount of details can overwhelm a person.  Working small forces you to simplify, and can help you make discoveries about values and composition.

This little painting was done on a postcard 3.5" x 6".

I took a reference photo with my cell phone towards sunset one evening on a walk.  The buttery light of sunset peeking through the rain clouds caught my eye.

I began with a pencil sketch, and added waterproof ink with my Lamy fountain pen.

After erasing the pencil marks, this is the pen and ink sketch.

I began painting the sky, using a white wax crayon as a resist where the sun poked through the clouds.   Azo yellow mixed with yellow ochre created the buttery yellow sky light.  Ultramarine blue with a touch of burnt umber created a lovely cloud color and worked well in the distant hills.

A light wash of yellow ochre for the field grasses and yellow ochre & burnt sienna for the weeds echoed the warm yellow around the sun.

The dark green of the background spruces & pines were mixed with burnt sienna & phthalo blue.

I could have simplified this scene further, but I'm happy with the end result.

I lightened the scene and pumped up the value contrasts a bit compared to the photo, and if I were to paint it again, I might lighten the value of the distant hills a bit to see what effect that had.

After painting the scene in miniature, you can always take what you've learned and create a larger painting using this small work as a guide.

Even if you only create the smaller studies, you learn how to simplify the scene with every little painting.

Happy Creating! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing you all a day of relaxation and appreciation for the people and facets of your life you love.  I hope you get time to create over the holiday weekend.

Happy Creating!

 

Less Control Loosens up Your Line

On our way home from a recent outing, we stopped through the state park briefly to look at the lake.  I didn't have much time, but I was hungry to make a sketch.

Mechanical pencil and nature journal in hand, I experimented with something I'd recently been reminded of:  holding the pencil far at the back (eraser) end to loosen up my lines.

 Give this a try right now, and just doodle anything. 

Does it feel weird and out of control to sketch this way?

Yup, that's what I experienced.  My Hobgoblin (inner critic) was shouting all sorts of terrible judgements.

But I kept sketching and turned the page to try again.

Later, looking at these pages, I realized how alive the milkweed pods looked to my eye -- as if they were dancing.  I love that!

Losing total control of the drawing can be the very thing that adds vitality to it.

I hope you try this technique soon.  Having a list of experiments to test out can be a great way to fill a sketchbook and build your drawing skills.

Happy Creating!

When You Don't Like Your Artwork

One of the things that keeps people from creating in a nature journal or sketchbook more often is the fear of making a page they don't like.

It's important to remember that you won't like every page.  You will have days when your sketches fall flat, and nothing seems to work.  Perhaps you're tired or distracted.  Maybe you're out of practice and not feeling inspired.  We all have these days. That's normal.

Maybe you're experimenting, and you haven't found the way it works yet.

The important thing to do is to keep sketching -- keep creating!

Keep trying new things, exploring different approaches, different media even.

Remind yourself that if you like every page in a sketchbook, you're probably not trying hard enough.  

Every artwork does not need to have a purpose other than the experience of creating it.

And if you turn the page and keep creating, you'll find subjects that inspire you, and techniques that work for you.

Pablo Picasso famously said, "Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working."

I don't love every painting and sketch I make, but I know that making "bad" art is part of the process. If you trust the process and keep creating, you learn, develop new skills and make wonderful discoveries.

The "meh" pages make the "Wow!" pages more satisfying.

Happy Creating!

An October Day

Here's a photo series from a fall color nature journaling session I had in October.

I began with a pen and ink sketch, then started splashing in colors...

...and adding in trees and background elements using a travel watercolor kit.

The final page reminds me of the day I spent outdoors under the blue sky.  I still remember the warmth of the day, how I felt, and how I realized at the very end of my painting session that I had sat down right next to a small poison ivy plant!  Lucky for me, I hadn't touched it.

I hope you take time to gather memories in a nature journal, or sketchbook.

Happy Creating!

The Power of Good Materials

Late autumn's cold nights means bringing in annuals like this pink geranium.  The beauty of that is having a colorful subject to paint right in my studio.

I broke into a package of Stonehenge 300 pound cold press watercolor paper yesterday and made a watercolor sketch of the geranium's bright flowers in the morning light.  

I had been using less expensive watercolor paper and saying to myself, "It's just for practice; it doesn't matter."

But what a difference using high quality paper makes!!!

The paint seemed to flow effortlessly over the paper, and when I made a mistake and wanted to "erase" dry paint, I simply scrubbed the spot with a damp brush and dabbed it out with a paper towel.  The paint lifted with no damage to the paper's surface.

Honestly, I had forgotten how much easier it is to work with good quality materials.  You're not fighting the paper.  It's working with you.

I had felt resistance to using good paper.  What if I messed up?  What if I wasted it?  I told myself I'd just make a practice page and test out the paper.  As soon as I put brush to paper, my resistance vanished.

It felt like the paper wanted to make the painting with me.

Please let this be a reminder to use the best quality supplies -- especially paper-- that you can afford.  

Tips to Economize with High Quality Supplies:

*Choose quality over quantity. Purchase a small array of supplies of the highest quality possible.

*Use both sides of the paper.

*Buy sample packs -- they're often inexpensive.  Though small, you can test out more expensive paper to discern the best one for you.

*Watch for sales.

*Scour secondhand art shops like The Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse.  They get a wide array of different supplies.  

*If you have people giving you gifts, ask for gift certificates to your favorite art supply store.

Bottom line:  You can make art with anything from ballpoint pens to chunks of charcoal pulled from a doused campfire, but when you use high quality art supplies, creating is easier because the materials work with you.  It's as if they are just as eager as you are to create.

Happy Creating!

Rusty November Planner Pages

Inspired by a recent Wanderlust 2024 class, I chose rust-decorated paper to collage for this week's planner. 

The process began with layering rusty pieces of metal, vinegar water and a variety of papers in an enamel pan, and leaving the whole mess for 24 hours or more.

The rusty metal imparted its rich colors -- siennas and ochres -- much like the dead meadow grasses and oak leaves still clinging to the trees outside my studio window.

The mingling of earth tones with black print and creamy old paper have a beautiful appeal to my artist's eye.

I tore pieces from some of the papers without thinking about it too much, then glued them down with Yes paste, a thick, archival paste I use for a lot of projects.

All that was left to do was to add in the dates and appointments with black ink pens and a Pentel India ink brush pen.

I love starting the day with art!

You can find more information about Wanderlust 2024 here:

 https://www.everything-art.com/p/wanderlust-2024-artjournalingcourse 

Happy Creating!

A New Mini Nature Journal

What is it about these mini journals that makes them so easy to fill up?

A hike in the woods, a pencil sketch on a tiny square, and a splash of color with a limited watercolor palette -- each step feels easy, do-able.  And in a matter of days, I have covered miles of ground and filled another mini sketchbook.

The power of taking only a limited set of supplies is surprising!  With just a few choices, there are fewer decisions to make, and less gear to haul.

Less is more.

The entire accordion-fold journal measures 5.5" x 28", making each page about 5.5" x 4.5".

I love that I can mix a wide array of colors from a tiny kit.

My paints, pencil, pens and palette fit in this 3.5" x 8.5" pouch.  I tuck a water bottle, water spritzer and cup in a small bag and am ready to hike and work in my sketchbook.

The simpler kit makes creating easier. I find I create more.  I've been painting nearly every day for a week or more, and once you get the ball rolling, the momentum carries you into a satisfying rhythm.  You're more likely to create, so you're more likely to try new things.

Most of these pages were made in the field, or started outdoors, and then finished in my studio. 

I took a photo of these milkweed pods, and illustrated the scene in my studio.

Here are some of my reference photos.  I hope you'll feel inspired to practice sketching & painting from them!

Happy Creating!

Osher Figure Drawing Class with Model Amelia

We kicked off another Osher at CMU Figure Drawing course with many gesture drawings of model Amelia.

We began with 5-Line drawings: allowing ourselves only 5 lines to describe each pose.  I find this creates abstract drawings, but gets our hands moving.

We turned our vine charcoals on their sides and created mass gesture drawings next, followed by mass gestures with lines added.

After a break, we finished up with a 1.5 hour long pose, taking breaks every 20 minutes.

It felt amazing to be back to figure drawing, especially with Amelia's creative poses and bright energy to inspire us.

Many thanks to model Amelia!

Turning My Art into Stickers!

I have had the dream of owning an electric car for the last decade.  I pictured myself driving it out to the park, plugging it in, then hiking down a trail & painting while it charged.  I imagined road trips in an electric car, plugging in while dining or overnight, and taking my time to see America, & make art.

I finally achieved that dream at the end of October. I named her Bluebird for the bright, sunny way she makes me feel and her blue color.

  

The experience of driving Bluebird, plugging her in at home or at the local park, and living lighter on the earth buoys me up!  I feel grateful that my dream has come true!  

Just after buying her, I drove Bluebird to the park, plugged her in, and took my art supplies for a hike.  I painted in the mini-nature journal shared in recent posts.  

It felt so wonderful to live out my long-held dream that I came home inspired, and made this art of a bluebird in flight. I sketched the idea with a pencil, then inked it in with a Lamy fountain pen, and finally added color with Caran D'Ache watercolor crayons.

A quick internet search yielded a sticker company with a special offer, and I snapped a photo of my artwork and uploaded it to Sticker Mule.  They emailed a proof to me within an hour or two, and I completed my first order.

In about a week, I received a package of these stickers!

I've created a simple nature journaling kit that I leave in Bluebird, so that I can draw and paint while charging

Inside this box are watercolors, a few brushes, a pencil ...

...and this accordion-fold watercolor nature journal I made.  

Now bluebird has her own sticker and art kit.

I am grateful for my dream becoming reality.  

May you realize your art dreams, too.

Happy Creating!