Mark Making Experiments

Igor Adameyko, Gerd Günther, Wim van Egmond, Benedikt Pleyer

Last week, in an email from the New York Times, I discovered this gif of microscopic life.  You can read the article here: Videos of Microscopic Life

I'm getting ready for the start of my Pencil Drawing Workshop at the Community College of Beaver County, and we'll be talking about mark making.  I find images like these spark new ideas for me.  After watching this gif, I quickly filled a page in my sketchbook.

Practicing making different marks is a good way to keep your hand in drawing practice, to exercise your imagination, and to generate new ways to express texture & shading.  Different types of marks make your art more interesting.

Look at the way that varied marks create texture and vitality in this drawing by Vincent Van Gogh.

Wow! Van Gogh's landscape fairly vibrates with life!

Though Van Gogh used a lot of straight lines and cross-hatching, look at how vibrant his Portrait of the Postman Joseph Roulin (1888) is.

Let's try our own mark making, inspired by the video of microscopic creatures.  I hope you'll join me and sketch your own version of this!

I started by holding my pencil -- a 7B -- at the end to loosen up my lines.  Try it!

I loved this little character, and made lots of loopy lines to create a second one.

After blowing out a candle, I noticed the way the smoke rose up, wobbly and curly.  It inspired the swoopy lines at the bottom of the page.  I smudged the soft pencil marks to make them more smoky.

For more control and different marks, I hold the pencil closer to the tip.

But I'd never get the long, flowing lines of these branching marks by holding the pencil that tightly.

Next step -- now try a page of marks that imitate Vincent Van Gogh's.

For a touch more inspiration, here's a link to a wonderful YouTube video by Ed Lax of a simple mark making exercise: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZVim6ECWss

Happy Creating!

Playing with Inks in my Art Journal

I was cleaning up our paper recycling box and found a stack of product safety inserts on thin paper with tiny print warnings in dozens of different languages.   I love working on paper with text, especially in a foreign language.  So I pulled the pages out to create on.

I grabbed my inks: India ink & Black Walnut ink, as well as a white wax crayon & a black grease pencil. 

In the page above, I drew with the white crayon and the black grease pencil before painting with ink.  The crayon resisted the wet inks layered on top, leaving white marks shining through. I finished the page with the walnut & India inks.

It was fun to paint using the chocolate-colored walnut ink I made years ago.  (You can see that post here.)

After the walnut ink dried, I layered on rich, black India ink.    

I enjoyed simply playing with these supplies.  One trick that helps me create freely is taking paper that's trash and turning it into something more fun. There's zero pressure to have "success."  It's trash.  

I glued part of one of the papers to a new page in my board book art journal. I added a pocket made from an envelope a bill came in.

 

I used Yes! paste to glue papers down, and washi tape along the edges, adding marks with a grease pencil & India ink. Mark-making relaxes me. It's an easy way to connect with my creative intuition.

I added a bit of blackout poetry with text encouraging the reader to "Discover what's inside."

I like the way the dark India ink around the page balances with the lighter values and the way the straight lines of text contrast with the curvy, organic lines of my painting.

I created a tiny artwork to fit inside the envelope pocket.  The little circles were inspired by a photo on a package of frozen peas we'd had for dinner the night before. 

You can get your inspiration from the most mundane sources!

I finished the page by writing a quote that spoke to me: "Attention is the beginning of devotion." -- Mary Oliver

I think I've always had an affinity towards upcycling papers and other materials into art.  

It can help to discover what sorts of materials, art supplies, colors and marks make you feel at ease, invigorated or playful.  Pay attention to what makes you feel most excited about making art, and follow that trail your intuition leads you on.

I wish you Happy Creating!

Low-Key Practice to Improve Your Paintings

One of the most important things I've learned about making art is that we all need time to play with our art supplies without any expectations or pressure.  Athletes and musicians spend endless hours practicing.  We artists would do well to take the same approach.

I sat outside recently and painted the light and shadow on this summery scene.  It was a simple sketch -- no pencil drawing underneath, no plan.  I just sketched what I saw, playing with light and shadow, mixing a variety of greens.

The puffy clouds cast strong shadows that moved through the landscape.

Here's a more zoomed-in version of what my eye saw. 

I focused on the shapes, the values and the textures of the scene before me, curious to try mark-making -- from the soft merging of wet-in-wet marks to the wobbly shapes of tree leaves, and the loose, scratchy marks of the weeds & grasses.

I mixed these different greens:

Foreground yellow-green & medium greens =Winsor Lemon + Ultramarine Blue

Background deep, dark greens = Phthalo Blue + Burnt Sienna

midtone greens = Sap Green + a touch of Alizarin Crimson

This little sketch is not a stunning work of art, but I post it here to share the everyday sort of projects that can make your art -- and your enjoyment of your art-making -- better.  

When I stepped back from painting to regard the sketch, I enjoyed the high contrast shadow of the tree snaking across the grass and up the hill.  I delighted in the rough texture of the weeds in the foreground on the right.  I enjoyed the looseness of the tree on the right, with dark limbs showing through.  

And it was relaxing to sit with my paints outdoors and explore.

I hope you find time to create and explore -- to simply practice!

Happy Creating!

The World is Full of Greens!

This is the time of year when you might feel inspired to go outdoors to paint.  Once outside, you may wonder, "How do I make all of those greens?!"

Consider creating your own library of greens like the one above.

I have a small palette for outdoor painting adventures.  It contains:

Ultramarine Blue (warm) & Phthalo Blue (cool).

Azo Yellow (warm) & Winsor Lemon Yellow (cool).

Yellow Ochre & Burnt Sienna (warm earth tones).

Look at the wide array of greens above I can make with those colors!

I paired each of my blues with each of my yellows.  I painted a swatch of the blue at one end, and painted the rest of the band in yellow.  Then I made a puddle of the yellow in my mixing tray, and began adding dabs of blue.  After each dab of blue, I swatched the green onto the spectrum, so the greens get progressively more blue going to the right.

I also mixed Phthalo Blue with Burnt Sienna to create a rich, pine green.

Give this a try! You'll end up with a great reference sheet of greens you can mix to paint your next sketch or painting.

Out on Raccoon Creek State Park Lake, painting the morning sun shining through the trees, my experience mixing colors came in handy.

Happy Creating!

Working in a Series

Artists commonly work in a series, choosing a theme and creating different iterations based on that theme.

In my series, I began with a photo taken during the polar vortex, when the temperature was about 10 degrees F. My first artwork was a colored pencil sketch done at the breakfast table in my nature journal.  That drawing showed me that I wanted to be able to blend the colors more than the colored pencil drawing. So I made a watercolor painting of the scene.

I was taken by the way the light sparkled off of the snow as the sun set in the west.  The shadows looked as blue as the sky, but I also saw hints of purple and magenta. Wet-in-wet applications of pink, purple and blue was the best way for me to express the sparkly colors I saw in real life.

Each step along the way, I made new discoveries, observed more details in the photograph, and found new ways to express the bitingly cold, fresh air.  

Often, I think, we want to create something "good" quickly. But spending time exploring different techniques and materials gives us more creating time, builds our skills and lets us get lost in the process.  If your only purpose is to experiment, play and make discoveries, there's no need to rush. And when you don't rush, you relax into the process, and that makes it easier to learn new things.

I like the way that the cool blues in both the drawing and the painting lent a feeling of extreme cold and wintriness.  The bare-limbed trees in the midground were delightful to draw/paint, and they created a feeling of deep winter, too.

What scene would you like to get lost in?  Why not try a series of artworks -- in different media, using different approaches, different color schemes, etc.?

Happy Creating!

Blind Contour Self-Portrait: Wonky is Beautiful!

If you're looking for a quick way to make art, warm up, and awaken your eye-hand connection, try a blind contour self portrait!

Sit down with a small mirror, and allow yourself to fully focus on your own visage.  Slow down.  With pencil or pen on your paper, look at your face -- not at your paper!  Now, let your hand follow your eyes as they slowly travel down any contour of your face -- jawline, hairline, eyes, etc. Gradually work your way around to all of your features without picking up your pen or pencil from the paper.

The trick here is to never look at your paper, and to keep your eyes on your face, allowing your hand to blindly follow your eyes as they slowly discover the lines and shapes of your face.

It takes trust and a willingness to let go of the outcome.  You are not going to make a "pretty picture."  You are going to discover beautiful lines, curves, shapes.

And you'll be surprised at how alive some of your lines are.

Now your eyes and hand are awake and ready to make more art.  What will you create next?

Happy Creating!

Bubble Planner

Another week, another weekly planner page! 

 

This week's inspiration came from looking at a variety of jar lids and other round items, and wondering what the page would look like if I traced them.  

I traced them with a pencil, then used India ink and a brush to create bubbles and swirls.  

I simply followed my intuition.

I recommend tuning into your intuition as a practice.  

 Kindly ask yourself what to do next in your art, and listen to the soft voice of your intuition -- not the noisy, judgmental voice of your inner critic, but the quiet suggestions that often sound unusual, unexpected or downright weird.  

Try those things.  

It's only paper, and you can make wonderful discoveries. 

It helps you to learn to trust your own artist's voice.

 Happy Creating!

Taking on My Hobgoblin Update: Painting Large

In this blog post, I shared the story of my inner critic's fear that painting large was "dangerous."

After writing about the subject in my daily journal, and then creating in my art journal, I plunged in and made this 24" x 30" painting.  

I am delighted to report that painting large is in some ways easier than painting small.  It allows freedom of motion as you paint, making sweeping motions more natural.

I started with this fiery orange-red underpainting to employ the power of color contrasts.

Orange and blue are opposites on the color wheel.  When you place them side-by-side, they create a vivid contrast that attracts the viewer's eye and creates a dynamic energy.

The beautiful thing about acrylic paint is that it dries quickly, so you can add layers on top of each other fairly quickly without mixing the two layers of paint.

I explained how I made this crow stamp in this post.

After making an enlarged copy of one of the prints, I transferred the photocopy to the painting using matte medium.

I applied a generous coat of matte medium to the face of the copy, stuck it down to the painting where I wanted it, and then pressed it firmly in place.  As I scraped excess goo out from between the two layers, I was careful not to get any matte medium on the back side of the copy.  That's important.

The next step is to let the matte medium dry.  When it's fully dry, spritz the paper with water and peel back the paper to reveal the image (in reverse).

You'll have to rub the last fibers of paper off of the image, and some parts of the image may come up with the paper if there was an air bubble in that spot.

I touched up a few spots on my crow with black paint.

Mixing matte medium with the acrylic paint allowed me to paint smooth, flowing letters and swirls.

The black & white contrasts appealed to my artist's eye.

As I painted, I tried to listen to the tiny voice of my intuition.  Of course, I had antsy moments in the creative process, wondering if it would all work out.  

We have a saying at my house, "Excite = Life."  If you're getting excited/nervous from time-to-time, then you are living your life fully and not shying from challenges. 

I played around with different designs underneath the crow, but didn't like the first attempt.  I removed the black squiggles with a paper towel wetted with rubbing alcohol, and tried again.

For touch-ups, I put a dab of acrylic paint and a blob of matte medium on an old membership card.  I mixed the two to make a smoother paint.  

Matte medium also slows the drying time of acrylic paint.  I used it after the painting was finished and dried as a clear top coat to protect the painting.

Old credit cards are useful for spreading paint onto a canvas using the broad side.  You can use the corners to scratch back into the paint while it's wet to make texture.

I finished, of course, by signing my name with a Posca paint pen.  

Always sign your work!  

Then place it where you can admire it

I hope you find ways to talk back to your inner critic.  It's incredibly empowering, and you end up with rich artwork!

Copyright Betsy Bangley 2024.  All rights reserved.

More Burnishing with Colored Pencils

Artists often work in a series, coming up with an idea, then tinkering with different versions of the idea.  This allows them to experiment freely without concern for making any one iteration "perfect" or even "pretty."

My burnishing practice led me to experiment a bit more.  I wanted to reduce the heaviness of the heart outline and explore breaking the boundary of the inner heart and the outer space with squiggly lines.

I used a larger, sturdier piece of paper this time -- tan, 184 pound, mixed media paper.

Here's the progression of the project from start to finish.

After laying in a variety of pinks, magenta, crimson, scarlet and a dash of lavender within the heart, I began burnishing, pressing down hard on the colored pencil and creating a rich area of color. 

Above is burnishing with a magenta pencil.  Each step mixes the colors and tips the balance in the favor of the last color layered on.

I wanted to connect the interior of the heart with the outer space with these energy lines.  Eventually, I added active lines to the interior of the heart, too.

White colored pencil added over the layers of magenta, crimson, scarlet and pink brightened these areas to create a highlight, and made the heart more round and plump.

Burnishing with a white pencil blends the colors below as it lightens them.

If I continue with this series, I would like to experiment with making the interior swirls and swoops more pronounced.

I hope you take time to experiment with burnishing.  Just playing around can lead to more ideas for projects, and pretty soon you're on your way to creating