Designing a Hand-Sewn Patch

I've been inspired by the book, The Wander Society by Keri Smith.  The society's purpose is to promote aimless wandering as a creative pursuit and its motto is "Solvitur ambulando," or "It is solved through walking."

Have you ever noticed how taking a walk in nature helps you to unwind and sort out your troubles?  I walk for exercise, but also for peace of mind and creative inspiration.  I wanted to create a patch that celebrates how walking in nature inspires, heals, and strengthens me.

I started with a sketch on paper, then made a copy of the final design and covered the back of the copy with graphite.  I pinned the paper to a piece of denim cut from a retired pair of jeans and traced the design, pressing hard to transfer the graphite onto the fabric.

It was a little hard to see the graphite marks on the denim, so I darkened the design guidelines with a Sharpee.

I watched a video on making your own decorative patches.  It helped me to figure out how to fill in the boot with color and how to bind the edges of the denim.  Other than that, I have no real training in embroidery.  I just made up stitches, doing the best I could.

I stitched while watching videos with my husband or having conversations with my family. It was a pleasant way to keep my hands busy while listening.

My embroidery thread came from the Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse (25 cents per skein!).

I like the wobbly wonkiness of the patch.  It looks handmade and organic. Human.

As a foil to the rise of AI art, I enjoy celebrating human-made art.  I find it makes creating more relaxed when I celebrate my wobbles and imperfections.

I hope this inspires you to design your own patch and create expressive, wearable art!

Happy Creating! 

Sketching Fall Leaves in Watercolor!

Fall has arrived and the colors are reaching their peak in my neighborhood.  I gather up brilliant leaves on every walk.  

Here are yesterday's leaves.

I picked out three sassafras leaves that drew my eye, and made pencil sketches of each, then laid in a wash of azo yellow and let it dry. This technique, called glazing, creates glowing, rich colors when you paint other layers of color over top.  

After the yellow wash dried, I drew in the leaf veins with a white wax crayon to create a resist and keep the veins yellow.  I brushed in layers of oranges made from azo yellow mixed with either alizarin crimson or pyrrol red.  I added table salt to some of the wet washes and let it all dry.

After the salt completely dried, I brushed it off and added some final marks.  The salt didn't have a big effect on the washes.  I think the paint had begun to dry and wasn't at its best point for this trick.

I love adding the little spots where a bug chewed the leaf, etc.  These create a more realistic appearance.

Autumn leaves are a wonderful subject to draw and paint -- they're small, beautiful and endlessly fascinating. And it's such a human habit to gather natural treasures, especially in the fall harvest season. A walk in nature with some creative time is a lovely way to slow down and practice self care.

I hope you take some time to create with fall leaves!

Happy Creating!

Abstract Watercolor Play

After watching an art journaling video by Nicki Traikos, of life i design, on creating abstract vignettes in an art journal, I felt the glow of inspiration and decided to try her process.  I taped watercolor paper to a piece of stiff cardboard, added washi tape to make different sized "windows," and gathered some supplies.

I used watercolors in Prussian blue, New Gamboge (yellow), & burnt Sienna.  I also used indigo and yellow ochre Neocolor II watercolor crayons & a sepia Inktense watercolor pencil.  

I began by making a few marks with the Inktense pencil and watercolor crayons, then started laying in areas of color. I mixed the New Gamboge and Prussian blue to make a lovely, soft green.

Once I got started, I simply played!  I painted washes.  I painted areas with clean water, then dropped intense watercolor blobs. When an edge felt too harsh, I sprayed the area with a water spritzer to loosen things up.

My focus was on listening to that little voice within, my intuition, and trying out each nudge and idea. 

After the paint dried, I added little marks with the Inktense pencil.

After the first page was done, I started the same process with a fresh piece of watercolor paper.

Here's the finished page of vignettes.  I used white acrylic ink and a dip pen to create little marks over darker areas of paint. 

 

When I stepped back to study the finished creations, I realized that the abstract paintings looked like little maps of the landscapes we visited in the United Kingdom, with herds of white sheep dotting the earth. 

Art helps us process the experiences of our lives.  

I'm always amazed at how we can create images and symbols of things that are on our minds when we make abstract works.  I hope you'll give this technique a try.

You can see Nicki Traikos' video here: https://www.youtube.com/live/rSv8EvFy-8o?si=HtAAKjX4qwWedqnX

Happy  Creating!

Book Report: Good Mail Day

As a long time letter writer and upcycler of funky paper bits, I was drawn to this book about creating your own envelopes & post cards. The book is chock full of photos for inspiration and how-to information.

Here's what I created after reading it:

Collage is one of the quickest ways I've found to fall back into the habit of creating.  Don't think too hard. Simply gather bits that fascinate you and start gluing them down.  I used Yes! paste to glue bits down, then sealed the envelopes's surface with acrylic matte medium.

I collaged bits onto an 11"x18" piece of lightweight paper. You could use anything -- an old paper bag for instance.  After everything dried, I cut out an envelope from a template I made out of a standard greeting card envelope.  The book provides a template for the smaller (polka dot) envelope design.

This is a fun way to turn trash to art.  I hope you try it!

Happy Creating! 

Planner Pages: Summer Blooms!

After taking a watercolor botanical class with Wendy Solganik of Willa Wanders (https://www.willawanders.com/), I felt inspired to decorate my weekly planner with roses, hearts and swirls.

It doesn't take much to add color & beauty to a dull weekly planner!  It's also a great way to give yourself room to doodle.  I find it's a low stress place to create because no one sees it but me most of the time.

What are some low-stress ways you add art-making to your life? I invite you to make a list of ideas and start trying them.

Happy Creating!

Spring Flower Inspiration

A walk through the greenhouse at The Frick lifted my winter weary spirits and inspired me to paint.

Though I didn't have my paints with me in the moment, I snapped a few photos with my phone and made this watercolor sketch at home later.

Admiring blooms and playing with color always raises my mood.

What do you love to look at?  Does it lift your spirits to draw or paint those things?  

Give it a try!

Happy Creating!

Celebrate Your Artwork!

When we create, we might hear the voice of the inner critic telling us all of the things we are doing "wrong."  Sometimes creating is fun and easy, other times, we push against that critical voice all the way.

But the good news is that if you keep drawing, painting, & creating, you will eventually make art that you like.  Even if in the moment all you hear is that negative -- and incorrect -- voice, when you set your artwork aside and wait a day, you will see it with fresh eyes.

I invite you to give your artwork a day of rest, and then prop it up where you'll see it when you pass by.  I use this bookshelf as a gallery.  

My cat uses it as a napping place, so I put out a blanket for him.  Cats are my coworkers in the studio!

As I painted this orange,  all I could hear was my inner critic, the voice I call my Hobgoblin.  I knew that if I pushed on, I could at least learn something in the process.  I did it for the experience of painting, not to create a "pretty" picture.

After I took a break from looking at the little painting, I propped it on my bookshelf gallery. I could see the way that the shadows created dimension, and the way the feathery backruns created a texture I liked.  I am at peace with this little orange, and grateful for the experience of painting it. Overall, I like this painting and am proud to prove the hobgoblin wrong!

Give your art a break, and then please celebrate it by setting it up where you can see it.  As you look at it, think about what you like, what you'd change if you made another version of it, and what you learned in the process.  These questions can help navigate around the inner critic's blanket statements.

And please don't believe that inner critic!  They are notoriously wrong!

If you struggle with an inner critic as artists throughout time have, I recommend reading Shut Your Monkey! by Danny Gregory, about how to stop listening to your inner critic so you can keep creating art.

Remember: no one else in all of history has created the art that you can or sees the world as you do. Your art is valuable and unique.

I hope you push past any hobgoblins you might have and

Keep 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!

Another week, another weekly planner page!  I had just bought a pile of pumpkins for my Pencil Drawing students at CCBC to draw, and had all these beautiful pumpkins in different shades and colors in my studio.  It was so much fun to sketch, ink and paint these little characters, with each one holding a day's summary of activities.

Do you have a favorite collection of objects in your home?  Why not draw them together?  You don't even have to make them part of a planner page!

Happy Creating!

Make "Bad" Art!

I recently watched this inspiring YouTube video by Marie-Noëlle Wurm on making "Ugly Art:"  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kngc8LXYdkc

She invites us to intentionally make art we expect to be ugly, and in doing so, releasing ourselves from the expectation that we'll make something pretty, acceptable, worthy, or popular. 

I tried it & had fun!  When I meant to make my bird drawings ugly, I stopped judging every line and nuance as I made it.  The first one (top) I feel is truly ugly.  I don't really like it, but it opened the way for me to experiment & quickly draw these other 3 birds.

Each one has its own personality. This one seems like a mashup of Foghorn Leghorn and a magpie.

This one feels childlike and hopeful sailing through the sky like a character from a Roald Dahl story.

The last one seems like a Robin/Bluebird combination ... with a worm.

After I made these, aside from laughing a bit, I realized that each had qualities I liked.

I recommend watching Marie-Noëlle Wurm's video and trying it yourself.  It's a playful way to start an art session.  It could be a warm-up for more drawing or just an art break for self care & laughter.

After you make your drawings, step back and notice little things you like about your creations. Because you created freely without expectation, you might make discoveries.

I hope you try your hand at making "bad" art.

Happy Creating!

A Vase of Fall Flowers to Draw

Don't you love the beauty of Chrysanthemums in Autumn?

I bought myself a bouquet of mostly mums and then played with making sketches on scrap paper.

I used a Conte crayon and a white watercolor crayon.

 

The first drawing I made (above) looked like a bit of a jumble.  

I still enjoyed the sketching process, and it was good practice. 

No worries; I turned the page and started fresh.

I love the freshness of this drawing and have it propped up in my studio.  

I learned from the first sketch that I needed to simplify and pick 3 flowers because the Conte crayon is so dark when added to the text on the old paper.

What do you love to look at in this season? Making a sketch of it will deepen your enjoyment and enrich your observations of it.

Here are my top sketching tips:

1. Pick something you love to look at and are curious about drawing.

2. If you feel too pressured to make "pretty art" on the blank page of a sketchbook, start with scratch paper or a loose sheet of drawing paper.  If you want to include the resulting drawing in your sketchbook, you can always tape it in later.

3. Let your eyes drink in what you're drawing.  Look at your subject (a flower in my case) 85% of the time, and take quick glances at your paper.  This may feel "dangerous" at first, but if you trust your hand and use your eyes to see all the beautiful shapes, lines and textures in your subject, your drawings will come to life.

4. Keep speaking encouragingly to yourself.  It's quite common to have an inner critic who loves to yell its negative opinions about your art, especially when you try something new.  Please remember this critic is wrong.  Incorrect.  Off the mark.  Never right.  So just keep drawing, because the more you draw, the more fluid your drawings become.

5. "Bad" art: If you make a sketch that you don't like, turn the page and try again.  Later, you will notice parts of the "bad" sketch that you do like (for me, it's that dark leaf with the light vein that hangs down on the bottom right side of my first sketch).

6. Just keep drawing!  Everyday if you can, but as often as possible.

For me, following the contours of flowers is always pleasant & relaxing.  What is relaxing for you to look at and draw?

I hope you take 20 minutes and make sketches of your favorite things this week!

Happy Creating! 

Collage & Color Fun with a Planner

Your weekly planner can be a place for creative play.  You get to make a new weekly page every seven days, so you can try all sorts of experiments.  Here's one that I made recently.  I pulled painted paper from my collage basket, then snipped and tore it into interesting shapes, finishing with the daily boxes and doodles in marker.

 

The beauty of collage is that there's no need for precision.  If you get the design sort of in the neighborhood of what you like, you can glue it down, and somehow it always works.

Do you keep a weekly planner or bullet journal?  What if you added some color, collage or other decorative elements?

Happy Creating!

More Tiny Art:A Portrait of My Cat

A little scrap of watercolor paper suggested itself to be used one morning in this watercolor sketch of my cat.

I find that starting with an animal's eyes establishes the scale.  Eyes express the life & personality in a creature.

It's fun to play with colors rather than match reality.  As long as you get the correct light-to-dark values, you can use any colors that appeal to you, and the painting will look real.  

I hope you'll try your hand at sketching animal portraits.  You can use this photo above, or one of your pet as a reference.  If you're looking for more good photos, you can use these to practice drawing or painting animal portraits:

https://betsyblissart.blogspot.com/p/pet-portraits-in-colored-pencil.html

Happy Creating!

The Power of Doodling

Those of us who like to doodle to pass the time often downplay this good habit, probably because we were chastised as kids for "not paying attention."

Research suggests that doodling actually helps to lock memories in place.  Whatever you were listening to while you created that little artwork stays with you better than if you hadn't been drawing. Here's a Harvard Health article about research into the benefits of doodling.

But that's not the power of doodles that I'm talking about today.  

When you follow that sparkly idea to create something you're curious about, you build your drawing skills, but you also develop creative ideas that can grow.

Here's a sketch I made of a friend's crow photo. You can find the photo on my blog here.

That sketch became a drawing, which I transferred to a rubber block. I carved it to create a stamp.

I've enjoyed making stationary by stamping vintage office papers with this stamp.

I photocopied one of these pieces of stationary, enlarging it to 200% so I could transfer it to a recent painting.  The little sketch of my friend's crow photo became the focal point of a larger painting.

I reversed the image by making a transparency of it and copying the flipped transparency.  When you transfer an image this way, you "print" a reversed image.

Now I've ordered greeting cards from that large painting, and I can't wait to receive them in the mail. That's the power of doodling.  It's a way to experiment and play, and a pathway to larger artworks.

Please doodle! 

Experiment with designs and ideas. 

Play with little sketches.  

Allow them to grow & roam to become larger ideas.  

That's how creativity works!

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