I’m free of the dread lurgy as far as the virus is concerned, but I’m not free of its lingering effects—weak voice, cough, easily fatigued and breathless, and a foggy mind. I will get better—I will. How long it will take? I don’t know, but I was surprised at how quickly I became tired as I recorded today’s video (available from 6pm UK time today, Saturday 2 November 2024).
Despite being unwell, I’ve continued to be creative. In this video, I show a few drawings I’ve done in a new A5 sketchbook from Sakura.
Quite a few of the pages have been heavily influenced by the work of the fabulous Rebecca Blair. I love how she uses patterns, textures, and simple colour palettes to create richly decorative work. Her use of collage is simple yet effective, something I need to learn from!
If you know me, you know I love patterns, textures, and motifs. I like stylised, abstract, intricate art. I usually let my work grow quite organically, yet there is something delightful about creating a tapestry or memory map of patterns, textures, and motifs that bring joy and using colour that creates a certain feeling.
Rebecca Blair uses quite simple colour palettes, often monochrome-ish, and I have found that this works for me, kind of, in the pages I’ve created so far.
I’m not saying I’ve cracked it yet, nor have I found a way to incorporate all of this into my art. I’ve clumsily used watercolour to add colour to the floral elements, but I love how I’ve used colour in the various sections.
Looking back on these pages, I remember when I created drawn collages of elements from, say, an abbey I was visiting. This involved not drawing the entirety of the building but the parts that caught my attention. I’d sketch the patterns, shapes, and sculptural elements so that they flowed from one to another. In this way, a kind of sampler of my visit was created, a record of what fascinated me that day.
I like this idea of creating memory hoards of patterns, textures, colours, and motifs. It’s a revisit, yet a start of something new. To link with this, I intend to create my own hoard of favourite elements, such as ATC-sized cards, stored in pockets in a ring binder for when I need inspiration. This project can be done when I feel the need to be creative but don’t have the energy/focus to do anything else. That’s the plan, anyway.
So, I really need some tea before I even think about tackling this, maybe a nap too.
Yesterday, I did a live stream on YouTube, where I tried my hand at creating collage papers, making collage and mark making. It was an interesting experience, but more about that later on.
The topic of adventures came up in my wintering and the change in title is a result. For me, art is always an adventure. I’m always trying out new things, exploring older ways of working, and developing in my artistic expression.
Adventures aren’t necessarily big trips to far away places. There are so many little daily things that feel like adventures to me- the change in light through the day, the weather, the rhythm of the seasons and stars, the humourous behaviour of my neighbourhood jackdaws. There’s also reading new books, listening to stories and documentaries, trying new dishes, listening to music that is new to me, and so much more. I have a great deal of curiosity and desire to know more about myself and the world that I live in.
It’s a good thing that an adventure can be described as new ideas and grand mysteries. It’s about enjoying the journey with no time pressure, no idea of a destination, just a desire to discover more about how I like to express myself creatively and, through that, learn more about the more profound mystery that is me.
Over the years, I’ve dabbled a bit with collage but never really found how I like to use it other than as an interesting background in a sketchbook or maybe a pleasing arrangement of papers at the edge of a sketchbook page.
I love paper, however, and want to use different kinds of paper, and perhaps fabric, in my work. However, whenever I try to, it doesn’t feel right.
All of my artsy journey has been an adventure. I try out new things and retreat into the familiar when I feel uncomfortable with art, life, and myself. But even with familiar methods, things change due to experiences. Progress is always made. Lessons are learned. Insights are gained, especially from what I don’t like about something and what can be done to ‘fix’ it.
So, chatting in the live chat as I created part of this collage, the idea of my blog changed to reflect my description of how art is a great adventure. I thought of “Angela’s Adventures in Art,” but Judy suggested “Art is the Adventure.” I chose that, though I was tempted by “Art is the Way,” a bastardization of “This is the Way” from the Mandalorian.
And so, now the time is to change the name, but not the web address of my blog; that will remain artwyrd.com.
Collage
I am intrigued by collage, mark-making, and mixed media. Yet, whenever I’ve tried them in the past, I’ve usually felt disappointed in myself.
I remember looking at the collages by Juan Gris during my A Level and loving his work. I actually created a quite nice collage using his methodology. However, I never really followed it up. Yet, the distant memory still brings a sense of joy and, I think, excitement. I have problems identifying my emotions, and they are often faint to boot.
Anyway, I love the work of so many mixed media artists, and I admire their skills and creativity. Again, I’ve tried mixed media many times, and each time felt like a fishie out of water.
I’ve recently looked at collage and bought some books that demystify the process, or so I thought until I tried my hand.
I wasn’t happy with the colours. I glued papers down before I should have. I didn’t think about the scale of the page (A5) when I decided to put really thick black lines. I had to troubleshoot the mess I felt I made of the little leaves down the stem/trunk.
Today, I’ve spent sometime treating this page as a page to reflect on my experience and create a kind of journal page as a result. (Hence all the writing on the page). I’ve also added some patterns and makes in pen and watercolour.
Also, I made some more collage papers to try again. This time, I used Canson Imagine mixed media paper, as watercolours and Distress Inks work well enough on it.
I know I need to consider the size of the paper I’m using as a substrate when cutting or tearing the collage elements. The same is true for the pen thickness.
I have an inkling that my strength may be in more abstract work. Last night, I tried creating a collage that would look like a collection of buildings, but it didn’t feel right. That’s a good thing, though, as it’s something else to reflect upon and make notes on the page.
I really hope I can find my way with collage/mixed media. It will let me use my love of pen drawing, patterns, textures, symbols and stylised art in a different way. I have a desire to involve my love of different kinds of paper in my work.
At the moment, I just feel lost at sea, without a paddle or rudder, and at the whims of the currents of creativity and art.
I was dithering about showing this debacle of a collage publically. Then, I realised that if I am going to write about my arty adventures, then I need to recount the tougher, messier, unsuccessful parts.
The perfectionist and the messy debacle
I have been plagued by perfectionism all my life. I can get very disheartened when my desire for something pleasing to the eye and heart falls even a little bit short. In this case it falls, to my mind and heart, a lot short.
One thing I have learned that this is ok. I’ve learned that even if something is a messy ‘failure’ it is a success in many ways as it’s an opportunity to learn!
I certainly have a lot to learn from this particular collage mini-adventure. But the adventure isn’t over. I have some new coloured papers to use. I’m going to stick with the A5 sketchbook and work on a smaller scale and try out more abstract/stylised shapes. Keeping it simple to begin with may be a very good idea.
I like the idea of using the colours in the collage paper to be the colours used in any artwork, lettering, stitching etc.
And, if nothing else, learning that my adventure may be to discover that while collage and mixed media may not be for me, I can still enjoy the work of others. It may lead to new ideas, new techniques, a different way of deconstructing and reconstructing motifs and patterns going forward.
I can’t possibly predict how this side-adventure in my artsy adventure will work out. All I know is it will lead to interesting places with plenty of things to learn from the experiences it offers.
I spent some lovely, peaceful time today recording a video showing how I work to create variations on a theme.This theme is motifs based around circles and how I go from simple to more complex, possibly over complex.
This was so lovely to do! I love seed pods, and working on variations to see what will flow in ink from the pen tip is always a delight.
Not stressing over ‘oops’ moments, or not being happy with a drawing isn’t an easy thing to do. However, I push along, knowing that this is a sketchbook page.
Sketchbook pages aren’t meant to be perfect, finished or aesthetic. They’re pages to explore and experiment. Even the wobbly drawings I’m not happy with can turn out to be ones I’m happy with, once I work with their bare bones and add detail.
There were certainly a few gaffes on this page. But instead of gaffes, I like to think of them as starting points to work from as I have worked out something I don’t like in this instance. That is always a valuable experience and leads to new skills, techniques, etc.
I only added colour and shade to some of the seed pods. They give me an inspirational nudge if I need it when I look through a sketchbook. They act as a reminder that colour and/or shade breathe life into a line drawing, especially when the line drawing looks very simple and bare of embellishment.
There are so many ways to add embellishment to a simple line drawing, that sometimes it’s nice to leave the simplest line drawing as an invitation to work with it and create more variations and a later point in time.
August has been a weird old month. I managed to get all the pages for my next colouring book called “Daydreams” done. The work was enjoyable, but the constant fatigue hasn’t been. All I have to do now is to add colour to two templates!
I’ve managed to get some videos done, too, three in the last few days! They can be seen on my YouTube channel @AngelaPorter.
I have rediscovered an old love and source of inspiration – Ernst Haeckel. I bought myself a collection of his work for my birthday. It fascinates me and entrances me – both the beauty, the detail, the stylised way of drawing and the science that goes with it! It’s all the things I love most about scientific drawings and illustrations. And that love has followed me through my life.
Unsurprisingly, I’ve dipped my toes into the richly inspirational waters of the Arts and Crafts movement. Again, the wonderfully stylised yet richly intricate designs fascinate me.
I’ve taken time since finishing the artwork for the book to indulge myself in sketchbook work, pattern and motif explorations, and the simple joy of drawing.
I had thought about creating a ‘junk’ journal. Well, more of a sketchbook cross art journal cross zibaldone/commonplace book cross journal cross elements of junk journaling.
As I started to work on it, I got so overwhelmed. So, I started to put together a disc-bound sketchbook. As I’ve added work to the sketchbook, ideas of how to incorporate elements of the various kinds of journals/sketchbooks start to make sense.
This tells me I really do need to stop getting overwhelmed and start with a drawing. Then, just trust that creative intuition will work its magic and meld ideas together – one at a time.
One thing at a time. One thing at a time, as in one focus at a time, is easy to do. I find it hard to juggle multiple projects. I have a couple or more on hold. I know if I start on them again, then that project may totally take over my focus. But starting at any one of the projects after a break can fill me with anxiety and fear of failure. I know that to do nothing is the only real failure, but picking up a project after a break from it and having to pick up the flow of it again …
Well, perhaps I need to learn to trust the creative and inspirational flow and put aside the fear, doubts, and negative inner voice. Easier typed than done!
Linked to this is I’ve started to read Julia Cameron’s “The Artist’s Way”. It’s surprising how much of this I recognise so far – I just needed the words for how I work. I am going to work my way through it, though. I have a feeling it will be very valuable to me. And some lined paper for the daily pages has arrived today, so no excuses tomorrow morning!
Between some adulting today, I’ve drawn this design in my sketchbook. I’m quite pleased with it, unusually for me!
I like black and white drawings. I like texture and pattern, and I like to then add colour and/or contrast to my artwork. I’ve yet to decide what I’ll do with this, though digital colouring is likely to be my thing. Traditional drawing followed by digital colouring makes it tradigital art! Whoever coined that term is fab.
In the last few days, I have played around with using coloured inks to draw designs. I’m happy if I use one colour for the drawing, texture and pattern. If I start to use other colours, I become confused and not at all happy with the outcome. It never looks ‘right’ to me. Not for my own art, anyway. I do like how other people manage to use different colours for various parts of the lineart, pattern and texture.
Maybe this is because I’m so used to drawing with just one colour. I then use colour to bring out dimension in the finished artwork. I have drawn designs in a colour other than black, using just that colour; I’m quite happy with them.
So, onwards I go, continuing to learn more about my style as I go outside the area I’m comfortable in. I may return to the experiments with different ink colours another time, or not. Only time will tell, though.
Earlier this week, I started a new sketchbook. This is an A5-sized one from Royal Talens Art Creations range. The paper in it is ivory, sturdy and reasonably stiff. It’s smooth enough to be a pleasure to draw on with all kinds of pens, yet it has enough ‘tooth’ to work with coloured pencils. It will also take very light washes of water-based media. Distress Inks blend nicely on the paper, making less smoothly blended backgrounds easy.
Page 1 started the sketchbook off, and a dragon surprised me by peeking out of the entangled foliage and artefacts! That wasn’t a conscious decision; it just happened. This makes this dragon the guardian of this particular sketchbook!
The other pages are me trying out monograms, some more successfully than others. And that’s the whole point of a sketchbook; it’s a place to try things out, experiment, practice, and become familiar with new (or old) media and techniques. It becomes a storehouse of ideas, a record of my artistic journey.
I also allow myself to finish a drawing or leave it as it is. I can write notes and ideas, commentary and reflections on the pages themselves or if there’s not enough room on pieces of paper, that can be attached at an appropriate point. This way, it becomes more than just drawings. It really becomes that record of an artistic journey.
The A5 format means it’s easy to carry while away from home, along with a small pencil case with the bare essentials. I can record things I see that interest me.
There are elements of stylised art, abstract art, Zentangle-inspired art, Rebecca Blair-inspired patterns, botanical, architectural details, imaginative designs and intuitive work, to name a few!
Today was a day for quiet art, with some colour. I’ve started in a new A5 Sketchbook – A Royal Talens Art Creations one. It seems monograms are the theme for this one, at least for now!
It was a nice way to spend an hour this afternoon. It’s been very warm here in the Valleys of South Wales, UK, today. Thankfully, the sun has moved around from the front of the house and it’s feeling cooler now, just a bit.
Anyways, back to the art.
I drew the basic outlines of the design. I knew I wanted to add colour before adding the details of patterns. It also meant I could just enjoy adding colour without worrying about having to reink the lines affected by the paint; that’s always a recipe for disaster for me!
To add colour, I used soft yellows, greens and pinks from the Kuretake Gansai Tambi Art Nouveau set of watercolours.
I really, really love these watercolours. I love the way the imperfections and water-spots create a wonderful background texture. I think I’ve finally accepted that imperfections can be perfectly acceptable and wonderful! I now want to work out how I can replicate this in my digital and tradigital art. But not now. Not today.
Today, I’m flagging in energy once again. I could just go to sleep. But if I do that, I may not sleep well tonight. So, instead I will go get a drink and make something to eat. And maybe do some more art!
It’s a gloomy, wet Saturday here in the Valleys of South Wales, and the weather matches my mood. My inner sun touchstone of contentment is still there; I can sense it as a constant beneath the clouds and know that it is there the same way I know the Sun is behind the clouds (or the Earth at night). All storms, or successions of storms, eventually pass, and I know that the stormy inner weather is related to something(s) I’m having to work through and sort out. I will get there. I was reminded today that I’ve got myself through such times in the past and that I’m quite capable of doing so again (thanks to my friend for reminding me!).
To use my metaphor, I’ll weather the storms that come and go, and art will help me do so.
When I sit and draw, my mind empties of all the thoughts the negative self-talk likes to shout at me, the sunny touchstone shines through the clouds a little more and the contentment increases. For a while, I have a break from it all. And when I stop drawing, I feel better, even if the storm starts up again.
I will be fine; I am in many ways. And there’s always art. And writing. And music. And Star Wars!
Oh, the page above. I worked on it last night and today. I’ve done as much as I want on the page. Partly coloured or shaded, and some areas with a darker background. It is, to me, a way to suggest what I could do. That’s why I like pages like this. Unfinished, or inconsistently finished, with possibilities and potential and inspiration.
I used 05 and 01 Sakura Pigma Micron Pens to draw the design. To add some shade and the background, a Warm Grey III Pitt Artist Brush pen was used. And various Graphitint pencils and a water brush added colour to other motifs.
I have decided to keep an illustrated journal full of my favourite patterns and motifs, accompanied by some words of encouragement and, perhaps, advice.
I’ve kept a collection in a dot grid notebook for a few years. However, some people have asked if I’d share it. I thought it was high time to create something similar instead of sharing a battered and dog-eared book. So, that’s precisely what I started in today’s video.
So, I purchased a Talens Art Creation A5 landscape sketchbook for this purpose. I like the paper in it; it’s creamy in colour, so it’s more soothing on my eyes. The scanned page in the image above doesn’t show the cream colour; the struggle with scanners is real! The paper is 140gsm (90lb). It will take a very light wash of water, but I like the fairly smooth surface to draw upon.
For this page, I used a selection of pens: A micro Uniball Eye for most of the drawing 01 and 03 Sakura Pigma Microns for details 0.38 Uniball Signo DX for the writing. Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Brush Pens in Cold Grey 1 and Cold Grey III
I’m fairly happy with how the page looks. However, my handwritten notes are a bit … untidy. Hey ho, they’ll do!
I only drew the flower on the left in today’s YouTube video. I couldn’t find the first drawing for this new journal. Stupidly, I’d done that on a loose sheet of A5 dot grid paper and didn’t put it into a folder for safe keeping. I have no idea where I’ve put it. So, that was another good reason to get a sketchbook; it’s harder for me to misplace a sketchbook, though it has been known to happen. So the arrangement from the centre to the right is a replication of the motifs from the lost page.
As I typed that, my mind thought of the Moody Blues album title “In search of the lost chord”. I’m forever in search of my lost artwork!
This is going to be another interesting project. I do seem to pick up and drop projects a lot. The reason is I need variety in what I’m focusing on. Sometimes, I need a bit of a break from a particular project or focus. At other times, I’m just not well enough to do anything more than some challenging ‘comfort art’.
I now need to decide if I’m going to add some colour to this page. I have shadows in place, so transparent/transluscent media will work with that. I’ll think on it. For now, I need tea and something to eat!
Art is the Adventure 