angela porter artist

Artistic journeys…

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Mixed media

IMG_0650My previous blog post about a mixed media work in progress is still on hold, although I have added a crackle paint to it in places, which has added some texture to it.  I’m pleased with the result, but I still am not sure what else to do to complete it.

I have completed a very textured background for some mixed media work; you can see it above.  What I’m going to do with it I’m not quite sure, but I’m sure it will all come together at the right time.

Abstract Line Art

I’ve been drawing more ‘Doodle Worlds’ images from time to time and now need to gather them together to see if there’s enough for another ‘book’ for the Colorist app.

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I also turned my attention to colour and pattern and the two images above are the results of around three to four days work.

I used A4 300g/m² smooth watercolour paper and applied distress inks to create the coloured areas.  I wanted to create the illusion of shadow and light in these areas.  Next, I used various drawing pens to add the patterns.  On the green piece, I’ve added copper and gold coloured metallic highlights.  The pink one isn’t quite finished yet.

Sketchbooks and my artistic journey

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As the days are becoming lighter and warmer, my thoughts are going to getting out to visit places and to do some sketching/drawing (intense anxiety and intense self-consciousness allowing).

With this in mind, I’ve prepared pages in an A5 and an A4 sketchbook.  I’ve used Distress and Distress Oxide Inks.

The image above shows the first page in my A4 sketchbook, a page full of daisies, worked using different media, trying out different styles and degrees of detail.

I like to work on a coloured background, I don’t know why, I just do.  I think it may be that I like to add shadows and highlights to create and image from the colour on the page.

I’ve not done much in the way of sketchbook work for a long while, but the need to revisit and to continue to explore different ways of expressing myself artistically has surfaced.  I think this is a much over-due response to the surfeit of work on colouring books in the past three or so years, as well as the struggle I’ve had with my mental health.

My energy, when mentally able, has been focused on completing the work I was contracted for with various publishers.  I enjoyed the work, the subject matter pushed my boundaries in the subjects I tackled.  I’m so grateful for that work as well as it allowed me to make changes in my working life that helps me to take care of my mental health.  It was/is also an activity that helps me manage my mood.  I lose myself in drawing/creating, finding myself ‘in the flow’ where my mind stills, or, rather, where I no longer pay attention to the inner critic.

However, the colouring book work was the focus of my artistic energies for much of that time, and I had little energy left to explore other areas of artistic expression.  I didn’t mind that at all, as I’ve said, I enjoyed all the work I did, and I will continue to create templates.  However, that is not all I want to do or to create.

I now have time to revisit ways of artistic expression I put to one side in my focus on the work for publishers, and I have the chance to see how my skills and expression have developed/changed.  I also get the chance to explore and discover new ways of expressing myself, using new media.

In this way I can continue to discover, practice and refine my artistic voice and vocabulary.  I still feel like a toddler in the world of art.  I wonder if I’ll ever progress from that state.

The biggest obstacle to me doing this is the lack of belief and confidence I have in myself and my artistic abilities.  I also have a problem in deciding on what to draw.  Then, there’s also the issue of finding themes/styles/media to explore that will challenge me just enough that I feel I can make a good attempt at them and gain confidence in them, but not so much that it overwhelms me and I fail before even trying.

The most important thing for me, however, is to enjoy my artistic journey, no matter where it leads me.  The pleasure and peace I get from creating will be something that will serve me extremely well throughout the rest of my days on this planet.

 

Another fantasy fungus mixed media – work in progress

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The last couple or so days I’ve been working on stuff in preparation for this, though I wasn’t quite sure how it was going to work out, if at all.

The background I made earlier today just wasn’t the right thing…so had to re-do that. I’m happier with this one, and the first background has been consigned to patterned, coloured, embossed papers for future projects.

There’s still a fair amount of work to do on this one, and I think it’ll work out OK in the end.

Fantasy fungus mixed media

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This one is mostly finished. I need to add shadows around the elements and some shiny patterns to the layers I think.  Oh, and the hole in the tag needs something added.

The fungus I drew and coloured myself.  That was enjoyable to do!  In fact, the whole thing has been satisfying.

Colorist app update

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I was pleased to be told by Shelly and Kelly at Faction Apps that there’s been an update to the Colorist app.  That means I had to have another play!

The image above is one from my first book for the Colorist app – Doodle Worlds.  Many areas have been filled in using the original pencil tool, which is great as it allows for overlaying of colours as well as being pressure sensitive if your device allows for that (my Microsoft Surface Book certainly does!).

It took me a while to get used to how the pencil works in the app, but that’s not a problem as either the undo or eraser tools allow you to completely remove anything you’re not happy with.  (The eraser is also useful for removing colour to create a highlight!).

Bucket Tool

One of the new tools is a bucket-fill, which is great for filling areas with flat, solid colour.  I used this tool for the pink monster.  The pencil tool can then be used to add shading/highlights over the base colour.

A useful tool is the bucket tool as it allows for quickly filling areas with a solid colour, even teeny-tiny areas thanks to the ability to zoom in on the image! This saves some time and effort, which can then be spent on carefully adding the shading and highlights to the area.

Marker Tool

This is my favourite addition to the tool box in the Colorist app!  I love the solid colour it lays down. The colours aren’t transparent, however, so blending isn’t yet possible with them ( perhaps that’ll appear in a future update of the app).  Markers (especially Chameleon pens) are my favourite way of adding colour to drawings like this on paper, so I look forward to this tool being developed more in the future (fingers crossed and maybe a bit of pleading from me!).

What I love most about this tool is that I can draw and doodle and add texture and pattern to the image with the solid lines that I prefer in my art. I did this with ease on the flower next to the orange and white stripey twisty thing.

The wide range of colours available in the colour palette mean that highlights and shadows can be achieved, so long as a subtle blend from one colour to another isn’t required.  However, I’ve just thought that a clever use of the pencil tool may allow this to happen.  I’ll have to try that out!

Eyedropper tool

I didn’t make any use of this tool, but I’m likely to in the future as it means that you can easily select a colour you’ve previously used in the image being coloured without going to the palette and ttrying to remember just which shade of, say, blue it was you used.

Sketching in the Colorist App

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The ability to sketch within the app, and save the drawings too, is the fab new feature.  I really like this, especially with the marker pen tool.

Usually, I use Autodesk Sketchbook  for drawing on my Surface book.  One of the weird things about drawing on the Surface with the pen is that there always seems to be some wobble in the line, even if the line drawn is smooth.  Autodesk has a smoothing tool, which in the Pro version you can set to a level that suits the art  you are doing at the time.

Although the Sketch function in Colorist doesn’t have the smoothing tool (yet?) it works just as well as Sketchbook for the kind of doodly, abstract, whimsical art I do.  The image above is a drawing I did in Colorist last night, it took an hour or so to achieve.

I enjoyed using this function, though not being able to rotate the digi-paper meant it was a tad awkward for me to draw certain things.  However, Colorist isn’t designed as a  dedicated drawing/art app, but I do wonder if a ‘pro’ version could be developed where a small fee is paid for such a functionality. The latest updates certainly suggest to me that there’s a possibility that this could be a direction the app could take in the future.

My verdict

I really like the updates, especially the marker and the sketch function. Congratulations to all at Faction Apps!

The suggestions I’ve made above for extending the additions in the future are not criticisms of the great updates made, but they would take this app beyond that of being just a colouring app, so I’m well aware they may not happen.

However, I do believe this app could evolve from being a colouring app into something more…

Poppy capsules mixed media

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I’ve decided to do my best to be brave and confident and use my own drawings and designs in my mixed media work.  The poppy seed heads and the ‘zentangle’ patterns are drawn by myself.

The inchie with the quote on – creative journey – is milky as the Glossy Accents on the tile hasn’t dried yet, but it will dry clear and glossy.

Here’s a list of the media I used:

  • Papers – 300gsm watercolour paper, cream paper for pencil and pastel work, marker paper, kraft card, mixed media paper
  • Paints – Paperartsy Fresco paints, Liquitex copper paint, Cosmic Shimmer copper iridescent watercolour paint
  • Pens and pencils – Faber-Castell Pitt artist pens, Derwent Inktense
  • Leafy and flower stencils
  • Sizzix Big Shot and dies for cutting some of the gears and an embossing folder to add texture to one of the background papers
  • Metal gears and keys
  • Glossy Accents
  • Cosmic Shimmer acrylic glue
  • Archival Ink in black and sepia
  • Distress inks
  • Spray bottles – one filled with plain water, the other filled with water and copper Perfect Pearl
  • Gems
  • Wow Holographic Sparkle embossing powder and a Versamark pen
  • Cut and dry foam
  • Various brushes

Romanesque bird ‘punked mixed media

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I’ve come to a standstill on this one.  I don’t think it’s finished but I don’t know what is missing.

The focal point is a small sketch I did of a Romanesque bird; I used coloured pencils on coloured paper followed by Pitt Artist pen.  I also ‘distressed’ it with Distress Inks and water spray.  It is a very, very sketchy drawing, but I feel I need to be a bit more confident in using my own drawings/art in such mixed media art.

I just don’t know what else this needs, though.  I’ve tried out the idea of using wire spirals wrapped with finer wire and beads, and that doesn’t feel it would work, not unless it’s one of the first things I make and use.  Flowers don’t work, neither does foliage…

So, I’ll leave it be for a while and come back to it at a later time…sometimes that’s the best thing to do.

Mixed up mixed media

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I’ve spent some days preparing backgrounds, die-cutting some items for my stash, drawing and just ‘being’.

I started this one yesterday, but finished it today…well, I think it’s finished!

No quote or words on this one…yet.  Maybe something will come to me, or maybe someone will suggest something…feel free to message me if you wish to suggest something!

Live gently upon this Earth – Mixed media artwork

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I’ve had a bit of a week with appointments and then yesterday was a day where I needed some self-care.  I did, however, begin work on this particular piece, and I’ve gone crazy on making ATC sized backgrounds ready for work on them, particularly using the Dylusions paints which have laid dormant in my stash for a long, long time.

This particular mixed media pieces has a colour scheme that is not typically ‘Angela’.  There’s lots of god in it, and the flowers look more like succulents than flowers, bu tthey do kind of work!

The close-up image shows the ATC that’s become the focal point of the piece, along with the metal charms and keys that have been added.

See Possibility Everywhere – Mixed media

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A little different, and I’ve found a way to use those ATC cards I made a couple of weeks ago!

I’m not all that happy with the leaves, especially the ones at the top left.  However, I’ve learned to let a piece of art sit and for me to return to it at a later date and fix what needs fixing if it’s still there when I look at it with fresh eyes.

What I do need to think about doing is to get either canvas boards or some other thicker, stiffer surface to work on as this one bend so much.  I’ve managed to flatten it somewhat.

What it does need is to be mounted on another background as it seems like it is like a big tile that needs something to sit on and to show it off.  Again, I’ll let this idea rattle around the subconscious corners of my brainbox and tackle it at a later date.

What I do like is the iridescent ‘crackle’ texture on the background, a finish I also added to the flowers to tie them into the piece.  I thought the gold circles, rays, spirals and wavy lines had messed utall up, but I actually quite like them now.

Maybe not quite as ‘flowing’ as some of the earlier mixed media pieces I’ve created, but I’ve certainly tried different things out and am learning all the time, as well as exploring new materials or ways of working.

Butterflies and flowers – mixed media

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A second done today!  A4 in size, just as ‘Hope – flowerpunked’ is.

I’ve just realised I’ve not done the shadows around various elements, but that’ll have to wait as the drops on the petals are drying.

It’s deuced hard to photograph these well; the butterflies shimmer with different iridescent colours, as do the flowers .  The leaves have a kind of verdigrised bronze look to them. The background is very matte in contrast to the shimmer of the elements affixed to it.  There’s also some vintage paper behind the elements – from a very old science book!  Well I am a scientist as well as an artist.

I’m going to have to find something to do with all these mixed media pieces as storing them is going to be difficult as the latest ones have a lot of ‘dimension’ to them.  On this one both the butterfly wings and the flower centres are raised up somewhat.

I also have to decided if I’mg oing to continue having acrylic nails and nice gel nail finishes as all this mixed media work has just about wrecked them!  I thought that was nigh on impossible, but perhaps not!