Where has this monstrous mushroom been? And why has the raven accompanied him? The sun has set on the day, and the stars twinkle in an alien sky. Yet the mushroom has managed to acquire a cute heart balloon and a rainbow lollipop, and a bit of a sickly complexion too. Where in the galaxy have these companions been and what have they been up to?
I’m sure there’s a story to tell, but if there is, these unlikely companions are keeping it to themselves… for now. And if I know the tale, and I’m not saying I do, then I will have been sworn to secrecy too!
I could be accused of having too much fun with my creepy cuties (Kreepy Kuties?). Does that bother me? Not one tiny bit! I’m enjoying drawing, exploring a new kind of style to add to my toolbox, and just plain indulging myself in some creepy, crazy, cute, critter-y, klutzy monsters!
I finally turned to digital art to colour in my pen drawing. What a sigh of relief I gave as I did so. Yes, it’s fun to add colour with traditional media, to a degree in my case. But it’s so much more satisfying for me to add colour and texture digitally.
Traditional pen drawing on paper combined with the addition of digital colour makes it tradigital art!
This morning, I spent some time watercolour wrangling. I had started this work yesterday, but kept getting myself into more than a little bit of a pickle with it.
So, after a day away from it, I thought I’d try an idea I’d picked up from a Domestika course by Lapin to see if I could recover some of the parts I’d made a bit of a mess of. That idea is to use Gelly Roll or other pens to add highlights/colours/add details. But in this case I wanted to try to ‘hide the crimes’ and use these pens as a kind of watercolour resist in the tinier areas that were seriously vexing me yesterday.
I’m not entirely sure my experimenting is successful. But, it’s something to ponder on and work with going forward.
In my vlog I mused about how the watercolours were, or weren’t, working for me and starting to make connections.
No matter how many books I read, videos I watch, courses I take on watercolour, translating that knowledge/information into practice just doesn’t seem to have worked for me entirely. Experimenting for myself is the only way forward I think. As is finding the balance between controlling the medium and allowing watercolour magic to happen too.
I think the best way for me to work is by allowing two colours to merge along a wet edge, so that I get a modicum of control, but the mixing of wet into wet can still happen.
Wittering
I was out of action in terms of social media yesterday. I went for a walk on Saturday, didn’t watch where I was putting my feet and my right foot twisted over and I ended up on the ground on my hands and knees. One left knee with multiple cuts/grazes. One bruised, sore and aching right foot. And I was a bit shocked too. So Saturday went out of the window as far as anything arty was concerned.
Yesterday, I woke with various bits of my body aching from the jolt of the fall. I tried to do some art – the first steps in this particular painting – but it just kept going wrong. I started swearing, so decided to put it to one side.
Instead, I put my energy into editing some of the templates for the Whimsical Cats book, then inking in some of the sketches that have been approved (and declared “adorable”).
So, today I’m going to focus on inking in some of the sketches that need doing before getting some more sketches done.
I’m still feeling a bit out of sorts. I didn’t sleep well last night. So, I may crash and nap later on. So, now’s the time to get some work done. Inking in. Not too taxing, less likely to become frustrated with my artistic efforts while I’m tired and out of sorts.
Yesterday was a bit of an odd day. Between a couple of mediation meetings in the day and me still not feeling quite right – fatigued, headachy, tummy still not right – I just didn’t feel up to doing much when I was awake. Except for drawing. Drawing insects.
I started with pencil drawings and then decided to ink them in. I know from bitter experience how pencil drawings can quickly smudge and fade in a well used and referenced sketchbook.
I loved the delicate nature of the pencil drawings, but I know I can always draw in pencil again for future work involving bugs.
I started off with bugs that were quite true, in a simplified and stylised way, to the images I was looking at, Gradually, I found myself being more imaginative.
I now have a fair collection of insects in my sketchbook, and I am quite keen to add more! However, I really do need to turn my attention to the colouring book I’m working on for much of the rest of today.
It’s #TemplateThursday when I create and post a colouring template to the Angela Porter’s Coloring Book Fans facebook group. The template is free to members, though there are a few terms and conditions associated with it’s use. It’s also free to join the group!
This week, I decided to draw some cute and whimsical bugs, each having their very own portrait. Lots of small, individual pictures that a perfect for quick, mindful colouring.
I know I often get overwhelmed by a huge artwork I’m working on and that is most likely to happen when I’m experiencing a lot of anxiety, and I seem to have waves of anxiety the like I haven’t seen for a long time, most related to the pandemic.
When I need to take time out, to do art that will soothe me, calm me, let me relax and find that mindful, content space within myself, I turn to creating small artworks.
I drew this template with a Faber-Castell Pitt Artist pen on ClaireFontaine dot grid paper. Colouring has been done digitally in Autodesk Sketchbook Pro.
Today, I wandered into my local stationers – Churchill’s – and found some items for my stationery stash. Included were some coloured pencils from Derwent that are new to me.
They’re called Procolour and I picked up a tin of 24 of them. and you can see how much I paid on the tin, though they are available for less on Amazon.
I tried them out in my Leuchtturm 1917 Dotted BuJo on some cute bugs I’d drawn earlier today (yes, another collection is being assembled in my BuJo). You can see the colouring at the top of the page, though I adjusted the brightness and contrast a tad.
The blurb on the tin says
Derwent Procolour pencils are the perfect combination of a strong point and smooth lay-down, with a texture that has the covering power of wax yet glides like an oil. The richly pigmented pencils maintain a sharp point for detailed drawing; while minimal chipping and dusting keeps your work clean and smudge free. Suitable for a wide range of drawing techniques, available in a carefully selected range of 72 rich and vibrant colours.
I didn’t choose the best paper to test them on, though they’re more like to be used in my BuJo than anywhere else, but the colours are vibrant, even on the creamy coloured Leuchtturm paper.
They do lay down well, with a gentle pressure, and they layer nicely.
What I do like is that they have quite a wide ‘barrel’, which makes it a lot more comfortable to hold than other coloured pencils; my old, slightly arthriticy fingers don’t like narrow barrels when I need to press hard. That’s why I tend towards water-based media or digital media these days; they keep my fingers happy and working.
The colour palette of the 24 set is actually nicely chosen, with plenty of my favourite colours.
I am very tempted to get the full set of 72, but I think I’ll wait for a little while.
Angela Porter 