youtube video

New Watercolours, & arty lessons learned

Angela PorterLeave a comment

New Watercolours

Late yesterday evening, my new set of watercolours arrived. I’m now the proud owner of a set of 36 tubes of Mijello Mission Gold Class watercolour paints, and a pretty neat palette too.

It was too late last night for me to think about adding the paints to the palette and setting up some colour swatches,. So I set to that this morning with a big mug of tea and a headache.

I used them to continue adding colour to this drawing, and I can easily tell the difference between the Mission Gold and Cotman Watercolours, not just because I know where I added each colour, but from the intensity and vibrance of the colours.

I know I got more vibrance from the Cotman colours when I was adding colour to this by adding water to the pans and letting them sit for a while to soften the pigments. But, it was so much easier with the Mission Gold to do this. Indeed, I had to be careful that I didn’t use colour that was too intense!

Some insight into watercolour and me

It was, and will continue to be, an absolute joy and pleasure to use watercolour paint tubes. I’m so glad I splurged out on them after I had a memory of using tube watercolours years and years ago.

They were such a pleasure to use, both to create the swatches and in adding colour to this drawing. Bear in mind that this drawing wasn’t done on watercolour paper, but on creamy coloured Arteza mixed media paper! Also, I created the swatches on SeaWhite all media cartridge paper, which is a lovely bright white colour.

Now, I realise that a lot of my frustration with pan watercolours is with getting colours intense enough for my taste. That won’t be a problem with the Mission Gold set I’m sure.

I also feel that exploring and learning more about watercolour and colour mixing is something that I’d like to do now, and that I may not be quite so frustrated as I have in the past.

Coloring Template doubts and frustrations

Yesterday, I got a couple more templates drawn and edited, so I now have ten out of the thirty-one I need completed, editorial team’s feedback allowing that is.

However, I was really doubting whether what I’d done would work, was good enough. So, I thought I’d try colouring the template I was least happy with to see if that made a difference to how I viewed it, and hopefully the others.

That really did the trick! Just by adding a background colour/texture first, I started to feel better about it. Once I’d added colour and the line-art started to come to life, I started to feel even more confident.

This is something I need to remember going forward, when I doubt my ability to create colouring templates. All I need to do is see if they work with colour!

A bonus was that I really enjoyed adding colour.

Vlogging along …

I touch on all these things in today’s vlog, as well as showing the swatches and adding colour to the drawing.

I’ve also decided that I’m going to mostly keep my vlogs to no more than around 20 minutes, whether that’s real time or a time lapse version. I think they may work the best, though I may still record longer ones if there’s a need to do so.

Watercolour warm up art…

Angela PorterLeave a comment

About the art

This morning, I started to add watercolour to the abstract drawing I started yesterday.

I spent over 45 minutes doing this, but I’ve sped it up and added music.

I’m not at all sure about the colours used. It may be the Distress Ink from the background interfering, or it may be that the Arteza mixed media paper is a creamy colour rather than white.

It led to me experimenting with colour, working out how to get more intense colours from the pans. Knowing that is what I’ve done is likely to mean I will put this to one side as a learning experience, some time to relax and enjoy being creative and not worrying too much about mistakes.

Still, I may persevere with this. Though it is yet another artwork that isn’t finished. I seem to be collecting art that I’ve not finished adding colour to.

I may have to question myself as to why I start but never follow through with so many pieces of artwork when it comes to adding colour. I never have a problem working on drawings that may take several sessions and many hours to complete.

Is it that I fear failure? Or is it that I loose the oomph if I don’t finish it in one session. Or is it that I worry I won’t remember what colours I used and how I mixed them? Perhaps it’s that I doubt my colour palette? Maybe it’s that I doubt my ability to work with colour? Or maybe it’s a combination of some or all of these.

For now, I don’t know for sure. But I do persevere, even in the face of the bleedin’ obvious yeuchy colours!

Other things

Yesterday, I managed to focus and get plenty of art done for the book I’m working on. Not only did I scan in and clean up the drawings I’d already done, but I have two new ones almost completed. I just have to finish inking in the second, then I’ll scan them in and clean them up and get them sent over to my editor for the team to critique/approve.

I really enjoyed the work I got done yesterday. It was easier to settle into it now I’ve decided that I’m going to work with pen on paper and use digital tools to clean up and edit the images. Except when mandalas are concerned, I’m still going to draw them digitally!

I felt really good about the amount of work I’d got done, even though I’d not had much sleep the night before and I still wasn’t feeling 100%.

I was hoping for a good night’s sleep last night. No such luck. I was awake again after just a couple of hours, all hot and bothered. So, I drew until I was ready to sleep again. And I only slept for a couple of hours then, waking headachy and tired again.

I started my morning off with a big mug of tea and some time to just watercolour, even with all the frustrations it can bring me. It’s about learning and practicing and experimenting with the medium to work out how it can work for me and my style of art. As always, it’s the choice of colours that seems to vex me so much.

Still, despite me often saying I’m giving up on watercolour and sticking to adding colour to drawings digitally, I keep going back to it, and other traditional media. This is, I think, as I do want to get out to sketch in old churches and abbeys, in nature, and museums. Although I’m happy to photograph what I see, there’s nothing quite like sitting with sketchbook, pens and/or pencils and taking quiet time out to just observe and draw for pleasure and relaxation. And I’d like watercolour to, perhaps, be one of the tools I can take with me.

I remembered yesterday, as I was playing with watercolour yesterday after finishing the drawing I started yesterday, that I found working with watercolour from tubes so much easier than the pans. Duh go me! So, I’ve ordered a set of Mijello Mission Gold tube paints and a palette that should arrive today. They’re not the top of the range sets from Mijello, but they should be good enough for me to work out if this is the way I want to go, and not too pricey either!

Then, my plan is to work out which colours would be useful for me in a travel palette and create such a thing.

Looks like I’m going to be spending some time setting up the palette that arrives today and swatching out all the colours. That’s kind of exciting!

First, however, I need to get these colouring templates inked in, scanned in, and edited before starting work on some more templates.

Template Thursday…On a Wednesday?

Angela Porter1 Comment

It’s Wednesday, so one of my main tasks is to create a colouring template for the Angela Porter’s Coloring Book Fans facebook group. And as I drew this for my morning warm up art, I recorded it.

It took me over 1 hour and 20 minutes to draw the template and the full length video is here.

The time lapse version, which is about 15 minutes or so long, can be found via this link.

Yesterday, I wasn’t at all well. The usual upset stomach followed by a headache that needed sleeping off. The upset tummy had kept me up most of Monday night. What had caused it this time, I dunno. All I know is I slept a bit better last night, though I’ve been awake since 4:15 am and I’m beginning to feel rather tired again and my digestive system is still a bit tender. I’m sure I’ll be tickettyboo once again tomorrow.

It was lovely to spend some time this morning drawing just for pleasure. Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy drawing for my publishers, but it’s different as there’s a lot more pressure on me to create templates that fit into a particular theme and their guidelines.

My weekly templates have no of those limits on them, so it’s a different kind of enjoyment.

There’s a lot of whimsical and cute elements to this weeks design, and I think that’s something I need to lift me up as I’m feeling a bit under the weather.

It was also a great pleasure to draw with pen on paper, and I think I’m going to have to do that with the templates for the book I’m working on. I get a much better sense of scale and overview of the design. Even when I scan a sketch in, I’m not all that happy with the digitally drawn version of it, usually.

So, that’s what I’m going to settle down to do for the rest of the day, once all my social media posts are done. Pen on paper, without the frustration I can feel when drawing digitally. Simple tools to focus on drawing ‘life size’ coloring templates.

And lots of tea is called for today, I think. Lots of good tea.

Template Thursday!

Angela PorterLeave a comment

It’s Thursday, so that means a new coloring template for the members of the Angela Porter’s Coloring Book Fans facebook group.

This week it’s a typically ‘Angela’ entangled, abstract design. I’ve chosen to use a color palette of bright and cheerful rainbow colours, and that is the colour palette for this month’s challenge too.

If you’d like to print the template and add colour, all you need to do is head over to the Angela Porter’s Coloring Book Fans facebook group and become a member! It’s free 🙂

I’ve also made a timelapse video showing colour being added to the template. I condensed 2 hours of work into around 24 minutes I think it was. As I write this, the video is still uploading to YouTube, but when it’s done you can find it by clicking this link!

Template Thursday … on a Wednesday???

Angela PorterLeave a comment

Well the video of myself drawing the template for tomorrow is here today!

Truth – Part 2

Angela PorterLeave a comment

This morning, I finished drawing “Truth”, the beginning of which I showed yesterday both on my blog and as a timelapse video on YouTube.

Today, however, I wanted to just listen to an audiobook as I drew, so there is no chatty or voice over, just music with today’s time lapse video of Truth – Part 2.

It was lovely to lose myself in drawing, and I do mean lose myself. I just let the shapes and lines flow, without too much thought.

Over the past several weeks, I think, I’ve forgotten all about weight of line in my drawings. I’d forgotten about the interest it can add to the overall design, and how it can bring about more structure too. So, I particularly enjoyed adding weight to some lines today.

This drawing is scanned in, ready to be coloured at some point in time. I have a lot of drawings to add colour to!

Respect – Part 2 – Completing the Drawing

Angela PorterLeave a comment

This morning, I completed this drawing, and filmed the process too.

I was up early after a really not good night. My sleep was disturbed by nausea, upset tummy and feeling very hot and sweaty. I woke at one time close to the time my Abel & Cole delivery comes. As I was visiting the bathroom and getting dressed, I heard the van arrive.

So, after putting my order away, getting myself a drink, I thought I’d complete this drawing until I was ready to go back to bed.

I managed to sleep, but I’m still feeling exhausted and my abdomen is still tender. So, it’s going to be a quiet, self-care day today for sure.

I said I filmed the completion of this drawing and here are the links:

Full vlog in real time and chat
Time Lapse video with music

Respect – Part 1 – An entangled drawing

Angela PorterLeave a comment

My morning drawing session was a pen drawing around the word ‘Respect’. The paper is a 21cm x 21cm piece of Bristol Board. The pen I used was a Uniball Eye Micro ball.

I also filmed the process and have uploaded both a real time and time lapse versions on my YouTube channel.

I’ll most probably be finishing the drawing tomorrow morning. Then, it’ll be scanning it in and adding a background and colour digitally. That may take a while to do as I have a number of uncompleted digital projects. And a deadline looming for my next coloring book for the Creative Haven series.

I do need to, however, get out and take a walk, no matter how brief, at some point today. First check the weather forecast for the day to see if it’ll be best if I go before I settle to work or after I’ve done some work, as well as fitting it around other stuff I’m involved with today.

Willingness – Part 2 – Starting to add colour

Angela PorterLeave a comment

I’ve been awake since stupid o’clock. After trying to return to sleep, I decided, around 6am, to get up and do some arty stuff.

So, I thought I’d record my next stint at adding colour to ‘Willingness’. I’m doing this digitally, and I had figured out the colour palette I’d like to use for it. I made some adjustment to the dusky purples I had in the palette and added some brighter versions, but they’re a tad too saturated and bright, so I’ll adjust those colours and re-colour the areas in which I’ve used them.

I love how the peaches and yellows almost glow against the soft blue-grey background.

I spent nearly an hour on just a few bits and pieces, and while I was working I was chatting away. I then realised I’d started having a bit of a rant about a couple of poor shopping experiences I’d had with businesses abroad, and how products sent to me weren’t what I’d ordered or were not as they were described. Not just that, but the huge difficulty in getting a refund of any kind from them. With the latest one, I just feel like throwing the towel in. I’m out of pocket with product that is not fit for purpose, but they’re whinging about how they’ll lose profit if they refund me, even if I return it all to them, at my own cost, so either way I’ll be out of pocket, not them.

Sometimes, I really think it’s just not worth the hassle and stress.

Anyway, that made me turn the video into a timelapse with music. Nearly an hour of art condensed into about seventeen minutes. You can view it here.

“Willingness” Entangled Art

Angela PorterLeave a comment

Today’s morning art – ‘entangling’ around “Willingness”. The original is drawn on white bristol board (21cm x 21cm) with black Unipin pens (0.5 and 0.1). The word was laser printed, cut out and glued to the bristol board.

I was willing to work with a lot of new and different motifs in this drawing, though not all are new. Some familiarity is needed!

It was lovely to do and took me about 2 hours in total.

I did create a vlog of this process – link here –> Willingness vlog. The first part, up until 49:33 mins is the chatty bit, from then on, the rest of the drawing has been sped up.

It would be lovely if you’d take a look, and if you enjoy the video please give it a thumbs up and consider subscribing.

I am not willing to use traditional media to add colour and/or shadow and highlight to this drawing, though I am very willing to do so digitally!

It’s been very, very windy here over the past day or so, and it has bucketed down with rain. It’s still fairly blowy, with strong gusts. So, I’m staying indoors unless the rain stops! So, I’m more than willing to keep the hatches battened down, and to settle to coloring at least some of this design. A good decision, methinks!

I’m also feeling well out of sorts after having a very, very weird dream that woke me early, and I was having a conversation in my head with one of the characters in the dream. I really wasn’t at all happy with them and told them a few home truths! Weird, just plain weird. So, it may have a knock on effect on my alertness later today.