Playing with inks

I meant to continue working on my oil river landscape - and the other two oil painting that I started earlier, but I just felt like laying with ink and mixed media instead. I didn't use any reference for these, they are imaginary landscapes of lakes and mountains. I love mountains, and I love water, and as the sea is far away from here in Switzerland, lakes do me nicely. A cold, crispy clear mountain lake with its turquoise water straight from the snow and ice of the surrounding peaks. I used India ink, and a watersoluble ink from a wonderful little calligraphy shop in Basel, in my favourite colour, Pascha. These were really fun to do, just to see what you can do with two bottles of ink (and some other mediums). It's so important to take time for just playing and experimenting some times.

Playing with abstract painting, and a challenge

Over the Easter weekend, I spent some time in my studio playing with abstracts.

It is just so much fun to not have a plan and to simply glue down some collage bits on a piece of paper and start moving some paint around on the paper. 

Use whatever is lying around and catches your fancy. Why not try and see what you can do with some graphite powder and paints?

And if you work in a series, you can put one piece aside, work on another, and then come back to it later, when it's dry, to put on another layer. I wasn't happy with the one above at first, it just didn't seem to work. Until I got the pink crayons out. Now I love it.

I'm really glad I re-discovered my crayons! They just add so much vibrancy. And I'm glad I've kept so many of my old annual rail cards, they're great for moving paint around (as is of course any other kind of card). Unfortunately, the railway changed their system, so now everything goes onto one permanent card. Apart from the fact that I don't like the new system at all, it's a shame about the regular supply of cards.

I'm not usually very good with challenges. There's only a few I managed to do from beginning to end, such as some years of the Summer of Colour, the 75 Day Sketch Challenge, and the August Break photo challenge.
But I'm thinking about trying and challenge myself to take part in the Soulful Faces - 30 Faces in 30 Days Challenge, hosted by Galia Alena and Annie Hamman, which starts today! I have to say that some of the prompts sound scary! Just drawing a face every day would be a challenge, but having to come up with something suitable for each prompt every day, well, that really is a challenge. I will probably have to do more than one face on certain days to make up for others, such as Wednesdays, when I have an evening class to go to. But even then, doing, finishing something every day seems impossible. But maybe still worth a try. And that's what I intend to do. I'll see how it goes...

Drawing found memories

I'm really enjoying drawing at the moment, trying out different materials and techniques. I always loved pencils, but watersoluble pencils are quite new to me. But they're great and a nice way to add some body, layers and texture, and all you need is a pencil, a brush and some water, so they might make perfect travel companions. I have taken out my art journal again, which I haven't used in quite a while, but which I should do more often. Such a perfect place to play and experiment.

I've been collecting feathers for quite a while now. Or maybe collecting is the wrong word. I tend to just pick them up when I see a nice one, when I'm leisurely strolling around. Which I usually only do when I'm on holiday, which in turn means that almost all of my feathers are from England. Mostly from Hartfordshire and surroundings and Dorset, while walking around towns and villages, National Trust parks or the beach. I kept them all in plastic bags, hidden away in some stash boxes, when I finally got them all out and together in one place a few days ago. Lots of pigeon feathers, of course, but also a couple of beautiful duck feathers, crow feathers, swan feathers and a few that I have no idea what bird they come from.

Inspired by Autumn

I finished my autumn inspired painting. The original idea was for it to be all abstract, but a little leaf that I picked up on a walk and forgot in my bag, where I discovered it two days later, dried and neatly folded flat, made it on to the canvas.

40x40cm, acrylics/mixed media on canvas

I love the beautiful autumn leaves that we're getting in such abundance this year, thanks to the dry and calm weather. I've been out capturing them with my DSLR and Polaroid cameras several times. They're beautiful in all weathers and stages, and just so inspiring and uplifting.

Work in progress, or finished piece?

I'm enjoying a lovely holiday in England at the moment, but I managed to squeeze in some painting time at the weekend, between the laundry, packing and general getting ready for a holiday. This is the first time I started a painting on a black background, but I really like the effect. So much so, that I'm not sure where to go with it now, or rather, if I want to go anywhere else with it. It can often be hard to decide, when a painting is done. And sometimes, it is done long before you thought it might be. And even though I can see quite a few areas that could do with some fixing, I think I might just leave it as it is.

And now I'll go and practice drawing some noses.... But first we're off to Bournemouth for the day, to see the Alfons Mucha exhibition.

Art journaling

I got my art journal out again this week, after quite a while. An A4 Moleskine watercolour journal with nice thick paper, which takes acrylics and mixed media very well. I like art journals, they are perfect places to just play, experiment, slap some paint on the page and see what happens. It doesn't have to be perfect, you don't even have to finish it. There is no pressure to create something 'presentable'. You don't have to show it to anyone, but can keep it all to yourself, if you want to.

I like to use the pages to let my imagination run free. To paint more intuitively, with just a vague idea to start with, and then see what happens. One such idea is 'home'. Where is my 'true' home? Where will I live one day? Will I ever find that place? Does it exist at all? For this page, I glued some pieces of a map on the paper first and then painted over it. It's not finished yet, and maybe I'll never finish it, but just leave it as it is and move on to the next figment of my imagination. We'll see.

Happy Paint Party Friday!

Some art journal tips - Part 2

Here's Part 2 of my little art journal tips series, with some more pages and techniques.


Paint markers

Paint (or gel) markers are great for adding details on top of a background, whether it's an elaborate drawing or just a simple pattern. I especially like to use light coloured markers on dark backgrounds.

Gelli printing

I really love my Gelli plates (even if I don't use them often enough). They are so versatile, allowing you to create all kinds of wonderful effects, whether you're just using colour, or adding stencils, stamps etc. You can print single sheets of paper that can be glued into your art journal (or bound into a journal). With a ring bound journal, it is also very easy to print directly on to the journal page to create a great background.

Polaroid

I found an old, and as it seems unused, Polaroid camera in a second hand shop some time last year, and, as far too many of my art supplies, it has been sitting ignored in the book shelf for far too long. But they're such fun to use. Capture a meaningful place or event (like your studio, where all the magic happens) or record a special moment (like the arrival of my new and impatiently awaited reading chair) and stick it on to a background to turn it into a special memory. Of course any other photo will work perfectly too.

Paper etc.

Of course you can stick all kinds of things on to your journal pages. Patterned papers, little drawings made on index cards, a piece of scrap paper that you used to try out some new pens or markers etc.

I love these Japanese (book binding) papers, the colours and patterns are so beautiful. I like to use them to cover a whole page to create a background, and also to glue them on to the covers of an art journal. And last but not least, a simple cardboard tube makes a great stamp for adding circles or bubbles, either to add on to a background, or to create a background. Those little plastic caps that protect your newly bought brushes also make great stamps for small circles in different sizes, so remember to keep them.

I had so much fun creating these pages, and I can't wait to fill the remaining two or three pages. I've re-discovered so many tools and techniques that I haven't used in ages, and it I enjoyed finding so much inspiration within my studio. But now I really have to tidy up my studio. And this time it's not an excuse for putting off making art, but to make space to get to all my art supplies more easily.

Some art journal tips - Part 1

I've been feeling a bit uninspired lately. Or maybe over-inspired, rather. There's so much inspiration to be found online, that it can easily become a bit overwhelming. Especially when you're in a "phase" where you're feeling a bit unsure about where to go artistically. How to develop your style. What you want your art, your style to be. How you think it should be (that is definitely the point where you need to switch off the computer for a bit).

Two weekends ago, I found myself "tidying up my studio" (i.e. finding an excuse for once again putting off doing something arty) again. I looked at shelves filled with all kinds of art materials. And I decided that it was time to play. To just slap some paint on some pages, without thinking too much about colour mixing, composition, subject matter... Actually not thinking at all. Instead, getting out some of the materials I haven't used in ages, and see what I can do with them. Over that weekend, I filled more than half of the sketchbook. I just couldn't stop. I kept coming back again and again til late into the night, adding a bit here and there, covering another page with a colour, that I suddenly felt was missing. It felt great. And I would like to share some of the pages and techniques with you.

Some of the supplies used

• a square sketchbook with very thick watercolour paper (that I've been saving for about three years for some really serious watercolour painting)
• Thalens acrylic paints, which I hadn't used since I stopped going to a painting class I had been going to for years over 1 1/2 years ago
• watercolours
• patterned papers
• washi tape
• brayer
• Gelli printing plate (it's been a while since I used one of those, and I've actually never even used my square one)
•  acrylic and oil-based paint markers, various pens, ink
• polaroids
• index cards with some drawings made with ballpoint pen and felt tip pen

And here's a few of the pages. Some are finished, some are half finished, and some are just a background that I can come back to later.

Watercolour and stencils

I like using alphabet stencils to add text, and they work well with watercolours too.

Or use a stencil with a nice pattern or subject, and add more layers of watercolours afterwards, and bring out details with pen and ink.

Brayer

Applying the paint with a brayer gives great and interesting results. You can fill the whole page, creating a page of richly textured layers and vibrant colours. Or apply it loosely, layering colours and leaving lots of white space.

You can use the brayer to deliberately add colour to your page, or you can create an interesting background by using the page to roll clean your brayer when you're using it for some Gelli printing.

Playing with different colour combinations (here: yellow ochre, burnt sienna, manganese/cyan blue and Payne's grey) in different ways and mediums (watercolour and acrylics). If the page turns out too dull because of the (too) many layers, a pattern applied with a light medium, such as a white paint marker, lightens it up.

There's some more techniques and pages, which I'll share in another post later this week, otherwise this post would just be far too long.

Happy New Year! Looking back on 2014, and making plans for 2015

This year has been my worst blog year so far. Not even half as many posts as last year. It's not that I haven't done anything. Actually, I think I have done more than ever. Mostly drawing and sketching, including a 75 day sketch challenge. But somehow, I haven't really been able to post, connect, be present. Some health issues, which have dominated most of the second half of the year, haven't helped either. I've thought a lot about giving up he whole online stuff. Shut down my blog, delete my Facebook account, draw the duvet over my head. Because really, what's the point? It can be very frustrating and depressing, when you're not able to achieve what you want to achieve, to be how and what you want to be. Especially when you happen to be someone who tends to take think a bit too seriously, too personal. A perfect introvert and worrier. 

But I'm not quite ready to give up yet. A new year is always a good opportunity to put the old one behind you, draw a line, and make a new start. So I'm giving it another go. I've got lots of plans for the new year. My word for 2015 is Nurture. A big word, encompassing many different aspects. Including health. I hope 2015 is going to be a healthy year.

This year really has just whizzed by. I remember writing in my journal on my favourite bench at the edge of the forest on a mild spring day, making plans for the year, and suddenly here we are, at the end of the year. What happened??? Where has the time gone? It's always a good thing to look back on the year, especially when you feel that it has passed far too quickly and you haven't really done anything at all

In spring, after half a year, I decided to quit pottery class. I did enjoy it, but it all got a bit too much, and I wanted to concentrate on drawing and painting. And I never really quite got the hang of throwing, let alone of trimming. The only thing that greatly improved was the glazing, which went from complete mess to pretty neat. Paint and brush - I took it as a sign.
Instead of portrait class, I decided to sign up for a portrait class. I had taken this class already two years ago and really enjoyed it. This time, we worked even more often with life models, and it was a great experience.
One of my resolutions for 2014 was to draw more, and I did. Over the summer, I completed the 75 Day Sketch Challenge, one drawing a day for 75 days. I never thought I would be able to do it, but I did, and it was great fun.

After a wonderful two weeks' late summer holiday in England, I took up all my courage and signed up for a life drawing class. I've been wanting to go for quite a while, but thought I wasn't ready. But then I just jumped in, and it was a great experience. I learnt a lot.
I didn't come very far with my A Whole Lot of Collages project, I'm afraid. But I enjoyed doing the ones I did, and no doubt will do more, every once in a while.

I also took a couple of online classes, the last one, Pauline Agnew's Expressive Faces and Figures, inally got me taking out my acrylic paints, inks and brushes again. I'm still somwhere in week 1, still lots of catching up to do, but it was great to get painting again, and to learn some new techniques. Below's one of the portrait I started in the class. Still a work in progress.

I'll be writing my list of wishes, ideas, resolutions for 2015 in my diary later. As usual, there are lots of things on my list. Among them are spending much more time in my studio to paint, draw, journal, create. To be more present in blogland, and to give my blog that long overdue make over. To get more organised, and to get out there. And to stop being a procrastination queen.

See you next year!

Saturday studio day

It's been a while since I took the time to just play with my acrylic paints. There are just so many things I want to do, explore, and try out at the moment, so the acrylics got a bit neglected. But I really enjoyed taking them out again yesterday, and put layer over layer. Not finished yet, she still needs a bit of work. But that has to wait for the moment.

Be the unique you

A quick journal page, which I did mainly to use up some paint, and to try out some new markers. An idea popped into my mind, an image, which led to this page. I love how pages in my art journal just develop, by themselves.

Don't become a part of the anonymous mass, but be yourself. Belief in yourself, and follow your own path, your passion to become who you want to be.

Be true to yourself, be the unique you. It can be hard work to follow that path, to find the voice to express yourself, to make and follow your choices, and make your dreams come true. But it's a path well worth pursuing. And keep, and keep going.

I bought these new pens a few weeks ago. They're acrylic paint markers, with a broad flat nip that allows you to make lines from fine to broad. They come in two sizes, these are the smaller ones. The bigger ones seem a bit too broad for my liking. But I like the lines you make with this size. Perfect for adding doodles, marks, drawings, writing... I'll have to get some more colours soon.

Linking up to the wonderful Paint Party Friday, a wonderful place filled with unique artist. Be sure to pop over and have a look!

Bloom

I had all these bits and pieces lying around on my desk, leftover pieces of patterned paper, a piece of burlap fabric that had decorated a nice jar of tomato sauce, some ribbon, and some pieces of tea bag.

Getting tired of shoving them from one side of the desk to the other and back, I decided to use them all up for a journal page. I didn't really know what I wanted to do, so I just glued down the pieces, and let it evolve from there. It's one of the things I like about my art journal, to be able to just let it flow, without planning.

What emerged was a blooming flower garden. I had chosen the colours to match the colours of my supplies, but of course, almost all of the paper and ribbon got covered up completely. But they added all kinds of texture. I especially liked the texture of the burlap, although it was quite difficult to paint, as it just soaked up all the paint I splashed on.

Be present in every moment and bloom

Linking up to the wonderful Paint Party Friday. Make sure to pop round there and look at all the fabulous contributions!

TeaArt

I'm back from a most wonderful and relaxing 10 days holiday in beautiful Dorset. 10 blissfull days of lots of walking on the beach, on top of the cliffs and through enchanted woods, picturesque little villages, cosy country pubs, stunning views, carpets of bluebells, and simply irresistible, delicious cream teas.

I took loads of photos (will try to share some of them here soon), and I also did some sketches for each day on some of the evenings, but they are still in their early stages, and will need much more work yet. I'm hoping to make some time for working on them during the weekend, but I just can't wait to be back at the party again. So for today, I'm sharing a little project I did just before I left - a little bit of TeaArt in my trusted Moleskine art journal.

It all started with some tea bags of sleepy tea from one of my most favourite brands of tea, Clipper Teas (which coincidentally happen to be based in Dorset!) I had left lying around in the kitchen.

When I wanted to throw them away, I noticed the beautiful warm brown colour of the dried bags. Wouldn't it be lovely to use them for some background for a journal page, or something? So I kept saving the tea bags.

Once I had enough, I carefully cut them up, ...

... pasted them unto a page in my Moleskine journal, added a bit of white to bring out the textures, and finally added a little, simple sketch. A tea pot and cup just seemed the obvious thing.

I really like to use Moleskine sketchbooks for art journals. They have a good size for smaller, less elaborate pages. I like to use them most of all as a kind of reference for different ideas and techniques. They are my little idea collections, which I occasionaly get back to for ideas to use for a biger painting, and they are also my little documentation of some of my little experiments and ideas. I love all the layers of the different pages when the journal begins to fill up.

Linking up to the wonderful Paint Party Friday again. I can't wait to go and see what everyone has been up to while I was enjoying my holiday! Have a wonderful, creative weekend everyone!