Drawing with Two Different Tools

Yesterday, we worked with a Nita Leland exercise from her book- The New Creative Artist

We used two different drawing tools (pencil and pen), one tool in each hand.  I like the organic flow of the lines. Others selected a colored pencil or pen along with a black drawing tool.  The possibilities are endless. One can work with each tool parallel to the other or in different directions. One side of the flowers was drawn with a pencil and the other side with a pen.  Later, I shaded in some of the areas. This exercise helps use the right side of the brain more.

Calligraphy and Drawing- an exploration

While attending the 2012 NW Calligraphy Conference, I heard Inga Dubay present her experience teaching a course in calligraphy and drawing at the Oregon College of Art and Craft. Ever since then, I've wanted to work through her syllabus.  I found a few friends who wanted to do this, too.  The first section features contour drawings. 

My 2014 guiding word for my artwork is synthesis.  I want to integrate what I know, practice and create.  These letters came from my blind contour drawings of the Imperial Latin alphabet.  I copied the word on tracing paper and transferred it to watercolor paper.

I'd like to repaint the piece with darker values so that the letters show more.  That's my comfort zone.  The abstract aspect of the pastel colors adds mystery.  One of my goals is to move from literal interpretation to abstraction.

Above the bold colors stand out.

Above is my attempt to play with my initials.  It needs more contrast in color.  The bright yellow and red dominate the piece.

For this 'W', the blind contour drawing is of the negative space that surrounds the Fraktur capital letter. Do you see the 'W'?  This exploration furthers my interest to combine calligraphy in my artwork.

Katie Kendrick online class "Layered Impressions"

Last week, I started an online class with Katie Kendrick entitled "Layered Impressions". Many of her techniques are based on her upcoming book with the same name- a mixed media approach to painting and poetry. I've always admired the story telling style in her artwork. I'm just scratching the surface here in practicing some of the lessons. We drew several faces with our non-dominant hand and selected ones to paint.

I like the mix of watercolors with gesso. This face reminds me of Colette in Les Misérables. I can see how some of Katie's ideas will improve my drawing and painting skills. It may take me awhile to get through all of the workshop exercises and to practice them. It's always exciting to learn new techniques and see how other artists interpret them. I'll share more in future posts. I took a class from Katie in 2009 called "Spontaneous Haiku Painting". You can see the book that I made HERE.

A Little Gem of a Book

Last October while in San Miguel de Allende, we visited the studio of Leigh Hyams. After meeting her, I wanted to read her book. DH bought it for me online for my birthday. It's a wonderful book full of her experience being a painter and teacher, her travels and great exercises. Every friend who has read this little gem of a book raves about it. Her passion for art inspires and challenges.
She encourages artists to use their imagination and synesthesia to draw and paint from the heart not the mind. I still want to use my pen and dominant hand (above right) or my non-dominant hand (above left). It's hard to get the essence of something with a pen. The pencil gives more weight and depth as below.
My challenge is to develop my imagination and synesthesia- the ability to draw a sense as an image crossing senses such as the center of a waterfall, the smell of coffee or the shadow of a deer. This ability to capture an abstraction of a feeling or a sense is what gives a painting or work of art its heart and soul. Something that I plan to explore this year.

Portrait Studies

One of my goals is to learn how to draw faces and portraits. It's a challenge to get proportions correct and placement of facial features. Ever since I took a two day workshop from Anne Bagby in 2004, I've collected photos of faces and practice drawing them occasionally.
When we sketch at coffee houses in the winter, I bring my little box of faces and practice drawing them. To see how my drawing compares to the original photo, I scan each into Photo Shop and over lay them to scale. The drawing is on the bottom and the photo on top with an opacity of 50%.
Now I can observe both layers to see how they relate to one another.
This tells me I have to work on the placement and spacing of the eyes and mouths. With practice, these drawing will become more accurate.

Top Ten Reasons to Sketch & Draw

1. to slow down and really see the nature of an object, person or landscape

2. to create a habit

3. to practice & improve skills

4. to relax and enjoy a form of meditation

5. to explore different styles

6. to experiment with media

7. to collect ideas for future projects

8. to play with line and color

9. to document travel experiences

10. to capture a moment in time

What makes you want to sketch or draw?

Accordion Book Faces

Last weekend, several friends spent a wonderful time journaling on Guemes Island. One of my at goals for 2010 is to improve my skills at drawing and painting faces. Judy Wise encouraged me to make an accordion face book. I collaged, stamped and drew on the background, copied faces on tracing paper to learn proportions and then painted the around the faces.

Painting faces takes lots of practice!

During the year, it will be fun to experiment with different techniques to become more adept at depicting faces.

Imaginary Animals with Carla Sonheim at Art & Soul

The beginning of the month, I took Carla Sonheim's 'Imaginary Creatures' workshop.

We used watercolors to make abstract designs and looked for imaginary creatures in the painting- like looking for images in clouds.

Once we found our creatures, we gave them substance and depth with more watercolor washes, gesso and charcoal.

What amazed me is the variety of individual interpretations and artistic styles workshop members created. It's inspiring to see how the creative mind works in so many different ways.

Carla's writing a book to be released July 2010 entitled "Drawing Lab for mixed Media Artists: 52 creative exercises to make drawing fun".

Charcoal Drawings- A New Venture

This summer, I took Jane Gallen's drawing class at the Multnomah Arts Center. We worked in charcoal to get value changes and used table easels. Both offered new challenges in my quest to learn how to draw. I see this work as a basis for painting, adding depth and interest with values and contrasts.

For two sessions, Penny modeled for us and we practiced drawing portraits.

I like her expression in the one above.

Hopefully, with more practice, I'll get a better likeness with my portraits. That's part of the fun and the challenge. Jane is an excellent teacher and I'm thinking of taking her course again fall term.

A Banner Day- How I Created It

Today is our Portland Art Collective picnic and we made banners to exchange. I cannot wait to see what everyone created and to hang them in my studio.
I started with a collage of my drawings and sketches combined in Photoshop.

Added a layer of dyed paper towel sheets (pulled apart, one sheet becomes transparent).

Sewed on a couple strips of fabric

Stenciled a flower (cannot get away from stenciling after Mary Ann's online class).

To embellish the banner, I added a free-motion stitched flower & button, canvas printed 'Blossom' text, 3-D gold fabric paint flower center and sheer ribbon sewn around the edges. Hope you have a banner day, too.

Nature Gathered Elements Mandala

This weekend, I worked on my Nature Gathered elements piece. Mandalas inspire a spiritual aspect in their creation. An ancient art form used across many cultures and religions, creating a mandala is a meditative process, an act of devotion. Across Asia from India to Tibet to Japan, mandalas symbolize sacred art that reflects the soul or luminous consciousness. One can use mandala paintings to make a mind-body-spirit connection to heal and reconnect to our essential Being. Below is the process I used to create this piece.

the drawing-

Copied drawing using Saral paper to prepared collaged and gessoed canvas.

the painting-

addition of gold-leaf foil and pin lining with 3-D dimensional fabric paint. Then I painted three layers of amber shellac to finish the piece. I learned this creative process from Anahata Katkin.

Stencils with Adirondack Color Wash Sprays

This week, I assembled a new sketchbook using decorative paste paper that I'd made last year with stamps and texture tools. The paper needed some pizazz- stencils to the rescue. I sprayed the stencils with Adirondack Color Wash. It's an acid free, non-toxic, water-based dye that comes in a variety of colors. I like to use it because it's indoor safe. The green gold acrylic was stippled through a stencil and the reverse side printed.I treated the back cover with a different stencil and "raisin" Color Wash spray.
I drew these little clay animals this week for our Tuesday sketch date.

Line Quality in Drawing Creates Interest

Yesterday, I took Jane Gallen's drawing class at Multnomah Arts Center and discovered the importance of line qulaity to create emphasis, drama and interest in images drawn.

The class is full and Jane let me sit in yesterday. I'm first on the waiting list and hope someone drops out so I can continue to take the class.

Cabinet of Curiosities- ex-tinc-tion

For my January Nature Gathered piece , I chose to highlight extinction in my cabinet of curiosities. The images are drawn and water colored. The theme reminds me of life cycles and what survives or not. Life can be very fragile. Climate change, global warming, over population and development make this more apparent. What wild life will become extinct in our lifetime?

Flora Drawn and Collaged Nature Gathered Challenge

The layering of paint, collage and line drawings interests me lately. Here is my interpretation of our Nature Gathered flora challenge.

Durfort France- Peter Welsford's Drawing Class

One of the joys of traveling is meeting people from around the world. Peter Welsford's studio is across the street from La Cascade. He invited us to take one of his Tuesday morning drawing classes.
I enjoyed working with the pastels- a new medium for me. I like their rich color and freeform nature when used in drawing an object.
The sunflower fields started to bloom mid-July and offered a great subject to draw.