Playing with pens

The first pictures are from the journal, that is almost filled, which follows the inspiration from Rebecca Blair's journal pages. The bottom pages have very old (but not valuable) postage stamps.

 Then, I continue to practice drawing. And to practice with a ballpoint pen.

No Surprise

Don't be stunned, but here are some more pages from my journal that is inspired

 by Rebecca Blair!

Simple lines that I guess I like because of the control side of my personality. 

That can be good or bad!

Staying cool

The temperatures are in the 100's this week, so I am staying inside and doing quiet projects!

Here are some more sketchbook pieces influence by Rebecca Blair. There is so much much to learn in these exercises, balance, design, techniques and color.

The mandala for this month was done with markers and colored pencil.

Lots of ideas

Yes, I continue to follow work by Rebecca Blair. Here are a few pages from my workbook.

But, I do continue doing figure drawing. Always trying to improve.

 It is so great to be in the room with some really talented artist!

The journey continues!!

Christmas greetings

This year I hand stitched the star for the front of our Christmas cards. I used two layers of blue paper to give it strength. Funny, I already have the idea for next year's card. Love and joy to all.

The mandala for December is finished. If you've looked at earlier posts, you will see that I been intrigued by the work of Rebecca Blair. I am pleased with this "Flower of Life" creation.

So, I did a mandala a month. Do I continue. I think so. Actually, I have more than 12 in my collection.

Guest Sketcher

Recently I had a dear friend, my "sister", come to help me. There was time to sit and draw. Isn't that the dream of all of us sketchers? Barbara Parke-Wolff creates her own journals and had participated in Danny Gregory's Retreat in Rowe, Mass. She is also taking part in Sketch Skool. Barbara, on the left, a mutual friend, Judi Sullivan, joined us today. Judi left before I could get a picture of her drawing. Most important was the comfort of friendship. Oh, that is Cody, keeping guard.

My backyard has never looked so good!

The following is of a bush that is called "Lion's Tail" and if fun to watch grow.

Last is a drawing from some quiet time in and out of the house.

Tomorrow she will be leaving. I was so blessed to have her here, but now she will return to her home where her sweet husband has been patiently awaiting her return. Thanks, Gary.

Gift for Hole in One

A dear friend sent my husband a plant for his Hole-in-One. Encouraged by Sketchbook School I took the time to sit and focus on this gift. Intense pencils and my Lamy pen were used.

Small mandala

This freehand zentangle was meaningful as it did help to center me.  I would pause trying to balance the lights and darks. Maybe it was better just in black and white, but this is what I've produced as a finished project. It measures about 4.5 inches.

 I have a series of mandalas that are on 10" paper and each is seven inches.

Think that it is time to go back and create some more. 

My philosophy with quilting is that each quilt prepares you for the next. 

Certainly that holds true for each drawing and/or mandala.

Zentangle on Watercolor

During the World Cup games, I've been doing zentangles on a piece of watercolor that I had in my "someday I'll doing something with this" drawer. But, I didn't get much done during the USA vs Portugal games. Up and down emotions with sports.

One rule that zentangles seem to be teaching me is to balance a drawing. 

A technique that I can use in all my compositions.

World Cup

The World Cup is in full swing AND the USA won their first game! It may be the only win, but at least they made a positive presence. The following sketch is of Neymar who plays for Brasil. A strong player who seems to have his priorities straight.

More of Barrett

Here is another page of work copied from Pickles to Pittsburgh. Yes, I can see that I have learned!

Sitting inside to draw is a good idea as the temperatures are over 100 degrees for a few days.

Zentangles on Red

To settle myself, I decided to do some zentangles. In one of my drawers I found this discarded watercolor practice sheet. Perfect for zentangle play. The design just grew and grew.

The piece is 12 x 12".

Moleskin

It has been a while since I was able to settle down and focus on my moleskin. I felt out of practice. To some it certainly seems like doodles, but to others it is meditative process that challenges one to remember to use the many rules about balance that they have learned (and continue to learn) over the years. 

 

Often I find a few days before Christmas where there is calm and there is the opportunity to center oneself. Hope that you can enjoy that time.

Sketch outing

Today was another lovely autumn day with plenty of sunshine.

 A friend and I went to a local outdoor market to sketch. It was so nice of them to have

 hay bales, pumpkins and a scarecrow set up.

There were some interesting shapes and colors with the pumpkins on the bench. 

Yes, the second from the right was light green (almost blue) and pink.

Most important was the opportunity to settle down and be in the moment. 

No pressure and no time limit. 

Zentangles

I was roaming the internet and came upon See Jane Run by Jane Eileen. Her biography says that she Nona of 2 A+mazing grandwonderfuls. She won my heart even before I attempted the zentangle. This design is quite a challenge, as you can see below.

Confusion, a little idea, better understanding and then more practice to get a better grasp of the design. Yet, I think that it's worth the effort.

Today I mailed a card to my dear 99 year old friend, Esther, using this zentangle.

This type of drawing has helped me to settle down today. I seemed to have to much energy to settle on any one project.There is just so much to do!!!

Journey

Currently my journey through art has taken me to zentangle mandalas. For some years I did a mandala a month and then I seemed to fall away from that. This year I decided to challenge myself to do it again. Because I had been given a portfolio, I established that I would do a mandala that is 7" in diameter on 10" paper. Certainly, there were variations as some were done on painted canvases.

This pieces has been framed so that the finished size, including the mat, is 14" by 14". I let the watercolors flow and then I cut a snowflake out of tissue paper. With a light pencil I traced the snowflake and then drew lines to connect points. There was no set rule, I could connect any points-hey, it's my piece!

One technique that I have learned is to draw the same mark between two points in all the places it appears, then repeat the next line until all of those connections are made. Hope that this makes sense. Rotate your paper and do the same mark over and over. This is both meditative and art wise successful.

There is a show for aspiring artists at the Sacramento Fine Art Center that I plan to enter. I must submit my piece on Saturday. That was a good motivation to get it framed. One disappointment is that the plexiglass reflects light. I looked into a non glare acrylic and that would cost $44. Guess that I'll go with what I have. Well, I could leave the the plexiglass off. Any suggestions are welcome.

OK, now I'm working on a quilt and arranging my crafty projects so that I have just the right piece to do while the 49ers are playing American football or, for the Europeans, it will be a tape delayed of a Manchester United football game.

Sketches and Journal

Pen and ink sketching continues to draw my interest. It's funny because I really like color, but there is something magical about seeing a design appear and actually look like as one envisions.

Looking again at Danny Gregory's blog, I find that reminder to draw everyday. So I added the flower to this page as dinner was cooking. Funny how one can find a few minutes to draw despite the "busyness" of the day.

Pen and Ink Techniques continue

Here are a couple more pictures using the Pen and Ink Techniques that I began to study in the previous post. Funny, I now need to buy a new pen---well, maybe I have another that I can use.

Pen and Ink Techniques

The library is full of gifts. I came upon a book, Pen and Ink Techniques by Frank Lohan. Looking at the Amazon page, it seems that he has several books on drawing. My copy was published in 1978, so he has been teaching drawing for quite a while.
No surprise, I continue to learn.

Naturally, these were done with a tiny .01 pen. Ahh, the struggle that artists face! But, oh, I have learned so much.

Well, the USA is a hot country this year and it's our turn here in California. The temperatures are to be around 104 for the next several days. Stay cool.