2012 Planner #1 - #5

Putting flowers in this year's Moleskine planner. It is the 2-1/2" x 4-1/4" model. Tiny.

The size is perfect for practicing one or two flowers on a page. After lightly sketching lines for the first two flowers with pencil, I could not see the lines. I could not see the watercolor edges. Had to grab a magnifier for a few brush strokes. Switched to ink outlines for the flowers done after these.

Old Planner with New Sketches #4

Practicing poppies.

Tulip Time

Based on a photo from the Art Journal section at WetCanvas Weekly Inspiration Pictures thread.

I'm Back !

I wandered away, but now I'm back. I haven't done artwork since I left, but I tried some the other day.

My eyes are really bad now, but I'm getting medical help, and things have improved. Old age is delightful. If you notice anything out of whack, not to worry. If a scan is too light or too dark, I can't fix it. If the colors are wrong, too bad. Most look the same to me. I did not forget to erase any pencil guidelines -- I could not find most after they were drawn. If I keep this up, at least it should be interesting.

Images based on photographs from the WetCanvas Image Library.

Flower in a Vase

More watercolor practice.

Odd how scans show colors. The green is about right, but the blue should be softer and more neutral. I really should photograph all of the watercolors, but I'm lazy.

Doodles 05

These were done over several days, and I'm surprised the flowers lasted so long. The property where I live has numerous large bushes filled with the tiny roses.

Derwent Inktense pencils were used for the color. Wouldn't you know I'd pick something with soft colors for pencils that can provide very rich, intense colors.

More WC Practice

The first was done in my large watercolor Moleskine, and I chickened out and used a pen first. Later, after thinking I'm such a chicken, I went for straight watercolor with minimal guidelines. I then threw caution to the winds and added a little background. I must get over my fear of making a complete mess, especially with backgrounds.

The odd thing that occurred is that the alizarin crimson on the Moleskine is dull, yet the same paint on the Fabriano Aristico is bright. The other colors are about the same, and the photo does not show the alizarin crimson differences. Lukas pan watercolors. Perhaps I used too much water each time in the Moleskine.

Daffodils Are Out

The daffodils have been doing a wonderful job of decorating our grounds. Tulips should appear shortly.

Since I have been blessed with a black thumb, the best I can do is enjoy and appreciate the work of others.

Learned a Couple of Things

Masking fluid was used for the first time in the flower centers. Luckily only small dots were needed, and I could barely handle those. I will definitely practice masking before using it on anything serious.

Usually I'll make sure any pencil lines are very faint before starting to paint, but in this case it was the wrong thing to do. Once I washed the purples and blues over the whole flower area, I could barely see a few of the penciled lines. Most of the defining of the flower petals was guesswork. Someone didn't think ahead on this one! Lesson learned.

One more page to go in this Moleskine watercolor book. There's pressure to do decent work on the first and last few pages. I shouldn't worry so much. It's only for practice and fun.

EDM #76 - Draw Some Flowers

After I printed the photo of these lilies, I thought I remembered drawing them before. No, the photo is a different one. This sketch is looser than the previous one, so I'm beginning to loosen up at times.

One sad habit of mine is to rest my hand in wet ink or wet paint. This time I chose the ink. I'm an adult, and I know better. Maybe I can blame it all on my fading brain cells.



This is a thumbnail of my previous lilies sketch.

Enough with Roses

Just couldn't get into one more rose. I'm sure the practice is good for me, but I don't like the results of my efforts. One day I will be more comfortable with ink and shading, but not today. At least my new Pilot pen from the previous post is more comfortable in my hand than my previous pens.

If anyone is interested, here are the links where I purchased my pens.
His Nibs
Pilot 78G, Fine Nib, $25
Hero Account, XXF Nib, $10

New Fountain Pens

My only interest in roses is that they confuse me so drawing them is good practice. The first was drawn with Micron pens. Since I learned to write with a fountain pen, I find the angle needed to use technical, roller, ballpoint, and disposable pens difficult.

I have a Lamy Safari, EF nib, but its shape near the nib does not suit me, and the Noodler's ink in the pen took hours and care to dry. Even then it would sometimes smudge.

Today's mail brought me two inexpensive pens: a Pilot 78G, F nib, and a Hero Accountant, XXF nib.

The second rose was done with the Pilot 78G with a fine nib. Do not blame the skill of the drawing on the pen. It was a pleasure to hold. It's a Japanese pen, and the F nib equates to our XF nib. The Noodler's ink from this pen dried within minutes, so less ink must be coming through the nib. The nib is much smoother than that of my Lamy Safari. This may be the pen for me!

The Hero Accountant pen is also nice, but I've only used it to write a few words. The ink line seems close that of the Pilot F nib. It's also a smooth writer.

Three Tulips

Just a little watercolor. I'm trying not to depend so much on inked lines for my shapes.

From a photo found in the WetCanvas! Image Library.

Another WetCanvas! Submission

This WetCanvas! Challenge was to use only the three primary colors. When I first saw this challenge in April, it was beyond my capabilities. I wish I could do better now, but it's not all that bad for a beginner and much better than if I had tried it in April.

It's on Montval paper, but I think a different paper would have been easier, especially for the background.

The colors used were Maimeriblu's Primary Red, Primary Yellow, and Primary Blue. 5"x7".

Scribbles

Some scribbles from my Raffine sketchbook. I like watercolor on this paper, though I found out the hard way that color will lift easily if I'm not careful. The colors seem to be brighter than in my small Moleskine.

Practicing random brush strokes and paint/water combinations doesn't seem to work for me. I need to work on actual drawings, so I'll spend more time drawing and painting.

EDM #63 - Draw Something from a Nature Walk

Some flowers were growing among some weeds near a fence, so I grabbed a flower and watched it wilt rapidly. Don't blame the results of the painting on the flower. I did it all myself.

Lilies

From a photograph found in the WetCanvas! Image Library.

Sunflowers

Another background destroyed by me. Ta-da!

My vision has deteriorated in the last month, so I'm trying to work around distortion and guessing where pen and paper meet. Just another challenge in life.

From a photo in the WetCanvas! Image Library.

EDM #48

How 'bout stopping to smell the roses as a goal? I've never made New Year's resolutions or goals. When I first heard about them as a child, I was not interested in stating anything that might eventually fall through, especially the unrealistic resolutions that were suggested to me. Clean my room every week? Ha!

Trying loose roses was fun. Not bad for first try. I'll be doing more like this even though I'm not very interested in painting flowers. It's the technique that interests me.

It's a Flower

I tried to put a yellow flower on a cream background. Even with the inked outline, I wasn't sure which petals were pencilled. Though I've only tried gouache once before, I decided that it would help to have a dark green gouache background. It really didn't help with the fact that putting yellow on cream doesn't work for me. Maybe daylight instead of incandescent light would have helped. Ah well, I won't try that again. Meanwhile, the petals on the flower closed before I could finish!